Fishies

[Cutie_Kisses]

Happy Birthday @JerryBoBerry

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Posted a gif of my Snail today and someone asked why I had a penis in my fish tank. Dude, if that's what you think a penis looks you, you may want to go get yours checked.

 

[Influenced]

When you said fish, I thought you were talking about tippers. You mean the real thing though...

Hahahaha.....

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Pictures from the pet store.

 

[SoTxBob]

Sigh.... read a few pages here today. Decisions, decisions....
Did a complete clean n sterilization of one of my 75's last week. Been wondering what to do this time for something different. Breeding cichlids is getting old. Now I'm wanting to get a ton of something. Maybe get a quart of the cheap gold feeders and see what they grow into. [wildfingers gets credit for that with the fry pics.] I remember well when I started venturing beyond small tanks and had a guppy explosion. Was kinda fun for awhile but they kill the tank chemistry sooo fast.
As for the issues I see with chemistry here, I'd advise to over filter and add plenty of air to any tank. The air pumps usually say 'for x gallon tanks'- always buy at least 2-3x the need. Pumps get quieter if you have some internal resistance in the pressure. I typically used an air curtain bubble tubing under the gravel to make it interesting and the plants loved it.
For filtering i use 200 gallon capacity canisters for all my tanks. 75-125. The 235g i had 2 smaller canisters with 400 capacity. Once Id learned this lil secret, the issues with chemistry stopped completely.
It'd be kind of cool to see 100 neon tets darting about in a big planted tank under the uv night light with some white coarse sand. Anybody know where I can find a bucket full for less than LFS price?

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

It'd be kind of cool to see 100 neon tets darting about in a big planted tank under the uv night light with some white coarse sand. Anybody know where I can find a bucket full for less than LFS price?

Also curious about the answer for when I have my house one day because THIS WOULD BE SO PRETTY! #goals Whatever you decide to do @SoTxBob please share pictures with us!

I want the stripped glofish one day!

 

[WildFingers]

I'm not really looking for anything, I've had it for 3 years. Like I said earlier I only have a few pygmy corys and some snails so that's really it. I just showed a picture so Cutie_Kisses could see what kind of tank I have. I do know my direction and I personally would never do a coral reef look in a freshwater tank.

Fresh water shrimp like the Amano Shrimp amd also the algae eating fish like the Siamesa, are both voracious algae eaters. The addition of these two in combination cleaned up my hair algae in a matter of a week. Always go with the natural removal, over the use of chemicals.

 

[eyeteach]

So I've been a cam girl for three years now and there is one question that's been in the back of my mind the whole time ... What's the best way to care for my new fish? (yeah I know, lame joke) This is my first post here on ACF though, so be gentle! I'm trying to get acclimated before I officially apply for my model status.

I have had a small tank full of danios for the past five years and cared for three schools of fish during that time. When the last group passed away I decided to try a new type of fish, so I got two Platys. I was instantly amazed at how different their personalities were and realized they would need some adjustments in care. They seem to like hiding places and the coral plants much more than my danios, and there's no nice way to say it so I'll just be out with it, they poop A LOT more than my danios. A kind gentleman in my room bought me a new slightly larger tank equipped a filter and heater and it seems to be a much better fit. I plan to clean the tank once a month but am new to having a filter, how often does that need to be changed? Secondly, what bottom feeders would you recommend I buy? I was thinking maybe snails, but I know nothing about how to care for them. And lastly, do you think fish feel it's important to have realistic looking plants or they can be just as comfortable with the fake colorful blue and pink ones.

I look forward to your answers, and encourage you to show your aquariums as well!

I'd love to hear your knowledge about more than just my questions also! You never can learn too much!!

Posted are my two Platys - Sunny and Flare

So how are your fishies?

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Ninja went missing (pink fish) last time I cleaned the tank. I didn't realize he had been caught in the net along with another fish. I thought he had teleported to another fishy demention because I looked everywhere and couldn't find him for what must have been 10 minutes. That was a week ago and he seems fine now. All six are still alive and swimming happily.

I've actually been meaning to ask how long can a fish survive out of water?

I've been thinking about recently glad you checked in @eyeteach! How are your tanks doing everyone?!

 

[eyeteach]

@Cutie_Kisses I'm glad I could bump your thread!

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

It makes me so happy when I turn the aquarium light on in the morning and my fish come to greet me.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

I'm down to 5 fish, putting me at an almost perfect fish-inch to water ratio.

But I'm learning I'm really bad at this whole snail thing. I'm just trying to decide whether to keep trying or not.

I've lost three so far, if you don't count the one that was dead when I got it (I told the store he didn't look alright, but they said he was just hiding).

It seems I either over-clean the tank, or under-clean it. I can't find the right balance to provide them with the nutrients they need to thrive while also keeping my fish safe.

I'm assuming this is because my tank is so small and maybe I shouldn't have a snail in there? Without a snail, the tank gets so dirty so quickly though.

Since I don't know what to do, I'm going to try without a snail for a month and see what happens.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

This looks fancy:

 

[eyeteach]

I approve this thread, it gives people like me hope and its super cool to look at all the pics you guys post.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

I saw this dope snail at the pet store the other day. Can't wait until I can have a beast like this!

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

This question sounds strange so I feel weird asking it but anyone ever heard of a fish that was totally normally ending up crooked? Like or V shaped-ish? Kind of like a hunch backed old man, but he's a fish (obviously). A few months ago my fish became crooked, and shortly after that he start having occasional issues swimming where he seemed to have trouble staying on course.

