New Additions...wow! They Colored Up Quick!

[Harlequins]

In all honesty I would just leave the T.heteromorpha numbers as they are if you don't wish to keep them and would rather keep the T.espei, members of the Trigonistigma genus don't shoal as such anyway, they tend to school and break away from each other from time to time, probably due to the lack of actual threat within an enclosed environment.

I tend to agree with this,my rasboras & tetras unless threatened do tend to dither mid stream,if alarmed they all join up together and school.

So has KK said in larger numbers in a bigger area they are more likely to tightely school when there's bigger schools of different genus,

So your 3 eagle will probably tend to stay together at times.Good news on the zero readings

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The issue is that I've already ordered the T. espei. They are on hold right now at the LFS. I think I am going to move the zebras to my quarantine tank soon.



One thought on the smaller danio is that it might be a result of poor conditions it was kept in previously (only one food type leading to some deficiency that leads to some sort of "scoliosis" appearance to the spine. The other danio... Both are swimming around great and seem to have a lot of energy.

 

[Harlequins]

The issue is that I've already ordered the T. espei. They are on hold right now at the LFS. I think I am going to move the zebras to my quarantine tank soon.

Maybe a wise choice to quarantine the danios until you can find out whats up with them...

I personally would go with what you've decided on with the T.espei,you've obviously want them

 

[eaglesaquarium]

In all honesty I would just leave the T.heteromorpha numbers as they are if you don't wish to keep them and would rather keep the T.espei, members of the Trigonistigma genus don't shoal as such anyway, they tend to school and break away from each other from time to time, probably due to the lack of actual threat within an enclosed environment.

I tend to agree with this,my rasboras & tetras unless threatened do tend to dither mid stream,if alarmed they all join up together and school.

So has KK said in larger numbers in a bigger area they are more likely to tightely school when there's bigger schools of different genus,

So your 3 eagle will probably tend to stay together at times.Good news on the zero readings

That all makes sense...


And on the zero readings... I really didn't expect anything different. The tank they were in was completely cycled and contained all these fish in a much smaller space. Now there is much more room for the waste to be distributed (so a lower concentration would result) plus the fact that my media already had a significant (although immature) bacteria colony in its own right.


The bigger issue would be when I add more fish... what then.


I understand that I should wait on more fish - BUT these fish were kind of thrust upon me last minute, once I'd already put the order for the T. espei in at the store. Sure, I could cancel the order, but I hate to go back on my word. It's not the way I was raised. Instead, I will stress them all a little with new additions, and then they will have months to settle in before any more are added. Ultimately, I think the fish are fine - except the danios. But, whatever the danios have going on, it hasn't bothered the other fish at all, and they have been together for about a year and a half. Same tank, same food, same poor maintenance. My water is pristine right now. I gave them a good long acclimation period because of the difference in pH they were coming from, the difference in nitrates, and the difference in so many other unmeasurable features of the water. (just over 20 hours)... they colored up quick, so I think that their stress is pretty low right now. The cories have begun to do the "glass dance" as I like to call it. The harlequins are all over the tank checking out everything, and the zebras are very active (as should be expected) they just don't appear correct... it might all be diet related... so maybe I will offer up some peas when they start eating.

 

[KittyKat]

I think the T. heteromorpha (harlequin rasbora) will shoal with my planned T. espei (lambchop rasbora).

The two won't shoal together, normally, although they may if they get desperate. I have observed shoals of 30-50 each, on a number of occasions, in a 500 litre tank at the Berlin Zoo Aquarium and there were always two distinct groups at different swimming levels.. the espei kept to the top 20 cm of a meter deep tank, while the harlequins spent their time at the half way point of the tank.

Thanks Kitty for your experience. This is contrary to harlequins post... What to do now?

Go 50/50? Or, if the numbers are low enough of each (or maybe just the one), they should kinda stick together. Standby is also right that you should get the fish you actually want.. but I have a problem with keeping fish like that in smaller numbers, so I would probably look for a new home for the harlequins (advertise on here, maybe someone in your area already has a school - for example, if I was still in UK, I would have taken them off your hands without thinking twice). It is also true that rasboras tend to not do too much schooling around (unless you have crazy cichlids zooming around the tank, freaking out at their own shadow - aka keyholes), but mine do tend to be all in roughly the same area of the tank.

BTW, do you have any thoughts on what's going on with the danios? One looks ready to burst - eggs? And the other has a hump on its back, and the stomach area appears a bit concave. Sorry I can't get a pic, they like to hang to the back part of the tank for the most part - together. And when they do come up to the front, they are far too fast to get in focus. I've gotten some great blurred shots of them, but you couldn't make heads or tails of what was in the picture, let alone diagnose it!

Peggers and deformed? Not unusual for those guys.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Since you've already got new fish waiting in the wings, I'd just go ahead and add them (love your 20-hour method) but keep a close eye on your stats. Might not be a bad idea to do some extra water changes with the added bioload the first week or two.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Go 50/50? Or, if the numbers are low enough of each (or maybe just the one), they should kinda stick together. Standby is also right that you should get the fish you actually want.. but I have a problem with keeping fish like that in smaller numbers, so I would probably look for a new home for the harlequins (advertise on here, maybe someone in your area already has a school - for example, if I was still in UK, I would have taken them off your hands without thinking twice). It is also true that rasboras tend to not do too much schooling around (unless you have crazy cichlids zooming around the tank, freaking out at their own shadow - aka keyholes), but mine do tend to be all in roughly the same area of the tank.

I will consider that... I hadn't settled really on a second shoaler for the mid-water... maybe my second shoal will be harlequins!

