Finally, the Hagen Master water test kit came in today. I will test the tap water first and then the aquarium water. I'm hoping that I will be better able to maintain a stable environment by being better able to monitor what is happening with the aquarium water.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Books Arrived
Posted on 4:52 PM by Unknown
Today, the two books I ordered came in. I called Drs. Foster Smith to check on the test kit and it has shipped and should be in tomorrow.
I started reading the Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz, and have already found out that I messed up by getting a small tank. The analogy made in the book makes a lot of sense: if you have two cars out in the hot sun - a small sports car, and a large, twelve passenger van, and if they heat up to the same temperature, if you start both vehicles at the same time to cool them off, which one will reach a comfortable temperature first? Of course, the small sports car will. In the same sense, if you were to spill an equal amount of gasoline in each vehicle, which vehicle will the smell be stronger? Again, in the small sports car. In an aquarium, you want stable temperatures, and a larger aquarium resists temperature changes better! Also, in a larger aquarium, with a larger water volume, toxic waste is more diluted - so water quality is easier to maintain in a larger aquarium.
CRUD! I really did want to get that 29-gallon tank from Fish Tails in Rainbow City, and now it looks like I would have been better off getting it.
I started reading the Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz, and have already found out that I messed up by getting a small tank. The analogy made in the book makes a lot of sense: if you have two cars out in the hot sun - a small sports car, and a large, twelve passenger van, and if they heat up to the same temperature, if you start both vehicles at the same time to cool them off, which one will reach a comfortable temperature first? Of course, the small sports car will. In the same sense, if you were to spill an equal amount of gasoline in each vehicle, which vehicle will the smell be stronger? Again, in the small sports car. In an aquarium, you want stable temperatures, and a larger aquarium resists temperature changes better! Also, in a larger aquarium, with a larger water volume, toxic waste is more diluted - so water quality is easier to maintain in a larger aquarium.
CRUD! I really did want to get that 29-gallon tank from Fish Tails in Rainbow City, and now it looks like I would have been better off getting it.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Still Waiting
Posted on 5:38 PM by Unknown
I called and talked to Greg again (a fish tech at Drs. Foster Smith). He agrees that I should continue to wait to see what the water quality is in the aquarium. When the test kit that I ordered comes in, I can find out what is happening with the water and then take appropriate steps to medicate the tank and/or remedy the situation. We discussed the growth some more and decided that it might be a fungus rather than a bacteria or parasite - and as such, if medication is to be used, then I could use the MarOxy that I purchased from them earlier.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Aquarium Update
Posted on 2:06 PM by Unknown
The elephant nose continues to thrive - and even the plants look somewhat better. Whatever that whitish, cottonish stuff was, it seems to have gone dormant since the clown loaches died. I am still thinking of adding medication to the tank, but I still am going to hold off until I know what the tank is doing.
I feel somewhat like an idiot trying to figure out what this aquarium is doing - being the "newbie" and all.. To that end, I ordered two books from Drs. Foster Smith: Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz, and Aquarium Plants Manual by Ines Scheurmann. Hopefully, these books will help me out of the "newbie" stage...
I feel somewhat like an idiot trying to figure out what this aquarium is doing - being the "newbie" and all.. To that end, I ordered two books from Drs. Foster Smith: Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz, and Aquarium Plants Manual by Ines Scheurmann. Hopefully, these books will help me out of the "newbie" stage...
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
The Second Death in The Aquarium
Posted on 4:35 PM by Unknown
The medications that I ordered from Drs. Foster Smith finally came in this afternoon at work. However, by the time I got home, the first clown loach has already succumbed to it. Whatever the disease / bacteria / fungus was, it was deadly effective against the loaches - and it has not harmed the elephant nose fish at all.
I called Drs. Foster Smith and talked again to Greg, the fish technician. We decided that it would probably be better to hold off administering any medication until I can determine what the water is doing (waiting on the water test kit to come in!!!)
I called Drs. Foster Smith and talked again to Greg, the fish technician. We decided that it would probably be better to hold off administering any medication until I can determine what the water is doing (waiting on the water test kit to come in!!!)
