Showing posts with label 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank. Show all posts
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
55 Gallon History March 2011 to Present
3.12.2011
Added 6 yellow labs 3-4in, one holding
3.19.2011
Gave away Lemon, Ducky, and small lab
6.11.2011
Added 2 bristlenose pleco
10.16.2011
Changed UV sterilizer bulb
Added 6 yellow labs 3-4in, one holding
3.19.2011
Gave away Lemon, Ducky, and small lab
6.11.2011
Added 2 bristlenose pleco
10.16.2011
Changed UV sterilizer bulb
Holding Another Mother's Fry
Perhaps my favorite episode yet in fishkeeping came from a really sad one.
On 2.12.2011 we moved a holding demasoni female into our 20Long holding tank so that she could spit out her fry without having them eating in the 55 gallon tank. We also moved a holding yellow lab to the same tank with the same rationale.
The demasoni had been suffering a lot of losses in getting settled, primarily dying from bloat. The day after we moved her to the 20Long, the holding demasoni female also died. When I found her I tried to pry her mouth open, but no babies came out. It was a sad day.
A little over a week later on 2.20.2011, I was folding laundry near the quarantine tank and noticed the holding yellow lab was letting a couple of fry out of her mouth just for short periods. If I approached, she picked them back up. But at one point, I noticed that the fry she had let out looked dark in color. We had lab fry before and they definitely came out pale in color.
With a little patience, I was able to spy the next time that fry came out of her mouth -- and it was clearly a demasoni! The dying female must have spit out her fry, and the yellow lab picked them up to keep them safe.
The yellow lab ultimately spit out about 18 lab fry and 6 demasoni fry. The demasoni fry were raised in the quarantine tank and added to the 55 gallon demasoni colony on 6.5.2011.
I love how life finds a way.
On 2.12.2011 we moved a holding demasoni female into our 20Long holding tank so that she could spit out her fry without having them eating in the 55 gallon tank. We also moved a holding yellow lab to the same tank with the same rationale.
The demasoni had been suffering a lot of losses in getting settled, primarily dying from bloat. The day after we moved her to the 20Long, the holding demasoni female also died. When I found her I tried to pry her mouth open, but no babies came out. It was a sad day.
A little over a week later on 2.20.2011, I was folding laundry near the quarantine tank and noticed the holding yellow lab was letting a couple of fry out of her mouth just for short periods. If I approached, she picked them back up. But at one point, I noticed that the fry she had let out looked dark in color. We had lab fry before and they definitely came out pale in color.
With a little patience, I was able to spy the next time that fry came out of her mouth -- and it was clearly a demasoni! The dying female must have spit out her fry, and the yellow lab picked them up to keep them safe.
The yellow lab ultimately spit out about 18 lab fry and 6 demasoni fry. The demasoni fry were raised in the quarantine tank and added to the 55 gallon demasoni colony on 6.5.2011.
I love how life finds a way.
Adding and Establishing Demasoni
I'm working back through the log today, with a really happy, successful, beautiful, and constantly breeding colony of 18 of my dream fish. But it certainly took a lot of losses to get there.
We really strongly believe that the losses we had with our demasoni were due to bloat. I'm sure there was stress involved, whether from traveling, aggression, or a combination of factors; however, none of the losses we experienced were a directresult of aggression. The dead fish didn't have nipped fins or missing scaled that suggested they'd been beaten up. When we finally caught and isolated an ailing fish, we were able to really clearly observe all the textbook bloat systems.
From that time on, we dosed with Metro, and that prevented bloat from spreading to any additional demasoni. We had a couple more isolated losses quickly, presumably fish who were already deep into the stages.
We had the demasoni in the tank with yellow labs, and I was scared that if it was bloat, it would spread to them. However, the labs never showed any sign of infection and 100% survived.
After we stopped losing fish, we topped back up our numbers, and the colony has thrived wonderfully ever since.
We see many posts in the fish world from people in the early loss stages of trying to keep demasoni. We always pass on the advice on how much metro helped us. Whether it's the expense of medicating or a philosophical orientation against using various chemicals/compounds in fishkeeping, I don't know, but no one seems to believe us that using Met instantly turned our losses around. I know for my part, I wish I had known in time to save more fish.
Details after the jump.
We really strongly believe that the losses we had with our demasoni were due to bloat. I'm sure there was stress involved, whether from traveling, aggression, or a combination of factors; however, none of the losses we experienced were a directresult of aggression. The dead fish didn't have nipped fins or missing scaled that suggested they'd been beaten up. When we finally caught and isolated an ailing fish, we were able to really clearly observe all the textbook bloat systems.
From that time on, we dosed with Metro, and that prevented bloat from spreading to any additional demasoni. We had a couple more isolated losses quickly, presumably fish who were already deep into the stages.
We had the demasoni in the tank with yellow labs, and I was scared that if it was bloat, it would spread to them. However, the labs never showed any sign of infection and 100% survived.
After we stopped losing fish, we topped back up our numbers, and the colony has thrived wonderfully ever since.
We see many posts in the fish world from people in the early loss stages of trying to keep demasoni. We always pass on the advice on how much metro helped us. Whether it's the expense of medicating or a philosophical orientation against using various chemicals/compounds in fishkeeping, I don't know, but no one seems to believe us that using Met instantly turned our losses around. I know for my part, I wish I had known in time to save more fish.
Details after the jump.
55 Gallon History July - December 2010
7.26.2010
Lemon Pi first holding
8.10.2010
Bee spit fry, identified 3 free swimming fry in tank
8.12.2010
Moved Daffy to quarantine due to wasting/skinny problem
9.19.2010
3 new labs to quarantine
10.23.2010
Added 3 labs to main tank
10.29.2010
Moved peacock to 75 gallon tank
Added 3 nerite snails
12.29.2010
Moved Fins, Zebra, Valencia to 75 gallon tank
Lemon Pi first holding
8.10.2010
Bee spit fry, identified 3 free swimming fry in tank
8.12.2010
Moved Daffy to quarantine due to wasting/skinny problem
9.19.2010
3 new labs to quarantine
10.23.2010
Added 3 labs to main tank
10.29.2010
Moved peacock to 75 gallon tank
Added 3 nerite snails
12.29.2010
Moved Fins, Zebra, Valencia to 75 gallon tank
36 Bow Mbuna Cycle and History
Posting this part of our paper journal almost two years later, we have learned a lot of lessons. This is by no means how I would recommend setting a tank up; actually reading it at this point makes me feel terrible. Still, saving our first days of fishkeeping for posterity.
4.29.2010
pH = 8.2
4.30.2010
7 am: pH = 8.0-8.2
3 pm: pH = 8.2
6 pm: pH = 8.2
5.1.2010
Added 1 Red Zebra 2.5in ("Valencia")
Added 1 Red Top Zebra 2.5in ("Fins") -- labeled as Red Fin Borleyi
Added 1 Yellow Lab 2.5in ("Lemon")
More after the jump...
4.29.2010
pH = 8.2
4.30.2010
7 am: pH = 8.0-8.2
3 pm: pH = 8.2
6 pm: pH = 8.2
5.1.2010
Added 1 Red Zebra 2.5in ("Valencia")
Added 1 Red Top Zebra 2.5in ("Fins") -- labeled as Red Fin Borleyi
Added 1 Yellow Lab 2.5in ("Lemon")
More after the jump...
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