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Sylver's Fish Updates

82K views 575 replies 13 participants last post by  Sylverclaws 
#1 · (Edited)
I currently have a beautiful female Creamsicle Lyretail Molly, who, until the other day, had never been interested in the boys. lol She is almost full grown, I think they get to be four inches long, she is just over three and a half inches long. To my knowledge, this will be her first brood! She took a liking to my male Black Sailfin Molly, and have been...dancing for the last few days. Now, she is about three quarters of an inch larger than the male fish, and she runs my tank. Haha, so if she gets tired of him, he'll know it. I have ten females and two males in the tank, and I haven't noticed any bullying from the boys, they seem to be rather gentle for males who usually practically attack the females while breeding...Bah. The two males are also interested in three other females at the moment, so she isn't getting too bothered, and to my knowledge only lets my black sailfin near her.

Well, in anycase, I was wondering what the estimate on the brood size is for Creamsicle Lyretail Mollies. I can't find anything on it when I googled. lol They usually add in all the molly species, and I know they can all interbreed and are basically the same species, just different sizes and colors. I also know that bigger fish can have more babies, but it is her first time, again, to my knowledge. She was pretty small when I got her. I've had her for several months now, and she's grown from about two inches to her near four inch size. She really is rather pretty, as is her male "buddy."

Also, for those curious, I have a breeding net which I will NOT be putting her in to have her babies. It has nine fry from a gold dust and silver molly in it right now. I was also afraid it'd be too small and stressful for her in that thing. I have improvised a roomey area for her. I made a large net that I have tied to a very large, two gallon picher(pitcher? I hate that word lol), that I will be putting into the tank, it's used only for my fish water changes and holding for big tank stuff the fish shouldn't be present for or if I have an issue that requires them moved, so it has nothing yucky in it they can't be near, like soap. I need a separate tank for this, really. LOL But I haven't gotten one yet, I intend to get one later this year.

Anywho, yes, makeshift net tied in there, and weighed down. The whole thing can go into the tank, only temporarily, no more than a few hours I am hoping, or the other fish might get upset with me. But this way I don't have to worry about her being in there out of the tank and risk a problem, like oxygen or tempurature, or a spill. I intend to have some plants in the bottom and some gravel for the babies. When they're born, they should fit through the net and be able to get to the plants and hide until mom is done giving birth. I've also made sure it's roomey and that the net wont move or collapse, and it wont catch on her and/or cause damage. This way I can try to minimize loss of babies to being eaten, and lessen stress to the mother and other fish, it wont really be a move, she will just get sorta scooped into it and stay in the tank. I did let a different, very expectant mother go in it last night, I thought she was in labor and I had been up almost two days, I had to sleep or be sick! She did not give birth and I removed her after I had a five hour nap, she seemed not to care. If anything, she wanted back in and tried to do so. ^^; Afterwards, I will remove the fry to the breeding net and let mom have an hour or so to rest before going back to the tank, I don't want the other fish picking at her while she is tired and smells of afterbirth. Would YOU want someone poking at your rump when you just shot out a bunch of babies? lol


SO, anyone have an estimate for me on the possible brood size, or should I ask later once she gets her size on? :3 Also, what do you guys think they will look like? Creamsicle Lyretail Molly with a Black Sailfin Molly. He's pure black except the top edge of his sail. It's bright yellow across the whole top edge! Mom is a very nice orange color with a lighter colored belly and dark eyes. The male has very odd eyes, the top half of his eyes are kinda dark brown/black, but the bottom half seems to be a bright shiny gold color, maybe copper would be a better wasy to explain it. Odd eyes. lol One of my gold dust females has a black eye and a silver eye though, I guess I am used to funny-colored eyes.
 
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#332 ·
Oh! With plants, yes. I have been adding plants off and on for a while, though I haven't added any new ones in the last month or two, nor have I moved any over or out, though I DID take them all out this time because of the salt. Mostly I buy plants in those sealed bags with gel, ones that are parasite and disease free. I thoroughly wash off all the gel first and then soak them for a few hours, or over-night, before adding them into the tanks. I haven't ever had any problems with those plants.

As for live-stock, the only fish added to that tank has been newborn babies since December. And other than that filter malfunction and adding in tap water conditioner(Which I think is what caused the last three problems since they were all the same and always hit when it was used, and not actually the filter malfunction), this is the only sickness I've had hit my babies and I have no idea what it even is if not ich. I've never had ich, fungus or parasites hit the babies or in the twenty gallon at all since it was re-done in December. I had a light case if ich go through the twenty gallon tank last year in...I think it was last July/August, but haven't had an issue with it in there since and it was brought in on two new platies and didn't get far.


Well, the upside is, I seem to have it under control now. I am thinking it was a very serious case of ich and I may not have added enough salt, or it was a massive case and it just couldn't die fast enough and looked like crystals when it died on the way out, or sploded out because of said salt...Dunno. Anywho, the majority of the fish seem to be healing now. There are three I am worried about, and I lost all but maybe five of my swordtails who seem to have been hit the worst. Everyone is now swimming about better, but still showing the effects of the nasty, a couple that had it bad on the fins have messed up fins.

Now then, I am gonna go to the fish store today and get meds for that. Last thing I want is them to get a bacterial infection or finrot, or god forbid a fungus from the damage. Something that is more potent that pimifix, but wont hurt the babies or the bacteria colonies. Something that can go in with the salt that I need to keep in for the time I have ich or whatever it is, the salt seems to be working and right quickly which is good.
What meds would you suggest if any? Just for the damage to keep infections and fungus at bay because some are VERY shredded in the fins.
 
