CalmedByFish
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Posts posted by CalmedByFish
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Sorry about your fish. The pond is super cute.
With 1 ammonia, but 0 nitrite and nitrate, it makes me wonder if the bacteria was up for the challenge. But that's just a guess. Maybe, if you try again, add bacteria at the same that you add fish, even if you also added some beforehand.
I know Cory put out at least one video on summer tubs. You could probably search the word on the YouTube channel and easily find it. Might help.
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1 hour ago, Guppysnail said:
@Guppysnail Interesting. If I break that down into action I need to take, it sounds like I simply need to make certain I don't overfeed. Is that correct?
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@Sandyjo, no worries. You did help previously in the thread! You got me on the right track. Thank you.
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20 hours ago, Sandyjo said:
I have 6 dwarf gourami and some platys
I've narrowed down my next fish purchase to honey gouramis or platies. (Been researching for weeks.) Since you have dwarf gouramis and platies in the same tank, do you have a feel for which species would be better at dealing with an ornery angelfish?
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Situation:
55 gallon. Lightly planted. 1 angelfish. 3 species of snails (MTS, ramshorn, bladder).
8 days ago, the water was suddenly cloudy. Parameters: Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10-30. I kept feeding the angel, but stopped feeding the snails.
4 days ago, the water was still cloudy, so I also stopped feeding the angel.
This morning, I woke up to clear water... and the first hydra and hair algae I've ever seen.
Most of the plants were purchased just days to weeks before the cloudiness started. I assume the hydra and hair algae rode in on them.
I've read/watched the links below, but still have questions.
The main thing I don't understand is what the hydra is eating. I've never put live foods in the tank, and hadn't fed the tank at all for 4 days before finding the hydra. How is it even alive?
I think I'll be able to ditch the hair algae by figuring out how to balance my light and ferts for the plants. Right?
If you have suggestions for animals to eat hydra or hair algae, I'm game to research them. (Take into account that the angel is more aggressive than most.)
Thanks for any ideas or insights.
https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/hydra
https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-algae
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6 minutes ago, Goldy said:
Thank you! I’m glad I’m not the only one who is frustrated by otherwise normal fish! I’ve tried so many things without being very focused... I’ll reply if this finally helps the stomach become convex
Yep, right there with you. Out of blazingly obvious necessity, I've had to take an approach with my tanks that if a task seems too demanding, I'm not doing it. That's actually why I'm not going to keep fighting against that one concave belly past a pre-determined amount of work and time. (Not saying you shouldn't.) As with all of life, it can be hard to do things in a way that the benefits outweigh the work.
That said, I do sincerely hope your and my fish become healthy.
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1 hour ago, Sandyjo said:
Definitely some less than an inch long platys survive in my tank (tons of plants and places for them to hide in)...id say right now I have about 10-12 under an inch running around in a 75 gal......but not sure if endlers are more tasty to a gourami 😉
Helpful info! Thank you.
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I'm currently treating for parasites too, just based on one fish whose belly is concave instead of convex. He's behaving and eating normally.
I'm going by the co-op's instructions for ParaCleanse (1 week with med in the water, 2 weeks without, 1 week with). If he's still concave, I'll do it 1 more week, but if 3 weeks doesn't work, and the other fish are fine, I'm going to assume he has a genetic problem.
It's so frustrating to not know what's wrong, and frustrating to not know how to fix it.
For what it's worth, I wonder if there's any harm with just leaving meds in the water for a month. Like each week, do a water change then re-dose the ParaCleanse. The parasites would have med on them for a solid month, and the fish would be in a stable situation instead of having to keep adapting.
That's not advice. Just me trying to make sense of how we can give a lot more stress to the parasites than we do to the fish.
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@H.K.Luterman's example is exactly what happened in my tank. My fish got used to the "old chicken" and showed no signs of stress. Then I introduced something new for the first time, which promptly died, and got me asking questions.
That's when my "feeling a bit stupid" happened, and I started learning a ton. For a couple months, I was having to learn so much, so fast, I swear my brain cramped. Regarding feeling "d'oh," I'm guessing most of us have been there, are there, or have no idea we'll soon be there. You're hardly alone.
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2 hours ago, Sandyjo said:
survive to a safe juvenile size to roam the tank with no fear.
