Odd Duck

@Duke Silver He is looking a bit more fleshed out already! Nice work!

Quite frankly, she’s headed for catastrophe. I think you already know this or you wouldn’t be posting. How you approach her is obviously the tricky part. Keep urging her to join here. This is by far the sanest, kindest group I’ve found. Sending her fish profile info is a great choice. This will help her make her own decisions and then make smarter choices once she learns more. I’m not sure what else you can do without risking your friendship. How close are you? Seems like you feel it’s pretty delicate? There are friends that I can be blunt with and others that I have to be very delicate with how I explain. You’ll have to make that call on how you handle it, but seems like you’re doing it very gently so far.

Since I moved a group of 6 bronzes (Corydoras aeneus) to my 100 gallon, I don’t think the eggs are getting eaten but I have no idea if any fry are surviving. I haven’t seen a baby yet and I do periodically see them in my other bronze cory tank that has around a dozen or so in a 29 (they’re *supposed* be going to my lfs soon). I also have a singleton yoyo loach in with this group and still have the occasional baby randomly appear. I sure the eggs were fairly frequently getting eaten (witnessed) when I had a bunch temporarily in a 20 high holding tank and I’m reasonably sure the fry were also getting eaten. Too many adults in too small a space despite it being *loaded* with plants and driftwood. The 100 is very densely planted and has a low fish population so far since it’s *new*. I keep expecting to see fry, but none so far. Admittedly, I’m mostly viewing from across the room, not as often from up close. I only have a few small plecos in the 100 with the corys at the moment. Bristlenose morphs x 3 juvies, adult clown pleco (I’m assuming it’s still in there, haven’t seen it in weeks, unknown L#), and a young adult gold nugget (not certain which species of nugget, I *think* L018). It’s been forever since I had corys in the bad old days (I dropped out of fishkeeping for around 10 years and only fairly recently restarted) and I don’t think I ever had a significant group of the same species back then. I don’t recall ever seeing a cory breeding back then.

@benchilton Cultures are ready whenever you are. I’m in North Richland Hills. What part of DFW for you?

Well so am I and I have cultures of both! My microworms are neglected and sad right now, but I can fix that quickly. I was already planning to do that today, just got overcome by an attack of lazy. Vinegar eels are easiest to harvest from a bottle with a fairly long, narrow neck like a beer or wine bottle. I used one soy sauce bottle, the empty apple cider vinegar bottle, and a fruit fly culture deli cup. I’ll just dump a bunch into an empty water bottle for you for transport. And I’ll start a fresh microworm culture for you right now. I also have white worm cultures ready to go. Any interest in one?

@Colujust searched again and it popped right up with the prazi and metro! Thanks, google, for nothing! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ Still going to stick by levamisole, though, since prazi is for tapes and flukes. These look far more likely to be a nematode/roundworm type.

@Colu hmm. That wasn’t what I saw with a search. I had thought it was prazi, but that didn’t come up when I searched. Still, prazi isn’t likely to get the type of worms I can see under the skin of these green neons. Levamisole would be more likely to work on these,

@Steve AYes, if you’re over there close enough. They are very helpful and also have fish but don’t post the fish stock on line.

Paracleanse and CyroPro are not going to get that type of parasite. You need levamisole. Paracleanse is just herbal extracts and CyroPro only triggers slime coat production, which would help protect existing wounds but neither will kill the parasites. Those are worms that are visible under the surface layer of the skin. Levamisole is taken internally and should kill that type of worm. It will take time for the fishes immune system to clear them once the worms are killed, plus there can be worms in different life stages within the fishes tissues, which is why you need multiple rounds of dosing to be fully effective. Just imagine lesions like those surface blisters inside a tiny fish liver or kidney! It’s no wonder they’re feeling crummy! You may see open wounds as they heal but the blisters should go away about the time the second dose of levamisole is due, then any remaining wounds should be healing at about the time the third dose is due. At least as long as there isn’t a secondary skin infection, which is where the Maracyn may be useful. I hate to contradict anybody, but you need to kill those worms as your best, first step. Then monitor for any worsening of lesions which might indicate the need for Maracyn. Don’t be surprised if blisters turn to ulcers between 7-14 days. Make certain your water is pristine and the skin lesions should heal and may, or mat not, need any other treatment.

