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KaitieG

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Posts posted by KaitieG

    Guppy “Whales”

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by KaitieG

    Love the term.  My whales are my favorites.  As they get older (they're about 2) and have more fry, their tails seem heavier and heavier, but they're huge and colorful, and I brought in some smaller tailed mails to try to take the pressure off the next generation!Guppy.jpg.960a02183704c0cf252bc50955bdf2dd.jpg

    • Like 2

    CARE Forum Anniversary

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by KaitieG

     

    On 4/8/2021 at 3:06 PM, CorydorasEthan said:

     

    2. Articles. Would any forum members like to write articles for the forum on Nerm Day? I posted a topic earlier, and was wondering if anyone was interested. Of course, only write an article if you have had a lot of experience, done sufficient research, and actually want to. Also, members or administrators should check articles before they are posted (personal mesaging?) to ensure accurate information.

     

    I'm not sure I feel experienced enough to write an article, but I'd be happy to offer proof-reading services for anyone who wanted them 🙂  It's something I enjoy as another hobby.

    • Like 5

    Nitrite spike? Help!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Agreed--plants can be okay for a long time without fertilizer, and if you're doing several larger water changes, you're basically pouring that down the drain with your water.  I'd personally do another water change again today or tomorrow, and then keep doing those daily/every other day 50% changes until you see that Nitrite down closer to .5 or 1.  So far as I can tell from pictures I'd guess you're around 5ppm Nitrites. 

    Good news--your ammonia levels look good! That's important since it looks like your PH is pretty high (like mine!) which makes ammonia particularly toxic for fish.  You're totally on the right track...every tank has to go through this stage as part of cycling process 🙂 

    • Like 2

    Nitrite spike? Help!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, G.A. said:

     

    Okay, I will cut back more on feedings and keep adding Prime for now. I did test at least once a day for the last several days, the nitrites have been darker than the highest reading of 10.0, nitrates were between 40 and 60 and ammonia has been less than .25 for the last few days. Last water change was Saturday about 30%.

    You're right--that's a really big nitrite spike.  I think a couple of 50% water changes over the next couple days might be a good idea to get that number down a little, and I wouldn't do anything with the filter media--including rinsing it.  Just let those bacteria grow in there for now 🙂  The good news is that it sounds like you're well on your way to getting through your cycle--you clearly have bacteria in there that are producing nitrate; they just have to catch up!  

    Here's what I would personally do--you can obviously change this to suit your schedule/needs/etc

    1. Do a 50% water change as soon as it's manageable for you and treat with Prime

    2. After an hour or two, test and see if you can get a clear Nitrite reading that doesn't max out the test (let us know just to satisfy our curiosity!!).

    3. Do another 50% water change the next day and treat with Prime

    4. Betcha can guess--check your parameters after an hour or so to see where you're at

    5. Continue the pattern until nitrites are in the 1ish range.  Then personally, I'd treat with Prime daily until they disappear and do water changes as needed when/if they start climbing above about that level.  

    If you can get through this part of the tank setup process, the good news is that it generally gets easier from here! 🙂 

     

     

    • Like 3

    Petite siphon?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, CalmedByFish said:

    and @GardenStateGoldfish

    How do you get the suction started when not using the wide part on the end? 

    I have well water with no chlorine, so I usually fill the syphon hose at the sink, plug the end with my finger and then pop the finger-plugged end in the tank.  For my 5.5 gallon, I usually just use a couple of quart yogurt containers to catch the water, and the tank's in the kitchen so I dump as I go as needed.  Not saying this is a super pro way to do it, but it's working for me.

    • Like 2

    Cant keep plants ALIVE. Help!

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Do you know what your water hardness is, and are you growing java fern and the Christmas moss in your other tank?  I've had more trouble with Java Fern and the Christmas moss bridge than anything else (crypts, anubias, val, dwarf sag, swords, etc), so I guess my first thought is--maybe those plants just happen to be the ones that aren't going to thrive in your particular water?  My Java Fern always ends up looking just like yours--I have very hard water and 8-8.2 Ph.  

    After my Christmas Moss bridge failure (I had 2 in 2 different tanks), I read that Christmas Moss doesn't much like high Ph water.  I got some local Java Moss from a hobbyist and it's done MUCH better for me.  

    I used the bridge base and made an anubias arch instead 🙂

    Of course if these same types of plants are thriving in your other tank...you probably don't have the same issue I have 🙂 

     

    Nitrite spike? Help!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, JamesB said:

    Keep your feedings level down for now until you do test for the above. Maybe feed once (very little) every 3 days. (this may sound cruel, but fish can live up to months without food) This will ensure your amonia levels remain at 0. On feeding days do waterchanges.

    And this is also a GREAT part of the plan!

