4.4G Flat Back Hex FW Planted Build Thread

[Coleallensmom]

Looks great, Daileene. I bet your son loves it!

 

[daileene]

yes, he did....thank you dear

 

[daileene]

My updated 4.4G tank. I am happy that the crypts are starting to come back from being melted before. Sad to say that after I took this video, a day after, my BN pleco died here as well. :-( I have to really investigate what's going on with my tanks. I can't afford losing my babies. :-(

YouTube - ‪4.4G FBH FW Planted Tank 7-6-2011.wmv‬‏

 

[Coleallensmom]

Wow, so sorry daileene! Any idea what happened?

 

[toddnbecka]

What were you feeding the BN? A 10 gallon tank is pretty small for any pleco, and definitely won't grow enough algae for a BN to live on.

 

[daileene]

Wow, so sorry daileene! Any idea what happened?

No idea at all. My water parameters were okay and I am doing PWC every week. The BN was very active the last time I saw him before he was gone. There was no symptoms of a disease.

What were you feeding the BN? A 10 gallon tank is pretty small for any pleco, and definitely won't grow enough algae for a BN to live on.

Hi todd, I normally gave him the algae disc and he eats on that fine. So I didn't think he was starving.

 

[toddnbecka]

BN also need some veggies in their diet to keep their digestive tract clear. Most commercial fish foods are mainly protein with a lot of fillers, one reason I feed NLS pellets as the staple diet to all my fish. I also feed the BN canned green beans once weekly, occasionally zucchini in season.

 

[daileene]

BN also need some veggies in their diet to keep their digestive tract clear. Most commercial fish foods are mainly protein with a lot of fillers, one reason I feed NLS pellets as the staple diet to all my fish. I also feed the BN canned green beans once weekly, occasionally zucchini in season.

oh that's a good info todd. thank you very much.

 

[toddnbecka]

One other thing to consider, BN are heavy poopers, and add quite a bit to the bioload for their size. Little/young ones aren't so bad, but a 4-5" adult in a 10 gallon is a bit much. If you really want an algae eater for a 10 a nerite snail is a better fit than a common BN in the long run.

 

[daileene]

So Spidey is still doing very good in here. No tragic story thankfully.

Here are some pictures:

 

[Coleallensmom]

Glad your bettas are still going strong..so sorry about your chilis and cardinals though. ((hugs)) What is the story behind the three day feeder?

 

[daileene]

Hi Alisha. Thank you.

The 3-day feeder created some white balls of cottony stuff in all my 4 tanks when I checked it after 3 days. It didn't even dissolve and it created a weird algae thing. I changed all their water of course to get rid of all the nastiness I saw, but since then, my fish were all acting weird except for the bettas. :-(

 

[McLumpy]

Ok, I was wrong... no tragedy in this tank. Oh, thank goodness!! lol

It's official though, I will NEVER use the 3 day feeders!! I have no doubt now that the tablets, (or whatever you got), caused all of the issues. Should I ever get a chance to take a vacation, (ha, yeah right lol), or need to leave my house for a few days or longer, I'll stick to my battery operated feeder that clips on the back of the tank.

So, my advice... Run, DON'T WALK, to the store where you bought them and raise all sorts of a fuss! Eh, at least that's what I would do. Seriously though, we're talking a complete stock/plant wipe-out here! I would think that the store where you bought the 3-day feeders would stand behind the product they're selling and reimburse you for the loss, (at least replace your fish). And if they don't... talk to a store manager, or better yet, contact the manufacturers of the feeder.

Regardless, whether they take responsibility for their product or not, at least they will be informed that they're selling a faulty product and will hopefully pull it from the shelves!

Don't worry too much about your plants though... you know I'll be doing a trim on mine eventually and will gladly send you some to get your tanks back to being beautiful again.

***HUGE HUGS***

 

[toddnbecka]

Fish are fine for several days w/out food (aside from small fry with little or no fat reserves) even a week shouldn't do any harm in most cases. Much better odds than using those 3 day feeders, or in many cases getting someone else to feed them temporarily.

 

[daileene]

My replies in red:

Ok, I was wrong... no tragedy in this tank. Oh, thank goodness!! lol

Yes, I know, right! Enough of my mishap! LOL.

It's official though, I will NEVER use the 3 day feeders!! I have no doubt now that the tablets, (or whatever you got), caused all of the issues. Should I ever get a chance to take a vacation, (ha, yeah right lol), or need to leave my house for a few days or longer, I'll stick to my battery operated feeder that clips on the back of the tank.

I should get those battery operated ones next time. I was trying to be cheap and also the manufacturer said, it really does work and not to worry. Yeah, right!

So, my advice... Run, DON'T WALK, to the store where you bought them and raise all sorts of a fuss! Eh, at least that's what I would do. Seriously though, we're talking a complete stock/plant wipe-out here! I would think that the store where you bought the 3-day feeders would stand behind the product they're selling and reimburse you for the loss, (at least replace your fish). And if they don't... talk to a store manager, or better yet, contact the manufacturers of the feeder.

Girl, I wish I have your boldness and your courage. I should have done that. But I was afraid since the fish didn't die immediately, that they won't associate the feeder to my losses. :-(

Regardless, whether they take responsibility for their product or not, at least they will be informed that they're selling a faulty product and will hopefully pull it from the shelves!

Yeah, I should have gone back there asap or I could actually still write to the manufacturer with regards to their product. I bought the feeder at PETCO. Go figure...I got the Wardley weekend feeder - 3 days. It actually looked like a shell - white in color. It had 4 shells in a packet. So I thought, this should work. But as I have experienced, it didn't. :-(

Don't worry too much about your plants though... you know I'll be doing a trim on mine eventually and will gladly send you some to get your tanks back to being beautiful again.

Yayyy .....((((((hugs))))))) in a million. Thanks in advance! I do want to repay you somehow. You're the best.

***HUGE HUGS***

 

[daileene]

Fish are fine for several days w/out food (aside from small fry with little or no fat reserves) even a week shouldn't do any harm in most cases. Much better odds than using those 3 day feeders, or in many cases getting someone else to feed them temporarily.

This is so good to know. I always thought the fish will somehow die if they cannot eat in a day. I do only fed each of my tank just once a day. So, I was really worried that they will starve to death if I can't feed them at least every other day. But thank you so much for this information. It's greatly helpful.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Nice tank daileene!

 

[George9]

I love the spongebob decoration in the middle )

 

[daileene]

thanks bruins...

thanks george.....my son adores that decoration. lol. he wants to add patrick.

 

[George9]

thanks bruins...

thanks george.....my son adores that decoration. lol. he wants to add patrick.

LOL I had a friend who put every character from spongebob in their tank. I dont know where he found all the characters. He loved spongebob (as you can imagine)