@ChemBob I will sometimes see some that turn an opaque white and are kind of puffy to very slightly fuzzy looking. Those are bad. The good ones are smooth and slightly translucent looking but will also look like they have *something* inside them but I’ve never magnified them enough to see tiny fishy eyeballs. It usually takes 2-3 days for them to hatch depending on your water temp (warmer is faster). I don’t usually see babies until they are at least a couple weeks old. When they were hatching in a small, freshly planted tank with no other fish (hitchhiked in on plants transferred from the plant/cory holding tank), I noticed them sooner, between 5-8 days after hatching. Current tank arrangement means 2-3 weeks old before I spot them. The spot where the eggs were laid will look almost the same if a fish eats them or they hatch. There will be traces of *shell* left where they were laid. These wipe away pretty easily. These spots will be variably visible depending on light and viewing angle. I can’t visibly tell the difference if they hatched or were eaten.

@benchilton Where are you? Maybe there will be someone that has some that is close and will notice this. You never know!

Maybe, very hard to see.

They do look suspicious for tumors, but could also be granulomas (like an abscess but very thick material instead of runny material). Sometimes granulomas need to be opened and cleaned, and tumors can potentially be surgically removed. Not many vets will see fish (only about 1% or less), but it might be worth a try.

Maybe it’s just the way the light is hitting, but some of those nodules/blisters look like they might have a tiny worm inside them. I would try some levamisole at 2 mg per liter. Treat once weekly for 3 weeks in a row, then skip a week and treat once more. To treat, do a 50% water change and removing as much detritus is possible, turn the lights out and make the tank as dark as possible (can treat after lights out), add the meds. Wait 24 hours, then do another 50% water change removing detritus again. If your fish got some parasites, it can weaken their immune system and make them more vulnerable to secondary bacterial infection at the site of the parasites and just in general. If you can clear the worms (and they can get under the skin like this), then the bacterial infection should clear more easily.

@benchiltonDo you have any local fish club members or lfs that might have some? Local Band that might have some for sale?

@benchilton Do you have vinegar eels and microworms? I got cultures of both thinking I’d have baby pea puffers to feed (not even close, yet). I find them both very easy to culture, especially the vinegar eels. I’ll attach a little chart I made when I was researching sizes of different live foods that I thought I might need for baby pea puffers.

Yes, that’s about 15 gallons.

I’m ordering stuff today, lol! I may have to get more river rocks. I’ve got several, but not sure it’s enough until I pile them up and see how it looks. I’ve got plenty of other rocks, but they have more texture and I’m not sure I want to use too much texture with these goofy Jacks. They’re pretty, but they aren’t really very smart for large cichlids. I don’t have enough space to do the full length of the back (I have a couple big HOB’s on that tank), but had already ordered 2 shower caddies to hold pothos plants, so I’ll drill out some bigger holes in the bottom of those, put egg crate over top of them (already have some), and they should be as braced as I can make them. I’ll only have room for 10 bamboo, I think. I’m also thinking I’ll do some small pots for the roots of the bamboo (and pile the rock around and on top). I’m also going to try some larger pots about half full of dirt capped with sand substrate for some jungle Val. Then I’ll pile up smaller rocks (too big for ingesting) on top of the substrate in all the pots. The Val will have to force its way up through the rocks, but it should protect the base/roots. I’ll have to start those in another tank or they’ll rip them loose even with rocks piled up around them. Once the Val is growing, it will go in the 75 with the crazy Jacks. I think the effect will be pretty cool. I’ve been hating the way that tank looks with the fake plants, but hadn’t come up with a better solution for getting live plants in there except for the pothos idea. But I think I can do that, too, along with the bamboo and, I hope, the jungle Val. I’ll let the pothos trail down the back of the tank to help limit algae inside the tank. I don’t have any backer on that tank, so the marble pothos trailing down should be pretty with the light coming through it. Might even have to feed those snails a bit more since I’m actually going to clean the back glass (What?). 😆 Thanks for spawning the idea! Between bamboo, pothos, and maybe Val, it should balance nicely, I think.

