Help with Mono argenteus?

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bestbet98133

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Two weeks ago, I bought 3 mono to add to my 55-gallon community tank. Two days after purchase all 3 had cloudy eye only in their left eye! Now only one still has cloudy eye in left eye, he is also darker in color than the other two. He is eating and swimming normal. (they all 3 seem to love the powerhead current, which I thought might have injured their eyes?) They are fed live brineshrimp 3x week, frozen bloodworms 3x week, in addition to varied high quality flake, pellet, & granules. These fish are quite personable, and I am fond of them. Please help!
Tank Specs: (55-gallon with weekly 25% water changes)
78*
Ph-7.4
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
KH-6*
GH-7*
Salinity-? ( 1 1/2 Tbs. salt per 5 gallons)
Tank Equipment:
UG filter w/powerhead, 2 powerfilter with 3 bio-wheels
Tank roommates:
2- bumble-bee gobies
1- black mollie (male)-female&newest fry removed to 29-gallon
4- brilliant rasbora
6-pygmy corydoras
3-bandit corydoras
2-brochis splendins
2-flame chuna
2-botia stratia
2-false siamese algea eater
3-black skirt tetra
2-red-eye tetra
1-ple*o
1-zebra ple*o L046
Thank-you
 
your mono argentus should be in brackish water. You should have an sg (specific gravity) of about 1.010 and raise it every day two tablespoons of ocean salt (I use instant ocean). after about 2 years it should be marine. If you aren't prepared to take care of them properly return them immediately to the LFS (local fish store)you bought them from. They require their own tank about 75 gallons. You shouldn't have them in with those fish either. If you don't get them into some major ocean salt soon they'll get sick and die.
 
I agree they should be in brackish to marine water. This might be the reason they are becoming ill. They need the salt and hardness that marine salt provides. You might be able to sucessfully keep them with the bumblebee gobies and the mollies, since these are brackish water fish as well, but the other fish that you mentioned are strictly freshwater. I don't know how large your monos are but once they are fuly grown they will need a large tank to feel comfortable and to reduce agression. I would suggest a 100gallon tank or larger. These fish are very active and can grow quite large. They also need to be fed often every day, 3 or more times daily, or they will start to waste away.

Cdawson, you are using Instant Ocean salt. I would take look at this report http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-03/rs/feature/index.htm on the composition of various brands of salt, it might change your mind about using this brand of salt.
I used Instant Ocean as well until I read this report. I no longer choose to use this brand.
 
Goldfish freak what salt brand do you use now?
I scanned over this report, I'll have to go back later to read it in depth.
 
Olaf, I am currently using Tropic Marin brand. I don't know if this brand is any better, but I got it before I read that report. From what I have read and heard it is regarded as a very good salt, on the packaging it states that it is manufactured to be identical to natural sea salt, I don't know if this is true or not, I have not read any reports on it's analysis. I am planning on using one the brands that the report recommends, if I can get it for a reasonable cost, when I get back into keeping monos.
 
Thanks for all the feedback, I took your advice and went to talk with the LFS, they agreed that my salinity is too low for these fish. However, the same man that sold me these fish also sold me the 4 Botia and 4 pygmy cory's at the same time!! He knew they were going in the tank together, but on the day I went to talk with him, he denied...denied... now they don't want to let me bring the fish back. This is supposed to be reputable store, only selling fish. Now, I'm not sure what to do. I feel bad for the little guys. In the meantime, what could I do about the cloudy eye? Is it contagious?
 
By the looks of it you have two differnt tanks (55 and 29-am I right?). If you have them in the 55 with only the bumble and mollies you can slowly raise the salinity to make it more suitable for the Monos. I always use 1 cup of salt per 10 gallons. Sometimes I go a bit higher like 1.5 cups per 10 gallons. Currently I don't have any Monos but our wholesale supplier is letting a whole batch of Sebaes grow up in their tanks and they are going to sell 6 of them to me first! So excited. Actually I do have one Argenteus (I know I'm breaking my own rules but he is in with 3 Figure 8's and lived by himself for 3 months in our store) but this week I plan on getting 3 more to have a huge school of Monos when the Sebaes come in! The cloudy eye is a minor bacterial infection because the fishes immune system is not up to speed in the slight brackish. Hope this helps and let me know if there are any questions I didn't address or need more clarification.
 
Mono:

Your right I do have the two tanks, however my 55-gallon is community and the 29-gallon has the baby mollies (3 different births). I do have a 5-gallon that I use for quarantine and a 10-gallon that I use for hatching brine shrimp.

Question: Could I set up the 10-gallon as brackish and only house the 3 mono's? They are about 1" at this point. I know it wouldn't be their house forever, just in the meantime.
(my mobies and molly in community tank have acclimated to the salinity I have)
The LFS said it didn't have enough of my water for hydrometer reading but said it was .14 with kit? What do you think?
(big al's online is sending me a hydrometer in couple days.)

Your right to be crazy about this fish, they are so personable and recognize me as their food source!! My mono's eye looks a little better, but I want them to be as happy as they can. This will teach me to not buy fish without first knowing about it, I should have known better, yet I gave in to these little guys. The zebra ple*o I researched first because of the hefty price tag!!
Thanks for your help.....I wish you lived closer and I would let you raise them. Are they expensive in your area? I paid $21.00 each.
 
Depends on the store. The store that I work at (Aquasphere) sells them for $9.99, while our local Petland sells them for $21.99. We don't make much profit on them at $9.99 but we don't have many brackish people in our area (I know of one other person other than myself!) so we can't charge a lot for them or we will have them forever.... wait we do anyway! Oh well, I enjoy working with them whenever I work. A 10G is a bit small since Monos are active schooling fish but if you think you will have a bigger home for them in like a month or so that would be perfect. Also, don't know if you know but Monos and Scats require saltwater as adults. They start in freshwater after their parents migrate from saltwater, lay eggs and return to saltwater (all though it is not known if they return to their homeland or die in freshwater like salmon do), then as juvies the fry stay in brackish waters. Then as adults start making the huge journey out to the deep blue sea and continue the cycle. Adult monos will do okay in brackish (is better than freshwater) but thrive and show their best colors in saltwater. Then there's goldfish freak's Monos that breed in brackish! These fish along with all fish have a mind of their own!
 
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