Fish Pecking Something White Off The Glass.

[FishBlast]

Relax, if things are so bad than they can only get better right? Try to join an aquatic club or something that's in your area. You'll meet new people & possibly find a good deal on some used equipment. CHeck garage or yard sales and maybe put an ad in the local classified section saying your looking to buy an inexpensive setup.

Do all Romanian people speak English?

Well, right now I'm not so sure whether it's the going downhill or starting to go uphill area of things. I'm just sad that I cannot do something now. I know that time will tell, but I want my catfish to have a better place to spend the last years of his life, as he is really old now ( 9 years). What my mom did to him by taking away his aquarium wasn't nice. Besides, that aquarium had the crack sealed with silicone anyway. But maybe I can find a better one eventually, as that one was mostly taller than longer.

I never heard about an aquatic club around here, but maybe a googling may pick up something. We do have forums and such about fish keeping though, but it's nowhere near as full of information as this one.

I wouldn't say all, there seems to be a decline in the English speaking population around here. While I was in school, everyone had no problem with speaking English. When I was in high school, I've noticed that many others didn't care for English at all. But most of those that play online games for example, do understand / speak and write English quite well.

And that probably belongs to some rich dude. All castles do.
EDIT: noticed it was the Pelesh Castle, now a museum. But still has some rich person behind it making money off of it.

Second edit: LOLED @ what I found after googling: Club Bamboo in our area has a bunch of random fish mixed in that shouldn't be together, according to some forum. And they put loud music there.

And I found something of interest with aquariums on demand. But can't tell if it would be cheaper to get something from them or just by going to the shop. I hope the snow melts soon so I can go for some plants for now and check out their aquariums.

 

[FishBlast]

Hmm, I've been wondering though, in a 64L aquarium, how many of the following could live (not as mixed but as a single species setup):
Sparkling Gourami
Betta Imbellis
or Guppies, but I'm not sure if I should try breeding them again. Never had any trouble with these or swordtails aside from the random fish jumping overboard or letting them in the care of my dad. (with the recent exception of that female black swordtail that had some problem with her gills and refused to eat before she died)

Currently I have the swordtail pair and the hoplo, but I think the hoplo has maybe 1-2 more years left to live. All my other catfish lived between 6 and 8 years. And the swordtails... even though I've had these before and managed to breed them, they have either escaped or were left in my dad's care while I was away for a week or two and came back to find out that they died, so I don't know if I should just settle for those 2 that I have now and the catfish or breed them to a maximum of 6 (2 males and 4 females), like I had before.

What would ideally live in a 64L tank though? Any possible combos of bottom feeder(s) with some non-shoaling but not aggressive fish? (no Bettas other than the peaceful kind)
I pretty much enjoy getting different colored fish through breeding, but no idea which kind to pick.
Still aside from that, I like fish with a standing-out personality, but I don't seem to have a good setup and 64L won't be enough for my favorite catfish and probably isn't enough for swordtails either from what I've heard.

 

[riogal_11]

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

 

[FishBlast]

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

Well, if I get the money, I can pay for the water that I consume.
Here are the problems with re-homing the fish:
It can get worse as a lot of people keep them unfiltered, in small tanks, people are poor around here so none of my friends can at this point help them, pet shop around here doesn't do refunds nor take fish back (would even sound crazy for them to be asked that) and one of them hasn't been bought from a pet shop.

Anyway if I don't get the money next week, I don't know what I'll do, mom will probably think I went crazy too but I'll try to contact some random strangers on some Romanian fish forums, ask them if they have a good 200L tank to take care of the fish and hope that I can at least find out what the fish are doing and... idk if they could come with their car to my place as I don't have any possibility to get out, too much snow and no car. I'll give everything for free too.
Then I will wait 10-20 years until I get my own house and make my own rules (that is, supposing that I survive that long in this place).

By trying I mean selectively breeding them. (though most of them will be left on their own anyway, but I'd choose the colors to start with).

 

[Ruskull]

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

I figure if she can't rehome them, it's best if she gets a slightly larger tank with some donated, established media and then she'll need less water changes. It seems her mom is complaining because she's doing daily changes, which would seem extreme to older folks who don't know any better. With a larger, more established tank she will be able to spread those changes out to once a week or so.

My father is almost exactly like that, in fact he keeps his 10 gallon filter on a timer believe it or not. I guess he thinks he's saving money on electricity when we all know a small 10 gallon filter only uses about as much as a clock would use. It's not like he doesn't have the money either mind you, but as people age they sometimes gorw more frugal.

