Nataku

The guppy and the pleco are still in the tank, both are alive and fine. No red gills on the guppy. I can't honestly see on the pleco, he's a shy little thing. But he's still scooting around behind the driftwood in the back of the tank so I gotta figure he's fine. It was just the cardinal tetras and the angelfish. I did not see any red gills on the angels or the cardinals. Which you would think if they were in distress they would have. I did look at them after they died, they did not have red gills. I also did not see any open wounds or missing/raised scales or swollen eyes or lumps or split/red streak fins. Now, the caveat on the fins is that most of the angels were black angels so I couldn't see any color changes in the fins. So, if there were blood streaks, I couldn't see them. Had a couple lighter blue marbles, I did not see any red streaks on any of their fins. I was expecting to find at least some physical damage to a few angels given there has been breeding activity in the tank by several pairs, which try (and fail) to chase off other fish from their eggs. But I didn't even see any physical damage, which I know angels are well capable of doing to each other, as I've had other angels rip pieces out of each other in fights. I am perplexed by this. It seems like it should be a lack of oxygen or some other parameter issue that would kill this quickly. But I can't identify what, if any, parameters are incorrect. But if its an incorrect parameter, wouldn't that have also killed the guppy and the pleco? This tank has been fed Hikari vibra bites, from a bag that is less than three months old, frozen blood worms, frozen mysis shrimp (both packets less than three weeks old) fluval bug bites (about a month old) and Hikari algae wafers (for the pleco, bag less than four months old). So I don't think the food could be a culprit, especially given that all of those foods are fed to various other tanks and I have experienced no losses in any other tanks.

Can anyone help me ascertain why this tank suddenly crashed on me? This is a 54 gallon corner aquarium, dirt capped with BDBS that has been set up and running a bit over three years. It is well planted with jungle valisneria, an amazon sword, a dozen or so java fern, a floating mass of hornwort that covers about half the tank that I pull handfuls of out every week during tank maintenence, and ever present duckweed I've never been able to get rid of. I net a fair bit of that out every week too. It has two sponge filters and a hydor canister filter, and an eight inch airstone bar, so I can't see lack of oxygen being an issue. Tanks stock was originally just six cardinal tetras, a clown pleco and some spare male guppies along with ramshorn and malaysian trumpet snails, and a single nerite. For the past year it has been stocked with 17 young angelfish that I have been growing out from dime size - they were about two inches in body height at the time of the crash, and had spawned several times in the tank, although the eggs had been eaten shortly thereafter each time. The angels were being grown out in the smaller tank with the plans to move them up to my 220 gallon once they reached a good size - I had been planning on moving them at the end of August. The angels, as they grew, ate all but one of the guppies, whom they could never quite catch. These were males that hadn't made the cut for best breeding stock anyhow, so I wasn't concerned that the angels had extra protein snacks. However they left the cardinals alone. Two days before last week's water change - I added three anubias which I had purchased online after giving them a hydrogen peroxide dip and then rinsing them. This is the only addition to this tank I have made in a year. I do weekly water changes of 40-50%, and test every week or other week at the time of water changes as well. Tank parameters at last week's water change were Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5 pH 7.8 Temp 82F TDS 345 and kH 5 (no gH test, haven't got one) These have been the normal parameters this tank has been testing at for well more than a year. Its been very stable with only the TDS ever really shifting. Last week two days after the water change, I noticed a dead cardinal tetra stuck in the hornwort and a spawn of angel eggs laid on one of the valisneria in the morning. I netted out the dead tetra, and tested the water parameters - Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0, pH 7.8 Temp 82 TDS 220 kH 5. I did a 20% water change anyhow. The eggs were eaten by that afternoon. Two days ago, I woke up to find three dead angels on the bottom of the tank. What on earth? Pulled the dead angels out and immediately began a 50% water change while testing the parameters. Ammonia .25ppm nitrite 0 nitrate 5 pH 7.8 Temp 82 TDS 300 and kH 5. Still the normal parameters. I'm not surprised by there being some ammonia with three dead angels but why did they die? The other angels and the cardinals were still acting normally, no red gills, no flashing, no sitting on the bottom nor gasping at the top. I left to go to work - I came back and there were four more dead angels and all but one of the tetras was dead. Pulled them out, lost another two angels and the last cardinal before the night's end. I sat and watched, they were going from swimming normally to sitting on the bottom and then stopped breathing within ten minutes. The next morning two more angels were dead. Itested the water parameters again as I did another 50% water change - still the same. In desperation I pulled the remaining angels out and threw two into a 47 column that only had some guppy fry, ottos and shrimp in it, and moved the other four to the 220 gallon - two of them passed away within the hour, I suspect system shock because the temp in that tank was only 78 and the pH in that tank due to large amounts of dirftwood is 6.8. But the other two made it. It has now been a day, and I have two remaining angels in each the 47 and the 220. I am waiting to see if they still suddenly drop dead in these other tanks. The clown pleco and the male guppy are still in the 54, but have not died. What am I missing? Could the anubias have brought something in that kills this quickly? What did I screw up so I don't have this happen again?

