More power to you papa red and sean!

[Daniel Morrow]

I am looking forward to hearing more about how papa red's tanks turn out and
how sean's piranhas do in their huge tank. I only have 2 silver dollars but
if I correctly read my older book they are relatively closely related to
piranhas but are herbivorous, and seem to share the same skittishness in
small numbers. Silver dollars I have read from marine biologists (2
biologists) should be in an extra big tank with a significant number of
others (7?) and are omnivorous in captivity. But I have only seen my silver
dollars eat 3 or 4 times over the last 1.5 years when one or the other would
carry an algae wafer around in it's mouth like pacman! I am sure they eat
the algae wafers totally regularly though as the wafers disappear within an
hour of that tank being left alone and unwatched by humans. Good luck sean -
fascinating fish and I would like to live vicariously as a keeper of
piranhas thorough you and I myself don't plan on getting too close to any
just in case. :-) Later all!

[Sean]

"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
>I am looking forward to hearing more about how papa red's tanks turn out
>and
> how sean's piranhas do in their huge tank. I only have 2 silver dollars
> but
> if I correctly read my older book they are relatively closely related to
> piranhas but are herbivorous, and seem to share the same skittishness in
> small numbers. Silver dollars I have read from marine biologists (2
> biologists) should be in an extra big tank with a significant number of
> others (7?) and are omnivorous in captivity. But I have only seen my
> silver
> dollars eat 3 or 4 times over the last 1.5 years when one or the other
> would
> carry an algae wafer around in it's mouth like pacman! I am sure they eat
> the algae wafers totally regularly though as the wafers disappear within
> an
> hour of that tank being left alone and unwatched by humans. Good luck
> sean -
> fascinating fish and I would like to live vicariously as a keeper of
> piranhas thorough you and I myself don't plan on getting too close to any
> just in case. :-) Later all!

You are correct about the dollars, they need to be in a shoal or you'll
never see them act naturally. Unless you have two really brave fish ;)
During the season when there are many migratory birds nesting near Brazilian
rivers, certain types of dollars (and even other species of Piranha that are
normally not shoal fish) actually gather in the shoals amongst the Red
Bellied Piranha so that there is the safety in numbers aspect from all the
fish feeding birds. Basically the fish risk life and fin rather then be
snatched easily from the water by a beak.

My fish were purchased from a Pet Store that had just received a shipment of
Piranha fry. They placed them in tanks with shoals of 12 each. I picked
the lively bunch and brought them home, some did not survive the journey and
one died over night. The rest I have had ever since.

My fish will eat in front of me and only me, light on or light off. They
eat fruits and veggies, as well as meat. This may sound strange but my fish
love Italian meatballs. They go crazy for them. My fiancée comes over to
see me give them worms or crickets and I end up going on a bug chase. All
my friends say that I am lying and that do not actually own Piranha.

As far as skittish goes, yes they can be, especially when I stare them down
with my face close to the tank. They get all crazy and try and hide.
Strangely enough if I look at them out of the corner of my eye they will
creep in and swim up and down as if accessing me. But other then me
creeping them out they are much like goldfish or guppies.

I find them to be the most intelligent fish I have seen yet, there's a
slyness about them that I can't put my finger on. Some people say they are
hard to take care of, but personally they are the most carefree fish I have
ever owned. I find them to be quite hearty through water changes and the
like.

I have heard some stories of people around town with Piranha that they never
have seen feeding yet. I attribute this to the fact that most people buy
large Piranha from the Pet Stores thinking they will be savage and fun to
watch. What people don't realize is that these fish are constantly being
harassed by people walking by the tanks and tapping the glass to get a
reaction. This may explain why people say they are too skittish, and its
the reason I bought my fish the minute they entered the store; so that they
may never learn to be nervous.



I'll need all the luck I can get for the tank I want to build. It may not
be this year but soon and I will have it right and I'll send you pics :)

Sean

[Papa Red]

I currently have a total of eleven aquariums up and running, within
my tiny studio apartment, which now sounds like it has a bubbling stream
running right through it,...including a ten gallon fry nursery and a ten
gallon tank just for expectant mothers,...But now I will have to do some
very heavy-duty major furniture re-locatin' here in my place to find
space for the seven more ten gallon tanks that I've got yet to scrub
out, fill up, water test, and fill with wee little aquatic buddies.
Question, within a ten gallon tank, what other fish besides Bettas
can happily survive without a power filler, et cetera?
Can Plecos, Corys, Gouramis do that? What about other aquatic critters?
Thanks for y'all help. Pax Vobiscum,...~Dean.

