Goldfish Girl

thanks val

i will post some pictures when i have time tomorrow/when i figure out how to do it. only about 20 or so eggs. i just moved them to another tank so i think they will probably stop laying for this time. they don't look impressed with me. the eggs still look good though. i hope the parents don't eat them or that they don't get fungus. this will be the best coming home present for the person who owns the discus.

so, questions for someone who's new at this.

how long do the eggs take to hatch? do they eat the parents slime or do they need something else too? will the parents ever turn on the fry and eat them? anything special besides daily water changes? should i add something to make sure the eggs don't fungus or will they take care of that themselves? also, if i move the parents, will they get so stressed out they eat the eggs? any general tips?

dusting off the "breeding discus" book i never thought i'd need.

oh this is so exciting. this is why i keep fish.

wow. this is just the icing on the cake. after what a bad fishkeeper i seem to be, my discus are spawning!! i can't beleive it. i don't want to say 'i told you so kevin' but....

so wow. this is exciting. little red/orange eggs they are looking after. so i guess this proves there's more then one way to keep discus. mine are at pH of 7.8 and "predator" knife fish and all they still spawned. anyway, predator platies are eating the eggs as i type but wow. going to move them right now.

ahh yes, nothing like getting insulted to make a girl feel better.

If she knows so much about discus, there is very little we could do to help her. After all extra water changes are awfully difficult and she would not want to pursue this radical course of action unless it was sure to work...

for your information i have kept discus before with no problems for three years doing water changes once every two weeks in a 150 gallon tank with just enough filtration. what i have set up is better. i think since you claim to be all high and mighty in fish knowledge you might know that there is more than one way to keep fish, and that includes discus. people keep discus different ways and it works out fine.

Oh wait to quote her again "reminds me again why i got out of discus, just when you think your doing great...." maybe this is not the first time she has had problems keeping discus.

yes, i have had problems before, i've also had great sucess with discus too. i'm sure you've had fish die on you too. it doesn't mean you should totally get out of the hobby and never keep that species again because you have problems.

My sarcasm is cutting, but if you are going to ask for help... make sure you don't dismiss the replies you get. Tammy (Fish Frenzy) is an experienced and very good discus keeper and you dismissed her out of hand.

i have no doubt that Tammy is probably a very good discus keeper. but once again, there is more then one way to keep fish successfully. i didn't "dismiss" her sugestion, i gave reasons as to why i would not do it, even though i'm sure it works for some. i also happen to be an experienced fish keeper and i know what i'm doing. i read books on disease before coming to this site, i just thought maybe someone would add some extra insite. maybe it hadn't occured to you, kevin, that i had tested the water and found the water to be normal, otherwise i probably would have mentioned something. and i probably would have done a water change.

the post New to Alberta wrote is helpful along with a lot of the things that people posted and PMed me. i thank the people who want to better this site with replies that are not filled with insults. i find that is the one downfall of Alberta Aquatica, people who think they know everything trying to tell everyone else the "only" right way to do it. there are countless examples in other topics. no one needs to read posts like that kevin and maybe you should stick to picking on people off of this site. this site is for people to talk about fish, if you'd like to insult people on the internet, be my guest, it's called a blog. keep it off this site.

ya, i've heard bad things from people who age their water with no conditioner. especially during certain parts of the year when the city adds more/different chemeicals to the water. (not an expert on this but when spring comes, because of the run off, people lose a lot more fish. this has been a thing i've also heard from many members of the aquarium club)

i decided i'm going to leave everything for tonight.

i forgot, i added 4 albino bristlenose to the tank the other day. never had a problem with them sucking discus, ottocinclus i find are little terrors in that department, but i doubt it is the pleco's because as i said, it is only one fish with the marks. nothing has gotten any worse so i'll hope for the best. the bristlenose were from a different tank not a store so i know they are healthy.

as for the 40% water change every 2 or 3 days, i find that to be a little overkill. i know people keep fish different ways and if that works for you then great, keep doing it. i just find that they already have a filter that is good for a 120 gallon tank, i'm not feeding them beefheart or any other food that spoils the water fast, and the tank in by no means overcrowded. one a week water changes is already more than a lot of people i know who keep discus just fine.

at this point i've ruled out any tankmakes being the problem here. i think i can regognize fish inflicted wounds pretty well and whatever this is it would have to have a sucker smaller than the head of a pin. as far as i know there is nothing in the tank with a mouth like that. (there better not be!)

the main problem here is i always hear so many conflicting things about which medication to use. i have quickcure (the blue stuff) in my fishromm but i've heard that it doesn't work so well. if there's a natural way to cure this then that's the route i'd rather take. something like cooking ich off fish. i do that for mild cases now and it is way less of a hassle then medication. anyway, any one product i should use? i had a few suggestions already. (all different of course!) help!

good night!

lateral line errosion?which is the same treatment for hith

just a guess.

Is it getting worse or staying the same.

those fish dont sound like good tank mates.

Maybe ones picking on them while you dont see them.

My loaches will often go up and down the side of my discus.