My angelfish lose it for Hikari vibra-bites. They just go wild for it, and fight for every bit of it. But frozen blood worms? Meh. I mean, they'll pick at it, but a good portion of it will just sink down to the bottom where the corydoras or cardinal tetras will clean it up. Actual live mosquito larva? My angelfish look at me like I've grown two heads. What are these wiggly things in their tank? Why would I do this to them? A couple of them tried them, and spit them right back out. And they were done with them. Absolutely done. Wanted no part of these wiggly things. I've tried half a dozen times with the angels but even across multiple tanks they don't want it. Why do my angels love the vibra-bites but want no part of the food they were made to mimic? My angels are broken. Now my congo tetras? They're piglets and will eat anything that goes in their tank. They think mosquito larva is great. They also really like these little sinking pellets that I get that are locally made by a cichlid breeder. The pictus love those too. Then again... the pictus loves anything that fits in their mouths, which is most things. My corydoras really like mysis shrimp, which is in their rotation three times a week currently due to how much they inhale it. They don't refuse any food, but mysis is currently favored. Rainbowfish will try to inhale anything, regardless of whether it fits in their mouth. I took to putting a piece of PVC pipe in the tank that goes down to just an inch above the substrate so the corydoras still get fed because I deliver the pellets directly to the substrate for them. The rainbow fish were snatching the sinking pellets out of the water before they even get to the bottom of the tank, even though the sinking pellets are bigger than their mouths. The sword tails like the Sera spirulina tablets that can be stuck to the side of the tank. Want to catch all the swordtails in one part of the tank in one net scoop? Put in one of those spirulina tablets and give it a couple minutes. They will all be there pecking at it.

Hello neighbor! Just a short hop on I-4 north of you.

I have a one eyed congo tetra female that has been happily in my school for a bit over three years now. Her aim is admittedly not the best so sometimes she goes for food and totally misses but being I keep the tank well fed, she keeps up just fine. When I first got her from the store she was skinnier than her tankmates, no doubt from being out competed for food. I do watch her more closely than the rest of the school for any signs of swelling or discoloration but so far she's just as healthy as the rest

