Info Needed.

[jonnyf84]

hi.

I could do with some info on this, i need to start treating when i get home tonight so for most of the day i will be trying to get as much info as pos.

Please read this thread:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=260553

I could do with the opinions of other livebearer hobbyists, specifically anybody that has kept these fish.


Many thanks.

Jonny.


Oh i will post this on common livebearers in a few hours as i might get more info there but i usually get more accurate info in the rare section.

 

[dunchp]

I use 'Sera Costapur' which seems to work pretty well.

Go careful that you are not killing your fish with kindness. I don't have alot of experience of Xiph nezahualcoyotl, but I do not know them as shy fish. It may be that you are overdoing the love and affection which is stressing them.

Remember they are wild type fish and get plenty of dirt and detritus in the wild.

 

[jonnyf84]

I agree that could be the case, they are my pride and joy but i should try to harden them up a bit.

The other thing i thought it might be is that because they are in a new aquarium they are not feeding all that well, only in the last few days have they started to come out from the plants to get their food and they will only seem to eat falling food, if it has settled they won't touch it, before they were just waiting for food to fall their way which left a lot un-eaten, i tried to vac most of it out but the tank is very heavily planted and it was impossible to get all of it - ammonia levels have stayed at 0 though.

These fish are notoriously shy in new aquariums, especially wild caught ones, i've heard from several sources they will come out of their shell after a month or so.

I have quite a reliable source in Canada who has kept these fish for a long time. He said that they can stand 86F for short periods with plenty of aeration. Can anybody second this?

I have only treated ich twice before and had good success with King British WS3, the problem is this is speific to ich and i'm not yet 100% sure that this is white spot. Sera Costaspur is a good general treatmnt but i'm not sure i can find it today, protazol could do the trick also. I have a break coming up so i will head down to the local pets at home and see what they have.

 

[dunchp]

Yup, I get this type of fungus relatively often and the Costapur seems to clear it up almost straight away.

One thing I do with wild fish (ones I bring back from the wild) is to put them in with a few similar sized, established, peaceful fish which will not hybridise for a while. It might be rubbish, but I think it teaches the newcomers on how to deal with your regime, how to feed etc etc. It might work with your nezzies.

I have some species I keep for this reason, Ilyodons and Goodeas for instance and a few mollies and cultivated platies (do not use the platies in this instance).

 

[jonnyf84]

I have some species I keep for this reason, Ilyodons and Goodeas for instance and a few mollies and cultivated platies (do not use the platies in this instance).

Haha, funny you should mention that, i have some platy fry in there, 5 or 6 of them that were to small and quick for me to catch when i changed from platys to NMS', they are almost a month old now and hopefully teaching the NMS' how to lve in a glas box

Why do you say not to use platys in this instance?

Oh ,went to the lfs, they had nothing useful so i will have to stick with the KB WS3, malachite green is the active ingredient - they should be fine with this. Also bought new tubing and air brick along with fresh carbon to get the meds out ASAP when i'm done.

 

[dunchp]

Hybridisation. The platys may well breed with the Northern Mountain Swordtails.

It is up to you, but you need to remove the platys from the tank pretty quick. Catch them all up and check that none have developed a gonopodium, if they have then I am afraid you will not be able to be sure of the pedigree of any fry you get from the NMS. I would imagine you would be OK if you move quick.

The person who sold you the NMS should have told you that, unless they are a take your money and run monkey

 

[jonnyf84]

No i wasn't told about hybridisation, i knew what it was of coarse but i must say i didn't know the word for it so thanks They didn't mention it - maybe they thought it was just standard stuff. Yeh i know the platys need to come out but there is no way they are developed enough yet, i've bred platys for a few years now so i have a pretty good idea when they are capable of re-producing, i have another two weeks at the very least.

 

[dunchp]

No i wasn't told about hybridisation, i knew what it was of coarse but i must say i didn't know the word for it so thanks They didn't mention it - maybe they thought it was just standard stuff. Yeh i know the platys need to come out but there is no way they are developed enough yet, i've bred platys for a few years now so i have a pretty good idea when they are capable of re-producing, i have another two weeks at the very least.

Up to you. It would be best to take them out before they develop though.

 

[jonnyf84]

got most of them out now i think, there just so bloody small and quick - i bet i missed some Good news though, my NMS' had fry, i counted 6 which probably means theres over 10 hiding away in the plants.

 

[dunchp]

got most of them out now i think, there just so bloody small and quick - i bet i missed some Good news though, my NMS' had fry, i counted 6 which probably means theres over 10 hiding away in the plants.

Well you have cracked it then, well done, you just need to keep the females alive and you will get fry.

 

[jonnyf84]

I hate this hobby sometimes, my males are dead, what a nightmare.
I'm sure they succumbed to the high temps not the disease, ill advice sucks. (NOTE TO NEZZIE OWNERS: THEY CAN'T TAKE 86F!!!), i've lowered back down to 79F and the females and fry seem a bit happier. I haven't seen white spots for a couple of days now - i'm still treating but they are flicking much more so i think the ich was a bi-product of a internal bactrial infection. This is bad news as i have to finish the ich treatment then run carbon and let the fish settle before i can treat with anti bacterial meds so its gonna be about a month before they are well. The fry are growing nicely though although one has a huge pot belly which i'm really hoping isn't dropsy.
Well if anybody has any Male Nezahualcoyotl's for sale in the north of England please let me know as i do not want to ruin this beautiful strain by interbreeding (that is of course if any of the fry turn out to be males).

Oh the joys of fishkeeping

 

[helterskelter]

86!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ouch even 79 is very high these fish will not tolerate temps of that as you have now lurnt the hard way

Drop then temp down to low 70's if possible

Their was a pair at auction last sunday bit i do not know who was the breeder. How ever they are around.
are u a member of the BLA this would be a good start.

 

[jonnyf84]

I know, wilder from emergencies and a guy i know in canada whose has kept these fish for years said they would be fine - between them they have a wealth of experience far greater than mine and although i felt dubious i still took there advice - what a bad move that was.

No, but i will join the BLA if i have no success elsewhere. I think i have a pretty bad strain of bacteria so it could take a while to sort out, in the meen time i am setting up a much larger species tank for them so i have around a month to look around.

I tried getting in touch with Tom Doran who has a trade page on the BLA website but the email pinged and wouldn't send.

Good news is the ich is gone, 2 days more treatment just to be sure then i can lower back to 72F. Still major gill flicking though, a bad bacterial infection i think - no visible swelling or parasites, just red gills. Going to treat with Interpet internal bacteria (No.9 i think), gotta run carbon and give the fish a wee break for a week or so - poor things are going through hell, fry are growing nicely though.

 

[helterskelter]

I'll treat with protozin not IP internal but the white spot treatment is much the same.

I'll run carbon when finished and drop the temp and leve them to settle the less you fuss these fish the better. They just want plenty of space


forgot to say that you could always ask no viviparous.org.uk if anyone has them

 

[jonnyf84]

why would you use waterlife protozin ahead of IP?