Popular Post PineSong Posted August 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 9, 2022 Which highlights the value of keeping a written record: My record keeping has slacked off since last year. I used to keep a written record of every fish purchased, QT meds, water parameters, breeding dates, you name it. Eventually I grew more confident ((cue the suspenseful music)) and switched to casual post it notes stuck to the tank that said stuff like "Expel P again on Saturday" and that was that. Several days ago I noticed I seemed to be missing a lot of fish. My tanks are packed with plants and it's possible I might miss a dead guppy and it could be consumed by the tank, but I could not believe I was missing what must be dozens of bodies. I pondered what might be killing my fish and I felt guilty for not noticing. I was especially confused because mature adults and baby fish seemed fine, it was the juveniles and teens that were missing. I removed rocks I had gathered at the lake and now did not trust, removed 2/3 of my corkscrew val so I could have better visibility, gave everyone Expel-P, gravel vacuumed and stirred up gravel with chopsticks, and just felt bad. Today I remembered I had taken around 75 fish to the LFS in the past six weeks. Oof. 3 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Thank you for making me feel like I'm not the only aquarist out there who randomly forgets major moves like this. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 at least you solved the mystery instead of wondering if it was a space alien guppy abduction.😲 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted August 9, 2022 Author Share Posted August 9, 2022 On 8/8/2022 at 10:56 PM, lefty o said: at least you solved the mystery instead of wondering if it was a space alien guppy abduction.😲 You know I’ve literally had that happen, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 I started keeping detailed notes thanks to folks here talking about it. It really does help me to keep track of what I'm doing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted August 9, 2022 Author Share Posted August 9, 2022 On 8/8/2022 at 11:18 PM, redfish said: I started keeping detailed notes thanks to folks here talking about it. It really does help me to keep track of what I'm doing. Yes, I always think I will remember details and then I don’t! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 On 8/8/2022 at 9:58 PM, PineSong said: You know I’ve literally had that happen, too! ive heard guppy's do well in a zero gravity environment! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjum Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 On 8/8/2022 at 8:25 PM, PineSong said: Yes, I always think I will remember details and then I don’t! Same, same. Idk when I'll remember that I don't remember anything 🤪 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 I thought it was just my old z-timers that caused fish to go MIA until my memory kicked in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 (edited) I keep a little "cop notepad" in with my test kit stuff. I write the test results and everything else in there, livestock I added, ferts I added, what level of salt treatment, when did I water change, when I lose a fish, the current headcount, etc. Nothing is organized, really, except by date. If nothing special happened I might put a little entry like this in the book: 29) 10 easy green (29 is the tank, 10 is the nitrate test, and I added ferts) 10) 0 5 (10 is the tank, 0 is ammonia, 5 is nitrate) QT) .25 water change, level 2 salt (QT is the tank, .25 is ammonia, then what treatment I'm doing) If a fish gets sick and you do a forum post, people will almost ask you, what are your water parameters? That's how I know. And sometimes I put instructions in there I want to keep - like how to mix the salt for a plant dip, or how to make medicated food for a certain illness. I was hatching snails so I was able to look back in the little book to see when I wrote "created incubator" and "snails hatched". ETC Then I could help people here on the forum get an idea of when their snails will hatch. And for some reason the fact that the book is little and I can tuck it in my test kit box makes it convenient. If it was a big notebook, I don't know why but I probably wouldn't use it. Handheld = simple. Edited August 9, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 I downloaded the tank maintenance spreadsheet posted here and added a few columns for extra stuff I wanted to track. I try to keep notes too @Chick-In-Of-TheSea, added 5 pumps of easy green, added x root tabs for y plants, added wonder shell, etc along with my water chemistry numbers. Observations on how the plants look, fish behavior, etc. I'm sure over time I'll record less but right now it's helpful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 I usually just forget to write anything at all. I stopped taking detailed notes on routine items long ago. My notes are more casual observation, much like @@Chick-In-Of-TheSea's. I do log water parameters once a week, but that is mostly for amusement as they are boringly stable. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 I bought colored wet erase markers to make notes on my non-display tanks on water changes, filter cleans, when fish are done with QT, etc. Well, I have the markers handy. . . . . 😝 😆 😂 🤣 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joost Abrahams Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 i made a excel database for it, if anyone wants a copy just ask 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 7:54 AM, yosta said: I made a excel database for it, if anyone wants a copy just ask I use an Excel spreadsheet for my water parameters and I have forgotten to update it for about 6 weeks. Thanks for the reminder! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 (edited) I do nearly a 100% water change every night on my 75 gallon discus tank and a lot of the time the siphon is just sitting there unsupervised because I can clean the bare bottom pretty quick and then just need to drain it. Last night my parents stopped by and I forgot. It drained down like it normally does, but I'd forgotten to turn off the heaters so they were out of the water and... quite warm... when I got back inside. It had melted the end of my python quite a bit, but thankfully not through the plastic so it's still functional. Whoops. Edited August 10, 2022 by jwcarlson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted August 10, 2022 Author Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 10:52 AM, jwcarlson said: I do nearly a 100% water change every night on my 75 gallon discus tank and a lot of the time the siphon is just sitting there unsupervised because I can clean the bare bottom pretty quick and then just need to drain it. Last night my parents stopped by and I forgot. It drained down like it normally does, but I'd forgotten to turn off the heaters so they were out of the water and... quite warm... when I got back inside. It had melted the end of my python quite a bit, but thankfully not through the plastic so it's still functional. Whoops. This is why we need a yikes emoji! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 (edited) One time my tank gravity drained because I left a hose in the tank and went outside to rinse sand. Came back & fish were swimming in 1" of water and filter was running dry. Edited August 10, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 On 8/9/2022 at 10:49 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: I keep a little "cop notepad" in with my test kit stuff. My notebook is almost full. Got myself a new spiffy one from Dollar Tree. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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