110 Gallon South American Biotope

[eaglesaquarium]

Yeah.  It is.  That's why we are looking at different species for a trial.

 

[greenmumma141]

I'm pretty sure the cleaning services will have certain things that have to be done maybe weekly or monthly as well, apart from the daily things.  I'm not sure why this is hard to explain lol but my point is, if the fumes from waxing the floor once or month, or cleaning the windows once a week are what's causing the problems in the tank, then that also creates a problem within itself, bc how can you be sure that the water is safe, and the fumes haven't just died off, to only be added again on a regular schedule    
 
I've been really thinking about this lol

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The reason that I am not overly concerned about that element is that I can do water changes to eliminate what's in the water - and once the lid is on, there won't be a concern at that time.
 
 
The room next to mine has a 30 gallon tank with fish that are unaffected (but has a lid).

 

[greenmumma141]

How wonderful will it be, if you just need a darn lid?    
 
Sheesh, makes you wonder what's in the air at the schools these days lol

 

[snazy]

You know, it could be as well a bit of negligence from the cleaning crowd. At home some people tend to spray air fresheners, and all other types of fancy stuff. I saw once even the hood of the tank cover being wiped nice and shiny with a disinfectant.  I have now warned that without my permission or knowledge, at least the area where the open tank is, is not to be cleaned or anyone spraying around anything. It's really easy to do and unless you are a fish keeper, it won't even cross your mind.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I've made it clear the area directly around the tank is NOT to be cleaned at all (I'll do that).  The biggest problem is that our cleaning crew is Ukrainian.  Not a problem normally, but the language barrier is troublesome. 
 
The bigger issue is that I've seen how they use the spray cleanser for our whiteboards... VERY liberally applied from about 8-12 inches from the board and then wiped down.  Its quick, but a LOT more is used than is necessarily, which is where our issue comes in.  Also, the fish tend to be just fine after initial placement in the tank, but after around 5pm-7pm, the "rapid breathing" begins - which again indicates it has to do with their ability to uptake oxygen from the water.  The cories being unaffected is baffling, but they are so very different biologically, being air gulpers at times, and spending most of the time on the bottom, that the airborne stuff may not stay in the water long enough or circulate down to where they are as much...  Guppies spend time everywhere, so if they survive, we'll have something to work with.
 
We are probably going to have to completely reconsider the bloodfins though.  I don't know that I want to add any more for quite some time.

   This is the most frustrated I've EVER been keeping fish.  And this includes as a kid all the fish in the house dying while my parents went away and I stayed with my grandparents (2 blocks away) and cared for the fish.  The house overheated the fish and they all died - every single one.  It was the closest thing to the sight of 24 dead or dying bloodfins in this tank.  At least in that case I knew the problem, but it was too late.  In this case the unknown is the most upsetting part.

 

[snazy]

I know that feeling. When the memories of something like that are fresh you get haunted by that dreadful feeling that it will keep happening again and again. Hopefully it will be alright. If the corys are fine, it can't be that bad in the tank so at least it's habitable enough.
What type of cover have you decided to use?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Another piece of glass, same dimensions as the one that still works...  The one that broke was a different dimension so that we could put one filter on the "side" of the tank and create more flow around the tank.  We've decided to put both Penguin filters on the back, and cover both sides the same way.  We'll rely on the powerhead only to create the flow around the full tank.

 

[greenmumma141]

Not knowing what's going wrong in your tank is extremely upsetting, especially in such a drastic situation. Hang in there Eagles, hopefully you're on the right track, and hey, your cories are loving life with a huge tank to themselves for the time being

 

[snazy]

You know, why not make it a cory tank

I am setting up one at the moment but I might have to move some platies too unless I bring them to the LFS but I have hard time parting with them

 can you imagine someone caring for platies...I just love their greedy faces

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I had platies as a teen... Loved them. 
 
 
A cory tank is a good idea...  we were going to have 15 cories, eventually and 24 of two different shoals (bloodfins and cardinals).
 
 
That may need to be scrapped and revamped.  It certainly seems fine for the cories - nearly 4 months in there and still doing well.  I just need to find a source for more C. leopardus.  Not too easy around here.

 

[greenmumma141]

Cory tanks, oh man I often dream of setting up one of those shallow tanks just for cories....

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Quick update:
 
My plants look absolutely terrible (since the algae outbreak over Spring break) and the tank is sparse as anything right now - after pulling just about everything out of it that could be the least bit responsible for the deaths.
 
 
But, the good news is that we had 4 "guinea pigs" - I mean guppies placed into the tank 8:30 yesterday morning.  24 hours have now passed and I am pleased to report that all 4 are still alive and active.   Their behavior doesn't exactly my experience with guppies previously, but that may be due to the giant tank and the sparse nature of the plants and decor currently.  I don't think they are even aware of the presence of the cories at the moment.  I might have to introduce them at some point to each other! 
 
I got a feeding response from two of them that I have confirmed, but not sure of the others just yet.
 
 
 
We are getting a glass top for the other side of the tank soon - hopefully this will be the cure we've been waiting for!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Hoping, hoping, hoping. This sound like good news!!

 

[snazy]

That's really great news eagles. I hope they'll be fine.
I have found out that my guppies in a bigger tank rarely go to the bottom too. They like the upper space.
When I kept them in smaller tanks they were all over the place, eating from the bottom too but now they don't bother going there. They also have a gathering spot in the tank(in front of a powerhead) and I can often see all of them together, almost like schooling fish but mostly showing off to each other(I've got only males in there)