Quarantine tank with an expensive dead fish. :(

[ltsai]

Where do you get your fish from?

Various sources. I don't like the fish from our C328. I typically get mine from Ben from Tiong Bahru and the other stall at the market. Sometimes Polyart.

Isn't that kind of quarantine.

Yes, also acclimating them into the tank's water parameters. I will do a 50:50 ratio but is just an estimate. I will then net them out to avoid introducing the bag's water into the tank.

 

[ltsai]

RCS will be different. I use the drip method for > 24 hours. But my low grade bag of 50 will eventually die on me after a few weeks.

I don't have any luck on Panda Corydoras or RCS. I keep losing them.

 

[Zak Rafik]

I neither have the patience

I can high five you on that one.

I don't bother now, just let bag of fish adjust a while and let fish loose.

Its seems tropical fish which are mostly bred in tank can be safe enough to be realised without quarantine but not so with marine fish which are caught in the wild.
Is this correct?

How about for shrimps?

Guess I have to muster enough courage and get the fish for my tank soon.

Cheers
Raffik

 

[ltsai]

Its seems tropical fish which are mostly bred in tank can be safe enough to be realised without quarantine but not so with marine fish which are caught in the wild.
Is this correct?

I know our local guys at AQ always medicate and quarantine their wild caught Altum Angels.

 

[Zak Rafik]

I don't like the fish from our C328

I visited that shop before and I was shocked at the way they keep the fish. I bet its like Nightmare on Elm Street for the fish. Poor guys. ( edit: I meant for the fish and not the shop owner)

But my low grade bag of 50 will eventually die on me after a few weeks.
I don't have any luck on Panda Corydoras or RCS. I keep losing them.

Same here. I bought about 30 of RCS but I only see a handful of them in the morning. But the good news is that they managed to have baby shrimplets. They are so utra cute. My heart melts whenever I see them.
Maybe the other guys are also "busy" at procreation.

 

[ltsai]

Same here. I bought about 30 of RCS but I only see a handful of them in the morning. But the good news is that they managed to have baby shrimplets. They are so utra cute. My heart melts whenever I see them.

Good luck! That's why I torn my tank down on Sunday. After 3-4 years, I never got it right. I just can't have a decent lush green tank. I get that jealous and dejected feeling every time I see a pretty tank. Tried for so many years but never turned out well for me. And I keep gassing my fish recently. Can't afford the CO2Art dual stage regulator to replace my UP Aqua A-165.

Now is just a bare tank with the fish and some moss and left over wood.

 

[Edvet]

I can truthfully say i have never seen Ich in my tank in 20+ years.
The only treatment i would do is use FMC for a parasitic skin condition, or a internal parasite treatment like Flubenol, and mix that through food.
Generally i look at the fish before i buy them real close, make sure they transfer real slow (drip through airhose in a bucket repeat once) and feed the rest of the tank after transfer so they know there is food and get atracted to it (there is always a feedingfrenzy in my tank). Sometimes i will loose a fish after transfer, but i chalck it up to transferstress and go on. Then again i always buy quite large groups 6,12 or 18 to be prepared for some deaths and still have a nice group.
Having a healthy stressfree environment is best medicine against disease and the best prevention against infections due to good resistance.

Now is just a bare tank with the fish and some moss and left over wood

Go low tech, plenty of examles here of great tanks.

 

[Zak Rafik]

After 3-4 years, I never got it right. I just can't have a decent lush green tank. I get that jealous and dejected feeling every time I see a pretty tank. Tried for so many years but never turned out well for me. And I keep gassing my fish recently. Can't afford the CO2Art dual stage regulator to replace my UP Aqua A-165.

Whenever I post photos of my tank on YouTube or other forums, I always manage to get compliments. But to tell you the truth, this is my first ever planted tank. The rest were all bare bottom ones or with a little bit of gravel setups.
Apologize if I sound rude, but through my few months of experience, I learnt to just stick to a very few selected source of information.
This forum is on the top of my list.
You can absolutely forget about FaceBook groups. Its a load of rubbish and the people there seem to relish on other people's failure rather than give constructive information.
And as for the local one, take it with a pinch of salt ( and sometimes a spoonful). Many a time, I have wondered if the replies were coming from the mouth a six year old!

When I had sever problems with Co2 in my planted tank, this forum saved me tons of headaches and heartache. Now my plants are growing like crazy and I'm think of ways to slow the growth rate. All thanks to the guys/ladies here.
Again sorry if I sound boastful.

Cheers
Raffik

The only treatment i would do is use FMC

What's FMC?

 

[Edvet]

http://www.fishbase.gr/Diseases/DiseasesSummary2.php?discode=1151
It's a widely used solution against skinparasites.

 

[ltsai]

Whenever I post photos of my tank on YouTube or other forums, I always manage to get compliments. But to tell you the truth, this is my first ever planted tank.

