aquabrain

Did not go to the auction today but went Saturday and found the presentations well done and of interest. I thought there would have been more people there on Saturday.

OK back on topic of the auction Sunday how did people do?I picked up a red tiger lotus at very good $ at the beginning when most weren't paying attention,and a trio of M.boesemani Lake Aytinjo.

Like to say thanks Calgary Aquarium Society always enjoy myself at these.

I got a red lotus, too! It's so pretty, but I'm scared I'll kill it too quickly. I'm also very excited about my new live food cultures: vinegar eels, Walter worms, and microworms. Now I just need to find something that eats them...

I've never kept Cardinals, so take my opinion with a grain of salt:

I know Cardinals have a reputation for being difficult to acclimate. I noticed fish stores lose most of their Cardinals within a week of arrival, because they don't acclimate them properly. So if you've bought from a fresh shipment of wild-caughts, you risk losing most of them. I'd also be concerned about your huge periodic water changes in a small tank, especially if it isn't understocked. If Cardinals are very sensitive to any swings in water chemistry, could that be what's hurting them?

Otherwise, since worms were already suggested, check for Neon Tetra Disease. Does the musculature near the base of tail, or especially near the dorsal fin, look milky before the fish dies? (I know it's hard to tell on a colored fish. Try shining a bright light behind a fish - healthy muscles should look clear.)

As long as it's charcoal I can use in my filters, I'm good with that :flex:

One year, my parents stuffed a pound of activated filter charcoal in my stocking... I made good use of it.

Cool! Always wanted a clam. But I heard they don't do well in fish tanks, they starve quickly.

How long have you had yours? Do you feed him separately (with green water or whatever)?

I also recommend assassin snails. I have ten of them in my 40 gal, and they have eliminated the MTS, ramshorn, and pond snail population.

I guess you'd need about 15-20 of assassins for your 60 gal. It might take a month or two to see the results.

But IME it works, and is better than chemicals.

Whoa, what a weird growth! Is it a fungus or just a white-colored tumor? Did you try treating it with anything? You can try putting almond leaves in his tank - it might perk him up.

There are many potential reasons for HITH. Nobody really knows what causes it. A fresher, more varied diet did the trick for my fish. I also did a full course treatment with praziquantel and metronidazole. The holes took a month to heal, though.

Wow, that's exactly what I've been wanting - thanks for sharing! I'm currently learning to use SQL database, but this looks prettier.

I used to keep quite a few bettas around the house, usually about 5-7 but became extremely discouraged when they kept dropping off.

I know what you mean!

I've never had any luck with regular petstore bettas, either. My record for keeping one alive is 5 months. However, I have a plakat female (from a breeder on this forum) that's about 2 years old, and still going strong.

So I blame genetics. (I never blame myself :P)

Do you see them mating? If you do, one of the fish might be infertile/sterile. I've had that happen with swordtails many years ago. So I agree with fishclubgirl, get more fish.

It's time to officially open a breeding business

I still need to reenforce the stand that it will be on, pick up the black gravel, find just the right driftwood, and get down to the aquascaping.

The shrimp, I plan to grow out and breed in a separate 20 gallon starting in just over a week, and wait on the rest of the inhabitants till things are more set up.

20-30 Rummy nose tetra

20 tiger barbs?

trumpet snails

5-10 fresh water mussels

Then we will see what else I can put in there.

This will be the coolest tank I have ever set up. I am pretty excited.

Hope I don't put you off, but... I've never heard of anyone keeping mussels successfully in community tanks. Apparently, they quickly starve to death and pollute water. It'd be super neat if you manage to keep them alive, though. Are you considering the asian gold clam?

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Don't any of your younger bettas get depressed after suddenly getting jarred? (though it doesn't sound like the case here, lol)

I can never adjust mine from a tank to a jar "lifestyle" without some sorta issues

Thanks guys! Does he qualify as an HM you think? What about rosetail? I don't get what a rosetail is actually hahah

I believe a rosetail is something like this pic. It's particularly obvious if you look at the tail. It's doesn't have a straight smooth edge, but a wavy/curvy one. Like flower petals.

Very handsome fishy! He's got some interesting color patterns.

I was searching the web about snakeskin gourami care, and ran across this recipe. Makes you a bit queasy. I wonder if that's what you found in the market.

Gotta love how spacious the tank looks, even though it's relatively small. The sparrow rasbora photo is my favorite - the fish in the foreground looks so colorful. Excellent work! :thumbs:

Give us the full water chemistry that you got after testing the water. Ammonia, nitraite and nitrate, PH, GH,KH etc. Your answer more than likely lies in that information.

+1. Check your test kits, too. If you're using dip-stick tests, they tend to lie.

My guess is that perhaps the change in water quality was too sudden? If the fish have been living in a dirty tank for a long time, they might've gotten used to the bad water. So a steep change in water quality, even in the right direction, can cause shock and death.

Otherwise, a long time ago, I've had one-by-one deaths in my swordtail tanks. It turned out to be neon tetra disease, and it wiped out all 30+ fish. While it's unlikely your fish have it, you might wanna check anyway. The dorsal musculature turns cloudy in fish that will die soon.

I will put a couple of pair of betta albimarginata under the tree for you" So that is how I came to believe in Santa and can't wait to get my new wild bettas!!

I've been eying those particular bettas myself recently. So don't jinx yourself - the auction for them isn't over yet :P

That's a really neat idea! I've heard of people growing mangroves in the tank, but never almonds.

I'm also very interested in what the water parameters are like in your tank. Are the nitrates/nitrites super low? Don't the roots rot and clog the filter intake?

Love the archerfish!

Gotta be either the giant or kissing gourami. I've read that those are farmed for food in ponds and wells in Asia. You should buy some and tell us if it tastes good! They're supposed to be a "prized delicacy".

Cool! I know there are many different Briggs snail color varieties possible. People cross-breed different colors all the time to get new combos. Many don't fall into neat categories. Do yours look like any on this page? They sound like striped yellow to me, and the genetics make sense.

Plus, there's a footnote on the above webpage:

'While most Striped Yellow snails are relatively easy to distinguish, some purple forms masquerade as Striped Yellows until they are about 1/2" big, and then they suddenly begin to darken. The stripes become more purple, and the shell base can change color. This particular "morphing" color does not have a name as it is not very common, but so far it tends to be referred to as a "Brown Purple". '

So keep them and see what they grow into. I'd love to see photos!

I found a topic about the same problem in another forum - link. Sounds like DanGofCalgary is right. Might be contagious, too.

I'd suggest putting him in quarantine, just in case. Maybe use a metronidazole/praziquantel medication to rule out worms? (On a side note: I've recently bought a med called "General Cure" that lists bloating as a sign of tapeworms.) If it's dropsy, there's no cure.

Is your gourami pooping and not constipated?

if he was sick he would be dead already as he has been this way for a few months now

I highly disagree. Something like a tapeworm could live for years inside a fish (and make it look bloated).

IMO, it could be worms. But, perhaps, like you say, he's just chubby.

I believe there are a number of diseases that can cause lesions (is that what you meant by "open area"?). Columnaris is the first one that comes to my mind. It can cause patchy gray areas that turn into open sores. Maybe research Columnaris symptoms and see if they match your case?

Best of luck with treating your fish. Keep us updated!