My First Dead Fish
Posted on 6:21 AM by Unknown
Well, the second clown loach has died. I'm guessing that it's due to the whitish growth found on its sides. Which of course has me worried because the original clown loach has the same growth on its sides. I'm hoping that the medicine I ordered from Drs. Foster Smith comes in today in time to save the original clown loach.
On a little brighter note, the elephant nose does not seem to be infected or affected by whatever this growth, disease, or fungus is.
On a little brighter note, the elephant nose does not seem to be infected or affected by whatever this growth, disease, or fungus is.
Sunday, March 21, 2004
White Growth on Fish...
Posted on 4:02 PM by Unknown
Not good, not good at all. The white growth is not just on the aquarium sides anymore. Now it can be found on the clown loaches also. At least, the stuff is visible on the sides of the clown loaches. The second clown loach that I purchased from Lang's seems to be affected more than the first. But they are both *scratching* against the bottom of the tank. I plan to call Drs. Foster Smith to find out what the growth could be (since it is obviously not an algae!) and what I can do (medicate?) to take care of the fish and the tank.
Friday, March 19, 2004
Getting Advice
Posted on 5:15 PM by Unknown
I called Drs. Foster Smith and got to speak with Greg, a "fish technician." I told him about the growth in the tank and what I might do about it. He surmised that it might be an algae or fungus of some sort. He recommended that I get something called PhosBan to remove any phosphate that could be feeding the algae. I also asked about replacing my aquarium's substrate to provide something more suitable for a planted tank. He recommended SeaChem Flourite. He also recommended that I purchase some sort of test kit to help keep an eye on the water quality.
Based on his recommendations, I ordered several items including the aforementioned PhosBan, and Flourite. I also ordered a Hagen Master Test Kit, a can of freshwater salt, a couple of algae scrub pads (for acrylic) and SeaChem Flourish Excel.
I'm hoping that I can test the water in my tank fairly quickly to determine what, if any, course of action I should take to combat the white, cottonish growth.
Based on his recommendations, I ordered several items including the aforementioned PhosBan, and Flourite. I also ordered a Hagen Master Test Kit, a can of freshwater salt, a couple of algae scrub pads (for acrylic) and SeaChem Flourish Excel.
I'm hoping that I can test the water in my tank fairly quickly to determine what, if any, course of action I should take to combat the white, cottonish growth.
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Another Water Change
Posted on 4:23 PM by Unknown
The aquarium still has the whitish growth, so I performed a 25% partial water change. The clown loaches seem to be *scratching* themselves against the substrate.
Friday, March 12, 2004
White, Cottonish Growth in Aqaurium
Posted on 1:27 PM by Unknown
Today I noticed some white, cottonish type growth in the tank. It's primarily seen on the sides of the tank, but I also saw it on the rocks in the tank. Since it is not on the fish, I assume that it's probably some sort of algae, and I'll do a partial water change tomorrow to help cut down on the nutrients it might be living off of.
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
A Second Clown
Posted on 1:33 PM by Unknown
The clown loach kept trying to get out of the tank - swimming up into the filter output - causing either my wife or I to have to stop the filtration, take the hood off of the tank, and then push the fish back into the tank. I subsequently read on the internet that the clown loach is a social fish and would do better with other clown loach companions. So I headed down to Lang's and purchased another clown loach to keep the first one company.
After putting the second clown loach into the tank, they both took up residence underneath the rock next to the PVC pipe. I'm glad I purchased that PVC pipe for the elephant nose.
After putting the second clown loach into the tank, they both took up residence underneath the rock next to the PVC pipe. I'm glad I purchased that PVC pipe for the elephant nose.
Thursday, March 4, 2004
Returning A Fish
Posted on 7:55 PM by Unknown
Returned the irridescent shark to Lang's Tropical Fish. The fish was freaking out with every minor environment change (turning on or off the light, opening the hood to feed the fish, turning off the filtration to remove the clown loach from the output area, etc.) What do I mean by "freaking out"? The fish would swim hard back and forth into the sides of the tank, and after a while of doing that, it would looked distressed or even dead, floating in the tank on its side or back. I checked on the Internet about the fish and found that this species is KNOWN for being a nervous fish. I was not surprised. I was surprised to find that the fish can grow rapidly - up to 20 inches long in as short a time as six months. I decided that I better get the fish out of my tank ASAP and so I returned it for store credit to Lang's.