#333 ·
If what you're seeing is torn fins, and you are NOT seeing any signs of bacterial or fungal infection, I'd say nothing but super clean water and maybe melafix and pimafix. Be careful not to mix meds, though. . . if you're running anything else through the system, be sure that the water is cleared before doing anything else. Clean water is really all they should need, provided they're otherwise healthy and kept as stress-free as possible. I'm not there to see your fish, though - so you'll have to make that call. :( I'm sorry sadness is happening there again.
 
#334 · (Edited)
Honestly I'm not sure what it is, so I can't say. I did notice it seemed to be a more solid substance, but it did leave behind tattered fins that are covered in white, which could be damage or fungus/bacteria/ich. The "Crystals" as I call them, they looked like tree branches. Man I wish I had gotten a photo! Literally looked like ice formations. It would fall off here and there in particles, and felt solid to the touch. I was thinking it may possibly have been a mass of dead ich dying and staying put as it spilled out, and slowly falling off the fish. It'd fall off and grow back smaller and smaller until it stopped popping up. In fact, many of the fish are showing no signs it was ever there in the first place, not even damaged fins. A few are still sickly looking.

As for meds, aside from the salt, there shouldn't be any at all going through the system anymore. There have been at least six cleans since there last was meds in there. Six weekly cleans with vacuum that is. I also change out about half a gallon of water every other day since it's the nursery and babies grow healthier with daily changed...I do them every other with new babies in because it really scares me. xD When babies are older I do smaller changes daily, no vacuum except once per week, or if I see some accumulation in the corner I put algae in for the snails and babies to munch on, they sometimes push it under the gravel, and I only put it in that one spot for this very reason. =p Otherwise it'd rot, yuck!


*EDIT* Ouhh, you know what I did though? About a week ago or so I moved babies to the main tank...do you think that...oh of course it'll slap me in the face later. If it can go wrong, it will. c.c
 
#336 ·
Well, what they have is Velvet, not ick. But when it's just starting it looks the same, white specks here and there and then bam. That's the "Yuck" I've been having off and on in my big tank that I thought was columnaris or something. And it apparently hates salt...and it spreads about as fast as Ich in heat.

As for the crystals...nobody can give me an answer, even at the fish store where I took one of the dead babies to be looked at to see wth was going on under a microscope. They'd never seen such a thing and we all just assume it was a rare and strange reaction to the salt and heat. As for how velvet got IN that tank, I can only guess...it's quite possible it was in the water transferred with the babies, and more than probable...but I was under the assumption I had fully gotten rid of this fungus weeks ago, and have since done a good bit of cleaning! Not only that, but all recent babies seem to have missed this nasty completely. The only "newer" babies that got sick, were the silver lyretails, I have discovered that none of the molly babies caught this like I initially thought. All fish in the nets missed it completely as well, which is surprising because I thought it was passed with the water or by touch, or both, but hey...counting my blessings. When I get new mollies in, something nasty happens, I got lucky this time.
 
#338 ·
Yes, those silver linings like to crash planes...or just ground them. LOL

Yeah, I seem to have it under control. Haven't lost any babies since the morning after the fun there, and the ones I thought were going to die are recovering. All but two or three of the babies now look normal, a couple have damaged fins, but otherwise seem active and bright. Salt and heat may kill this fast, but it unfortunately strikes and kills just as. =( By the time you see it and start treating, it's too late to do more than hope they pull through.
I certainly hope this means my mollies have very powerful immune systems. I HAVE noticed none of the babies I have raised through all this time have ever gotten sick. Aside from the babies I have gotten from mothers already purchased pregnant...and that was just the once. I've had tank incidents cause unfortunate deaths, but I can't recall any times when I've had sick babies that were from mothers I'd had a few months. I did have one instance where some babies got a light case of ich, only three of them, but they were from a balloon molly if I recall correctly...who had been ill herself, and pregnant to bursting when I got her, she died after giving birth. Also, all of those babies I have in there that did get sick, their mothers had been pregnant when I purchased her and given birth within three days. Aside from the Gold Platies...I think the ones I have in there at present were her second brood, and those seem to all be the best off.
Does this mean I've actually done something right, or just got lucky again? lol

In anycase, yeah, the only signs left of this nasty are a few tattered fins which I hope to take good care of. I am still worried about one of the few swordtails I have left, most look like they have a couple nicks, but this baby has lost most of his tail and I have to bring food to him. All of the platies though, only a couple have nicks, the guppies I rescued are the worst off next to the swords, I don't think I have many left. =( I had some that looked like they'd either be moscow's or neon blues. Always when I get some fancies, I swear. >_>; Guess I can't be too shocked. I got fancies from normal breeding, they get them from over-breeding, inbreeding and gene tampering. <_<; Mine may have taken longer, but I got the job done in a way the fish prefer.


You should see those babies now! I'm afraid they're going to get stunted at this rate though. >< I am afraid to let them out of the net! None got sick, none died...they're all safe and sound and energetic, but I fear if I let them out they'll all get sick. I am...still wondering if the net filtered out the nasty and protected them by some miracle and clinging to that. lol It's not out of my tank yet! Even if it is off my fish. >_>; I'm also worried about all those kids in there in a now unplanted tank. Too much salt for the plants. They may not fix everything, but they sure do help with so many baby fish.
 
