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Newbie fish plunge !


KittenFishMom
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I did it, I went to CountryMax to buy some more aquarium plants and ended up buying:

1 Cory-o-door (no idea how to spell it's name)

3 male guppies (they did not carry females)

3 male Endlers (they did not carry females)

1 sad betta that was marked down to $4.99 because he had been there too long. He is a pretty blue with a crown tail, I think

I bought an adjustable heater, a beta hammock a betta mirror and beta food. 

Now I have to google and review how to transfer them into the tank and start up the quarantine trio

I also bought 6 bunches of hornwort because the eBay order was 2 stems that had sat in the post office for a week because storm delays, and looks worse for wear.

All opinions and advice are very welcome!

Wish me and the fish good luck !

@KittenFishMom

 

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They are in a quarantine tank. It is 10 gallons and will probably be their display case.  I have native fish, bullheads, blunt nose minnows, killifish, blue gill/sunfish and 1 or 2 rock bass in the 55 gallon tank. They are all very small, hatched in the lake this summer

I covered most of the QT with a towel because a video suggested keeping the lights low for the first 24 hours as the fish get used to the tank. 3 endlers and 2 guppies and having a lot of fun tasting everything. One guppy is slowly swimming close to the top under the towel. The betta is very slowly cruising around mostly under the towel. The minnow is under the sponge filter. It is strange, my adult scuds from the lake are about the size of the endlers.

The real bummer is I watched the tank for a week and was sure all the blunt nose minnows and killifish were out, but after I floated the new fish and got them into the tank, I saw a minnow dart under the sponge filter.  I will have to get him out. I am going to wait until morning before I start chasing him around with a net. Those minnows are use to being hunted in the lake and they are so fast, and so good at dodging in a different direction, it is very hard to get them into a net. 

The test strip says iron = 0, copper <0.5 general hardness CaCO3 ppm 120, chlorine = 0 total alkalinity = 360, carbonate  = 180 pH 8.2.  That water is stream water.  We will start slowly switching to well water soon. The test strips say the well water has  iron = 0, copper <0.5 general hardness CaCO3 ppm 0, chlorine = 0 total alkalinity = 360, carbonate  = 240 pH 8.2 to 9.0.

KitenFishMom

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@CalmedByFish Thank you. I was just thinking the minnow would bother the other fish. I wasn't thinking about it infecting the big tank.  If it does bother the other fish, I'll get a breeding "cage" for it so it can stay in the QT.

@xXInkedPhoenixX I haven't fed them, but the endler have been feeding themselves off the stuff in the tank. They look like they will burst. I was planning on reading about the trio before using it. I remembered it said not to feed.

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@xXInkedPhoenixX I had not planned on getting fish today ( I know, I should have waited, but it is too late now) I put the fish in my 10 gallon scud tank that has been cycled and has gravel and stones and algae etc in it. I could move the fish to an empty 10 gallon take with the used sponge filter, or I could keep them in this tank and treat them and the tank at the same time.  I feel like moving them to a different tank would stress them out even more, but the tank they are in is not white glove clean.  What do you think would be the best for the fish?  I am in no rush, and can treat the fish one treatment at a time for 3 weeks. 

@xXInkedPhoenixX I had thought the betta had  a crown tail, but he may have fin rot too.

He seems to have perked up some and is exploring the tank more. He stayed on the bottom of his cup the whole time we were at the store.

 

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If I were in your shoes, I think it's fine to leave them where they are- you're in the wait and observe stage anyway- like you said no rush really. I agree in not stressing them- and if this is going to be their final tank anyway- it's probably best. 

The good thing is you have lots of possible options- the messed up part of fish keeping is there's lots of ways to approach this: Some meds can crash a cycle (honestly I have to refresh myself every time I use a med and read if that's the case) so if you'd rather not deal with that the other tank is an option. Med trio is supposed to be invert safe but I don't know if that includes scuds. You also have to consider the other tank needing a disinfection after QT which is no big deal it's just something to think about. I'd give the "not white glove clean" tank a good cleaning before starting the meds you chose so you don't have to worry too much about parameter issues. 

Edited by xXInkedPhoenixX
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And that poor betta. They are very susecptible to fin rot and you did say the little thing was at the store forever. Betta fish IMO are among the hardest fish to keep. You might want to consider starting treatment sooner rather than later. This can go downhill quickly. But new clean water can make a world of difference. Give it 24hrs and make a decision from there. 

Edited by xXInkedPhoenixX
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@xXInkedPhoenixX I am reading mixed messages in your post. Part of it seems to say keep the fish in the cycled tank. the end seems to say to move them to the empty tank for the med treatment. I think treating them where they are would be better, but I do have an empty tank that I could use to treat them, if that is best.  I'm tired, so I may have misread what you wrote. 

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No you are correct- what I mean is you have many options but you need to do what you think is best for the fish. If that's keeping them in the tank they're in, definitely do that. I was trying to convey is there is no one "right way". Sorry to confuse you. I was just trying to say this is where fish keeping can get tricky. 

Edited by xXInkedPhoenixX
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I think I will start the maracyn in their current tank now. I have scuds in containers all over the living room, so it is no problem if I lose the ones in this tank.  If there is no improvement or the ammonia spikes, I can move the fish to the empty tank with fresh water and start the treatment again in the clean empty tank.

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@xXInkedPhoenixXIt is the plan for this evening.  It was good to see the betta swim in the lighted area of the tank. I think it is happy it is not in that little cup any longer.  I put the packet in and the water started foaming above the sponge filter. I hope they start to feel better tomorrow.

Thank you for you help.

 

Edited by KittenFishMom
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Update

The oddly behaving guppy died and the betta was hanging out at the uncover end of the tank. The others are still swimming around looking happy.

At first I thought the betta might have been dead. I past my hand in front of the glass, and he swam to the covered part of the tank, but was back in the light rather soon. I think it is a good sign he is showing interest in the environment.

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What I would do is go to your local LFS and ask them what their pH is. If it's similar to yours and they have Neons ask them about them- if those neons do well in the same water you may still be able to keep them. There are ways to lower pH naturally by adding driftwood and certain leaves- but if the Neons would go in the tank with the betta? The lower pH would conflict with a betta's preference of 7.0

Edited by xXInkedPhoenixX
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