Betty Two is No More & Clowns Love Pipes!

My last dwarf gourami, the lovely blue Betty Two died on Monday. She had been a bit lethargic for a couple of days which was very noticeable as she was a happy wriggler and always one of the first to the food. I didn’t see any signs of illness other than that so maybe she was an old dear.

The larger of the two smiley cichlids had a small white lump with a pale pink line around it on its chin but over the last 5 days it has healed and become more white that pink. It did have some of the white stuff hanging off one day and I saw the smaller one nibble at it. Yuk, but it was probably just helping it! Since then the lump has shrunk and there hasn’t been any change in behaviour. I took out a piece of broken flowerpot thinking perhaps it has injured itself on something in the tank. I hope that the pink part of the ulcer/wound fading away means that it is healing. I did buy some Melafix and some aquarium salt but haven’t felt the need to use either; better to let it heal naturally than add extra stuff to the water.

On a happy note, all the other fishies are doing very well. The red and neon rainbow fish are very lively and the clown loaches are constantly entertaining. I added some pieces of plastic pipe bound with an elastic band, weighted with a piece of plant pot and the clowns love them. I thought they may be a little too big but they squeeze in quite happily. I’ve also seen an upside down catfish in there and even Stephen the bristlenose catfish. Now I really wouldn’t have thought there’d be room for that bristle beard.

I’ve been doing partial water changes every few days for the last couple of weeks as I did overdo it putting so many new fish in at once but it has worked out okay as I’ve been putting the extra work in and testing most days.

One of the red rainbows turned VERY orangey red on the first day which I understand means he is the dominant male. The thing is, I can’t tell the sex of the other fish. Oh the mysteries of the deep…

Sneaky Snail Snackers

I’ve noticed a number of times recently that the clown loaches are nibbling around the apple snails. The snails are winning so far by clamping shut quickly and waiting until the coast is clear but I’m not sure they will survive the rapidly growing mouths of the clowns. They made short work of the mini snail infestation a while ago. The clowns are venturing out even more than usual now they have rainbow buddies, it’s great to see them and the scissor tailed Rasboras as part of a mega-shoal (technical fishkeeping term)!

The new fish are doing well so far, one of the four rainbows has turned distinctly orangey red, the mini rainbows are a lovely sparkling blue and the flag cichlids are happily following one another around. I noticed yesterday the larger cichlid has a small lump under its chin. I have no idea why but will keep an eye on it.

In the second photo you should be able to see Nancy the bristlenose suckered onto the bogwood with a zebra snail friend. She’s a buxom beauty.

I did a partial water change on Sunday before introducing the new fish, another mid week and also today. I am aware I have introduced a large bio load by adding so many fish at once so the least I can do is keep an eye on the water quality.

I love my fish!

Cichlid eggs, gone already? Boo!

So…the eggs disappeared from the leaf after a couple of days and the little cichlids are cruising around the tank again. The smaller always follows the larger and they smile, smile, smile.

The introduction of the 11 new fish has been a positive influence on all the fishies, especially the clown loaches who now swim amongst the rainbows and come to the surface at feeding time, barbels twitching!

I have done two partial water changes this week already, one before I put the newbies in on Sunday and again on Thursday but I will test and do another change tomorrow as there will be a period of adjustment while the good bacteria catches up with the increased bioload. Thanks for advice received!

Cichlid Eggs? Already? Great!

All fish are still doing very well and the tank looks great again. I spotted the two Dwarf cichlids (Laetacara curviceps) circling around a flat leaf which seems to be scattered with eggs. Perhaps I don’t have gay fish after all… I’m not sure how long they will last in this tank but it is exciting to see.

Newbies Transform the Aquarium

I am pleased to say that I have 11 new fish! They are a Christmas present from my super husband and I couldn’t be more pleased.

We went to Amazon Aquatics (in Leigh, Lancashire) for the second time after buying the very healthy and successful clown loaches before Xmas. They have a great selection and I was happy to be helped by the owner yesterday. I bought the following:

4 x Red Rainbow Glossolepis incisus
2 x Sheephead Acara/Dwarf Flag Cichlid/Smiling Acara (tricky fellows with many aliases!) Laetacara curviceps
5 x Praecox Rainbow Melanotaenia praecox

I wanted more cichlids suitable for the community as I really miss the behaviour of the late Apistogramma borellis, following one another around and swimming in a stop/start fashion. This pair are beauties and have shown a variety of colours. They follow one another around and act as though they are a ‘pair’ (this attracted me to them in the shop) but their markings and fin shapes look like male attributes. Hard to tell I know but maybe they behave that way as they were the last two in the shop, sticking together or maybe I’ve got some peaceful gay fish. Either way, they are smashing and they SMILE!

The Rainbowfish were not a fish I had really considered but I asked for recommendations for my tank and the owner kindly found a book packed with colour photos of the different types and what their colours could or would be. I’m very pleased. The Reds are very brave and follow me if I am near the tank, they shoal with the Scissor tailed Rasboras, with the little Rainbows or on their own. As I write, I’ve noticed one of the Reds has changed to a bright orangey red colour and seems to be asserting its authority. What a huge colour change!

The Praecox are a smaller variety and have been hanging out near the surface adding interest to that neglected area. Their scales shine and look neon blue under the lights (they ARE also known as Neon Rainbows).

The whole tank looks so much more lively and the peaceful interaction is perfect for my community. Hopefully it will stay that way but who’s to say?!

I’ve tried to capture them in the pics, which also show some oldies…and an egg-filled shrimp hanging upside down.

Pam and Mr C Are No More. Boo.

I returned from a quite fantastic holiday and found Pam the Platy dead at the surface of the water. I couldn’t see any signs of illness (other than the being dead part) and just her tail had been nibbled. She had a fuzzy coating of mould where one side of her body was exposed to the warm damp air at the top of the tank. Yuk.

The same day we noticed that Mr C the dwarf cichlid was looking pretty awful. He had a white-ish patch which looked like a lump on his head and one of his eyes was protruding. The next day he was dead. There seemed to be a small dent in the white patch on his head. As usual with this fish keeping lark, I will never know what the problem was but perhaps a burst tumour, or conditions such as ‘popeye’ or ‘hole-in-head’ disease? Errr.

Mr C was such a handsome chap and I’d definitely get more cichlids in future as their behaviour is fascinating.

The pictures are of the late fishies in life!