Killudeads New 75 Gallon Project

[killudead]

My other platy fred died last night. I came home from work and he was all tangled up in some java moss. Almost completely vertical.
So I carefully pulled him out and all the scales on top of his head were gone. It was all white...
I did a water change, but he would not swim to much. He just hung out at the bottom of the tank. Went to bed and woke up to him laying flat in the bottom of the tank. I almost wonder if it was the stress that got to him.

RIP Fred 5/15/09

Hope you and Wilma are having fun again.

 

[killudead]

3rd refill on the co2 tank. Avg. every 17 days for a refill. I need to check and maintain the bps with the needle valve.
I have been doseing my ferts 2 times per week per the instructions.
Co2 is doing ok, but why do i go through them so fast?

 

[Phage]

How big is the co2 tank and how many bps? I may have missed that. But I have a 55gal and 5lb tank, it lasts around 4 months on around 2 bps. I know the first time I filled it, it lasted a month or two. I didn't screw on the reg tight enough. Or maybe you have a leak in the line some where? You can try putting dishsoap in water and 'painting' it on the screw on part of the reg. If it bubbles it is leaking.

Very lovely tank though. Sorry to hear about your losses. I know rams are sensitive, many have trouble with them.

 

[killudead]

How big is the co2 tank and how many bps? I may have missed that. But I have a 55gal and 5lb tank, it lasts around 4 months on around 2 bps. I know the first time I filled it, it lasted a month or two. I didn't screw on the reg tight enough. Or maybe you have a leak in the line some where? You can try putting dishsoap in water and 'painting' it on the screw on part of the reg. If it bubbles it is leaking.

Very lovely tank though. Sorry to hear about your losses. I know rams are sensitive, many have trouble with them.

Thanks. I am working on the bps, I try to keep it at 2-3, but the stupid needle valve is not cooperating. I have already called JBJ once and talked with them. Next i will most likely get a replacement and go from there. I will just have to bite the bullet and continue to monitor the situation.

 

[killudead]

I have committed a most hanus act. I was feeding my bumble bee gobis, and my platies love to go in the net for some reason. Apparently, one got caught in the net and I never noticed it. anyway, i went to feed them this evening and discovered my little friend. Garfield
There he was, partially dried and dead. I feel so horrible to have made such a grave mistake. I had to get this off my chest.
I dont even really know what to say. I will probably get some crap for it, but i deserve every bit it of it.
This is my journal so i had to document. It goes with the territory. Very bummed out, walks away....

 

[killudead]

I did however, recently purchase a few new pigmy cats.
i put them in my 10 gallon. So far so good.
The Co2 is still running strong. It has passed the 17 day mark since the last fill, so that is good. Still having some issues with the needle valve.
I am thinking about adding a few female bettas to the big tank. I would add 2 or 3 so they can school together.
I dont know if they would be nipped at if they were in a group. Will have to do some research first and go from there.
The algae is not growing to badly on the plants. little here and little there. I have upgraded the Rex Grigg in line diffuser to a 2" PVC model. I also added 3 bio balls and a airstone help the process along. Seems to work ok, i still seem to get some bubbles that make their way out. maybe i need to turn down the water valve on the outlet side. It is a work in progress as always.
I have been dosing with the Flourish brand of ferts and they are working great. I am hoping that as I begin to understand more of what i am actually doing then i can graduate to the dry mix. I am still bummed out about my accident mentioned above. I still cant get over it. How could i have been so careless i wonder to myself. The poor thing just suffocated. I would not want to be in that situation. I have to much empathy. I have been documenting my tank along the way and made a few adjustments to the location.
The plants have grown in real nice. I have to get my uploaded installed again and i am in business.

 

[lljdma06]

Ok, update on the fish.

1 betta - Cable
2 red wag platy - Barney and Mr. Slate
2 sun burst platy - Garfield and Fred
2 blue ram - Leggo and Eggo
5 neon tetras - ???
3 black tetras - the three stooges
2 rummy nose fish - Tango and Cash
3 black phantoms - Huey, Luey, and Duey
1 cory cat - Jimmy
5 amano shrimp - ???
2 crystal red shrimp - Lucky and His brother
2 Red Cherry shrimp - ???
2 bumble bee goby's - Rocco and Rambo
3 Glofish - Sunflower, Pinky, and the brain
1 oto - Johnny
2 sucker glass catfish - Poo and Nanny (my wife came up with that one )

Many of the fish that you have need to be in larger numbers to exhibit more natural behavior. I'm assuming that you know that platies should have a male:female ratio of 1:at least 2, preferably 3 or 4. The tetras and glowfish (I'm assuming it's that altered zebra danio) should be in groups of at least 5, preferably 6 to upwards of 10 or more if you can manage it. The corydoras should be in groups of at least 5 as does the otoclinus (oto). The bumble bee gobies are also a social fish, if memory serves. The shrimp are also social creatures, though I am not as familar with inverts. The lower numbers can contribute to unusual behavior patterns and fish bullying. That may by an explaination for some of your losses.