#339 ·
Well, lost one of my blue platies to the yuck. She held on for a while. =( I thought she was doing better. I also am unable to find my red-tailed black variatus who has been thin for a while.

I've got the general cure and pimafix going. It seems to be working its magic. Everyone looks a lot happier, but of course it doesn't CURE it overnight, it just seems to make everyone feel better until it does. lol


Ah yes, Chesh, I got more critters. They were actually THROWING away sick tetras. Cardinals(Which you know I've wanted forever anyway) and some I couldn't fully identify, I think they were those new blue stars or whatever they're called, they have orange stripes with a bright blue streek between them.

Anywho, it looked like they were having trouble swimming right, which I assume is a stressed tetra thing, and were skinny, they were just throwing them away, I was PISSED! I told them to give them here. >_>; Me and my big stupid mouth. They still made me pay for them even though they were dropping them into the trashcan, literally. I told them "If you were trashing them, why are you making me pay for fish that will probably die?" And they said they can't give me free live fish. e.e;; I got ten of the mix, unfortunately six died overnight leaving me with four normal cardinals. The four that are left seem fine now> They're staying in their little group in my big anubias plant and swimming normally. They're not twitching like mad anymore either. The type of twitch they do is apparently normal, it's a stress thing, or because they're trying to be still so predators don't see them. They're not doing it as much.

So yay...now what do I do with them? Are they even ok with my livebearers and gold gourami? I had read they were, but I want to be sure. They currently don't seem to have issues. The four left are nice and plump, brightly colored and active. And are they alright in a group smaller than five? o.o; I'm not exactly wanting to BUY them, I was only there to get medicine and give Cooper some fun, he absolutely adores a couple of the ladies that work there. >>; The lady that gave me the fish was also mad they were throwing them out, but she can't exactly yell at her boss and keep her job. I suppose I could replace one or two of the dead ones, they'll do that for free.

Ah, see there? See what I do to myself? And I wonder why I have so many problems!
I don't even know that much about tetras, it's been so long since I did research! >< About two and a half years to be exact. They're also omnivores, right? More veggies than meats like Mollies I assume? Would five or six be ok in a planted 20 gallon tank? They're bigger than neons, so I dunno if twenty gallons is big enough...Once I get everything cleared up in my big tank I will be giving all my guppies away. They've decided to not get along, and my blue male is an...>>; He's a jerk, yeup. He was just picking on the other male until about three or four days ago, now he's started on my molly, who fights back and has damaged HIS tail now. Guppies aren't working for me. =( So I'll have more than enough room for the tetras if they're ok with that tank and their mates...I heard cardinals are a lot less nippy than neons too. They also have short fins and seem to be well behaved...for now, they are new after all, I wonder if they'd get along with a betta...MEH! The things I do., v.v; -sigh- Yes, smack me. But I couldn't just allow that.

Oh hey, I see my variatus, she's SWIMMING! Woohoo. She was on the ground the last two or three days under the bubbler refusing to come up, but now she's swimming with the tetras. That's a good sign I hope. ^^;
 
#340 ·
Ah, babies everywhere again. I thought my silver molly looked like she was about to blow last night, and she did. I got up to babies all over the tank and nobody wanted them. I accidentally over-fed them last night. ^^; I spilled the fish food, got most of it out, but they ate a good bit and are going to be fasted for another day or two. Well, it doesn't LOOK like any over-ate, but better safe than sorry.

There are still babies in there. I caught about ten and put them in the 20 gallon, the rest...I dunno...if I see them where I can get them I will. I'm trying not to stress out my fish right now because I have meds in there. Everyone seems to be doign better though, my variatus is bouncing around after food and other fish.

As for my cardinal tetras, one wasn't as well as I thought, he had a big spot where he had velvet that I noticed before, but I thought it was gone, which is going through all my tanks anyways. x.x He died last night, I'm down to three of them. The rest are nice and plump with no funny markings though, no tears, bright colors, swimming normal.
I dunno...three isn't an ideal group, is it? But do you think they'll be ok for a month or two? They seem happy to swim with my other fish and aren't hiding as much as they were day one. Like I said, it wasn't a planned thing, I wasn't planning any more fish for a few months and only after I found homes for my guppies. @_@;
 
#341 · (Edited)
Well, three days ago on my last update, my variatus finally gave up the fight after I thought she was doing so much better. =( She'd been sick for so long off and on, I was kinda iffy on it, but I wasn't expecting her to crash quite like that. Poor thing.

Anywho, I haven't lost any other fish, adults or babies, since that. I still have three Cardinal Tetras I'm wondering what to do with, I think once everything settles I'll get two or three more after finding homes for at least five or six of my guppies. I'm thinking I'll keep one male and two females that I've gotten very attached to. lol And get those guys a proper school! To add to all of that, several platies and two mollies are just about ready for new homes themselves. It's going to feel pretty empty in there after that, even with a few more tetras. The few juveniles I had that looked skinny a few days ago no longer look to be ailing at all, and anyone who had velvet seems to have fully recovered from it, I haven't seen any spots on them in two days, and the skinniness that has plagued me for months seems to be gone. Seems to be...From EVERYONE this time. I am going to clean out the tank tomorrow, give it an extra day here, and keep a tad of salt in there until the next change, just enough to boost everyone and kill any ailing parasites that may have survived before they can get back in my fish. Hopefully this is gone and done with.

