Need help finding a friend for Gus :)

[ChoclateBetta]

Here is some info on Juhlii catfish I only keep Albino Bronze Cory Catfish. http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/corydoras-julii/ http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/julii-cory/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corydoras_julii

[TheMCP]

Originally Posted by Bluewind

How much do you spend on all of your fish each year?

I've probably spent about $300 on aquarium stuff in the last few months not counting the aquariums themselves (I had a small one then upgraded) but most of that is startup costs for stuff that I won't need to replace constantly - fish, large bottles of chemicals that get used slowly, filter units, heaters, nets, gravel vacuums, etc. Also, you should understand that I'm a middle aged professional with no spouse or children, so I have the money to spend if I want to try something (like a heater), decide I don't like it, and just buy another one. So, I know I could have done it more cheaply if I'd wanted to.

Now that I've got things pretty well set up and I have basically what I need in terms of chemicals etc, I'm expecting the maintenance costs to be around $5/month, that consisting of food and occasional replacement chemicals. (Understand, I have four bettas and also I have a larger tank with 8 fish and a shrimp in it. If it was just the bettas I'd be thinking more like $1 to $2/month.) I'm not counting the electricity to run the tanks, I am not interested in calculating the cost of that. I'm also not counting changing decorations when I feel like it.

[ChoclateBetta]

I am a kid who is obsessive over his fish so I am good at getting fish funding.

[Bluewind]

Then I am jelous of you both!

Little Magic (snail name change as it turns out he is a she) has figured out where I drop the pellets and goes over and gives them a munching. Hope to eventually get a better bottom feeder food for them, but as of right now, it will just have to work. Btw, I have been feeding 3-4 pellets of Wardley Shrimp Pellets (about 3/4th-1 inch worth if placed end to end) every morning to my bottom feeders (9 Ghost Shrimp, 1 Julii Cory Cat, and 1 Mystory Snail). My little pig Gus eats about 8 Omega One Betta Buffet pellets every morning. Am I overfeeding them? The sinking pellets decintagrat (I turn off filter while they eat to keep it from going everywhere). It looks like the shrimp and cleaning up everything as far as I can tell. I get amonia spikes, but that's a given in an uncycled tank and Im doing a 1.5 gal water change every other day (is that enough btw?). Still stuck using turkey baster to clean the gravel, but it works. Light is on 10am to 10pm. Also have light from window

[DragonFyre14]

8 pellets does sound like a lot, but if he is eating all of them and doesn't look bloated I think he should be fine. If you are getting ammonia spikes (it is kind of natural in an uncycled tank and shouldn't be a problem unless they are really high...) they could be from the food. Fish food introduces ammonia into the tank.
11 hours of light seems like a lot (especially if it gets some natural light as well.) I would suggest about 8 hours of light a day.

[MeganJo215]

I found this video on youtube of a betta and his two little buddies. They are so cute! I think I want to get one of each. :) heehee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8zJW...feature=g-hist

[Bluewind]

Thanks for the facts Cho! Looks like I'm keeping everything just about right for the little guy.

I think the highest spike I had was 0.5mg/l after 3 days, but I skipped that water change because I had a flare up and was pretty sick for a bit. :-/

I have my blinds open because sunlight helps me. I turn on the tank light after my morning shower (about 10am) I don't go to bed til 10pm, so my light is on til then. :-/

Yep, My little man is part pig! He gulps down all 8 and begs for more! Sometimes, he even tries to munch on the Shrimp Pellets! I think his appatite comes from his high activity level, the fact he is still growing, and his being half starved when I got him. He's a little socker too. Always watching me when I wake up and then he's like FOOD! and swims around like a mad man!

He's also not bloated at all. He is slim enough to wiggle into just about anything! In fact, I have yet to find ANYTHING he can't figure out how to squeeze into! I think he thinks it's a game!

[ChoclateBetta]

I think pellet size depends on the amount fed like I only feed 1 omega pellet but 3 hikari.

[Bluewind]

1-3!?! Gus would jump out of the tank just to slap me!

Honest to God, one day after I had him changed over to pellets, I decided to try the "as much as they can eat in 5 minutes" thing, so I put in 12 and sat back and watched him EAT THEM ALL!!! Then, I took 2 of the pellets between my fingers to feed my shrimp and I'll be darned if he didnt go after them to! Glutony, thy name is Gus

Question: Todo (my Julii Cory Cat) has a small concave purplish spot on his/her underbelly about at his/her halfway point. Any clue what it means? I'm hoping it's a gender idetifier (I do want to get 2 more eventually). At first, I thought Todo was a boy because I read somewhere that the females will have a rounded belly that doesn't let them lay flat on the bottom with their mouth touching the bottom as well. Todo can lay completely flat on the bottom, but I sometimes wonder if it's just because Todo is still young (between 1 and 1.5in long). I google it with no luck. Anyone know?

[ChoclateBetta]

Fatter fish are females. Thinner ones are males.