 

[riogal_11]

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

Well, if I get the money, I can pay for the water that I consume.
Here are the problems with re-homing the fish:
It can get worse as a lot of people keep them unfiltered, in small tanks, people are poor around here so none of my friends can at this point help them, pet shop around here doesn't do refunds nor take fish back (would even sound crazy for them to be asked that) and one of them hasn't been bought from a pet shop.

Anyway if I don't get the money next week, I don't know what I'll do, mom will probably think I went crazy too but I'll try to contact some random strangers on some Romanian fish forums, ask them if they have a good 200L tank to take care of the fish and hope that I can at least find out what the fish are doing and... idk if they could come with their car to my place as I don't have any possibility to get out, too much snow and no car. I'll give everything for free too.
Then I will wait 10-20 years until I get my own house and make my own rules (that is, supposing that I survive that long in this place).

By trying I mean selectively breeding them. (though most of them will be left on their own anyway, but I'd choose the colors to start with).

Right, it sounds like a lot of your plans are based on the big "if". What if you don't get the money next week and can't pay for the extra water? Will your mom not let you do anymore water changes? What if you buy a tank, and then can't afford to get the proper equipment and do the appropriate maintenance on it either?
What's your reasoning for not having any plants/substrates/etc. in your current tank? While they are not absolute necessity, it would probably help them to have something to lessen the stress they have got to be experiencing in that tank.

With the predicament you are in, I'd probably sneak the swordtails into the store and plop them into a tank while no one is looking, as they are only exacerbating a situation that went from bad to worse with their entrance to the tank. Typically, catfish need good water conditions to live a long and full life, so I am mighty shocked to hear that he is 9 years old.

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

I figure if she can't rehome them, it's best if she gets a slightly larger tank with some donated, established media and then she'll need less water changes. It seems her mom is complaining because she's doing daily changes, which would seem extreme to older folks who don't know any better. With a larger, more established tank she will be able to spread those changes out to once a week or so.

My father is almost exactly like that, in fact he keeps his 10 gallon filter on a timer believe it or not. I guess he thinks he's saving money on electricity when we all know a small 10 gallon filter only uses about as much as a clock would use. It's not like he doesn't have the money either mind you, but as people age they sometimes gorw more frugal.

For someone that may or may not get paid $100.00 this month, I wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank, or all that would be needed to maintain it.

 

[FishBlast]

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

I figure if she can't rehome them, it's best if she gets a slightly larger tank with some donated, established media and then she'll need less water changes. It seems her mom is complaining because she's doing daily changes, which would seem extreme to older folks who don't know any better. With a larger, more established tank she will be able to spread those changes out to once a week or so.

My father is almost exactly like that, in fact he keeps his 10 gallon filter on a timer believe it or not. I guess he thinks he's saving money on electricity when we all know a small 10 gallon filter only uses about as much as a clock would use. It's not like he doesn't have the money either mind you, but as people age they sometimes gorw more frugal.

I will ask at the shop if the guy has any media, that may just save me a lot of work. Though I bet he will shove the "bacteria in a pack" option first.
She wasn't complaining mostly about the electricity bill (though she did once), she was complaining about the buzz it was making, but now that i found a spot to put it, it now makes bubbles and filters perfectly without buzzing so loud. it's quite silent. And it cleans up everything as soon as it hits the floor.
And to defy my mother, I managed to change water daily while she's not noticing. LOL!!! I just leave the bottles for the usual 24 hours distance so that it won't harm the fish. And when she's not looking, I can quickly change it.

She's got to let me keep a larger tank, i have the table, if i'll have the money and she knows she will get part of it, there's no way she can complain that I do my business and she contributes with next to nothing (except giving a roof over my fish's head).

 

[Blubble37]

thats algae on the side... an algae scraper will be rid of it... most people get it....

 

[FishBlast]

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

Well, if I get the money, I can pay for the water that I consume.
Here are the problems with re-homing the fish:
It can get worse as a lot of people keep them unfiltered, in small tanks, people are poor around here so none of my friends can at this point help them, pet shop around here doesn't do refunds nor take fish back (would even sound crazy for them to be asked that) and one of them hasn't been bought from a pet shop.

Anyway if I don't get the money next week, I don't know what I'll do, mom will probably think I went crazy too but I'll try to contact some random strangers on some Romanian fish forums, ask them if they have a good 200L tank to take care of the fish and hope that I can at least find out what the fish are doing and... idk if they could come with their car to my place as I don't have any possibility to get out, too much snow and no car. I'll give everything for free too.
Then I will wait 10-20 years until I get my own house and make my own rules (that is, supposing that I survive that long in this place).

By trying I mean selectively breeding them. (though most of them will be left on their own anyway, but I'd choose the colors to start with).

Right, it sounds like a lot of your plans are based on the big "if". What if you don't get the money next week and can't pay for the extra water? Will your mom not let you do anymore water changes? What if you buy a tank, and then can't afford to get the proper equipment and do the appropriate maintenance on it either?
What's your reasoning for not having any plants/substrates/etc. in your current tank? While they are not absolute necessity, it would probably help them to have something to lessen the stress they have got to be experiencing in that tank.

With the predicament you are in, I'd probably sneak the swordtails into the store and plop them into a tank while no one is looking, as they are only exacerbating a situation that went from bad to worse with their entrance to the tank. Typically, catfish need good water conditions to live a long and full life, so I am mighty shocked to hear that he is 9 years old.

I surely wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank at this point. Your mother complains about your water changes and the minimal amount of electric you are using, so surely she won't allow a bigger tank at this point. If I were you, I would be exploring ALL possibilities to re-home these fish. I'm thinking that 23 liters converts to around 6ish US gallons, and that is grossly small for most fish, especially the ones you have. You can't find a store to take them or someone with even a slightly bigger tank than yours? Honestly, it can't get much worse than having these in a 6 gallon, so I'd be looking for any even remotely better home for them. As for the white stuff, I have no idea what it is, but it is the least of your concerns.

You don't really "try" to breed guppies... they just breed, and breed, and breed, thus likely overrunning your tank in short order.

I figure if she can't rehome them, it's best if she gets a slightly larger tank with some donated, established media and then she'll need less water changes. It seems her mom is complaining because she's doing daily changes, which would seem extreme to older folks who don't know any better. With a larger, more established tank she will be able to spread those changes out to once a week or so.

My father is almost exactly like that, in fact he keeps his 10 gallon filter on a timer believe it or not. I guess he thinks he's saving money on electricity when we all know a small 10 gallon filter only uses about as much as a clock would use. It's not like he doesn't have the money either mind you, but as people age they sometimes gorw more frugal.

For someone that may or may not get paid $100.00 this month, I wouldn't be counting on a bigger tank, or all that would be needed to maintain it.

Like I've said in the former post, if things won't work as expected, I will make an announcement online, and mom will have to welcome those people whether she likes it or not in front of the house. I will give them the fish and the tank.
I used to have a tank with gravel and changed it to sand. Had plants, the fish kept eating it and destroyed most of the plants (mostly swordtails and guppies ate that). The tank was much bigger but it had a crack ever since I received it. It was covered in silicone.
It had an old filter but I bought a new one later on as the old one wasn't working right.

When all my other fish died after many years (I was a kid when I started all this, was probably 5 or 7), I was left with only one catfish (the one I have now). So he grew up in that big tank of unknown size, but quite huge.
When my mother saw that I only had one fish, she told dad to buy me a SMALLER tank (the one I have now). He reluctantly complied and I was forced to move Tzuppy into it. I didn't know better as my mom was saying that it's big enough for him.

Only recently I decided to start over by getting swordtails, then I decided to check out a forum and came across this one. I found out that I was doing it wrong for so many years.

Those tanks are supervised with a camera in the shop and the tanks are all mounted on the walls. I don't know how I could get past that. I might even get fined for it.

In my current tank I could try to look for the old white gravel, but I don't think it is good/safe, as those are quite pointy rocks. It would also reduce the catfish's already small swimming space that the filter has reduced too. Rather get a big tank with everything in it and enough swimming space than to have gravel in a small one where food can deposit and rot. Would be a bad move in this state the aquarium is now.

 

[Ruskull]

RioGal, I believe she's looking to get a 16-17 gallon tank, not a huge tank or anything. I agree that "maybe" really isn't good enough when the lives of the fish hang in the balance, but she does seem to have a plan and she sincerely wants what's best for the fish within reason.

 

[FishBlast]

RioGal, I believe she's looking to get a 16-17 gallon tank, not a huge tank or anything. I agree that "maybe" really isn't good enough when the lives of the fish hang in the balance, but she does seem to have a plan and she sincerely wants what's best for the fish within reason.

