10 Gallon Low Tech Photo Journal

[marchmaxima]

Be careful with medications. Check to see if it kills bacteria. If it does, it may mess with your beneficial bacteria. If that happens, you could be facing a cycle.

Do you have a QT tank or even a fish-only bucket you can use? If so, it would be better to treat them outside the main tank when using meds.

Course this medication might not do that. I've not used it so I don't know.

 

[E-cubed]

Thanks for your ideas, but I can not do as you suggest because, as I stated, I have already taken another course.

 

[E-cubed]

Update

I am now 9 days (plus) into this experience. After giving the fish and tank a double whammy of heat that did not seem to be working

,

and a chemical attack

,

the fish seem to be happy and free of spots

.

I am holding my breath, but I hope I have this thing defeated.



Warning to ick...
I discovered you early, I am quite near-sighted and can see you if you visit. And I have my eyes on the lookout for you.

 

[E-cubed]

Another disaster!

I planted a few new plants yesterday (image coming). In the process I added a tiny little bit of finer gravel or sand of two different colors in the landscape, some black, and some that I thought would match the previous slightly larger gravel but is much lighter. First, I did not rinse the sand so there was a bit if dust that clouded the water, and the process stirred up some detritus from the bottom, clouding the water slightly. My this morning it is 95% clear.

I decided to clean out the sponge and I found a dead Ember tetra stuck to the side of the sponge. After re-starting the filter there was a lot of back flow; water not going through the filter material. So, I decided to take the Aqua Clear 20 unit off the back of the tank and rinse it out in a large bowl of tank water.

When I dumped the gunky water out of the bowl, there were two fish in the sink, heading for the drain! Not having a stopper nearby, I put my hand over the hole and trapped the water. Now two fish were swimming desperately! I grabbed the only thing I had, a shot glass and captured one. The other would not move away from my hand covering the hole and he ended up going down the drain! Even with a trap in place, he went through.

The one is now in a jar floating in the tank. His tail fin is half missing, and he has no color whatsoever. He looks really beat up. I am not sure he will make it.

So, what was a school of 17 fish to start, was 13 yesterday swimming around happily. I can't get a count this morning, but if the dead one, the one down the drain and the beat up one are added to the 13 I counted yesterday, I can account for 16. That is unless the three in the filter are recent abductees overnight.

What do I do? I can't have my fish sucked into the Aqua Clear filter.

 

[E-cubed]

Here is my tank today, minus a couple of fish. What do you think?

 

[Purrbox]

I really like what you've got going on with the aquascape. I look forward to seeing how it grows in.

 

[E-cubed]

Thank you Joy! I am pleased... except I wish the tank were bigger. If I had a 15 tall or the 20 extra tall I could show off some taller plants and accommodate a single Angelfish. I saw some baby Koi Angels today that were beautiful, but I don't think this short tank would be fair to one. I want a signature fish for the tank. I am thinking a pair of Rams maybe, but the spot I left clear for them seems to be the space the Tetras now hang out in. Maybe nothing else but a few Cory habrosus.

Thanks again!

 

[E-cubed]

New fish!

I took a jar of water to the LFS yesterday on my way out of town, and all of the readings were perfect! I also decided while I was there to look at and decide on some new fish to add to the Ember Tetras. I decided on some Green Neons (Paracheirodon simulans). The fish had been in the store for a long time and I was confident about their health. When I went back this morning, they had sold all of them to one person!


Luckily there is another fish store about 5 miles away that I knew had two tanks and several hundred of them, so I took a drive and bought 6 of the little guys. They seem to dwell at a higher level and have had a secondary added benefit. They are not at all shy, staying near the front, but swimming all over the aquarium. Their presence seems to have made the Embers less fearful, so I see more of my fish now. A good addition that I am quite happy about.

 

[E-cubed]

Well, dagnabit!

A day after I add a few fish, I see a single spot of Ich on one of my Ember Tetras. I have gone through the heat treatment and then a chemical attack. What is a person to do? I thought I would be done with this... sigh.

 

[brutus]

tanks looking great...dam ich

 

[E-cubed]

I may have "freaked out" yesterday about the Ich, because no more than an hour later I looked and could not see any spots on any of the fish at all! : (I look carefully at all of them several times a day.) I wonder if somehow a bit of frozen daphnea may have been stick on one side of a fish. Anyway, I see no Ich and no spots on any of my fish! I will keep a close eye on all of them for weeks!

Anyway, here is a picture I took yesterday of some of my Embers and two of the new Green Neons.

Enjoy!

Earl

 

[E-cubed]

New image

My albino long fin Bristlenose.

 

[Lager]

Excellent shots! The BN is a nice looking fish.

 

[E-cubed]

Thank you Lager! I think Lola is my favorite fish.

 

[mlennox]

great shot of the bristlenose!

 

[chinoanoah]

13+ tetras isn't overstocked? I'm interested now....

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

13+ tetras isn't overstocked? I'm interested now....

Depends what your setup is and your filteration. Like I got 5 red-eyed tetras, 3 neons, and 2 GBRS and gettin' a couple more fish for my 10 gallon and it's fine.

It all just depends.

 

[E-cubed]

13+ tetras isn't overstocked? I'm interested now....

I have purposely chosen very small tetras for my tank. I have read that Tetras, being slender bodied fish, have a smaller bio load on an aquarium. And according to this database on another site...

Tetra Size List - Tropical Fish Forums

...both the Ember Tetra and the Green Neon Tetra are only 2cm (.79 inch) in size, whereas the regular Neon Tetra and Cardinal Tetra are 4.5 and 5cm (1.77 and 1.97 inches).

So far, I have not had any problems. Filtration is adequate +, the tank is heavily planted and I do regular maintenance.

 

[KentCurtis]

Where did you get your Marimo Ball in the first picture?

 

[E-cubed]

Where did you get your Marimo Ball in the first picture?

I bought this locally at "The Wet Spot" in Portland, OR. They always have a great and ever changing selection of fresh plants.