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Post by Carl on Dec 19, 2009 10:47:00 GMT -5
Do you have the brand and item of the problem cave, I am interested in investigating this further, if only to note this as a product myselff "not to buy or sell" (I am slowly adding more decor to my site, such as the DeCoral and SeaGarden Silk plants)
This is how Southern Oregon is many items, not just aquarium supplies, I never find what I am looking for, I had to order much of my kids & other gifts. Sadly and what is so depressing is walking into a pet store around here is like taking a time machine back to 1978-1985 and yet I have made a whopping 5 sales locally.
Carl
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Post by kagome on Dec 20, 2009 0:42:26 GMT -5
www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752217&ab=fish_fc1aThis is the cave that I bought. I know that what I should really do is return it and/or exchange it for a new one but honestly I'm just too worn out and stressed out to bother. What's ironic is that the cave that I put back in there is also a top fin brand cave but it has been in the tank for quite some time with no problems. I don't think the problem is endemic to the top fin brand, I think I was just unlucky enough to get a defective one. Honestly, I wish petsmart just carried a larger variety of the blue ribbon/exotic environments brand decor. they have really great designs that are really attractive and I have always found their stuff to be rather durable, even when it gets dropped or otherwise abused. The big pagoda that is in my 38g was made by blue ribbon. If you are looking to carry more decor Carl, you might want to think about blue ribbon. Here's a link to their site: www.blueribbonpet.com/
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Post by Carl on Dec 20, 2009 10:44:00 GMT -5
I used to sell Blue Ribbon products when I had my store in LA, I too thought they had a nice line of decorations. The only similar line I sell now is a ReSun, & then only a Castle (these have not sold, so it has kept me from considering more of this type of item for now, as only the DeCoral and SeaGarden Fancy Plants have sold and even then are slow)
I will however consider the Blue Ribbon line if it is still available (the one distributor I know that was still selling Blue Ribbon is going out of business)
As to Top Fin, from what I know of this company is that they do not make products themselves rather contract with many different manufactures for a given product, which would explain why one product might be fine and another not so good. Personally I do not care for their business model, as "cheap" tends to be their operative word. This is not to say a good product cannot also cost less, however the way Top Fin goes about this only seeking the lowest price while no or little consideration goes into quality control is not the way to go IMO. As well when a manufacturer does not have to directly answer to consumers/retailers (such as Blue Ribbon for example), their is no feedback for shoddy products since these manufactures remain anonymous
Carl
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Post by kagome on Jan 31, 2010 1:20:17 GMT -5
Gosh, I haven't updated my tank blog in forever. I have redone my 20g decor to my liking. I got rid of that cave that the paint was coming off of. I did order that Blue Ribbon cave and I am very happy with it. I still have slightly cloudy water in that tank but I think that a medicated wonder shell will get rid of the last of the problem.
I was VERY upset the other day because I woke up to find my male emerald rainbow fish dead in the tank. Of course I freaked out and checked and rechecked all my parameters, which were essentially perfect. I found him stuck between the sponge filter and the glass. I think that he might have gotten stuck back there and died, although I have never known the rainbows to cram themselves in tight spaces. They are almost exclusively open water fish. Once he was scooped out I examined him very carefully and saw no signs of disease but he did have some fin nips taken out of his tail. I think he may have been weakened somehow and then was being chased and got stuck back there and died from the stress. Although the rainbows seem to be extremely tolerant of any kind of other fish they do not seem to very tolerant of any sort of weakness among their own kind. So far, just like when the female Australian died, there seems to be no signs of distress or illness with any of the other fish. The parameters are great, so I don't really have much to go by.
The albino bushynose in that tank is doing really well. I had been so worried about her but now she is fat as a tick. I really enjoy having her in the tank. I'm not sure if it's because she can't see or something but she is always out in the open and so I get to see her all the time unlike my non-albino that is always hiding. She is definitely growing and thriving. She can be a bossy little fish but frankly since she has to deal with 5 hungry cories who want to eat everything I thing that's probably in her best interest.
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Post by Carl on Jan 31, 2010 20:57:30 GMT -5
Sorry about the loss of your emerald rainbow fish. IMO, I think just observing the other fish and keeping up with regular maintenace is best, as your tank seems to be doing well otherwise. Carl
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Post by goldenpuon on Feb 1, 2010 16:15:49 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that your fish died. I hope the rest are doing well.
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Post by kagome on Feb 20, 2010 23:58:54 GMT -5
Thus far I have not had any more losses in the rainbow tank and no one seems at all sick. The rainbow fish seem very hardy and when one dies they give no sign that anything is even wrong. Both times that I have lost one I turn off the light and they seem fine and when I turn on the light in the morning they're just dead with no obvious symptoms whatsoever. I watch these guys quite a bit and have never noticed any marked aggression.
