Petfish.net Message Board Archive No. 40

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From: tigerbarb 12/29/01
Subject: Tigerbarbs!
Hello everyone. There was bacterial disease in my tank but I think it may have gone (?) I was left with two original barbs and they fought so I got another one. Then they all fought like cat and dog So today I got two more, the problem is theyre tiny and the others ignore them! Silly things.............???

From: Karen 12/30/01
Subject: Re: Tigerbarbs!
Tiger barbs do better in large groups as you have noticed. Give thm time to settle in and all should be normal.

From: john 12/28/01
Subject: air
does an air stone actually give the fish oxygen? or is it decoration?

From: tish 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Suggestions pls. for compatible fish
I have a 5 gallon tank.

From: katie 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Suggestions pls. for compatible fish
Tish, me too, and I am at max capacity...I think you are too:) I would only keep the wcm or the daino with some buddies(four or five) but not both...one more cory would be nice cause they do like the company. Frequent water changes are a must! A crowed tank usually does not do well, and at first I killed several several fishies. I got lucky with my five and although it is at max it wokrs very well-i have five tetras(small) because they like to be in groups(three neons and two glowlights) and a betta-the get along okay-and then my snail Petunia, whol may be looking for a new home! damn baby factory! The only way you will have a sucessful tank is trial and error, but before too much error, keep it minimum, with either one center piece fish, and a couple of bottom feeders, no tigerbarbs, angels, goldfish! a couple of guppies, maybe some platies(two or three) But this is if you trade in the White Cloud minnows, five leaves little room for anything else, and the daino would probably like to be in a tank with more dainos, HTH katie

From: katie 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Suggestions pls. for compatible fish
If you have the room I am betting you will hear you should get a couple of friends for your cories as it is said they enjoy having about three of themselfs together...also zebras are schooling fish and would be cool to see school with six to eight, i don't know about white cloud minnows...except that they are cooler water fish...ummm-a betta would be docile I bet with your buddies if you have the room and the current isn't to strong, but as with most bettas they are unpredictable, but my tetras and betta get along beautifully:) Gost shrimp are popular, and I personally like snails_BE SURE if you get one though it is an APPLE SNAIL, and not a "golden mystery snail", or they will reproduce rapidly, my apple snail petunia is not an apple snail after all!(they will need to eat algae waffers as well as your cories might like some. Frogs are cool but be sure you get one that will stay small. There are two differnt kind I have heard of and one gets quite big, I have heard different stories about how they do in community tanks. Good luck and let us know- katie

From: Bob 12/28/01
Subject: VERY BLOATED Betta
I have a male betta that over the last month has become very bloated. Any suggestion???

From: Clint 12/28/01
Subject: Re: VERY BLOATED Betta
I would guess that he has "dropsy". I have never cured a fish with this disease, but I have heard that a medicine called Marycyn 2 (or maracin)will cure it.

From: katie 12/28/01
Subject: Re: VERY BLOATED Betta
Umm, how is he acting? Healthy appetite? sluggish or normal? How does his color appear, and fins sticking up like pine cones? How do you keep him, what do you feed, These questions are important to get a better picture of whats going on-could just be fat dumb and happy.

From: Kathleen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: VERY BLOATED Betta
If his scales are sticking out he does have dropsy. If not he could be constipated. What do you feed him and how many times per day? Freeze blood dried fed as a steady diet can cause impaction in bettas. If he's constipated give him a frozen green pea...thawed with the skin off cut up in very small pieces..one piece at a time. After this with hold food for 3 days. Then rethink his feeding schedule (kind of food and how many times per day). Hope this helps.