The recommendations is 15 gallon but I think a 20 long would be a great size if you’re going to buy a tank, they’re an easier size to find in the US, and cost less since they’re more common. A 15 gallon is comparable to a 60 liter, which I’ve read is easy to find in the UK.

Try ordering from A-Z Aquatics for local Saturday delivery anywhere in the metroplex for a small fee. She has somewhat limited selection compared to larger stores, but great prices. They also ship for very reasonable prices, but then you have the risk of severe heat exposure. The local delivery on Saturdays is the best if you can be available on Saturdays. I’ve put in an order late on Friday evening and still gotten it the next day. They keep up with their stock list pretty well. And it’s Odd Duck, not Old Duck, but Old Duck works, too! 😆 😉

Co-op’s nano. If you leave to top off, it’s only about 4” tall. Also attached pics of it in my 2.1 cube (also shows the prefilter sponge on a nano HOB), and in 2 different 6G cubes (both have 10G HOB’s, too). Last pic it’s hidden completely behind the petrified wood.

@SWilson I don’t have large enough puffers to need teeth filed, but I’ve filed a lot of teeth on rabbits and Guinea pigs (they also have continually growing teeth) and beaks on birds. If you wait too long to file after noticing an issue, you increased stress and thereby can trigger immune suppression for the animal. I don’t know if it happens on puffers, but overgrown teeth on mammals and birds can cause mandibular joint issues, push teeth (or beak) out of alignment within the jaw, and eventually increase the need for trimming. Trimming and adjusting alignment in a timely manner can actually spread out the time between needed trimming. I hope someone speaks up that has experience specific to puffers, since I’m inferring from experience with other species plus knowledge of anatomy and physiology in general.

@KentFishFanUK If the singleton didn’t spend so much time hiding, I would say that he’s otherwise fat and happy. But hiding 90% of the time is not a happy fish, to me, unless you’re a clown pleco and it’s your life goal. The chasing is male to each female, but more against one than the other, and between the females, mostly against the odd one out even though the male and the less chased female aren’t acting like an actual pair. I hope that will settle once it’s a balanced shoal. I will keep the rest of the puffers for at least a little while after I introduce the selected group. That way if the cranky old fart is too much of a bad actor, I will pull him, give him his luxury planted 6G, and pick another male to join the shoal. If I don’t see the “normal” behavior I hope for, I will set up the 29G for the shoal to go in, maybe plus the “leftovers” depending on the ratio they end up being. I may still return the extras to the lfs and try for a more normal mixed community in the 29 since that mix seems to get the most normal overall behavior from the puffers from what I’ve read and watching videos others have posts on line. The puffers seem to need a larger group of fish around to not be obnoxious and borderline dangerous, and my impression is that they don’t all need to be puffers as long as there are enough puffers around that one won’t get singled out. People that have posted on the Facebook forums that have a full shoal in a community report that they mostly seem to ignore the other fish and the males will establish territories and the females will somewhat hang out together until a pairing happens. The care guides linked to the Facebook group Pea Puffer Enthusiasts Worldwide are the most logical I’ve found and are based on studies and experience of the team of writers. Some of the recommendations out there appear pretty random. My personal observations over the last several months match up well with the care guides.

@dasaltemelosguy I like the look of your stock in the “bamboo forest”. Very soothing colors and gives a very tranquil look. I wonder what my Jack Dempsey pair would think about this? Gomez and Morticia have uprooted everything else I’ve tried to plant no matter how many rocks I pile around the roots. But if the canes are held top *and* bottom (I’ve got bigger rocks I can use, but they wouldn’t work for the smaller plants I had). Hmmm. This may be next week’s big project. If I used the big rocks and an otherwise bare bottom, it would still be very cleanable with help from a turkey baster fastened to the siphon to blast debris out of the rocks. Now if I could just get them to leave alone some jungle Val in pots with rocks packed around the base of the plants.

@Karen B. It’s probably safer to move eggs than fresh hatched fry. I’ve seen videos of people using old gift/credit cards to gently scrape the eggs off the glass. You’ll miss some if they’ve laid some on the plants, but if you have enough plants, you may still get babies growing up in the tank. I’ve had enough plants in my tanks with cories that the population has only very slowly increased and I haven’t made any effort to move eggs away from the adults.