Pygmy Sunfish (was BPD tank)

[Odd Duck]

On 2/19/2022 at 4:34 AM, Guppysnail said:

I’m sorry on others behalf for their poor behavior 😔. I have witnessed others at my vets office getting loud/rude. I think you are correct about the money. People have be programmed these days that if the complain they get free/discounted things. I used to see it all the time prior to retirement. I wish more folks remembered the golden rule. 
Treat others as you would want them to treat you

Thank you from me and my pets for being an unsung hero who goes the extra mile to be sure emergency care is available during the night for our non human family members 🤗

Thank you!  I’ve mostly gotten to the point where it doesn’t bother me.  I know they’re really just worried about their pets.  I do feel bad when it takes a while to call owners, but we’re always working as fast as we can.  But when owners start lying to me, clearly trying get my staff in trouble, that just irritates me.  I stay polite, but I do get firm with people when they try to lie about what they were told when I know my tech would NEVER have said that.  She kept trying to twist my words the exact same way, but I corrected her firmly enough she finally gave up on that BS.  It’s not my first time having to explain to owners what “critical” does, and does not, mean in an emergency clinic and it’s far from my first time dealing with similar nonsense.

I mostly enjoy my work.  There’s something very satisfying and gratifying about being able to help animals.  Turning around a truly critical patient, seeing them respond, then finally going back home with their owners.  Even taking care of very minor emergencies is satisfying.  I’m lucky enough to have all the work I need and at a very fair wage, so I’m far better off than many people these days.

It’s the strangest thing, really.  I’ve always had to deal with the occasional cranky person over the decades, upset at various things - most often related to lack of funds, but not always.  But it’s never been at this frequency or to this intensity as it has been since COVID.  The extra stress seems to bring out the absolute worst in some people.

On the flip side, most of the people I deal with are very nice and thankful to have help for their pet when their vet can’t get them in, are closed, or their pet needs more intensive care than their primary vet’s clinic can provide.  We are open 24/7/365 and are 100% emergency only, so we have more emergency equipment and supplies than most day practices have on hand.

[Odd Duck]

Let’s get back on track with stuff about fish again!

Picture update since I posted fresh pics of others in The Low Row.  No big changes other than removing the floaters since I felt they were blocking too much light.  Added a couple chunks of wood with Buces but you can’t really see them with a full tank shot since they’re tucked behind other stuff.  Had some decent growth since the last pic in December.  This tank has maintained a nice balance for months, now, but I do need to pop a couple root tabs in for the Crypts at the back.  Still no fish in here since I’ll be moving this tank soon (hopefully within the next 2-4 weeks).

 

 

[Odd Duck]

So I found some scarlet badis at a lfs and a couple of them looked like they might actually be female - grey, absolutely no markings.  So I gave it a shot.  I’ve only seen one of them swimming around but didn’t think that much about it since it looked like a male.  Went in there to check on them before lights came on this morning and found the other 2 dead and dry on the floor.  😢  The tank has what I would consider a tight fitting lid on it but it does have a small gap at the edges and where the HOB flows back into the tank.  Mind you, the gap is about 1/8” at the widest but these things are so tiny they could easily fit through that gap.  I did switch the lids with the other 6 G cube since I cut that plastic trim edge to fit partly into the filter return flow gap.  How do I keep these tiny things in the tank without taping screen or something to the tank?  Do I have to add some screen to every edge?

First pic is the survivor.  Next 2 pics are the poor, dry jumpers.  Next pics are the tiny gap they had to jump through.  That glass is 1/8” thick.  The gap is less than that!

 

[eatyourpeas]

Ohh, so sorry. It is amazing how they can squeeze through such a small gap, but after witnessing the speeds my fish reach when being chased, it does not surprise me anymore. 😟

[Odd Duck]

On 4/1/2022 at 11:14 AM, eatyourpeas said:

Ohh, so sorry. It is amazing how they can squeeze through such a small gap, but after witnessing the speeds my fish reach when being chased, it does not surprise me anymore. 😟

I was shocked to find them on the floor.  I did not see them there last night, I checked when I was trying to get pics of the active one.  🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t know for sure when they decided to go carpet surfing, but it obviously didn’t work out well for them.  😔 😢 

[Patrick_G]

I have a soft spot for these fish, I'm really sorry they went over the rim! So sad. 