Your tank is rather young, and I won't say it's overstocked. I'm a huge overstocker myself, but when my tanks are young, I tend to leave things alone (plantwise) and focus primarily on keeping the water clean by doing large water changes, sometimes more than once a week. I also tend to plant first, add fish later, though I have had my share of major upheavals and rescapes with a fully-stocked tank. Once they are used to your regimen, the fish prove to be quite resiliant.

Another quick question, though, are those pygmys with the betta or are they by themselves? They do best in a very peaceful community with similar-sized fish or by themselves. They are at their best in a large school, around 12 or so fish.

I'm sorry, I'm being such a pain, but sometimes in our zeal for plants, we have to remember that we must not neglect the needs of our fish.

Good luck to you and a good start. I'll be watching this tank with interest.

 

[killudead]

Ok, update on the fish.

1 betta - Cable
2 red wag platy - Barney and Mr. Slate
2 sun burst platy - Garfield and Fred
2 blue ram - Leggo and Eggo
5 neon tetras - ???
3 black tetras - the three stooges
2 rummy nose fish - Tango and Cash
3 black phantoms - Huey, Luey, and Duey
1 cory cat - Jimmy
5 amano shrimp - ???
2 crystal red shrimp - Lucky and His brother
2 Red Cherry shrimp - ???
2 bumble bee goby's - Rocco and Rambo
3 Glofish - Sunflower, Pinky, and the brain
1 oto - Johnny
2 sucker glass catfish - Poo and Nanny (my wife came up with that one )

Many of the fish that you have need to be in larger numbers to exhibit more natural behavior. I'm assuming that you know that platies should have a male:female ratio of 1:at least 2, preferably 3 or 4. The tetras and glowfish (I'm assuming it's that altered zebra danio) should be in groups of at least 5, preferably 6 to upwards of 10 or more if you can manage it. The corydoras should be in groups of at least 5 as does the otoclinus (oto). The bumble bee gobies are also a social fish, if memory serves. The shrimp are also social creatures, though I am not as familar with inverts. The lower numbers can contribute to unusual behavior patterns and fish bullying. That may by an explaination for some of your losses.

Your tank is rather young, and I won't say it's overstocked. I'm a huge overstocker myself, but when my tanks are young, I tend to leave things alone (plantwise) and focus primarily on keeping the water clean by doing large water changes, sometimes more than once a week. I also tend to plant first, add fish later, though I have had my share of major upheavals and rescapes with a fully-stocked tank. Once they are used to your regimen, the fish prove to be quite resiliant.

Another quick question, though, are those pygmys with the betta or are they by themselves? They do best in a very peaceful community with similar-sized fish or by themselves. They are at their best in a large school, around 12 or so fish.

I'm sorry, I'm being such a pain, but sometimes in our zeal for plants, we have to remember that we must not neglect the needs of our fish.

Good luck to you and a good start. I'll be watching this tank with interest.

Actually for some of the fish, i knew that they had to be in schools but did not realize just how many.
I am playing it safe, getting fish in small batches and adding them to the tank to allow for new bacteria growth.
as for the pygmy's, they are with my betta and apparently he could care less. I have not seen him chase them at all.
I did however lose one of the 2 tonight. Came home and he was face up. My betta so far is pretty good about leaving the shrimps alone.
when you say show more natural behavior, what should i be looking for.
They all seem very satisfied. The glofish swim around and chase each other. As do the platies.
But the black neons, they stay more in the middle of the tank and swim around a wee bit.
I will keep adding to the tank in small batches and hopefully all will work out well. I would imagine that with my tank being so heavily planted, I could overstock a little and not do any major harm. I do my 50% reset water changes every sunday and I am dedicated to the schedule.

I have noticed that some fish school with other fish and they all travel in one huge pack. The rummy nose follow the blue rams and the black phantoms.
Its interesting to watch. I spend about 30-60 minutes watching them. Looking for things that hopefully would be worth noting. I mark all the deaths on my calender and if I do have a death for some reason. At least check the water quality. I have never had any issues with water... it seems like the tank is thriving. I would like to take a video of the tank and throw it up on the tube. The 75g i have is so big with so many spots for shrimp to hide, sometimes i go days without seeing them. I look for all my fish daily to make sure they are ok. I am anal about this. I have become anal with many things since getting married and buying a house.
I have jerk neighbors that wont mow their lawn. Knee high grass in the back yard...

 

[lljdma06]

When fish are in adaquate numbers, they will interact more with each other rather than with other species. Once you get about 6-8 in a group, they develop a pecking order and usually, especially with characins (tetras) a dominant male appears. He will serve as the group leader and then lead the rest on forraging expeditions in the tank. Once they locate a food source they will then spit into smaller teams. Rasboras and danios also do this. Many of these species are also shoal or group breeders. If they school is large enough and the water quality is good, you will experience shoal breeding, where males and females in a shoal spawn together. In the past I have had cardinal tetras do this for me in the past and it is quite fun to watch. Your rummy-nose and some rasboras form very tight strong schools when the numbers are large enough. And a group of 10+ corydoras catfish forraging at the bottom of the tank is very impressive to watch. They can be like little bulldozers.

