Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Menidia]

before I make a bad decision, are plecos salt-intolerant like regular catfish? my Oscar is getting over a bit of hole-in-the-head disease(hexamita), and I know salt helps with healing and kills parasites, both external and otherwise. but before I dump salt in the tank I wanted to know if I needed to evict the pleco into the 30 gallon with the bichir until the Oscar healed up.

I believe the salt tolerance depends on the species. There are numerous species of plecos (Loricariids). Some can tolerate even brackish conditions as I've heard.

Typically, I would recommend having a separate quarantine or "hospital" tank. For an adult oscar, I understand having a spare aquarium large enough is pretty tough.

Instead, you could try moving the bichir to the plec's tank and put the oscar in the 30 gallon, assuming it's less than 10 inches in length, and treat it there.

[snarfsnarf]

Mine are okay with salt. He should be fine. Good luck with your Oscar.

[PeachFuzz]

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO MY FORM.

Username: PeachFuzz
How many fish tanks do you have: 3
Types of fish that you have: Four guppies, two bettas, one African Clawed frog, and one shrimp.
Your fishs' names: Guppies: Tigerlily, Rockstar, Blue Moon, and one unnamed fellow - Bettas: Watermelon and Mochi - ACF: Prince Fredrika - Shrimp: Boo.
How long have you had fish: about 3 years

[PeachFuzz]

How many gallons is your tank?: 10g
Number and Type of fish in tank: Betta and four guppies
How long has it been running?: about three years
Did you cycle it?: Yes
If possible what are the ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels?: ammonia 0, nitrites 0
What is the issue or question?: within the last couple days I've noticed that the betta doesn't swim around much anymore. He sits in his cave or between the plants and only swims for food or if I'm moving something in the tank or doing a water change. He looks the same, no other signs of illness.
Any other information?: I got him in March, so I don't think it's old age...

[Menidia]

How many gallons is your tank?: 10g
Number and Type of fish in tank: Betta and four guppies
How long has it been running?: about three years
Did you cycle it?: Yes
If possible what are the ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels?: ammonia 0, nitrites 0
What is the issue or question?: within the last couple days I've noticed that the betta doesn't swim around much anymore. He sits in his cave or between the plants and only swims for food or if I'm moving something in the tank or doing a water change. He looks the same, no other signs of illness.
Any other information?: I got him in March, so I don't think it's old age...

Everything seems in place.

I would ask about the temperature. I like to keep my bettas at no less than 78 degrees F (25.5 C). 80 degrees is a lot better in my experience. Colder temperatures reduces the metabolism of fish, and even 75 degrees which is perfect for guppies is actually fairly cold to some bettas. Each betta seems to have a different threshold for low temperatures, some lasting for years in unheated water and some withering after a week or so.

However the fact that he eats is good and means his metabolism should be fine. He may be stressed by the activity of guppies (male guppies can confuse bettas sometimes, females may intimidate them through activity).

Also, he may just be his temperament. A friend of mine has a healthy fish that usually rests in a raised tunnel ornament, but is always hungry and interacts well when stimulated. Some are just lazy, and for the first few months he was busy checking things out but is now maybe bored or just understimulated, perhaps? Try feeding him different things too, like frozen blood worms and live brine shrimp if you can find it.

[odd miku]

Hi guys. My sister got a beta fish a while ago, and now its quite old. We're starting to think its going blind, because we have to tap the tank to guide him to the food, and he won't eat from the bottom of the tank. Is that normal? And hes a bit smaller then the usual male.

[Firefly_Dreamer]

Username: -Alois-Trancy-

How many fish tanks do you have: 6 (only two are running) (one is being used for rodents so disregard that one)

55 gallon bowfront, 29 gallon high, duplicate 29 gallon tank in case of emergency, 2.5 gallon hexagon, 3.15 gallon critter keeper, 10 gallon tank

Types of fish that you have:

55 gallon
Male Betta
2 Penguin Tetras
1 Platy (others mysteriously dissappeared o_0)
5-8 fathead/rosy minnow
2 dalmatian cories
1 peppered cory
1 albino cory
(Yeah the cories are approaching the old age mark and i'm emptying out the tank to use for goldfish, so when they die i have no intentions of replacing them)

29 gallon high
Male Angelfish
Single Spanner barb
Paradise Fish
Honey gourami (though i dont think he is a dwarf because he is the size of my paradise fish)


Your fishs' names:

Betta - Leotello
Penguin tetras - Bonnie & Clyde
Peppered and albino cory - Salt and Pepper
------------------------------
Angelfish - Al Capone
Spanner Barb - Hitler (yeah i know horrible name, but he had a little "mustache" and my friend called him a mini hitler because he was a smaller bully and the name kinda stuck)
Paradise fish - Napoleon
Golden Gourami - (unsure, thinking Castro as in Fidel Castro, or Mussolini. I am hoping to get another fish at some point to name Stalin)
(i find that if i name my fish after bad historical influences, they live longer, so sorry if the names are offensive to you guys ^^")

How long have you had fish: Since i was 6, mostly it was bettas but community fish i've had since 7 or 8 and then i started with semi-aggressives other than bettas at 11 or 12 and got really into goldfish at 14 and made the mistake of jamming loads of comets into a small tank. From that experience, i am only gonna own fancies from now on unless i can get a pond and my dream fish/spirit animal of a white/platinum koi.

