Louise02
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Posts posted by Louise02
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Has anyone run the numbers to know if it is cheaper in the long term to hatch and feed baby brine shrimp than to feed other foods? I know that fish need variety, that bbs would not be the only food that we would feed. I am just wondering about the economic side. Thank you!
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On 2/18/2023 at 2:15 AM, Lennie said:
What are your water parameters afterall?
I believe you should first test your water parameters and then decide to add anything that will affect it in a way.
Maybe your water already covers the needs of your fish and you can easily use another substrate that you can grow plants better on? Or you can play around adding stuff in different ways in case your parameters are not meeting their needs, instead of using it directly as a substrate.
Even if you go for crushed corals, you should be able to monitor and test your water closely to see its effect anyway.
So test kit first. Decisions regarding stuff that affect parameters as a second step.
Thank you. I haven't even purchased anything for this particular aquarium yet, so I don't have specifics on this one. I just know that I need to add minerals to it. I will be sure to test before making decisions. Thank you!
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@Flumpweesel Thank you.
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Is there any harm done to anything if you overfeed your fish baby brine shrimp? We used to have a brine shrimp colony in with the mystery snail, and it was so neat to watch. Now that we have fish in every aquarium, will it hurt anything if there are surviving bbs after a feeding?
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We are starting a new 10-gallon for my daughter's gourami. How can I inexpensively give it the cover that it needs while the plants grow in? Does anyone know of any large, fake, submersible terrarium vines? or have another idea?
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We were watching some of Cory's molly videos. He suggests crushed coral for substrate. That sounds like a good idea, but I am rethinking putting larger snails and the female betta in with that substate. Wouldn't that be too sharp for mystery snails and bettas? Which brings me to my next question....which kinds of bottom dwellers and tank cleaners would you add to a molly tank? or do you let the mollies handle the clean-up themselves?
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Where do you order your aquariums from?
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On 2/15/2023 at 6:09 AM, Colu said:
What are your water parameters ammonia nitrite nitrate KH etc any rapid breathing listlessness hanging near the surface flashing spitting food out sunken belly @Louise02
Um. Almost all of the above. However, the molly has a grotesquely swollen stomach, not sunken. If it hadn't happened so quickly I would have thought that this male was a pregnant female.
I am sorry that I don't have the parameters. I can test tomorrow. The tank is planted and filtered, and I change water whenever needed. Now that I think about it, though, even the bacteria collumn must have taken a real hit from the Para-Cleanse.
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On 2/15/2023 at 12:43 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said:
If it was my tank I’d just do normal gravel with root tabs if you have plants.
Thank you!
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We lost a molly. When we received her, she immediately showed signs of fin flukes. We treated the tank water with sea salt and she improved rapidly! However, we suspected that the other molly had intestinal parasites, so we treated them with Para-Cleanse. At some point the female started swimming in circles, out of control, then dropping to the floor of the aquarium as though she were dead. After a couple seeks of this, she died. There is another molly and a gourami in the tank that she was in (they were together). Any advise on purging the eco-system? on what this epileptic-type-symptom might have been caused by? on how to keep the others alive?
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At the moment I have a gourami and a molly together. How do keep them from killing each other? While I set up another tank? (BTW, I did not purchase these fish, we're just dealing with what we've got...and trying to keep the remaining ones alive.)
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I used an expensive clay substrate for our smaller tanks. What are good substrate options (for a 29-gallon aquarium) that will work well long-term without completely breaking the bank. I don't want to go broke, but I don't want to regret it either. Help?
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My ten-year-old daughter ended up with a molly and a gourami in a 5-gallon tank. Needless to say, we need to plan a larger aquarium. We live in the middle of nowhere, so I can't run down the street and get supplies. While I am waiting to receive the tank (It will be almost a month!), I would like to plan this one out better than the tanks I have previously started. The gourami is getting really nippy, so I don't know if he will go into this 29-gallon tank. However, the female betta is incredibly mellow. I think that she might do fine with mollies in a large tank. Right now I have one female betta, one male molly, and one male mystery snail to go into that tank. Obviously, we'll need a few more mollies. I'd like to plan this out to have a more complete eco-system, but I would still like for it to be peaceful. This grouchy gourami is unpleasant. Is there a simple guide somewhere that I could use to help my daughter plan this aquarium to be lightly stocked, heavily planted, and easily kept? Thank you in advance for any ideas!
