10 Tank's fish and tanks

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Just a supplemental post. Completed the water changes and noticed some Platy fry in one of the 55 gallon tanks. There are only four adult Platys in the tank. I really like the bright orange and the blue variations. These fry are looking like a couple of the Mickey Mouse Platys. They're no more than a few days old and there are just a few. If you can manage to keep the tank water in your tank a little on the cool side, you'll have fewer fry and extend the life of the fish you have. Cooler water will slow the reproduction process as well as the aging process. I do the cooler water, so I don't overpopulate my tanks.

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[10 Tanks]

It's Tuesday again already! Four tanks to work on today. We'll change out half the water on our 50, two 55s and a 60 gallon tank. The 60 gallon tank must be at least 30 years old. It's an odd size. I bought it used maybe 15 years ago. It's been a while and I don't really remember. It was pretty scratched up, but I got it cheap and it's been a good tank. It has a couple of Goldfish, some old White Skirt Tetras, Guppies and a Pleco I got several years ago from the neighbor down the street. One end of this 60 gallon is seriously overgrown with Anubias, but that's where the Pleco lives and I only see it every couple of weeks. It comes out of the plants to forage around the tank for bits of food, usually in the early morning. It hasn't grown much. It's pretty much the same size it was when I got it. The thing must be at least seven years old.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello. Getting set for another Wednesday of tank keeping. We're working on the largest of the indoor tanks today. We have a 75 gallon and a 100 gallon to change out the water on today. We'll also pay a visit to the government office and change out half the water on their 55 gallon. Apparently, the female Glofish we thought was pregnant hasn't laid any eggs. We're guessing something about the tank conditions isn't to her liking. Can't be the water, though. We're changing half every Wednesday and Saturday. If there's a trace of nitrate in the water, it has got to be minimal. We've never tested the water. We're figuring with such an aggressive water change routine, testing isn't necessary. Actually, there are roughly 20 fish in this tank and that's plenty, we really don't need more.

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[10 Tanks]

It's a Thursday and the work load is light today. Just a 55 gallon and the outdoor, 300 gallon tank. Large water changes for both today. The 55 gallon has 18 Giant Danios and a few female Guppies. Nothing that a 55 gallon tank can't handle. Have never seen Danio fry in this tank. With 18 of this species in the tank, you'd think some fry would survive, but apparently the water conditions are just right or by not feeding very much, the eggs are another source of protein. The female Guppies keep their distance from the Danios, but the Danios pretty much leave them alone. Fed the fish a little variety of some different kinds of flaked foods. So, that's another day in tankdom.

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[10 Tanks]

It's Friday again. Today, we take a break from the tanks. No water changes, feeding or anything else that I can think of that needs to be done on any of the tanks. The large, frequent water changes keep the water chemistry stable, there's little or no algae on the front glass and the water stays crystal clear. Clean water conditions means that the chances of bad bacteria infecting a healthy fish is next to none. Feeding has a lot to do with clean water conditions and fish health. When you feed just a little, there's no uneaten food to foul the tank water and the fish stay slim and active. That why my fish out live the normal life expectancy. I mean five and six years old Tetras is pretty good. That's not luck, that's close preparation of the water and food.

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[10 Tanks]

It's another Saturday and we'll have an easy time taking care of just the government's 55 gallon tank. We'll remove and replace half the water and squeeze out the two, large sponge filters. The three shark type species in there are growing quickly. They're about the size of your index finger and are supposed to get to twice that length. They've been in the tank since May this year and one is pretty territorial. But, 55 gallons is pretty large, so there's room for all the fish. If you're going to keep fish healthy, you really need a larger tank. 30 gallons is the smallest I would ever keep and a 55 gallons is the best size for even smaller fish. And, I would keep the number to around a dozen to maybe 20. The more water you have, the more diluted the dissolving fish waste is in the tank. If you keep larger tanks with just a few fish, you can actually miss a water change once in a while and the fish will be fine. Large, frequent water changes and feeding a little every day or two will keep the fish healthy.

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[10 Tanks]