When I had sever problems with Co2 in my planted tank, this forum saved me tons of headaches and heartache. Now my plants are growing like crazy and I'm think of ways to slow the growth rate. All thanks to the guys/ladies here.

See!

I don't get the luxury even after following the recommendation: low light + high flow + good surface agitation + up atomiser + over dose EI + using up 1L co2 tank in 4-6 weeks with no leaks, all in my 54L tank. Was about to buy a 20" tall water filter housing and external pump until I broke my up atomiser hose clamp to try to clean it to bring back the mist. Just too many frustrations after so many years until I decided is enough for now.

But I'm now itchy for a shrimp only tank when my batch of fighting fish are all grown up.

Wife did say now I should have more time for my kids instead of twice water changes every week and trying to figure out what went wrong...

 

[Zak Rafik]

Wife did say now I should have more time for my kids instead of twice water changes every week and trying to figure out what went wrong...

I feel for you bro. ( just kidding)

I don't get the luxury even after following the recommendation: low light + high flow + good surface agitation + up atomiser + over dose EI + using up 1L co2 tank in 4-6 weeks with no leaks, all in my 54L tank.

You know sometimes, the recommendations on this forum may seem quite unorthodox. They may seem to go against what we thought was the norm. An excellent example is my own in this thread about quarantine process. If I were to post this same question in other forums, I can safely say that the answers would be congruent with what we have been "programmed" to believe by certain product manufacturers.

"You want to quaraintine. No problem! Just pour 5 ml of this, 10 ml of that."
"You have got algae problem. Don't worry! We have the right chemical for you."

If not for this forum on EI dosing, I would most probably be spending loads of $$$ on ADA's super diluted liquid fertilizers (96% water + 4% minerals) or some other similar brand and when the tank fails, we naturally blame ourselves on the lack of competence.
We say "How come the tank always looks awesome on the manufacturer's website while my tank sucks. It's got to be my fault"
The truth is, we have been lead to believe that their product is always right and when things go wrong, the fault on our side.

Just approach the advice on this forum with an open mind and try it out. If its not working, tweak it.
"Patience is a virtue" if not more so in fish keeping.

Cheers
Raffik

 

[ltsai]

Just approach the advice on this forum with an open mind and try it out. If its not working, tweak it.
"Patience is a virtue" if not more so in fish keeping.

Yeah, been tweaking for many years until I give up, at least for now...

I know all the theories but I just can't execute it correctly.

 

[Zak Rafik]

Yeah, been tweaking for many years until I give up, at least for now...

I know all the theories but I just can't execute it correctly.

May the force be with you.

 

[Zak Rafik]

Just to update.
The new Zebra Otos seems very much settled into the main tank. It was just hanging around the corner since late evening which I was quite concerned about. But by night, he was ok.
Funny thing is, all the other 4 normal Otos gathered around this new guys and checking him out. I found this strange. It was like a welcoming kind of gesture. lol

This morning the new Otos was happy as a lark and was feeding on the algae on the wood.
This is the photo.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b631/Zak_Rafik/IMG_7673_zps2fb194ef.jpg

 

[sciencefiction]

I have 4 normal Otos in the main tank, will these be enough to provide companionship to the now lonely Zebra Oto?

I have a zebra otto with 3 other regular ones which also are mixed breed and the 4 of them hang out together when not browsing for food so your otto will be happy enough with non-zebra buddies.
They are not any more sensitive than the rest.

For quarantine I sometimes use my small tank. It's heavily planted/soil tank with some cherry shrimp so it's technically always cycled and suitable for any sensitive small fish. My new ottos bred in it within 3 weeks of purchase.

But same as Edvert, I believe the most important is an established tank with the right environment and if I can't provide one via a ready quarantine tank then I don't quarantine. And in fact I've been lucky to never introduce any diseases either. Same as Edvert I have never seen ich in my tanks. I've added clown loaches twice in one of my tanks and they are notorious for getting ich when introduced. Some people swear they do get ich each time and I was advised to treat just in case but I don't add meds to my tanks because of fear. Meds can be more dangerous than the diseases.

I believe one has to provide the least stressful and healthy environment because adding an immune system compromised fish to an uncycled tank for example, or a tank too small, or too bare, or moving/catching fish twice within the space of a month or two after they just possibly got used of the tank, isn't going to help them resist the environmental bacs and parasites lurking in all tanks which is why 90% of the time fish get sick in the first place. Fish with primary diseases that are highly contagious will be most likely already sick when you see them in the shop, or dead within a few days so to avoid that you just need to let the shop quarantine/wait after they brought them in. Other famous dangerous diseases like camallanus worms or micobacteria/fish tb take months to show so unless you quarantine for 3-6 months to a year and be extremely careful when working on multiple tanks, the chances are your other tanks will be infected whether you like it or not, and whether you use quarantine or not.

