Getting ready for the holiday

Done a water change today and cleaned the filters ready for the holiday. Although a late evening water test still showed the nitrates as between 10 & 20ppm - so still too high for my liking.

Cleaned both filters - not touched them for 2 weeks, which is a good indicator. The small one was dirty, but not really toobad. Especially considering it had been put in with used filter pads. But the large one was basically clean. About 20% of each pad was dirty, the rest spotless. They should last the holiday!

I've set up the old tank for the huge number of danio fry and added a couple of algae covered rocks from our local store. Will set up an airline before too long as well. Need to try to keep this lot alive longer than the previous lot! They lasted 2 weeks after spawning, well this lot need to last at least 3 weeks to be alive when I get back from holiday!

Maintenance - 20% water change; nitrates still high teens ppm after change; set up tank for baby danios; both filters rinsed; 1 foam and 1 polyester pad changed in fluval 2+.

Guppy Fry Growing.

There's been a bit more bullying in the breeding net, and one of the Guppy Fry was laying on the bottom, being bitten by the others. But the moment food was available she was up to the top and feeding and seemed to recover. I think that maybe all of my comings and goings over the last few days have meant I've not been about to feed them enough, and there isn't much extra food floating in the breeding trap.

So tonight we set all of the female Guppy Fry free to the main tank. A worrying moment - would someone come along and eat them? They seem happy enough. Probelm is that I won't be able to feed them as heavily, but then if I'm not about, I can't do that anyway. And from Tuesday I'm away for 2 weeks so they will only be fed every 2 or 3 days. So they need to be out to scavange.

Hopefully they will be OK. They are starting to show different tail colours and some are showing body colouration. My daughter is planning which to keep and which she'll allow to go...

Also, bought another 6 bunches of plants, so the tank is once more looking nicely planted.

Danio Fry Galore

Noticed last night that the danio eggs had started to hatch - one of the two I'd caught had hatched. Then managed to catch another 20 or so fry throughout the day - all have joined their sibling in the glass jar.

Another fish goes missing

Got back from our trip to London and all of the fish were ready for a feed! Some where quite quiet, but picked up once the food hit the water. But the male Guppy has disappeared - he's nowhere to be found. Not even a dead body!

Danios at it again...

2 of the female zebra danios are being pursued by up to 4 leopard danios and I've recovered at least one egg, although no idea what to do with it at the moment! Only 8 days until I go on holiday.

Also, a records with the shrimps - one has carried the eggs for 14 days - hoping they hatch and some survive...

Off for a break away, so that's about it for today & tomorrow - more desertion of the Guppy babies!

The Panda Hasn't Made It

Sadly, the Panda Cory was dead in the tank this morning. Also, one of the female Guppy fry (when are they no longer fry???) has also died overnight.

Because of this, when I got back from The Open, switched the lights on late and fed them well - was worried that they have been a bit neglected the last few days - the golf has meant the babies haven't been having so many feeds each day...

Very quiet day!

Maintenance - 20% water change.

AWOL Danio

The female Panda Cory that I noticed wasn't well a week ago might actually be making a recovery. She's been out a little more this afternoon and the marks on her side seem to have subsided. Likewise, the male Guppy is a little more active.

But what is strange is that the Danio who has been misbehaving - swimming vertically at one point - is missing. He's nowhere to be found there's not even a dead body. I've ripped out most of the plants and ornaments in turn to see if he is about, but I just cannot find him. I wouldn't have thought that the snails would have eaten the entire fish - bones included! In the past the most I've witnessed is the fish stripped to a skeleton, and that was a small Neon.

Maintenance - 20% water change; old filter running in tandom with new filter.

The troubles plod on...

Neith of the 'sick' fish are showing any signs of their 'conditions' improving, although the female Panda Cory did appear twice - around feed times, although I hadn't added food - and hunt for food. The male Guppy continues to hide away.

And now there's a leopard Danio that's acting strangely! His colour, I've noticed this evening, has paled off and he doesn't seem to be able to hover without sinking. Maybe some infection that is affecting his swim bladder and mucus?

On a brighter note, 2 shrimps are now bearing eggs. Maybe one can go to term and produce some baby shrimps - which will probably be food for the rest of the tank!

Double Tragegdy!

A double tragedy - and neither of the 2 fish that we were expecting!

