Chick-In-Of-TheSea
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Posts posted by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
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L😍😍k at these cuties at my work! An incentive for me to take walks on my breaks! I checked on them first thing this morning because it is supposed to rain later, and I may not be able to get out there in the afternoon.
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I spent some time enjoying the shrimp tank tonight. It looked like there were barely any shrimps in the tank…
…until dinner was served.
I found peachy ones
and shrimplets
as well as works of leaf art. I just love these. It is so cool.
I’ve been allowing the bladder snails and Malaysian trumpet snails to do whatever. I don’t see very many bladder snails. Maybe 5-10. Some have a creamy s-shaped stripe like the parent snail had . Very pretty. Others are copper colored. They are SO FAST!!
There are more trumpet snails, and I believe I am seeing quite a few now because the lights were off for a few hours and they emerged. I clicked the light on to watch shrimps for awhile before bed. The light must be kept at a short duration or the hair algae really ramps up.
The mannerisms of Malaysian trumpet snails still fascinates me. Many of these were moved over from Geppetto’s tank when I had to medicate him. I dug in the sand and rescued every single MTS that I could find.
Look how nice they are keeping the sand. Before it had a bunch of unsightly “catappa leaf dust” (tiny bits of leaf that the shrimps tore up). As we know, siphoning is dangerous to shrimps; especially shrimplets, and I don’t have to worry about it so much now that I have a nice ecosystem that includes these guys.
Also in the 29g, Juniper and Button were hanging out on the heater. I handed Juniper a piece of green bean, and he held onto it and enjoyed the snack.
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It appears you have excess nutrients in the water, likely caused by the substrate, but the filter also needs to have coarse sponge and/or filter floss in it so that it can catch particles out of the water column and clear up your tank. Without used media, your tank may also be cycling. This is not a good scenario if fish are in there. Hence It is critical to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate daily so you know where you stand- as the first 2 are toxic to your fish. The third can be if it gets > 40. You’ll also need a dechlorinator that detoxifies ammonia and nitrite, such as Seachem Prime or Fritz Complete. If you detect any ammonia or nitrite whatsoever, do a large water change using that dechlorinator. The detoxifying effect lasts 1-2 days, but I always treat it as 1 day just to err on the safe side. (Water changes will also reduce the excess nutrients.)
As far as the white slime, that is harmless biofilm. If fish eat it, they benefit from the protein and fiber it has. It should go away in about a week, or you can take a new toothbrush to it, and siphon it out with a gravel vac (best to have the filter sponge or floss installed before you do so) or else it will just swirl around your tank. Do not remove rocks and wood. They will house beneficial bacteria that eats fish waste, making your tank safer.
The greenish brown slime on top is a bacteria and is normal when a tank has a plant light. Remove it with the toothbrush as well.
One last thought, make sure the flow from that filter is not too much for the betta. They need very very gentle flow or they get stressed and become ill. Make sure it’s not pushing your betta around and/or making him/her struggle. You can consider a sponge filter instead, and they are sold on aquarium co op website and at most aquarium merchants.
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Friends, I decided to let Onyx go humanely. This is a photo of her beforehand. This was as large as I was willing to let her become.
The process took about 3-5 seconds and then I left her in the soak for maybe 2 hours (longer than needed, and mainly because it’s just.. sad). I don’t make it a standard practice to do necropsy, nor do I have the anatomical knowledge to know exactly what I’m looking at. However, because we were guessing at the real issue: egg binding, a body mass, organ failure, etc, I felt it was worth trying to find out (and also validating my decision, I suppose). The body cavity was completely filled with fluid which released upon incision, and we can therefore say organ failure or perhaps even blockage. Either way, Onyx was not able to expel waste fluids, and it would not have been a good ending for her had I not intervened.
She did receive a wonderful last meal of brine shrimps and had a little service in the garden to celebrate her life and time with me and all of her fishy friends.
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On 6/11/2024 at 10:27 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:
The carnivorous sundew
I snipped all but one tendril to encourage this sundew plant to open up its flowers and put energy into leaf production, aaaand.. it shot up 2 more tendrils. How defiant! 🤣
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@Colu would Furan-2 benefit the fish?
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Walstad jar got a haircut. Ember tank before & after.
