Swampbones' newest adventure into everything fish

[KatFish]

Well hello again- 
You all may not remember me- but many many moons ago (aka, 9 months ago) I had a betta fish named Ponyo. Sadly, Ponyo didn't make it. 
And well, life got in the way after that. 
I won't bore you with how I went through the ghost feeding process of redoing my tank, or the months afterward where life really did just kick me in the teeth. 

We'll just get into the exciting (and aggravating) last twelve hours of my life. 
And I just want to put a disclaimer on here, that I don't blame the big box store for this. Sometimes, fish just die. 

But yesterday- after a long and hard winter, and a summer from h-e-c-c, I finally got to drive about an hour away to the Big box store for my big decision on new fishy friends. 
and I was very nervous. 
I won't lie to you all- it was crowded in the store, and I have major anxiety. Sadly, those two mix together about as well as oil and water. 
So... I had to ask my friend to talk to the worker. 
But! I got my fish.
and with my fish in hand, and the guppy food acquired, we made it back home. 

thankfully, I already knew I wanted guppies. I had been waiting nine months. (and yes, I could have shipped them- but honestly, the winter was far to cold, and summer was WAY too hot- I wasn't going to risk it.) 
So acclimating the guppies to my fish tank took no time at all. 
I waited the time- watching them swim happily in the plastic baggy. 
then, after I ate dinner- I dropped them into the water. No big deal! They swam around with the lights off, so it was less stressful. things were great.

or so I thought.  

You see, I sat down to watch a movie after dinner, and about halfway through the movie, what do my poor little eyes see???

The Death Roll. 
That's right friends! One of the guppies was doing a death roll like it was a miniature Gator clamping down on it's meal! 
and I watched in horror as it rolled and rolled- before stopping- hanging in the water. 
I leapt to my feet- already preparing the hospital tank- (having learned my lesson from Ponyo, I keep lots of water under my bed and in my closet.) 
I threw in the salt, the Maracyn, the stress coat, the almond leaves- and then scooped up the guppy and tossed her into the tank! (also yes, the heater was on and the water was at tropical temp- I keep my room warm)

It was alive!! I felt like Doctor Frankenstein- watching this fish wiggle to life and swim in the hospital tank. 
and with a sigh of relief, I hesitantly went back to my movie.
This was my first mistake.

I go to sleep after watching the movie- the fish still swimming around. and the other five perfectly healthy looking in the main tank.
I wake up the next morning... and tragedy hath stricken my home. 
Not only did the sick guppy die during the night, but four of it's companions did too, and one more died a few hours after that. 
So the Guppy Platoon is now a One Man Army. 

Again- I can't blame the Big Box Store. 
Am I upset at the dead fish, and losing the $20 worth of pets? Sure, of course I am. but things happen. 

So, now we get into Todays  Adventure. 
And wow- if all of that wasn't enough of a rollercoaster for you, then strap in friends, because this is about to be a wild ride. 

 So, I have cleaned the tank. The One Man Army has been moved into the QT tank with some stuff to make their final moments a bit less stressful (should it die). 
and now I am perusing the internet because my family has now sworn off the big Box Store. 
but... well- let's just say the belt needs to be a little tight right now. 

As I said- Life got in the way for the past nine months- and this past week was no exception.
So the expensive shipping for live animals... well- it was putting a damper on everything. 

Until I went onto a handy dandy social media site, and spoke to a nice old man who calls himself "Catfish" 
and well- it also has his government name- and for the sake of privacy, I won't be putting it in here. 
And against every alarm bell that rang in my head from being born and raised in Florida- I drove to a strangers house on the hopes and dreams of buying fish. 

This is how I bought two goldfish for a dollar from a catfish, and then got invited to his family's barbeque. 
I just have to say-  The midwest is really weird sometimes. 
I love it- but it's so weird. 

My life is now on a bit of a rush order, buying filters and bigger tanks- and a heavy enough thing to hold said tank- But hey, Crabbe and Goyle are pretty much thriving right now. 
and it could've been worse- 
They coulda been the bait they were labeled as. 

[Flumpweesel]

That orange splotch is adorable. Don't panic they grow fast but you have plenty of time source for them.

Sorry the big box trip was such a nightmare and followed by such a disappointment. But yay what an adventure you went on after. Did you stay for BBQ?  

[KatFish]

On 9/4/2022 at 5:11 PM, Flumpweesel said:

That orange splotch is adorable. Don't panic they grow fast but you have plenty of time source for them.