I have not yet found a replacement for my male emerald. These guys have become very popular in my area and even though they sell for around $19 they are selling out very quickly when they come into stock. I am considering trading in my remaining Australian and getting two emeralds instead. That would give me three Boesemani and three emeralds.
I put a medicated wondershell in my 20g and this cleared up the floating algae. I now that I have changed the light in the ceiling next to it and have blocked off the sun coming in the nearest window I think I have finally beaten this back enough to resolve this issue. I am still very careful with food and have upped the cleaning schedule a bit. Things in that tank must not be going too bad because the rams are about to spawn again. They have dug a new nest and are guarding it.
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Post by Carl on Feb 21, 2010 11:07:19 GMT -5
Your Rams spawning seems to indicate all is well otherwise IMO. I hope you can find a healthy replacement for your male emerald soon. Carl
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Post by kagome on Mar 11, 2010 0:01:03 GMT -5
I have a bully in my tank. I think that my female emerald has become homicidal. I have a feeling that she chased my male emerald until he tried to dart behind the sponge filter and then got stuck and died. Even in the limited time that I am at home I have seen repeated chasing, even of the biggest Boesemani that is quite large. I think that this weekend I am going to take her and the Australian and trade them in. I think that instead of getting more emeralds I will actually get some praecox rainbows instead, a school of about 4 I think. I know that they don't get very big but my Boesemani are really very peaceful so I'm not worried about aggression from them. I'm disappointed about having to trade in the emerald but if she's going to be so mean to the other fish then I think it's for the best.
On the upside my 20g is doing really well and the rams spawned again. Of course the cories ate the eggs but honestly right now I just don't have time to try and separate fry and set up another tank and raise babies. But at least the tank seems to be really healthy and the fish seem happy.
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Post by Carl on Mar 11, 2010 10:41:41 GMT -5
Sorry about your homicidal female emerald, but IMO you are doing the right thing.
Another positive, this aggression is also often a sign of a healthy and strong fish, which also speaks well of your tank.
Carl
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Post by kagome on Mar 14, 2010 0:42:14 GMT -5
No luck so far with changing the stock in my rainbow fish tank. I turned the heater down a little bit and this seems to have lessened the aggression a little bit, or it's just my imagination. It usually sits at 77 and now I have it around 75. I called around to the LFS's I buy stock from and right now one is out of the praecox and the other no longer carries them. The store that is just out of stock will probably not have any new ones in until late next week. For now I'm going to cross my fingers that the others can tolerate her bullying for one more week and just wait for the new shipment to come in.
On a side note, since I did a water change recently and then turned the heat down a bit today I think I triggered the peppered cories to get all lovey dovey with each other in that tank.
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Post by kagome on Mar 26, 2010 22:26:20 GMT -5
On Wednesday I took the emerald rainbow and the Australian rainbow to the LFS and traded them in and got 4 of the praecox rainbows and I couldn't be happier. The praecox are gorgeous and now there is no longer and aggression problem in my tank. It's a really good thing that I did this because the female emerald was really getting nasty. I caught her with one of my peppered cories in her mouth and she ripped the entire tail off of the poor cory. Luckily the cory survived and her tail is now growing back but that was the absolute last straw. Now that the great big bully is out of the tank the other fish are much happier and the boesemani are no longer constantly looking stressed out. The boesemani pretty much do not pay any attention to the praecox and so I'm not too worried about the size difference between the two species. The praecox really are great looking fish and I'm so glad to have them.
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Post by Carl on Mar 28, 2010 9:54:26 GMT -5
This is a beautiful fish, and a Rainbow I admittedly only have kept a few times (they were not ll that easily found during my years in aquarium maintenance and were then known as a Dwarf Turquoise Rainbow) Does yours look like this? If not, hopefully soon; good luck with these Kagome! Carl
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Post by goldenpuon on Mar 28, 2010 17:51:33 GMT -5
I second that. And if that is your fish looks like, it is REALLY REALLY BEAUTIFUL!
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Post by kagome on Mar 29, 2010 16:11:06 GMT -5
Yes, my new fish do look like this and they are beautiful. Carl, these are actually quite common around here because they are bred in southern Florida. As a side note, the tropical fish breeding industry in Florida took a terrible hit this year because of our unusually cold winter that we had this year. I have heard that discus breeders were hit the hardest because discus are so delicate. Prices at the LFS's around here have noticeably increased. The main LFS where I buy stock said that of the breeders they buy from only one did not suffer major losses and that is because he is south of Miami. The praecox that I bought came from his farm. He is also the source that my boesemani came from.
