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Possibly a dumb question... How the heck do you count your fish?

Petra R

Member
Joined
12 Apr 2018
Messages
96
Location
Vasto, Italy
Because I have a recently cycled tank with little delicate rainbows in it I am somewhat paranoid and endlessly try to count all swimmers to make sure everyone is alive and floating the right way up.

Unfortunately they don't nicely and calmly line up to be counted so I spend a lot of time trying to count everything that still swims to make sure there aren't any that no longer do so.

They are crazy lively and I keep counting them until I count the numbers I think I should have but this like happens every time I put the kettle on and is driving me crazy. 9 miniscule fork tail raibowfish and 11 threadfin rainbows and 2 otos. Counting them over and over.

Is there some clever trick?
 
Hi
Take a photo when(if) they all out and then count away.
Regards Konsa

Than you have to count first to know if they are all out... :lol:

I know the problem with my Trichopsis pumilla, they are constantly all over the place and rarely 3 seconds at the same place and or realy like to hang out in dense vegitation under the leaves.. In the end i gave up on it.. Same as the Hara jerdoni, took me 4 months to finaly count all 5 moving at the same time.

I guess that's the best strategy, just keep watching your tank there comes a lucky moment, this you can't force without frustrations.. :rolleyes:
 
The corys tend to be a pain as they never all want to come out and stay there long enough to be counted. The 14 tetras are countable at feeding time as they tend to bunch up.

The otos however I can't count. I can only ever see one at a time. I am worried how many are actually there as before when you managed to spot one you could normally see another close by and once in a blue moon I would see four of them.

I know I have lost a guppy when I was away the other weekend but I have never found a carcass despite checking every where.

Always wondered if there was a thermal camera you could get to help :)
 
Counting them over and over.
I know exactly what you mean, I keep on counting them, even after months o_O Just like counting children on our sons birthday parties.
I can count otos only when I switch off everything that causes flow (at least once a week during WC), for some reason they then all come together.
 
The otos however I can't count. I can only ever see one at a time. I am worried how many are actually there as before when you managed to spot one you could normally see another close by and once in a blue moon I would see four of them.
Weird that, mine are always together, how many have you got?
 
Weird that, mine are always together, how many have you got?
No idea! I added six and I know one died a few days later. I have been able to count four on occasions but the issue is they are now always in / on a really thick crypt at the back of the tank so even if they are together they are very hard to spot. Spotting then when the lights are low is even harder
 
In the past i have had otos slowly disappear when i wasn't feeding them something specifically, even though the tank had lots of diatoms and green dust algae, are you feeding any wafers at all? mine love the hikari algae wafers, i get all of them in one spot pretty religiously with those which makes them easy enough to count, i have one that is an odd colour more sandy than the rest, i assume it's probably a different sp. but if anyone knows about colour variations in otos that is reading this i would be intrigued to know. :)
 
In the past i have had otos slowly disappear when i wasn't feeding them something specifically, even though the tank had lots of diatoms and green dust algae, are you feeding any wafers at all? mine love the hikari algae wafers, i get all of them in one spot pretty religiously with those which makes them easy enough to count, i have one that is an odd colour more sandy than the rest, i assume it's probably a different sp. but if anyone knows about colour variations in otos that is reading this i would be intrigued to know. :)
They have never shown any interest in algae wafers but I do add them for the nerites and others and there is plenty of algae and film to munch on. They have only ever shown a passing interest in that (and peas, spinach...). There are also some oak leaves in there near where they spend most of their time but I have never seen them on these leaves. Just odd that if they have died that I have never found any remains. I know the amanos would do a decent job of cleaning up but being armoured catfish I would have expected to find skeletons. Need to pull everything put and check again this weekend I think
 
I'm currently sitting here counting my Otos. Just put a cube of rapashy in and they have gathered, but not 100% sure I got to five or one did a swim around.
 
I often used the old photo trick at feeding time. Take several and you will soon know how many you have. If you have good breeding fish that is when the numbers go up or a death concern they go down very fast.

Keith:wave::wave:
 
Because I have a recently cycled tank with little delicate rainbows in it I am somewhat paranoid and endlessly try to count all swimmers to make sure everyone is alive and floating the right way up.

Unfortunately they don't nicely and calmly line up to be counted so I spend a lot of time trying to count everything that still swims to make sure there aren't any that no longer do so.

They are crazy lively and I keep counting them until I count the numbers I think I should have but this like happens every time I put the kettle on and is driving me crazy. 9 miniscule fork tail raibowfish and 11 threadfin rainbows and 2 otos. Counting them over and over.

Is there some clever trick?

One fish,Two Fish,Red Fish,Blue Fish ? Ha! Ha!
I find it easier to count them when feeding while the majority are near the surface after the flake I offer.
I have some Plecos I rarely see unless I drop some sinking pellet near one end of the tank.
They are programmed to visit this area soon after I leave the front of the tank.
They know it's either food time,or water change coming.
 
I have no idea how to count fish when feeding, they're everywhere and crazy. I just try to sit a bit and count in threes a few times. I have to do this only with my congo tetras though, other fish are easy to count. (Hello Mr fish, you are the only betta in this tank, are you there?)
 
I have no idea how to count fish when feeding, they're everywhere and crazy. I just try to sit a bit and count in threes a few times. I have to do this only with my congo tetras though, other fish are easy to count. (Hello Mr fish, you are the only betta in this tank, are you there?)

Haha, yes, exactly.... I can just about cope with the forktails, but the threadfins are just too mobile. I keep counting until I arrive at the number I should have.... whether that's right or wrong.
 
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