[Richard Sexton]

In article >,
Papa Red > wrote:
> I currently have a total of eleven aquariums up and running, within
>my tiny studio apartment, which now sounds like it has a bubbling stream
>running right through it,...including a ten gallon fry nursery and a ten
>gallon tank just for expectant mothers,...But now I will have to do some
>very heavy-duty major furniture re-locatin' here in my place to find
>space for the seven more ten gallon tanks that I've got yet to scrub
>out, fill up, water test, and fill with wee little aquatic buddies.
> Question, within a ten gallon tank, what other fish besides Bettas
>can happily survive without a power filler, et cetera?

Killifish. Lots of small killi tanks have just lots of java moss
and no filter. Java moss can't be easeier to grow and with a rock or
bit of wood it can look right Ammano-esque.

--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

[Daniel Morrow]

Bottom posted.
Papa Red wrote:
> I currently have a total of eleven aquariums up and running, within
> my tiny studio apartment, which now sounds like it has a bubbling
> stream running right through it,...including a ten gallon fry nursery
> and a ten gallon tank just for expectant mothers,...But now I will
> have to do some very heavy-duty major furniture re-locatin' here in
> my place to find space for the seven more ten gallon tanks that I've
> got yet to scrub out, fill up, water test, and fill with wee little
> aquatic buddies. Question, within a ten gallon tank, what other
> fish besides Bettas
> can happily survive without a power filler, et cetera?
> Can Plecos, Corys, Gouramis do that? What about other aquatic
> critters? Thanks for y'all help. Pax Vobiscum,...~Dean.

Yes and no, low bioloads are doable without power filters but you should
change water regularly (guestimating 30-40% once a week might work), or you
could plant heavily (try some cheap hornwort for good floating plants that
are likely to suck pollution out of the water and will grow to the point
where you are likely to pull out a big wad of hornwort once every two weeks
possibly and then you can sell, give or put it in the compost pit or just
plain throw it away in the trash, some of it) plants need at the very least
some light though.) even some plants can help even in small quantities. You
might have to experiment with different plants to find one or more that like
your water characteristics (I find that hornwort grows like a weed in my
silver dollar tank but not in my 2 other tanks, go figure!) but you can
narrow your search by looking online for water requirements for particular
plants and matching those with your water characteristics. Good luck and
later!

[Papa Red]

Bottom posted.
Papa Red wrote:
******I currently have a total of eleven aquariums up and
running, within my tiny studio apartment, which now sounds like it has a
bubbling stream running right through it,...including a ten gallon fry
nursery and a ten gallon tank just for expectant mothers,...But now I
will have to do some very heavy-duty major furniture re-locatin' here in
my place to find space for the seven more ten gallon tanks that I've got
yet to scrub out, fill up, water test, and fill with wee little
******aquatic buddies. Question, within a ten gallon tank,
what other fish besides Bettas
can happily survive without a power filler, et cetera? Can Plecos,
Corys, Gouramis do that? What about other aquatic critters? Thanks for
y'all help. Pax Vobiscum,...~Dean.

You wrote:
Yes and no, low bioloads are doable without power filters but you should
change water regularly (guestimating 30-40% once a week might work), or
you could plant heavily (try some cheap hornwort for good floating
plants that are likely to suck pollution out of the water and will grow
to the point where you are likely to pull out a big wad of hornwort once
every two weeks possibly and then you can sell, give or put it in the
compost pit or just plain throw it away in the trash, some of it) plants
need at the very least some light though.) even some plants can help
even in small quantities. You might have to experiment with different
plants to find one or more that like your water characteristics (I find
that hornwort grows like a weed in my silver dollar tank but not in my 2
other tanks, go figure!) but you can narrow your search by looking
online for water requirements for particular plants and matching those
with your water characteristics. Good luck and later!

My response:
I only have two local fish shops any where near where I live, and
neither of them routinely sells aquatic plants. But when the one that
does occasionally sells them, has some in stock, they then only sell
Anacharis/Elodea densa. And every time I purchase a bunch, the fish eat
them all. And because I don't have, nor do I want any credit cards, I
don't think that I can order any plants through the post, especially
since I am on Social Security Disability, with very little money to
spend. Sometimes I trade extra fish, Platys, Fancy Guppys, et cetera,
born here, for fish food, et cetera, but it will be a while before I can
do that on a routine basis.
By the way, I have noticed that I have a Fancy Guppy that has the
tail fin of a female, but has a very colourful, long top fin. And as of
yet, I haven't found one like it featured in any online photographs.
Does this sound like to you to be a mutant, or just a regular Fancy
Guppy that I do not currently know about? ~Dean.