That would be still a temp tank, but much better than risking to take the fish through the cold (it's -12 C outside now) to the store and wake up with frozen fish.
The only other viable option would be to give them to someone who can guarantee they have a good huge tank of at least 200L and has a car. That is important for the fish to survive the traveling.
The plan is to keep gathering money and invest in a bigger tank eventually so that I can actually have something to invest in. Otherwise what can I invest in? I'd have to donate ALL my money to my mother so that she can buy more clothes that I don't need and could easily give to the homeless for all I care (if she'd let me do that, so still no go).
I could also invest in some super-performance pc... only that I don't play games, I only work with 3D modeling/animation which again means NOTHING in Romania. It's a useless skill to acquire, may be for fun but... useless.

 

[FishBlast]

Oh and I forgot about this other alternative.
How much does aquarium-friendly silicone cost? (around what price) so that I could maybe compare it to ours, see which way I can acquire it).
I could just get glass pieces (should be easy to find), dad can cut them and build a home-made 100L aquarium. Might not even need to pay for the glass, which would cut down on the cost.
How much silicone would I need to weld such a tank? That way, the problem of carrying the tank towards home would be eliminated. Tank would be built inside the house and at lower cost than they sell it if I can get a good price for the silicone bottle.

Would this be a viable option / shortcut to an even bigger tank? Could work on convincing mom to let me keep it, but probably a bit less chances than a 64L ready-made.

Edit: Found silicone for aquarium. Seems quite cheap. I may need 2-3 bottles of this to make it, and glass should be easy to find and if not, just ordering it, will pay extra money but should be cheaper in the long run and better for the fish to have more space. Could save money for good gravel and plants, aside from the dechlorinator.

The dimensions i could go for would be 60x60x28 though, unless the table can hold about 100 cm in length, in which case I'd go for a 100x38x28 in format LxWxH. I'd prefer a low height to give the catfish easy access to the top for air. Which would be better?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

If i was to be brutally honest, i would wait until you have the money and permission from your mum to upgrade and continue with this hobby..i can only see it ending in tears.

Terry.

 

[riogal_11]

If i was to be brutally honest, i would wait until you have the money and permission from your mum to upgrade and continue with this hobby..i can only see it ending in tears.

Terry.

Thank you. Fish keeping is such a big commitment of time and money and something that you have to have 100% support for, especially when living in someone else's house.

Oh and I forgot about this other alternative.
How much does aquarium-friendly silicone cost? (around what price) so that I could maybe compare it to ours, see which way I can acquire it).
I could just get glass pieces (should be easy to find), dad can cut them and build a home-made 100L aquarium. Might not even need to pay for the glass, which would cut down on the cost.
How much silicone would I need to weld such a tank? That way, the problem of carrying the tank towards home would be eliminated. Tank would be built inside the house and at lower cost than they sell it if I can get a good price for the silicone bottle.

Would this be a viable option / shortcut to an even bigger tank? Could work on convincing mom to let me keep it, but probably a bit less chances than a 64L ready-made.

Edit: Found silicone for aquarium. Seems quite cheap. I may need 2-3 bottles of this to make it, and glass should be easy to find and if not, just ordering it, will pay extra money but should be cheaper in the long run and better for the fish to have more space. Could save money for good gravel and plants, aside from the dechlorinator.

The dimensions i could go for would be 60x60x28 though, unless the table can hold about 100 cm in length, in which case I'd go for a 100x38x28 in format LxWxH. I'd prefer a low height to give the catfish easy access to the top for air. Which would be better?

I just do not see this as a viable option. Tanks aren't just thrown and siliconed together, you would have an absolute disaster on your hands. Plus, your dad wouldn't even take proper care of your fish when you left them with him, I seriously doubt he is up for making a large tank. Then, you'd still need equipment for said tank.

 

[FishBlast]

If i was to be brutally honest, i would wait until you have the money and permission from your mum to upgrade and continue with this hobby..i can only see it ending in tears.

Terry.

Well, what I'm waiting for is to get paid next week. If she still doesn't give me permission then yeah it will end in tears for me, as the fish will be given away one way or another, but it would take another 10-20 years until I'll be able to pick back up (estimated time I will be able to buy a house of my own) not to mention I may never see them (especially Tzuppy, him being old) again since I will give them to strangers.