The three cardinals I have left seem perfectly happy and don't act stressed in the least...all the same, I'm doing what I can to keep it nice and quiet for them since I KNOW that can easily go the other way with such a small group. They don't pick on anyone, and nobody chases them, they even get into the swarm during feeding. =) I am thinking I'll find another store to get the rest of the group from, this way I may get some of the opposite sex, though I have no idea how to tell them apart, so if they DO breed, I wont have as much to worry about with inbreeding these delicate little beauties. I am going to try to QT them in my ten gallon when I get them, if that doesn't work out with the betta, as it can go either way with those types of fish(I hear they can go well with betta but as always with fighters, am wary about it), I may put the betta in a net or another tank temporarily. Last thing I need is another nasty in my tank! =p But I gotta get that proper group, I just need to wait a few weeks unless I notice they're too stressed. I'd liek to lessen my current stock and be sure the nasty is gone first, it'd be pointless to get them a proper group just to have them die again...especially since they're not cheap fish! Used all my extra money for the ones I rescued at about five bucks a piece...that was fifty dollars for the group, which I lost more than half of. x.x

So yeah, everything seems to finally be back in order! I may be keeping a few of those swordtail juveniles, my male is absolutely infatuated with two of them in particular..I hope they're females, and assume they know better, even if us humans can't tell at this stage. He's been a lone swordtail since Chelsea passed, and is happy to have them, even if they're juveniles. lol He's a sweet big guy, doesn't bother anyone after I got rid of the male I had a few months ago. Doesn't bother anyone, just kinda hangs out...except he does "poke" at the youngins, which is a mating thing...they're far too young. =o What I did see that shocked me, was the day before yesterday he was trying to mate with my gold gourami! That poor gourami, first a molly, now a swordtail. And it wasn't tail poking, but actual mating. LOL I wish I had females for him, but I haven't been able to find any! =( So he's just gonna have to wait two more months or so for those current ones to mature, hopefully as girls.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Grandma got me again, she said if I'm going to be getting tetras, she's going to pick a fish no matter what. At least this time she picked one that goes with everyone and is also a real beauty! She got a normal dalmation male...and he is stunning. I told her it may cause issues and I may have to get rid of him, and she said we'd see then...and he hasn't caused any issues. He's a nice dark male with white specks here and there, he is gorgeous. >>; I suppose you could say I didn't protest too much when she picked him because I also like him. LOL You should see him, he's not as flashy as my last dalmation male who I adored, shorter fins, but he's about the same color minus the blue tint. He didn't have a nick on him, shows no sign of illness or aggression either, so for once she really did pick well.
 
#342 · (Edited)
Well, I tried to get some good photos of the male my grandma chose, but it's so hard! x.x I even tried video shots.

This first one is my video shot, he's displaying for my female. lol


This second one is godawful, but you get the gist of his coloring. lol One of these days I'll get a good one! I'm in love. ;D Grandma fell in love with Comet, my "Resident Peacock" that died when my filter malfunctioned last year, the male with blue on him, and that's why she wanted this one. As you know already, I did not want another because I really loved my Peacock, Comet and wanted nothing to do with anymore males like him. But this fellow has broken down that wall. I was unsure how it'd be with him even though I LIKE how he looks...but he comes over to the window and dances for me and tries to nibble my fingers, he's so cool. He got me. =) Now if I could just keep things going well! I hope grandma hasn't set us up for another whammy. I wish she had waited a few months, I'da let her pick one. It wouldna been him though, and like I said, I'm in love!
 
#344 · (Edited)
True. So far so good though. I haven't noticed anything new, nor have I seen anyone continuing to ail from previous nasties. My young black molly, the one I got several months ago, seems to have constipation issues though. lol Poor thing. It'll be Spinach and peas for today, which they have absolutely no problem with. =p

It looks like my male is fitting in. No fights with the other male, they seem to leave each other be, and the new male has fallen in love with one of my silver lyretail females, who seems to love him just as much. She refuses to stay still for the other male I just call Muppy...he looks like a muppy, whether he is or not, that's his actual name I have decided.

Ah, almost forgot, the three cardinal tetras are also doing well. I'm still worried that will change since there are only three, but to my surprise, and happiness, they seem just fine. One had a big spot, which I think was a cyst like my gold dust female had, and it's dried up and going away. I can still see it and am keeping an eye on him, I'm used to those popping in from time to time and not causing any problems so long as they're treated. Usually a tad of salt and/or melafix puts it to rights within two or three days, but they always have a dark spot for about three or four more after that until it goes away completely.

But yes, my tank seems to be in proper order! Finally, for now...both of them. I have lost no more babies or found any sick, the ones who were are recovering nicely or seem to have fully. They act and look like it anyways. =) Boy do I have some pretty kids in there. I think some will be half black and half gold. I sure do like those. I wonder if those oddball colored ones, the calico's as I call them, will stay that way. That'd be lovely, having one that is white, black and orange. :3 I've noticed a couple of the black ones are either lightening up, or getting gold flecks throughout their bodies. One is staying black and has a white tail, and I think one or two are staying pure black. But I'm loving these "Black Gold Dusts" as I've only seen photos of them before.