[Daniel Morrow]

Bottom posted.
Papa Red wrote:
> Bottom posted.
> Papa Red wrote:
> I currently have a total of eleven aquariums up and
> running, within my tiny studio apartment, which now sounds like it
> has a bubbling stream running right through it,...including a ten
> gallon fry nursery and a ten gallon tank just for expectant
> mothers,...But now I will have to do some very heavy-duty major
> furniture re-locatin' here in my place to find space for the seven
> more ten gallon tanks that I've got yet to scrub out, fill up, water
> test, and fill with wee little
> aquatic buddies. Question, within a ten gallon tank,
> what other fish besides Bettas
> can happily survive without a power filler, et cetera? Can Plecos,
> Corys, Gouramis do that? What about other aquatic critters? Thanks for
> y'all help. Pax Vobiscum,...~Dean.
>
> You wrote:
> Yes and no, low bioloads are doable without power filters but you
> should change water regularly (guestimating 30-40% once a week might
> work), or you could plant heavily (try some cheap hornwort for good
> floating plants that are likely to suck pollution out of the water
> and will grow to the point where you are likely to pull out a big wad
> of hornwort once every two weeks possibly and then you can sell, give
> or put it in the compost pit or just plain throw it away in the
> trash, some of it) plants need at the very least some light though.)
> even some plants can help even in small quantities. You might have to
> experiment with different plants to find one or more that like your
> water characteristics (I find that hornwort grows like a weed in my
> silver dollar tank but not in my 2 other tanks, go figure!) but you
> can narrow your search by looking online for water requirements for
> particular plants and matching those with your water characteristics.
> Good luck and later!
>
> My response:
> I only have two local fish shops any where near where I live, and
> neither of them routinely sells aquatic plants. But when the one that
> does occasionally sells them, has some in stock, they then only sell
> Anacharis/Elodea densa. And every time I purchase a bunch, the fish
> eat them all. And because I don't have, nor do I want any credit
> cards, I don't think that I can order any plants through the post,
> especially since I am on Social Security Disability, with very little
> money to spend. Sometimes I trade extra fish, Platys, Fancy Guppys,
> et cetera, born here, for fish food, et cetera, but it will be a
> while before I can do that on a routine basis.
> By the way, I have noticed that I have a Fancy Guppy that has the
> tail fin of a female, but has a very colourful, long top fin. And as
> of yet, I haven't found one like it featured in any online
> photographs. Does this sound like to you to be a mutant, or just a
> regular Fancy Guppy that I do not currently know about? ~Dean.

My current generation of fancy guppies usually only shows some resemblance
to the first generation. Pure bred pedigree (so to speak) fancy guppies hold
their original characteristics through each successive generation better
than non-pure-bred fancy guppies, mine are not pure bred and show serious
variation in their appearance compared to the originals. You can find pure
bred pedigree fancy guppies locally usually, at a local fancy guppy breeder.
These fish are like comparing muts in dogs to pedigree in dogs much the
same. I used to have money problems and when I did have those problems I
would send money orders in to companies for their products. Admittedly that
isn't doable as far as I know when it comes to picking out the exact fish
you want either with a lfs or the new online "pick exactly what you want
through the unique pictures" online ordering companies. But I used money
orders exclusively a long time ago because I was too young to get a credit
card. And unfortunately my sister drained my parents financially before I
could ask my parents for a little "help" by having them co-sign for a car
for me and now I not only know my parents will never co-sign for me for a
car but they won't co-sign for me for an apartment, but I like living with
my parents anyways (I don't care if I don't have a "life" and that women
only go for studs that have their own places - I can wait and I have enough
patience to never get those things anyways. Summary: I don't care if I never
have a "life" and I don't care if I never get a women for myself), next
summary: my sister made it so my parents will never co-sign for anyone ever
again (they've told me this) because of what my sister did to them and I
never even had a chance to even ask for a co-sign for something and now
things are too late for me to do that. I still love my sister but man - she
has had a lot more money spent on her by my parents than they ever spent on
me, she doesn't even realize it what with talking about how poor she is now.
I talked to her boyfriend about it once and he said in today's society men
are expected to be independent and strong, I guess he is right that my
strength compared to my sister is greater so she needed the extra help and I
have more to work with than her in most other respects. Oh well - I know for
a fact that not every man is equal, there are a lot of people that have to
start the race of life way behind the starting line so they deserve
equalizers. If you do use money orders be sure you are dealing with a good
reputable company - they're a lot of fraudulent companies out there both on
the internet and off, possibly more off as the original way to order things
was through mail order and some of those companies have had a lot of time to
figure out how to rip people off and take advantage of them, the internet is
a recent venture for the most part when it comes down to which one has been
around earlier. You'll need to wait anywhere from 2 days via ups ground for
example if the stock is close, to 2 weeks/possibly more, be patient but
don't let them blow you off when you call to check your order status if you
do. Good luck and later!