Hello all,
New here, and new to fish in general. (I'm not counting my kindergarten era goldfish) Our household fish journey began in Oct. of last year when my niece brought my daughter a little carnival feeder fish which my daughter named Swimmy. I felt bad for the poor thing swimming sideways in it's vase,so went out and got it a little one gal filtered tank. Put the tiny ting in there, and it was dead in a couple hours.
Of course, now my daughter wanted a fish. So, we went to the local petsmart and picked out a beautiful blue crowntail betta, Swimmy 2. He was lovely. Unfortunately, he also had a parasite. He went back to the store and we got a red and blue betta. Deciding the name Swimmy was cursed, he was dubbed Brock.
Brock was living happily in his little tank until a heat wave this summer caused an algae bloom which was impossible to get rid of. I also noticed his appetite was not as hardy as it had been. So, I went out and bought a 15 gal tank, some fresh sand and a cute little pagoda thinking we would add a snail or two, and maybe a few fish that could coexist with Brock.
Not knowing any better, I set the tank up and moved him on over to his new digs. After initially checking out the place, he found a corner and just sat, sometimes laying on his side. Yikes! I deduced that the current created by the filter was probably grabbing those lovely fins and pulling him around. So I stuffed the filter intake with some polly batting and headed out to find a more permanent solution. Went to a fish shop and my daughter andI came home with a filter sponge and 2 blue lantern platys to join him. He was really interested in the new additions, but not overly aggressive. The current was still to strong, so I cut up a paper cup and created a sort of dam for the waterfall. This was 2 days ago.
Now, I realize I've done everything all wrong!
The fish seem to be happy atm, but I'm sure this will change if I don't follow proper procedure from here on out. I've got a test kit on order, but am unsure on what type of vacuum to use with the sand in my tank. I don't want to suck up too much sand.
Anywho, this forum has been very helpful so far, and I'm looking forward to learning more about my aquatic friends and hopefully providing them with a happy home for sometime.
New here, and new to fish in general. (I'm not counting my kindergarten era goldfish) Our household fish journey began in Oct. of last year when my niece brought my daughter a little carnival feeder fish which my daughter named Swimmy. I felt bad for the poor thing swimming sideways in it's vase,so went out and got it a little one gal filtered tank. Put the tiny ting in there, and it was dead in a couple hours.
Of course, now my daughter wanted a fish. So, we went to the local petsmart and picked out a beautiful blue crowntail betta, Swimmy 2. He was lovely. Unfortunately, he also had a parasite. He went back to the store and we got a red and blue betta. Deciding the name Swimmy was cursed, he was dubbed Brock.
Brock was living happily in his little tank until a heat wave this summer caused an algae bloom which was impossible to get rid of. I also noticed his appetite was not as hardy as it had been. So, I went out and bought a 15 gal tank, some fresh sand and a cute little pagoda thinking we would add a snail or two, and maybe a few fish that could coexist with Brock.
Not knowing any better, I set the tank up and moved him on over to his new digs. After initially checking out the place, he found a corner and just sat, sometimes laying on his side. Yikes! I deduced that the current created by the filter was probably grabbing those lovely fins and pulling him around. So I stuffed the filter intake with some polly batting and headed out to find a more permanent solution. Went to a fish shop and my daughter andI came home with a filter sponge and 2 blue lantern platys to join him. He was really interested in the new additions, but not overly aggressive. The current was still to strong, so I cut up a paper cup and created a sort of dam for the waterfall. This was 2 days ago.
Now, I realize I've done everything all wrong!
The fish seem to be happy atm, but I'm sure this will change if I don't follow proper procedure from here on out. I've got a test kit on order, but am unsure on what type of vacuum to use with the sand in my tank. I don't want to suck up too much sand.
Anywho, this forum has been very helpful so far, and I'm looking forward to learning more about my aquatic friends and hopefully providing them with a happy home for sometime.
