Chick-in-of-TheSea journal

[Ninjoma]

On 1/14/2024 at 8:40 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Sand Hill cranes. Enjoy Nature Daily

 

On 1/21/2024 at 8:40 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

 

Red-breasted geese

Love the bird photos! I think birds are my favorite type of non-aquatic animal to observe and photograph. Especially uncommon ducks and geese.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/10/2024 at 1:50 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

May or may not be related to what's going on, but this is worth a listen.

 

His head looks to have that darkening on it indicated from the video as a common issue.

Were you ever able to check this out? Especially given where things are now.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/15/2024 at 2:30 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Were you ever able to check this out? Especially given where things are now.

Yeah, she said she had to sacrifice a fish and send it to a fish scientist or doctor, and they did a necropsy to find the issue which is otherwise undiagnosable. But she knew it was genetic and she had been breeding those fish, so she just took care to not sell the offspring. Instead she kept them.

On 3/14/2024 at 11:29 PM, Ninjoma said:

 

Love the bird photos! I think birds are my favorite type of non-aquatic animal to observe and photograph. Especially uncommon ducks and geese.

We feed birds in the yard which has lots of trees. We also have a bird bath and a squirrel corn cob feeder. It’s cute to see the squirrel tails hanging down from the bird bath when they are getting a drink. Just recently we were able to attract 2 different species of woodpeckers with suet. Also I started putting the hummingbird feeder out. They should be returning from Honduras around this time of year. I have videos on my channel of some of our birds. The crows are regulars and even brought a gift. They recognize faces and remember who is kind to them. Link below. Bird videos are mixed in with the aquarium ones. 🙂

[Colu]

Possible Canal neuromast inflammation that can be caused by a high bacterial count in your water that can cause small raised spots  or they can look like a fluffy pimple and you can get discoloration of the head he's some pictures for comparison the recommended treatment is to increase water change and filtration to lower the bacterial count if you have a uv steriliser I would use that for week see if you notice any improvement if he gets worse then I would do a course of kanaplex @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/15/2024 at 4:15 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

On 3/14/2024 at 11:30 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Were you ever able to check this out? Especially given where things are now.

Yeah, she said she had to sacrifice a fish and send it to a fish scientist or doctor, and they did a necropsy to find the issue which is otherwise undiagnosable. But she knew it was genetic and she had been breeding those fish, so she just took care to not sell the offspring. Instead she kept them.

Ah....

When I watched it I noted two things.  First, her betta had some nutrient deficiencies because she was using one food over and over.  This was the basis for me for my shrimp to feed multiple brands and rotate them in/out.  I do this with the fish as well.  The "black area" on the head was tested by the vet to be some form of external protozoan parasite causing damage.  She mentions treating it with ich-x + salt with some success and some of it having no impact. 

She does have follow-up videos, but I haven't had the chance to sit and watch through all of the related content.  This video mentions bacteria as well, similar to what Colu mentioned.
 

It basically, similar to what Dan's Fish is going through with their in-house vet, taught me that there is so much that we don't understand as a hobbyist about diseases.  It's extremely tough.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/15/2024 at 7:35 AM, Colu said:

Possible Canal neuromast inflammation that can be caused by a high bacterial count in your water that can cause small raised spots  or they can look like a fluffy pimple and you can get discoloration of the head he's some pictures for comparison the recommended treatment is to increase water change and filtration to lower the bacterial count if you have a uv steriliser I would use that for week see if you notice any improvement if he gets worse then I would do a course of kanaplex @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

Never heard of that one. Thanks @Colu. I will increase water changes and see how we do and I will see if he will eat Kanaplex food I have.

[Colu]

On 3/15/2024 at 4:57 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Never heard of that one. Thanks @Colu. I will increase water changes and see how we do and I will see if he will eat Kanaplex food I have.

Kanaplex in food isn't very effective in food as very little of the medication is absorbed by the intestinal tract I would use maracyn or maracyn2 in food he's a recipe 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

One of my white worm cultures has been crashing pretty hard. About 2 weeks ago I split it off and the new one is chugging along ok, but I hadn’t done anything with the old one except stir it and feed it. The soil was very compacted and water logged, and the worms have been sluggish. 

Today was the day. It smelled like eggs.. very sulfury, and the top looked almost like it had a film on it, despite the stirring I had been doing. It was attracting fruit flies as well. I took it outside and spread it on wax paper and section by section harvested as many worms as I could, dunking them into a condiment cup of dechlorinated water.

My husband came outside, curious as to what I was doing. I explained, not knowing how to dispose of the rest of the soil, as I am not wanting to have too many cultures- I decided 4 is my limit. His eyes lit up at how rich the soil has become, and he said a plant would love it. He grew up on a farm. I don’t have a compost pile or anything, so why not? I do feel bad for any baby worms left in it but I tried very hard to find everybody that I could.

So the rich, stinky soil went into the pot-up of this mini gardenia which has been desperate for soil amendment.

