a1foxes

my plecos are not bigger than 4 inches, and theyve been there the longest and everything is fine . They syno's have been there a month and the losses are recent. ggggrrr Well if I have to move them I will!

I have a big mystery on my hands. I've had some fish disappear from my 55 gal community tank in the last 6 days. A 1 1/2 in clown loach, a german blue ram, and 2 -3/4 in albino tiger barbs. I've noticed over this period of time also, some of my plecos,2-4 inches in size, suddenly have some nipped fins. The only fish I've added in that period is a couple 2 in plecos, 2 rams, and 2 festivums. Everything else in there has been there for quite some time and I've never had anything 'disappear'. Apart from the peaceful plecos, the largest fish in there are 3 syn. euperuptus(sp?) and they are a good 2 1/2 in. Everyone is well fed and I've tested the water I don't know how many times now and its just fine. When I do water changes/cleaning I take out everything just to be thorough - call it a body check but I didn't find any. If I didnt know better I'd swear someone was coming in when I'm not here and scooping them out! I must say my kids are heartbroken- the missing fish are their favorites, most of them we've had for months and they all had names. My 4 yr old just keeps crying because her 'Buddy'(ram) is lonely for his playmate- 'Barbie'. aaacccckkk. and here I thought fish would be safer than another cat or dog. I thought I could 'cover up' the MIA's but my kids are smarter and more interested than I thought they would be. One thing I do know- I can't afford to buy any more fish! Right now I want to find out who, what , why,when and how!

I'm just settling down from the scare of my life and welcoming suggestions to help some stressed out fish! I had a shelf above 1 row of very nice bettas in jars, and of course the shelf had some very nice bettas on it- and it gave way without any kind of warning. Next thing I know, theres 15 of the nicest bettas you've ever seen, all over my carpet, and I'm bleeding from the broken glass. What did I do? Scoop a jar full of water from the big tank, and start throwing bettas in it- males, females, adult, juvies, CT, etc...a few nipped tails but dangit if they all lived! A couple of them were on the floor for at least 2-3 minutes while I got wiggled behind the unit enough to get them out. I got them all into new jars pretty quick, and used some cycled water to reduce the stress. Some almond leaf and stress coat, and a few hours later they were all eating already. Did I just get lucky or are these things just indestructible? I dont want to be losing nice breeding stock, but beyond that these fish have names, my kids 'play' with them, and for the first time in recent memory I panicked- after the fact. If there is anything else I can do for them and this type of stress, I'm all ears. Its been over 48 hrs already, I'm hoping the worst is over?

I use a powerfilter as well as a full undergravel with 4 stacks going at all times. Its a breeze to keep clean and the fish love it. I splurged yesterday and picked up a cheap window style air conditioner- if it cools off the living room by a few degrees on a hot day then its worth it for all involved. My breeders are in the basement where the temps dont fluctuate as much.

Does anyone have any tips for helping fish out when the temps fluctuate so much? I dont have AC, and even my 55 gal goes up to 84-85 in the day and down to 80 at night. My little 1 gallons are even worse but so far the bettas in them don't seem to mind. Bit of an odd question to throw in perhaps, but I may be on the market for another place to rent in the Calgary-Olds area, hopefully something out of town limits or at least with lots of space. (large family!) PM me if u can help!

Ok, why don't ya just put a bottle of fine scotch in front of an alcoholic LOL Guess now I might have another excuse to go down! Oh well at least a pleco habit doesnt leave a hangover haha "Royal plecos Mustard-spot plecos White-spot bristlenose plecos"

Have: yoyo, polkadot, clown, red fin blue botia, green tiger, bermodi(sp?) botia, ummm 5 varieties of syndontis incl. multipunctatus and petricola, 4 sp. of corys, and about 15 plecos of varying sizes and species. Latest 'peeve' has been finding some zebra plecos, yes the L046, zebra loaches , and whatever else strikes my palette as neat. I'm not a newbie, been keeping fish most of my life with a break in the last 10 yrs. I'm a little out of date but catching up quickly. I'm also working on some very nice bettas, got a good source for them already though. I"ve got multiple tanks so I can usually find an appropriate home for what I find, and I'm not ruling out getting more tanks....hhmmm maybe I need a bigger house? LOL

Ok I am a certified bottom dweller freak. Unfortuneately I also like harder to find ones, so when anything cool or different shows up I'm liable to find it(I have a nose for them haha). tips are good too