58g Planted w/overflow and sump

[myswtsins]

It was technically a retirement closing but they have been suffering a long time. I did not shop there except when I first got into the hobby. I wish I could have given them my business but I knew too many things about the owner and what happened behind the scenes to shop there and their higher than anymore else prices didn't help. Still it is a shame to see such a large LFS die. Next closest LFS that I will shop at is an hr away, makes me feel like I live in the boonies instead of the tri-state area lol.

2 celebes down today. One looked like it die last night and the other was very recent. I knew when I bought them and their was a dead one in the tank that this might happen. The other 4 seem OK though, very active at feedings, good color, no obvious ill behaviors so I'm just gonna hope for the best. I just found some 1.5hrs away for $7 a pair so I might grab some more before the deal is gone hopefully.

Everyone else looks good. And water tests were good despite the tank being fishless for, what, over a month now. I did remove the HOB and add the media to the 58g when I moved the BNs over but kept the sponge running and there was snails populating during that time though.

 

[fishorama]

I live & used to live in a big market areas but I'm very picky about where I buy fish from too. I don't buy fish often or even shop very often unless it's after a plant club meet & my carpool friends want to. I've long overcome any "need" for new fish & can wait for what I want. I have given & been given fish in my club. But like you, they need to fit my tanks & conditions. I don't mind paying a bit more for unusual &/or quarantined fish...but I've been tempted by a good deal too. I sometimes think I was brought up in too much of the gratification postponement mind set...or Yankee cheapism, or maybe I'm just lazy, lol.

I'm sorry you lost 2 Celebes...not really unexpected but still sad. You know you should wait to get more, or at least QT them separately. Nagging done! I'm betting the danios are almost rock solid. I was given 16 short fin pearls & lost 1 after a month.

I'm pretty sure nitrifying bacteria go dormant for quite a while before dying out completely. You should be ok, they double every day or close to. Good of you to test, that's more than I usually do

 

[myswtsins]

The lack of LFSs is making clubs sound better all the time. The best local club is over an hr away and in an area I hate going to though, blah. But LFSs never have the stuff I am looking for at this point in my hobby either.

Lost 2 more celebes the next day, none the day after but 1 more today. Down to just one guy now. Hopefully they are just a weak strain or something and haven't infected all the other fish at least. Everyone still looks just fine except 2 danios that haven't put on any weight yet.

If I got more celebes right now they would definitely be QT'd separately in my 20L don't you worry. Only reason these are all together is because they were all in the same system anyways.

This was interesting for me to see how the nitrifying bacteria would act. I think I learned something!

On a note about THIS actual tank though, the SR BNs are both just a midge under 2" now, easily out sizing the 2 I moved earlier to my 72g even. So some have freckles but are big and some have great no freckled color but are smaller. Every tank I have seems to be a world of its own lol.

The extra feedings for the BN has made my shrimp start breeding more so that's always nice! I do plan to move a group of RCS to a seperate tank before adding the danios BTW.

Been adding ferts here and there and no difference in plant growth yet but I think there is less die off now, progress.

 

[fishorama]

I'm sorry you lost more Celebes, ack! But good stuff to learn, Jen. I wonder about the genetics of the SRBNs, freckles vs no, & growth + sturdiness of the line & all that kind of thing, including the shrimp breeding & feeding/ferts. You're much better at keeping track than I've ever been, lol.

My plant club meets all over the SF Bay area, often almost an hour or more away. But it's a fun social & "shopping" day out even when I come home with only a couple plants & a tummy full of potluck goodies. I love it! You don't have to go every month or whatever, even a few times a year is wonderful.

 

[myswtsins]

QT - Week one in the books for the new fishes. A poor week for the celebes but that one is hanging one and looking prettier everyday. Too bad there is NO chance to make more with just one. Danios are getting fat and happy though. Even the 2 smallest/skinniest ones have put on a little weight in the past couple days. Some are getting a really nice yellow in their fins too. Quite happy with these guys, instant gratification with their good size, outgoing temperament, puridiness and seemingly good health. Sorry I can't get pictures because, well they're danios lol. And a video is impossible with the 58g reflections, maybe after the lights go down for the day I will turn em off and try again.

58g - Tank is just kinda the same if not a little worse than the last picture update but the GSA algae seems to be liking the extra ferts smh. So no new pics yet. The usteriana is unaffected by anything though growing like a champ and cutting through my Nurii now, unacceptable. Kinda dreading pulling it out of there. 1st problem encounter with this monster species though. Oh I think a balansae survived! The freckled plecos are doing great, fat bellies right now and constantly scooting around. Definitely chasing each other now if they get near one another so although still no bristles I have my predictions. All my female RCS are either saddled or berried, just need to figure out how to push more to the berried point.

 

[myswtsins]

I got a bunch of pictures I haven't posted yet so here...in no real order

A comparison from the healthy freckled guys to the sickly one. They were lined up perfectly but I didn't get the camera in time.


