29 Gallon Freshwater Community
This tank was set up in early March 2012News & Updates
05/16/2012 - Camallanus Problem!Two days ago I noticed a the Bolivian Rams anal region swollen and red. The day after I saw this very thin red stringy looking thing. He hasn't been acting well so I decided to check out what it was.
I put salt in the tank so to help anything that this could be right away. When I went to the Tropical Fish Keeping Forum Disease Guide I diagnosed the disease as Camallanus.
Before treating it I found the parasite on the Molly and the majority of the tetras. The Kribensis and the cories seem fine but they have always been the healthiest most fed fish in the tank. On the tetras it is really hard to tell but you can see that the ones who have a further stage of it have a smaller body than the other ones.
I puchased the Jungle Anti Parasite Medicated Food for the tank which has Lavamisole that will help against the Camallanus. Burt did not eat at all so I will try feeding him later to see what goes on.
I did a small water change of about 20% and re-arranged some plants. Hopefully with the water change, the medication and everything else the tanks will be fine.
For up to date news on this event just go to the Tropical Fish Keeping Forum Thread I started
On the good side of things! I entered my first Aquarium Competition for Aquascaping online at Tropical Fish Forums (Not Tropical Fish Keeping). Lets see how many votes I get! 05/11/2012 - New Plants!Yesterday I got a shipment of Riccia, Dwarf Sag, Round Pellia and Vallis. Today I got a shipment of Crypts, Vallis, Subwassertang and Pennywort. I put the crypts, most of the subwassertang, pennywort, dwarf sag and riccia in the 29. I put the rest in the 20 gallon for now.
I love the new look and can't wait to see everything grow. I will most likely be doubling my flourish dose to compensate for the additional plants but I don't want to change anything just yet.
The riccia has no roots so it is very hard to put in the tank. I had to use the gravel and anything around it just to keep it down so the corys wont tare it to bits. I had to put a rock in the middle so it didn't poof. I am going to keep an eye on it for the next few weeks to make sure it is alright.
We are also going home for the weekend so I am goign to get new timers for the new main lights in the bigger tanks. This will assure these plants thrive because if they dont it will just fall apart and make the tank dirt. I think the both of us are happy with the new layout and it is really gonna settle in when the plants grow. I am going to leave Zuchini in all the tanks for the algae eaters and some of the fish eat it too. In the betta tank I will be leaving a small feeder that I cut up and same in the 29 because of Burt the Bolivian Ram. I want to make sure he is well fed, even though we are leave Friday and coming back Sunday night.
05/03/2012 - Settling Down ContinuedI did a water change yesterday on all of the tanks. I especially replanted the 29 gallon so that it would be more spacious and hopefully settle some things down. With the only exception being that the Female Kribensis is extra purple and probably in heat (so extra aggresive), everything has really settled. Burt especially has taken a turn for the best and has regained the majority of his orange and black. I have caught him chasing the cories away from his food when I was feeding.
I have begun feeding in two stages; one main feeding stage for the neons and the molly and then while I do that I am soaking food for the cichlids. Once the molly and neons have settled and eaten I drop in the soaked food to fall to the bottom for the cichlids. Them and the corries seem to appreciate this. Tomorrow I will be getting Zuchini for the fish.
I will also be getting more plants soon to add to the floating cover and the foreground.
Sadly the smaller Albino Bristlenose died, I think due to being attacked by another fish I found him bloody.
04/30/2012 - Fussy Little GuyHe is still swimming up against the glass. Stop and relaxes for a while. I took a video of this behavior (see video to the right) with the lights low and full. His behavior has not really changed and I hope he calms down soon.
04/29/2012 - Settling DownBurt the Bolivian Ram settled down today after he ate, he was a lot calmer and no one else in the tank seemed to be having any issues. I tested the water again and everything was normal. I have been keeping the overhead 23k Watt 6500k CFL bulb off during this stresful time, the neons seem to be appreciating it.
04/28/2012 - Ammonia and Nitrite SpikeDue to replanting and overfeeding, the 29 gallon had an ammonia and nitrite spike. Thanks to the Bolivian Rams sensitivity I was able to catch the problem. The test read over 1ppm of ammonia and over .5ppm of Nitrite. I did a 50% change with a double dose of Seachem Prime. I tested afterwards with the API Master Test Kit to get the results of 0ppm of Nitrite and Ammonia.