Any fish experts in the house?
Discussion
48Valves said:
Poisson96 said:
48Valves said:
SeeFive said:
Well, even with a stable tank, we can all still have problems.
I was just about to do a massive plant trim / cull and new plants addition with a water change on Sunday and spotted a dead cardinal tetra. All was OK in the morning, counted them as usual first thing MO and all were present and correct. No previous signs of illness in any fish / shrimps, water fine, it just died at about a year old. And no, these fish were not used to cycle the tank and weakened, they were added when it was stable.
It happens in humans so I guess with a few fish around, one should expect a little mortality. Still makes me grumpy though as I have to go through the "what am I doing wrong" process - I hate fish dying unexpectedly, or in fact dying at all.
Tell me about it.I was just about to do a massive plant trim / cull and new plants addition with a water change on Sunday and spotted a dead cardinal tetra. All was OK in the morning, counted them as usual first thing MO and all were present and correct. No previous signs of illness in any fish / shrimps, water fine, it just died at about a year old. And no, these fish were not used to cycle the tank and weakened, they were added when it was stable.
It happens in humans so I guess with a few fish around, one should expect a little mortality. Still makes me grumpy though as I have to go through the "what am I doing wrong" process - I hate fish dying unexpectedly, or in fact dying at all.
I've just lost 8 of my Malawi Cichlids and it looks like another couple might not make it, due to my 4 way extension lead somehow falling from the side of the cabinet and knocking the heater switch off. I hadn't noticed due to the dining room where the tank is being sealed off due to re-wiring the kitchen. The water temp had dropped to 16 degrees.
To say I'm upset about it is an understatement. Even more so as I had just successfully treated a bout of Malawi Bloat without losing a fish.
Mine seems to have been a single fish issue. The shoal has been in the tank a while so can't blame the source, just life, or a sudden lack of it I guess. Water is fine but have done a couple of changes this week for the hell of it. Another two containers of RO are sitting in the car as I write for a third change tomorrow. Better go and get them now so they can warm up a bit.
Poisson96 said:
Things have thankfully improved. Also found some really cheap plastic plants which look OK. Got an auction coming up on 13/3 near Barnsley, so perfect time to restock.
Loving the shrimps, not tried my hand at those yet...baby Endlers to deal with for now
They like OK better IRL
Looks fine to me. What you need is a little black beard algae to make them even more realistic Loving the shrimps, not tried my hand at those yet...baby Endlers to deal with for now
They like OK better IRL
My little community tank has quite a lot of real plants in, but I keep the back left corner in different types of plastic, plus a few real ones interspersed for consistency of hiding places. It also helps to introduce a little red colour into the tank, which my low tech led lights will not support in real plants.
Shrimps are really easy - well Amanos and RCS are anyway IME. My PH is a bit top end for them (7.4) but stable and they seem OK. They are growing so they must be molting. Omano will never breed successfully (parents need fresh water, kids need brackish) but I seem to have all female RCS, so I will pop back to Lynchford and get some little studs to spice things up a bit in the fry tank. Just need to wait a while as I have a trip away soon, so can't really get new stock just in case it goes pear shaped while I am away.
Talking of fry, I notice you have baby endlers. Fancy a couple of hundred baby guppies every couple of months?
Right Royal, ocean going, fur lined, 24 carat PITA randy bar stewards they are!! Cost me a fry tank - which might just have been a ploy to set up my rcs collection... you know, "a necessary clean up crew dear missus" 
Shrimps are really big characters once they settle in and feel safe with tankmates. Wish I had done it earlier. The way they swim, every time one swims by, I hear the noise from a Jetsons' spaceship. And they quite stand their ground at feeding time too. Great fun.
SeeFive said:
Looks fine to me. What you need is a little black beard algae to make them even more realistic
My little community tank has quite a lot of real plants in, but I keep the back left corner in different types of plastic, plus a few real ones interspersed for consistency of hiding places. It also helps to introduce a little red colour into the tank, which my low tech led lights will not support in real plants.