Like Faedother, I usually use some math to help determine minimum tank size for a fish at a given size. Mind you, bigger is always better. The minimum I use is the fish's length x 6 = length of tank. The fish's length × 2 = width of tank. So for example, a clown loach gets on average, 12 inches long. 12 x 6 = 72 inches ie a 6 foot long tank. 12 x 2 = 24 inches ie a 2 foot wide tank. Minimum, for an adult Clown loach. But how does this help you know when to move up a tank size? I usually add 1 or 2 inches to the current size of the fish for slower growers like clown loaches, 3 to 4 for faster growing species, and run the formula. So this formula is for the minimum size tank they should be in right now, because they are going to grow to this length within a year. So let's say your clown loaches are 4 inches, I'd run the formula at 6 inches to accommodate for what they should be in right now. 6 x 6 = 36 inches and 6 × 2 = 12 inches So a 3 foot long by 1 foot wide tank at minimum, right now. But by next year? Add another two inches, so now the formula is 8 x 6 = 48 inches and 8 x 2 = 16 inches. Well I don't know of many 16 inch wide tanks, so bump that up to 18 inches and you're looking at a 75 gallon. Continue the formula progression out until they reach adult size. Also, things to look for on the fish itself that they are stressed and there's not enough room - look for damage on the end of the nose, top of the head. Scrapes, missing scales or swollen spots here, providing there is no other diseases to be worried about, are indications the fish is hitting their head on hard decorations, or on the end of the tank. Some fish will develop a neurotic tendency to swim from one end of the tank to the other, hit their head, turn around, swim to the other end, hit their head on that end, rinse and repeat. Its pacing, in fish. Likewise, keep an eye out for tears or splits or worn edges on the pectoral and caudal fins, as these are likely to be the first ones damaged by them trying to squeeze into too small of spaces or of striking things when trying to turn around in too tight of a space.

Flag fish should be fine in those temps, I've kept them in similarly sized tubs through winter here in Florida, which gets to those temps and a bit lower, as well as they are native to all of our local lakes and ponds. Guppies on the other hand, I think it really depends on how durable your strain is. I lost a couple tubs worth of fancy delta tails the first winter here in Florida when it got down to 50 at night. So I started keeping small heaters in the tubs during winters here (mind you, a Florida winter still rarely ever sees freezing temps, so the heaters could keep up). So for the guppies, I'd suggest getting a heater in the tub, and once the temps continue to drop, be ready to move them inside.

Oh it absolutely was that day. But summer in Florida and Georgia? Clouds are par for the course. Do you fly as well?

You got it! I usually putter around in a Cessna 172 skyhawk. Although sometimes I also take a piper Seminole out.

I love the sterbai corydora sticker but I'd love to see other corydoras species as well. But, that's probably asking for too much. I suspect there will be an Oscar, just because they are the iconic 'water puppy'. I'm also betting on a German Blue Ram because these guys are beautiful and who doesn't want that sort of pretty in sticker format? I guess dwarf cichlids in general need more love, so perhaps an apisto like a. Agasizzi or a. Cacatuoides? A harlequin rasbora. If we've got an iconic tetra, we should have another iconic schooler and this is sure one of em. A barb! We can't have a tetra without a barb. That's picking one school over the other. So.... tiger barb? They're a classic, well known barb. Kuhli loach? Who doesn't love these crazy little wiggle worms. Should probably give the African cichlids some more individual love, as its not fair to lump all the fish from this continent together. The great rift lake cichlids are all very distinct between lakes. So, a peacock from Malawi, perhaps a pundamilia nyererei for Victoria and ... gosh it's hard to choose one from Tanganyika. The fairy cichlid is sure pretty but then tropheus are also super popular in the hobby. So are frontosas. And Julie are really distinct cichlids with their torpedo bodies too... ah, its hard to take a guess there. There's gotta be a koi or a goldfish (or both? Both is good) eventually. Pond keepers are a part of the hobby too, so these fish should certainly be included.

Sunset over west coast of Florida, from a slightly higher perspective.

I feed them to my rats when they pass on. The rats are bred as pets and feeders for my snakes. Circle of life, I'm utilitarian, they served the purpose of bringing me happiness in life, they can now serve another purpose in death. I should hope that I am used with purpose when I pass as well.

Ever thought about a moss wall? I haven't done it with subwasserstang but it worked nicely with phoenix moss or stringy moss so perhaps it could also work with this. Basic idea is take one of those 'plastic mesh canvas sheets' and lay out the moss on the sheet. Doesn't need to be thick, leave some space for it to grow and fill in. Then take a second sheet of the plastic mesh canvas sheet and lay it on top of the other, like you're basically making a plastic sheet and subwassarstang sandwich. Then take some fishing line and stitch the two sheets together with the moss in the middle. You don't have to go through every square. I just usually go around the perimeter every third or fourth square. And a couple squares in the middle of the sheets to keep the moss from all sliding to the bottom. Secure this to this inside of a tank with suction cups and give it a couple months. It tends to fill in to a beautiful solid wall of moss, which is lovely to watch sway in the flow and fry also tend to love hiding in it.