Any other symptoms?

going dark?

white jelly like pooh?

hanging out in corners.

what i would do in your situation is take the fish out put it in a qt tank and treat with metro...

Pictures would help some..

i'll read about lateral line erosion.

it looks like it is the same since last night.

hatchetfish are more timid than cardinal tetras, the horseface loach has been in many discus tanks in the past with no problems (acts like a khuli loach not like clowns), the ghost knife has also been with discus before and the one i have is really peaceful.

nothing else seems to be the problem.

i have tanks available for it but i don't want to move it unless nesscessary. don't want to stress it out more.

I agree with Shayes Mommy as to the likely diagnosis, but I am not sure that I would go to medicating yet.

How big of a tank do you have them in? Do you have any other tank options?

What filtration are you using?

How long has your tank been cycled for?

What temperature is it at?

How often are you changing water and how much?

What procedure are you using for changing water? Temperature, aging, dechlorinator?

What are the discus acting like - are they eating, are their colors dark, are they jumpy, are they hiding.

What is their feces like?

Why would you put a ghost knife fish (a nocturnal predator I believe) in with slow moving discus (nocturnal predator food)?

There are alot of factors, but if you don't have it all right with discus there will eventually be problems.

i have them in a 65 gallon tall. i can move it to where ever it needs.

using a rena canister filter.

they've been in the tank a few months, no problems with water or anything.

temperature is around 86 F

change water once a week and about 25%

using Prime (a lot more than i should) for conditioning.

they look fine as far as behavior.

poop looks normal.

i put the ghost knife in because i think they are one of those fish that get a bad rep for no reason. i've had mine for at least 2 years and had no problems with him attacking anyone. he stays in his tube and is nice. plus i'd notice markings on the discus if the knife was biting anyone. also i think he would've ate the platies first.

even though i don't own these i have kept discus before so i know about all the usual problems. this hasn't happened before though to any of my fish, so not sure what to use against it.

up date you people if anything else develops.

a six inch discus that i am looking after for a friend has tiny holes along it's lateral line, but only on one side of the body. i can't imagine that anything in the tank would be hurting it as all i have are other discus (smaller ones), hatchetfish, a few platies, a horseface loach, and a ghost knife fish. all the other fish in the tank look fine. i tried to get a picture but my camera has issues.

i kind of want to give back all seven discus my friend gave me and not kill the nicest one of the group that i have never even seen for sale in canada.

any help on what to use would be great. he's still eating and everything. doesn't look like hole in the head as no holes are apparent anywhere but the lateral line. the top lateral line if that matters.

reminds me again why i got out of discus, just when you think your doing great....

help me. and thanks in advance.

wow. but of course we know the majority of people out there will buy them anyway. I guess the through the roof prices will deter the general public but still, people will buy them. I think people should tell local fish stores about this so at least suppliers know that alberta stores do not support overfishing and destroying natural habitat. anybody here feel deja vu from injected fish boycotts?

i think its sad that people would rather enjoy something in their homes rather then leave it in the wild when its numbers are low.

i hope no one on this site will buy these fish now that this information has come up. unless they plan on breeding them.

the auction is FULL of every type of sword plant you can imagine... way cheaper then stores too. its on the feb 24th i beleive

i've grown the dwarf variety this year in my pond and they turned out great. they are low mantenience and i'm told they winter great. i'll let you know if mine made it though.

seachem flourite is a great substrate for planted tanks

great points rudy.

as far as the octopus goes i think there are the few and far between fish keepers like you who will keep an octopus how it should be kept, in an environment that it will thrive. it is the same with alot of things. i just think its great that someone won't bring them in because of people who will buy it because its "cool" throw it into their saltwater tank at home because they think it will be "fine" and have it crawl out dry up and them wonder why it didn't live. its the same with oscars and red tail cats. people buy the fish, throw it in their 10 gallon when they first get it and then wonder why it doesn't seem happy. i've worked at two different pet stores over the past five years and even though the store policy, esspecially at one store, was to always sell it. i don't care, fire me. its not worth a fish going to an environment where it will eventually die because it is not being looked after. i don't care if that means an octopus in a six gallon, or someone putting a goldfish in a bowl and not changing the water for a year. i do understand that people on this site are generally well educated and if they aren't want to learn about how to do things better. unfortunately, i can speak from experience that this isn't the general public's point of veiw. so i guess its not so much the octopus i don't agree with, its irresponsible fish keeping and octopus seem to be a prime target for that.

wish i was in the hobby when the blue ring was in calgary. have a feeling that would have caused quite the stir up...

i had a 'mystery fish' that i put in with my discus. (i know already that doesn't sound good but i had to learn this one the hard way) turns out twelve dead discus later my 'mystery fish' was a jack dempsey. grew from about one inch to 6 inches in about two months. i still have him. some how you can't quite get rid of a fish that kills that many fish. he's worth a whole lot of maney i'll tell you that. he's in a pond right now and goes into the outside pond in the summer. they can take pretty much everything as far as temperature goes.

thought i'd start this here instead of hijack the thread in the buy/sell.

