|
Post by Carl on Dec 22, 2008 20:05:48 GMT -5
WOW, very elaborate set ups Kagome! ;D
Good job!
Carl
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 22, 2008 23:15:09 GMT -5
Thanks guys, I'm glad that you like my tanks. I take a lot of time finding what I want for them and putting them together. I am not quite satisfied with the 38g's aesthetics yet. I'm thinking of adding a replica of a shrine in the middle and of course the net bag with the ammo chips will eventually go. For me decorating the tanks is half the fun! I forgot to post this picture of my 38g. This is my biggest clown loach, Spike. Carl, I want you to remember that this beautiful loach that I love so much would probably not have made it without your advice or your medicated wondershells. He's quite a looker but he's being shy because he has only been in that tank a few days. I tried to get a good picture of the angelicus loaches but they are so small and wiggly that none of the pictures came out. I'll keep trying, I may just have to try and make a video of them. I drove to the LFS today and bought a really cute little clown pleco today. They had a bunch of them so I had a great selection to choose from. The one I got has very broad and distinct stripes that are very yellow. Also, he looks like his scales have been sprinkled with gold dust so he is actually kinda sparkles under the lights. I sure hopes he keeps that as he gets older. So my 10g is now fully stocked and so far everyone seems to be doing well. I saw the angelicus loaches eat today which made me very happy. That is always a good sign. I also saw the new clown pleco eat some catfish wafer so that made me feel optimistic about his health and well-being.
|
|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Dec 23, 2008 9:32:18 GMT -5
beautiful tanks kagome - if I was a fish, I'd want to live in your 10 gallon tank! my only qustion is, w/ all that beautiful decor, how many fish can you keep in there? please don't take that the wrong way, just curious....
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Dec 23, 2008 9:46:36 GMT -5
He really is a nice looking Clown Loach; nice color and very healthy body shape.
Also thank you VERY much for the feed back ;D
Carl
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Dec 23, 2008 14:42:51 GMT -5
Very nice! Are those some green live plants I see behind Shiva?
|
|
|
Post by goldenpuon on Dec 23, 2008 15:19:55 GMT -5
I love your clown loach! And from your descriptions of their behavior, it makes me want to run to the petstore and buy a bunch of them. (Of course I can't though) lol Very nice picture!
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 23, 2008 22:05:02 GMT -5
beautiful tanks kagome - if I was a fish, I'd want to live in your 10 gallon tank! my only qustion is, w/ all that beautiful decor, how many fish can you keep in there? please don't take that the wrong way, just curious.... I tend to keep that tank with very few fish in it. At first I only had the two in it, the clown and the gourami, the only two that I was able to bring with me when we moved out here to the family farm under emergency circumstances. I had to give away or sell all my other tanks and fish, but I would not part with those two. I then added a pleco because I knew I would be getting a bigger tank and that once he got too big for the ten gallon he could then go in there. So, for quite a while I had only the three fish in there. Now I have moved out the common pleco and the clown loach. I added the agelicus loaches because they stay small and then I also added a clown pleco because they also stay small. The only other fish I would add to that particular tank would be a butterfly loach and they only get to be around three inches or so and they have a very slim body, they are mostly fins! Now I will be technically violating the inch per gallon rule of thumb, but I clean that tank at least once a week and am very careful about feeding and the filter on it is meant for a MUCH larger tank. Eventually when my gourami goes to the big fish tank in the sky I think I'll get a crown tail betta for in there but otherwise that tank will stay as it is. I know in the picture that tank looks crowded but actually all that stuff only takes up the middle of the tank. The fish can swim all the way around all of it and only the castle goes all the way up.
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 24, 2008 0:59:25 GMT -5
Sorry to answer everyone's replies in parts but family's in town so I don't have much time. Anyway, still on John's question. Each piece of decor is also a hidey cave. Now that the common pleco is gone the gourami has happily resumed residence in the castle. The hollow log looking decoration was the home of the clown loach but is now being rented by the new clown pleco. The decoration on the far left that looks like mountains with a waterfall is currently occupied by the angelicus loaches.
babygeige--Unfortunately, I do not currently have any live plants in the 38g. I will eventually add some Java fern like we talked about but I want to order some driftwood from Carl that I can anchor it to. So all the plants you see behind Buddha are silk plants.
