yarimochi Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 pics of silver dollars? heres one, its not very good. They are happily schooling out in the open water but as soon as the camera comes close they all dash into the corner wheres its really hard to get a good photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Very nice pics Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 I looked into my tank today and found two problems: 1. Slightly cloudy water 2. Silver dollars with tattered fins Yesterday the water was crystal clear, you could look from one side lengthways to the other and it was perfectly clear. Today it has a slight cloudiness to it and I was wondering if this is something to do with the nitrogen cycle? Ive tried everything to put as much established bacteria from my previous tank into this tank and Im hoping this is not going to be permanent. I have never had cloudiness problems before and I was wondering if anyone can give me any insights.... The silverdollars have some tattered fins today which is a bit of a worry and some have some marks on their bodies which would indicate injury. I suspect my bichirs as they are always having a go at anything that moves but Im hoping they arent going to kill any of them. I also have a pantadon butterfly fish which could also be a suspect. I have added a small (my last) amount of melafix to the tank. Are these fins going to grow back? Can these silver dollars evade attack long enough to grow big? And one last question, are the bichirs going to hassle my asian arowana?? I pray they wont... Ive seen bichir/asian aro combinations done HEAPS of times before so im hoping theyre going to be allright... Can anyone give me any insights into my problems?? Thanks very much Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 could bichirs. but silver dollras swim fast. bichirs can be active at night i noticed, silver dollars sleep then, and usualy resting at the bottom of the tank. could be that. i think they willb e ok int ime, cloudy water, new tanks, i get this too. it should clear, dont put the asian aro in there untill everyting is stable completely i guess, expensive fish! could be nitrogen cycle, maybe some bacteria died and clouded water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 have you tested your water chemistry, ie: levels of ammonia etc? gonna pay that much for a fish you should have the water as best you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 on the silver dollar topic mine have 2 black spots on them any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 on the silver dollar topic mine have 2 black spots on them any ideas? maybe, but on your own thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 wow calm down.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 I'd say the bichirs had a go at them, they are quite active hunters at night, don't under-estimate what they can fit in their mouths, because they certainly don't! I've seen scrapes on several of my larger fish that my big ornate would have no chance of swallowing. I'd say the cloudiness is a small cycle, how much 'old' water did you use? Was the filter established or new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 i have 2 bichirs ,a sen and ornate i also had a small dat in with them ,Dat vanished over night 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 yeah, to my knowledge, bichirs are random, my one was tame as, but i know of some that rip fish to shreds, in fact, everyone says they are aggressive and only with large aggressive fish. fish sleep by floating and sometimes drifting around the bottom, this is the bichirs home territory. in this case, it could be that. possibility that wiht amonia and stuff spiking - PH BURN? dont know possibility but not sure if its the case, i say the attacking is more likely. cycle the tank? old water in filter will do it. time will take care of it. i always get that when tanks are moved and most of the water id disposed. i notice that my water gets lightly cloudy , white cloudiness when i do more than 30% water change. so i try not to for the bichirs, maybe you just have to go darwinian. leave the s dollars n there, if they survive and get bigger, then thy are strong, if not, then its not meant to be:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 I love your tank. Looks good so far. You will have to keep us updated. Deffinatly moniter your water quality. Even Big fish can be harmed from the cycling prosses. Any way you can borrow some used filter media from some on ? and stick that in your filter for awhile. We have had good results by doing this. if you want you can have some of mine if you want to come visit. Also dont write off plants totaly. You never know you might find some that the dollers dont like the tast. Just make sure they are well planted otherwise the fish will just rip them up. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I tested my water today and was rather suprised: pH- 7.4 Ammonia- between 0.25 and 0.5(ppm i think??) Nitrate- between 5 and 10 (ppm i think??) Nitrite- 0 I think its fair to say a very expensive fish will not be going in my tank until everything is perfect which it is not at the moment. I find these results very frustrating. I put ALL of my gravel and ALL of my water from my old 100L tank into this tank. The gravel was nice and dirty which gave the filter a big boost so i would have assumed the bacteria would have already started to deal with the nitrates/nitrites but i guess not. I have 2 nitrazorb things in my fx5 and 2 center buckets are filled with bio media. I cant figure out why i still have had a big spike when i have gone through all of this.... How do I get all these parameters perfect for my asian aro?? Needless to say everything HAS to be perfect before he goes in. I dont have any of my old filter media anymore which is a bummer. Will the spike sort itself out in time?? Before wednesday when i plan to pick up my arowana? I am extremely annoyed with my bichirs right now because after all of the money and effort i spent on them, i might have to sell them becuase of their fin nipping habits.... There is no way to remedy this is there? grrr. I am trying to find a clown knife of suitable size atm. clowns dont nip fins do they? what about borneo tigers? Fire eels? hmmm what to do, what to do.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 yeah, to my knowledge, bichirs are random, my one was tame as, and they are still like that henward none of them bother the aros Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I put ALL of my gravel and ALL of my water from my old 100L tank into this tank. The gravel was nice and dirty which gave the filter a big boost so i would have assumed the bacteria would have already started to deal with the nitrates/nitrites but i guess not. I cant figure out why i still have had a big spike when i have gone through all of this.... How do I get all these parameters perfect for my asian aro?? The stuff from the 100L tank is a drop in the bucket when going to a tank this size. You would have been better to run the FX5 on the already established tank for a few weeks to get it established before setting up the new tank. The water and gravel from the 100L will have kick-started the cycle, but it will still take a little while fore the media in the FX5 to be colonised by the bacteria. As for the bichirs, I wouldn't call them fin-nippers, just sometimes their eyes are bigger than their stomachs/mouths, once the silver dollars get a bit bigger they should be ok. Keep them, that tank will look great with a couple of big fat ornates on the bottom and an asian aro circling above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hey everyone, Ive just lost a poor little silver dollar to the cycling process. This death has me kind of stumped becuase the parameters are all below anything of even the slightest concern. He was breathing faster than the others so I would have to assume pH burn to his gills or something. I had another silver dollar who had eaten something he wasnt meant to and his belly swelled up until he could no longer swim (at the surface) he is slowly coming right and Im glad I didnt euthanise. Yesterday I added a product called TLC from pupuke aquarium centre. Ive never heard or used it before but the guy there told me it would boost my cycling process. What is everyones opinion of the product?? Today my water is slightly cloudy which I assume is from the bacteria in TLC. Bichirs tails are perfectly intact since moving in into a big tank. Ill moniter my tank for a few more days until Im sure my aro will be safe. Thanks Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naz_Nomad Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Isn't TLC just another version of Cycle and other bacteria-adding products? If so it can't be bad, and Brent doesn't often recommend junk. It'll help speed up the cycling process to bring your filter up to scratch. It may cause cloudiness for a short while as the bacteria blooms and may make the tank smell a little for a few days, but don't worry. Good news is you can't overdose on those bacteria-related products unless they have added chemical extras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 How often are you doing your waterchanges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 At least once a week. Tomorrow is blue jack dempsey purchasing day! Yay! Just one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 it happens just make sure it doesnt happen to a 2grand fish! that would suck the bum bum! though a baby silver dollar is less resilient than a huge aro. still, the risk is not worth the consequence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Yes that is definitely true. I have decided to give it another 2 weeks approximately just to make sure there are no more spikes in ammonia or whatever to come in the furture. Sorry for the further delay but if you guys want to see him he'll always be at hff albany! Went out and bought my blue jack demspey today and he is such an incredibly beautiful fish. Photos later today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 how big is new blue dempsey ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hes about 12cm or so. Photos tomorrow as photobucket is currently undergoing maintenance and imageshack is retarded. Sorry 'bout that. Hopefully he eats well tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Here are some photos of the new guy, he is so cute. If anyone ever wants a solution to silly silver dollars that hide in the corner and are scared all day I strongly suggest you get one of these guys. He harrasses the silver dollars out of their corner until they are all swimming around happily. He never bites or stresses them out, he just wants to play ALL the time. Sorry about the slight fuzzyness of the photos, its really hard to capture him swimming still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 WOW STUNNING FISH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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