Neon Tetra problems already

[Reel McKoi[_8_]]

The 8 Neon tetras will not eat what I offer them. The platys and gouramies
and one cory are eating everything. The Neon's just take the food in and
spit it back out. One cory just hides by a rock.

I've tried 5 different foods and the Neon's wont eat any of them.
Suggestions anyone?
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 9, 10:21 pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> The 8 Neon tetras will not eat what I offer them. The platys and gouramies
> and one cory are eating everything. The Neon's just take the food in and
> spit it back out. One cory just hides by a rock.
>
> I've tried 5 different foods and the Neon's wont eat any of them.
> Suggestions anyone?
> --
>
> RM....
> My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

I feed mine Tetra Crisps.Crumble them up to make them suitable in
size and they scarf them up. I also feed Hikari Tropical Micro Wafers,
which looks and is about the size of a piece of ground pepper. Mine
also takes newly hatched brine shrimp, as well as frozen mysid.but I
do not feed them that stuff as a main staple food, only as a treat on
occasion.

[Reel McKoi[_8_]]

"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
> What have you tried so far?
>
> Frozen bloodworms seem to always work for me.
===============================
I tried the freeze dried HBH Soft & Moist food, Tetra tropical flakes, HBH
Super Soft (with krill), AquaSelect Pacific Plankton and Aqua Betta (tiny
pellets).

One of the corys already died. Although it ate, all it did otherwise was
swim frantically from one end of the tank to the other. The second cory is
still hiding under the plants.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_8_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
ups.com...
I feed mine Tetra Crisps.Crumble them up to make them suitable in
size and they scarf them up. I also feed Hikari Tropical Micro Wafers,
which looks and is about the size of a piece of ground pepper. Mine
also takes newly hatched brine shrimp, as well as frozen mysid.but I
do not feed them that stuff as a main staple food, only as a treat on
occasion.
========================
Hi! I just tried crumbled "Crisps" and they spit them out also. I checked
the PH and it's 7.2. The cory that was eating but swimming frantically from
end to end of the tank died during the night. The other hasn't moved from
under the tangle of anubia.

The Neon's rejected 5 different foods now.

How many days did yours not eat before accepting one of the foods you
offered?
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 10, 10:55 am, "St. Clair" >
wrote:
> how's your other stats
>
> ammonia:
> nitrite:
> nitrate:
> gh/kh:
> temp:
>
> i'd still recommend frozen bloodworms, not frieze dried.
>
> "Reel McKoi" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Tristie" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> > I feed mine Tetra Crisps.Crumble them up to make them suitable in
> > size and they scarf them up. I also feed Hikari Tropical Micro Wafers,
> > which looks and is about the size of a piece of ground pepper. Mine
> > also takes newly hatched brine shrimp, as well as frozen mysid.but I
> > do not feed them that stuff as a main staple food, only as a treat on
> > occasion.
> > ========================
> > Hi! I just tried crumbled "Crisps" and they spit them out also. I checked
> > the PH and it's 7.2. The cory that was eating but swimming frantically
> > from end to end of the tank died during the night. The other hasn't moved
> > from under the tangle of anubia.
>
> > The Neon's rejected 5 different foods now.
>
> > How many days did yours not eat before accepting one of the foods you
> > offered?
> > --
>
> > RM....
> > My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
> >http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> > Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> > ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I personally prefer top feed frozen over freeze dried........That is
probably just me though as lots of folks use freeze dried. When I put
fish inthe tanks they often times go and hide for a time, but within
a few hours a day or so most they are right there with the rest eating
and doing the fish thing. I just never found any of my neons or corys
to be fussy eaters......especially the corys, they just always seem to
hit the water and go to forageing for foods right off. Sure is
strange with the albino corys as they are pretty well trouble free and
easy keepers.

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
> how's your other stats
>
> ammonia:
> nitrite:
> nitrate:
> gh/kh:
> temp:
>
> i'd still recommend frozen bloodworms, not frieze dried.
===================
From the 55g tank:

Ammonia - 0
Nirite - 0
Nitrate - 80
Total Hardness - 150
KH (alk) - 40ppm

I'm getting different readings on PH:

One kit says 7.2 - 7.4
The other kit says 6.2 (this makes no sense)

From the faucet:

Nitrate and Nitrite - 0
Total Hardbess - 150
KH (alk) - 300ppm
PH - one kit - 7.6
PH - second kit - 7.6 (from the faucet they agreed)

I went back to the store today with the dead cory to get credit. I was told
they're having a problem with their system and the last shipment of fish.
They came in extremely stressed. They believe it was heat-stress. I was
given credit for another cory when the new shipment comes in - or whenever I
feel they look good enough for a replacement.

I don't want to spoil any fish with only frozen foods 'only' for obvious
reasons. They're not always available in the stores here. I will try some
frozen goodies I have for the fish that I use as a once a week treat.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
oups.com...

I personally prefer top feed frozen over freeze dried........That is
probably just me though as lots of folks use freeze dried. When I put
fish inthe tanks they often times go and hide for a time, but within
a few hours a day or so most they are right there with the rest eating
and doing the fish thing. I just never found any of my neons or corys
to be fussy eaters......especially the corys, they just always seem to
hit the water and go to forageing for foods right off. Sure is
strange with the albino corys as they are pretty well trouble free and
easy keepers.
====================
Well there is definitely some problem with that shipment they got in as all
the glass shrimp and feeder GF died. They had many other losses as well. I
think these fish were indeed stressed somewhere along the line.... then I
came along and they had to endure yet another change. One of the
difficulties they're having is high PH... up to 8.2. They were starting to
work on the system as I left.

I offered them frozen (thawed) brine shrimp but they spit that out also. The
platys and pearl groumies ate the shrimp just fine. It seems they want to
eat, they show an interest in the food, but wont eat what's available.

I'll wait until they get another shipment and see what comes in........
meanwhile I'm not going to add anymore fish to the tank.
--
RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Liisa Sarakontu[_2_]]

"Reel McKoi" > wrote in
:

> Nitrate - 80

Dirty, dirty water! Although some fish can stand even 100 ppm nitrate,
anything over 50 is bad and it is best not to let it get higher than 20 ppm
(or 20 mg per liter, that's nearly the same).

Is this a small tank? How many liters/gallons? Water changing routine? How
many fish you have there and what species?