While on the Internet, I also read that the elephant nose fish likes to hide and others have said that the fish would like to have a PVC pipe of some sort to call "home". While at Lang's, I purchased a seven inch piece of PVC pipe for the fish. When I got home and placed the PVC pipe into the tank, I was surprised to find that the clown loach took up residence underneath a rock that was placed against the pipe. The elephant nose swam through the pipe a couple of times, but it looked like the clown loach was happier with it than the elephant nose.
One thing that I learned at this point is to research BEFORE purchasing anything for the tank. I still didn't do this "well" for a while... And I was still learning...
While on the Internet, I also read that the elephant nose fish likes to hide and others have said that the fish would like to have a PVC pipe of some sort to call "home". While at Lang's, I purchased a seven inch piece of PVC pipe for the fish. When I got home and placed the PVC pipe into the tank, I was surprised to find that the clown loach took up residence underneath a rock that was placed against the pipe. The elephant nose swam through the pipe a couple of times, but it looked like the clown loach was happier with it than the elephant nose.
One thing that I learned at this point is to research BEFORE purchasing anything for the tank. I still didn't do this "well" for a while... And I was still learning...
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Adding Fish (Sentencing Some to Die)
Posted on 7:50 PM by Unknown
A note to preface this post: This is a historical post, just a recording of what happened. In the time frame between this posting time (March 3rd) and now (May 25th), I've become much more knowledgeable about what I'm doing and what the tank is doing. I'm not saying that I won't make any further mistakes, I'm just saying that I'm really no longer a "newbie". That said, I'm looking back at what happened and am really disappointed by how and what I was sold by Lang's Tropical Fish. I guess, more specifically by a particular person at Lang's. Just a quick recap: I purchased a NEW tank from Lang's just four days before this, and I specifically asked what I could put into my tank without overloading the tank and really what would THRIVE in my tank. The salesperson led me to do what follows.
For the fish stock, I purchased (again from Lang's Tropical Fish) a 4" Clown Loach, a 5" Elephant Nose, and a 4" Irridescent Shark. I also purchased 2 Amazon Sword plants and 1 "Long Leaf" plant (really Jungle Val). I purchased a "Medium Wrecked Car" by Penn-Plax as a hiding place for these fish. I also exchanged the top mounted 100W heater with 100W submersible wall mounted heater.
Per the directions of Lang's, I acclimated my newly bought fish by floating their bags in the tank for a FULL 15 minutes and then pouring the fish and water into the tank.
A major problem that I specifically need to point out is that acclimation DOES NOT HAPPEN in 15 minutes of "floating the bag." That's not acclimation, that's temperature equalization (if that even happens in 15 minutes). A really good acclimation guide found on the Internet is LiveAquaria.com's Acclimation Guide. That acclimation guide is fairly close to others that I've found in other books, plus it makes more sense than just equalizing the temperature.
More on my tank later!
For the fish stock, I purchased (again from Lang's Tropical Fish) a 4" Clown Loach, a 5" Elephant Nose, and a 4" Irridescent Shark. I also purchased 2 Amazon Sword plants and 1 "Long Leaf" plant (really Jungle Val). I purchased a "Medium Wrecked Car" by Penn-Plax as a hiding place for these fish. I also exchanged the top mounted 100W heater with 100W submersible wall mounted heater.
Per the directions of Lang's, I acclimated my newly bought fish by floating their bags in the tank for a FULL 15 minutes and then pouring the fish and water into the tank.
A major problem that I specifically need to point out is that acclimation DOES NOT HAPPEN in 15 minutes of "floating the bag." That's not acclimation, that's temperature equalization (if that even happens in 15 minutes). A really good acclimation guide found on the Internet is LiveAquaria.com's Acclimation Guide. That acclimation guide is fairly close to others that I've found in other books, plus it makes more sense than just equalizing the temperature.
More on my tank later!
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