[Torrey]

I am so sorry, that's a hard loss.

Currently, I am keeping water levels lower, unless I have extremely tight fitting lids (with weights on top) ever since Houdini went on walkabout.

It's nuts, really. I have tanks with **no lids** and all the fish stay put. But the tanks with lids either the nerites or the fish escape from, almost as if they see the lid and pass the air bubble to a friend with the words "Hold my bubble" followed by "challenge accepted".

In the past, when I was more committed to breeding difficult species, every single gap had course sponge in it. It was the only way I prevented a few really dedicated specimens from yeeting themselves out as sacrificial offerings to the cat....

[eatyourpeas]

On 4/1/2022 at 6:42 PM, Torrey said:

I am so sorry, that's a hard loss.

Currently, I am keeping water levels lower, unless I have extremely tight fitting lids (with weights on top) ever since Houdini went on walkabout.

It's nuts, really. I have tanks with **no lids** and all the fish stay put. But the tanks with lids either the nerites or the fish escape from, almost as if they see the lid and pass the air bubble to a friend with the words "Hold my bubble" followed by "challenge accepted".

In the past, when I was more committed to breeding difficult species, every single gap had course sponge in it. It was the only way I prevented a few really dedicated specimens from yeeting themselves out as sacrificial offerings to the cat....

So sorry, @Torrey is right. But I could not help myself and smile at the funny perspective she gave the whole situation. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

On 4/1/2022 at 6:42 PM, Torrey said:

But the tanks with lids either the nerites or the fish escape from, almost as if they see the lid and pass the air bubble to a friend with the words "Hold my bubble" followed by "challenge accepted".

Now that's funny! It totally feels that way I'm sure. 😄

[Odd Duck]

New adventure for this tank.  I found some Pygmy sunfish (Elassoma evergladei) and initially got a trio, then got another 6 fish and split them between my 2 x 6 G cubes so I have (hopefully) 4 in one and 5 in this one (they were smaller).  I have no idea how many are still in here even though they only got added a couple weeks ago.  They hide so well and are so tiny, it’s very hard telling how many are in there. They don’t even all come out for Grindal worms or Daphnia/Ceriodaphnia feedings.  I’ll attach a few pics between the 2 6G cubes since I haven’t gotten pics of all the fish in either tank but I have examples.  The guppies that were preventing mosquitos in these tanks were moved to other tanks.  I tried killifish (not annuals) but ended up with 2 females, males missing with no sign of remains (the gaps on these tank lids are sooo small yet I think they yet themselves out and then be,one to the cats).  Those girls are sharing space with guppies and snails now and I see them more than I did when they were in these tanks.

First pic female, semi-hiding.  Tanks are left a bit “dirty” because if any fry are produced the fry are so tiny they have to have microlife to eat.  Second pic female more visible but pics don’t do them justice, they have far more blue spangles than the pics show.  Third pic is a smaller male “hiding”.  Last pic is the biggest and brightest male before he shoots into cover.

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by Odd Duck

[Littlefish]

How are the pygmys doing?  Do they need a heater, being native species?

[Odd Duck]

On 10/25/2023 at 7:42 PM, Littlefish said:

How are the pygmys doing?  Do they need a heater, being native species?

They don’t seem to be reproducing but it’s hard to tell since I rarely see them.  I see them so seldom that I have doubts if they’re in there so I look in all the corners with a flashlight and usually see at least 1 or 2 in each tank.  But I have plans to redo the volcano tank and any fish I find in there will be going into the other 6 G cube so all the sunfish will be together.  I know I have at least 2 females in the Buce 6 G and I think 2 males in the volcano tank, so maybe they’ll make babies when I put them together.  I put plenty of what I thought was each gender in each tank but I have to think I probably lost some along the way or I would see them more often.  Hopefully with more together they might be bolder and become more visible.

I’m also thinking about switching to frogbit instead of the red root floaters in that tank.  They get longer roots and I think the sunfish might appreciate that.