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mildly concerned about the ladies

1K views 12 replies 2 participants last post by  windfire 
#1 ·
ok so im a lil worried about the new ladies they been with me for a week and i noticed yesterday that the red, now called Morrigan is looking abit subjued and today i see Ophelia is also abit flat though she just ate. neither likes their veggies, i tried to give them pea last night, they wouldnt eat it, i might fast them tomorrow and try again. theres no definate symptoms which is why i didnt post on the disease sections i think i may just be paranoid since Vulcan died, if i caught it earlier i may have been able to save him. at the moment they hovering at the surface in the back of the tank together, its abit odd, theres been no fighting and its just been the two of them, they sorta ignored each other until now and now they with each other sitting quietly. im really starting to worry :-( of coarse i could just be over reacting, its been a long and emotional day.
 
#2 ·
A few questions.....

How big is the tank, filtration, cycle, live plants, additives used, how much and how often are the water changes and when was the last one, water temp, how many fish/livestock in the tank besides the two females-any other symptoms or problems and treatments tried if any-besides the pea.
 
#3 ·
They in vulcans old 17 gallon, its planted, filtered and heated. There are no other symptoms other than they just not as active. There are about 15 cherry shrimp, severly depleted since the females hunt the babies, a apple snail and a khuli loach. Water changes are done once a week usually about 25% and i did one yesterday. Ophelia is moving around abit i see but stil not her usual spunky self.
 
#5 ·
thanks oldfishlady i'l give it a go. i'll set some water to stand tonight ophelia is moving around abit more but morrigan is still just hanging in one place, she's resting on the submerged spray bar. i dont think they very old, they still tiny, about 5cm long. i fasted them today , but ophelia has been on the hunt again she loves baby shrimp. i have to go get a new gravel vac tomorrow as mine gave up the ghost and then one of my guppies got stuck in the suction thingy so had to cut it open to get her out and theres no way i'll be able to fix it now. i'll get a thermometer and maybe i could get a test kit, if i have to choose one to buy what would be more important, pH,ammonia or nitrates? in your opinion?
 
#6 ·
If your going to get a test kit I would recommend API master test kit to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH...all in one kit....but any kit that has at least ammonia, nitrite, nitrate would be good, pH matters to a degree but it is not something you want/need to change.

Why do you let your water stand over-night? are you on city water or better question...lol are you in the USA....I know water additives/treatment are different overseas than here in the US-but if you are USA and city water suppley-you don't need to let the water set-just use a good dechlorinator to cover: chlorine, chloramine and heavy metal and use ASAP-most of the product bind on contact and the water is safe to use so you don't have to wait and with some fish related problems waiting a day could mean the difference in life or death.
If you don't have a thermometer to monitor the temp- that could be the problem-some fish are more sensitive to cooler water than others and need the high range of normal and some do well at the low range of normal
You may want to fast a couple of days if you think the problem may be related to over-eating.

You can also use a cup and dip the water for water changes-takes a bit longer but it works in a pinch.....

Depending on the type of filter you have-if it an HOB, I would check the box on occasion for baby shrimp....I dump lots a shrimp out of my HOB every time I clean one out...lol...
 
#7 ·
im in South Africa, Johannesburg to be exact and the local fish gurus recommend standing the water for a lil while. i use Bio Elites anti chlorine, i quite like their products as they natural. i've been meaning to get a thermometer for this tank for awhile but i dont want a strip one as i want to enter this tank in an aquascaping competition one day so it cant have anything permanent sticking on the glass, but thats a long way in the future, i'm really not doing the scape justice in this tank and it could be awesome. i'm still learning about planted tanks:) i want to add some vallis or something else with long strappy leaves and i would also like some rotala indica in here, i want a mystical garden or jungle with lots more crystals :-D

i have an internal canister filter, i had a HOB but we have alot of power cuts here and then it would run dry, it eventually burnt out so i decided an internal canister was a better option. i am looking to upgrade to a smaller filter, easier to hide and a better quality but i have to save for that. amazingly i dont have that many shrimp that get sucked into the canister you would think it would be the opposite. looking now, i think morrigan appears to building a bubblenest:shock: maybe she is a he. the current is abit strong on the surface for bubblenest though. ophelia is getting more active now maybe it was just overfed fishies, i only feed twice a day and less than a pinch but she pigs out on baby shrimp. i love the shrimp though they so awesome to watch and i think if there were problems with my water parameters they'd be the first to go. anyway i'll look for that testing kit thanks, i'll speak to my local fish shop, im on pretty good terms with them and they very helpful and knowledgable. their bettas are well looked after in hexagonal tanks, probably about 5l all seperate. i enjoy going there the tanks are always in good condition which in my opinion is the sign of a good fish store;-)
 