Shrimps are really easy - well Amanos and RCS are anyway IME. My PH is a bit top end for them (7.4) but stable and they seem OK. They are growing so they must be molting. Omano will never breed successfully (parents need fresh water, kids need brackish) but I seem to have all female RCS, so I will pop back to Lynchford and get some little studs to spice things up a bit in the fry tank. Just need to wait a while as I have a trip away soon, so can't really get new stock just in case it goes pear shaped while I am away.
Talking of fry, I notice you have baby endlers. Fancy a couple of hundred baby guppies every couple of months? Right Royal, ocean going, fur lined, 24 carat PITA randy bar stewards they are!! Cost me a fry tank - which might just have been a ploy to set up my rcs collection... you know, "a necessary clean up crew dear missus"
Shrimps are really big characters once they settle in and feel safe with tankmates. Wish I had done it earlier. The way they swim, every time one swims by, I hear the noise from a Jetsons' spaceship. And they quite stand their ground at feeding time too. Great fun.
I have Endlers, yes. The males lived in one tank (RIP) and the females live in another. I have no place to store all the fry, hence separation. 100% randy little sods. My little community tank has quite a lot of real plants in, but I keep the back left corner in different types of plastic, plus a few real ones interspersed for consistency of hiding places. It also helps to introduce a little red colour into the tank, which my low tech led lights will not support in real plants.
Shrimps are really easy - well Amanos and RCS are anyway IME. My PH is a bit top end for them (7.4) but stable and they seem OK. They are growing so they must be molting. Omano will never breed successfully (parents need fresh water, kids need brackish) but I seem to have all female RCS, so I will pop back to Lynchford and get some little studs to spice things up a bit in the fry tank. Just need to wait a while as I have a trip away soon, so can't really get new stock just in case it goes pear shaped while I am away.
Talking of fry, I notice you have baby endlers. Fancy a couple of hundred baby guppies every couple of months?
Right Royal, ocean going, fur lined, 24 carat PITA randy bar stewards they are!! Cost me a fry tank - which might just have been a ploy to set up my rcs collection... you know, "a necessary clean up crew dear missus" Shrimps are really big characters once they settle in and feel safe with tankmates. Wish I had done it earlier. The way they swim, every time one swims by, I hear the noise from a Jetsons' spaceship. And they quite stand their ground at feeding time too. Great fun.
Shrimps I may try in the future, why not?
Also the plants will get a thin algae layer probably...
Poisson96 said:
Shrimps I may try in the future, why not?
Shrimps are great fun, and I'm hoping that my population will start to increase.Before keeping them, though, you need to consider whether your other fish are shrimp-safe. Shrimps are prey food for lots of fish, even quite small ones. You don't want them becoming expensive live food!
My otocinclus and chilli rasboras appear to be completely safe, although I dare say even the chillies would pick off a very small baby shrimp if it wandered into the open. But I don't think I'd trust your endlers.
Shrimps are also extremely sensitive to some toxins that don't affect fish. Copper, for example, will kill shrimps even in the most minute quantities - if you buy plants that have been treated with anti-snail chemicals, you can wipe out an entire shrimp colony overnight. The same goes for insecticides, which some far-east plant suppliers use; the insecticides are effective on crustaceans as well as insects, and again I have read horror stories of total wipe-out. So you need to buy plants only from suppliers who understand the dangers to shrimps - I wouldn't trust plants from any of the usual fish shops now that I've got shrimps.
And you can forget about using most of the anti-parasite treatments for fish, because they're copper based and will wipe out your whole shrimp colony.
I confess that I lost quite a few of my shrimps in the early stages, and to this day I can't figure out why - and neither can any of the shrimp keepers I've discussed it with on forums. Maybe my plants were still carrying some toxins despite multiple water changes. The population seems to have stabilised now though; I have a 'berried' female (carrying eggs), and several juveniles have appeared.
