55 Gallon Freshwater Tank

[McLumpy]

So sorry to hear about your loss .

Chin up and tomorrow's a new day!

Thanks, Limpet! I definitely know now that I could never work in a vet office! lol A fish is quite a bit different than a dog or cat, (of course), but I definitely couldn't do it.

Chin is up!

 

[Flossie]

Well, I believe that I've done everything I can for my Molly, Michaela J. Fish, and it's time to let her go.

When I first got her, she was displaying an odd "wiggle", was anti-social, and was much smaller than my other Mollies, (almost like her growth was stunted). As the months progressed, her "wiggle" had worsened, she began hiding a lot, and she had stopped growing. However, tonight she came out of hiding for a short time and I realized that there is nothing else that I can do.

Almost all of her caudal fin is missing and she is now swimming head-down. I believe that she was born w/ a Caudal Peduncle Deformity, where the Caudal Peduncle area was shortened/notched making the Caudal Fin arch upwards leading to irregular swimming.

Over the past 11 months, I did everything I could to help keep her living comfortably. But now it's painfully obvious that she can no longer control her movements and may or may not be in extreme pain.

I plan on doing the temperature shock method within the hour and I'm not looking forward to it at all. This is, believe it or not, the first time that I have ever had to euthanize one of my fish and I'm naturally feeling sad and guilty about it. But I know that my fish can no longer suffer and it's the right thing to do.

I currently have her in my breeder tank until the water is ready. The really sad part about all of this is, her friend, Fabio, (my male Dalmatian Molly), has been swimming next to the tank ever since I put her in there. It's almost like they know. That sounds corny, huh? lol

Well, that is all. I guess now I just continue to wait for the water to be right and do the deed. /sigh I really hate this!

Sigh... Ur killing me!! Lol at least i know I'm not the only sensitive one on here sorry u had to do that. It sounds horrible

 

[Deckape]

You did all you could. So sorry

 

[McLumpy]

Sigh... Ur killing me!! Lol at least i know I'm not the only sensitive one on here sorry u had to do that. It sounds horrible

You did all you could. So sorry

Thank you, guys! She was a bit different from my other fish and was very special to me. Mainly because, despite her birth defect, she stayed strong and held her own in the tank. I would think that most fish w/ her disability wouldn't last long, but she did.

 

[daileene]

((((((hugs)))))))

so sorry again......i hope her partner molly had been ok.

 

[McLumpy]

((((((hugs)))))))

so sorry again......i hope her partner molly had been ok.

Thanks, Daileene! He seems to be doing ok. That was another thing that made my decision to euthanize her... I didn't want her to breed. I had planned to move her to my 10 gallon, (before I got my Betta), to prevent that. However, I knew she was going down hill fast so I just decided to keep her amongst her friends for the short time that she had.

 

[Pecktec]

They are pretty awesome! This is my first time owning shrimp and I can sit there for hours watching them, (eh, if my husband wouldn't pick on me for watching the fish so much lol).

I will definitely check out your vid. Thanks! Oh, yes, I have plenty of flow from the HOB and a plant directly beneath it. They have been hanging out on the plant and gobbling up the goodies. Yep, I did my homework.

I just a Blue Mole shrimp today. It's kind of similar.

 

[Pecktec]

And here it is.

 

[McLumpy]

Very cool, Pecktec! My little guys have been hiding a lot lately since I changed my bulbs over to CFL 10w x 2. At least I hope they're just hiding!! I plan to do a thorough search for them tomorrow.

 

[McLumpy]

Update Time...

I figured it was time to provide an update for my followers.

Betta: My new Betta, Max, doesn't seem to be doing too well. He appears to have Velvet, (at least that's what it looks like to me), and he doesn't get too excited when it's feeding time, (he's been like that since I got him). He more or less just swims around the tank slowly, and likes to nest in the plants. I plan to do a pwc tomorrow and start meds. It's obvious that he was sick when I got him and I really don't want to go through losing another Betta, so I'm going to do what I can for li'l guy.

Bamboo Shrimp: My new Bamboo Shrimp, Chuck and Charlie, (I'm assuming they're both male lol), are doing pretty good. Especially since I acclimated them and placed them in my 55g. I've read different opinions about whether it would be safe or not for them to live in a community tank, but they seem to be holding their own quite well.

They have even found shelter in the plants that I have directly below the flow of my filters. I originally wasn't going to move them until they grew some, but w/ my Betta sick and me needing to medicate, I figured it was best to move them out of my 10g.

Here are some pics of my new little guys, along w/ the most recent pics of my 55g tank...

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Sorry to hear about your Betta, good luck getting him healed.

HAHA! Chuck & Charlie lol. Great names, cool shrimp. Lovin my inverts .

 

[McLumpy]

Sorry to hear about your Betta, good luck getting him healed.

HAHA! Chuck & Charlie lol. Great names, cool shrimp. Lovin my inverts .