Sorry the big box trip was such a nightmare and followed by such a disappointment. But yay what an adventure you went on after. Did you stay for BBQ?  

We did! 🥰 They made smoked pork and smoked chicken with baked beans. We brought green beans and some homemade mac n cheese (because you never go to a house empty handed, you know.) 

I'm glad that I found a gift card left over from my birthday, so I was able to use my family's prime membership to get a three pack of sponge filters on Tuesday. 
So I'm really happy for that. It's not a perfect set up by any means haha. 
but I'm slowly but surely going to make this work out awesome.

[Patrick_G]

I love comet goldfish. They’re my favorite fish except for Koi. They won’t need a heater or fancy light but they will want lots of room so plan on an upgrade path over the next few years. 
 

Here’s some pics of my ladies in their 100 gal outdoor patio pond. They’re about 7-8” and   there are six total.  My little homemade filter keeps up nicely. 
 

[KatFish]

On 9/4/2022 at 7:36 PM, Patrick_G said:

I love comet goldfish. They’re my favorite fish except for Koi. They won’t need a heater or fancy light but they will want lots of room so plan on an upgrade path over the next few years. 
 

Here’s some pics of my ladies in their 100 gal outdoor patio pond. They’re about 7-8” and   there are six total.  My little homemade filter keeps up nicely. 
 

Oh yeah, I already explained to the family that these two are in it for the long haul! 😂  The comet's are my favorite derps in the tank, and it's brought my family to the dark side. 

They love having them out in the living room, watching them just chill out or root around the rocks (and I made sure to go to home depot to get like big-ish smooth rocks) looking for food.

Even my dog likes watching them- he lays down below the tank and just watches them. For my old dog, it's probably the most stimulating thing since the monthly bark box 😂

[KatFish]

Well friends, I'm back with another update! 

Today is September 12th, 2022; and yesterday kicked my butt. sighs 

So, once again I need to do a little recap- because I forget to do like "daily updates" or what have you.  but anyway; The comet goldfish (whom I have named Crabbe and Goyle) got moved into a 10g tank, and onto a stand in my living room.

The 10g isn't what I wanted , but budgets are tight, and with the 6.5 crawling it's way off the mortal coil- the family and I had to compromise. 

(but don't worry, we'll get that DIY pond that I want soon enough 😏) 

But the good news pretty much ends there, my firends. Because you see, I bought the 10g starter kit (it was about the same cost as the regular 10g tank at the store) and disaster slowly leaked into my home.

Yup. You heard it right, the 10g had sprung a leak. Now, I do admit my own fault in this- I knew that I should have tested for leaks before testing the tank. But I was so eager to get the comets into a bigger tank... well, let's just say my mildewy and fish poopy carpets have humbled my hubris.

Now- I can't say for certain it was the tank itself- I'm going to do a test for it once I get my carpets dry and set up the new 10g tank. (and no- I just bought the tank, not a second starter kit. though it was tempting) My hypothesis is, is that it was actually the filter that came with the starter kit getting overflowed with water, and just slowly spilling outside. 

But again, the experiment's come later.

But as of last night, Crabbe and Goyle are (un) happily sitting in my 5g bucket on my kitchen stove.

My dog is very sad that he can't watch his new friends anymore- he keeps sitting in the wet spots on the floor where the tank and it's stand used to be, and whining at me.

So, at least the wet dog smell covers up the mildew smell. 

Oh wait- no, there is actually some good news that I forgot about, so we can end this update on a positive note! 

While we were at the store, getting the new 10g tank- I was looking at the prices for a new air pump. and whew; Lt. Dan(ielle) was not getting an air pump. Instead the Lt. got a whole new tank (because again, I really do love my starter kits) 

So they are in a 2.5g- which, even though I already have a 2.5g, in a cylinder (my QT nano tank) somehow this 2.5g is bigger? I think it's because of the shape- it's like a 💎 diamond, or that baseball homeplate- but I won't lie to you friends, I failed Geometry- so I don't have any clue as to how it's bigger.

Anyhow! I set up the tank with a 75/25 of the old Lt.'s water, and some new water. got the temperature ready to go while the Lt waited, and then dropped them in.

And for a single juvenile guppy, I think this is much better.