From: jenn 12/30/01
Subject: Re: VERY BLOATED Betta
i am not a pro but a month ago my betta did the same thing too. his scales were not sticking out and he was acting like he was just fat. he was eating and "pooping" as normal. even had a bubble nest. the lump kept getting bigger and bigger until it got so big that he lost appitite and could not swim. with in two days loss of color and then mon morning one week befor christmas he died.:(( researching the causes, and watching how my four neon tetras were all healthy, i found out the he had a tumor and there wasn't really anything that i could do and that is is common anomg bettas. i miss he horribly and yet i fell alittle better that it was not my fault. hope your betta is getting better! let me know! jenn

From: Attila 12/28/01
Subject: New 55 gallon aquarium.
On Christmas morning I posted a message that said I might be getting a 55 gallon tank with a stand...............I did get it! I got it with these things: a beautiful homemade ceader stand, a 200 watt heater, a hob (hang on back) filter, and 2 24" hoods with a 15 watt bulb in each of them. Then we went and got these things: big white rocks (bigger than normal gravel) and some big brown gravel (smaller than the white ones) for the bottom, water conditioner, a fake piece of drift wood with fake plants glued to it, two pearl gouramies, and four A. B. tetras (it might be "A. and B." anybody know?). I did the HORRIBOLEST thing a fish keeper can do and I am admitting it....I did NOT research the A. B. tetras before I bought them!!! My lfs is really good at fish, though, and the lady who worked there told me a little about them and I trust her. I never see more than 2 dead fish in their clean nicely decorated tanks. Does anybody know anything about them? When can I get some more fish and what kind?

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: A B Tetras?
Can you describe them? I do not recognize the name?

From: Attila 12/29/01
Subject: This is what they look like...
they have shiny silver bodies, all of them have black stripes in the middle of their bodies that starts really light and gets darker as it gets closer to their tails and where the actual fin starts there is a little bright black spot and it continues to the end of their bodies, but gets lighter. I got four and ones tail is a lot brighter red than the other threes, but other threes are a bit red too, I dont know but maybe thats the difference between males and females (they could have also lost their colors from stress). Really hth! Attila

From: Tiffani 12/28/01
Subject: NEW post about Tripper
I put him in a new bowl yesterday with the aquarium salt. His breathing is much better...not gasping like he was on Wednesday. But, he is either perpendicular to the surface of the water, or lying on his side on the bottom of the bowl. It also appears that he's having problems swimming upright...seems to lean to one side. Any ideas??? Since it is Friday, I would like to get meds if I need to in order to watch him carefully this weekend. I wanted to thank all of you for your suggestions, for the last post, and in advance for this one.

From: katie 12/28/01
Subject: Re: NEW post about Tripper-
Tiffani-I think i was grabbing at straws, but earlier i posted that it might be stress. and Karen is most likely right that it is due to too much ammonia, I would change his water everyday with same temp conditioned water, hopefully the salt will help too-i don't think you should medicate either, as salt has been the best thing for me....main thing is fresh water, and paitence, and also if he possibly has swim bladder instead of the ammonia poisioning, hold off on feeding him for about two three days, and if he gets better, it wont hurt to feed him a frozen thawed pea, popped out of it's skin and cut up into tiny pieces...(karen told me about this for swimbladder-and even if it isn't it won't hurt) For what it's worth, I have a betta Ying, who has become very sick about three times, laying at the top of his bowl and on his side, swimming down and floating back up...and how i treat him is water changes every day, no food for a few days, and a pea after this trtment, with a tad extra aquarium salt- Ying has pulled through every time and even survived a shredded fin fiasco-Ying means courage, which he wears proudly(he jumped out of his bowl first day i had him) They are very hardy, and most of the time if treated soon enough will make it, I lost one to my stupidity recently-I knew better didn't cover my favorite one's bowl!!! but he is the only one i ever lost, so good luck, and thanks for sharing with us, I hope Tripper makes it katie

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: NEW post about Tripper
I do not rememebr what kind of fish he is. If he was swimming oddly I might think swim bladder, but as he is laying on the floor I do not think this is the case. When a fish starts laying on its side it is usually near the end, giving up. I would keep him warm with the salt and see what happens. IF you start putting meds in it could stress him even further. If you can find it I had this salt once that was a blue color. It was at our local aquarium store, worked great. Perked up a sluggish goldfish I had.