First, I noticed a Bloodfin Tetra stuck, and very dead, in the base of the Java Fern. Removed that and then saw a Neon Tetra stuck, and also dead, between the breeding traps!

The Neon - well, I'm not sure if he died and then floated there or swam there and became stuck. It hurts, either way. The Bloodfins I have seen one attacking the other - I think we had 2 males. So now he's alone and attacking his reflection.

We had decided only this morning, before returning home from our trip away, not to get any more occupants until after our main holiday. We go in just over 2 weeks and I didn't want to risk introducing whitespot etc into the tank next week. That would only leave me a week to treat it. With the baby Guppies growing, there's enough load on the tank anyway.

So when we come back we have to decide whether to get more Bloodfins (I really liked them!) and Neons, or Cardinals.

The female Panda Cory is still very quiet - I've not been able to find her, she's moved from her hiding spot of an hour ago. And also the male Guppy is still very much hiding. But I did knock a load of food off plants yesterday as I moved them about, maybe he's eaten too much of the loose food.

Maintenance -

New filter

Peformed a 20% water change and fitted the new filter. Apart from that, the male Guppy continues to hide and the female Panda Cory isn't moving much, but I'm away for most of the day, so not able to watch them! The first time I've left the tank with fish in it!

The new filter is so powerful we've resited it slightly and angled the outlet well away from the babies, but I'm wondering if I can get away without the air curtain now - at least when I'm at home! Maybe just save it for when I'm not there to watch what is happening. I'll switch it off on Monday and monitor the levels.

Maintenance - 20% water change; new filter.

Splitting out the Guppies

The female Panda Cory continues to plod on. She was eating today, but she is still very thin and worryingly so. Chucked in another load of bloodworm this morning. The Corys are loving this new daily diet!

The male Guppy was also looking quiet, but later on did perk up. There wer probably 2 danios spawning today - I think all 4 females have spawned this week, they are all looking thinner and not about to burst. But the result was that not many fish, apart from the Corys, wanted feeding this morning. Full of fresh eggs, I suppose. I'll keep my eye out for babies hanging around next week!

I've also removed 13 female Guppies to the second breeding net. I found one near dead and another small one with most of its tail bitten away. The near dead one died at lunch time. I dropped it into the main tank as feed, but the larger fish tried to eat it and spat it out. So I suppose the larger males, and much larger females, are probably safe from the hungry mouths.

With nearly all of the females removed - there are a few smaller ones that seemed to know to hide with the males, it should be less stressful for the males. More space for them all, and 2 nets for the danios to hide behind.

The nitrate readings are back up to 20ppm. A bit disappointing, since I changed water mid week. I do need a few decent bunches of plants as areas are looking thin, but apparently the plane bringing the plants in on Wednesday didn't turn up, so we are without new plants in the whole area!

I have bought the Fluval 3 Plus filter. Almost twice the capacity of the Fluval 2 Plus, so should keep the water cleaner. Although I've not plugged it in yet! I'm changing the water tomorrow so I'll need to move a few bits about. The only space where there new filter could fit in (it's a lot longer) is right over the air curtain. I was concerned that the filter would suck in the air bubbles and produce micro bubbles if positioned there...

Maintenance - nitrate 20ppm; 13 female Guppies into separate breeding net.

100 posts...

100 posts and going strong...

The female Panda Cory is still quiet. She seemed to be trying to find food this morning, just not the energy to look for long. And she is extremely thin and a lot smaller than the male. I did gently use a net to guide her into a margarine tub, which I floated at the top of the tank for 30 minutes. I added plenty of variety of food and let her eat in peace. When I returned her to the tank I dropped in a block of frozen bloodworm, which I squirted directly around her. The other Corys loved that and I think she got some. I'll repeat the margarine trick tomorrow, if she's still with us. It is making it easier for her to find food.

Was also talking to the aquatics manager at a local garden centre and he said he uses the Fluval Roma 90 at home (same as me). He agreed that the filter isn't enough if it is heavily planted / stocked and said he ran two Tluval Two Plus filters in his tank. He recommended anything stronger than the basic Two Plus that's supplied with the tank.

Other than that, it's just keeping fingers crossed for the Panda Cory.

I'm worrying again...

I'm worrying again. When does this become a peaceful hobby? I suppose when everything settles in (I thought they had done) and I'm not so attached to the fish.