Good morning. Another Monday after a couple of days off from our tank job. Today, we have water changes that need to be done on a 45 and two 55 gallon tanks. The Platys in these tanks have worked overtime to add to the number of fish in their tanks. Despite our efforts to control the population, nature has other ideas. There are at least 10 new Platy fry in the three tanks and though this doesn't change our water change routine, it does add slightly to the amount of nitrogen in the water. The fry are very small at this point, but if this trend continues, we may need to move some fish to other tanks. It's good the tanks are large, so the new fry really make no difference in the water chemistry.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello and Happy Tuesday. Today, we have our busiest day taking care of tanks. We have four. A 50 gallon, two 55 gallon and a 60 gallon tank. We'll remove and replace half the tank water in each and check the filters. The sponge filters all seem to be running well. Depending on the flow of bubbles, we may not need to squeeze them out. By changing a lot of tank water weekly, you remove most of the small, floating particles that collect in the filter. So, you don't need to clean them nearly as often. The python siphon works quickly to remove the tank water. We just run one end into the drain in the shower and start removing the water. We can remove and replace the water in all four in roughly two and half hours. The new Platy fry are growing nicely. We've got mostly orange ones from some Mickey Mouse Platies and a light blue one with a dark tail. Fed the fish yesterday, so today they'll forage around the tank for any small pieces of food that they missed yesterday.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello again. Well, by now, you all know the drill for Wednesdays. Water changes on a 75 and 100 gallon tank. And, going over to the government office this afternoon to check on their 55 gallon tank. We'll do a water change and possibly clean the front glass of any algae that may have grown since last Saturday. If there is some, it will be minimal. Their fish have yet to reproduce since we set up the tank back in May. I'm not complaining, there are more than enough fish in there already. But, the tank is full of egg layers and one would think, they'd have had some fry by now. The water chemistry and temperature are well within their requirements, so I'm at a loss for why. Possibly, the eggs are eaten. But, these fish are fed daily. Anyway, the tank looks good and all the employees are enjoying the fish.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello. It's Thursday and the later we get into the week, the easier our job of taking care of 12 fish tanks becomes. Today, we have a 55 gallon and the outdoor 300 gallon tank. The 55 has roughly 18 Giant Danios and the 300, about 20 Goldfish and four, large Koi. Since I put in the Koi, I've increased the water change to roughly half twice a week. This more aggressive water change routine should guarantee good water conditions for the fish. I fed them all yesterday and all seems fine. The Koi seem to be growing since I put them in the tank back in September. Keep up on your water changes and you'll have no tank problems.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello and Merry Christmas Eve, Eve. Saturdays, we head over to the government office and remove and replace half the tank water and check on the two large sponge filters. We'll also feed the fish a little. The tank was set up back in May and looks good. I change more water in this tank than I do in my own. You can't afford to miss a water change, when you're being paid. You always want to give people their money's worth and then some. Their fish are fed daily except for a fasting day on Sundays. I don't feed quite so much. So, one 50 percent water change weekly is enough for my tanks. Have a restful holiday!

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[10 Tanks]

Hello and today is Sunday. We have a 50 percent water change scheduled for the out door 300 gallon tank. We always treat the water with the standard treatment to detoxify anything that the public water people put into the tap water and we always dose a bacteria starter. I started doing this to replenish any bacteria that might have been lost during the water change. Just a precaution actually. But the bacteria starter can be used to cycle a new tank more quickly and by removing and replacing so much water, there's never a chance that dissolving fish and plant waste can foul the water and put the fish at risk. Hope everyone has a safe and restful holiday.

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[10 Tanks]

Merry Christmas! Sorry, am a little late posting due to a Christmas lunch with my wife, brother-in-law and my 91 year old mother-in-law. Anyway, the mother-in-law will be 91 tomorrow. The lady is sharp, but her body is isn't so much. Anyway, before lunch, we did the water change on three tanks. The tanks have new Platy fry and a couple of sub adults. They're orange, likely from the Mickey Mouse Platys. They all seem to be doing well. The tanks are getting some string algae that is growing despite large, weekly water changes and just a little food the fish get every other day. Lighting is roughly two watts per gallon of water, which is in the medium range. This hair algae grows on everything and needs to be removed weekly or it can kill the floating plants. So, I'm removing it with a long, cleaning brush for aquarium use. That's it. Total working time was about three hours, which included the algae removal.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello. This Tuesday is the busiest part of the week with four tanks that need water changes. The sponge filters in them are running well, so we can skip the squeezing out process to clean them. The large, regular water changes will remove most of the dissolved plant waste and tiny particles that tends to clog the sponges. I prefer sponge filters. They work as well as anything else, as long as you're an aggressive water changer. All the new, treated tap water will dilute the waste toxins that are left to a very safe level. So, the water never has a high level of nitrogen in it. You remove it before it builds up. If you never do anything else to your fish tank, you should remove and replace half the tank water regularly. Do this, and your fish will always live in clean water and live a long time.

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[10 Tanks]

Another Wednesday is here and we have a 75, 100 and the government's tank to do. Just going to change out half the water and check on filters. May need to prune a few plants, but nothing major. When you change out as much water as we do every week, there's not much that can go wrong. So much clean water means a stable, healthy water chemistry. The oxygen level stays steady, the filters are simply filtering clean water and there's little or no algae to deal with either. It's still amazes me how such a simple task, makes tank keeping such an easy hobby.

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