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Post by kagome on Jun 20, 2010 0:06:08 GMT -5
For the most part my tanks have been doing really well. I completely redid my 20g and all of the fish seem to be much happier with the set up. I need to upload the pictures so I can show ya'll. Everybody who wants a cave to hide in has one and everybody who wants a plant to hide in has one. I also really love my long bubble stone and it really adds to the flow in the tank. I used to have an extra power head in the tank but I've removed it because I think there is plenty of flow and oxygenation in the tank.
I absolutely love the praecox rainbows that I added to the 38g. They are so colorful and active. I highly recommend them to anyone inclined to get them but just make sure you have at least 4 b/c they really do like to school and pal around together.
Unfortunately I have had 2 fatalities, both in the 38g. About a month ago I found my big bushy nose pleco dead in the tank. He was horribly bloated. I watched for symptoms in anybody else but everyone seemed to be fine. Then 2 days ago one of my peppered corries was at the top of the tank gasping for air. He died later that day. He had no visible symptoms and no one else in the tank seems to have anything wrong with them. I've tested parameters and all are near perfect. I'm not sure if it's just old age or what. The pleco was really big for his species when I bought him. It's quite possible that he was already elderly when I bought him.
I really needed another algae eater in my tank b/c my albino pleco is still rather tiny. I bought a juvenile high fin spotted pleco and he's really cute. I haven't picked out a name for him yet. I figure by the time he gets too big for the tank I will hopefully finally have my 55g I've been wanting for forever.
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Post by kagome on Jun 22, 2010 23:32:59 GMT -5
So apparently my tank is just pleco cursed. The new high fin spotted pleco I bought died today. He died while I was at work today and my husband could not take him to Petsmart so even though I should be due a replacement and have my receipt I could not take him back today to get the replacement. I'll just have to buy a new one.
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Post by Carl on Jun 23, 2010 11:22:27 GMT -5
So apparently my tank is just pleco cursed. The new high fin spotted pleco I bought died today. He died while I was at work today and my husband could not take him to Petsmart so even though I should be due a replacement and have my receipt I could not take him back today to get the replacement. I'll just have to buy a new one. Kagome, sorry about your Plecostumus deaths I can only make guesses, but here are a couple thoughts: *The original Plec. may have died from old age as your noted, or maybe he/she caught and aeromonas or similar infection ([url=*Atmans (Via Aqua/Jebo) 23.5 inch 8500K Daylight Replacement bulb- $16.99 • for Via Aqua 620 Aquarium]Aeromonas infections[/url] are more common in substrate dwellers due to the potential for ingestion or other methods of invasion of aeromonas bacteria that are often found in substrate. Circulation (usually via an air stone, which you already noted that you have) can aid in prevention. Not to promote an under gravel filter (as I believe the negatives out weight the positives), but I did note lower incidences of aeromonas infections especially among bottom dwellers in tanks with properly maintained UG filters *As for your new plecostumus, this may simply be a case of a fish with inherent health issues upon purchase, with many possible causes (ammonia poisoning is generally the most common due to poor handling/shipping prior to reaching your retailer) Carl
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Post by kagome on Jun 29, 2010 1:52:48 GMT -5
OMG! I am so super stoked. I went to buy a new pleco and the LFS was having a 50% off sale on select fish and one of them was the angelicus loach!! I've really been wanting some more of these guys since mine has been without a buddy for some time now but they are so expensive when after tax they're $25. I picked up a nice sized adult for only $10!! The sale is going on until July 25th so I may even go back and get another. I took a LOT of time acclimating this fish b/c they can be rather delicate. I put the bag into the tank to temp acclimate and added a few drops of MB. I then slowly added tank water over the course of about an hour until pretty much all that was left in the bag was tank water (had to siphon out half way w/ mini-tubing through so I didn't overfill the bag) then I netted him and put him in. The other loach is so happy to have a buddy and now they are always together in the tank.
I also got a new high fin spotted pleco. This one seems much happier and healthier than the last so I am hoping for better results. I did the same acclimation for the pleco that I did for the loach. This pleco seems much more active and lively than the last. I have never kept this species before so I was not sure what to expect. I must say they really are a good looking fish.
Carl, thank you for the advice, it is always appreciated. I too find the UG filters to be a big pain and frankly I don't think I have the time and patience to maintain a UG properly. I'll stick w/ my HOB and sponge filters. I guess my bottom dwellers will have to live in peril. lol
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Post by Carl on Jul 8, 2010 9:58:48 GMT -5
Kagome; how is your new Angelicus loach doing?
Carl
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