Chick-in-of-TheSea journal

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Took a mental break by doing a little aquascaping. As we know I like to change things up for Geppetto.

Before:

S. Repens. (Tissue culture) Came in several clusters.

He wants to know what is going on.

Also did a water change, cleaned the glass and the sponge filter. And added another rock tunnel. I like that they are tunnels but don’t look like tunnels.
 

After.

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/24/2023 at 2:10 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Took a mental break by doing a little aquascaping. As we know I like to change things up for Geppetto.

Before:

S. Repens. (Tissue culture) Came in several clusters.

He wants to know what is going on.

Also did a water change, cleaned the glass and the sponge filter. And added another rock tunnel. I like that they are tunnels but don’t look like tunnels.
 

After.

 

how long have you had that crypt in the back that its so big?

[Miska]

What a spoiled betta baby! So cuuuute! Good job!

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/24/2023 at 2:43 PM, Theplatymaster said:

how long have you had that crypt in the back that its so big?

I put that in November 4. It gets a root tab every month.

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/24/2023 at 2:58 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I put that in November 4. It gets a root tab every month.

i wish my crypts were that big.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

You’re talking about the red one on the right, correct? The green one is a sword. @Theplatymaster

Edited February 24, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/24/2023 at 3:31 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

You’re talking about the red one on the right, correct? The green one is a sword. @Theplatymaster

that is correct, my sword is growing fine, its the crypts i have that i want them to grow bigger.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/24/2023 at 5:20 PM, Theplatymaster said:

that is correct, my sword is growing fine, its the crypts i have that i want them to grow bigger.

This is a 5.5g so the shallower depth allows the crypt to get plenty of light. This is my first (and only) crypt. So far so good 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The azaleas are blooming

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:54 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

The azaleas are blooming

Nice colors! Snowdrops here too: 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/25/2023 at 6:13 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Nice colors! Snowdrops here too: 

Those are so pretty! They grow in the cold temperatures?

[TheSwissAquarist]

I’ve only ever seen them outside of the tropics…🤷‍♂️

[A3M0N]

On 2/25/2023 at 4:54 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

The azaleas are blooming

I'm originally from the Charleston, SC area. My wife and I lived in Summerville, SC (just a bit inland) for a couple of years, there's a park in town called Azalea Park that truly lives up to its name! 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/19/2023 at 9:48 AM, Colu said:

I have seen these type of lumps before and they responded well when  treated with aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons and Indian almond leaves @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

 

Our patient had his one week checkup and things look good. Ammonia has been 0 every day but he has a black spot near dorsal. That area was reddish (inflamed?) before. However the other black neons naturally have a little red there also. I just thought this guy’s looked “different”. So I followed the treatment above. I worry about salt dehydration of this fish and stress when going past one week, so I’m just doing a conservative water change of 20%. The almond leaves have added very nice tannins to the qt tank and I will add a little more “tea” with the water change.

Options I’m considering:

1. Add a friend since tetras feel unsafe when alone. A risk for the friend, I realize, but the patient looks pretty good. 

2. Stay the course, 1 more week.

At this time I am not considering placing him back in the display tank. Twice in the past I had been too eager to move fish at the first sign of no symptoms, and they regressed.

Thoughts? @Colu @nabokovfan87 @Guppysnail

 

 

BEFORE:

Edited February 26, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Theplatymaster]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSeawhat kind of tetra is that?

with its colors so washed i can guess a lot of fish.

Glowlight,X-ray,blackneon, etc...

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/26/2023 at 7:38 AM, Theplatymaster said:

@Chick-In-Of-TheSeawhat kind of tetra is that?

with its colors so washed i can guess a lot of fish.

Glowlight,X-ray,blackneon, etc...

This is a black neon. He’s been in salt treatment and they also hide their line when they are not in a school, plus the stress from just being caught - that’s why he’s washed out.