Do you think a safe juvenile size means less than an inch, or is it larger? That would tell me whether they would chomp an adult endler.
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3 hours ago, Sandyjo said:
Yes. I have 6 dwarf gourami and some platys....in there. I figure they will manage guppy fry as I only get a couple platy fry here and there in that tank. Worse case...new tank😉
It's actually super interesting to me that you mention dwarf gouramis and platies eating the fry. I've specifically been researching those 2 species for endler fry. Got any feedback on whether gouramis and/or platies would leave adult endlers alone?
Not to derail the thread, but...
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3 hours ago, Sandyjo said:
I didn't add her to that tank because I knew one female would be pestered. She went in my plant QT tank for now... but my understanding is basically females are pretty much pregnant if w males at all and she was in a tank full of boys sooo.... I will move her to my 75 gallon community
Good plan.
If you want to limit the fry (or end up wanting to), there are quite a few species of fish that can live peacefully with the mom guppy, but slurp down the fry. Maybe you already have some in your 75 gallon community.
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6 hours ago, Rudles said:
I don't have any that are taking off right now but that's alright. I'm cycling right now. I'm hoping that the plants will help finish the cycle.
Yeah, I had the val almost 3 months before it did anything noteworthy. It'll be fun when it finally happens.
And you're right - the plants will probably help the cycle. 🙂
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It's so fun! I love watching to see what plants will "take off" in my tank. (So far, vallisneria is winning.)
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Just making sure. It sounds like you'd still at least have shrimp for cleaning the substrate?
If you have beneficial worms in your tank, it's worth noting that whatever kills planaria and snails would kill the good worms too.
Someone mentioned a fish that eats snails. There's also "assassin snails," which might be an option for you.
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22 hours ago, BigRedd said:
what are your ammonia and Nitrite levels at? I'd imagine if your ammonia and Nitrites aren't spiked, it could be user-test error.
For what it's worth, I once had 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, with nitrates over 100. I guess the bacteria were doing a great job of chewing through the ammonia and nitrite, but the resulting nitrate had no way of leaving the tank. (Life made it impossible to do water changes, and I had no plants at all.)
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I have the same issue. I ended up allowing my current fish to get used to the pH instead of "chasing" an ideal pH, and any new species will have to be ones that are fine with a high pH. As for hardness, I stick with animals and plants that are okay with it. (Livebearers definitely are.) Maybe it's both worth it to you, and possible for you, to change your water. But just adapting to it is probably far less work.
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All I can contribute to the above is that certain snails are very effective at cleaning the bottom. They can do a wide range of temps too.
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I pay attention to how they net the fish out of the tanks. I've seen people smash them against the glass, or ignore that a long fin is caught in one of the net's holes, etc.
Along with having knowledgeable and helpful staff, they also need to not be the "fish police." Refusing to sell a certain fish to a customer is really walking a fine line between responsible and arrogant.
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2 hours ago, Tanked said:
I test under daylight lighting, holding the vial directly against the color chart. When read thru the vial, the color bar closest to disappearing is the correct reading.
Clever. I'll try that. The API color charts are so frustrating!
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I have a dwarf red lily - but it's more bronze than red. It's low light and easy.
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1 hour ago, TMartins said:
I want Cardinal Tetras but the owner advised against it because of the Bolivian Ram will eat any slim shaped fish but everything I’ve read online suggests otherwise.
I'm not familiar with either species, but aren't tetras much faster than rams? If so, the shape would be irrelevant.
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@SandyjoHe's so shiny!
@Beardedbillygoat1975Just this morning, I was reading someone's opinion that different species of gourami couldn't live in the same tank, then saw a video of at least 3 species, plus 2 male bettas, all calmly eating together. 😂 And now here's your picture! Are they a sunset and powder blue? Do they get along?
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I don't know if this will help, but did you notice how they behaved when they were together at the store?
Regarding Cory's plant comment. Maybe you could stick some fake plants in to break the fishes' line of site while the real plants grow.
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Do fish travel far?
in General Discussion
Posted
It probably depends on the species. Interesting question.
I've always thought that if fish can do well in a pond, they probably don't need a ton of variety in their environment.
If they traveled, say, a mile in a stream or river, it would probably look and feel similar through the whole mile.
I'll be interested in others' answers.