As far as the crazy cichlids zooming around, all I have right now is the danios zooming around at times.

BTW, living in the UK wouldn't help... I'm in the U.S. I like the harlequins a lot though, so maybe I'll up their numbers a bit and keep them with the T. espei.

BTW, do you have any thoughts on what's going on with the danios? One looks ready to burst - eggs? And the other has a hump on its back, and the stomach area appears a bit concave. Sorry I can't get a pic, they like to hang to the back part of the tank for the most part - together. And when they do come up to the front, they are far too fast to get in focus. I've gotten some great blurred shots of them, but you couldn't make heads or tails of what was in the picture, let alone diagnose it!

Peggers and deformed? Not unusual for those guys.

Is there anything that I can do for either one to help either one of them?

 

[This Old Spouse]

I've had a von rio tetra in that shape since last September. There was another one in even worse shape that died a few weeks ago. Up until then it didn't show any signs of any other problems. It ate and acted just like all the rest. The surviving one is perfectly happy swimming around the 55g. I don't think there's anything to do differently than the rest.

 

[KittyKat]

Go 50/50? Or, if the numbers are low enough of each (or maybe just the one), they should kinda stick together. Standby is also right that you should get the fish you actually want.. but I have a problem with keeping fish like that in smaller numbers, so I would probably look for a new home for the harlequins (advertise on here, maybe someone in your area already has a school - for example, if I was still in UK, I would have taken them off your hands without thinking twice). It is also true that rasboras tend to not do too much schooling around (unless you have crazy cichlids zooming around the tank, freaking out at their own shadow - aka keyholes), but mine do tend to be all in roughly the same area of the tank.

I will consider that... I hadn't settled really on a second shoaler for the mid-water... maybe my second shoal will be harlequins!

As far as the crazy cichlids zooming around, all I have right now is the danios zooming around at times.

BTW, living in the UK wouldn't help... I'm in the U.S. I like the harlequins a lot though, so maybe I'll up their numbers a bit and keep them with the T. espei.

Good point.. so why have you been up all night?

BTW, do you have any thoughts on what's going on with the danios?

Peggers and deformed? Not unusual for those guys.

Is there anything that I can do for either one to help either one of them?

Not really.. just try to not breed from the deformed one on purpose.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

\
Good point.. so why have you been up all night?

Not really.. just try to not breed from the deformed one on purpose.

I stay up late and wake up early... Such is the life of a person with a touch of insomnia mixed with the genetics of a "morning person". I can't fall asleep at night until late, and I can't stay in bed once the sun is up!


So, there is no danger with keeping these fish in the tank then with the others?
(I don't plan to breed any of these fish - any eggs/fry are just extra food for the others in my mind right now. If any manage to survive on their own, then great. If not, that's fine too. I won't mind if a few were born and added to the tank, but I'm going to be setting up breeding nets, a fry tank, etc. I've added some plants for the fry to try to hide in once they grow in a bit, and plan to add more plants later - mosses and java fern.)

Thanks for the help!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Here's a pic where you really can't see the fish.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

glare monster is glaring. i take night pics to defeat him


looking good tho EA and have fun with ur harleys, i wouldnt add a shoal of the normal ones, as well as ur slenders, too much of the same color. im really interested to see how nice ur slenders color up.

 

[coldcazzie]

glare monster is glaring. i take night pics to defeat him

LMAO

I have to say that danios are not one of my favourite fish at the moment, but on the other hand, I would really love to have some giant ones in a long tank with lots of current... the harlequins on the other hand I do like. Glad they are colouring up well for you, and glad they have got a nice home to live in now! If you remove the danios to a different tank I'd just add the espei and keep an eye on the water. Media from a mature filter should catch up to the increased bioload pretty quickly... how many are you adding?

 

[KittyKat]

Not really.. just try to not breed from the deformed one on purpose.

So, there is no danger with keeping these fish in the tank then with the others?

Shouldn't be. It is very unusual for deformities to be caused by an illness which the fish still has, if the fish is alive and active.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

glare monster is glaring. i take night pics to defeat him

LMAO

I have to say that danios are not one of my favourite fish at the moment, but on the other hand, I would really love to have some giant ones in a long tank with lots of current... the harlequins on the other hand I do like. Glad they are colouring up well for you, and glad they have got a nice home to live in now! If you remove the danios to a different tank I'd just add the espei and keep an eye on the water. Media from a mature filter should catch up to the increased bioload pretty quickly... how many are you adding?

I just got back, having picked up 4 panda corys, and 6 (tiny) harlequins... I am passing on the lambchops for now. Maybe another time. (They are in a drip acclimation process as I type.)



I might be adding some dwarf rainbows eventually (months from now). I recognize that I may be adding too many fish at once right now, but I am prepared for water changes. (Thanks to some advice from waterdrop, I "splurged for a hose and some accessories to enable me to do a water change with minimal effort and with precision. SO, I can do as big a water change quickly with no real issue.) Any additional fish added will be after a few months of settling in, except for the possible addition of a handful of danios if these two last another week or so. (My research on bloated danios indicated that at times females won't actually drop the eggs unless an interested male is around. I am thinking of rollling the dice on getting a male or two to help alleviate her pressure.)

In addition to the mature media, I also have partially cycled media. It was fully cycled on a 10 gallon tank, but couldn't handle the 56 gallon ammonia load at 5ppm. I don't expect to need many water changes before this is fully cycled, even with the increased bioload. The pandas are pretty much full size, but the harlequins are really small. They can't add much in the bioload.