Liisa

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
> They only thing I notice is the NO3 reading is a bit high. It's been my
> experience usually anything above 20ppm causes issues, especially with
> smaller fish such as neons. In the lab, it usually causes organ failure.
===================
It was a bit high. I added some hornwart to soak up the nitrates since I
just did a 90% water change a week before I added the fish. I doubt they'd
get organ failure in a day or two?!?!?! Today about 1/2 of them are taking
some flakes. No Neon's have died.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"Liisa Sarakontu" > wrote in message
6...
> "Reel McKoi" > wrote in
> :
>
>> Nitrate - 80
>
> Dirty, dirty water! Although some fish can stand even 100 ppm nitrate,
> anything over 50 is bad and it is best not to let it get higher than 20
> ppm
> (or 20 mg per liter, that's nearly the same).

Dirty water? The tank got a 90% water change shortly before I added the
fish. The gravel bed was vacuumed and the Diatom run to remove fine
particles. I can't stop feeding them, or stop them from passing waste nor
can I do daily water changes. There were several ottos, 2 clown plecos and
a reg pleco in the tank. Do you have a flow through system to keep nitrates
below 20mg per liter?

> Is this a small tank? How many liters/gallons? Water changing routine? How
> many fish you have there and what species?

The tank is a 55g set up for several years and contains live plants. Water
changes are every 2 weeks. See above. I recently added 8 Neons, 2 small
pearl graumies, 5 platys and the two corys (one died).
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[RichardB]

Check your tap water for nitrate levels - you may be adding nearly as much
as you are taking out!


"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
> I would do a 50% water change weekly, see how that treats your nitrates.
If
> you're doing it every two weeks and still getting 80 ppm, it's not enough
> and your fish will suffer long term effects.
>
> Unfortunately, the only real effective way of controlling nitrates is
still
> through water changes. Plants help a little, yes, but only a little.
> Ion-exchange resigns help a little as well, but produce calcium and other
> minerals which harden your water which in your case you don't need.
>
> What water conditioner are you using? I would use Seachem's Prime as it
not
> only eliminates chlorine but also detoxifies ammonia, nitrites and
nitrates.
> Plus, because it's concentrated, you save around 20 bucks compared to
every
> other brand. (a capful treats 50 gallons versus others which are a capful
> treats 10 gallons).
>
>
> "Reel McKoi" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Liisa Sarakontu" > wrote in message
> > 6...
> >> "Reel McKoi" > wrote in
> >> :
> >>
> >>> Nitrate - 80
> >>
> >> Dirty, dirty water! Although some fish can stand even 100 ppm nitrate,
> >> anything over 50 is bad and it is best not to let it get higher than 20
> >> ppm
> >> (or 20 mg per liter, that's nearly the same).
> >
> > Dirty water? The tank got a 90% water change shortly before I added the
> > fish. The gravel bed was vacuumed and the Diatom run to remove fine
> > particles. I can't stop feeding them, or stop them from passing waste
nor
> > can I do daily water changes. There were several ottos, 2 clown plecos
> > and a reg pleco in the tank. Do you have a flow through system to keep
> > nitrates below 20mg per liter?
> >
> >> Is this a small tank? How many liters/gallons? Water changing routine?
> >> How
> >> many fish you have there and what species?
> >
> > The tank is a 55g set up for several years and contains live plants.
> > Water changes are every 2 weeks. See above. I recently added 8 Neons, 2
> > small pearl graumies, 5 platys and the two corys (one died).
> > --
> >
> > RM....
> > My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
> > http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> > Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> > ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>
> >
>
>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
> No, they wouldn't get organ failure in a day or two, but the *first*
> symptom would be not eating.
>
> Even though hornwort will soak up nitrates, it won't at the speed you
> need. I would do another 50% change now and test again. Then do 50% water
> changes every 3rd day until you can get your nitrates at 20 or under.
>
> How many fish do you have in the 55? How often do you do water changes?
=================================
There are 3 plecos, 2 are small clowns. There are 3 ottos. All these are
small fish but the one plco which is about 4". Then I added 5 platys, 2
small pearl groumies, two small corycats and 8 neon's. They've only been in
there something like a week. The tank is well established, contains live
plants, is 79/80F and before getting the new fish I vacuumed the entire
gravel bed, did a 90% water change and ran the Diatom filter for several
hours to remove all fines.

There is no way to do water changes without stressing these fish even more
than they've endured in the past 2 weeks. They're having trouble with this
shipment at the store and losing a lot of fish. I would not have bought
them had I known this. The manager believes it was heat-stress, then to add
more stress they're system kept going up to PH 8.2 and more, even with water
changes and PH down. I'll be avoiding this store for awhile. I liked buying
there as in the 2 years they've been in business I never once got a sick or
diseased fish.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
>I would do a 50% water change weekly, see how that treats your nitrates.
>If you're doing it every two weeks and still getting 80 ppm, it's not
>enough and your fish will suffer long term effects.
>
> Unfortunately, the only real effective way of controlling nitrates is
> still through water changes. Plants help a little, yes, but only a
> little. Ion-exchange resigns help a little as well, but produce calcium
> and other minerals which harden your water which in your case you don't
> need.
>
> What water conditioner are you using?

All I use is Sodium Thiosulfate which I buy as crystals by the tub, then mix
my own as I've been doing for years. I don't use conditioners.

I would use Seachem's Prime as it not
> only eliminates chlorine but also detoxifies ammonia, nitrites and
> nitrates. Plus, because it's concentrated, you save around 20 bucks
> compared to every other brand. (a capful treats 50 gallons versus others
> which are a capful treats 10 gallons).


--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"RichardB" > wrote in message
...
> Check your tap water for nitrate levels - you may be adding nearly as much
> as you are taking out!
=====================
I got a reading of zero from the faucet. But other times I got readings as
high as 30. It varies and the test kits are so expensive these days I don't
constantly test anymore. I hear more and more grumbles how this is becoming
a hobby for the wealthy, not the average Jane and Joe like it once was.
I've already been told on one of these groups that these kits you get in the
petshops aren't accurate and to buy some other kit.... which was over $100
as I recall.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"St. Clair" > wrote in message
...
> Well, using Prime would help your fish (it detoxifoes nitrates) since you
> don't want to do water changes. You do want to help them, don't you?
=============================
Are you guaranteeing somehow the nitrates are the problem and the manager at
the pet shop just made up the stress, PH8+ story?

