xXInkedPhoenixX

***DEAD FISHY PICS DON'T CLICK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE*** OTOCINCLUS COCAMA (TIGER): The Cocama Hotel ( @Odd Duck @Colu, little help here please if you would) Well, I thought, 6 days having past -and 2nd dose (and 2nd round) of Kanaplex in I hadn't lost an Oto and they LOOK good- that I was out of the woods. Sadly this afternoon I found one of them gone. So I'm down to 7 of 10. Uggh. So frustrating. Tomorrow is water change day and would have been Kanaplex Dose 3, should I go ahead with that? Or do I need to try something else. There has been no evidence of them eating the commercial foods I leave out for them (I clean up every day). But they seem to be surface munching the cucumber I leave for them as well as surfaces. They aren't as round as I'd like but their bellies aren't sunken and they move around and seem to swim normally. The water is kept in the 75-76 degree range helped by a heater and Pymeter which I don't normally do but it is my coldest tank since it's near a sliding door. There has been no Ammonia and it has strip and chemical tested well with 0 of the bad stuff and low on the Nitrates. However, when I pulled this last one it was pretty well red and pink in areas and it's belly was deflated. I'd checked the tank in the morning and wasn't able to get a full count but would have seen it if it were where it was when I discovered it this afternoon. There's no telling for sure when it died. Sometimes I wonder if it changes color after it passed because I don't see a lot of that before death. Still had decent coloring. The others are nice and dark and I just am not seeing the red that I'm seeing once they die. I'm at a loss. I feel it's not bacterial as we've got IAL, Salt and Kanaplex in the water. Should I switch back to parasitic or another antibiotic that will hit a different spectrum?

Welcome to the social fray of the forum!

Yes @yassy it's especially simple if you keep a gallon jug prepped for the 3 gallon QT. It will last 2-3 days depending how aggressive you get with the water changes and once you use that you just refill and repeat! The gallon jug will be ready, treated and the same temp as the QT water (provided no heater being used ) when it's stored nearby. 🙃

@yassy It's easy. I just do a 5 to 6 cup water change after using a baster or coral feeder to suck up any left over food or waste. It really makes a difference. I have had an ammonia spike that killed the 1 and only fish in the QT with a full size sponge filter in only 3 days of spot cleaning only. Small tanks can spike fast. I will from this point forward do small water changes every. single. day. It takes very little time and so worth it compared to the alternative.

I have 1 2 and 3 gallon QTs which are Petco's Imagitarium "temporary holding habitats". I've done all of them as QTs but let me tell you this. I'd HIGHLY recommend small daily water changes on a 3 or smaller. Trust me. I learned this the hard way. Once you start doing it, it takes only minutes and it gives you a chance to check in on the fish.

I have 1 cat who couldn't possibly care less about the tanks, as far as he's concerned they don't exist- if they do they just take up his space. My other cat only occassionally checks things out but quickly gets bored- as he is more interested in feathered animals- all of those must die. Don't worry, they are both indoor cats. However, my house is very much flying bug free.

Hi @Alex Burgess welcome to the forum. I'll let others pipe in about fertilizers but I can tell you this: you can have healthy, growing plants with no fertilizers at all when you choose "easy grow" plant types like anubias, java ferns- I've also had luck with ludwigia super red (not as red as fertilized or co2 tanks but still pretty), bacopa caroliniana, red needle leaf, guppy grass, duckweed, amazon swords and there are plenty of others to try!

Haha, ok I gotcha!

I have nothing against paper, I still handwrite my bank account stuff and I have my own method- but any reason why you don't want to use an app?

You did mention you didn't want a "special warmer tank". Bettas, in order to be their healthiest require water temps from 80-82. Something to keep in mind.

You're probably looking for something a lot longer but sugar packet organizers (glass) and drawer organizers (usually plastic and lots of sizes) come to mind.

So boiling is my choice of sanitation with a lot of things of course there are times I understand some of those things aren't going to take it well. What I usually do is boil the water first then take it off the heat- THAT is when I put the items in the pot and leave it there until the water is cool enough for me to pull the items out. Often after that they are either completely air dried- or put to immediate use- if air drying when is sun available that is where they sit- in the light.

Could be any time, they can carry the sperm for an incredible length. They lay outside the water. The eggs need humidity but they do not go under water. You may see her on the lid or if you have the water an inch or 2 below the rim there- she'll groom the glass or surface then lay usually large clutches. I've had a few occassions they were very small. Female laying on lid: : View of eggs from outside glass lid: Eggs from inside lid: As you can see they lay hundreds. So if you plan on letting them hatch be prepared with some sort of large grow out tank AND somewhere to rehome them later (like a LFS IF they will take them). If not, you can remove the sacks.