A berried RCS


Fanning eggs


Another berried RCS


Just a couple sunset photos on the same settings (low light scene) as ALL the other photos and not altered. Just to show how pictures can be deceiving.

Fat belly! Right after eating of course. Like my new GSA?


He was cruising at the same time as fatty so "snap"


JUst trying to show some other aspects of the my freckle guys


Berried RCS and the expansion of my BBA while I slacked on dosing.


Freckles!


Some group eating shots. While posting these I saw my last feeding shots and the number of saddled and berried RCS is drastically improved!



And these guys just wouldn't be ignored! Always begging group shot. I literally feed them and then the 58g and started taking pictures and they were still begging! lol You can see the one celebes in the middle

Ah ha got ONE Danio in focus! Of course it is in front of the plant but it's good enough. If you're on a phone or something it is located where the upper left focal point would be if this was a FTS and you used those fancy 2:3 rules or whatever for scaping lol.


A poor crop out of the gold zebra danio odd ball. "She" is the 2nd skinniest of the group.

QT update - The 2 smallest fish have been seen flashing but only them and no other signs of disease or parasites. Currently running a heater (as I always do when bringing in new fish even if they are going into an unheated tank) but at only about 74F cause I shamefully only have 1 working heater and it is 50 watt (all my heaters are sent out for replacement ATM). Although I do only have it set to 74 and it barely runs so I can turn it up just don't want to stress it being so undesized. Think my best course of action is to raise the temp to like 77F (I believe that is the temp recommended to make ugly things rear their heads in QT?) and add a little salt to help bolster their slime coat a bit.

Tried to get rid of this picture but won't let me for some reason so, a blah group feeding shot.

 

[fishorama]

I like the freckly BNs. That color does look "enhanced". & congrats on the more fertile shrimp.

I'm guessing the skinny gold LF danio is male, just because of those 2 factors, lol.

The only fish I worry about temp-wise is the lone Celebes. I don't know their preferred temp range but everyone else should be ok at 74. I think it's only ich that higher temps speeds up, you'd probably see that by now don't you think? Bacteria & viruses, meh, seems like they "might" like it... but not in a fish beneficial way. I dunno, good luck.

BTW, what's with the plastic tubes? Bacteria or pale BN homes? I hope you're not thinking they're decorative, lol.

 

[myswtsins]

I'm guessing the skinny gold LF danio is male, just because of those 2 factors, lol.

Which 2 factors? Skinny and ? But it's too pretty to be a boy lol

The only fish I worry about temp-wise is the lone Celebes. I don't know their preferred temp range but everyone else should be ok at 74. I think it's only ich that higher temps speeds up, you'd probably see that by now don't you think? Bacteria & viruses, meh, seems like they "might" like it... but not in a fish beneficial way. I dunno, good luck.

Celebes is good to 72F. I recall reading about QTing goldfish that you should always bring the water up to a certain temp to make sure dormant nasties show themselves, just don't remember exact what temp it was. :/

BTW, what's with the plastic tubes? Bacteria or pale BN homes? I hope you're not thinking they're decorative, lol.

You don't like my decorative white tubes in my QT tank? Pfft. jk They are from when the BNs were in there and when I refreshed the tank for new QT fish I left everything in there to maintain as much BB as possible. Every WC I take something away, so far at WCs I've 1-removed some duckweed (mostly did this one first so I could get into the tank lol), 2-cleaned sponge and removed 3 tubes and next, tomorrow, 3-remove 3 tubes, a little more duckweed and some rocks. These fish don't need any decor to feel safe so I want to remove it all if possible.

Thanks for your support Nancy! I feel like I'm talking to myself sometimes but I sort of am cause I use this as a journal also.

 

[fishorama]

Skinny & very long fins; you know males are often much more colorful (gold), skinny & often longer fins too (ok, maybe 3 factors). Phlltt! Boy fish are often prettier, unlike us female people . Nor are GF tropical fish, they often have different diseases.

Yeah, I hear you on removing duckweed every WC...for all the good that does, lol.

If you don't update more than every 6 months, don't expect even your most loyal fan (me!) to remember anything. I'm not rereading 30 pages of your tank to keep up, lol. But I do enjoy your threads! It's like a private conversation between us sometimes, but out there for everyone to learn from.

Happy New Year to you & your tanks!

 

[myswtsins]

Skinny & very long fins; you know males are often much more colorful (gold), skinny & often longer fins too (ok, maybe 3 factors).

Oh well they are all long finned but 12 are long fin leopard and 1 is a long fin gold zebra so that one is "more colorful" cause it is a different variety lol but maybe they are all male, I have that kind of luck lol.

If you don't update more than every 6 months, don't expect even your most loyal fan (me!) to remember anything. I'm not rereading 30 pages of your tank to keep up, lol.

Even when I updated weekly it was only you and dougall reading, the forum is just so quiet now. I can't even remember what happened with this tank so I don't expect anyone else to, hence the 30 pages of notes.

Happy New Years to you too!