There is safety in numbers, they a more comfortable when they are in larger groups. Corydoras in their native habitats will be in schools of hundreds of individuals.

llj

 

[killudead]

When fish are in adaquate numbers, they will interact more with each other rather than with other species. Once you get about 6-8 in a group, they develop a pecking order and usually, especially with characins (tetras) a dominant male appears. He will serve as the group leader and then lead the rest on forraging expeditions in the tank. Once they locate a food source they will then spit into smaller teams. Rasboras and danios also do this. Many of these species are also shoal or group breeders. If they school is large enough and the water quality is good, you will experience shoal breeding, where males and females in a shoal spawn together. In the past I have had cardinal tetras do this for me in the past and it is quite fun to watch. Your rummy-nose and some rasboras form very tight strong schools when the numbers are large enough. And a group of 10+ corydoras catfish forraging at the bottom of the tank is very impressive to watch. They can be like little bulldozers.

There is safety in numbers, they a more comfortable when they are in larger groups. Corydoras in their native habitats will be in schools of hundreds of individuals.

llj

I get it. Thanks for the info.
Do you think if picked up a few more black neons, they would school more with the glofish? Or do they tell the difference from different types of their own kind?

Now on to some other news. My pygmy cat is now getting a swollen belly. I have no idea why. Tank water is fine. not overfeeding to my knowledge. The betta gets 3 betta pellets and I drop in a half a wafer crumbled for the shrimp. So he is either eating like mad or something is wrong. He is just hanging out.

 

[killudead]

I moved the pygmy cat to a 2 1/2 gal. tank so that he can hopefully get over whatever it is he is dealing with. He is doing ok so far.
However, i went to an independantly owned fish store and bought 2 more rummy nose fish. Now one is missing. I cleaned the tank tonight and cannot locate him. He just disappeared. He was fine last night, swimming happily with his 3 other little friends.

 

[killudead]

Ok, so i have some major issues going on with my tank. I lost 5 pygmy cats and 3 rummy nose tetras.
I did a test and all is seems normal. PH is high though.
I bought 4 rummy nose tetras and added them on saturday. By sunday I was down to 3 total. I did my cleaning on sunday (mentioned above) also, I removed my wood from the tank as well. I was unable to locate the body. Then last night i saw one hanging out in the amazon swords. His face had almost a white mask on it. Only the front, sides were fine. I grabbed him and took him out and put him in my 2.5 gal. tank.
So i go and get my co2 filled and come home to find another dead. Now i am down to 1 total.
PH is around 8.4. I added the smaller piece of wood back to the water to help lower the ph. Now we wait!!!

 

[FishBeast]

Ok, so i have some major issues going on with my tank. I lost 5 pygmy cats and 3 rummy nose tetras.
I did a test and all is seems normal. PH is high though.
I bought 4 rummy nose tetras and added them on saturday. By sunday I was down to 3 total. I did my cleaning on sunday (mentioned above) also, I removed my wood from the tank as well. I was unable to locate the body. Then last night i saw one hanging out in the amazon swords. His face had almost a white mask on it. Only the front, sides were fine. I grabbed him and took him out and put him in my 2.5 gal. tank.
So i go and get my co2 filled and come home to find another dead. Now i am down to 1 total.
PH is around 8.4. I added the smaller piece of wood back to the water to help lower the ph. Now we wait!!!

Was your co2 bottle completely empty when you got it re-filled? I have read that at the point where the bottle runs out, whats left inside the bottle, will leak past your regulator in one big go due to the presure running out. Causing co2 poisoning.

 

[killudead]

no it is not that. good thought though.
I have looked at every possible answer, the only thing that seems to jump out is the ph.
my rummy nose and a white patch on his head, and last night one of my neon tetras had a bad huge patch on his top fin and it look as if the fin was completely rotted away, suffice to say, he is also now dead.
There is no wood in the tank and the ph is holding steady at 7.4.
I tested today at 1:00pm with lights off and no co2, tested at 8:30, lights on, co2 running at least 4 hours.
Ph is still 7.4.
I did however change the setup of the Co2 injection. I am now using my glass diffusor and the filter to push the bubbles across the tank.
Now we wait and see.
this is frustrating.
Oh, and this might help also, my swords are melting away so to speak. The lower leaves are dissolving away.
I understand it could be just the lower leaves, but i also have some micro swords and they are out in the open. They are also "melting away"
Not sure why this it. I am going to post this in an area that gets more traffic.

 

[killudead]

Well things seem better now. I went and bought 2 rummy nose tetras from my lfs, and they came to me with a bad case of ich.
I was able to cure one, but the other died. Ph is holding steady.
I cant wait to get my furcata's...