Well, the Danio Fry that was released into the main tank seems to have survived the night unscathed. He seems to be swimming around happily. But someone has taken the biggest nip yet out of our male Guppy's tail. A good portion of the top has gone.

But what I am worried about is the female Panda Cory - she's suddenly very quiet and looks like she has a couple of marks on her side. Just like the Albino Cory did when it started its demise. And that lasted for 5 days!

So I've done a 20% water change and cleaned the filter and removed the last 'fern'. Kicked up plenty of dirt doing that! Also, I'd not added salt for a couple of changes, so in case they are wounds on the Panda Cory I added ½ teaspoon of salt to bring the salt levels back up. I worked out that 20% would have been lost in the change at the weekend, and then a further 20% of the remaining 80% with this water change, bringing it down to 64%. (Wonderful maths!). So ½ teaspoon seemed a little conservative, but I didn't want to overdose them!

Maintenance - 20% water change; filter cleaned; ½ teaspoon salt added.

Never the twain shall meet...

The Guppy fry seem to have separated into 2 groups, except when I'm feeding them. I'd noticed a few days ago that there was a large variation in sizes and now we have half the fry at the bottom of the net and the larger fry swimming at the top. It only became noticeable because I moved the direction of the outflow of the filter, which meant that the fry were not getting as strong a blast as they had been.

It does look like most or all of the larger fry have gravid spots, whilst the smaller fry do seem to have the modified fin of the males. But it's funny to see the way they have separated themselves, but I suspect that I'm going to have to work out how to separate them shortly, else I'm going to be coming home to a dozen or more pregnant Guppies after my holiday (three weeks until I go...).

The sensible thing to do would be to get a small tank for the females and put those I'm not keeping in there - but I know what my wife would say... The fish are developing their colours well, and all seem to have their mother's eyes - totally, black, no white. They also have her black flecks on their tails, which are yellow (her's was red), which has probably come from my yellow tailed male.

It's a pity the other female lost her fry. They would have looked great as she is just a pale colour and should have taken his yellow well.

Also, we've finally let the Danio Fry loose into the main tank. He seemed to latch onto the Glass Bloodfin Tetras for some reason, and they didn't appreciate that. We darkened the room to give him plenty of time to settle in, but the lights were long since off, so hopefully he'll be OK on his first night in the full tank.

Maintenance - 'MadAlec' released to the main tank!

Amazing Gymnastics???

I managed to quietly catch the female Guppy I was talking about yesterday and placed her in the ice-cream tub. But I could see although the move had been easy and quiet - the net had only been used to guide her into the tub, she wasn't settled.

I checked on her 10 minutes later and she was quiet and with the lights off I thought she would settle for the night. An hour later, on my way to bed, I checked in and the tub was empty - jus the fake plant I'd included for cover floating in it. After 5 minutes' searching I saw her swimming around the back of the tank, possibly without the gravid spot.

This morning she is definitely thinner and not such a gravid spot, so either she had the drop or miscarried as she performed her gymnastics. Whichever way, there's no sign of any fry in the tank, even when I searched before the lights came on. So it looks like we have missed our chance there. Probably good in the long term - it would have been hard in 3 weeks tonight releasing small fry into the tank and probably watching some being eaten - the night before our holiday!

On a more positive note, the younger shrimp is carrying eggs again. I saw a female sized case floating around the tank, so I presume the other female has just molted. But what's the chance of being able to do anything with these babies - when they could be hatching just a week before our holiday? I suppose it would make a learning exercise to try to get them to hatch. Better to try now and lose them part way down the line and then get further with the next batch.

Maintenance -

Is other Guppy about to have a drop?

The other (and only surviving) female Guppy is looking very rounded and her belly is flattening off. The gravid spot is huge and she does seem to be hiding, although took her food well this morning.

Her dorsal fin is down and she's swimming a lot, but just holding position. Maybe later I'll catch her and either try the ice cream tub trick, or put her in the 2nd breeding net and remove the Danio - best done at night. Give the Danio the best chance to adjust to the full tank whilst she will be close to having them (if the drop is tonight) whilst not confined too long. It's a reasonable size net, so not too much of a restriction for her. Hopefully the drop will be sooner rather than later, as any babies would need releasing 3 weeks tomorrow - the night before we go on holiday. And the current babies, which are 5 weeks old, are only just of a size at which I think they would survive (from 8 mm to 15mm).

