Well, I've never had a breeder tank, but I like the dimensions. Still, I'm sticking to what I said earlier, 15 (ok, or 16, lol) rasboras, 8 corys & a pair of apistos & call it done! But don't forget to add a couple more hiding/breeding spots before you add the cichlids. Wood &/or smooth stones preferred IME.
40 Gallon redone
- Thread starter FishyWarrior
- Start date
I seem to be having a hard time keeping the rasboras alive...Are they delicate fish or do i just have an unhealthy batch? I know a couple had a fungus from the store, probably columnaris, but only a couple showed symptoms of that and i've been medicating the rest of them since then with sulfaplex, and before that paraguard. They seem to do very well at first and then one random one starts hanging back from the group and the next day it's dead. Has anyone else had issues with them?
The parameters in quarantine are always normal, 0,0,5 and it's been up for a couple months now.
The parameters in quarantine are always normal, 0,0,5 and it's been up for a couple months now.
I haven't had issues with harlequin rasboras, even in a tank that had the "chronic" form of columnaris (I think it was espei I had at that time, but very similar). I dosed an antibiotic (I don't recall which, but neither of the drugs you used) & it helped...for a while. But I think it may have been a seasonal issue with both light & heat from a window...at certain times of year. My loaches were never affected...as your corys are not, right?
I'm wondering about the quality of fish from your lfs. First it was the neons & now rasboras too? Same place, right?
I'm not sure what to suggest next...how much & how often do you change water?
I'm wondering about the quality of fish from your lfs. First it was the neons & now rasboras too? Same place, right?
I'm not sure what to suggest next...how much & how often do you change water?
Luckily the rasboras haven't been in the same tank as the cories yet, so their fine. Although before i moved the cories to the 40 gallon, one did get a very nasty case of columnaris that i couldn't treat in time and he didn't make it sadly. None of the others got it however and that was over a month ago.
I went back to the pet store the other day and some of the rasboras there had the same mouth fungus that mine had, so i know it came from there. The neons however, i still think the sand poisoned them since they were in quarantine for over a month and did great in there with no issues or deaths until the move. They were both from the same place though.
I don't really know what to do with the rasbora's now, they get their second dose of sulfaplex tomorrow. Most are doing seemingly well except for another one which is hanging back now, i'm expecting to find him dead tomorrow based on the current track record...
I changed the water a little bit more frequently because i wanted the fungus out of the water, like every other day or so of about 40%. But now it's back to once a week. I'm hoping the water changes aren't the cause of the deaths, i suspect it might be a change in ph now from the water changes that's hurting them (i have almond leaves in there that soften the water and supposedly help to keep them healthier). Though i tested it and the parameters are about the same between tap and tank, just the tank water is a little softer from the leaves.
I went back to the pet store the other day and some of the rasboras there had the same mouth fungus that mine had, so i know it came from there. The neons however, i still think the sand poisoned them since they were in quarantine for over a month and did great in there with no issues or deaths until the move. They were both from the same place though.
I don't really know what to do with the rasbora's now, they get their second dose of sulfaplex tomorrow. Most are doing seemingly well except for another one which is hanging back now, i'm expecting to find him dead tomorrow based on the current track record...
I changed the water a little bit more frequently because i wanted the fungus out of the water, like every other day or so of about 40%. But now it's back to once a week. I'm hoping the water changes aren't the cause of the deaths, i suspect it might be a change in ph now from the water changes that's hurting them (i have almond leaves in there that soften the water and supposedly help to keep them healthier). Though i tested it and the parameters are about the same between tap and tank, just the tank water is a little softer from the leaves.
What kind of filtration does your lfs use? Central canister type on a bank (or all) of tanks? Individual sponge filters or under gravel filters in each tank (better)? Do they quarantine at all?
I'm concerned this is twice now you've had issues with new fish...at least it's not in your main tank.
I think of sulpha drugs as "old school" in some ways. Yes, they can work...but may not be the best option for a specific disease. I'm just not sure...like I said I had chronic columnaris problems in some fish in 1 tank (of 9 at the time). UV light seemed to help a bit, antibiotics for a while...& this was probably 10 years ago, so my memory may not be great either.
Just a reminder, columnaris is a bacterial disease, although it "looks like" fungus, it's not. True fungus is relatively rare in our fish.
I'm concerned this is twice now you've had issues with new fish...at least it's not in your main tank.
I think of sulpha drugs as "old school" in some ways. Yes, they can work...but may not be the best option for a specific disease. I'm just not sure...like I said I had chronic columnaris problems in some fish in 1 tank (of 9 at the time). UV light seemed to help a bit, antibiotics for a while...& this was probably 10 years ago, so my memory may not be great either.
Just a reminder, columnaris is a bacterial disease, although it "looks like" fungus, it's not. True fungus is relatively rare in our fish.
I don't really know what kind of filtration they use, most likely a central one though, i think they mentioned many tanks on a wall being on the same system before. I know that they don't quarantine though sadly, they don't have the space for it.
I'm wondering now if dumping all this medicine in the water is just making it all worse so i'm going to stop and remove what's in there with some carbon and see how they do afterwards for a while.
The one who wasn't doing well that i mentioned died like i thought he would, and another is behaving the same now. I have no idea what to think of all this really, i never had issues like this with my new fish before aside from a couple minor cases of ich that i was able to treat easily.
The rest of them are all perfectly normal looking for now, but who knows when that could change at this point...
I'm wondering now if dumping all this medicine in the water is just making it all worse so i'm going to stop and remove what's in there with some carbon and see how they do afterwards for a while.
The one who wasn't doing well that i mentioned died like i thought he would, and another is behaving the same now. I have no idea what to think of all this really, i never had issues like this with my new fish before aside from a couple minor cases of ich that i was able to treat easily.
The rest of them are all perfectly normal looking for now, but who knows when that could change at this point...
You could try removing any fish that looks like it is in the pattern of headed for death to see if you can't get ahead of whatever is killing them off. Some diseases like neon tetra disease can only be removed from the tank but not cured. The rest of the healthy fish have a level of defense against the disease, but if the disease runs it's course in one fish it reaches it's most infectious stage. You might be able to stop that in it's tracks by not allowing the sick fish to fully incubate the next release of infectious agents.
You're right, i should be doing that. The concerning one from yesterday was dead this morning, if i see it again i will definitely remove them asap. The rest however seem perfectly normal, they're even sparring/showing off with each other which i never saw them do before. I wonder if taking the medicine out actually did help them.
I have another question though, i have 7 harleys left now, would i be able to fill in the gap of the school with espeis or should i just stick to the hets? Like would there be conflict or would they be happier with their own kind even if the others look very similar to them?
I have another question though, i have 7 harleys left now, would i be able to fill in the gap of the school with espeis or should i just stick to the hets? Like would there be conflict or would they be happier with their own kind even if the others look very similar to them?
Clean water makes fish feel good!
The rasboras look similar but the fish can tell, lol. I liked your big school of the same species idea. But you need to wait a long while to make sure this remaining batch is healthy. Then move them to the 40g & start a new quarantine for new fish. I know you know, just a reminder. Hopefully your lfs will have healthy new 1s too.
The rasboras look similar but the fish can tell, lol. I liked your big school of the same species idea. But you need to wait a long while to make sure this remaining batch is healthy. Then move them to the 40g & start a new quarantine for new fish. I know you know, just a reminder. Hopefully your lfs will have healthy new 1s too.
