My Jack

[cptcaveman]

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[cptcaveman]

I hit add one too many times. Does he look ok? He was in a 28 and the first pic is when I first added him to my 55 about two weeks ago, and the second is from yesterday. Does he look stunted or sick or anything?

[devonjohnsgard]

Looks pretty good to me. Does he normally sit on the bottom? That's my only thought. Different stress can cause this.

[Carl]

May 24, 2016 12:51:21 GMT -5 devonjohnsgard said:

Looks pretty good to me. Does he normally sit on the bottom? That's my only thought. Different stress can cause this.

The only thing I notice is your fish sitting on the bottom in picture #1

Otherwise, this fish looks very good, with awesome color, bright and clear eyes (maybe a bit plump).

Is he eating well?

Carl

[cptcaveman]

Oh ya, he eats (or ate) too good. I feed him krill and went on strike for a couple of days. I cut back to once a day to help with water quality and I've heard it can cause health issues. Him and his girl stay lose to the bottom but he doesn't just sit there, they kinda just hide/stay in their "home". I'll add more pics of my fish as I can. I try to take them and they move on me.

[troybtj]

May 24, 2016 15:22:04 GMT -5 cptcaveman said:

 I try to take them and they move on me.

That's the #1 reason most fish pictures aren't very good.  It's sort of expensive to get a good, high resolution photo.  Digital SLR body and a wide aperture (f2.8 or lower) Macro lens if you have one.

[cptcaveman]

Added a pic of catfish, blue gill, and tank.

[troybtj]

May 25, 2016 18:34:00 GMT -5 cptcaveman said:

Added a pic of catfish, blue gill, and tank.

I really like the driftwood pieces.   Are there fish in the tank for the wide angle shot?   I'm sort of blind finding any.

[cptcaveman]

There is a snail on the back glass, and you can see one of the fish's heads left of the colored plant. All three of them "live" in the middle one (for whatever reason). The catfish hangs out in the log from time to time, usually when picked on. I've moved things around and added two live Anubias plants since those pics, you can see what kind in the bluegill pic. So far they have killed 3 mystery snails and looks like they are working on my fourth, but haven't touched by black racer and seem to be scared of it. This will be my last mystery if they kill it, and I'll probably get another racer or horned if they do.

The "driftwood" is a plastic piece I picked up at petsmart, I would like to use real but I'm not sure what i can use or how to treat it before adding.

added pics. Does the female look ok, or bloated or anything?

[troybtj]

The fish are looking great, good color and not hiding.

As far as real driftwood pieces go, AAP has a good selection of driftwood pieces, you'll have to super glue a few together to get the look to match the artificial in your tank, though. Should be purchased entirely dried, otherwise you risk all sorts of unwanted stuff from another environment into your miniature eco-world.

For treatment and maintenance, it's pretty simple after the first few months. It's all improved by soaking driftwood in a brine solution, lots of salt and water, for a week before putting into aquarium. I changed out the saltwater twice when I couldn't see through it anymore. The salt helps extract the Tannins out of the driftwood so your tank doesn't turn yellow as quickly/as much. I determined the "end" when the water didn't turn the water brown after a day, your desires may vary. Once the salt soak is done, rinse well, rinse bucket well, and soak in regular dechlorinated water for a day or two.

The above only gets rid of the majority of the darkest of tannins. There will still be plenty left. To combat water yellowing and pH drops from tannic acid, I use Purigen which eliminates yellowish water overnight, then keeps it clear. Depending on size of driftwood piece, the purigen will last between 2 weeks and 2 months. You'll know when the Purigen is "Full" by the water turning yellowish again. At that point, throw in a fresh bag, and keep the moist to wet old bag in a sealed container to be recharged once you have 3 or more of them. Never let the Purigen dry out.

I haven't found a simpler and easier way to keep the water crystal clear and colorless than Purigen. Activated Charcoal doesn't really do anything for the appearance of yellowed water. The pre-soaking before adding to the aquarium does make the Purigen last longer between recharges, though.

Some fish really like the natural driftwood environment. JD's being one of those. Make a cave for them out of two or 3 chunks of driftwood and 1-2 flat rocks. Just be sure to remove top rock for cleaning inside cave when vacuuming aquarium. Don't let stuff accumulate under a decoration just because moving it is a hassle, danger lurks in stale organics!

[cptcaveman]

You mention cleaning 2-3 Purigen packets at the same time. Do you just use the same measurement of Prime (I thought you did in your thread)? I mean it seems like there would be too much bleach in 2-3 packets for the same amount to get rid of.

Could you just cut it in half and do one packet?