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On 6/21/2024 at 2:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
Considering your other plants you have in the garage(?) I would wonder how this would look like with the light mounted higher above the jar
True. I don’t want to put it in the garage though, because there are too many bugs out there and it’s not a place that I spend time or could enjoy the jar much. But I could find a way to raise this light, such as mounting it on a tall vase instead of the cup. The only downside is that the Iron Sheik and Junkyard Dog will not be around to protect the moneywort.
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On 6/21/2024 at 7:20 AM, Colu said:
Looking at the video I would consider humanly euthanizing her with clove oil or you can use koi sedate
Given the data I found and lack of response to 3 or 4 medications, I unfortunately agree. I believe that even since beginning treatment she has grown larger, and if the illness continues to progress it will bring [more] suffering. She seems in good spirits now especially since having a buddy, but I would want to save her from that outcome. I despise euthanizing when a fish is energetic…
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Not sure what to do next. She should have a break from meds.
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Little bit of an update on the fishroom. I still have the new head-and-taillights in qt, as some of them were eating hungrily yet losing weight. I had previously done level 2 salt for them, but still no weight gain. Now I’m starting to see nice belly rounding out with praziquantal flake.
Geppetto recovered nicely from his stuck in shrimp cave incident.
The ember tetras are doing well, but I’m unhappy with the tank and the algae situation. I like how the pothos fills the tank, and it is fun to watch them swim through it, but something has to change here for aesthetics.
One thing I am considering is giving the Walstad jar a massive haircut and planting the moneywort into the ember tank. However, I do need to add more sand to make that happen, as it is not deep enough to plant in.
The 29 gallon is doing well, and I haven’t had any other issues with illness in there.
I did notice a bit of fraying on Flint’s one fin, and I think it could be a little bit of stress from the new powerhead. So I updated the schedule on the Kasa timer for it to run the powerhead for 10 minutes, twice daily. All I need is for it to push debris out from the back and toward the hob intake.
The 3 kids that were ill from this tank are together in this tote. Fuzznose had a 24 hour ich x treatment in a bucket before joining. The pristella is the shivery swimming fish that I thought could have a neurological issue, or Colu suggested maybe he ran into something. Most concerning is bloated girl, Onyx, who has had various treatments with no improvement, but she is very active and eating well. She viciously attacked brine shrimp yesterday that had fallen to the ground. She dove for it, slid into home plate on her belly, came to a screeching halt which caused her mouth to angle down to the floor, the sluuurped up the shrimp. 😂 The food is medicated with metroplex, and she loves it. A few more days on that and then I don’t know what. Metro was supposed to target bacteria that the Maracyn 2 may have missed.
I also don’t know what to do for neurological guy, or Hank the red gill guy who lives in with his school of head-and-taillights. Hank had salt, Kanaplex, and Maracyn2. He doesn’t play nice with Onyx. He’s nippy, so when he does go through any treatments with her, he has to reside in a breeder box where he just sulks like a naughty kid who got put in the corner.
Hank:
For the tanks consolidation project, I am thinking about this metal stand. Especially appealing are the electrical outlets and surge protection built in.
Still undecided about the 40b or 55g. Every time I think of the 55g I picture a massive flood on the floor, ya know, worst case scenario thoughts. But it’s probably safer, yeah? Because it has a center brace I believe?
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I fed my bamboo plant 💚
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On 6/18/2024 at 12:55 PM, Odd Duck said:
I would do 10 to 14 days treatment depending on how she’s doing.
Is once a day ok or should I do twice a day?
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On 6/1/2024 at 2:33 PM, Odd Duck said:
Combining it with metronidazole and that gives an even more broad spectrum coverage since metronidazole fills in a few gaps getting some bacteria that minocycline doesn’t
@Odd Duck how long should I feed the metro to the fishy? Been feeding since 6/10, once a day.
She’s doing well, by the way. I put another black neon in there and she likes hanging out with him. They are active and seem happy.
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Cut the flow down to minimum, and no more sand movement has occurred. There is waste in the front corner now, but significantly less than what was piling up in the back, and it was easy enough to remove with the turkey baster.
3 fish from the main tank are now sharing a quarantine tote, each with a different ailment. Fuzznose got a 24 hr ich-x treatment in a bucket before joining the other 2 in qt tote. Then we have bloated girl (Onyx) who has been through a couple treatments with no reduction in size, but she gets around well and has a great appetite. She currently eats brine shrimp medicated with metroplex to try to target the bacteria that Maracyn 2 did not. She’s happy that Fuzznose (he seems cured but I was hesitant for instant reintroduction to display tank; I want to monitor) is in there, because they are both black neons and are schooling together.
