Chick-In-Of-TheSea
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Posts posted by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
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I was not able to get Maracyn 2 until yesterday around 6pm. Had to call around to several LFS because I couldn’t get it shipped in any sort of timely fashion. I got home with the medicine last night but found patient too weak, unfortunately.
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On 4/30/2024 at 4:58 PM, Odd Duck said:
The new symptoms suddenly strike me as potential liver disease. If it was bruising from trauma, it should have shown up right when it happened or within a few days for deep bruising rising to the surface. Discoloration like that makes me concerned about liver disease bad enough to cause a lack of clotting factor production (primarily produced in the liver). Getting this kiddo eating becomes absolutely paramount as that’s necessary to achieve any chance of return of liver function. Frozen, meaty foods would be most important. Daphnia are recommended for constipation as their “shells” tend to help “clean out” the gut for meat eaters, frozen often being easier access than freeze-dried if not swimming well. Many omnivores and herbivores will often eat crushed peas which are high enough fiber to help clean out the gut.
Liver disease is all about getting calories into the patient, but carefully since you don’t want to overload them at any point. Most won’t eat enough initially to get overloaded, but may as they start to heal, so feed wisely, but tend toward meaty. It may not be something you can fix, but that’s the direction I would lean.
Time to try Maracyn-2 since it’s a broad spectrum antibiotic that’s absorbed through the gut and excreted via the liver so it would tend to clean out the liver if infection is there.
Thanks @Odd Duck. Is Maracyn 2 effective in hard water?
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Not a meme but I saw this on Reddit today. Someone’s black skirt caught a housefly on its own and is proudly swimming around with it. 😍
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Interesting paper. The symptoms seem to match but I question the highly contagious virus part because 18 other fish show no signs or symptoms, and I have had this fish for probably a year already.
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More symptoms. I made a thread…
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I was posting about this head-and-taillight tetra on my journal, and @Odd Duck and @Colu have been helping me. The fish has been struggling to swim properly. It is in quarantine, and I tried to treat swim bladder symptoms (just in case it was that). Today I notice dark patches around the stomach of the fish. Mainly on left side. My first move was to test ammonia; it is zero. I tested a few days ago as well (either Thursday or Friday) and it was zero. @Odd Duck has been suggesting the fish got injured. I wonder if this is internal bleeding? could it be something else that is treatable and that the fish can spring back from? I’ve never seen anything like this.
Scroll down for more photos.
The only treatments to date have been a 15 min Epsom salt dip (maybe 2 weeks ago), then I did mild aquarium salt on the tank he was in.
After that, moved to quarantine because I was losing track of him in the plants, and he was “social distancing” as well.
Also a 3 day fast, then I offered peas, but he spit it out. I offered frozen cyclops today but I couldn’t tell If he ate it. He swam in and out of the cloud of it a few times so maybe he got some.
I was going to epsom salt this tank next, mild dose, but now I see these symptoms.
I did a water change today after the cyclops feeding. Routine weekly water change. I remove uneaten foods as well within 30 min.
Also my chart has something similar but for saltwater:
Actually above that saltwater fish I do see similar for freshwater also. Sorry, was hard to see on the orange fish they have on the chart. But the fish is NOT slugging or hiding so it doesn’t make much sense as a diagnosis. He's always moving. I don’t see him rest during the day.
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On 4/28/2024 at 9:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
Do you think you'll ever swap it out for a shallow rimless? I just realized I have a pretty big size glass jar I can commandeer one day. 🤔
Aw.... I love this.
Once it’s setup you really can’t because if you uproot plants you pull the soil up into the water column. The sand layer is meant to lock the soil in place to keep balance.
On 4/28/2024 at 9:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:Aw.... I love this.
Me too! I knew I couldn’t throw him in a drawer to collect dust. The bamboo is gonna be perfect, and I added some aquarium gravel.
On 4/28/2024 at 8:13 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:makes a sort of red dew. I guess it is an adhesive/digestive-type liquid.
So the plant is called drosera sundew and this is how it eats. Makes me feel squeamish, yet, fascinated?
It can have all the mosquitos. FL is mosquito capital of the US. 🙄
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Here is what the Walstad jar looks like today. It still makes flowers quite often.
There is still hair algae, but I tweak the Kasa timer sometimes to reduce light duration. I wait a few weeks to see how things go. And the water is pretty clear under the surface. Here the algae is pearling.
I do top offs with tank water which contains some easy green and nitrates from fish waste.
The trumpet snails are still in there. I rarely feed them, but they do have air and heat. They do get the occasional meat-based pellet.
This snail is huge compared to the others!
Yesterday I went to the Art & Foliage festival. I returned today to select some non-aquatic plants.