It's already on the extremely long list to get the Lt. a new guppy army, and if things go well with this 10g tank experiment- I will put the Lt. in there with new buddies once I can afford them.

but gosh shipping online is expensive. And trust me- I get why! I think it's worth every penny if the fish make it alive and healthy! But in my case? My post office likes to toss around packages like it's a rugby game or something! Not to mention the fact that if they even deliver my packages. 

It's a huge hindrance, when you try to not go back to the big box store for fish... 😑

Anyhow, Here's the Lt. in the new tank. I appreciate you all joining me in my ramblings and moderately interesting life as I tackle my fish... er- fish experiences.

See you next time! 

[KatFish]

Real quick question for the people who know more about goldfish than I do- 

One of my Comet's is chasing the other- like... sticking their face up it's butt. 
Quick googling says it's a mating or a dominance thing.

but is there a way to tell what sex the fish is? Or do I have to wait until these guys like- accidently breed or something?

Thanks!

[Flumpweesel]

I believe there is but I never figured it out with mine . I found guides on line but they never seemed to fit with my fish.

They used to chase each other but it was always fairly playful and always seemed like friends when they settled down

[KatFish]

On 9/14/2022 at 3:14 PM, Flumpweesel said:

I believe there is but I never figured it out with mine . I found guides on line but they never seemed to fit with my fish.

They used to chase each other but it was always fairly playful and always seemed like friends when they settled down

Yeah, I'm having the same issue with those guides too. 

[KatFish]

9/17/2022

I've been making small updates to the tank, as I try to make the best living situation for the two comet goldfish- Crabbe and Goyle. 

I did a huge water change after learning about the possible ammonia burns on Crabbe, and while I was waiting for my boiling water to cool down I took my new basil plant and did my best to remove as much dirt from it's root tangled mess as possible (The roots were literally so bunched up from top to bottom of the nursery pot) and put it in my HOB filter. 

I was planning on putting it in the Terracotta pot, but it was too tall. So I found some seeds from this DIY herb garden kit and I took the kit apart and put it all in my pot- then stuck it in the tank. 
I don't know if the seeds will survive. I didn't really know that those DIY kits had an expiration date until I saw it on the box, so... shrug. 

I live for the thrill of experiments anyhow. 

I just wish I could stop fiddling with the basil plant 😩 The more I keep messing with it, the more of the dirt that is stuck in the massive root clump comes out! 
It's annoying! 
But I keep fiddling with it to try and make the plant sit up straight! 

I'm going bug nuts, friends.

[Flumpweesel]

Just be mindful of those stacked pots goldfish can be a bit thuggish with decor and that might make a mess if they knock it down. 

Love the basil bet it will smell amazing. Using them to grow things is the really cool thing with hang on backs. They are a relatively new thing in they shops here so I've never run one.

[KatFish]

On 9/17/2022 at 4:25 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Just be mindful of those stacked pots goldfish can be a bit thuggish with decor and that might make a mess if they knock it down. 

Love the basil bet it will smell amazing. Using them to grow things is the really cool thing with hang on backs. They are a relatively new thing in they shops here so I've never run one.

Oh really?? I've seen the comets moving the moving the substrate (which is why I decided not to do a planted tank bottom, haha) becuase I knew they were foragers, but I never knew that! 
I will absolutely keep an eye on it. 
Personally, I wasn't 100% set on the placement of it inside the tank anyway, but I didn't want to keep stressing the fish out by fiddling with stuff after doing a big water change, you know? 
 

[Flumpweesel]

Mine would knock everything over, plants were a none starter, unless you really enjoy replanting things. 

You probably have time as they are still rather small.  I got away with some fake plants that had very heavy weights at the bottom and big drift wood that couldn't fall over

[KatFish]

On 9/18/2022 at 3:47 AM, Flumpweesel said:

Mine would knock everything over, plants were a none starter, unless you really enjoy replanting things. 

You probably have time as they are still rather small.  I got away with some fake plants that had very heavy weights at the bottom and big drift wood that couldn't fall over

I have these like... flat marble things from the dollar store that I bought because they were bigger than their mouth, and all night I can just hear the *clink, clink, clink* of them moving around the marbles 🤣
Part of me is tempted just to buy a pack of ping pong balls, just to see what happens. But yeah, I ended up moving the pot when they started wiggling around it and it was shifting. 

Also- I don't know why I didn't think of this- but clearly my logic failed me. 
Basil plants don't like Aquarium salt- who knew 🤷‍♀️ ( /j )

[KatFish]

I think my Mystery snails laid eggs! 

