Bethinla
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi
I'm very new at all this. I'm fishie sitting for a a friend, whose currently serving in Iraq. Aprox. 4 mths before becoming active, he acquired a round coffee table aquarium (20-gal. I think) was housing 3 goldfish (2 Ryukin, 1 Crown red/white) 1 betta, and 3 three very small African dwarf aquatic frogs. I've had them now since the middle of April. He’s using a very fine sand for substrate, an underwater fluval Plus 3, that sits on the bottom of the tank, and a round green air stone attached to a Tetra tec AP 100. When he first brought it over, he put the water from home back in the tank when he set it up here. The water had a yellow tint to it. I did some research and found out the chemistry was all wrong, the PH was very very low, the NH was high and there was a little amonia in the tank. I finally got everything normal by doing a 20/25 % water change every other day. I have been continuing with a 20%water change once a week. And everything seemed fine for awhile, then 2 weeks ago a long gel like string, half of it was clear and half of it brownish orange in color appeared in the tank. The next day a froggie died, and I noticed after hovering over the tank for an hour, the Crown red/white appeared to have some scales missing along the dorsal fin. The LFS (petco), thinking it was intestinal blockage, suggested I change the froggies diet from sinking pellets, to frozen blood worms, and treat the tank with Melafix, so I did.
Then Friday I had to quarantine 1 of the Ryukins who appeared to have Dropsey. He/she was completely swollen with its scales sticking out, blood vessels showing along the sides, there was a small cottony white growth on his/her side, his breathing was labored, and he just sat at the bottom of the tank. I put him in a goldfish bowl, (all I had) with a little filter, treated him with Epsom salt and Maracyn-two, and had the water at 80. (goldfishvet.com recommendation, the pet store was unhelpful, Quote- “Gosh I don’t know anything about dropsey, The guy who works aquatics comes back from vacation Wednesday, you could come back then and talk to him about it.”) But I lost him last night anyway.
If dropsey is a symptom of the cause, how do I know what caused the dropsey? Do I treat the whole tank with the Maracyn or anything else, in case the other guys caught it, or to prevent them from getting a secondary infection from it? Is it safe for the froggies and the betta? Should I take the froggies out, then treat the tank? It’s hard to tell if the other guys are getting dropsey because their abdomens are naturally fat. Should I take them out and inspect them? I read your not suppose to net them, so how do ya get them out?
I hate this tank because it’s very difficult to examine the fish for other signs of secondary infection, or parasites. The only view I really have is from above, and if I lay on the ground and wait for them to pass by, but they usually don’t stay in one spot long enough. I may be just a little emotional from having my first fish die in saying this. But I really feel the guy who designed these things and decided it was an AQUARIUM should be hung from a tree upside down and flogged for the rest of his life. To me it just seems like fishie abuse. Maintaining the tank is five times the chore, there’s no good spot for a filter, the filter an aeration cause condensation on the glass top, obscuring the view from above, its almost very difficult to examine the fishies in the tank. It just sucks! Without serious modifications, I don’t see how one could keep aquatic life alive in this death trap. I guess I’m stuck with it til Bushie decides to give the UN more control in Iraq, so our boys can be relieved.
I’m worried that I’m over feeding, I usually have to put a lot of blood worms so the froggies and betta, have a chance to get some, before the goldfish swallow them all up. They eat up their flakes and everyone else’s food like it’s their last meal. Because of the heavy glass top, spot feeding is impossible. Any suggestions on this also would be a help!!
The last thing I want to happen is for him to come back (hopefully) from a War, and have to tell him all his pets died. So any help would be so very appreicated!!
I'm very new at all this. I'm fishie sitting for a a friend, whose currently serving in Iraq. Aprox. 4 mths before becoming active, he acquired a round coffee table aquarium (20-gal. I think) was housing 3 goldfish (2 Ryukin, 1 Crown red/white) 1 betta, and 3 three very small African dwarf aquatic frogs. I've had them now since the middle of April. He’s using a very fine sand for substrate, an underwater fluval Plus 3, that sits on the bottom of the tank, and a round green air stone attached to a Tetra tec AP 100. When he first brought it over, he put the water from home back in the tank when he set it up here. The water had a yellow tint to it. I did some research and found out the chemistry was all wrong, the PH was very very low, the NH was high and there was a little amonia in the tank. I finally got everything normal by doing a 20/25 % water change every other day. I have been continuing with a 20%water change once a week. And everything seemed fine for awhile, then 2 weeks ago a long gel like string, half of it was clear and half of it brownish orange in color appeared in the tank. The next day a froggie died, and I noticed after hovering over the tank for an hour, the Crown red/white appeared to have some scales missing along the dorsal fin. The LFS (petco), thinking it was intestinal blockage, suggested I change the froggies diet from sinking pellets, to frozen blood worms, and treat the tank with Melafix, so I did.
Then Friday I had to quarantine 1 of the Ryukins who appeared to have Dropsey. He/she was completely swollen with its scales sticking out, blood vessels showing along the sides, there was a small cottony white growth on his/her side, his breathing was labored, and he just sat at the bottom of the tank. I put him in a goldfish bowl, (all I had) with a little filter, treated him with Epsom salt and Maracyn-two, and had the water at 80. (goldfishvet.com recommendation, the pet store was unhelpful, Quote- “Gosh I don’t know anything about dropsey, The guy who works aquatics comes back from vacation Wednesday, you could come back then and talk to him about it.”) But I lost him last night anyway.
If dropsey is a symptom of the cause, how do I know what caused the dropsey? Do I treat the whole tank with the Maracyn or anything else, in case the other guys caught it, or to prevent them from getting a secondary infection from it? Is it safe for the froggies and the betta? Should I take the froggies out, then treat the tank? It’s hard to tell if the other guys are getting dropsey because their abdomens are naturally fat. Should I take them out and inspect them? I read your not suppose to net them, so how do ya get them out?
I hate this tank because it’s very difficult to examine the fish for other signs of secondary infection, or parasites. The only view I really have is from above, and if I lay on the ground and wait for them to pass by, but they usually don’t stay in one spot long enough. I may be just a little emotional from having my first fish die in saying this. But I really feel the guy who designed these things and decided it was an AQUARIUM should be hung from a tree upside down and flogged for the rest of his life. To me it just seems like fishie abuse. Maintaining the tank is five times the chore, there’s no good spot for a filter, the filter an aeration cause condensation on the glass top, obscuring the view from above, its almost very difficult to examine the fishies in the tank. It just sucks! Without serious modifications, I don’t see how one could keep aquatic life alive in this death trap. I guess I’m stuck with it til Bushie decides to give the UN more control in Iraq, so our boys can be relieved.
I’m worried that I’m over feeding, I usually have to put a lot of blood worms so the froggies and betta, have a chance to get some, before the goldfish swallow them all up. They eat up their flakes and everyone else’s food like it’s their last meal. Because of the heavy glass top, spot feeding is impossible. Any suggestions on this also would be a help!!
The last thing I want to happen is for him to come back (hopefully) from a War, and have to tell him all his pets died. So any help would be so very appreicated!!