This is a carnivorous plant that does well on a windowsill. The “spikes” at the top attract insects. When the insect lands on a leaf, it becomes trapped and the plant absorbs it. The leaves do not close like a flytrap though.
It has already caught some bugs.
I will keep this plant in the kitchen in case of fruit flies.
It makes a sort of red dew. I guess it is an adhesive/digestive-type liquid.
This is a type of pitcher plant. This one likes direct light. I chose this to keep near the African violets I’m growing in the garage because the grow light out there attracts bugs fairly often.
Looking inside the “pitcher” I can see it is holding liquid and has a bug.
Technically these are bog plants, so when I say they are non-aquatic, I guess that’s not entirely true. I don’t know if they could work on the surface of a Walstad jar or not but that could be a neat idea. The first fuzzy looking one has a label that says it loves humidity and works well in terrariums. However, at some point it will need to get bugs. Also the shopkeeper told me never to fertilize these plants, because the pitcher plant will stop making pitchers and the plants will no longer catch or eat bugs.
Lastly, I had this little pot that I needed to put to use again, as its previous resident, the “mother of thousands” got an upgrade. So I went to see the bamboo guy, and he sold me a small trio of bamboo.
This is what the mother of thousands looks like. I hook trained her more than once as she got taller and started becoming a bit unruly.
She was in the little giraffe for several years! Now she made babies, so I upgraded her and am raising them up too. Look at the babies on the edge of her leaves.
enjoy nature daily -
@Colu @Odd Duck he tried the peas but spit them out. I tried a 20 min garlic guard soak but he still wouldn’t eat them. Then I tried daphnia. Looks like he made an attempt but my daphnia is freeze dried and he is not doing well feeding from the surface; he’s clumsy. I wonder what else I could try? I have a few different Repashy, as well as flake food and floating pellets. Anything that floats is not too good for this sort of ailment, I believe. I know it may not be swim bladder I’m treating. Just trying to eliminate variables. I have live grindal worms too, as well as frozen brine shrimp. I could hatch some bbs but not sure I want to get into all that unless I have to.
Tummy looks “plump”. Could be constipation. It is not as obvious as eggbinding would be.
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On 4/11/2024 at 8:26 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:
Friends, we have an assumed swim bladder issue with a head-and-taillight tetra.
The patient was struggling in the salted 29g with the HOB, and was isolating from the group; staying near the surface. With prolific plant growth I haven’t been able to keep a good eye on him, so I moved him to QT. With my schedule I cannot do epsom dips. I think maybe I willl try the 3 day fast then feed peas remedy, unless anyone had any other thoughts? @Odd Duck @Colu
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On 4/10/2024 at 5:11 AM, nabokovfan87 said:
you see them being saddled and then you see them have everything they need, but you don't see the baby shrimp or eggs. It lasted about 3ish months. I would recommend just verify everything is ok and hold course
Finally! I saw 2 or 3 shrimplets today while the adults were tearing up calcium chips and making a bunch of dust. The little ones were nearby trying to eat some of it, I think. This is a good sign!
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I was on my way home from my parents’ house and figured, why not stop at Sea World to try out their new pipeline coaster. Whoa! So it’s a standing coaster (cars are surfboards) and the harnesses are on up & down hydraulics. Whenever it catches G’s you like, “float up” and your feet leave the surfboard. Omg was epic! Pic of coaster:
And then look at this guy, so tired…
until people showed up with sardines. Instantly woke up and…
Random photo dump of other things; went on sky tower for the first time and got some aerial shots.
Fave ride Mako, got to ride it twice due to 5 min wait.
Hill for Mako. It has a 200’ drop.
I think this is a wood stork.
White coaster is a new one, under construction. Antarctica/Penguin theme
Mako:
Flamingo paddle boats
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The sky looked like a painting yesterday morning.
Also I made a tasty cornbread today with some bean & bacon soup. I have been experimenting with our new Instant Pot. That thing cuts cooking time in half or even more. Hard boiled eggs 5 min. Baked potatoes 12 min. It did a good job with chicken thighs, as well as the soup I made today. My husband likes to use it for beef stew. Convenient.
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On 4/18/2024 at 6:04 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
I stuck with the fluval e-100. Thankfully it arrived in one piece. Shipped in a paper envelope. No idea why, but yeah....
I definitely struggle myself to find one "better" and am very leery of all the different ones out there.
Is that the one that looks like a long, rectangular box with a red switch/lever on the end? I looked at that one but I only have 12” of water due to deep substrate and dropped waterline. That heater is like 11.75” or something and didn’t give me a lot of options on placement.
On 4/18/2024 at 6:04 PM, nabokovfan87 said:Shipped in a paper envelope
That’s frustrating..