This is one, I have ONE baby that looks like this, the rest have either more black, or more gold on them: http://goliadfarms.com/images/products/fish/livebear/mollies/blackgolddust_male.jpg

I would love it if some came out like gold-wag mollies like this as well, but figure the odds of anyone coming out like these gems. Gems to me, I dunno what others think of them, I find them gorgeous! http://www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/gold_wag_molly_female_120203a2_w0640.jpg
 
#345 · (Edited)
Wow, I didn't think it'd been so long ago, hasn't even been a full month yet! My gold dust, the one who gave me some VERY pretty third generation babies, looks like she's about to explode again! I'll be keeping an eye out, but you never know...as always with mollies. lol

Also, my blue platy seems to be acting laborey. That would be nice, she bred with my red tiger platy so I hope I get some if she is.
And speaking of, I think one of the babies I have that is a blue platy was also his. The other looks like a full blue MM platy( I did have two that were both pregnant), but this one who looks a tad older is getting some red. At first I thought it was injury or illness, but she/he has a red dorsal fin, and red along his/her back as well with some stripes. I checked it thoroughly thinking illness, but it's actual coloring. And she bares the same marks as my tiger platy, those stripes and his twin-bar tail, although she is blue like her mom for the most part. I hope she gets more red on her and darker markings, she's fairly interesting though I admit I thought it might make an ugly platy with a mix of those colors. I hold out hope on it being a female, hence me saying she more often, but it doesn't matter to me with these honestly, I have enough females for another male.
A fairly interesting baby, I look forward to watching it continue growth. It's already about an inch long, maybe not quite, and with the adults. Platies take so long to mature it's ridiculous! At this age, I assume these were the ones born around the end of the year with my other platies and swordtails, would be half grown were it a molly! The mollies from the same time period are double their length and almost double in width. The platy may actually be stopped up. It seems to happen when they eat flakes and no fresh greens added in. =/


Well, with the good news, I always have some bad. Yesterday I lost a frog, the overly speckled female. I know not the cause, as usual, she was floating the night before and when I touched her she shot back down but floated under a leaf. She had no swelling or injury visible to me. She was the one my male liked. =( They never did succeed.

Also, I lost one of my rubber-lip plecos. I think I have one male and one female left, and this one that died I also think was female. Which I was hopeful for, more males than females can be a problem. I will not be replacing her. Unlike the frog though, I know what got her. The salt. Plecos and salt just do not mix. Unfortunately the salt was the only thing that helped with the cyst issues I had on three of my fish, the general cure and melafix had little effect. I only had abut a half dose in there for four or five days, but that's enough for the poor things. =( The other two are ailing from it still, but seem to be ok. They weren't as bad off as she was.


Well, on a brighter note, I still haven't seen hide nor hair of that yuck that had been hitting my tank for a while, the white yuck which was velvet. However, I still have some skinny guppies and a skinny molly that have me worried. The blue male I have is now stricken with it, but I have a feeling it's not the dreaded yuck that's been hitting us. The male guppies are just not doing well in there, I need to separate them but I'm not sure how. They fight and don't eat, too busy fighting and trying to mate. All the skinny fish I had before that are perking up and quickly gaining weight. Just two male guppies seem to be skinny and dying. The skinny female guppy and young molly are rally looking better though! Not being listless and are eating and plumping up, and have been for longer than my variatus who passed, so I now have full hope they'll be good.

Who woulda thunk it! Two males in a planted 55 gallon tank with more females than they can pay attention to guppy-wise and female mollies which they also seem to prefer...and they STILL fight! -shakes head- I was debating on keeping the blue male as my only guppy since he treats my female mollies the same, but I am thinking of reconsidering now. I like him though, and a few of my females...I am going to keep at least three I have decided, there are three females I just cannot let go, they're so sweet and cool. Not to mention pretty. One has a bright green tail with specks of black designs, another has half blue and half green tail with a dot in the middle of each color like a yin-yang, and the third has a black tail, also with two black dots...or white ones, I am not sure. lol x) And also, I almost forgot Miss Lunaball. A group of four girls should be fine. Unlike the others, they don't nip and pester. And my Cardinals seem to like schooling with those girls. Of course I may not, but the one with the odd colored tail is just so interesting...

Anywho, I have a bunch of babies almost ready to go to new homes. I say it so often! I'm surprised how big many got. I'm going to be giving them several juvenile calico and gold platies, though the gold have a tad of growing to do yet, and maybe one blue platy, the one that isn't reddening. Also two or three of my mollies, two I am keeping, Koi and Specks. =) I may have to change Specks's name. LOL But it fits! They look like goldfish, they're quite attractive and friendly. I will be keeping a few swords for my male, he loves them. And needs them since htere are no others and I can't find any to buy. Must be a bad year to get them in, so I know the others I sell to the shop will go fast! Besides, they're pretty and you know I take as best care of them as I can, slip-ups or not. I've also decided I will keep a couple of the daughters from my calicos instead of them. I know, cruel right? >>; But their babies have more spunk than they do, they seem to be personalityless, and they also refuse to breed, they do not like my young red male. ^^; And they stick to only themselves mostly, they weren't so bad when I got them, I don't think they like their...school or home. I really like one of them though. >< Just as with my silver molly that I'd had forever, when she stopped liking her tankmates, I let her go elsewhere and heard from the shop keepers she got a good home. One of them liked her and took her himself. lol
 
#346 ·
Wow, I wrote a book last time. Not so much for this time. lol

I have no babies yet. From the ones I expect from that is, or any other adult. I have babies all over the nursery, as you know. =) They're growing like weeds.