--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Liisa Sarakontu[_2_]]

"Reel McKoi" > wrote in
:

> Do you have a flow through system to keep nitrates below 20mg per liter?

Nope. Just 30 % or so weekly changes with clean (no nitrates or other
nitrogen stuff) tapwater, quite a lot of living plants and most important:
not too many fish and no overfeeding.

> The tank is a 55g ... I recently added 8 Neons,
> 2 small pearl graumies, 5 platys and the two corys (one died).
> There were several ottos, 2 clown plecos and a reg pleco in the tank.

Anything called "regular pleco" is far too big for a 55g. Well, sometimes
bristlenose plecos (Ancistrus) are sold as "common plecos", and they are ok
in such tanks, but most often the "common plecos" are sailfin plecos
(Pterygoplichthys or whatever their current genus name is) or Liposarcus
plecos (again, the genus name has probably changed recently). They get half
a meter long (over 1 foot) and they need HUGE tanks to be able to live
happily.

Other than that one fish, the tank doesn't sound overcrowded although it is
a bad idea to add new fish to a tank with high nitrate level, and it is
also a bad idea to add lots of new fish at the same time as the bacteria
doesn't multiply that quickly and you can kill your fish with ammonia or
nitrite even if the tank is old (like yours is).

Cory cats are schooling fish, and it is not right to keep them in groups
less than 5 individuals of same species.

Do a 50 % water change (not 90 %, it is not a good idea to change water
quality too much too quickly) and test nitrate immediately after that. Wait
for 5 days or so and feed the tank normally and test nitrate again. If it
had gone up again, you have clearly too many fish and/or feed far too much.
In that latter case it would be good to test for nitrite too, just in case.
And test with a drop test, if possible, not with paper slips as they are
not that accurate.

Liisa

[carlrs]

On Sep 12, 7:05 am, Tynk > wrote:
> On Sep 11, 4:41?pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
>
> > "RichardB" > wrote in message
>
> ...> Check your tap water for nitrate levels - you may be adding nearly as much
> > > as you are taking out!
>
> > =====================
> > I got a reading of zero from the faucet. ?But other times I got readings as
> > high as 30.
>
> RM....
>
> Being that this was an older tank, it's very possible it was going (or
> is) going through "old tank" syndrome.
> Even with your 90% water change before adding several new fish, it
> would have taken several more changes to do the job.
> If you don't want to stress the new fish any more than they already
> have been, you could consider doing more frequent, smaller water
> changes.
> You could daily small changes and stress them less than a large, once
> a week water change.
> I wouldn't do the *once every 2 weeks* on water changes with this
> tank.
> After you get the nitrates back down and the nitrifying bacteria have
> increased their numbers to handle the bio load of all the new
> arrivals, and the tank is back to being peachy, you could go back to
> your normal 2 week schedule. However, you might also want to stick
> with the smaller, weekly changes.

As Tynk stated, your tank is most likely going through old tank
syndrome.

Besides the use of Prime which I also recommend, here are a few other
suggestions for lowering your nitrates:

*Perform a water change using a gravel vacuum to remove not just dirty
water, but "mulm" that will decompose and enter the nitrogen cycle and
eventually become nitrates.
This can be a particular problem with Under Gravel Filters (UGF),
decomposing organic debris will tend to build up under the filter
plate. For these filters I recommend occasionally removing the lift
tubes and placing a siphon into the opening and removing as much
organic debris (mulm) as possible.
Even without UGF, poor vacuuming procedures (or none at all) can
contribute to high to high nitrates. Make sure and vacuum around and
under ornaments as well, although be careful around live plants.

*Proper filtration and maintenance; Make sure and regularly rinse in
de-chlorinated or used aquarium water (never tap water) your bio
filter media. This includes bio rings and balls commonly found in wet
dry filters and canister filters, sponge filters, bio wheels, or any
other media that is not changed in the filter. This is especially
important with filters that tend to become "nitrate factories", which
include in my experience (AND tests) to be; Canister Filters, Wet-Dry
filters, and Emperor Filters. This is not to say these filters are
bad, it is just important to not ignore properly cleaning these
filters even though their large capacity makes it very easy to do.

For more about this subject, please see this article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

You may have also a disease or virus present in your aquarium, so
please watch for symptoms. One possible disease that shows little
symptom is Ichthyophonus which is a fungus (not to be confused with
ich). For more: http://aquarium-answers.blogspot.com/2007/05/ichthyophonus-in-fish.html


You might consider SeaChem's Purigen as well. Although I do disagree
with the statement about added hardness (or GH), studies have shown
that hardness (not KH) controls pH spikes during hours of peak
photosynthesis even when KH is adequate. Calcium is also important for
proper osmoregulation as well.
See these articles:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumPlants.html
There is a graph here;
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ClearPond.html

Carl

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"Tynk" > wrote in message
ups.com...
On Sep 11, 4:41�pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> "RichardB" > wrote in message
>
> ...> Check your tap water for nitrate
> levels - you may be adding nearly as much
> > as you are taking out!
>
> =====================
> I got a reading of zero from the faucet. But other times I got readings as
> high as 30.

RM....

Being that this was an older tank, it's very possible it was going (or
is) going through "old tank" syndrome.
Even with your 90% water change before adding several new fish, it
would have taken several more changes to do the job.
If you don't want to stress the new fish any more than they already
have been, you could consider doing more frequent, smaller water
changes.

- - It's not the size of the water change, it's the removing the
fluorescent lights (2 2-bulb fixtures), shutting off the filter and then
adding water etc. I usually try to avoid stressing any new fish for at
least a week. They're doing much better this morning. I think I'll give
them until Friday, then start with 25% water changes every other day until
the nitrates are below 20. I also added hornwart, a known nitrate hog and
some elodia.... another nitrate lover. The outside 150g pools are just
about always near zero with these plants doing their job. :-)

You could daily small changes and stress them less than a large, once
a week water change.
I wouldn't do the *once every 2 weeks* on water changes with this
tank.
After you get the nitrates back down and the nitrifying bacteria have
increased their numbers to handle the bio load of all the new
arrivals, and the tank is back to being peachy, you could go back to
your normal 2 week schedule. However, you might also want to stick
with the smaller, weekly changes.

