well, bad news on the fishy front.
about a week ago i moved the java ferns i had been growing in the nursery tank to the 5 gallon for the wild betta pair that just arrived. i replaced them with a silk plant that i had previously used in the big tank. the silk plant had some dried algae on it that i scrubbed off before putting it in the nursery.
well, when i checked on the babies the next morning i had three dead babies. i immediately pulled the plant and did a 50% water change. the remaining eight fry perked up immediately. i don't know what it was on the plant, but once i removed it and changed the water the babies seemed much better.
fortunately, the eight survivors included the little caramel baby, the big fat gold ones, and my favorite littlest fry. i know i shouldn't have favorites, but i do. ah well. they have been doing well since, but i am keeping an eye on their development and health.
then, to further my fish problems. today i found Upstart unusually fat and bloated. she is swimming normally, eating well and seems content, but she is much too fat. no raised scales, and no change in behavior or color. some swelling between her lower fins and her vent. from above she's symmetrical but swollen. the only thing i can figure is she must be egg-bound. which usually requires surgery.
i searched google furiously for hours and finally found a few good resources. these may be of help to the rest of you as well.
aquavetmed.info (which used to be aquavets.com) is a search engine that will allow you to find vets that treat ornamental fish. enter your country and state, then check the "ornamental fish" box, and a list of vets in your state will come up. easy to use and i found a vet in my area right away.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3214/04.html is a great little NOVA site that has a video slideshow about fish surgery and ailments. the reporter covers three or four surgeries for a variety of disorders. excellent photos. it's great to see the CAT scans, x-rays, and surgery setups, too. something that we aquarists don't get to see every day.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/100 has a wonderful article about fish veterinary medicine and the increasing numbers of fish vets. really great writing.
http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/Fisheries/Lake_Clark/cloveoil.htm is a very interesting article about the use of clove oil as opposed to other anaesthetics in fish, using sockeye salmon as a test subject. has good charts showing recovery times in different concentrations,etc, good photos, well written.
so i've contacted the vet, and i'm waiting for her to call me back right now. i'm going to perform a large water change to see if i can trigger a spawning and possibly flush out the bound-up eggs. i'm very worried about Upstart. please keep your fingers crossed for us.
about a week ago i moved the java ferns i had been growing in the nursery tank to the 5 gallon for the wild betta pair that just arrived. i replaced them with a silk plant that i had previously used in the big tank. the silk plant had some dried algae on it that i scrubbed off before putting it in the nursery.
well, when i checked on the babies the next morning i had three dead babies. i immediately pulled the plant and did a 50% water change. the remaining eight fry perked up immediately. i don't know what it was on the plant, but once i removed it and changed the water the babies seemed much better.
fortunately, the eight survivors included the little caramel baby, the big fat gold ones, and my favorite littlest fry. i know i shouldn't have favorites, but i do. ah well. they have been doing well since, but i am keeping an eye on their development and health.
then, to further my fish problems. today i found Upstart unusually fat and bloated. she is swimming normally, eating well and seems content, but she is much too fat. no raised scales, and no change in behavior or color. some swelling between her lower fins and her vent. from above she's symmetrical but swollen. the only thing i can figure is she must be egg-bound. which usually requires surgery.
i searched google furiously for hours and finally found a few good resources. these may be of help to the rest of you as well.
aquavetmed.info (which used to be aquavets.com) is a search engine that will allow you to find vets that treat ornamental fish. enter your country and state, then check the "ornamental fish" box, and a list of vets in your state will come up. easy to use and i found a vet in my area right away.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3214/04.html is a great little NOVA site that has a video slideshow about fish surgery and ailments. the reporter covers three or four surgeries for a variety of disorders. excellent photos. it's great to see the CAT scans, x-rays, and surgery setups, too. something that we aquarists don't get to see every day.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/100 has a wonderful article about fish veterinary medicine and the increasing numbers of fish vets. really great writing.
http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/Fisheries/Lake_Clark/cloveoil.htm is a very interesting article about the use of clove oil as opposed to other anaesthetics in fish, using sockeye salmon as a test subject. has good charts showing recovery times in different concentrations,etc, good photos, well written.
so i've contacted the vet, and i'm waiting for her to call me back right now. i'm going to perform a large water change to see if i can trigger a spawning and possibly flush out the bound-up eggs. i'm very worried about Upstart. please keep your fingers crossed for us.
I hope Upstart can get her eggs out.
I'm thrilled about the color of this baby. So bright! 