It cant be the lieutenant, because guppies are live bearers- so they're like.... tiny fish- 

Ironically, I don't think I've ever seen the mystery snails ever lay a clutch 😂 more just appear! 

[KatFish]

Also- @Guppysnail can I get your advice on if my guppy is just a chubby little lady, or if she's pregnant? 

 

She's a single guppy, due to the loss of the group when I bought them from my LFS- and she was the only survivor.

But I've only been feeding her about once or twice a week with this tiny brine shrimp spoon I got (i got it from a "hatch your sea dragon kit!" that was a bust haha, but the spoons been useful!) 

I use one spoonful when I feed her- and she's been pooping, but I don't see her tummy ever shrinking. she's just been getting more... chubby.

I've added a few pictures since she moves around a lot- so I hope these help

 

 

 

 

[Guppysnail]

She appears both pregnant and pleasantly plump. Some of my girls carry a touch forward like that. Congratulations 🎊 

[KatFish]

On 9/20/2022 at 7:48 PM, Guppysnail said:

She appears both pregnant and pleasantly plump. Some of my girls carry a touch forward like that. Congratulations 🎊 

Thank you so much for the help! 

[Guppysnail]

On 9/21/2022 at 12:11 PM, Swampbones said:

Thank you so much for the help! 

Anytime 🤗

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

If she is preggo, I'd probably feed her more than once a week for her babies to get more nutrients. It's hard work making babies!

[KatFish]

On 9/21/2022 at 11:31 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

If she is preggo, I'd probably feed her more than once a week for her babies to get more nutrients. It's hard work making babies!

I absolutely will! 

[KatFish]

I'm looking between the net breeder and the Ziss Breeder box. Obviously aside from the jump in price- is there any difference in quality / QoL for the fry? 
Because if it's worth the money for the Ziss, I don't mind dropping the money, but I also want to be sure that it's worth it, you know? 

My only experience with breeding is my accidental breeding of mystery snails- So I just want to be sure I give the lieutenant and her babies the best. 
If my calculations are right- since I got her on the 3rd of Sept, that means she's been preggo for 19 days (oops on my part- thankfully, I only found the tiny spoon last monday, after I fed her) 

To all the people who breed fish, do you have any reccomendations on the Ziss vs the net breeder?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I personally use a lot of floating breeders but those probably aren't great for guppies because of the amount of fry (I have smaller batches). I will say though the average net breeder seems bigger than the Ziss (maybe @Guppysnail can confirm as I've never seen one in person to compare) I'd say it's harder to clean a net breeder and you can't see through them so harder visual. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Guppysnail]

I dislike net breeders. I actually dislike all breeders but I have several 🙄 Guppy babies often get through the net. I use plants also. I know it’s hard not to get excited and want to save every baby. By the third batch the bathroom sink is looking ideal as extra water space to hold babies because the first batch is not big enough to rehome quite yet. 
I strongly encourage new guppy breeders to have plants and floating plants so you don’t get overwhelmed right away. Trust me and thousands of other guppy folks looking for bulk outlets for guppy babies. You will get enough unless you are set up for line breeding and need bulk. I gave a few to a friend. 4 months later she wanted me to take a bunch 🤣. She just did plants. 
If you go the breeder box route the ziss from ACO is my preference.  

Edited September 21, 2022 by Guppysnail

[KatFish]

On 9/21/2022 at 1:03 PM, Guppysnail said:

I dislike net breeders. I actually dislike all breeders but I have several 🙄 Guppy babies often get through the net. I use plants also. I know it’s hard not to get excited and want to save every baby. By the third batch the bathroom sink is looking ideal as extra water space to hold babies because the first batch is not big enough to rehome quite yet. 
I strongly encourage new guppy breeders to have plants and floating plants so you don’t get overwhelmed right away. Trust me and thousands of other guppy folks looking for bulk outlets for guppy babies. You will get enough unless you are set up for line breeding and need bulk. I gave a few to a friend. 4 months later she wanted me to take a bunch 🤣. She just did plants. 
If you go the breeder box route the ziss from ACO is my preference.  

Thank you again for the advice @Guppysnail! I was looking at the plants on ACO but they're out of the java moss (since that seems to be what a lot of breeders use for the fry) 
I have my fake silk plants in there, but obviously live is better. 
Since ACO is out of java moss, would something like their Octopus or Amazon Sword work? 
Or do I need to go to my LFS to specifically get java moss?