-- I might do that since I only have the two tanks in the house now.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"carlrs" > wrote in message
oups.com...

(Brevity snips)
>
> As Tynk stated, your tank is most likely going through old tank
> syndrome.

This could very well be. I can't really know, but before I added any new
fish the tank (and filter) were thoroughly cleaned, the gravel vacuumed
until the water was darn near clear as the tank water. The glass was
cleaned - and then it was refilled, dechlorinator added at time of filling.
Then to make extra sure the water was as clean as possibly without breaking
down the tank I ran the Diatom filter for a few hours, stirring the gravel
over and over while it was running. There is no UGF in any of my tanks. I
will definately check out the sites below. Thanks. ;-)

All my filters are Aquaclears.

>
> For more about this subject, please see this article:
> http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html
>
> You may have also a disease or virus present in your aquarium, so
> please watch for symptoms. One possible disease that shows little
> symptom is Ichthyophonus which is a fungus (not to be confused with
> ich). For more:
> http://aquarium-answers.blogspot.com/2007/05/ichthyophonus-in-fish.html
>
>
> You might consider SeaChem's Purigen as well. Although I do disagree
> with the statement about added hardness (or GH), studies have shown
> that hardness (not KH) controls pH spikes during hours of peak
> photosynthesis even when KH is adequate. Calcium is also important for
> proper osmoregulation as well.
> See these articles:
> http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumPlants.html
> There is a graph here;
> http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ClearPond.html
>
> Carl
>
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"Liisa Sarakontu" > wrote in message
6...
> "Reel McKoi" > wrote in
> :
>
>> Do you have a flow through system to keep nitrates below 20mg per liter?
>
> Nope. Just 30 % or so weekly changes with clean (no nitrates or other
> nitrogen stuff) tapwater, quite a lot of living plants and most important:
> not too many fish and no overfeeding.
>
>> The tank is a 55g ... I recently added 8 Neons,
>> 2 small pearl graumies, 5 platys and the two corys (one died).
>> There were several ottos, 2 clown plecos and a reg pleco in the tank.
>
> Anything called "regular pleco" is far too big for a 55g.

I know this and when he gets another inch longer he'll have to go back to
the pet shop like the other one did. Right now he's not that large.

> Other than that one fish, the tank doesn't sound overcrowded although it
> is
> a bad idea to add new fish to a tank with high nitrate level, and it is
> also a bad idea to add lots of new fish at the same time as the bacteria
> doesn't multiply that quickly and you can kill your fish with ammonia or
> nitrite even if the tank is old (like yours is).

This is well known and good advice. The ammonia is at zero this morning. I
didn't check the other parameters.

> Cory cats are schooling fish, and it is not right to keep them in groups
> less than 5 individuals of same species.

I was starting with two because funds are limited. I'm retired with no
income at all and my husband is semi-retired.

> Do a 50 % water change (not 90 %, it is not a good idea to change water
> quality too much too quickly) and test nitrate immediately after that.
> Wait
> for 5 days or so and feed the tank normally and test nitrate again. If it
> had gone up again, you have clearly too many fish and/or feed far too
> much.
> In that latter case it would be good to test for nitrite too, just in
> case.
> And test with a drop test, if possible, not with paper slips as they are
> not that accurate.

The last test kit using drops was over $20. I'll see what the other store
has........
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 12, 12:11 pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> "Liisa Sarakontu" > wrote in message
>
> 6...
>
> > "Reel McKoi" > wrote in
> :
>
> >> Do you have a flow through system to keep nitrates below 20mg per liter?
>
> > Nope. Just 30 % or so weekly changes with clean (no nitrates or other
> > nitrogen stuff) tapwater, quite a lot of living plants and most important:
> > not too many fish and no overfeeding.
>
> >> The tank is a 55g ... I recently added 8 Neons,
> >> 2 small pearl graumies, 5 platys and the two corys (one died).
> >> There were several ottos, 2 clown plecos and a reg pleco in the tank.
>
> > Anything called "regular pleco" is far too big for a 55g.
>
> I know this and when he gets another inch longer he'll have to go back to
> the pet shop like the other one did. Right now he's not that large.
>
> > Other than that one fish, the tank doesn't sound overcrowded although it
> > is
> > a bad idea to add new fish to a tank with high nitrate level, and it is
> > also a bad idea to add lots of new fish at the same time as the bacteria
> > doesn't multiply that quickly and you can kill your fish with ammonia or
> > nitrite even if the tank is old (like yours is).
>
> This is well known and good advice. The ammonia is at zero this morning. I
> didn't check the other parameters.
>
> > Cory cats are schooling fish, and it is not right to keep them in groups
> > less than 5 individuals of same species.
>
> I was starting with two because funds are limited. I'm retired with no
> income at all and my husband is semi-retired.
>
> > Do a 50 % water change (not 90 %, it is not a good idea to change water
> > quality too much too quickly) and test nitrate immediately after that.
> > Wait
> > for 5 days or so and feed the tank normally and test nitrate again. If it
> > had gone up again, you have clearly too many fish and/or feed far too
> > much.
> > In that latter case it would be good to test for nitrite too, just in
> > case.
> > And test with a drop test, if possible, not with paper slips as they are
> > not that accurate.
>
> The last test kit using drops was over $20. I'll see what the other store
> has........
> --
>
> RM....
> My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

RM
If you decide to buy new or replacement test kits go with Seatest or
Fastest brand kits;........they atre put out by AP or Somehting like
that , who is a major player in aquatic products. They are about the
best without gong to a commerical grade kit which can cost big bucks.
For the most part most any kit is well within the pqarameters it is
spec'd at for fish keeping purposes, however the Fastetst and Seatest
kits initially cost a couple of bucks more, but the good thing is they
are all drop or powder type kits, and once you have the initial kit
you can buy refills for the kits and the price is like 60%..Overall
the initial kit is not any more costly than any other commonly
available kit, so you really save once you start with the refills.

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
ups.com...