You are correct. They could stay that way for hours more too.

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The 3 Gallon QT Been a while since I updated about the remaining 3 Otos that are still with me. They are going to be released into the Parent Tank I've decided this coming week. Originally I was going to put them in the Accidental Tank but since the move for the Harlequins has worked out very well I'm thinking about even adding Otos from the Accidental tank (including the Cocama) to the Parent Tank. Maybe even moving ALL of them there, a bit at a time of course. Then the 10 gallon Accidental Tank can then be what it was meant to be in the first place- a grow out! The big beautiful female stayed with me and is healthy and active along with her 2 other smaller tankmates (1 not pictured below and not the best pic as this is taken from above while the sponge filter moves the water). I already run 2 sponge driven filters in the Parent Tank but once I start adding more Otos I have a spare HOB (NIB) that I will also utilize for them. Maybe the sheer volume of Otos in one tank will spur the spawning provided I can keep that tank stable. It's my oldest and most stable tank with some very good plant life and plenty of various Amazon for them to lay eggs under. Here's hoping! Future plans!

ok 👍 I just didn't want a hurt froggie.

@Odd Duck yeah.....we know other cultures definitely have bugs in their diet and if we're being honest they are a good source of nutrients- likely have no qualms about it if I'd grown up in that atmosphere but even the thought of using cricket flour makes me 🤢

Well still rather that than the other implication. Vomit implies something negative, they're just storing it and regurgitating it for us. Like a mother bird! 😄 Oh guaranteed we saw some animal trying it before we did most of the time but there are some questionable things I'm not sure even animals have touched. I think of bears with the honey thing every time.

Did someone recommend using Pimafix on frogs that has experience with it? If not I'd probably recommend against using it- it's never helped anything I've ever used it for and could be toxic for the frog, as previously stated they are much more sensitive to medication than our fish friends are. (Melafix hasn't done any good either) I'd highly recommend Indian Almond Leaves though (Catappa). (both are herbal remedies but even those can be toxic)

Yes @Brandon p I was totally fascinated by the honey found in they pyramids when I was a kid, let alone the mummification process (I totally want to be mummified when I die). It is funny what humans have tried to eat, you always have to think, who started that?? But what some friends of mine often refer to as "bee spit" is a much more palatable concept than "chicken periods" IMO 🙃

@Brandon p that's very interesting information thanks! I hope to keep a hobby hive at some point in my life (likely after retirement) for now I buy my honey from a beekeeping shop in 4lb jars (I'd buy bigger but they don't sell bigger- though I can bring a jar and they'd fill it from a tap and charge me by weight). Usually before the end of the jar I'm having to set it in hot water to decrystalize it. But that brings a question to mind. Is that the best way to do it?

I have lots and lots of Java both narrow leaf and windelov and I love this stuff. I run low tech and don't fertilize anything (in my world that's what fish poop is for haha jk) and so my java sometimes goes through some ugly phases but honestly it's not that often especially after it's settled in my tanks for a whle. I wouldn't worry about it too much, as @Patrick_G says it's pretty hard to kill. 🙃 That's why it's always listed under easy plants.

So, some of you may already know this and I did to an extent just didn't know to WHAT extent. Sugar crystalizes right? I've seen Honey do it plenty as I use it regularly. I have my pure maple syrup shipped in from a farm in Vermont (because, why not? that's where you get maple syrup RIGHT?!). I had made waffles weeks ago and keep my gallon jug in the fridge, but I use a little handmade pottery vessel that holds a little bit at a time. I usually use the syrup before the end of my weekend but I hadn't then and it was only protected by plastic wrap. As I said it was weeks before I felt like waffles again and..... I mean...those are some pretty crystals and they are NOT small. Nature is pretty awesome.

Find yet another hobby! One that wears you out enough that when you're done you can sit in front of your tanks with a cold drink and enjoy the show.

Hi. This is an "it depends" answer. If the water you use is really acidic naturally it will be eating away at the coral much more often (this is the chemical reaction that lowers your acidity and raises kh/ph). I put some coral in the substrate of my original tank and it's been in there over a year with stable kh/ph readings. When you put it in a filter it may wear down faster. So I would say personally the rule of thumb would be when you start to see fluctuations or if you do a complete cleaning of your filter you could replace it- but it certainly does NOT need to be replaced often.