Also, if you have any suggestions on plants that can be propagated, that would be appreciated. My daughter likes to watch to plants grow, and it might be a little more affordable to fill in a larger tank with plants that can be propagated. Thank you!
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On 2/7/2023 at 8:38 AM, DebSills said:
I second @Flumpweesel - I wouldn't buy anything new until you check with the store...Bettas usually eat just about anything, but start with what the store was feeding and then go from there. I use Extreme Betta and some Bio Gold on occasion for mine, I've tried flake in the past, but she's not the brightest, so I find dropping the pellets in front of her is a lot easier and I know how many I've given her (honestly, if the pellet drifts too far, I have to lead her back to it...def not the brightest...lol)
if you have any flake, you could try to have your daughter put some on her finger and try that, since she nips salts off now?
Why did I not think of that? That is a great idea! I will have my daughter try to feed her by finger. Thank you!
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On 2/4/2023 at 11:08 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:
BBS is a good course of action if she won’t eat, then try weaning her onto pellets.
Thank you.
On 2/4/2023 at 12:31 PM, Goldie Blue said:You can try frozen brine shrimp. I feed mine directly to my bettas mouth using a pipette to make sure they get it in their belly and reduce waste in the tank. Both my guys come right up and eat from it when they see it.
Frozen bloodworms are always good too. These should be used more as treats once or twice a week though. My regular food for them is the Northfin Betta Bits, they devour them.
Thank you! I will try that food.
On 2/4/2023 at 3:47 PM, Flumpweesel said:Ask the shop what they feed, I did well with bug bites with my bettas.
Thank you. I just added Bug Bites to my cart. I should have called the pet shop immediately. I'll do that tomorrow. Thanks!
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On 2/4/2023 at 8:13 PM, ccc24 said:
Just about everything will eat when it gets hungry enough. I had a killifish that wouldn’t eat anything when it got to my tank. I tried everything. It finally started eating about a week and a week and a half. It just had to settle into the tank.
you can try live food (I love live baby brine for my tanks) to get something in her, but you could always try waiting it out.Thank you! Hope you're right! In the mean time I have fresher food coming...just in case. Thank you!
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My daughter received a new female betta a week ago. She looks healthy, swims better than any other betta we've ever had, is very curious, does not act timid. She will nip salts off my daughter's finger. Everything seems to be going well, except that I haven't seen her eat. I have given her Hikari's Betta Bio-Gold floating pellets (that we successfully used with bettas in the past) and Xtreme's Community Crave, that the other fish seem to love. Do I need to start hatching brine shrimp? Would that help? Is there a better way to feed her? Thank you!!!
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I have two new mollies that showed signs of possible parasites (gill flukes and intestinal worms). I have treated with Para-Cleanse, and I am supposed to begin water changes tomorrow. BUT I don't think that everything is entirely cleared up. Do I wait a few days before starting water changes, of do I finish this cycle and begin a new Para-Cleanse cycle down the road, in a month or so? I have never had to use Para-Cleanse or anything like it, so any advise is appreciated. Thank you!!!
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On 2/4/2023 at 9:17 AM, JettsPapa said:
I thought it was probably a dwarf gourami, but was hoping it wasn't. They're beautiful fish, and very popular, but because of that popularity commercial breeders haven't been as selective as they should be when choosing breeding stock.
Unfortunately they are often plagued with health and behavior issues. When they approach maturity they often become very aggressive to any tank mates (if they live long enough).
If you keep it in a tank with other fish I'd suggest keeping a close eye on it and have a backup plan in place if that happens.
Thank you. I will. Honestly, I don't like this gourami; I've never had such an active, aggressive fish before. I've mostly kept guppies, bettas, ADF, and other mellow creatures. This is, however, my child's aquarium, so I have to do what I can to make it all work out. I'd really like to just give him away. That said, I appreciate your advise, and I will keep a hospital tank open in case we need to come up with other long-term arrangements.
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On 2/3/2023 at 7:21 AM, JettsPapa said:
I didn't read all the responses, so I apologize if this has already been answered. What kind of gourami is it? It's likely a dwarf gourami, but maybe not (at least I hope not).
Hello! Someone else picked out these fish. Honestly, gourami was never on my list of options, but the salesclerk sold it. From what I can tell, it looks like a dwarf gourami.