RM
If you decide to buy new or replacement test kits go with Seatest or
Fastest brand kits;........they atre put out by AP or Somehting like
that , who is a major player in aquatic products. They are about the
best without gong to a commerical grade kit which can cost big bucks.
For the most part most any kit is well within the pqarameters it is
spec'd at for fish keeping purposes, however the Fastetst and Seatest
kits initially cost a couple of bucks more, but the good thing is they
are all drop or powder type kits, and once you have the initial kit
you can buy refills for the kits and the price is like 60%..Overall
the initial kit is not any more costly than any other commonly
available kit, so you really save once you start with the refills.
================
I'll take a look at them. I just recieved a new catalog today. Foster &
Smith. They're having their Red Tag sale.... :-)
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_9_]]

"Tynk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Don't forget about checking *BigAlsonline.com*.
> On some things I have ordered in the past, they were the cheapest of
> several well known sites.
> So it's always worth a glance to check their site as well.
=====================
I checked them out. They do have the cheapest prices! Unreal....

I bookmarked them as they'll be seeing some of my business. :-)
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Reel McKoi[_10_]]

"Tynk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm so glad I mentioned them. Now you can spend what ya save on more
> fish, hehe. = )~
==============================
Yeparoo! Pet Supermarket just got a new shipment of fish in today. They
were unpacking them when I called. I don't go the first day because the poor
little guys have got to be really stressed out. I'll go tomorrow and spend
some $$$$. :-)))

They're replacing the cory, plus I'm buying one or two more. I hope they
got in more pearls so I can get a nice male for the 2 girls. Then I'll go
from there..... I have to get off here and do the 1st water change on the
55g as the neon's are now eating fine.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 14, 3:43 pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> "Tynk" > wrote in message
>
> oups.com...> I'm so glad I mentioned them. Now you can spend what ya save on more
> > fish, hehe. = )~
>
> ==============================
> Yeparoo! Pet Supermarket just got a new shipment of fish in today. They
> were unpacking them when I called. I don't go the first day because the poor
> little guys have got to be really stressed out. I'll go tomorrow and spend
> some $$$$. :-)))
>
> They're replacing the cory, plus I'm buying one or two more. I hope they
> got in more pearls so I can get a nice male for the 2 girls. Then I'll go
> from there..... I have to get off here and do the 1st water change on the
> 55g as the neon's are now eating fine.
> --
> RM....
> Frugal ponding since 1995.
> rec.ponder since late 1996.
> My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

Interesting. The act of buying fish the day they arrive is a mixed
lot. I personally prefer to buy fish as soon as they arrive, if they
will dump out all fish except what I want and let my chosen fish stay
in the same bag in the shipped water. Hard to do with most FW fish as
they usually have a heap of them in the same bag, but with salt they
often more thannot pack one or two to a bag, so its not a problem
there.

I have them add a shot of amquel to neutralize any ammonia that rises
once the bag is opened, and carry them home. IO prefer to keep my fish
out of most LFS water if I can help it. My frieind who is a manager
at Petco will order me fish and when the fish gets ordered make a
request for "x" number or such and such to be packed
individually....... When fish arrive I am normaly there before the
truck delivers, so I just get my bagged fish and pay and
leave.........

Lots of folks only temp acclimate, I acclimate with water form tank as
well as temp, by use of a IV drip set over a period of 45 minutes to
one hour. I use bottom halfs of plastic juice containers to place fish
with bagged water in, and slowly dirp water form tank into the juice
container. Once its up a bit, I syphon a good portion of it out,
leaving just enough water to keep fish happy...........and repeat as
often as needed until a period of 45 minutes to an hour is up, net the
fish and place in the QT tank......Glad you got a replacement, or will
be getting a replacement. Good to hear the neons are eating as well,.

[Reel McKoi[_10_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
oups.com...
Interesting. The act of buying fish the day they arrive is a mixed
lot. I personally prefer to buy fish as soon as they arrive, if they
will dump out all fish except what I want and let my chosen fish stay
in the same bag in the shipped water. Hard to do with most FW fish as
they usually have a heap of them in the same bag, but with salt they
often more thannot pack one or two to a bag, so its not a problem
there.

- The bags are loaded with fish so I can't do that. It would be nice if
they shipped 2 to 4 in a bag. I'd take the whole bag before they're exposed
to the shop water.

I have them add a shot of amquel to neutralize any ammonia that rises
once the bag is opened, and carry them home. IO prefer to keep my fish
out of most LFS water if I can help it. My frieind who is a manager
at Petco will order me fish and when the fish gets ordered make a
request for "x" number or such and such to be packed
individually....... When fish arrive I am normaly there before the
truck delivers, so I just get my bagged fish and pay and
leave.........

- That's a good way to do it if you can. I try and get there the next
morning. By then those that came in in bad shape are already gone (dead and
removed) and the others more or less acclimated to the water in the store.

Lots of folks only temp acclimate, I acclimate with water form tank as
well as temp, by use of a IV drip set over a period of 45 minutes to
one hour. I use bottom halfs of plastic juice containers to place fish
with bagged water in, and slowly dirp water form tank into the juice
container. Once its up a bit, I syphon a good portion of it out,
leaving just enough water to keep fish happy...........and repeat as
often as needed until a period of 45 minutes to an hour is up, net the
fish and place in the QT tank.

- I use a 1g container. I keep adding a little water at a time over several
hours. When it's about 3/4s tank water I put them in the tank.

......Glad you got a replacement, or will
be getting a replacement. Good to hear the neons are eating as well,.

