Try for the "blackwater" look

[Demeter32]

 

[NickAu]

Hes a nice looking boy.

 

[Demeter32]

What boy, all pictured fish are female! They're all females in the 29gal except for a male plakat that never grew into his male behavior from the first batch of fry I raised He even submits to the females.

The male CT was having trouble reaching the surface so he's in a smaller floating "breeder box". I think I might start a new thread for him, he's my first legit rescue. The dumbo girl was in that tank before hand as a quarantine before I added her to the 29gal. She held still and posed for me, too bad the snail on the glass ruined it a bit.

Just released the 2 new girls after a big water change today, they're spunky and trying to go after everyone else. A split fin here and there but I haven't witnessed an actual show down between them. I'm thinking the koi will end up as boss, but we'll see.

Oddly enough, I was checking them out a moment ago after lights out. Bettas are fine but the trio of upside down cats are looking less fine. 2 of them are fat and happy, the 3rd is smaller and thinner (male perhaps) and his fins are frayed. I think I spotted a hole in his back, as if one of the other two poked it with a spine. Might grab the net and do some investigating. My guess is they need more hiding spots. For the most part they all favor the wood on the right side of the tank and I've seen them squabble over it before. Perhaps I'll add one of the many caves I have on hand.

 

[NickAu]

Oh dear........ Time for new glasses.

 

[Demeter32]

Long over due update. That poor upside down catfish died. Turns out is was some nasty infection that was eating away at its skin.

Less than great news but I can't say I'm too surprised. I'm pretty much fed up with store bought females. 2 females died, from what I'm not too sure. Both were looking lumpy bumpy. I assume the koi died from a dropsy relapse. The yellow VT had an inflamed gill (gill flukes?) which I tried to treat with Tetra life guard. No luck.

The VT with red fins has some obvious internal tumors. Very lumpy but she eats and behaves normally. Not sure how long she'll last.

All my bettas that I bred are A OK. No problems as of yet, even the older females from my first spawn.

Only picture I have for you are of the stunning dumbo female. She's on her own because she's a butt head. She's also having problems though. This is her good side.

See that nasty thing? I would't worry just yet. It looked far worse but it's getting better. I've seen it a couple times before. The fish is pushing the cyst/tumor right out of her body and the edges are closing in to heal up. When it first starting it was a dark patch on her scales. It grew, became inflamed and red, the scales started to pop up and the skin split. I thought for sure she would die but she hasn't been acting any different. I've been doing extra water changes to stave off infection.