From: Michelle 12/28/01
Subject: A couple of newbie questions
I've recently inherited a 35 gal tank and am doing my best to set it up right but I have a couple of questions. 1. After setting up the tank can I go ahead and add the live plants or do they need to wait too? 2. I am planning to get some sort of schooling fish to be the primary group in the tank. I've read that you should space out getting the fish. I've also read that you need to buy these in groups. Grr. Which is better, buy the whole group or several small groups or what? 3. I've heard a couple of places that you should add salt to a freshwater tank. Is that true in all cases and what is the ratio of salt to water. Thanks a bunch. Michelle

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: A couple of answers
First, congratulations on the tank and trrying to do it right. 1. You can add live plants right away, AJB and a few others are better at plants than I am so you might look to their advice. The problen with adding plants to a newly setup tank is there is no food for them and you might want to get some for aquarium plants. Also be sure you have the right light for the plant you choose. Some need more and some need less. 2. It is better to add a few at a time. If we knew what you were thinking of for fish we could advise you on which to start with. A 35 gallon tank could hold a school of ten small barbs or tetras, or danios, 3-5 cories for the bottom and a either a single fish or a pair of smaller fish like gouramis, oh gee there are so many depending on what you look you are going for. Watch out for tetras and barbs as some get very large, much to large for your tank. 3. Salt, I used to use it all the time. I did 1/4 tsp per gallon, that would be actual gallons not the tank size. Once you put in decorations and gravel and all your tank will hold less than 35 gallons. I have gotten away from salt now except for my brackish tank. Some fish require a littel salt or just do better while some will not tolerate any added salt. Frogs and snails do not like any salt either. Hope this helps clear a few things up, if not ask away.

From: Michelle 12/28/01
Subject: Re: A couple of answers
I know what you mean about the light thing. The light that came with is a 15 watt bulb and the take is 22 inches tall. Even if we get a 30 watt bulb (is that as high as it goes) we'll probably have to get plants that thrive on low light. As for fish we pretty much go from one to the next, Bala Sharks - get too big Red-Bellied Pacus - don't even go there (the ones we saw were tiny tetras - seem hard to keep alive Husband found a freshwater stingray he liked, - hmmm, max size 26 inches in diameter (yikes) So now were looking at guppies and mollies and maybe a pair of gouramis. Were still not sure. We have plenty of time though, were just setting the tank up today and we enjoy fish shopping/looking. I would love any suggestions you have about mollies and guppies.

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: A couple of answers
Definatly no Pacu, they exceed 2 feet. Some tetras are can be difficult but there are some very hardy ones also. Mollies and guppies are not always very hardy. With the guppies the fancy strains can be difficult to keep. Mollies do well with a little salt added, but I find them difficult to keep healthy also. Platies and moons are nice livebearers that are hardy. A school of zebra danios are colorful and active, and hardy. Until you get a little more experience and even then I do not recomend the freshwater stingrays. Cherry barbs are hardy and colorful, a school of bleeding heart tetras would be colorful and I have always had good luck with them. How about a puffer tank? Oh so many ideas.

From: jackienj 12/28/01
Subject: my catfish is sick
hi, i have this blue channel catfish for over a year and he was 3 inches now he is 12inches. 2 days ago he got sick I believe is fin rot disease because his fins rapily damaged and all of a sudden he had red sores on his rear and middle section of his belly. He started breathing hard/rapidly and he was on his side and on his back. I transfered him out to a smaller tank to treat him. I first put salt then some fin rot pills into the water and yesterday i purchased and put a liquid called mirafix or something similar to that name it is a herbal medication. He is still sideways/belly up, not eating and had red on his gills.He is still breathing and fighting, but what can I do is there anyone outthere witha better treatment. Or had a similar situation and manage to help and recovered the fish to good health. please help i don't want my fish to die.. jackienj

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: My First thought
My first thought is what size tank is he in and any other fish? My second thought is ammonia poisoning. third was how often and how much do you do water changes? I think you meant melafix which I have used with great results for fin rot and velvet. I would be tempted to try a bucket to bucket method or changing 75% of his water every day. You have to be sure the waters match perfectly with any meds , salts or water conditioners being the same. This will make sure he has the cleanest water possible. With the exception of salt I would not mix meds unless the label specifically says you can, this can cause more problems. And it may take a few days before you see much improvemnt.