- So far so good but one neon vanished?!?!?!? Gone. I looked all over and
couldn't find a body anywhere, even on the floor. If it died the pleco must
have completely ate it. I removed the pleco to take back to the pet store
tomorrow. He's gotten too big (4 to 5") and there are already algae eaters
in the 55g. I did a 40% water change, checked the Nitrate and it's still
at 80. I vacuumed the gravel again also. Then I set up another quarantine
tank because I had to put my celestial eye GF in the quarantine tank. She
can't live outside because she's almost blind and can't compete for food.
--
RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 14, 8:42 pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> "Tristie" > wrote in message
>
> oups.com...
> Interesting. The act of buying fish the day they arrive is a mixed
> lot. I personally prefer to buy fish as soon as they arrive, if they
> will dump out all fish except what I want and let my chosen fish stay
> in the same bag in the shipped water. Hard to do with most FW fish as
> they usually have a heap of them in the same bag, but with salt they
> often more thannot pack one or two to a bag, so its not a problem
> there.
>
> - The bags are loaded with fish so I can't do that. It would be nice if
> they shipped 2 to 4 in a bag. I'd take the whole bag before they're exposed
> to the shop water.
>
> I have them add a shot of amquel to neutralize any ammonia that rises
> once the bag is opened, and carry them home. IO prefer to keep my fish
> out of most LFS water if I can help it. My frieind who is a manager
> at Petco will order me fish and when the fish gets ordered make a
> request for "x" number or such and such to be packed
> individually....... When fish arrive I am normaly there before the
> truck delivers, so I just get my bagged fish and pay and
> leave.........
>
> - That's a good way to do it if you can. I try and get there the next
> morning. By then those that came in in bad shape are already gone (dead and
> removed) and the others more or less acclimated to the water in the store.
>
> Lots of folks only temp acclimate, I acclimate with water form tank as
> well as temp, by use of a IV drip set over a period of 45 minutes to
> one hour. I use bottom halfs of plastic juice containers to place fish
> with bagged water in, and slowly dirp water form tank into the juice
> container. Once its up a bit, I syphon a good portion of it out,
> leaving just enough water to keep fish happy...........and repeat as
> often as needed until a period of 45 minutes to an hour is up, net the
> fish and place in the QT tank.
>
> - I use a 1g container. I keep adding a little water at a time over several
> hours. When it's about 3/4s tank water I put them in the tank.
>
> .....Glad you got a replacement, or will
> be getting a replacement. Good to hear the neons are eating as well,.
>
> - So far so good but one neon vanished?!?!?!? Gone. I looked all over and
> couldn't find a body anywhere, even on the floor. If it died the pleco must
> have completely ate it. I removed the pleco to take back to the pet store
> tomorrow. He's gotten too big (4 to 5") and there are already algae eaters
> in the 55g. I did a 40% water change, checked the Nitrate and it's still
> at 80. I vacuumed the gravel again also. Then I set up another quarantine
> tank because I had to put my celestial eye GF in the quarantine tank. She
> can't live outside because she's almost blind and can't compete for food.
> --
> RM....
> My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

Hmmmmmmmmmm, you rasie still yet another interesting and often debated
acclimation process. Its also a hotly debated item as to weather or
not you can actually overdo acclimation, and further stress out a
fish. The majority seem to say it is, and depending on the fish or
item, usually a time limit of 45 minutes to an hour is sufficieint.
I speak mainly from saal****er enthusiasts, but I am sure things are
the same pretty well in FW too, plus it seems SW folks tend to go a
lot overboard since SW fish seem to go through a lot more stressfull
methods of capture, plus they usually cost a heap more than FW fish
do.......and they most always ensure more paramters are met than
fookls with FW fish do. I guess its allmy ywears with SW fish that
has me doing it the same for all FW like I do SW fish.

One easy way is put fish into container, out of bag. Take a contianer
of water equal to what is in the container the fish is in. Add one
third of that container of water to the container the fish is in, and
wait 5 minutes. Then add another 1/3 of that container of water to the
fish container.wait again 5 minutes..........and then add remaining
water to container with fish........wait 5 minutes.total elapsed time
is now 15 minutes since start of acclimation. Now pouor off 1/2 of
that fishes container of water, and once again fill up a container
with the same amount of water as in the fish container and repeat
process of every 5 minutes times 3...............and after that do it
one more time. Overall time will be 45 minutes..and fish shuold now be
able to be netted and placed into the tank.

I usually set an IV drip tube and let it drip into container until the
amount inthe container doubles in about 20 to 30 minutes time, empty
out half and repeat again, and then do it a third, then net fish and
place in the appropriate tank.

You can buy IV drip sets (no needles incuded) for under $6 at medical
supply places without a perscriiption, or I get them from a nurse
friend for free.......a suitable like item is easy and cheap to make
with a piece of the hard ridgid aiir line tube and a length of airline
tube. Use piece of ridgid tube and place in hot water to allow easy
kink free forming, and shape into a cane shape so it will hang over
tanks edge and extend intothe water approx 4 to 6 inches, and also a
few inches on the outside of the tank. Slip on a length of airline, of
approx 4 to 6 inches, and install a typical airline valve. The brass
or metal ones work best but most any will do. Then stick on another
length of airline that enables you to place a container for
acclimating in on a nearby stand or table etc, or what ever is
convienient. Now just start a syphon in the airline and adjust with
the air valve to get a couple of drips per minute flow. You can also
tie a single overhand knot in the airline and not use a valve and
either tighten uip or loosen the knot to adjust flow, but a valve is
so much easier to adjust. Now you have an acclimation tool that does
not require any attention for the entire process if a large enough
container is used to place fish in. I set a timer to remind me I have
fish acclimating as I have been known to get side tracked.

Does your LFS check for nitrate intheir water checks? If so I would
carry a sample in and bump their readings against yours. Sometimes
those kits even the drop or powder type do go crazy if they get hot or
near or over shelf life. I simply do not trust strip types.

[Reel McKoi[_10_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
oups.com...

Hmmmmmmmmmm, you rasie still yet another interesting and often debated
acclimation process. Its also a hotly debated item as to weather or
not you can actually overdo acclimation, and further stress out a
fish. The majority seem to say it is, and depending on the fish or
item, usually a time limit of 45 minutes to an hour is sufficieint.

- - True, but sometimes there's such a difference in PH and/or hardness or
TDS it takes longer. I've found, through sad experience, that fancy GF need
a slow acclamation. This is why I no longer buy from Petco in the city.
Our water is so different that the fish suffer stress just being acclimated.
If they're not acclimated s-l-o-w-l-y they're gasping at the surface, and
dead in 24 to 48 hours. :(

One easy way is put fish into container, out of bag. Take a contianer
of water equal to what is in the container the fish is in. Add one
third of that container of water to the container the fish is in, and
wait 5 minutes. Then add another 1/3 of that container of water to the
fish container.wait again 5 minutes..........and then add remaining
water to container with fish........wait 5 minutes.total elapsed time
is now 15 minutes since start of acclimation.
Now pouor off 1/2 of
that fishes container of water, and once again fill up a container
with the same amount of water as in the fish container and repeat
process of every 5 minutes times 3...............and after that do it
one more time. Overall time will be 45 minutes..and fish shuold now be
able to be netted and placed into the tank.