A true quarantine tank has to be very established, in a totally different room from the rest of your tanks, with it's own devices/nets/hoses/buckets for water changes and extremely diligent procedures for disinfecting yourself/hands before touching anything else after working in the quarantine tank, including door knobs

So I don't stress about diseases. I observe the fish in the shop, also the inhabitants with them. I ask how long they've been in the shop, etc.... I normally do a large water change on the target tank, then buy the fish, drip acclimate for 1-2 hrs, then add the fish, then feed everyone so the previous occupants don't get too curious and normally the new fish feel like at home immediately.

 

[Lindy]

Funny thing is, all the other 4 normal Otos gathered around this new guys and checking him out. I found this strange. It was like a welcoming kind of gesture. lol

When I introduced new ottos to the otto gang the new ones were checked out and then they had quite an excited 'frolic' is the only way to describe it.

 

[Zak Rafik]

I have a zebra otto with 3 other regular ones which also are mixed breed and the 4 of them hang out together when not browsing for food so your otto will be happy enough with non-zebra buddies.
They are not any more sensitive than the rest.

Good to hear. Thanks.
What do you feed your Zebra Oto?
Whenever I feed my normal Otos par boiled zucchini, which they seem to relish, my Zebra Oto seems the least interested in it.

When I introduced new ottos to the otto gang the new ones were checked out and then they had quite an excited 'frolic' is the only way to describe it.

How many Otos can one have in a 4ft / 120cm?

Cheers and have a nice weekend.
Raffik

 

[Lindy]

I don't know, lots but you might have to feed them. Mine have to get cucumber etc as there isn't enough food that occurs naturally in the tank. I have 8 in a 190litre and you wouldn't know they are there unless you watch from a distance. Then the gang comes out and swims and feeds together.

 

[sciencefiction]

Good to hear. Thanks.
What do you feed your Zebra Oto?
Whenever I feed my normal Otos par boiled zucchini, which they seem to relish, my Zebra Oto seems the least interested in it.

I've had him for about 2 years. I haven't seen him eat any vegetables. This may have something to do with my pleco taking over each time though. However, I noticed that if there's other stuff for them to eat around the tank, they don't go for veg that much if at all. I have a baby otto which used to be stuck to a blanched zucchini non-stop while growing, now he won't touch veg.
The zebra otto is almost always on the front glass cleaning it or on the round stones I have around the tank which I suppose grow some sort of algae/biofilm for them to eat. The tank is not exactly ridden with algae, very little, but it isn't sparkling clean because it's been setup for around 4 years and I don't ever clean the glass because of the pleco and ottos. This is however the third tank I put him into. He was in a shrimp tank first, then plop and drop in another tank for a few months, which leaked so I grabbed him and put him in this tank a year and a half ago. He is tough, didn't seem to notice the move and I just scooped him out from one tank to the other.
All the 4 ottos gather on exactly the same spot on a branch of driftwood when not browsing for food which is very cute despite that they are 3 different species. They are very funny when the lights are off as they do all kinds of stunts around.

 

[Zak Rafik]

Mine have to get cucumber etc as there isn't enough food that occurs naturally in the tank.

You'r lucky.
I tried giving boiled cucumber to my Otos. I get this "Tell me this is a joke! You gotta be kidding right" expression on their face and never touch it.
They simply love zucchini. But one thing I love about Otos is that, they're always on the job cleaning the leaves and glass. I can't say the same for my 3 Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE). They're alway playful and not interested in cleaning the tank or maybe there's not much algae to start off with in the tank.

But for the past few days, the SAEs are getting to "bully" the Otos when its feeding time and so I'm think of returning them to the LFS who has agree to it.
Maybe I'll get 4 or 5 more of the normal Otos once the SAEs are out. ( My tank is a 255 litres)

Then the gang comes out and swims and feeds together.

I get to a head count whenever I'm doing a PWC on my tank. They gather at the far end of the tank until I've filled up the tank once more.

The zebra otto is almost always on the front glass cleaning it or on the round stones

My mine think he's a VIP in the tank. Doesn't do much, just hangs around the woods and watches the world go by.
I was warned by the LFS that Zebra Otos can be lazy and that they shouldn't be relied upon to clean the tank. The real work horses are the normal Otos.

They are very funny when the lights are off as they do all kinds of stunts around.

OK.........And I'm sure they were "excitedly frolicing" as ldcgroomer politely put it. That explains why you have baby Otos.
Your tank setup must have been so comfortable enough for them to breed. Good for you.
If its not troublesome, maybe you can upload a photo of your tank. Very curious to see your tank, as I have read that its not that easy to get Otos to breed in a tank.

Cheers
Raffik