So a little thought is necessary before committing to keeping shrimps - they're not 100% easy I would say.
Agree with all you say on treatments not being tolerated by shrimp. Infections are a pain. I guess low tech with regular maintenance reduces instability issues which in turn can cause infections and treatment needs.
My view of easy is firstly selecting the right shrimp variety, so I avoided bee and other crystals because of lower ph needs and my lack of experience.
Secondly, tankmate selection and size of new shrimps - I always had a mind to do shrimp in my fry tank, small fish and small mouths is all that is in there. But selecting Amanos for the other community tank was mandated because of the size of interested adult mouths plus amano simplicity and ability to get on with fish. Didn't go the mail order route, wanted to see what I was taking on as some I had seen in shops were tiny and poorly coloured.
Then acclimatisation via drip method but I did it within the tank, floating bag and syringing water in drips manually over a couple of hours. Also, needed to provide lots of hiding places until their confidence grows, so more dense planted areas. My Amanos now front out large female guppies over food, knowing there is always an escape upon to them.
Once in, it is just a matter of keeping conditions stable if not absolutely optimal - my area ph is a little on the high side, so as mentioned was an important factor in species selection. IMO, just like fish it is easier to select a shrimp that fits conditions rather than to alter, and then maintain false conditions, as low ph discus folks in high ph areas will probably attest!
So all in all, the way I have gone about it, selecting suitable species for conditions and inexperience, sourcing and initial acclimatisation apart, it has put no greater need or complexity on my normal fishkeeping practice, and as much as I hate to say such things, they are all still there... currently...
My view of easy is firstly selecting the right shrimp variety, so I avoided bee and other crystals because of lower ph needs and my lack of experience.
Secondly, tankmate selection and size of new shrimps - I always had a mind to do shrimp in my fry tank, small fish and small mouths is all that is in there. But selecting Amanos for the other community tank was mandated because of the size of interested adult mouths plus amano simplicity and ability to get on with fish. Didn't go the mail order route, wanted to see what I was taking on as some I had seen in shops were tiny and poorly coloured.
Then acclimatisation via drip method but I did it within the tank, floating bag and syringing water in drips manually over a couple of hours. Also, needed to provide lots of hiding places until their confidence grows, so more dense planted areas. My Amanos now front out large female guppies over food, knowing there is always an escape upon to them.
Once in, it is just a matter of keeping conditions stable if not absolutely optimal - my area ph is a little on the high side, so as mentioned was an important factor in species selection. IMO, just like fish it is easier to select a shrimp that fits conditions rather than to alter, and then maintain false conditions, as low ph discus folks in high ph areas will probably attest!
So all in all, the way I have gone about it, selecting suitable species for conditions and inexperience, sourcing and initial acclimatisation apart, it has put no greater need or complexity on my normal fishkeeping practice, and as much as I hate to say such things, they are all still there... currently...
Poisson96 said:
I haven't ever mail ordered fish, it just seems a stressful gamble on quality and colouring. Not planning to try it either, too much fun going and choosing. But there is the added risk of unexpected purchases
I share your pain brother. My other half has not quite worked out that stocking levels in a tank are not controlled by a fish having enough room to turn around! Also, she now wants a fig 8 puffer she saw last time out, but with shrimps!! SeeFive said:
I share your pain brother. My other half has not quite worked out that stocking levels in a tank are not controlled by a fish having enough room to turn around! Also, she now wants a fig 8 puffer she saw last time out, but with shrimps!!
Because I needed Black Phantom Tetras Spitfire2 said:
Don't know where you got the idea that Danios and Platys were cold water fish. Get a heater and filter and they will likely all be happier.
Not trying to argue but my mates has a 4foot coldwater tank, various danios and around 8 platys, all are doing very well indeed and have been in there give or take a year now so they can happily be kept as coldwater fishGassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff