Hi it's me again, the infrequent blogger!. So what happened since I last did an update? Well, I've added more fishes and lost some too. New babies have been born and so far so good so I won't bother talking about them except they are growing rather well!

 So what about the dead? Well, I bought a batch of six fishes from one of my local fish centres:

• 2 x Moonlight Gourami
• 2 x Pink Kissing Gourami
• 2 x Dwarf Gourami.

Sadly, three of them died. One Kissing Gourami and both the Dwarfs. All in the space of a week from bringing them home. It was puzzling at first because I had taken care to make sure that the tank had been cleaned (as I do every week) and the filter was fine, but what I didn't do was to use any form of stress enzymes type fluids. I never found the need to, so this could arguably not be the defining factor in their deaths. Also, one does not know the age of these fishes or their health when buying from a commercial store. Although, I may hasten to add, the shop is a rather good one and I have nothing but positive things to say about them and their service. So, all in all, I don't know what happened there but I'll put it down to a 'it happens' experience and there are three additions to the tank and they are happy.

Just before I had this mass devastation (about a month & a half before), I got a Silver Shark! A shark? Yes, I mean no! It's called a shark because it looks like a shark but that's as close as it gets to it vastly bigger carnivorous film star. In fact its not even closely related. Like non-alcoholic beer! These fishes are rather gentle and settled in the tank effortlessly. They get big somewhere in the region of 35cm (14 inches). Well, I reckon I got a few years yet before I start thinking of getting a bigger tank or passing it onto someone who can take care of it! I'm monitoring it daily and will decide what to do well before it gets anywhere near that size. In the main time it just looks wicked in the tank.

The tank itself has been operating fine since I got it up and running in January 2011, and only had one issue around April when I had a few fishes die. They appeared to have a cotton coloured fungus growth. Research led me to believe it was a fungal infection. As I don't have a quarantine setup, I treated the whole tank population with a herbal anti-fungal remedy called Pimafix. I followed the instructions and treated the tank for a week. Sorted!

Flash forward to present day... I've been looking at the tank and wanted to get more plants in the tank, change it around, add more plants and ornaments. Off down to the other local pet store and they are having a clear-out, so ornaments are cheap, I didn't know this till I got there though. The problem was that not everything was priced up properly. So another visit is in order before the prices go up again. So, here's a picture of what the tanks looks like now and I'm quite pleased with it, although it needs a few more bits now I can see where I'm heading with it!

All the plants in the tank are artificial, as they are easier to keep and the fishes wont much them, especially the Plecs.

Duke wondering what happened to his digs

The next addition to the tank are going to be a pair of Clown Loaches. So I want to get the tank looking real good before adding these colourful looking critters to the community!

Back in a flash...

Ok, its been a few months now since I've written anything... Well, rest assured life has been happening (as usual) and the fishes are doing fine. There's more of them and they all live in a yellow submarine! Well ok, well spotted... the submarine is not of the luminance as portrayed by the Beetle, but I've housed them all in a 4ft tank, which was languishing in my brothers back yard!

Its been up and running since January and the tanks been going well. There's been infection & death and finally there's... birth!

Just after set up!

So far, there appears to be a bunch of Molly fry and one Swordtail, totalling about seven. Can't really tell the true figure as you can never see them all at the same time. What was really amazing was that there is no male Swordtails in the tank, only three females. It turns out (after contacting my bro who I got them off and reading some articles), that the females can store up sperm from the males and produce subsequent broods, apparently up to three times. I didn't even make any special arrangements to separate them from the adults. Kind of leaning towards the survival of the fittest in an artificial environment.

 The first picture: a molly fry in the foreground, and the second shows a Swordtail fry (taken with iPhone)

As to the original tank... I'm considering a cold water set-up with Black Moors or something like that. I've also changed where I was buying my fishes. I get them from Waterworld in Enfield now. The last time I got fishes from Pets At Home, there was a bit of infection in my tank and then they had a shut down of their system as they had major infestation. I still buy accessories and bits from Pets At Home as they are a bit cheaper.

 

Anyway, I could go on but I'll just post up some pictures and video as I have tons of them... Watch this space! 

The Western Front...

Checked tank this morning and found the filter rather clogged (already???). I mean really clogged! I only noticed cause the surface water wasn't moving as fast, no turbulance. Immediately removed filter and cleaned sponge and casing. Upon further inspection of tank, I noticed translucent bits clinging to the plants which I will clean later this evening when I get back. I suppose being a small tank an all, holding four guppies is kind of stretching it. looks like I'll have to be doing regular maintenance every few days. Looks like an air bubbler is urgently needed to keep the water oxygenated and fresh that bit more... 

On the plus side, the boys seem to be doing well, swimming around quite happy and eating well - no overfeeding mind! Really can't wait to get the big tank in operation and give the boys a bigger playground, then start looking for some mates for them. During my research, I found an article suggesting getting other types of fishes in the tank as soon as possible before the original residents get set in their ways.

Ops

Due to technical issues with the Blogger app on iPhone, I seem to have lost my first post... Grrr! I cant be bothered with all that again so I'll just post the pics again with a few captions.

Aquarium MK-1

Fig.1 Tank setup - No lid yet and a handheld LED lamp in the background

Fig.2 Eeny, Meeny, Miny & Sue (as in a boy named...)

Aquarium MK-1.1

I bought some bits from a local pet store - Petsathome, consisting of : 

• 1 x Micro LED Hub
• 1 x Micro LED light (Blue)
• 1 x sitting Buddha
• 1 x Red Diamond plant decoration
• 1 x Edge Digital Thermometer

The total for the upgrades: £27.95

Fig.3 The tank with upgrades

The aquarium looks a lot better now with the upgrades included. Also replaced some of the water as it was looking a bit foggy (Fig.3). Notice the cover, its from a recently demolished Celebrations box. It's plastic, the right size and with a notch cut out for all the cabling (heater, filter and light)... Simples!!

Fig.4 Sue seeking enlightenment

You can just about see one of the Japanese Blue on the left hand side of Buddha. All pictures were taken with the standard iPhone 3GS camera (pants).

As the Micro Hub can take up to three lights, I think I'll get a white light LED for a bit of contrast. Can't wait for the my 4ft tank to come, cause this is is an experiment to see how I get on. 

I can see clearly now...

Water is very clear this morning. Fishes look very happy and since placing a cover on the tank, the temperature seems to have dropped from 30ºC to a steady 28ºC. So long as they are happy... So am I! ;D

One happy Japanese Blue Guppy

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone