krazy_Karma Posted October 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 I think that I might of had two issues, too many fish at once and failing to add the salt which added to the stress of the already stressed fish...again, Im not sure I will ever know for sure, but next time I move fish I will do it very slowly to try to make it a better transition. I have been keeping fish for quite a while, and have never had to add salt to help w. nitrite poisoning. Lisa, I'm sure what everyone is saying is true, here - you just jumped the gun on your cycle, and overloaded it when you added your fish. IME, there are 2 ways to do a fast cycle: 1) do the fishless cycle like Degrassi mentioned; 2) FILL the tank with live plants. Otherwise, a cycle will take more than just a few weeks, and you'll go thru a mini cylce pretty much every time you add new fish. The reason I give this advice is I can tell you'll have more tanks soon - you've got MTS and it's just starting!!! LOL, if I had more room you bet I would, but my house is so full of dog kennels, bird cages and fish tanks I dont even have a counter any more..its full of fish tanks...LOL Actually my Nitrites levels are and have been normal for some time, so I dont think it was this, could be from shock I spose. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_Karma Posted October 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Haha, yep, the MTS is just kicking in. I was once where you are :P I had high nitrites once in a tank, I used salt and it saved my a$$. Some of the fish were really looking bad, but after a good water change and adding the salts they were much better, and only lost 1 fish. First hand experience is a bummer, that's for sure.Polits won't breed until they are at a mature age, which is usually around the size after the male has colored up. I think it might be around 2-3" where they are large enough to start breeding. I do have 1 female holding (at least last time I checked) but she is about full grown. If you want I can give you the fry from her when you come down for the auction, they might not be very big but you can grow them out yourself and see which ones will be males and females, take the rest to the LFS. If your red zebra has blue fins, it could be possible you have cobalt blue's. How big are your zebras? Red zebras should not have blue fins IME. The males tend to have paler bodies, especially in the tummy area, and they will typically be larger. Females will usually stay a vibrant orange all throughout. Best way to sex zebras is through venting them. I have been doing a few water changes, as my Nitrates are a bit high, all my fish look pretty good it was just every now and then I would all the sudden find one dead...seemed like one minute they were swimming around looking awesome then the next day there were dead..was pretty weird, there really was only two that I think could of had bloat, but Im not for sure as there was only the two..could of been they "bloated" after dieing even...no idea. My Polits and my red zebras are all about 2.5" -3"..I will try to get pictures to share so you can see, the glass on the tank isnt clear, as it had some divents in it when I got it, I think sand scratches. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_Karma Posted October 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Pictures of the tank and some of my fish!! The first picture is of my red zebra you can see the male or I think he is a male that his fins have a blue hue to them he is also way lighter than the others. The pictures are not great but there they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 I can't really see the blue from those pictures, but it does look like a male because of his belly being so light in color. Usually this is a good indication it's a male, but not 100% accurate. Venting is the only way to tell for sure, unless you see him mating with a female. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 If you look in my picture, the red zebra on the far right (sorry you can't see all of him) is a male, and the one right behind him is a female. You can see the slight difference in color. The male is lighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_Karma Posted October 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Yea thats what mine look like, you can see the blue in the fins of both your male and female, on my "girls" I dont see any blue, but on the male his fins are actually a sky blue his dorsal has alot of orange in it yet, but does show blue...tail is still orange. If you click on the pictures, you can enlarge them to their actual size. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 I like the Argentea, where did you get yours? I have a couple too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 So that's what you mean by him having blue fins. It should be normal then, because my female I got from fairdeal, and has no other strains of fish in her. Lol I didn't even notice before that they had any blue in them. I did enlarge them, just hard to tell the blue on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_Karma Posted October 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 I got my mine from Golds in Calgary, I never seen them before so just wanted to get one for now, would be nice if he would color up more..or she...LOL Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_Karma Posted October 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Yea your male doesnt seem to have as much as my male, if you enlarge the top picture you can see his fins are tinted blue, with little to no orange hue in them, you can see right threw them in the blue tints...LOL, Top fin and tail are orange...unlike your females mine are solid orange. I watch my fish real close, I notice the smallest things...LOL Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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