[Guppysnail]

I would leave him in quarantine. For 2 weeks past no symptoms alone just clean water maybe tannins if you have been adding them. Make sure your quarantine has some plants and structures. 
Gove him a chance to not only show no symptoms but really heal. Once he is vibrant and fully healthy. Other fish sense weakness and do not accept weakened or stressed fish. It’s a survival instinct. 
I totally get feeling bad about him alone. That always really stresses me out but it really is for the best. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/26/2023 at 8:10 AM, Guppysnail said:

I would leave him in quarantine. For 2 weeks past no symptoms alone just clean water maybe tannins if you have been adding them. Make sure your quarantine has some plants and structures. 
Gove him a chance to not only show no symptoms but really heal. Once he is vibrant and fully healthy. Other fish sense weakness and do not accept weakened or stressed fish. It’s a survival instinct. 
I totally get feeling bad about him alone. That always really stresses me out but it really is for the best. 

This is what his setup looks like. He’s right there in the front and his line is showing better now that he’s in the tank again.

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Colu]

I would continue with a small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons almond leaves and clean water for another week and monitor if you notice the redden area getting worse then I would up the level of aquarium salt to 1 table spoon for 2 gallon @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/26/2023 at 4:37 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Options I’m considering:

1. Add a friend since tetras feel unsafe when alone. A risk for the friend, I realize, but the patient looks pretty good. 

2. Stay the course, 1 more week.

At this time I am not considering placing him back in the display tank. Twice in the past I had been too eager to move fish at the first sign of no symptoms, and they regressed.

Thoughts? @Colu @nabokovfan87 @Guppysnail

 When I had my barbs I would always have 2-3 of the pack that just didn't seem right.  Bloated or just always getting picked on or bacterial issues from stress (being chased).  I think now looking back, a lot of that was just from the way the tank was setup and as plants grew in they had places to hide and recover.  I also thing part of that was literally just egg bound females. 

My point being that sometimes the fish is fine and we (especially I did) over analyzed things.  I think that black spot might just be a pattern on the fish, but hard to say.  I don't see anything wrong with the fish other than drab colors from the stress it's under. 

Airstone and clean water and time is what I would do in that situation.  The way I dose salt is that I dose it, then slowly dwindle the level down with water changes.  Salt might be full dose for a week, then a week off with 3-4 good water changes before I dose in more.  I tend to want to give the tank as well as the fish a bit of a break. 

Hopefully things improve or you have the confidence that the fish is perfectly healthy soon.

In terms of one other thing you mentioned about tetras wanting a buddy.  That's where I prefer to have the 3 black sides on the aquarium.  fish can hide in the back of the tank and feel safe without needing decor or other things.  I put a cave or a piece of wood in the tank as well, but I tend to opt for that method as well just to reduce stress as much as possible while the fish is feeling ill / exposed.

 

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/26/2023 at 5:54 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

My point being that sometimes the fish is fine and we (especially I did) over analyzed things

this is EXACTLY how i killed my glowlight tetras,

they were schooling around, me

"the male is being abusive"

one was less shy and got more food then the others.Me:

"Food hog"

i was constantly trying to net them out, and i couldnt tell the different between them anyway, over analytics/assuming everything is failing can be dangerous at times

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I have a confession. Sometimes I cheat when adding tannins. If life is busy.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/27/2023 at 4:54 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I have a confession. Sometimes I cheat when adding tannins. If life is busy

Very annoying this stuff doesn't come in a bigger bottle regularly.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:07 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Very annoying this stuff doesn't come in a bigger bottle regularly.

Yeah I know! I would totally buy a larger one for the convenience of it.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/27/2023 at 1:17 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Yeah I know! I would totally buy a larger one for the convenience of it.

Small bottle and the "nano" branding just makes it so people thing bettas need it, that they have to be in small tanks, and that.... well you get the idea.

Frustrating because how many of us actually would use it for meds or have it on hand just because.  Yeah, make your own, get some teabags and all that....  Sure.  What most people don't realize is that from the manufacturing side, say it costs them $2 per bottle.  They make it at a certain scale.  You change the bottle to 4-5x the size and the price goes up from $2 per bottle up to $5-6 just due to raw ingredients and all that.  Ballpark estimates and purely speculative.   Small bottle is $6-8 at retail.  Big one is $15-20.  With time, with volume, with efficiency, you get that price down to $12-16 per bottle.  WHY..... do it fritz.

I'm sure one of the API melafix/primafix is essentially equivalent, but I want the stuff that is pretty plain and simply labelled as IAL extract.  I just happen to have a bigger tank than 5G for my blackwater projects. 

Turtle keepers would use it, so many different tanks could use it. Easily.

😩

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea Next time you use it can you do a before / after shot?