Some of the fry are showing lovely colours from their parents - yellow tails from their (presumed) father and the black patterns on the tail from their mother. They should look nice! Of course, if the other Guppy does have fry and they can survive, it will be hard knowing which to keep and which to take away. And how full will the tank be when that happens?

Also, if there's a drop tonight, will it be 4 or 6 weeks until the next one? 4 weeks and we'll be away, 6 weeks and we'll have been back for a week. I expect we'll be able to work it out before we go.

The nitrate is a little higher than I'd like after a 20% water change yesterday, but the colour almost matches the 10ppm mark - so I shouldn't complain!

Also this weekend I've noticed the male halfbeak is finally starting to show some colour. Possibly a bit of black coming back and there's some pale blue on his tail and dorsal fin. Maybe finally he'll colour up and look the attraction he's supposed to be!

Maintenance - nitrate circa 12ppm.

Plants falling apart.

I'm noticing that the filter is clogging up with plant debris every week - it really needs stripping out and cleaning at least weekly. This isn't going to be good when I go away for a fortnight in a few weeks - there's no-one about to do that for me then.

Most of the debris comes from 3 plants - the oxygenating weed, which has been all but removed (there's a few strands left that are well routed and no longer dropping leaves); some un-named plant with tiny, very thin leaves, which I've had trouble with before and has been virtually removed this week; and the fern like plant (not Java Fern), that seems to be dieing and responsible for most of the rotting vegitation in the tank.

There are other odd leaves about, not too much. But looking closely at the fern type plants they are browning and falling apart. Sarah at the shop seemed to think I had too much light, but in non-aquatic plants I'd say they looked too shaded. Especially as they seemed to suffer mainly once I put the fry in the ice cream tub - which was stuck above them and put 2 of the worst contenders for falling apart into its shade.

So I'll give the new plants time to start growing, then the ferns will come out in a day or two and I'll have a move around.

Maintenance - 20% water change; a few new plants added...

The last fry dies...

The last of the fry from the eggs that were spawned 2 weeks ago today has died. It looked quiet this morning, but was still moving. This afternoon it was dead. I disturbed the water near to it and it just floated around and sunk to the bottom. As I can't find any fry in the other container, it looks like all 16 have passed away.

It's amazing - get one fry and it survives; get 16 fry and they all die. A lot to be learnt - give them plenty of oxygen and it looks like I'll need to sort them some better food supplies. I suspect that first time around there was plenty of algae for the fish and maybe a few other bits and bobs. Maybe this time there was nothing - especially in the sterile tub that this one finished his days off in. Maybe I'll need to look at hatching some baby brine shrimp or seeing if I can get some very fine food - the food I had just looked too big for his little mouth.

Never mind - that's the way of life in the fish world, I suppose. Hundreds of eggs laid, no survivors. I just need to keep an eye on the fish and hope they spawn again and start to spawn regularly. Hopefully there will be a routine established when I get back from holiday - I'm impatient, but that is 5½ weeks away!

Maintenance -

Just the one fry now...

We seem to be down to just one danio fry, or the other one is hiding extremely well. TO hasten its growth (before our holiday), I caught it and placed it in a small tub in the main tank. I'm hoping that the extra heat and plenty of light plus the smaller container (easier to find the food???) should help it grow quicker - in just over 3 weeks it will be tipped out into the main tank!

The plan is to get the baby up to a size that it cannot escape from the breeding net and then swap it over. Hopefully, that will ensure maximum growth and that equals maximum chance of surviving the mouths of the fish in the main tank.

Fed the main tank some frozen daphnia today. I'm trying to work out what made them spawn 2 weeks ago that hasn't happened since. The other 3 female Danios look ready to burst and the one that did spawn is getting there again. I was hoping something as simple as extra protein from thee frozen food might help. Although, if they do spawn then at the earliest the hatching would be Monday - giving only 3 weeks' growth before tipping them out!

The next batch of eggs I collect will be kept in the tub in the main tank to keep them warm throughout - and easier to look after. I'm hoping that helps the survival rate. If they do spawn before we go away, unless the hatching would be after we leave, it would be worth trying our best just as a learning exercise. And if it protects a few eggs or fry for a couple of days, then it might just allow one to survive. I suppose even dumping eggs in an empty breeding net and letting them swim out when they hatch might help some.

Maintenance - Moved new baby danio to tub in main tank