It’s under shelter on the porch but will get some morning sun. At first I began to pot it into terra cotta, but I thought about the possibility of any remaining worms I couldn’t see and I thought that would be cruel because terra cotta dries out quickly. So plastic it is to help retain moisture. Maybe some of these buds will bloom soon.

 

 

The worms I saved went into the other container with the culture that I had split off. @Guppysnail what do you do with the old soil from your cultures? Just curious.

On 3/15/2024 at 7:23 PM, Colu said:

Kanaplex in food isn't very effective in food as very little of the medication is absorbed by the intestinal tract I would use maracyn or maracyn2 in food he's a recipe 

Thanks @Colu! @Guppysnail sent me a bunch of medicated flakes and they also contain garlic for palatability. I will try those out.

Edited March 15 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 3/15/2024 at 7:25 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

what do you do with the old soil from your cultures? Just curious.

Put it in the garden. It’s so nutrient rich my flowers go crazy. Worm castings are the best fertilizer…even better than used tank water. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Oh shoot @Colu

The flake foods I have are metronidazole, fenbendazole, praziquantel, and levamisole. None of these apply, right? (Metro, maybe?)

I do have garlic guard already. Would need to buy focus if I need to make food. Also have an empty qt tank but it’s a 5g. He doesn’t do well in a 5g. He bites his tail off in a 5 because he feels claustrophobic.

 

Edited March 16 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Colu]

Metronidazole does treat aeromonas that gram negative bacteria you would want to treat with maracyn2 or maracyn in food or dose the tank with kanaplex @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

Edited March 16 by Colu

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/16/2024 at 7:53 AM, Colu said:

Metronidazole does treat aeromonas that gram negative bacteria you would want to treat with maracyn2 or maracyn in food or dose the tank with kanaplex @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

Got the Focus from mom & pop shop. Will mix up the food.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/16/2024 at 7:53 AM, Colu said:

maracyn in food

He ate the medicated food. I think he likes it, actually.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Here are some pictures of Geppetto. I shined the flashlight on him. The dots on him seem consistent with the

On 3/15/2024 at 7:35 AM, Colu said:

Canal neuromast inflammation

photos from above.

 

Also there are round “bleach” marks on his lower fin, just a loss of pigment in a circle shape (?)

 

 

He is acting normally. Very social with me.

Edited March 17 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Colu]

On 3/17/2024 at 12:48 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Here are some pictures of Geppetto. I shined the flashlight on him. The dots on him seem consistent with the

photos from above.

 

Also there are round “bleach” marks on his lower fin, just a loss of pigment in a circle shape (?)

 

 

He is acting normally. Very social with me.

I can't be a 100% sure that the cause looking at the pictures most likely cause of what your seeing 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Stop scrolling and relax.

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Look at Flint’s stubble!

He’s eating one of his favorite foods: snail cookies from Crayfish Empire.

 

Edited March 19 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 3/19/2024 at 5:19 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Look at Flint’s stubble!

He’s eating one of his favorite foods: snail cookies from Crayfish Empire.

 

Snoopy is being sneaky about photo bombing this one….”it’s only my tail not really a pb “🥰 

Flint is really setting in. Very beautiful 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/15/2024 at 7:23 PM, Colu said:

Kanaplex in food isn't very effective in food as very little of the medication is absorbed by the intestinal tract I would use maracyn or maracyn2 in food he's a recipe 

Geppetto finished the course of Maracyn and he looks better but still has 2 raised white bumps on his head. Is the Kanaplex next? Should I rest him? There are 2 juvenile shrimp in the tank somewhere. And live plants.

Bumps look like this on the side of his head, first photo

Edited March 26 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Colu]

What I would suggest is a course of maracyn2  that's shrimp safe  if your going to treat with kanaplex than I would remove the shrimp kanaplex as  can be harmful to shrimp @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/25/2024 at 7:46 AM, Colu said:

What I would suggest is a course of maracyn2  that's shrimp safe  if your going to treat with kanaplex than I would remove the shrimp kanaplex as  can be harmful to shrimp @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

Malaysian trumpet snails in the tank too (I like them)

Strangely, 1 of Geppetto’s dots has disappeared. Now he only has 1 left. Medicated food still working, I guess?

I did a water change for him today also, 20%

Edited March 26 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Colu]

Maracyn2 safe for trumpet snails have long does say to treat for with medicated food you been using @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/26/2024 at 7:43 AM, Colu said:

Maracyn2 safe for trumpet snails have long does say to treat for with medicated food you been using @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

I was using the Maracyn in the food with the garlic guard and focus twice a day for 7 days.

 

On 3/15/2024 at 7:23 PM, Colu said:

tract I would use maracyn or maracyn2 in food he's a recipe 

 

[Colu]

I

On 3/27/2024 at 3:16 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I was using the Maracyn in the food with the garlic guard and focus twice a day for 7 days.

 

 

Forgot I give you my medicated food recipe for some reason I thought you were using some other medicated food getting  forgetful in old age 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

During the rest period after the medicated food, Geppetto healed on his own, and I didn’t need to remedicate. 🎉