I have recently discovered that target feeding my frogs is nigh impossible. My betta has learned he can push himself in and steal the food, and he's none too nice about it! Sure, it's not as bad as when a bigger fish with teeth gets you, but having mini razors slam into your hands and scrape isn't too nice either! He even got so bold as to ignore my pushing him out of the way. He just goes around as I push like some martial arts master and snags food on the way by. Two of my frogs are doing great, the third one is looking very thin. I haven't been burying food in a while since everyone knows I used to, but I did today and fed the frog two good sized worms instead of one. I hope to fatten him up. I don't think he's sick, just hasn't been able to get what he needs. He's not as bold as the other two, and only recently got used to me hand feeding. The other two see my hands and pop right over. I think this is actually my other speckled female, not the male that is thin. =( How sad, I thought I was getting enough to everyone, but since he only in the last two days started trusting my hands, had been left to fend for himself. ^^; The other two are hogs. LOL But now that he's used to me I think I can fatten him up. It'll be tubefix worms and shrimp for a while, with bloodworms once per week instead of once per month. That should fatten her up. I just have to be extra watchful the worms don't cause any bloat! Maybe I'll give them a bit of greens the day after each bloodworm feeding, that's what I do with my mollies...they get peas the same day I give bloodworms. Bloodworms have a nice bit of protein and fat in them which my carnivores need, moreso than other protein foods I've found, aside from glassworms. =/
 
#347 ·
Awww, Sylver. . . I'm sorry for your recent losses *hugs*

Frogs in community with fish can be so tricky to feed, believe me - I know! I'm glad that you noticed her slimming out in time to adjust your feeding routine, now that you've noticed, I'm sure you'll be able to help her out. They can be so skittish with the hand feeding at first. . . your poor hand! Naughty betta!!! I wouldn't recommend giving the frogs veggies, they're just not built to process those types of foods. . . do your froggums dig into the sand to eat like your loaches did? Mine are so daft at finding food, I can't imagine that working out in my tanks, lol.
 
#348 ·
Sometimes they search for food under the sand, especially if I bury it in a place they usually hang out. They'll sit there for a while and then start biting air. xD Occasionally they actually find the food.

And I know frogs aren't built to handle greens, but it did save my females life that time she about exploded, remember how bloated she was? I had heard greens were bad and never gave them, but the pet shop guy said to give her a bit of a pea and see if that helps, and it did.

Well, no further problems really. I do have a rubber-lip pleco with what looks to be a cyst on his fin, but it's not bugging him. I'm not really sure what to do about it, salt, the very little I am willing to put in, hasn't done anything for it, which of course an amount that small wouldn't. x.x That is what I usually use for those(I've now had two mollies and a tetra with one, they go away pretty fast. Thankfully it seems to be rare and a small happening, though I know it's not uncommon for fish to get them here and there), I'm gonna have to get some melafix!


Ah yes, guess what? More third generations. Eight of them so far. :3 Five are black and three are black and gold. Well, one of the black ones has a bit of orange here and there.
I have a feeling I wont get many more, I think she had them last night. And the odd thing was, I had a dream my tetras were eating babies as I was trying to catch them and I was going "Nooo, awuh!" =( It's so weird, most days I get dreams like that, I know to look for babies and every time, but the once, I've found some. ^^; My early warning system, too bad it can't wake me up!

But hey, a few more cute little babies, I can't complain. =) I do find it odd so many are coming out black like that, her father surely must have been either my black sailfin, black molly or the dalmation male Comet. I have not had ANY solid black(or any with a lot of black on them for that matter), males in my tank since before she was even able to produce eggs. That's the only thing I can think of, it's gotta be her own genes even though she's all orange with a big black spot on her tail. I will admit, she seems to have a shadow in her form though, her mother is a nice solid orange with a few TINY specks here and there, and one black eye with one silver eye...but it's like her daughters insides are darker...hard to explain. lol But yeah, again, I can't complain, they're neat little babies. I've decided gold dust and creamsicle babies are my favorites. I've enjoyed raising them more than any other, but it's a pretty close match! ^_~
 
#349 ·
Yeah, i think my camera is starting to go....it never takes focused videos anymore even if I AM holding still. lol

But anywho, here's my nursery video, recorded just after the new babies were born on the 18th. Still recovering after velvet hit, I haven't added many plants back yet even though the velvet is GONE, I don't think I've gotten all the salt out yet...uh, I think I have to get new ones. ^^; The ones I did add back started dying and the ones I removed are also dying(coulda been the salt before I removed them, but they were only in it for a couple hours, which yeah, that'd do it I suppose, silly me!)...and in my best tank to boot. I hope they don't have some plant disease or something. x.x

 
#351 ·
I haven't updated. Last night I found some more babies, same babies for my third generation born with the other eight, I knew there were more, I couldn't catch them and kept looking but never found them...I never would have found them if I haden't looked to see what was sticking out of my juvenile swordtails mouth. >_>; Poor thing. The babies head was sticking out of his mouth, and the swordtail wasn't big enough to swallow it, I made him spit it out, and it was unfortunately still alive. >< It did not survive. =(

However, I found two more babies in the tank unharmed. I searched around and found no more, so I'm at ten. I think I now have an equal number of black ones and ones that are orange, white and black. Five and five. Well, two of the black ones have changed a bit. One is mostly black with a white...or gold face, not sure. And one has gained white and gold markings all over its body.

Now, I know those babies I found have been in the tank since the same day I moved the others...it's plain to see how much better they do when in their own tank! The babies I had since they were born, are a good bit bigger than these babies. In the main tank they probably didn't get much, if any, food. So they didn't really grow. They're looking better now though.