- - I know almost nothing about SW fish so wont comment on them. If the
water parameters aren't vastly different (FW) this will defiantly work. :-)
I always cover the non-translucent container to give them more of a feeling
of security. And airstone aerates them.

I usually set an IV drip tube and let it drip into container until the
amount inthe container doubles in about 20 to 30 minutes time, empty
out half and repeat again, and then do it a third, then net fish and
place in the appropriate tank.

- - That's a great idea if you can latch onto an IV drip.

You can buy IV drip sets (no needles incuded) for under $6 at medical
supply places without a perscriiption, or I get them from a nurse
friend for free.......a suitable like item is easy and cheap to make
with a piece of the hard ridgid aiir line tube and a length of airline
tube. Use piece of ridgid tube and place in hot water to allow easy
kink free forming, and shape into a cane shape so it will hang over
tanks edge and extend intothe water approx 4 to 6 inches, and also a
few inches on the outside of the tank. Slip on a length of airline, of
approx 4 to 6 inches, and install a typical airline valve. The brass
or metal ones work best but most any will do. Then stick on another
length of airline that enables you to place a container for
acclimating in on a nearby stand or table etc, or what ever is
convienient. Now just start a syphon in the airline and adjust with
the air valve to get a couple of drips per minute flow. You can also
tie a single overhand knot in the airline and not use a valve and
either tighten uip or loosen the knot to adjust flow, but a valve is
so much easier to adjust. Now you have an acclimation tool that does
not require any attention for the entire process if a large enough
container is used to place fish in. I set a timer to remind me I have
fish acclimating as I have been known to get side tracked.

- - What a geat idea!!!!!!!!! :-) I love it. I tried bending rigid
tubing one time after heating in hot water but it would kink. It refused to
make a nice U curve. Darn..... I can't remember what I was bending it for.

Does your LFS check for nitrate intheir water checks? If so I would
carry a sample in and bump their readings against yours. Sometimes
those kits even the drop or powder type do go crazy if they get hot or
near or over shelf life. I simply do not trust strip types.

- - I tested the water coming out of the faucet and it's zero on nitrates.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 15, 7:24 pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> "Tristie" > wrote in message
>
> oups.com...
>
> Hmmmmmmmmmm, you rasie still yet another interesting and often debated
> acclimation process. Its also a hotly debated item as to weather or
> not you can actually overdo acclimation, and further stress out a
> fish. The majority seem to say it is, and depending on the fish or
> item, usually a time limit of 45 minutes to an hour is sufficieint.
>
> - - True, but sometimes there's such a difference in PH and/or hardness or
> TDS it takes longer. I've found, through sad experience, that fancy GF need
> a slow acclamation. This is why I no longer buy from Petco in the city.
> Our water is so different that the fish suffer stress just being acclimated.
> If they're not acclimated s-l-o-w-l-y they're gasping at the surface, and
> dead in 24 to 48 hours. :(
>
> One easy way is put fish into container, out of bag. Take a contianer
> of water equal to what is in the container the fish is in. Add one
> third of that container of water to the container the fish is in, and
> wait 5 minutes. Then add another 1/3 of that container of water to the
> fish container.wait again 5 minutes..........and then add remaining
> water to container with fish........wait 5 minutes.total elapsed time
> is now 15 minutes since start of acclimation.
> Now pouor off 1/2 of
> that fishes container of water, and once again fill up a container
> with the same amount of water as in the fish container and repeat
> process of every 5 minutes times 3...............and after that do it
> one more time. Overall time will be 45 minutes..and fish shuold now be
> able to be netted and placed into the tank.
>
> - - I know almost nothing about SW fish so wont comment on them. If the
> water parameters aren't vastly different (FW) this will defiantly work. :-)
> I always cover the non-translucent container to give them more of a feeling
> of security. And airstone aerates them.
>
> I usually set an IV drip tube and let it drip into container until the
> amount inthe container doubles in about 20 to 30 minutes time, empty
> out half and repeat again, and then do it a third, then net fish and
> place in the appropriate tank.
>
> - - That's a great idea if you can latch onto an IV drip.
>
> You can buy IV drip sets (no needles incuded) for under $6 at medical
> supply places without a perscriiption, or I get them from a nurse
> friend for free.......a suitable like item is easy and cheap to make
> with a piece of the hard ridgid aiir line tube and a length of airline
> tube. Use piece of ridgid tube and place in hot water to allow easy
> kink free forming, and shape into a cane shape so it will hang over
> tanks edge and extend intothe water approx 4 to 6 inches, and also a
> few inches on the outside of the tank. Slip on a length of airline, of
> approx 4 to 6 inches, and install a typical airline valve. The brass
> or metal ones work best but most any will do. Then stick on another
> length of airline that enables you to place a container for
> acclimating in on a nearby stand or table etc, or what ever is
> convienient. Now just start a syphon in the airline and adjust with
> the air valve to get a couple of drips per minute flow. You can also
> tie a single overhand knot in the airline and not use a valve and
> either tighten uip or loosen the knot to adjust flow, but a valve is
> so much easier to adjust. Now you have an acclimation tool that does
> not require any attention for the entire process if a large enough
> container is used to place fish in. I set a timer to remind me I have
> fish acclimating as I have been known to get side tracked.
>
> - - What a geat idea!!!!!!!!! :-) I love it. I tried bending rigid
> tubing one time after heating in hot water but it would kink. It refused to
> make a nice U curve. Darn..... I can't remember what I was bending it for.
>
> Does your LFS check for nitrate intheir water checks? If so I would
> carry a sample in and bump their readings against yours. Sometimes
> those kits even the drop or powder type do go crazy if they get hot or
> near or over shelf life. I simply do not trust strip types.
>
> - - I tested the water coming out of the faucet and it's zero on nitrates.
> --
>
> RM....
> Frugal ponding since 1995.
> rec.ponder since late 1996.
> My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