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: RO units
Yes it will but the water is too pure and needs to be mixed with regular tap water. I tried it and it does work, but keeping the ph consitant was much harder. However why are you wanting to lower the ph. With the exception of a few fish most will adapt to a higher ph. Some will live and thrive in a higher ph but need it lower to breed. And many that are now bred in the aquarium will breed in harder water even though they nativley come from a lower ph. So unless you are wanting to breed I would leave it alone as trying to lower it and keeping it there will cause more stress. My ph is 8.0-8.5 and I keep goldfish, cichlids, bubmble bee gobies and tetras. I look for fish that will take to my higher ph.

From: Levi 12/28/01
Subject: Re: RO units
The reason I need a lower pH is because the pet store, Petco, will not sell me any fish that like a lower pH, and, Petco being the only fish dealer handy, I cant get half the fish I want. For example: I really wanted convict cichlids, but they, Petco, would not sell them to me because they knew my pH was salt water alkaline (I live on a very small island and my house is right on the beach). As for the stability of the pH, I have put peat moss in my Aqua Clear 300 filter. It is so maddening to be so limited in my fish keeping.

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: Interesting
All the petcos around here could care less what my water is. You seem to have one run by a caring individual. If that is the case, and living on an island near a beach your water could be harder than mine I would go with Ro water. I did (my mom has an ro unit so I could easily access the water), I used a 50/50 mix of ro to tap water. Worked well and my ph remained fairly stable til I got lazy with my measurements. I keep Jewel Cichlids in my ph and have kept convicts and had them breed in my high ph. Have you tried african cichlids?

From: Levi 12/29/01
Subject: Re: Interesting
Aren't jewel cichlids african? And if so, do they come from the Rift Lakes? And if not, where do they come from? I choose fish by there beauty mostly. I dont want my expeiriance to be limited to a handfull of super hardy, alkaline loving fish that, after a while, can get boring. About Petco, the reason probably was that our fish kept on dying, and, thanks to Petco's 15 day garentee, we kept on getting new fish for free, so they probably did not want to infinately refund the acid loving fish that died of pH shock, but you never know, they could just care. One of the problems is that Petco keeps all of it's freshwater tanks at a pH of 7.0, so even fish that naturaly like alkaline are a bit shocked. Thanks for the info on Ro units. In the long run, though, would it be more cost efective to keep on buying distilled water? continualy

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: thanx eric
Sorry to hear about your fish. If this was a goldfish keep in mind they need 10-20 gallons of water per fish, larger is better. These guys are very messy and need room and lots of water.

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: If dropsy
If it is dropsy and it sounds like it here is what you can try. Get two buckets and epsom salts. You want to fill both buckets with identical water and about 1 tsp salt per gallon. Each day transfer the fish from one bucket to the other, clean the used one out and reset it up with fresh water. Can take up to 6 weeks. Dropsy is usually a symptom of a bacterial infection. The bloating is putting pressure on the organs so it is often to late by the time you notice it. Good luck

From: christine 12/30/01
Subject: Thanks for your help
Thank you for your help. I'm sure it was dropsy, she didn't make it. Hope the others are o.k....how contagious is it? Anything I can do with tank conditions to keep it from happening again?

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: my guess
Snail eggs. Barbs are egg scatterers and chances are have spawned in your tank. However they ate the eggs before you knew it. Gouramis build bubble nests and one pleco will probably not lay any eggs. However once snails start laying eggs they do not stop, and they lay them everywhere.

From: Karen 12/28/01
Subject: ditto to Eric
nm

From: Kathleen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: ditto to Eric
I can't believe that these things still exist! They are little torture chambers for fish and frogs! Horrible!

From: Beth 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Forgot a word
I have the same problem with dwarf's I havent figured it out yet. They die within 2 weeks and nothing is wrong with anyone else. I now am trying a pair of Pearl's but I must say they dont look as good as when I brought them home. Its a mystery. Good luck.