Renee--I'm glad that you like my stories about my goofy clown loaches. I just love loaches and think that all of them are just a great group of fish. I know you can't go out and buy a bunch of clowns right now, but in the future if you did want to consider getting some remember that they get big, really big. My husband has promised that we will eventually have a 55g and the clowns will go in there when they get too big for the 38g. But as far as personality goes I've found that all of the Botia loaches have a great personality and are all quite pretty in my opinion. I have never had angelicus loached before, but these three that I picked up are really little characters and actually seem to be less skittish than clowns. They are very playful and goofy and they should top out at 5 inches max, more likely around 4. Also, zebra loaches are beautiful and full of personality and also grow to about the size of the angelicus loaches. All of the Botia loaches need to be kept in groups to be happy so it's good that there are really cool varieties that don't get huge. I wish more LFS's would promote them instead of mostly clowns because I think a lot of people don't realize how big they will eventually get.
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 24, 2008 1:05:16 GMT -5
He really is a nice looking Clown Loach; nice color and very healthy body shape. Also thank you VERY much for the feed back ;D Carl No problem Carl, it's so totally the truth. And I have to admit that Spike does have very nice color and confirmation. I'm very proud of him. He eats a varied diet of the Tropical Frenzy flake food, sinking catfish pellets, and freeze dried brine shrimp and spirulina mix. He also has the very goofy habit of sticking himself upside down to the intake of the sponge filter when he decides to take a nap. It scared me so bad the first time because I thought he was dead for sure. Then he popped himself right side up and begged for food. I wagged my finger at him and told him, "Bad fish!" but he still does it every few days. He's such a goof!
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 26, 2008 16:25:32 GMT -5
Current 38g numbers: ammonia-- 0.5 nitrate-- 20 nitritre-- 0 Gh-- 300 Kh-- 80 pH-- 6.8 I guess I got ahead of myself by transferring the fish from the 10g to the 38g and now the ammonia has come back up. The ammo chips are still in there and I will do a water change and add Prime as the water conditioner.
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 26, 2008 16:47:55 GMT -5
Current 10g numbers:
ammonia-- 0
nitirite-- 0
nitrate-- 20
Gh-- 300
Kh-- 80
pH-- 6.2
I'm really concerned about that pH. I am going to keep a close eye on that. I have to admit that I have never had pH problems before but at least I do have some buffer. I will recheck it once I perform the water change and go from there.
|
|
|
Post by goldenpuon on Dec 27, 2008 16:45:55 GMT -5
That happened to me the other day too. My PH in my goldfish tank read 6.2 and then I added SeaChem Buffer and tested a few minutes later to find the PH was 8.5! Then I doubled checked and tested it again and found out that my first reading was totally inaccurate. My poor goldfish had to have an extra water change but they are fine now. I think it is the right decision to retest. Sometimes tests don't come out accurate.
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 28, 2008 11:57:58 GMT -5
This is a copy and paste from my Questions and Concerns thread about mold:
I noticed that I suddenly have mold growing in my tank. I think I may have already lost a clown loach. I'm not sure if the mold is growing on a piece of uneaten food that got stuck between the net bag and the pagoda or if it is the body of the clown loach. I am going to pull out everything and do a water change and try and clean up as best I can. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'll update as soon as I can.
I took everything out of the tank and discovered the source of the mold. Apparently my smallest clown loach died and the mold was growing on his carcass. I think he must have died several days ago because all that was left of him was his skeleton which turned pretty much to dust when I sucked it up with the gravel vacuum. I cleaned all the decor and thoroughly vacuumed the gravel. I ended up taking out about 50% of the water and I added Prime as the water conditioner. I am wondering if the decomposing body of the fish accounts for the rapid spike in the ammonia. This particular clown loach had not been growing well. The other two had doubled in size since I bought them and this one had not put on nearly as much mass. I think he was doing poorly from the beginning. I had noticed a few days ago that I was only seeing two of the smaller loaches and I was suspicious but I thought that I was just being paranoid and that he was just being a but shy and hiding since I had introduced Spike the much bigger loach. I am totally kicking myself now for not following my instincts that something was wrong. If I had torn the tank apart earlier I could have found the body earlier and prevented the mold. I can't believe I did something that dumb. I'm still not sure what killed this loach and of course I probably never will be. The last time I saw him he seemed fine, just very small compared to everyone else. None of the remaining fish have any signs of fungal infection. I never saw any kind of aggression among the fish, actually the exact opposite, the loaches seem to genuinely love each other. I break up their pellets so that they are somewhat spread around in the tank so that everyone has a chance to eat in peace and get enough. The ammonia was high while cycling the tank and maybe this little guy just couldn't take it. After my husband has a chance to get some sleep (he works nights) then I will rerun the numbers on that tank and see where I stand.
