GoldenGardner

Great idea. Thank you. I'll do that. It's so fun to watch them grow!

HI All! Our main tank is doing really well, due to all the tips I've received on here. Thank you for that! I ended up getting a second tank on Sunday for a our guppy fry, because our female guppy had babies! YAY! It was very exciting. I didn't like them separated in a breeding tank in the main tank so I took 5 gallons of water from the main tank and put it in the new 5 gallon tank. I also had a large filter in the main tank just to get good bacteria on it and moved it to 5 gallon one. It's way too big for that one, but it's got all the good bacteria on it. I bought a small filter from Aquarium Coop on Sunday but forgot to buy tubing so I just threw it in the main tank so that it could start getting some good bacteria on it. I'm going to move it to the 5 gallon tank after I get tubing and let it run in the main one for a bit. There's also a snail in the 5 gallon. I have been reading a little bit about having guppy fry and what I've read is: - do frequent water changes - give them a variety of food. (I'm giving them Aquarium Coop's Fry food, and crushed up flake food.) I also picked up crushed coral to put in the tank. - Feed them often (I've been doing 3-4 times a day.) I've not done a water change yet, it's Wednesday, they've been in there since Sunday. I imagine I should do one today, any tips on doing one with the tiny fry in there? I'm concerned I will suck them up with the vacuum hose. On top of it our bathroom which is right next to this is being remodeled so I need to plug into a faucet that is much farther away, so I'm concerned about the delay in yelling to turn the water off or whatever. I've included tips of our new 5 gallon tank, and our main tank. Any tips? How often is frequent?

I'm sorry your plant died in shipping. That's disappointing. I have ordered from Aquarium Coop for meds and a filter, but nothing live. We live about 40 minutes away. I have however been to their store in Edmonds, and I think the customer service is outstanding. I was really nervous about going with my 3 kids in tow and I emailed their generic email and got a response super quickly that it would be ok, and how they were allowing people in with Covid restrictions. It was great. It was great, I went back this weekend with my husband too, so that he could see the store, and we were helped by the same person who was so nice. I'd give them another go if I were you.

Cleaned my tank. My female guppy definitely looks pregnant now, so I put the stone cave thing in there to give more hiding spots. I am liking the way it looks!

Here they are and here is my QT! My neighbor was super nice and said he has 4 tanks. He said he will also have some molly's at some point too.

I am going to be setting up my quarantine tank for NEW FISH today. Here is what I have: - Container (I have a container that will hold 5 gallons and it leaves about 2 inches to the top.) - Heater - Filter with a sponge that's in my current tank. - Whisper Tetra air pump. I am planning on doing a water change today, so I'll take the water from my current tank and put it in the QT tank. I will take out the sponge from the big tank and put it in the QT tank. I will not be putting any plants or decoration in the QT tank. I have ParaCleanse, Maracyn, and Ich-X on hand. I'll start the treatment right away. For the Ich-X it says to change 1/3 of the water prior to adding it and to continue treating every 24 hours. Now, if they are brand new fish and I'm doing the Quarantine Trio then do I need to change 1/3 of the water every 24 hours? The reason I ask is because the Maracyn says to treat for 5 days and then to change 25% of the water on day 6. Then the ParaCleanse says to treat the fish for 5 days and on day Day 5 do a 25% water change. So if I followed the directions for all three, it would be a 1/3 water change daily, a 25% water change on Day 5 and then again on Day 6. So... What do I do? I was going to wait to buy more fish, but someone posted in our in neighborhood group asked if anyone had a community tank and has 3-5 guppies he can give me! He said they have really interesting colorations too. So I'm going to pick those up later today. How long do I need to quarantine them for? A month? 2 weeks?

I released her, I think *hope* it was just poop. Nothing looked like it had eyes.

Did she just have babies?? Whatever it is, it is not moving. I went to show my husband that she was pregnant and stuff started dropping.

The spongefilter is! I have learned that much. I bought the green filter/sponge thing from the Coop and was going to just put it in my tank to let it soak up the goodness, but then one of the neon tetra's got sucked into the filter intake of my hang on back filter, so I took the sponge, sewed up the bottom and stuck in on the intake of the hang on back filter. I also ordered some other sponge to do that with that is not so big. I am nervous I won't get the female scooped into the breeder box at the right moment. I hope that it's terribly obvious that she's about to give birth.