    • Like 1

    Neon tetra fat

    in Diseases

    Posted

    My neons often look similar to that after they eat--have you noticed if they look that way all the time or mainly after feeding them?  They could possibly be a little constipated, and I believe spirulina is a handy food to help make sure they're moving everything through their digestive tract. My son always is hoping they're "pregnant" since we have guppies who DO get big and pregnant...not sure if neons look like that with eggs or not.  I know they're not livebearers like guppies.

    • Thanks 1

    Nitrite spike? Help!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Hi! 

    So it sounds to me like you probably are just still in the middle of cycling your tank--probably STEP 2: Bacteria converts ammonia to Nitrite.  It often takes a month or so, even with the added bacteria to get through a full cycle from scratch.  You could take a look at info on how to do fish-in cycles, since that's essentially what you're working on right now.  It's a little trickier, but totally do-able. 

    A lot of times when you add a group of fish, the bacteria you had going aren't quite enough to keep up with the new waste-load.  Using prime is a good idea--it can keep your fish safe as the cycle progresses, but it won't actually eliminate the ammonia or nitrite.  Those will still show up on the test.  

    You probably want to be dosing about 3 ml of Prime every 24 hours for your size tank.  You do that as long as the ammonia or nitrites are present along with water changes.

    And I'd recommend not swapping out your filter media--that's where most of your bacteria are living, so you want to keep that in there to help you get through the cycle. 🙂 

    • Like 1

    Don’t tell the wife

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I took this original comment as a joke, rather than a marital crisis, but my recent (and last) 95 gallon setup went on our happens-to-be 4 foot antique buffet in the middle of our dining room, and there was no way I could've snuck that beast of a tank into our house alone, so the idea of it being meant literally really didn't cross my mind.  Saying that, it is nice to hear about all the respectful ways people have managed their hobby with less than enthusiastic spouses 🙂 

    In my house we've agreed to no more tanks--at least until I retire (and I'm 34 so I think that's a ways down the road 🙂).  I'm about at what I can comfortably handle with maintenance, which became really clear to me when I had an extra QT tub set up recently...the one extra tank sort of pushed everything into "more work and not so much fun" territory.  

    In the meantime, I keep finding stuff to add to the tanks we have--a plant here, another kind of fish food there, maybe I need a brine shrimp hatchery...etc..  So yesterday, when my husband was home for lunch, he was walking out the door as I said aloud to myself, "Oh, I need to check on..." He said, "What do you need to check on?"  I sorta mumbled "Er...the new mystery snail order."  And he says "Uh huh...I figured it had something to do with fish since you just sorta trailed off there at the end."  Then he smiled and walked out the door (pretty sure he was calculating what kind of metal working tool he could buy for the price of mystery snails 😉)

    • Haha 1

    Delayed Fish Shipment--What to Expect

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thought I'd do a quick update while I'm thinking about it--I was just watching one of the hillstreams come out for repashy time and it made me think of the waiting!  I ended up losing 1 Hillstream and the skinniest Dwarf Chain loach during quarantine.  Everyone else went through great--no issues and they've been in the big display tank now for a couple weeks and seem to be really enjoying themselves.  So all told, I ended up with 3 Hillstreams and 10 chain loaches out of my order of 4 Hillstreams and 12 Dwarf Chains.  I'm super impressed how well they actually made it through after SO LONG in the VERY COLD mail!

    I'm really liking the dwarf chain loaches--I used to have ramshorn and bladder snails all over, and now I still have a fair number of ramshorns, but almost all the bladder snails are gone (in this tank...still plenty left in other ones), and the ramshorns stay off the glass--I think they know they're easy pickings for the pack of chain loaches if they venture out too much.  I think it's a win-win!

     

    SURPRISE! Corydora Fry?

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    On 3/7/2021 at 5:21 AM, Brian said:

    Congratulations.    Keep us updated 

    Thanks and Good Luck 

    So, thought I'd do some updates--the fry are doing really well.  I only spot the smallest one every now and then--usually cleaning out holes on the sponge filter.  The larger one has done great and is almost the size of my cory habrosus.  No new ones showing up, but it's been really exciting and fun to have these two!

    • Like 1

    adding new fish to my 20G high, new aquarium

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I think that's pretty typical--you'd have super duper low levels even if any's in there, so maybe not the cause of your bubbles.  Cycling is always a little bit of a different time in tanks though, so I wouldn't be surprised if it just has something to do with that.  It doesn't sound real worrisome to me, and if the bubbles are still around when you're ready to start adding fish, you can look into it some more.  

    Looking back to your original question too, I'd add my favorite first-time fish for a 20 gallon...longfin white clouds!  They are crazy super hardy.  They do prefer cooler water than some other fish, but they're pretty awesome 🙂 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
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