I don't think these animals should be in tanks... anyones. I'm sure a bunch of people will roll their eyes at this, but I think (after keeping this one in the shop for the last couple of months) that octopi are FAR too developed psychologically and emotionally to be kept in home aquaria. Unless you are going to devote 23 hours a day to entertaining it, you are just wasting its life. Personally, I would rather see chimps used for cosmetic testing than see another octopi kept.

agreed. (maybe not about the chimps part though) wish we had that type of responsible store in edmonton. have to check out your store next time i'm in calgary.

thats not saying anything against people who keep them though. they are cool. no one can deny that. some people keep octopus, some people hybrids. don't agree with it but, what are you gonna do. (please do not start the hybrid debate for the gazilionth time in this topic. start your own. this is about octopi.)

on to the octopus:

there was a story in the paper a while ago, can't remember which public aquarium it was at, but they were draining a tank with an octopi in it and as soon as the water level went lower then her ledge, she started freaking out and trying to climb up the wall. no one could figure out why so they just assumed it was the low water level she wasn't used to. the octopi then started to blow water up onto the ledge. that was when they decided to look if there was anything on it. it turns out there were eggs and she was trying to keep them wet. needless to say they filled the tank back up. just shows how smart these things really are.

anyone watch 'Ocean's Deadliest' with Steve Irwin? they had bluerings on there. (anyone watch it and feel the need to buy a stonefish after? lol. i did.)

something neat at the seattle aquarium about octopus. shows how evolved they really are. esspecially for something that doesn't even have a backbone. i wouldn't beleive it if they didn't have this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-3_UPnCtLg

someone should start i business for this, because they are right, its way more stressful on you then it is on the puffer. but good luck. mine turned out alright after... despite all my worries i had just killed them all.

i got my clove oil from shoppers drugmart. and cuticle clippers work great. don't try nail clippers. super bad idea.

i'd kill for a tank that big. and maybe ONE arrowana, never mind TEN!!

Prime cleans up. i go through about five 2L bottles of that stuff a year. its liquid gold in our house, but worth every penny. esspecially in the spring when the city decides to add all sorts of extra chemicals into the water. its nice to be one of the people who don't have their fish die at that time.

the big one or 'Moby' is maybe two and a half feet. he was the fish i wanted since before i even had a pond. after i bought him though the second biggest one sprouted 8 more inches in one year. soon we may have two whales in the pond.

well i decided to post this because the weather lately has been down right depressing. and because my koi keep 'mooching' for food everytime i go into the fishroom. so here's a pic of their happier summer days when they acctually got fed.

hello

i was just wondering if anyone else on this site is nervous about leaving the fishroom unattended or with a 'pet sitter' who doesn't know anything about fish except what you tell them. i'm going to try to get back ASAP from holidays because leaving the fish for longer then a weekend and all hell breaks out in the basement. just wondering if anyone has suggestions for how to 'prep' fish sitters or on the other hand any holiday fish disasters so i know what i could have to look forword too :cry: jk.

if i had one tank i suppose i could sucker in a store to take them, but i don't know who has room for a nine pound koi among other things. i'm going with the pet sitter this year, who is mostly here for the cat but will feed the fish too. i'm probably doing the ziploc bag thing so that over feeding will not become a problem... although somehow i think it still will.

anyway, anyone else in the same situation? what are you doing for the fish while your gone?

i've seen people keep flowerhorns with what you mentioned. also parrot fish. i don't think jack dempseys would hurt them either. mine is quite docile. he's with koi and goldfish at the moment. hasn't hurt them. i would probably stick with south american or central american cichlids instead of going down the african route. africans don't really get the size of aggresion that you'd want with an arrowanna.

okayy. so no meds. i'm thinking just doing a few water changes for the next couple days. maybe a 50% for the next 3 days. i'm going to change the filter with another tank i have. that way more good bacteria in the filter.

sound good?

the tank was set up for at least a couple of months. i've had basically the same batch of goldfish for about 2 years now. i'll change the water though. that should help if it is ammonia. i'm thinking of adding some quick cure to the water. thats what i was using for the ick, but it says its good for many things. however i'm also aware that there is alot of fish medicien out there that is just crap and does nothing. finishing water change now but won't add quick cure yet.

hi

i noticed a dark black patch on the gill cover of my pearlscale the other day. i had been treating for ick so i assumed she had heater burn as she's never seen one before. ick is gone now so i took away the heaters a couple days ago. now on my largest ryunkin i am noticing black streaks in her tail and almost like a dusting/haze of black develpoing on her body. if anyone knows why this could be? i'll do a water change and see if that helps but has this happened to anyone? the only thing i can think of is i added two black banded sunfish to the tank a few weeks back. also some huge fathead minnows. i can't see how the other fish could have done this but maybe stressed them out too much? the sunfish are quite passive though and i can't see the goldfish being bothered with the minnows. they've been with zebra danios, which are even more active, for a long time now.

thank you!

you should start them on live food and slowly convert them to frozen. generally they are easy to keep.