#8 ·
I keep massive planted tanks and love them.....I do the natural planted method with soil substrate with sand caps and keep lots and lots of shrimp....love those guys...lol...and very true..if you are having water quality problems they usually are the first to go or show problems...my shrimp both red cherry and the yellow are part of my little closed system- ecosystems and have a job....lol....they are my shredders and help speed the break down of dead/dying plant material along with the snails.
I keep shrimp only planted tanks just to seed my other tanks-I call them shrimp only- but really they always have Betta and BN pleco fry in them too-but they get removed by the time they are 1in so they have little impact on the shrimpletts along with the massive amounts of moss they can hide in. I am sure some get eaten but not enough to matter.

You are lucky to have such a great local fish shop.....that is always nice.....would love to see some pic of your planted tanks and bettas/shrimp......
 
#9 ·
i love the planted tanks though we dont have the variety available by you, i get real jealous lol. i love the mosses, i have java at the moment but im trying to get hold of willow and christmas mosses. unfortunately i got impatient with my importer, i had been waiting for almost 2months for my shipment and it still wasnt ready so i told him i'd source it somewhere else and hmmmm cant source it elsewhere lol so i've shot myself in the foot there lol. i have a 1.2m planted community as well as my betta setup. im lucky in that we have a game farm and i collect my own wood off there, the piece in my betta tank and in my 1.2m came from the farm. im still feeling my way with the plants i think its a individual learning curve with each tank, so far i've only had watersprite, amazon swords ,anubias nana, java fern and java moss. oh and some sort of crpyt i think. i really prefer the natural tanks, i use palm fiber peat soaked in a weak solution of hydroponic fertilizer and capped with black fluorite.

i'll make an album of my latest scapes, i just redid the scape in my 1.2m. hmm Morrigan is not looking good, she's hanging vertical now in one corner, i wonder if i shouldnt dose her with some rooibos tea.
 
#10 ·
What is rooibos tea? never heard of that...but sounds interesting...

I would maybe go ahead and Qt her until you figure out what is going on

Planted tanks are a learning curve for sure.....what works in one may not work in another
I collect everything from my land and use it in my tanks...from soil, rocks, wood, fish food and even water...lol.....

Hope Morrigan improves for you.....
 
#11 ·
it is a tea, i drink it occasionally with honey. its supposed to help with fin damage, fungal infections and i think they mentioned parasitic cases, someone on another forum uses it when he breeds his bettas in the fry tank to stop fungal outbreaks. its dirt cheap here, i got some in the kitchen right now. she's resting in the java moss now, i'll isolate her tomorrow, cant get to my other tanks now, its after midnight here, and just for the hell of it treat her with rooibos tea, its apparently almost impossible to overdose with it so i got nothing to lose. i may get some bacteria meds when im at the fish shop tomorrow, im reluctant to medicate though if i dont know what it is. she's not bloated, no fin damage or white spots. maybe i'll get a antiparasite thing aswell.

oh and i just finished my album with the new scapes.
 
#12 ·
How neat-I like the natural methods of treatment with fish-I have been doing that for years with a lot of success and even experimenting with some of the herbs I grow...haven't found anything special yet, but I don't have many sick fish either anymore now that I started with natural methods...so I have to go buy sick fish to use and no limit on those now days...lol.....I haven't used OTC medication in my fish room for over 20 years or more....too harsh and overused.......IMO/E.....

I have read about people using decaf tea bags for the tannin effect....now, I will have to go and look Rooibos tea up....I drink lots of tea myself and I like trying new natural things....
 
#13 ·
ok so this morining her eyes looked abit poped so i bought a general tonic by tetra the new fish have fin damage so i put all three in a bowl with some rooibos tea and dosed the whole tank with the general tonic. its turned the whole tank neon green so cant get pics of the new plants and fish and figurine
 
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