I have been working on getting everything I need for a quarantine tank. Tank (Tub with lid and holes drilled in the lid) Water Heater ( I have an extra thanks to Petco's return policy.) Sponge Filter from Aquarium Coop Airstone? Do I need a light for tank? I have been looking at people's post discussing the QT tank and the focus seems to be on the filter and there's not mention of the light. Perhaps this is because it's just assumed that any idiot would know it needs a light, but let's say this one doesn't know. Do I need a light? I have a female guppy that today is Day 21 of having her in the same tank as a male guppy. According to the interwebs she should be close to giving birth, although this may be delayed due to my tank not originally being cycled when I put them in. However she does seem to have a dark Gravid spot. I do have a breeding box I can add to my tank, but I read that I could also put the fry in a QT tank to ensure that they survive. I'm also wondering if I can have my QT Tank upstairs in my son's room. This would require putting the fry into a container to transport them upstairs from the maintank. Or is this a bad idea?

You're right. I think I just got excited at the idea that I would "need" to leave the house. I'll wait a couple of more weeks and maybe go the week my kids are on break for a week. This also gives me time to set up my quarantine tank.

Well, I think my tank is fully cycled! According to my NH3 test, there's no ammonia and we've had no loss since Friday. I've gone from daily water changes to every other day and everyone seems to be doing fine. I have added 7 plants into the tank and with the exception of the dwarf grass it all looks fine. (I think I'll replace the grass, when I get more fish.) If you remember, I started my tank on January 13th, then added fish on January 16th, and did not actually know anything about aquariums. On the 16th we added 14 fish and one snail. We now have 6 fish and one snail. It's a 29 gallon tank, so plenty of room to add more. I have 2 guppies, that should breed so I don't want to add them. I want to start with more Cory Catfish since we have been left with one. Then more neon tetra's. I would like to go to Aquarium Coop to get the fish. My question to you is, should I wait until it's been a full month before adding more fish in or can I go this weekend? Do I need to quarantine them if I get them from Aquarium Coop? Anne

Your tanks look great! I love Vashon, we go often to visit Sealth.

I added some petrified wood to my tank that I had lying around. Looks really cool in there. After 18 days of having added the fish everyone that still remains is looking healthy and happy. There are now three neon tetras, one Cory Catfish, 2 Guppies (male&female) and a mystery snail. I am hoping the guppies mate so we get more naturally. Is it possible they wouldn't mate?

I was just looking on here to see if I could add petrified wood to my aquarium! I realized that I have several pieces so I'm so glad I found this post! Should I boil them before adding them?

Well, everything is going ok today. I turned the temp up yesterday to 78, I read somewhere that 78 was a better temp. We still have the remaining 6 fish and mystery snail. Everyone seems to be in good spirits. I was a bit concerned that one of the Neon Tetra's early on got sucked into the filter system. So today before I did the water change I turned the filter off, and opened it up. Although it certainly looked dirty it also looked fine. No fish parts inside. I was really grateful for that. I did a 25% water change and then primed the pump. Fed the fish and everyone went for the food as soon as I put it in. Today is Day 15 of having added the fish. I should get the levamisole on Monday. I also ordered a second filter for a quarantine tank, which I will add to the tank as soon as I get it, and then before I get any new fish I'll quarantine them first. The water tests don't really show any movement, but the fish are looking good today.

After further research I decided to temporarily put some panty hose/tights on the intake valve until we get a sponge that I can cover it with.

Well it's been a rough 24 hours. The first guppy died, yesterday and then the one pictured above was found dead on the rocks this morning. That circled spot seemed to be decomposing quickly. Then one of our neon tetra's got sucked into the intake. I got him released but he was in very very bad shape. Ugh.... It's officially 2 weeks since I added fish to the tank, started with 14 fish, and now have 6.

I think another one is sick. This one seems to have a large clear scaly patch on the side. She's swimming towards the top of the tank. I got her to move locations and she went right back to the same location. We're down to 3 guppies.... 😞

I ordered the med trio and an extra Co-op Sponge filter and I'll throw that in my tank when I get it. We'd like to get more fish once the tank cycles so we'll be all set when we can.

Great video and explanation! Should I get an extra filter that I keep in my current tank for when I do need to quarantine fish?

Oh great thank you! I don't have a ton of room but I don't want a bunch of diseased fish getting added to my tank.

I took her out for good. I think she was stressing out the other fish too. One of them was just swimming near her while she lay sideways on the rocks. I figured that if it is Liverbearer disease I would need to treat the tank regardless. I was told that I shouldn't get any more fish for 2 months while my tank is cycling so if I treat the tank then by the time that it's ready for more fish it can also be treated. I do need to look into a quarantine tank if that's what I need to have for adding more fish. I don't love the idea of having another tank but it seems necessary.

I put her back in the tank. I was concerned that without an aerator in it she would consume all the oxygen.