From: Clint 12/28/01
Subject: Re: bloodworms
I've used frozen bloodworms for 15 years, never had any problems with them. If anything they should have more of a cleansing effect instead of stoppage. They are a good food for any fish, but as all food goes it should be only a part of the diet not the only thing on the menu. CN

From: katie 12/29/01
Subject: Re: What does your betta eat?
Betta Bites, one gets tropical flakes cause he is a piggie and feels he must get as many away from the tetras i have as he can, but don't worry about them they are smart and quicker and more of them! silly betta

From: Emma 12/28/01
Subject: Re: What does your betta eat?
my betta eats Total Tropical Gourmet Flake Blend. (fish flakes.) he likes big pieces because then he can "pounce" on them. my tetras eat that stuff too. never tried that bloodworm/brine shrimp stuff (in my opinion, that stuff is crap. but feed what you want) hth Emma

From: Clint 12/28/01
Subject: Re: What does your betta eat?
Bettas are sometimes like cats, they get finnicky. But if they get hungry enough they will eat what you feed them. I am not a fan of the sun dried foods, seem too much like leather to me, I'd stick with freeze-dried. CN

From: None 12/28/01
Subject: Re: What does your betta eat?
My betta loves freeze dried blood worms, and i also feed him tropical flakes and betta food.

From: Kathleen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Aagh! Two more (?)sick bettas
Melafix won't cure anything. If he has fin rot(ratty fins) he needs an antibiotic..Maracyn 2 with a water change before and after treatment. You may need to break the tablet up according to tank size but I think the tab is geared for 10 gal tank.

From: Tiffani 12/28/01
Subject: Re: For Everyone - Sick Betta PLEASE HELP!!!
Katie, He does have a plant, and rocks that he used to hide on. Although, now that I've changed him to a smaller bowl, because of him having a hard time breathing, the plant isn't in there. I've had him for months now, and he was very active up until a couple of days ago. As far as appetite, he just doesn't have one at all. My other, betta, Ripper, just stares at him for hours. It's kinda sad. Tiffani

From: katie 12/28/01
Subject: Re: For Everyone - Sick Betta PLEASE HELP!!!
Tiffani-I think i was grabbing at straws, but earlier i posted that it might be stress. and Karen is most likely right that it is due to too much ammonia, I would change his water everyday with same temp conditioned water, hopefully the salt will help too-i don't think you should medicate either, as salt has been the best thing for me....main thing is fresh water, and paitence, and also if he possibly has swim bladder instead of the ammonia poisioning, hold off on feeding him for about two three days, and if he gets better, it wont hurt to feed him a frozen thawed pea, popped out of it's skin and cut up into tiny pieces...(karen told me about this for swimbladder-and even if it isn't it won't hurt) For what it's worth, I have a betta Ying, who has become very sick about three times, laying at the top of his bowl and on his side, swimming down and floating back up...and how i treat him is water changes every day, no food for a few days, and a pea after this trtment, with a tad extra aquarium salt- Ying has pulled through every time and even survived a shredded fin fiasco-Ying means courage, which he wears proudly(he jumped out of his bowl first day i had him) They are very hardy, and most of the time if treated soon enough will make it, I lost one to my stupidity recently-I knew better didn't cover my favorite one's bowl!!! but he is the only one i ever lost, so good luck, and thanks for sharing with us, I hope Tripper makes it katie

From: Kathleen 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Betta might be sick
What are his symptoms besides not eating? What size tank or bowl is he in? Do you condition and change the water often enough? What do you feed him and how often? Is his water warm enough? Should be 75 to 78 degrees? Many things can make a betta ill.

From: Chris 12/28/01
Subject: Re: Whats the easiest fish to keep?
Lucy, In my oppinion, even though I'm 13, the best/easiest fish to keep is fish like mollies, swords, platies, and guppies. They are all cheap and easy to obtain. Be careful with guppies though. They are prone to ich (white spot), and fungal growths. If you want fish that are more colorful in their behavior, go buy yourself at least a 20 gallon long aquarium, lots of plants, gravel, rocks, etc. and try one male black convict cichlid with two females. They are black and white striped, females with orange scales on the side. But.......If you want a fish easier to handle, try the folling combo. These proportions are set up for a ten gallon. 2 Kissing Gouramis 2 Mollies 4 Neon Tetras 1 Plecostomus Or try this combo if you want some active, funny, and interesting fish. 2 Emerald Cory Cats 4 Tiger Barbs 2 Swords I would know this because I've had an aquarium since I was 2. Chris

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