Alia
Fishaholic
Well, now I'm all registered (see introduction in NewbieForum) I can talk about my aquaria. I had one, a ten, but needed to move it. Inhabitants were down to a peppered cory, a bronze cory, and two black skirts. Decided to set up a new, bigger tank. This was all early in March. Used filter media and water from the old tank to seed the new tank (a 28 gal bow front - very cool, but on the tall side -- not the best for fishies). Never had a nitrite or ammonia spike that my tests could detect, although I was not specifically testing for nitrite initially - I have a three stage nitrate kit. I have since bought tabs but don't have the color key, so I only know that nitrite is very low, barely pink.
Anywho, I do partial water changes (2-5gal?) about twice a week and my nitrates have been pretty steady in the 12.5 (low) to 25 (high) range. They seem to be getting lower as time goes by. Btw, I think my pH is around 7.6. My test stops at 7.5, so it's hard to tell for sure. The ammonia is always zero, so I've got that going for me. I realize I could use some new, less general tests, but my wallet needs a little rest.
At first, I bought four cherry barbs for the new tank. They were teeny, like neons, and they did okay. Later, I put my bs tetras and the corys in because I needed to move the other tank and wanted to clean it before I set it up again (ugf). Everyone seemed great for a week or two, then a cherry barb just vanished. My bigger tetra seemed suspiciously plump.
After that, the barbs started hiding all the time. I thought they were getting eaten! So after I set the 10 gal back up, I moved them to it. One died on the spot, from stress, I think. The other two hid out for a couple of days, but now they are fine.
Meanwhile, I added two more bs tetras to the tank. I tried them in the 10 gal first to see if they were healthy, then put them in with the others in the big tank. It was like long lost relatives reunited! So everybody was happy, except me. I wanted something colored to look at in my pretty new tank.
I was haunting the lfs(pl) and coming home and looking in books from the library, surfing the net, trying to figure out what fish might work for me, and with my other fish.
I thought cichlids were awesome, but I wasn't prepared to dedicate my tank to them or change my water conditions or move one to another tank if it became too aggressive. I loved a blue ram one lfs had, but it's special needs deterred me. Weeks ago, I fell in love with these "cinnamon" dwarf gouramis (I'm certain they are a red-orange version of honey gouramis) at the lfs and visited them many times. I also spent a great deal of time at another lfs watching a tank full of young kribensis, and researching that remarkable fish. I haven't entirely decided against them, for my 10 gal, but I finally bought 4 of the gouramis for the 28 gal. These fish are amazingly beautiful. I have always loved gouramis - they are so elegant and move with such grace. They even eat daintily!
Well, the bullies were not thrilled to share their space with a species their own size, but they still come up to eat as aggressively as ever, so I think they will learn to live with the newcomers. The corys are always great.
I'm watching the water closely. 4 fish are a lot to add at once, but I wanted to have a group that were tankmates already and I couldn't depend on that if I bought 2 at a time. I am well under the inch per gallon rule of thumb, but these are not slim bodied fishes, so I know I am playing with fire.
Alright, I know how long this is, I'll shut up for a while.
Anywho, I do partial water changes (2-5gal?) about twice a week and my nitrates have been pretty steady in the 12.5 (low) to 25 (high) range. They seem to be getting lower as time goes by. Btw, I think my pH is around 7.6. My test stops at 7.5, so it's hard to tell for sure. The ammonia is always zero, so I've got that going for me. I realize I could use some new, less general tests, but my wallet needs a little rest.
At first, I bought four cherry barbs for the new tank. They were teeny, like neons, and they did okay. Later, I put my bs tetras and the corys in because I needed to move the other tank and wanted to clean it before I set it up again (ugf). Everyone seemed great for a week or two, then a cherry barb just vanished. My bigger tetra seemed suspiciously plump.
After that, the barbs started hiding all the time. I thought they were getting eaten! So after I set the 10 gal back up, I moved them to it. One died on the spot, from stress, I think. The other two hid out for a couple of days, but now they are fine. Meanwhile, I added two more bs tetras to the tank. I tried them in the 10 gal first to see if they were healthy, then put them in with the others in the big tank. It was like long lost relatives reunited! So everybody was happy, except me. I wanted something colored to look at in my pretty new tank.
I was haunting the lfs(pl) and coming home and looking in books from the library, surfing the net, trying to figure out what fish might work for me, and with my other fish.
I thought cichlids were awesome, but I wasn't prepared to dedicate my tank to them or change my water conditions or move one to another tank if it became too aggressive. I loved a blue ram one lfs had, but it's special needs deterred me. Weeks ago, I fell in love with these "cinnamon" dwarf gouramis (I'm certain they are a red-orange version of honey gouramis) at the lfs and visited them many times. I also spent a great deal of time at another lfs watching a tank full of young kribensis, and researching that remarkable fish. I haven't entirely decided against them, for my 10 gal, but I finally bought 4 of the gouramis for the 28 gal. These fish are amazingly beautiful. I have always loved gouramis - they are so elegant and move with such grace. They even eat daintily!
Well, the bullies were not thrilled to share their space with a species their own size, but they still come up to eat as aggressively as ever, so I think they will learn to live with the newcomers. The corys are always great.
I'm watching the water closely. 4 fish are a lot to add at once, but I wanted to have a group that were tankmates already and I couldn't depend on that if I bought 2 at a time. I am well under the inch per gallon rule of thumb, but these are not slim bodied fishes, so I know I am playing with fire.
Alright, I know how long this is, I'll shut up for a while.
I'm posting here so I can come back to read some more later, got to go off to do some work now and theres no way I can read it all!! Looks to be a good story though 
Off to bed! More fishies tomorrow!
Bless your heart, Dragon, I love to write -- and I love writing most about the things I love, aka gardening, fishes, my scottie dogs, my cat Dickens, and so on. I love my loved ones, too, but they love their privacy, so alas, I rarely write about them publicly. This post, however, will be short (by my standard) since I am procrastinating some unlovely paperwork that truly must be done today.
(remember, there's no filtration, she's not eating, and she molted). I couldn't find her at first, and I couldn't imagine how she had gotten out, but she was inside the log -- way inside. She did move a little, so I know she's alive, but I don't know how much longer she can stay that way. I dropped an airstone into her tank, since she seems to be spending most of her time in the water. I'd like to find something she'll eat, but I don't want to keep polluting her water unnecessarily. If she's just stressed by the new environment, that might keep her from eating, don't you think? 