[troybtj]

May 26, 2016 17:47:23 GMT -5 cptcaveman said:

You mention cleaning 2-3 Purigen packets at the same time. Do you just use the same measurement of Prime (I thought you did in your thread)? I mean it seems like there would be too much bleach in 2-3 packets for the same amount to get rid of.

Could you just cut it in half and do one packet?

Seachem says to use 1.5floz Prime per 8 floz of water (3 tablespoons per cup) to fix the bleach to safe.  I see no problems with a single packet sideways and fit it just short of 5 oz of water without a problem as long as it stays covered and soaking, other than having to use odd measurements like 4 1/2 teaspoons/0.75 floz (Fluid Ounces) aka 22.25 cc/ml (same thing)  with 4 floz of water for 4.75 fluid ounces total instead a 9.5 floz mix.   As long as the ratio is the same, shouldn't be an issue.

I get syringes from Walgreens for free, the 20cc / 5 teaspoon kind that has a bottle adapter, which is perfect for Prime since it's usually measured in such tiny amounts.  It's like a cough syrup syringe, no metal/sharp points, but goes with a bottle neck adapter so you put the syringe into the adapter, turn the bottle upside down, and remove just the amount you need.  How I found out about these is I walked into Walgreens Pharmacy carrying a bottle of Prime, and asked "How do I get just a few ml out?". 

[cptcaveman]

I mixed 1/3 cup of bleach and 2/3 water. Seems to have worked. I think I'll soak it in 1 cap of Prime and 1 cup water. Wish my fish luck.

This is for one packet

[Carl]

May 26, 2016 20:38:41 GMT -5 troybtj said:

I get syringes from Walgreens for free, the 20cc / 5 teaspoon kind that has a bottle adapter, which is perfect for Prime since it's usually measured in such tiny amounts.  It's like a cough syrup syringe, no metal/sharp points, but goes with a bottle neck adapter so you put the syringe into the adapter, turn the bottle upside down, and remove just the amount you need.  How I found out about these is I walked into Walgreens Pharmacy carrying a bottle of Prime, and asked "How do I get just a few ml out?". 

Excellent way to get what you needed!

Carl

[troybtj]

May 27, 2016 12:12:04 GMT -5 cptcaveman said:

I mixed 1/3 cup of bleach and 2/3 water. Seems to have worked. I think I'll soak it in 1 cap of Prime and 1 cup water. Wish my fish luck.

This is for one packet

If shorting it, I'd aim for half dose, which would be about 2 caps of Prime in a cup of water.   As long as you let it sit in rinse water for a day and test ofr bleach smell, shouldn't be an issue, worse case is you need to do it again.

Interested in which bleach used if you can use less Prime!  Bleach is practically free, comparatively.

[cptcaveman]

Ya, I went to Dollar Tree and picked up a gallon for a buck. My thinking was. If I use less bleach then I can use less prime because it wont be as strong. Might be flawed, but I guess I'll see.

But if you're using 4 caps for 3 packets, then I mean 1.3 caps should work, right?

There is a vid on Youtube of guy that says he only uses 1 cap with four.

If it still smells strong after, I guess I'll just use more like you said.

[troybtj]

May 27, 2016 20:28:46 GMT -5 cptcaveman said:

Ya, I went to Dollar Tree and picked up a gallon for a buck. My thinking was. If I use less bleach then I can use less prime because it wont be as strong. Might be flawed, but I guess I'll see.

But if you're using 4 caps for 3 packets, then I mean 1.3 caps should work, right?

There is a vid on Youtube of guy that says he only uses 1 cap with four.

If it still smells strong after, I guess I'll just use more like you said.

I'm using 6 ounces of Prime per quart of water in a small-ish container.     Still, if it works out so that even half that is all that's required, I'm interested in hearing about it!

[cptcaveman]

I did 2 caps in a cup of water, and let it sit for 12hrs. Everything seems fine so far. I also did a 25% water change and used a another full cap just in case. I did notice that some of beads in the Purigen didn't turn back to white and still had a light pink tint. Is that normal, or did I not use enough bleach, or what?

[troybtj]

It should come out all the same color, practically white, with a small yellowish tint. I'd let them soak longer in the Bleach solution next time. I'm unsure where pink would have originated, haven't seen it before, just shades of tan/brown.

The other problem is that all of it may not be pulled from the centers of the tiny beads, only way to find out is to use it, and see how long it takes to be dark brown again.

Keep us updated!

[cptcaveman]

Well, I guess it was kind of a light tan pinkish color. Everything's going ok and my water is crystal clear. I think the way to go if someone plans on recharging, is to buy the loose Purigen and "The Bag".