Okay, after Fishmageddon (documented elsewhere) where I added a dozen Neon Tetras and lost 10 of them, 10 Cherry Barbs and a BN Pleco, I have managed to remove whatever it was that caused the issue (I'm still at a loss as to the root cause). I have added some more Rainbows and 3 Pacific Blue-Eyes to the tank. I'm pushing the stocking levels, but everything is under control (no ammonia or nitrites, nitrates rising very slowly).
Since the two remaining Neons and the two remaining Cherry Barbs are looking lonely, I decided to build the schools up to a more happy place.
The LFS in my area was recently purchased by a big chain (something I'm not at all happy about, but nothing I can control). The big chain's other stores nearby have a limited range of fish and appear to not care enough about the health.
However, this weekend they had a sale on, with some deals for loyalty member of the old store. Not expecting anything, I went in hoping to see some Neons. The nice man there said "all fish are 30% off today, but we are not selling the Neons (a tank of 40 or so on display)."
"Okay, now you have my attention, may I ask why?"
"We aren't happy with them, they appear to have been sick when they were supplied, we're monitoring them and they're recovering, but we're still not happy to sell them yet."
Now that's the sort of service the old store used to have. I'm sure one of their other outlets would have been happy to sell sick fish, on the assumption that after they died, I would come and buy some more.
I bought some very healthy Cherry Barbs, who are currently in quarantine. But I'm still going to exercise caution to see if their standards start slipping...
Since the two remaining Neons and the two remaining Cherry Barbs are looking lonely, I decided to build the schools up to a more happy place.
The LFS in my area was recently purchased by a big chain (something I'm not at all happy about, but nothing I can control). The big chain's other stores nearby have a limited range of fish and appear to not care enough about the health.
However, this weekend they had a sale on, with some deals for loyalty member of the old store. Not expecting anything, I went in hoping to see some Neons. The nice man there said "all fish are 30% off today, but we are not selling the Neons (a tank of 40 or so on display)."
"Okay, now you have my attention, may I ask why?"
"We aren't happy with them, they appear to have been sick when they were supplied, we're monitoring them and they're recovering, but we're still not happy to sell them yet."
Now that's the sort of service the old store used to have. I'm sure one of their other outlets would have been happy to sell sick fish, on the assumption that after they died, I would come and buy some more.
I bought some very healthy Cherry Barbs, who are currently in quarantine. But I'm still going to exercise caution to see if their standards start slipping...