Then the neurological disorder (?) fish which I haven’t treated. I did acquire the Maracyn 2 for him but LFS was really doubtful about it. They have attempted to treat fish with this issue (I showed the owner the video) and have not had success. So, idk. Play musical quarantines again to target treat just him, or keep him comfortable? I am leaning toward just salting the tank, since that can provide benefit for everyone in there. They are at a level 1 salt at this time.
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Wow, loving the powerhead/pump. It did push sand a bit again, so I may add more gravel along the back. This little plant is now in a sand dune. lol!
The device looks large in the photo, I think? It’s really not. Smaller than the 60 tabs root tabs container. I’m sure there are nicer looking/black powerheads but I think I needed that guidance of LFS and the ability to dial down the flow if needed. Actually, maybe I will do that vs more gravel. I know ACO has a powerhead but I thought the flow was too high for this tank? Idk. New to the powerheads game.
Also I saw a video where the OP turned off the powerhead at night so the fish can rest more easily. I unplugged it last night but will snag a Kasa wifi timer for this purpose. I love love love these timers!
Also I told my husband about the powerhead and Flint’s bioload and he said, quote! “You need a much bigger tank.” (!!!). However I will properly budget for all the things and not rack up the credit card. I can at least snag the tank now since it’s 50% off sale. 40B or 55? Hmm… 40B less water to change, also only wet arm to elbow …55 more water for livestock. that is the internal debate right now.
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This is what my Walstad jar looks like today. I still see flower production, and things are going well. I do not do anything but top offs, and it has a little bit of air and a tiny heater (10w) for the snails. They were too lethargic without it. It does still have some hair algae. Time to tweak the Kasa timer again.
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I set up the most beautiful quarantine.
Also set up a powerhead to keep the debris moving toward the hob intake. LFS helped me select the appropriate output for my tank and I have it directed to blow over the sand at the back of the tank (Flint’s hangout) where the mulm collects. The powerhead flow rate is adjustable by dialing the tube.
This is what it looks like. It lays on its side and I have a stone keeping it in place. The fish don’t seem to notice but I see that it is doing its job. It was trenching my sand though, so I added a handful of gravel back there.
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On 6/15/2024 at 8:44 AM, Colu said:
It's possible have you added new fish or plants to this tank recently that could have bought in disease
The only thing was a nerite I added May 11. It didn’t live long, maybe 2 weeks. I bag acclimated it and then I put it through the “snail car wash”. That is where I just clean it gently in a cup of tank water after the acclimation. I do this for all new snails.
I dump out the water from the bag, I do not add it to the tank. The other nerite that I have had for awhile now is still in the tank and doing great.
On 6/15/2024 at 9:38 AM, nabokovfan87 said:Ich for me was about 30-45 days and a lot of bottles of ich-x and salt. I ended up losing a lot of fish, but thankfully Grace and most of her friends were ok
That’s a long time for ich! Last I had it was a few years ago. I kicked up the temp to 86 and did the garlic infusion. It cured everyone but I did have a couple losses. Ich is a nasty one to deal with. I’d say maybe a week and a half was my duration of treatment and recovery.
On 6/15/2024 at 9:38 AM, nabokovfan87 said:Hopefully the AC is working amongst other things
Well no. 3rd tech just came out. Hopefully it’s fixed now “for realsies”. Waiting to see.
On 6/15/2024 at 9:38 AM, nabokovfan87 said:The quick bolt at the end reminds me of flashing
Yeah, I think it was. It looked like he was trying to flash on a plant this morning too, just mildly.
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Also the aquarium co op powerhead fits on the sponge filter.
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I thought this was funny.
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Because there are several weird things that have happened, I added some carbon to the HOB. Maybe there are impurities that I’m unaware of.
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On 6/15/2024 at 5:57 AM, Colu said:
Do you have a quarantine tank you could use for this fish a think it would be worthwhile doing a course of maracyn2 just in case there's a bacterial component given how quickly the onset of symptoms were
I could bucket quarantine this fish.
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Omg that is a freaking crime scene!!! 😱