As for the older babies, they're more than double the size of my newbies. Mollies grow so fast. :3 Haha, that didn't stop a couple of my black molly babies getting out of the net, they get right through it, but are just fine in the main part of the nursery. I just like to keep them in the net when there are so few so they can get up their strength and have proper meals for a few days. I was going to let the babies out today, but I have newbies in there and catching and moving them right would be problematic without dumping them ALL in or stressing them out with the turkey baster more. So eh, they're fine for now, I'll let the tinies catch up a bit before I let them out. They're too skinny and need it more than newborns.
 
#352 · (Edited)
Hey, I found a couple little babies in my tank again today. I think they're guppies, but I'm not sure. The only pregnant fish I've had were some guppies and -possibly- my half black and half gold gold dust molly. But she only recently started showing and she doesn't seem to have thinned up. But yeah, they look like guppies to me, I got three or so. They're so small they're hard to find, I found them when I was cleaning under some driftwood that I moved and went searching. :3

My plants that I thought may have been done for from that ammonia splash a few weeks ago, as well as the meds and salt and heat, blah...and are still damaged from it, have sprouted an unbelievable amount of new leaves. Nice, bright, happy looking leaves! :3 Some still look worse for wear, but others are recovering and growing nicely, I can now clip off all the damaged leaves so the plants have strength for the new ones popping in without worrying I'll kill it.


So anyways, I have a bit of something to share today that's a tad off topic of my usual fish updates!
I met these two fellas today and we got to talking about businesses. I was discussing with him that I'd like to have a little business one day in educating people on care for animals, especially fish who are too often seen as decorations and not living things, and selling fish myself, as well as small animals like, of course ferrets, and other small critters. A little pet shop if you would. He told me that I should get in contact with him and he would tell me some pointers and maybe how to, or help with, getting started because he seemed to appreciate what I'd like to do, and what I try to do, and sat to speak with me for nearly an hour about it even though he had to be somewhere and ended up late! And having owned a few businesses himself, with help getting started, he knows what is what. He's invited me for coffee with him and his wife to chat about it.
I know I shouldn't get too excited about it, we don't know each other and there are all kinds of people out there, including ones who take advantage or only pretend to care to further their own game. But we'll see, I have gotten excited about it in spite of myself knowing about how people are and am very untrusting. lol
It would be SO lovely to have someone kind enough to help me get started. I hope I don't get disappointed and have a bit of luck headed my way. It's just so hard to get started when you don't know how. I've never really had anyone willing to listen or help me out. It's always been "Do it yourself" or "You'll never be able to!" From anyone I have asked about it.
Wish me luck! I may yet get to, or figure out how to, start my own little business. And of course...that means I'll have many tanks with fish and plants, and other critters to care for. lol And I may eventually earn some money doing what I love, and educate people who don't know better or follow old rules.
 
#353 ·
Well, I got three more babies a few days ago. =P I think they were guppies. I found one of my favorite females dead afterward. >< That's what I don't like about guppies, they die too easily. I've found their mortality rate during or after birth is about ten times what it is for most livebearers. She was the one with the black tail that had white markings on it, she was pretty neat. =(

Anywho, her kids were doing well last I looked. ^^; This is actually the first I've really been up in a couple days. I'm worried about the kids, but moving is "OH MY GAWD KILL ME" at the moment. I had a nasty stomach bug yesterday, and I have an infected cut on the inside of my leg that got so bad I literally can't walk on my own. Probably what caused the stomach bug... =-= I have bad luck this year, I liked last year more. I'm kinda a stickler about that stuff, I always wash and care for wounds no matter how small...and it still gets me. Damn cats! Well, whatever. Benni got freaked out and hooked me. He also got my arm and visibly got a vein and shredded my shoulder, but those wounds are healing, even though it's bruised. I have a four inch long infected gash you wouldn't think a cat could give you down the inside of my leg. He musta just been in something nasty to do that! A sweet little cat cripples me! How do you like that?! Bah! He's such a coward!! Sweetest little puddle of jello wouldn't normally scratch or bite, and a noise on the porch gets him freaked and he tries to kill me. ;_;

Well, once the painkillers kick in, I'ma check on my cute little babies if I can make it over there. I had my cousin and her friend feed them for me the day before, so hopefully they're just fine after only a day. I hate making babies fast. >< Last I looked, I had some nice bright babies that I'm very proud of. x) And aside from mama guppy, I haven't had any illness issues or sicklings. I am worried about one silver molly, she never did recover from giving birth, but I'm pretty sure it's a birth thing, that happened last time I had a silver Lyretail too. =(
 
#354 · (Edited)
So today I took in some fish to make a profit, and ended up with nothing. LOL I had taken several of my guppies in, a creamiscle lyretail molly juvenile(I could only catch one, meant to give two), and a dozen calico platies and a few swordtails. I was going to get paid for them, but there was a boy, looked about ten-twelve, who had several tanks set up to breed livebearers. I ended up giving him the fish. We also talked for about an hour and a half on their care and needs, he knew what he was doing -mostly- but had A LOT of questions and needed advice on a few things, especially with raising babies. You know me, I'm happy to teach livebearer baby care. :3 lol Well, this way I didn't have to leave the youngest fry for free to possibly rot in store tanks, he's got nurseries. Down about two dozen fish, including a few adults, and up about five. xD So hey, got that done.