I will usually keep spare sponge filters in my various tanks. When it's time for the quarantine tank to see use, I set it up, fill it up and throw one of those spare sponge filters into the quarantine. Now it's instantly cycled. The fish then get to go through their time in the tank, eventually they are either healthy and getting to join a main tank, or they didn't make it. At the end, I pull the sponge filter out and clean it well and let it sit dry on a counter top for at least a week, just in case if it was somehow harboring something a sick fish had, it's dead. Then the sponge filter can be returned to whatever tank it originally came out of. I don't mind it has to get new bacteria colonizing it, it wasn't the primary filter of that tank, so I'm not worried about it affecting the ammonia processing ability of the tank.

Bigger is better AND beautiful. Little tanks are fine when you don't have space, but I suppose it bears defining, what's a little tank? In my case, I think I call anything under 20 long a little tank, and then 20 long to say, a 75 is a medium tank, and past that is a big tank. I think what drives me nuts most about little tanks is that I find them nearly impossible to keep a community in. Your species choices are severely limited, and what you can keep in there is usually only a single species, or just two species. I love community tanks and the little tanks just dont cut it. Medium and large tanks? Now that's when you start getting into space to actually keep big schools. Or multiple schools, and really start filling in the different levels of a tank. And so many more species options! I love having lots of choices to consider. Maintenance on big tanks is not hard. I don't do weekly water changes on my 220. It doesn't need it. It's extremely stable and efficient at taking care of wastes. Little tanks I find myself testing far more frequently because of how quickly they can suddenly swing from good to oh boy, everything is dieing.

Black diamond blasting sand from Tractor supply is what I've used in my tanks for years. I love the look, the fish are happy on it, and the price tag is infinitely better than what you'll pay for any black sand at a pet store. Some people say its 'too rough' for bottom dwellers but my experience has been the exact opposite, I keep corydoras, dojo loaches and kuhli loaches on it (multiple tanks) and they have all been doing great on it. The corydoras have even bred and hatched babies in tanks with blasting sand substrate.

Try cutting the light on that tank with the second bridge down from 10.5 hours a day to only 5 hours and see how that does after a week. I often find leaving lights on (even at a lower setting) for too long allows the algae to continue to chug along. I like java fern across bridge like pieces of drift wood or rocks, so I bet it'd look great on that coconut bridge too! Especially as the java fern grows in and becomes taller. But if you wanted something to stay lower, the suggestion of anubias nana petite is a good one. That'll stay much smaller than java fern.

How warm do you keep your tank? If over 80F, german blue rams are an option. At least in my tanks I've found them to be voracious guppy fry hunters. They take the fry out when they are young, less than a week old. If the guppy fry manage to escape them past that time, they are usually big enough they can no longer be eaten by the rams and so the rams ignore them. I keep four to six female guppies in each tank with a pair of german blue rams, and at that ratio, the rams seem to be missing perhaps one guppy fry per forty or so born. I figure its extra protein for the rams (your LFS may not take guppies, but will they trade or buy rams?), and keeps the guppy population from exploding. If I do want to keep a batch of guppy fry until they are larger to select out some particular fish, I just net the female guppy into a breeder box a few days before she pops, let her have her fry there, and return her to the tank.

I've had five dojo loaches for about six years now in a 65 gallon planted tank with various vals, amazon swords, java fern, anubias, guppy grass and dwarf salvinia. So far the loaches have been fine with all of those plants. The most 'damage' they do is knock the java fern loose on occassion when they try to sit on them/the driftwood they're attached to. They don't eat any of the plants though.