Livebearers have also been my favorites to care for. I'm tempted to apply for a general livebearer expert/helper and i have bred mollies and platies, though i don't have experience with guppies, other than having two male tequilas when i was 8-ish

I don't have pictures yet, sorry. only really old one of old fish that passed away long ago, including my most recent death, my dad's plecostamus he gave me that was twenty years old, but died at like 25. I'm not sure why he died, I just woke up one morning and my community fish were picking his carcass clean.

[.:FarmGirlAtHeart:.]

Okay guys. Something weird is happening. So, in the last year, I have lost three corys, at different times, one in a different tank, in the same way. So, my first cory I lost was called Dakota, a little boy. The second, Robin, also a boy. The third, Denver, too young to tell.
Dakota (Kota)= The first one to go, he had a large hole in his side, almost all the way through. I asked my psychic/medium teacher about her, and she said it was something in the tank. So, I went through and removed anything that could potentially be sharp. I thought it wouldn't happen again.
Robin= The second one, also had a large hole in his side, digging deep into the gill area. I removed all the gravel, when I uncovered a rusted staple. I have cleaned that tank a million times, and there was nothing in it. I got out the staple, and tried to save him, failing.
Denver= I had him in the 10 gallon, but the guppies were being really mean to him, so I put him in with the guppy fry, as he was only an inch long. There was nothing sharp in the tank, but yesterday when I woke up, it looked like somebody had taken a scalpel and cut a clean line down her side. She also had three marks on her belly, as if somebody with extremely small fingers had grabbed her really hard. Today when I found her dead, the wound had gotten down to her bone, and she was bloated and pure red (she was albino). It looked like an artery had been cut.
I'm really scared... What do I do, guys?

If cories are getting holes in them like that, it isn't from something sharp in the tank.
What else is living in the tank? Do you have a cat, perchance?

Yeah, I have two cats, but I am allergic to them so they aren't able to get into my room with the corys.

So I got two more corys today for Lucah. Whoop-dee-da. Make that 4 fish with the same injures.

[Grimace]

Okay guys. Something weird is happening. So, in the last year, I have lost three corys, at different times, one in a different tank, in the same way. So, my first cory I lost was called Dakota, a little boy. The second, Robin, also a boy. The third, Denver, too young to tell.
Dakota (Kota)= The first one to go, he had a large hole in his side, almost all the way through. I asked my psychic/medium teacher about her, and she said it was something in the tank. So, I went through and removed anything that could potentially be sharp. I thought it wouldn't happen again.
Robin= The second one, also had a large hole in his side, digging deep into the gill area. I removed all the gravel, when I uncovered a rusted staple. I have cleaned that tank a million times, and there was nothing in it. I got out the staple, and tried to save him, failing.
Denver= I had him in the 10 gallon, but the guppies were being really mean to him, so I put him in with the guppy fry, as he was only an inch long. There was nothing sharp in the tank, but yesterday when I woke up, it looked like somebody had taken a scalpel and cut a clean line down her side. She also had three marks on her belly, as if somebody with extremely small fingers had grabbed her really hard. Today when I found her dead, the wound had gotten down to her bone, and she was bloated and pure red (she was albino). It looked like an artery had been cut.
I'm really scared... What do I do, guys?

If cories are getting holes in them like that, it isn't from something sharp in the tank.
What else is living in the tank? Do you have a cat, perchance?

Yeah, I have two cats, but I am allergic to them so they aren't able to get into my room with the corys.

So I got two more corys today for Lucah. Whoop-dee-da. Make that 4 fish with the same injures.

Hmm, nothing else is living in the tank? Something is -definitely- attacking them.

[Firefly_Dreamer]

Okay guys. Something weird is happening. So, in the last year, I have lost three corys, at different times, one in a different tank, in the same way. So, my first cory I lost was called Dakota, a little boy. The second, Robin, also a boy. The third, Denver, too young to tell.
Dakota (Kota)= The first one to go, he had a large hole in his side, almost all the way through. I asked my psychic/medium teacher about her, and she said it was something in the tank. So, I went through and removed anything that could potentially be sharp. I thought it wouldn't happen again.
Robin= The second one, also had a large hole in his side, digging deep into the gill area. I removed all the gravel, when I uncovered a rusted staple. I have cleaned that tank a million times, and there was nothing in it. I got out the staple, and tried to save him, failing.
Denver= I had him in the 10 gallon, but the guppies were being really mean to him, so I put him in with the guppy fry, as he was only an inch long. There was nothing sharp in the tank, but yesterday when I woke up, it looked like somebody had taken a scalpel and cut a clean line down her side. She also had three marks on her belly, as if somebody with extremely small fingers had grabbed her really hard. Today when I found her dead, the wound had gotten down to her bone, and she was bloated and pure red (she was albino). It looked like an artery had been cut.
I'm really scared... What do I do, guys?

If cories are getting holes in them like that, it isn't from something sharp in the tank.
What else is living in the tank? Do you have a cat, perchance?

Yeah, I have two cats, but I am allergic to them so they aren't able to get into my room with the corys.

So I got two more corys today for Lucah. Whoop-dee-da. Make that 4 fish with the same injures.

maybe it could have been a parasite eating its way out of the cories? i mean if the guppies/ guppy fry are unscathed, then maybe its not a cat.