On 2/2/2023 at 6:48 AM, ccc24 said:The gourami will be fine. Betta - it will depend on the flow/filtration in the aquarium and the amount of finnage it has. Bettas have been selectively bred for more fins, with little regard to their ability to support those fins or swim in a meaningful way (whereas gouramis have not, and handle your average aquarium just fine). I have kept bettas in deep tanks before (such as a 55g) but I always went with female plakats to minimize any swimming issues or anggresion issues. You can try it and just be ready to pull it out (into those hospital tanks). If it is a male with significant finnage, your chances of success go down. It can still be done, but you will have to carefully manage the tank (heavy planting, areas of lower flow, resting spots, smooth decor that won’t snag the flowing fins, etc).
I don't know what kind of betta it is, but it is a female. She is so calm and peaceful that I don't want to bother her with a community, but she doesn't eat well. I will need something to clean up her tank. I have to offer her a little food, but, so far, what I have offered has ended up in the substrate. Perhaps switch to live food?
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On 2/1/2023 at 12:54 PM, ccc24 said:
Yes, for the number of fish you listed that size tank is plenty.
for getting more mystery snails - I lowered my water level a 1-1.5 inches so have a clear space for them to lay eggs and just left them be once they laid. We started with five mystery snails - we now have 15+. They don’t breed as fast as say, guppies - but they do eventually make more if you feed enough ( l specifically feed bottom wafers and crab cuisine to my snails).Fantastic. Thank you. Would you happen to know: Would it be inadvisable to put a gourami or betta in a tall aquarium, since they have labyrinth organs? It would be a great space saver to have a tall 29-gallon, but I do NOT want to worry about killing one of them. Better safe than sorry. Advise? Thank you so much for your time!
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On 2/1/2023 at 3:10 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:
If you want to very quickly “heavily plant” a tank, Java fern. They are full, bushy plants. They don’t go into the substrate, they feed from the water column. you can just drop them all in with plant weights on them.
If you then want to create an aquascape, a large piece of driftwood- and attach all the Java ferns to it with superglue GEL. You will want to boil the driftwood first and soak it in a tote before placing in the tank. Until the driftwood stops floating. The Java fern with plant weights can be in the tank in the meantime providing cover for the fish. Easy green will feed the Java fern.
If you are on a tight budget, you can get get value packs of tall, fake plants. Then add live plants gradually as you can afford them.
Fake plants are a good idea. I avoided them for obvious reasons, but it's below zero here right now. I'll order some silks until the weather is cooperative. Thanks!
On 1/31/2023 at 9:33 PM, ccc24 said:Personally, I wouldn’t if it were my tank (that’s not to say you couldn’t if that’s the look you wanted). I’d put some hiding places in the large tank and call it good. There’s 15+ mystery snails in the tank above (they bred) that happily coexist with the fish. Mine thrive being a part of an ecosystem as opposed to being a single occupant. Single occupant may be protected but the ecosystem around it (plants, scuds, fish) might be missing and making it harder to keep the snail happy and healthy.
Got it. I just didn't want my daughter's precious snail picked to pieces. I'll give the larger ecosystem a go. If all else fails, he can go back into his five-gallon. Thank you!!!
@ccc24 Do you think that I could manage with a 30 gallon, plus the two small tanks as backups or hospitals? 40 is just so big.
BTW, it would be nice to have a few more snails in the mix. My child loves mystery snails.
Thank you.
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@ccc24 Thank you for sharing that photograph. You're on a whole different level! It's fascinating!
On 1/31/2023 at 12:06 PM, Guppysnail said:They all will. Antenna look like worms. A natural and irresistible treat for fish.
If I move the other fish to a large tank, should I keep Turbo in the five-gallon? I know that it isn't that big of a tank, but at least he wasn't having his antennae nipped when he was in there alone.
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On 1/31/2023 at 10:56 AM, Guppysnail said:
Sorry i misunderstood. I don’t like anything larger than 1 inch living an entire life in a 10g. My betta was in a 20 high. I think it would be fine. I just get a claustrophobic feeling looking in 10 gallon tanks with fish over 1 inch.
Do you have a suggestion? I need to develop a long-term plan. If we need four aquariums I want to get that transition going as soon as possible. Thoughts? Thank you so much!
BTW, someone nipped an antenna off our Mystery Snail, Turbo. I know that it is partially due to overstocking, but is it more likely for the gourami to pick on the snail? I've seen all of them pick on Turbo.
Dwarf Gourami companions
in General Discussion
Posted
My daughter is setting up her dwarf gourami aquarium. He is aggressive. She doesn't want him to hurt anything else. Are there any critters that help keep aquariums clean that she can safely add to this dwarf gourami aquarium....or not? Thanks!