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Snoopy eating worms! (And I forgot to clean the glass)
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On 4/16/2024 at 9:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
What kind of heater?
I’ve been using Aqueon. The other tanks have ACO heaters. I tried shopping online but there were a lot of foreign brands with overinflated reviews, so I ended up at big box and bought Aqueon again.
On 4/16/2024 at 9:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:I think.they do it a lot but we just never see it
Yeah. I think it’s because the heater came forward and now I notice it.
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Got the heater. Big box store this time due to convenience/location.
This!! Made me happy. See what the bucket says? This is progress from what we usually see. Right @xXInkedPhoenixX? #babysteps
And then just for fun,
I took pictures for @Guppysnail
And then this creepy guy/gal! Whoa!
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Heater glowing red the whole length of the tube. Not sure if it’s always done that? It is dark in the tank now, for one. But also it has come a little bit forward because its suction cups detached from the back wall. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or not, but I really don’t know how old the heater is either. Returned to the tank a few minutes later and the heater is off; the rainbird is doing its job.
Rainbird:
Maybe time for a replacement heater.
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On 4/15/2024 at 7:12 PM, GoofyGarra said:
What a cool store! Do they specialize in plecos?
They had some other cool fish as well. Different types of rainbow fish, barbs, cichlids, then they have turtles, lizards, spiders, and snakes. Tons of snakes. They have floor to ceiling bins of snakes. They do have a lot of things for paludariums and vivariums, etc
I just snapped random photos while I was there.
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Browsing through Pet Bazaar. Mom & pop shop. Many snakes! And amphibians.
Snowball pleco
Tigerhead pleco
Peppermint?
Camo Pacman Frog
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On 4/11/2024 at 8:26 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:
He got caught in that net too! This poor fish can’t catch a break!
Omg, thank you @nabokovfan87 for sending better quality nets! Disaster prevention at its finest! I and the fishes are very grateful to you.
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On 4/12/2024 at 9:55 AM, Odd Duck said:
make sure they’re eating OK
Based on this example, I have no worries! He competes with the best of ‘em!
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On 4/12/2024 at 9:55 AM, Odd Duck said:
I think @nabokovfan87 is on to something. He does look like his spine may be a bit bent. And the idea of a bonk is very valid. Could have gotten startled and run into a side or the lid, etc. I would add very low dose salt which is safe enough for nearly all plants and snails. The aim is just to get some electrolytes into the water. I use 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons for this dose. Most can also go up to 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.
If you can do the Epsom salt soaks once or twice daily with minimal stress it might help a bit. But mostly for these guys I do supportive care which means leaving them in an internal breeder box to help keep the temp steadier but an external one is fine if it recirculates quick enough or if your fish room is warm enough. It will also help to make sure they’re eating OK and not outcompeted by other fish. It also helps by keeping them closer to the surface for better oxygenation and I often add an air stone, too.
It may takes weeks or months but some do recover, some don’t. Only time will tell on that one. I had one badly bent pea puffer (was fine at the store then was bent in the bag from a 10 minute drive 🤦🏻♀️) recover well enough I couldn’t tell him apart from the others until he got much older and his bend started to show again.
I had released him yesterday. His symptoms are mild. I took a video (he is not the first fish shown). He enters the shot from the left.
Has a sort of rocking horse movement but he seems to be ok. He was stressed in the breeder box.
I will try the salt.
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On 4/11/2024 at 10:02 AM, Guppysnail said:
Chick I have seen this before a few times.
My best guess from all I read and tried. Something be it organ failure, inability for the body to get enough oxygen to the brain, organs just aging out etc. is causing some part of the body to cause a neurological impairment/ damage. The neurological component causes inability to completely control muscle movements causing that swimming not swim bladder.Sadly I have never been able to cure this. From all my reading and talking to others I think whatever the neurological impact it’s damage and not something that can be cured.
Anytime I have had a wonky swimming fish it was all downhill. Thankfully this is a mild case. I am thinking about releasing him back to the community. His buddy keeps swimming up to him in the breeder box and they see each other. Jailbird seems glad to see his buddy and becomes more active. I ended up with these 2 when I bought washed out looking fish from a new shipment at LFS. I had requested pristella tetras but when color developed I was surprised! LFS said they must have jumped in the pristella tank from the next tank over. Anyway, I didn’t worry too much about school size since they school right along with the pristellas.
I don’t know if being in the breeder box is better or worse for him.
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Walstad Jar
in Photos, Videos & Journals
Posted · Edited by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
Oh man guys, the drosera sundew caught its first mosquito!
It has caught a number of little flies/gnats as well. The black thing near the mosquito’s foot is another victim.
Also I smacked a HUGE mosquito yesterday with the flyswatter and fed it to the pitcher plant!