I also got one more cardinal tetra, I wanted a couple more to make my group whole, but they were out. I spotted one in the wrong tank and got her/him. I also...bought a rare guppy female that is pregnant, she has a rainbow colored tail, I've only seen them in photos. And a female gold dust lyretail molly(Also called a red panda molly) and...two blue ram chiclids. LOL I was not intending the cichlids! Not for a while anyways. But they had THREE set groups in a small tank, I couldn't resist, they were gonna fight. They were fighting. I figure if they don't do well in my community tank, which they should(I got one pair), they can have the twenty, I'll move the kids to the nets and make a bigger one for them to grow in. ^^; I couldn't resist, they're usually $35* when I see them, but these are younger and were only about six bucks a piece, so I couldn't pass up the chance. :3 We THINK one is a girl, it's larger and less colorful, but we're not sure...my tank is big enough for two territories though, so hopefully it'll work out. Otherwise they said I could exchange one. Currently acclimating them all. Doing so very carefully and slowly...I got them in the tank in the bag and am slowly putting a tad of water in from mine here and there, and will for at least another half an hour, that'll make it an hour. I usually do that with my fish for about half an hour, but the cichlids are a bit more sensitive. ;D I hope I do it right, that's how I was taught to acclimate...well actually I was taught to just acclimate to temp and dump them in, I started the drop thing myself. >>;


I also got some new plants! ;D An Umbrella plant, the one I got died a few months ago during the flurry of nasties, some Dwarf Hairgrass, and an Amazon Compacta which I haven't heard of, I hope it does ok. o-o;
 
#355 ·
Whoops, looks like I ended up with one older male and a younger one for the rams. I just found out how to -properly- tell them apart. They did have a female with a nice pink belly, I'll be exchanging one male for her tomorrow. ^^; We went by size and color, but it turns out females much resemble the males, and are in fact usually smaller, not bigger like we thought. Females also have blue spangles in their black spot and males -usually- don't, one of mine does but is very obviously a male, and females have a pink belly and a less extreme fluff on the front of their dorsal.

So hey, if nobody else knew that tidbit, there you go! =p I didn't get the pink bellied one I wanted because I -thought- it was a male with an injury. >>;
 
#356 · (Edited)
Ok, exchanged a male for a female. Since I did that, my male has gotten a lot brighter in color, his new girl, however, is not happy at being in a new place. lol ^^;

Anywho, I've already started building my big net to make into my nursery, unfortunately after spending three hours building it, I found it was too wide by a fraction of an inch, darn it all! >/ Lovely waste of netting and blood, since I stabbed myself more than it with the needle, I suck at sewing...I sewed a mesh net to a container with holes too big so it'd have flow, but not let the kids out. Did that with white, undyed thread so it wont hurt anyone. =( So I'll be re-doing it tomorrow. Once I see that it's all settled, I'll move the babies to that nursery in the big tank where they can grow and not be eaten. Once that is settled, I'll be moving my cardinal tetras(and one neon...until I replace him, they grabbed the wrong fish! A day of mix-ups, yeup, my bad for not looking when she got it!), to the twenty gallon with the two rams. And that's what I'll have for that. Until I replace the neon anyways, I want five cardinals and the two rams. ^_^; That should be a perfect set up, everything is set in there, I just need to move the kids!


Speaking of kids, I told you guys I took in about two dozen of my adults and juveniles the other day already and got a red panda lyretail molly(Lyretail gold dust I say, that's what they look like! They're also called Gold Dust Lyretail mollies anyways. lol This is what they look like: http://bluegrassaquatics.com/media/...36e95/M/O/MOLLY_LYRETAIL_GOLD_DUST_MEDIUM.jpg ). Well, she gave birth about half an hour ago. ^^; I am hoping I just caught it, but I have a feeling I didn't, she's quite a bit smaller...I've saved three babies so far, and she -looks- to be going still. I have her in the bigger breeding net with a marimo moss ball. She seemed happy to be in there, my cardinals were eating at her backside....Brats, they're not usually nippy with anyone. =( Well, she relaxed in there and even ate some food I put in, I took that as a good sign and shut off the lights for the night.

Anywho, yeah, three little black and gold babies. Half black, half gold. I miss getting those. ^_^ They're good sized babies! I suppose I coulda just caught it...but I do doubt it. A few of my tetras look rather...bloated, to say the least. >>; And so does my male ram. -cough-


Speaking of my male ram..he's drop dead gorgeous. He went from hiding and sulking to hanging out with everyone and being bright. He comes over to the glass to look at me and follow my face. lol I need to think up a good name for him. =o I just don't know, he's flashy, it should be something flashy! As for his girl, well, let's get her story here...


Yesterday when I bought my first two thinking I grabbed a pair...they had ten. Today they had three left when I went to get my girl and exchange a boy. There were two females and a male, and the male had claimed one of the girls. The girl I got...was in the corner being pale and depressed, and I soon saw why...the other female was chasing her away and the male kinda half-heartedly helped. It was sad. ^^; But when I got her home, she brightened a bit, until one of my juvenile mollies took a whack at her, wholly unexpected since they're usually well behaved...and my male came to her rescue. I was kinda awed by it, they're so neat. He didn't hurt my molly, just ran it off and stood guard, bringing my girls colors back...and then they sorta investigated each other and haven't been apart since.

That's the other reason I want them in the twenty. It'll just be them for a couple weeks, and then I'll add the tetras MAYBE. I know they're delicate and I don't want to shock them by adding in too many fish at once. But I may just keep the tank for them. Surely they wont get lonely, right? I may just have it be them and a few snails. For some reason, the water in my 20 has lower PH and is softer to boot, so it'll be good for either or all of them. I got some new plants in there too, it's looking like a proper tank again!
 
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