Em Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 I've had a real dilemma lately, I decided to try keeping something other than bettas and here's what has happened so far... I bought myself some Moss Barbs from the 'new' aquarium, all but two died within a week of having them dispite water changes and feeding... I think they just attacked one another till death. All are now well and truly dead (buried in my fish graveyard). After disinfecting and re-cycling that tank I got some Platy's and was told "they're tough as nails"... two died within two days despite appearing healthy and happy when I got them and the last within a week. Annoyed I flushed the dead ones down the loo. Oh and my solo neon died sometime in there. Next I decided on some guppies, always wanted to try them. Went to a different place. I bought a trio... one male and two females and then a week or so later decided to get some more females, so I bought 3 more from the same tank as the other females were from (better chances of babies, right?)... This was around the end of August... I now have the original male and one of the original females. The only think that hasn't up and died on me is my two $2 redclaw yabbies and my oscar and pet eel (all different tanks BTW) I now have 1 empty 15L tank and a 23L with two guppies in it. I keep the pH as close to 7 as I can and everything else is okay. Is there ANYTHING aparts from those decorative glass fish that have those floating bubbles that I can keep that won't up and die on me? ANY suggestions welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Sorry your having troubles with fish. Abbey might be able to shed light on diseases going around Sydney lately. Firstly, I personaly wouldn't touch the pH. Those fish will do fine in your tap water. It may very well be pH shock that is killing them as if your water isn't buffering so well the pH will go up and down easily. Not so good. Even if it isn't a biggish difference the combination of stress from being shipped and housed at the store will lessen their immunity. QT is the only way to go when buying new fish, put them in a seperate tank and feed the up on high quality foods so they regain their health. I have had many guppies come through this year that haven't made it out of QT as I have wormed them and they died after being infested badly Another thought, what filtration are you using? The yabbies and eel live on the bottom of the tank and have survived, possibly not being affected by powerful filtration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 The pH is naturally between 7.2 and about 7.6 and I for the bettas I use the IAL extract for them and nothing else. I didn't really think that QT would be necessary as the platies were all from the same tank, it's the same with the barbs and guppies. The yabbies currently don't have a filter, I do fortnightly water changes and the eel tank (my 3 foot tank) has a small corner filter and also a sponge filter. Although the eel spends most of his time living under the gravel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Didn't realise they were in different tanks. So you either are buying diseased fish or altering the pH is too much stress on them. When you said you didn't feel the need to QT them, is this because you bought them from the SAME tank on the SAME day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Yeah I have the 23L tank (in the 'Empty Tank' thread), two 15x7.5x7.5inch (15L-ish) tanks, one 24x12x18 - (80L-ish) tank that my baby oscar is in. Elva (my eel) lives happily in his 3 footer (half filled cause he's an escape artist). And yes, all the fish were bought at the same tank on the same day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 OMG, you have an eel that escapes??? No one told me eels escape!! OMG!! EWWWWWWWWWW!! Any chance of them chasing you if they get on the floor? hmm, so it was either disease (it can happen) or pH fluctuations. We have some bad trots with fish, just hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Well he only escaped once, when I first got him... back in March '02. I had him in a full 18 inch tank and he got out and was halfway across the dining room floor covered in cat fluff and hair, stripped it off him and since then he's always had a half full tank. Even if he is still under a foot long... he gets hand fed meal worms and blocks of brine shrimp and blood worms. I'm tempted to call the eel farmers I found out about online and see what they feed their eels. I'm tempted by Killifish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 oh no - Jess, calm down!! Easy! eaaasy! the eewww can't get you from there! ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Paradise Fish are kind of unkillable. I have had one living in my pond for about 3 years now. I have brought him inside for a while but he is going back out soon ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 I killed one. Died real good too. are the tanks cycled and stable? what substrate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickiPS Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Well, my longest-surviving fishies are three albino cories that I've had for almost two years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammc Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 peppered cories or convicts maybe? They are both pretty tough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 The guppies 'hilton' is cycled at the moment and so are the two bigger tanks. With the empty 15L one I'm going to empty it completely (it has no subtrate and just some elodea floating in it), give it a good soak for a few days in a bleach solution, a really good scrub and then stick it outside in the sun... as for the weeds I was thinking of sticking it in a bucket of "PP"; condy's crystals (my mother has some for her orchids) to kill any nasties that might be in there. I hate having empty tanks ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 What about something wild-caught? I'm just thinking your pet shop might be the cause of some of the issues and maybe finding some fun stuff in a local creek or something might give you hardy fish and a full tank ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckster Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Em, A bit boring but what about White Mountain Cloud Minnows or BN's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Cattatya, I like your idea for just going to the local river.. sadly most of the rivers around here are either salt water and those that are fresh are on private land or have nothing in them (well not that I've seen)... maybe that would be a good idea for the eel tank, make him feel more at home with little fish he can snack on swimming around above him ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 White clouds are spectacular!! boring they are not! I have a school of 15 in my 4ft!! When you see them in th shop you are not seeing all there colours, males flaring at eachother is such an amazing sight! Pop some peat or IAL or driftwood - anything that will release tannins and watch these fishes colours come alive! They'll breed for you if you seperate the females from the males for a few weeks. Pop them in a tank with lots of plants and after a week remove all fish and wait for the eggs to hatch. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckster Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Thanks for the recommendation Faewyn. I'm thinking of putting about 6 in with my Guppies. White clouds are spectacular!! boring they are not! I have a school of 15 in my 4ft!! When you see them in th shop you are not seeing all there colours, males flaring at eachother is such an amazing sight! Pop some peat or IAL or driftwood - anything that will release tannins and watch these fishes colours come alive! They'll breed for you if you seperate the females from the males for a few weeks. Pop them in a tank with lots of plants and after a week remove all fish and wait for the eggs to hatch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren MacFish Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Shubinkins. They are closer to the carp than any other goldfish type and they're pretty and nobody can kill a carp. Problem is they grow pretty fast so you can't have too many in a tank... but you can put them out in a pond later. If we got mowed down by nuclear fall out, cockroaches and carp would still be here a week later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 last years summer heat killed my white cloud tank... great fish, but they don't like the higher temps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickiPS Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Picking up on the wild-caught idea, what about rainbowfish and/or gudgeons? Maybe not catch your own, but Aussie natives should be readily available at your LFS. Empire gudgeons are really interesting and quite handsome. My black-banded rainbowfish (Melanotaenia nigrans) are tough as old boots, and I've had them for about 20 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I like the golden lonfin White clouds. They are pretty expensive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 last years summer heat killed my white cloud tank... great fish, but they don't like the higher temps Mine survived 35C in summer, so who knows? I find that livebearers kark it with me, unless I raise them from fry. Maybe you'd like to get one fat female livebearer and raise the fry, to get your tank full? I've heard people say that bristlenoses aren't hardy, but the foundation pair cycled my tank, and one of their children surived ammonia of 6.5ppm (as high as my test could read) during one accident. They might be an option. Harlequin rasboras have died on me once when I triggered a mini-cycle, but seem to be unstoppable otherwise. Black widow tetras have also faired well for me. Hope that gives you some ideas. ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 mine survived ok at 36C but when the temps climbed from there they really didn't like it too much. WA gets nasty hot in summer how about platys? I've always found them to be fairly hardy, and they are the rabbits of the fish world so maintaining a population is no problem :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 how about platys? I've always found them to be fairly hardy, and they are the rabbits of the fish world so maintaining a population is no problem Tried them, they all died within about 3 days... I swear that all the shops around here must stick something in their bags or something. Maybe I need a trip to Sydney or something like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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