Fishy Fish Entry #17

I was so excited about my Bolivian Rams Cichlids. I couldn't wait to get them in. It was going to be soooo cool. They were suppose to come in today if the LFS could get some from the Cichlid breeder.

I had the tank all set up... nitrates and nitrites were 0, ammonia... 0, pH 7.4, but it was doable for Bolivans.

I used water from my main tank when I started getting it cycled to help it along, I was doing everything right.

today I went to see if my Bolivians were in. I was given a bag with two cichlids.. they were SIMILAR to Bolivians, but I wasn't sure they looked like the pictures I've seen. They were pure white. I was told they're just stressed, and once acclumated, they'll be fine.

After acclumating them I allowed them to free swim in the tank. then I got a call from the fish guy (who wasn't there at the time...) "They gave you the wrong fish, those are German Blue Rams. they are much tougher to care for than Bolivians." I was like "great" they are already free swimming. so now what?

I went down to check on them, and they had their color and were swimming around.

Now my concern now is that I need to get the pH down. the pH is at 7.4 which is ok for Bolivians (unless you are breeding), but you need to be much lower for Blues. However, Blues are so sensative, you can't use chemicals like pH down without great risk... so now it's like... ok now what? A lot of the natural cures for pH will cloud the water or discolor it. I was told that I have to get the pH down because the Blues will waste away in such high pH.

So who knows.

I don't.

I'm just trying to do what I can to keep the fish alive, cause they are very pretty.

Fishy Fish Entry #16

Well today I was in a cleaning frenzy. I did an all over cleaning of my betta tank. No matter how many water changes I do, it seems the green algae always comes back. The rocks are fine, Gary the snail and his/her babies are doing a good job on the gravel... but now the walls are spotted with green algae.

So I did a water change, vaccumed the gravel a little, and wiped down the walls. I'm mad because I noticed in my pics I missed a few spots... but its definately a lot cleaner.







Genesis is happy









I'm also doing better in my main tank that was infested with Ich (Ick). However, after 2 weeks of treatment, (Salt/heat therapy and occassional gravel vaccums) it seems to be under control. No one is spotted, no one seems to be any worse for wear... in fact, they seem to be much happier with the addition of new silk plants to hide in. They also like sneaking around the Japanese pagoda.













(Ein always seems to want to hang out with the 6 pack more than with Spike and Jet, my other two black neons.)

Because they're doing so well, tonight I turned the temp down from 87 to 85 and added a half gallon of new water. If they do well, I'll turn the temp down to 83 in the morning, and add a little more water, and by probably Sunday or Monday, have the tank back to normal.

I am almost done with my new tank. I added a cichlid cave for them to hide in... and I'll probably get a few more plants. Water levels are still excellent. 7.4pH, 0 Nitrites, Nitrates and Ammonia... so its looking good. I was thinking I'd be able to get my Rams tomorrow, but I was told they will probably most likely not be in yet. the breeder was unsure if he'd make it this way by tomorrow. So I may have to wait a bit longer.



I still have to get a background. No where around here sells them. I may have to order one from Drs foster and smith.

Fishy Fish Entry #15

things are still going good in the ick tank. I think the addition of the extra plants have helped calm them. They seem more relax and happy with the additional hiding places. Less stress = happy, ick free fish. I think I'll start lowering the temp on Friday.

my 30 gallon is almost ready for fish. Water levels looking good, water clear, temp is optimal... just waiting on a new hood. I bought a new hood because the one that came with the tank was broken, only they ordered me a hood for a 30 gallon long, not a 30 gallon tall, so the hood doesn't fit. *Sigh*

but I'm still happy. The tank was a mess when I started setting it up. it was used as a saltwater tank, and it sat in a garage for a very long time collecting dust. Lets just say, cycling a tank takes less time than it took to clean the tank... but I think I did an okay job. I'm going to be getting Bolivian Rams for it.

Nothing specatcular yet. I need to add a decorative flower pot for the Bolivian Ram Cichlid to use as a cave... maybe an extra plant or two... and I need to get a decorative backdrop...

all in all though, it came out pretty good IMHO. ^_^

Fishy Fish Entry #14

Well, knock on wood, things seem to be going good in my main tank. Still no major outbreak of new spots which is good. Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are all 0 which is great, high pH is 7.8 which isn't bad either.

Since a lot of Ick issues can be caused by stress... I added a few new silk plants for them to hide in, and a replica of a famous Japanese Pagoda in Kyoto, Japan.

Not sure if I like the current arrangement... once things get back to normal in the tank, I'll work on arranging the plants and pagoda where they will look the best.





I finally got a nice picture of Genesis. He really loves those colorful silk plants... better than the natural looking ones. More power to him. Whatever keeps him happy!

Fishy Fish Entry #13

Its been a long time since I've gotten an action shot of Gary doing his job... but today he was finally eating the algae on the walls of the tank. (He got the floor pretty clean.)










I've also noticed the baby snails getting bigger. I was starting to wonder if they were Gary's offspring or a different species of snail that came on the live plants I use to have in the tank because their shells looked different... but as they get bigger, they're starting to look more and more like Gary. Their shells are starting to take the shape of a Japanese Trapdoor snail.

Fishy Fish Entry #12

Checked Fishies today.

Genesis and Gary the snail are doing great! I'm so happy. I wish I could get a good picture of Genesis but he's not very cooperative lately. He likes to chase the flash, so when the flash turns on, he swims after it and his pic gets blurred.

but as you can tell... his colors are still bright and amazing. he's a healthy eater too. Even the baby snails I left in the tank seem to be doing well.

So I'm happy about my Betta tank.

My main tank is doing great now too!

When I woke them up today, everyone was spottless and swimming happily... including the whiptail who was the worst off... not a spot on Umi at all. I'm going to let them be today... do a gravel vaccum tomorrow (I was going to do one today... but I just did one about 2 days ago, and I'd hate to disturb them on the first day they are ick free.)

But I'll do a gravel vaccum tomorrow... start doing consistant vaccums every other day, and slowly wean them off the salt. I don't think I'm going to remove all of the salt since they all seem to do well on it, and it's a good preventative for illness... but I won't keep them on nearly the same dosage.

I'm going to keep the heat therapy going at least until the middle of next week though, just to make sure the ick has been killed and I've vaccumed up all the spores.

I'm just very happy that... knock on wood... it seems ALL of my fish are pulling through. I think feeding them tubiflex worms and bloodworms has also helped. I heard protien helps them fight infection.

Fishy Fish Entry #11

woo hoo!