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 29, 2008 18:24:18 GMT -5
current 38g numbers
ammonia 0.5
nitrate 20
nitrite 0
GH 300
KH 40
pH 6.8
current 10g numbers
ammonia 0
nitrate 20
nitrite 0
GH 150
KH 40
pH 6.2
tapwater numbers
ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
GH 25
KH 40
pH 6.8
|
|
|
Post by goldenpuon on Dec 29, 2008 20:59:23 GMT -5
It seems like your tapwater is acidic and that is why the PH, GH, and GH of your tanks are low. Maybe some SeaChem Buffer would help. But on the other hand, you shouldn't chase PH too much either.
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 30, 2008 18:49:45 GMT -5
I think I'm losing another clown loach. I got my package today from Carl so I put the medicated wondershell in there. I also put the new sponge prefilter in the little tank and put the seasoned one in the big tank. I'm hoping the medicine will help the loach perk up but he is acting very strangely. I hadn't seen him all day and I was worried that he might have died so I picked up the pagoda and shooed him out of there. Now he is sitting in the corner of the tank and he seems to be breathing pretty hard, not desperate gasping but like he is out of breath. He is also darting his eyes around in a really weird way. He's acting like he is generally out of it. I really don't think he is going to make it. The other loaches look fine, but then, so did this guy yesterday. I'm kind of upset.
|
|
|
Post by goldenpuon on Dec 31, 2008 11:50:43 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about that Kagome. Is there any other symtoms he's showing? Also, are the other fish including the other loaches acting alright?
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Dec 31, 2008 13:01:55 GMT -5
The other loaches seem to be doing ok for right now. But today they did not eat their breakfast which does concern me because usually it's gone rather quickly. I'm going to have to vacuum it out if they haven't eaten it by the time my husband wakes up. The smallest loach does seem a little better today, he's not acting all weird and his color is much better. I'm really hoping he is going to pull through.
On the bright side, my new angelicus loaches that are in the 10g are really doing great. They're obviously growing and are active and seem very happy. I don't get to see my clown pleco much because is rather small and hides all day, I do see the evidence of him munching on algae throughout the night. I will keep trying to sneak up on him with a camera so ya'll can see him, he's really beautifully marked. I think my gourami is starting to feel his age, but he seems to be doing ok for now. He eats just fine, but he is so much less active than he used to be. He used to be supreme ruler of whatever tank he was in and wouldn't let anyone else in the tank forget it. He would flash his colors and strut and give mock chase. But this last year he seems to find that to be just too much trouble. I can't really blame him, he's a really old man at this point.
|
|
theoden
Full Member
"They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all."
Posts: 86
|
Post by theoden on Dec 31, 2008 15:02:16 GMT -5
well, you know, I'm a loach lover as well. I'm hoping your clown loach gets better. They are really wonderful fish: a personality all their own. I have three that sleep under a ledge (lately my blue botias have been squeezing in there with them). I need to get some more wonder shells, too. Off I go...
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Dec 31, 2008 17:11:40 GMT -5
Sorry to read this Kagome (I didn't notice this thread earlier)
If they have been or if not showing symptoms, I would recommend that ALL the loaches in this tank be given a medicated bath that includes the Methylene Blue and salt twice per day.
If you have Metronidazole this can also be added to the bath.
Rapid breathing can be bacterial or parasitic, so exact diagnosis is often hard unless you can get him under a magnifying glass and look inside his gills (which is still not always a positive ID)
The Medicated Wonder Shells along with the baths are quite effective for a parasite problem, however a bacterial problem that causes rapid breathing can be much more difficult (although the baths help here as well). Sometimes rapid breathing can also be either an infection or other pathogen that is internal and robbing the fish of oxygen, so the fish compensates be breathing rapidly, and in the absence of darting, scratching, or similar behavior, this may be the diagnosis. This is where Metronidazole or Kanamycin may help (they are not similar BTW, other than both absorb well with Metronidazole working better for parasites and gram positive bacteria while the Kanamycin works best for gram negative bacterium.
Sorry if I am throwing a lot out there, but I want to give options. Also keep in mind that Methylene Blue is also effectively absorbed into the blood (although quickly ejected by the kidneys), so it is very helpful for this possibility (the Medicated Wonder Shells contain some MB as well).
Hope this works for you
Carl
|
|