Tostada
Aquarium Advice Freak
My main 30 gal. tank has been cycled for a month. All the parameters are good and I haven't had any real problems with fish losses.
I had 5 panda corys. All of them were very small, and one of them never ate anything and just sat there, then died after a week. Other than that, the only losses I've had were swords (I lost a betta in another tank but that's a different story).
So, I had 6 Velvet Wag Swordtails (2 males, 4 females), and two females died a week after I got them. It seemed a little strange to me, because the only other fish in there at the time were 3 danios. I replaced the females and everything has been fine for 3-4 weeks.
Now I've got 7 rasboras, 4 panda corys, 1 gourami and 3 ottos in there. Everybody keeps to themselves and gets along, except the gourami nips at the ottos and swords now and then (he seems to have an "angry day" about once a week). I could understand if I got up one morning and a Cory was missing its tail or an otto was dead. I would blame the gourami. But that's never happened. Instead, I had a female show up dead about 4 mornings ago, then a male dead about 2 mornings ago.
I also have a couple shrimp in there which are about 2.5" long (sold as ghost shrimp but probably not), but I've never seen them get aggressive with anybody. Of course, they're always chewing on the corpse when I find it in the morning.
I've noticed that all the livebearers in Petsmart say "requirs aquarium salt," but people hear say that's not necessary. I went and put 3 tablespoons of aquarium salt in there anyway after today's PWC (half the recommended amount on the box).
So, now I'm down to 3 females and 1 male. I think all 3 are pregnant (one might be, one definitely is, and one is going to give birth at any time). It's surprising to me that the female who died was the only one who wasn't pregnant.
Also, I've noticed that one of the females is lighter colored on the bottom in front of her gills, but not at the edge of the gills ... doesn't really look like a parasite or ich or anytying. I'm not sure about what fungi looks like ... it's just weird that it's just that section that's a little lighter.
I just find it suspicious that I've lost a few swords. I've always heard that rasboras are sensitive and ottos are very sensitive, and they're all OK.
I had 5 panda corys. All of them were very small, and one of them never ate anything and just sat there, then died after a week. Other than that, the only losses I've had were swords (I lost a betta in another tank but that's a different story).
So, I had 6 Velvet Wag Swordtails (2 males, 4 females), and two females died a week after I got them. It seemed a little strange to me, because the only other fish in there at the time were 3 danios. I replaced the females and everything has been fine for 3-4 weeks.
Now I've got 7 rasboras, 4 panda corys, 1 gourami and 3 ottos in there. Everybody keeps to themselves and gets along, except the gourami nips at the ottos and swords now and then (he seems to have an "angry day" about once a week). I could understand if I got up one morning and a Cory was missing its tail or an otto was dead. I would blame the gourami. But that's never happened. Instead, I had a female show up dead about 4 mornings ago, then a male dead about 2 mornings ago.
I also have a couple shrimp in there which are about 2.5" long (sold as ghost shrimp but probably not), but I've never seen them get aggressive with anybody. Of course, they're always chewing on the corpse when I find it in the morning.
I've noticed that all the livebearers in Petsmart say "requirs aquarium salt," but people hear say that's not necessary. I went and put 3 tablespoons of aquarium salt in there anyway after today's PWC (half the recommended amount on the box).
So, now I'm down to 3 females and 1 male. I think all 3 are pregnant (one might be, one definitely is, and one is going to give birth at any time). It's surprising to me that the female who died was the only one who wasn't pregnant.
Also, I've noticed that one of the females is lighter colored on the bottom in front of her gills, but not at the edge of the gills ... doesn't really look like a parasite or ich or anytying. I'm not sure about what fungi looks like ... it's just weird that it's just that section that's a little lighter.
I just find it suspicious that I've lost a few swords. I've always heard that rasboras are sensitive and ottos are very sensitive, and they're all OK.