He's old now, and I think he's finally on his last few hours of life... (really sad about that) but I'd still really like to know what happened to him.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

This question sounds strange so I feel weird asking it but anyone ever heard of a fish that was totally normally ending up crooked? Like or V shaped-ish? Kind of like a hunch backed old man, but he's a fish (obviously). A few months ago my fish became crooked, and shortly after that he start having occasional issues swimming where he seemed to have trouble staying on course.

He's old now, and I think he's finally on his last few hours of life... (really sad about that) but I'd still really like to know what happened to him.

http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/curved_spine/

Fish Tuberculosis (Curved Spine) General Description
The symptoms of Fish TB are usually wasting, lesions on the body, skeletal deformities (a few of mine developed curved spines), and loss of scales and coloration. This is a relentless disease.
Most references actually call this disease Fish TB, but it is not actually TB and it is transmissible to animals other than fish. Fish TB is caused by Mycobacterium marinum, a bacterium closely related to the TB bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There are actually over fifty species of bacteria related to tuberculosis that can cause disease. They are typically able to live in any number of environments, in soil, water and animals.

Fish Tuberculosis (Curved Spine) Treatments
Effectively, there is no sensible cure. The only way to cure the infected aquarium is to immediately remove infected fish as soon as they show any symptoms. Ideally all other susceptible fish should also be removed.
Once the fish became emaciated I had no luck saving them. Traditional tricks for curing diseased fish, such as adding salt and raising the temperature, are ineffective and in the case of the raising temperature may even be detrimental. The bacteria grow better in warmer water; their optimum temperature is 30�C. They have no problem with salt either; they can infect saltwater fish as well as freshwater.

I have read cases where treatment of the open wounds with penicillin ointment have effected a cure. As the disease is bacterial, antibiotics should work, but in general these are only available on veterinary prescription and injection of infected fish may be required, so such cures are hardly useful,to the average aquarium keeper.

Fish Tuberculosis (Curved Spine) Prevention
Prevention is key to avoiding this disease since it is so difficult to cure. The immune system is usually enough to prevent an infection in healthy fish. Stress, which suppresses the body's immune system, and/or wounds in fish are most likely to allow an infection to take hold. Therefore, eliminating stress is paramount. Although aquarists don't frequently get this disease, using gloves when cleaning infected tanks is highly recommended. Starting a siphon by mouth is also a good way to expose yourself unnecessarily to the bacteria. If a tank has been infected, it is considered best to bleach it well and dry it out before restocking it.
Bacilli may be in the faeces, scraps of skin or burst abscesses and can be ingested by healthy fish. If infected fish die and are eaten by others (as we have all seen, on occasion, in a poorly attended fish retailer's stock tanks) then an overwhelming infection may result.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Checking in to see when I posted about Glo's decline, and now I'm even more heartbroken. I separated him shortly after this post and expected he would pass shortly. But it's been two and a half weeks and he's still just laying on the bottom of the tank. At first he would clumsily swim in short two minute burst or so, and I would find him resting around different parts of the tank, which was how I monitored how active he was being. Now it appears for the last three days that he can't even really swim at all.

I feel incredibly helpless. I've been assured that fish don't feel pain the way we do. But I don't find that comforting, being unable to swim or feeling lethargic or whatever he is experiencing is still negative.

I don't know what to do. I feel cruel even thinking about taking action to end his suffering (though I don't know what that would be) but I feel equally as awful just watching him struggle. I don't know morally what the best course of action to take here is.

This is by far the most painful fish death I have witnessed. I've cried numerous times over it. I just want him to be at peace.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

R.I.P Glo - you always shone the brightest. I miss you buddy.

 

[LilyOhRiley]

Oh, that's absolutely terrible and I'm so sorry you had to deal with that.

If this ever comes up in the future, clove oil is an anaesthetic that can be used on fish - it's often used by fancy goldfish vets/owners when the wen (head growths) get big and need trimmed back. I've also used it for euthanasia of cold-water fish when death was unavoidable and I wanted to make it easier on them.

Here's a science paper on it: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjb/v77n3/1519-6984-bjb-1519-698415015.pdf

Clove Oil (contains eugenol)

Clove oil is a sedative which at high doses, can be used to euthanase small fish. Unlike veterinary anaesthetics, clove oil is readily available from most chemists. Around 400 mg of clove oil per litre of aquarium water is sufficient to cause death in exposed fish. The clove oil should be mixed with a little warm water first before adding it to the water and fish slowly. Do not add all at once as fish get excited - add the clove oil mix over a 5 minute period.

When exposed to clove oil at this concentration fish quickly lose consciousness, stop breathing and die from hypoxia. Please note that the concentration of the solution must be appropriate and the fish must remain in the solution for at least 10 minutes.

Studies have found clove oil to be similar to the anaesthetics MS-222 and Benzocaine hydrochloride.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

Thank you so much.

Oh, that's absolutely terrible and I'm so sorry you had to deal with that.

If this ever comes up in the future, clove oil is an anaesthetic that can be used on fish - it's often used by fancy goldfish vets/owners when the wen (head growths) get big and need trimmed back. I've also used it for euthanasia of cold-water fish when death was unavoidable and I wanted to make it easier on them.

Here's a science paper on it: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjb/v77n3/1519-6984-bjb-1519-698415015.pdf

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

I'm down to three fish, which is where my tank should be actually. There names are Ninja, Simon, and Theo.

My friend told me that my plant shouldnt have it''s roots buried if it's an annubias (I hope I spelled that right) which we think it is? I tried going back through here to see if I ever told y'all but I couldn't find it. I wrote down the name when I got it in May of 2016, is all I gathered... where that paper went is beyond me.

Hope your fishy friends are doing well!