place end of ridgid airline tube in a pyrex measuring cup of bnoiling
hot water for a minute or two, and pull it out and lay over a form
such as a tall tapered beer glass or a rolling pin etc. It will just
about form itself. A little kink in the bend is not gonna hurt
anything, and it does best if yu do not try to bend it into to sharp a
radius unless yu havea form made to support the sides of the tube to
keep it from kinking. It should easily bend into a 1" radius which
gives approx 2" between each leg which is more than sufficient to
place over any aquariums top edge. I never aereate any fish in the
acclimating container, as they are continually getting an influx of
fresh water. I also keep the area shaded or dimly lit as well. No real
big difference in SW or FW, other than the water they swim in, the
principals are still the same......but SW fish certianly do not like
aeration by way of an airstone, thats why yu never really see
airstones used in SW setups. Corals etc do not tolerate that type of
aeration either, but that is neither here or there with fish and
acclimating them., since 99% of the LFS simply do nothing more than
temp acclimate bty floating the bag until they get around to dumping
them in the tanks......Just as a little bit of info. Shrimp etc are
much harder to acclimate, yet with a drip acclimation as such they do
very well. When a single cleaner shrimp costs $30 you certainly do
not take chances, so drip acclimation works very well. Hmmmmmmmmmm.$30
for a single shrimp.but you can get a ton of shrimp for a [party of 2
at Red Lobster for that amount and have money left! Tell me fish
keepers are not quite wrapped tight! ;-)

[Reel McKoi[_10_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
ups.com...
place end of ridgid airline tube in a pyrex measuring cup of bnoiling
hot water for a minute or two, and pull it out and lay over a form
such as a tall tapered beer glass or a rolling pin etc. It will just
about form itself. A little kink in the bend is not gonna hurt
anything, ........

- - Will try this next time. :-)

and it does best if yu do not try to bend it into to sharp a
radius unless yu havea form made to support the sides of the tube to
keep it from kinking. It should easily bend into a 1" radius which
gives approx 2" between each leg which is more than sufficient to
place over any aquariums top edge. I never aereate any fish in the
acclimating container, as they are continually getting an influx of
fresh water. I also keep the area shaded or dimly lit as well. No real
big difference in SW or FW, other than the water they swim in, the
principals are still the same......but SW fish certianly do not like
aeration by way of an airstone, thats why yu never really see
airstones used in SW setups. Corals etc do not tolerate that type of
aeration either, but that is neither here or there with fish and
acclimating them., since 99% of the LFS simply do nothing more than
temp acclimate bty floating the bag until they get around to dumping
them in the tanks......Just as a little bit of info. Shrimp etc are
much harder to acclimate, yet with a drip acclimation as such they do
very well. When a single cleaner shrimp costs $30 you certainly do
not take chances, so drip acclimation works very well. Hmmmmmmmmmm.$30
for a single shrimp.but you can get a ton of shrimp for a [party of 2
at Red Lobster for that amount and have money left! Tell me fish
keepers are not quite wrapped tight! ;-)

- - You got that right. We're not only loosely wrapped but our elevators
don't reach the top floor, we're two peas short of a casserole, we're not
the sharpest knife in the draw.... $30 for one shrimp? Only if I won a
lottery or some rich relative leaves me in their will. :-D
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Tristie[_2_]]

On Sep 9, 10:21 pm, "Reel McKoi" > wrote:
> The 8 Neon tetras will not eat what I offer them. The platys and gouramies
> and one cory are eating everything. The Neon's just take the food in and
> spit it back out. One cory just hides by a rock.
>
> I've tried 5 different foods and the Neon's wont eat any of them.
> Suggestions anyone?
> --
>
> RM....
> My Pond & Aquarium Pages:http://tinyurl.com/9do58
> Zone 6. Middle TN USA
> ~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

RM........An easy to acquire live food that is often overlooked is
mosquito larvae. Neon Tetrae as well as betta and other fish go nuts
over them. I forgot all about that when I replied to your question
originally. I keep some "strategically" placed shallow containers in
areas that skeeters love and collect them for my fish that I keep
inside. Once they hit an aquarium there is no fear of them growing
into a skeeter. ;-)
I harvest mine by dumping the water into a container but use a brine
shrimp net to catch the larvae. Thehj place water back in the original
container for the next haarvest......The larvae I collect I place in a
container along with all the other harvested batches of the day. I
then rinse well under fresh water while in the net and feed directly
into the tanks......Another good food that is easy to propagate and
grow is daphina......I use an old 2.5 gal aquarium to propagate them
in......swoosh of a brine shrimp net is all it takes to harvest them
for feeding. Its been a few months since I rasied the daph, since most
of my fish are outside on vacation yet....and my other foods are fine
for those inside along with mosquito larvae.

[Reel McKoi[_10_]]

"Tristie" > wrote in message
ups.com...

RM........An easy to acquire live food that is often overlooked is
mosquito larvae. Neon Tetrae as well as betta and other fish go nuts
over them. I forgot all about that when I replied to your question
originally. I keep some "strategically" placed shallow containers in
areas that skeeters love and collect them for my fish that I keep
inside. Once they hit an aquarium there is no fear of them growing
into a skeeter. ;-)

- - Now there's an idea. I can look in all the 30g tubs I grow the pond
plants in tomorrow and see what I can find. They did start eating this
weekend. I tried "thawed" blood worms and brine-shrimp but their mouths are
too small. They didn't have baby brine shrimp. These are young Neon's. I'm
offering a variety of foods and they're eating just about everything now.

I harvest mine by dumping the water into a container but use a brine
shrimp net to catch the larvae. Thehj place water back in the original
container for the next haarvest......The larvae I collect I place in a
container along with all the other harvested batches of the day. I
then rinse well under fresh water while in the net and feed directly
into the tanks......Another good food that is easy to propagate and
grow is daphina......I use an old 2.5 gal aquarium to propagate them
in......swoosh of a brine shrimp net is all it takes to harvest them
for feeding.

- - Where did you find the daphnia to start your tanks? It doesn't seem to
occur naturally here. I only found some one time. It came in with some
plants from the river I think. I haven't seen any since.

Its been a few months since I rasied the daph, since most
of my fish are outside on vacation yet....and my other foods are fine
for those inside along with mosquito larvae.

- - I'm gonna see what I can find in those tubs tomorrow. The drought here
has lasted so long that natural ponds and streams have dried up. You can
sit outside and have a few cups of coffee and not one mosquito will show up,
and very few moths or other bugs and insects will appear. I don't know if
it was those last abnormal killing frosts or the dry dead vegetation but we
have a bug and insect shortage this year. We've also noticed there are a
lot less frogs around the ponds and tanks.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>