Thanks! I just hope he can make it through tonight and tomorrow. I'm also going to p/u a new heater for the 10g. The one that I have doesn't have a temp dial and it stays at 75 degrees. Up until recently, I was unaware that Bettas prefer warmer water. Plus, if I need to increase the temp for treatment, I would need a new heater w/ a dial anyway. I'll just take it slow on increasing the temp and keep the one I have as a back-up.

Yeah, they look like a Chuck & Charlie to me. lol Of course it's hard to tell them apart. I just think it's bad luck to not name your critters.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Hey what color is Max? Looks dark blue? Really nice, hopefully he will improve soon.

Your 55G tank keeps looking nice, is the all plant in the back left real?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Thanks! I just hope he can make it through tonight and tomorrow. I'm also going to p/u a new heater for the 10g. The one that I have doesn't have a temp dial and it stays at 75 degrees. Up until recently, I was unaware that Bettas prefer warmer water. Plus, if I need to increase the temp for treatment, I would need a new heater w/ a dial anyway. I'll just take it slow on increasing the temp and keep the one I have as a back-up.

Yeah, they look like a Chuck & Charlie to me. lol Of course it's hard to tell them apart. I just think it's bad luck to not name your critters.

Yep, siva said 80 for bettas. I had mine at 76, raised it to 80 and Elvis is doing much better. Check out the Aqueon Pro 50w heater, I have that in my betta tank and it works great.

Agreed, I name all my centerpiece fish, but shoals just get group names though.

 

[McLumpy]

Hey what color is Max? Looks dark blue? Really nice, hopefully he will improve soon.

Your 55G tank keeps looking nice, is the all plant in the back left real?

Believe it or not, he's a royal blue, (slightly purple). That was the only pic I could get of him "posing" for the camera and the lighting wasn't right so he looks darker.

Thank you for the compliment! I scored some nice plants recently from a guy on Craigslist so I did some rescaping. The plants on the left are plastic. I decided to keep them in there to help hide the airhoses until my real plants get established.

I caught myself comparing my new tank pics to my old ones earlier today btw. It's amazing how far I've come w/ this tank! I do miss having the house in there though. It added just enough "tacky" to the tank. lol It doesn't look too bad in my 10g though.

 

[McLumpy]

Yep, siva said 80 for bettas. I had mine at 76, raised it to 80 and Elvis is doing much better. Check out the Aqueon Pro 50w heater, I have that in my betta tank and it works great.

Agreed, I name all my centerpiece fish, but shoals just get group names though.

Honestly, I didn't think that temp was a big deal w/ Bettas seeing as how they're in a cup, (for however long), at the LFS. I got him at Petco and, I don't about other Petcos, but the one I go to is always chilly. lol I will definitely check out that heater. Thanks for the advice!

Oh and yes, my Neon Tetras don't have individual names... too much work. I did have one w/ a fungus problem and named him Spot, but that was where I drew the line. lol

 

[Pecktec]

Oh and yes, my Neon Tetras don't have individual names... too much work. I did have one w/ a fungus problem and named him Spot, but that was where I drew the line. lol

Ha I have one white rummy nosed tetra I call ghost.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Honestly, I didn't think that temp was a big deal w/ Bettas seeing as how they're in a cup, (for however long), at the LFS. I got him at Petco and, I don't about other Petcos, but the one I go to is always chilly. lol I will definitely check out that heater. Thanks for the advice!

Oh and yes, my Neon Tetras don't have individual names... too much work. I did have one w/ a fungus problem and named him Spot, but that was where I drew the line. lol

I did not know either, but I have my Betta in a 10 G tank, at 80 degrees and is behaving like a King ...lol... Always hungry and alert.
Just sharing.

 

[daileene]

Looking pretty good my dear...you really came a long way with your plants....they are looking so healthy. and your max is beautiful...i didn't know either that they love the higher temp. The one I got last few weeks ago? He died last weekend. I wasn't too much attached to him yet, but he was from Petco too and my he was fine at first..checking the tank and all, but then he just stayed in one place and the next time I saw him, he was already in the filter area where you got suck in. The thing was, he looks okay, but my heater was also the up to 75 deg one. That could be the case then?

 

[McLumpy]

Looking pretty good my dear...you really came a long way with your plants....they are looking so healthy. and your max is beautiful...i didn't know either that they love the higher temp. The one I got last few weeks ago? He died last weekend. I wasn't too much attached to him yet, but he was from Petco too and my he was fine at first..checking the tank and all, but then he just stayed in one place and the next time I saw him, he was already in the filter area where you got suck in. The thing was, he looks okay, but my heater was also the up to 75 deg one. That could be the case then?

Thanks! Yeah, the plants are really coming along nicely, (and w/ only 1wpg, Flourish, and Root Tabs)! I'm also happy that I no longer need to do a thorough gravel vac anymore. That was getting old real quick!

Ah geez, I didn't know you lost your Betta!! I'm so sorry. Honestly, I don't think that having the water at 75 degrees would have anything to do w/ the fish expiring. Considering what they go through, it's not too surprising that the majority of them don't last long in home aquariums. IME, every Betta I've ever owned had a short life span. Yet, I still keep getting them. When will I ever learn? lol