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Post by babygeige on Oct 23, 2008 19:28:17 GMT -5
Oh how sad! I'm so sorry! Poor little fish. I have read though that rams can sometimes just die shortly after purchase. They're supposed to be very sensitive. Maybe you just got a really super sensitive one.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 23, 2008 16:25:23 GMT -5
I bought two 2 gallon buckets, cleaned out them out very well, and wrote "STEPH's FISH BUCKET" real big on the outside of them. I use one to put dirty water in, and the other is just for clean water. I used to use a python to clean out my 30, but since my algae problems, I discovered that it's easier to do 2 or 3 smaller changes with the buckets during the week instead of one big water change once a week. The algae problem is pretty much under control now that I do this.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 23, 2008 16:17:04 GMT -5
Very nice pictures. Rams are so cute! I hope everything turns out ok with the shy one!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 16, 2008 21:37:15 GMT -5
Beautiful! I'd love to keep angels someday! I really like yours!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 21:36:44 GMT -5
Awesome, thanks for the tip!!
Carl, is the angel in the video the same guy that is in your avatar next to your family?
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 21:31:56 GMT -5
That's great! So glad to hear that!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 21:31:25 GMT -5
That is so amazing that you were able to catch one "in the act!" Very impressive. I always laugh when my fish do it. It's so funny looking.
True Story: When I put Red Cherry Shrimp in my 10 gallon with Jasper the betta, my mom and I were watching to make sure Jasper wouldn't try to get the RCS. I said, "Jasper's mouth isn't even big enough to eat a shrimp." Just as I finished saying this, Jasper opened his mouth up real wide in a big "yawn," as if to say, "Oh Yeah?? Check out the size of this mouth!!!!" My mom and I thought that was hysterical. It was just perfect timing!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 21:26:32 GMT -5
I've considered the fox a possibility too. All of the fish looked perfectly fine when they died. I have never seen the fox chase or harass any fish except for the SAE, but of course it always could be happening when I'm not observing. They were never really hiding or had their fins clamped up. Just scurrying around looking for food minding their own business. And, I had this same problem with my first batch of cories before I bought the fox. At that time, the cories were the only bottom dwelling fish I had. It's a mystery!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 16:00:06 GMT -5
Thanks!!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 15:58:26 GMT -5
Do you float the anacharis, Carl? I had it once and had a hard time keeping it rooted in the gravel. I eventually gave up on it. The guy at the lfs said to float it until it gets roots, then plant it. I haven't tried again since I found that out and was thinking of getting some and trying again someday.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 15:55:34 GMT -5
Thanks Carl, your advice makes sense. I will leave him there and see what happens.
Renee, the cory is with 6 Celebes Rainbows, 2 head and tail light tetras, a scissor tail rasbora, a cherry barb, an SAE, and flying fox. It's a very peaceful tank. Occasionally the fox will chase the SAE a little bit, and then the cherry barb will chase the fox (which I find very amusing, like she's protecting the SAE that's twice as big as her), but other than that there are no problems(...knocks on wood...)
Thanks again for the help. Keep fingers crossed that Mr. Cory will hang on!
It's a very hodge-podge collection of fish, but it works. Except for the cory issue, that is.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 10:54:41 GMT -5
Good for you 8 for saving the platys! I actually think that is probably how I got all of my platies so cheap. She probably came in with a shipment and a whole lot of other babies, and they just throw the fry in whatever tanks have space and see what happens. I think I paid 50 cents for the 2 orange ones, and the blue one was 18 cents.
I finally got the hang of the prefilter. It used to get so dirty and would make a mess when I took it off. I think part of the problem was the shrimp. They'd sit on that piece of wood and tear little bits of it off looking for food or something and the sponge would get all clogged with little tiny wood pieces. Now that they are gone, it doesn't get nearly as dirty.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 10:46:14 GMT -5
Great pictures. Those convicts are so cute in their little flower pot house.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 10:43:50 GMT -5
I put them in a bucket and either use a drip line if I can find my extra air hose, or add a dixie cup or 2 of QT tank water to the bucket every 5 minutes or so.
I think when I get my finances straightened out (I lost my job a couple of weeks ago) I am going to buy a sponge prefilter for this tank, because I do think the intake is pretty strong. But other fish swim by it without a problem so the ones that get stuck must be weak to begin with.
So here is what I'm thinking: I am concerned about this last cory because they die about a week apart. I am leaving for vacation on Friday and won't get back until Wednesday evening. What happens if he dies while I'm away? My uncle is coming to feed them for me, but I can't ask him to scoop out a dead fish. he doesn't have the time to go through all that crap.
I think I should move him to QT, even though he'll be completely alone there. I feel bad having just one little lonely cory!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 14, 2008 10:30:28 GMT -5
Very sweet! So teeny!
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Post by babygeige on Oct 13, 2008 18:38:09 GMT -5
I loved the music. I like the angel. Neat colors. What kind of plant is that tall skinny green one? Anacharis? Is it real?
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Post by babygeige on Oct 13, 2008 18:34:47 GMT -5
Those are gorgeous pictures. I love fall. I often take the longer, scenic routes to and from places just so I can look at the leaves. Western PA falls are pretty with all the hills and rivers...
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Post by babygeige on Oct 13, 2008 18:32:22 GMT -5
All of my tanks have around the same pH. 7.6 to 7.8 When I move fish from QT, I usually start a few days before, and swap out water from QT and replace it with water from the display tank. I am 99% sure that I did this with the cories. I had this same problem with cories I bought back in February or March. They'd look fine, and then I'd find them stuck to the filter intake. I thought maybe it was because I bought them from Petsmart and they were sick and not very good to begin with, but this batch was from my regular lfs. I know it's hard to make any guesses as to what could be wrong. I do appreciate any ideas, because I've been wracking my brain without any luck. It'd be so much easier if fish could talk! Although I have a feeling that platies would never shut up if they could.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 13, 2008 16:53:52 GMT -5
Remember the 5 julii cories I bought a while back? Well, I am now down to 1! One of them must have been sick when I bought them because it died shortly afterwards. It turned pale and began breathing very heavy. After about a month of QT following the first one's death, everyone seemed fine. Good color, good breathing, eating well, chubby, social etc so I moved them to the 30 gallon. Every week since moving them, I find one dead stuck to the filter. What could be wrong? Everyone else in the tank is healthy and strong. Put them in 30 gallon on September 20. One died Sept 26, one Oct 6, and today was the 3rd one. Now I've got one left and I don't know what to do with him. Here are water parameters: Ammonia, Nitrites =0 Nitrates = either 10 or 20 (I have a hard time telling them apart) Phosphate = 0 or 1 (again, hard time) pH = 7.8 GH = 143.2 KH = 107.4
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Post by babygeige on Oct 13, 2008 16:33:17 GMT -5
I tried to get a couple of nice pictures of my 10 gallon to show John (and everyone else) my blue platy. She is still very pearly and not a true blue color. More of a purple. She is so HARD to get a picture of, because she's so active and reflective! Here's the best I could do: Here is a shot of the whole tank. You can see the blue girl in the back Here is one of my older platy girls.
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