Hi all, just after some advice (aren't we all).
I have a 200l tank (48" long by 15" wide by 18" tall). Aquis 1000 filter. Set up since December, fishless cycle completed.
Contents:
6x Head and Taillight Tetra
5x Cherry Barb
1x BN Pleco
3x golden mystery snails
Originally 3x Crimson Spotted Rainbows (Melanotaenia duboulayi) - now only 2, one succumbed overnight.
Gravel substrate
Rocks
Driftwood
Several plants (mainly Elodea and Blue Stricta).
The now dearly departed rainbow was sickly from the day I bought it. One other hasn't grown very much and is quite thin. The other appears to have grown nicely. However both the remaining Rainbows are showing signs of wear, the largest one appears to have a sore on his lip, and both appear to have raggedy fins.
I have kept an eye on water parameters and am consistently 0/0 for ammonia and nitrite, nitrate appears to be in the 40ppm zone (depends on how hard I shake the bottle). 25% water change weekly, filter clean every month or so.
I have a suspicion it's the tetras causing the aggression, I've noticed lately that they're more in the habit of chasing each other around. I treated the fish to some freeze-dried bloodworms and since then they've all become a bit more active/aggressive, the rainbows have shown much better colour, but I may have awakened the sleeping beast in something and now it's taking nips from the rainbows.
I thought I'd set up a nice peaceful environment but it seems that something's now not right. I have plans to move the smallest rainbow into my QT and hope he'll recover quickly and put a bit of weight on before reintroducing him.
On another topic, has anyone tried wild-caught fish in an aquarium? I've found out through a friend that a local creek has rainbows and firetail gudgeons, and he's lent me his traps. I wonder if I secure a few wild rainbows I can both save money (at $10 each when the LFS has them in stock they're a bit expensive, and I've been waiting for 2 months for new stock to come in) and avoid disease. If I catch them (it's totally legal) am I potentially introducing disease into the tank? Has anyone had experience with firetail gudgeons, I've heard they're not very aggressive but fairly boring in that they hide most of the time.
Will post photos of the damage tonight if everyone is feeling photogenic.
I have a 200l tank (48" long by 15" wide by 18" tall). Aquis 1000 filter. Set up since December, fishless cycle completed.
Contents:
6x Head and Taillight Tetra
5x Cherry Barb
1x BN Pleco
3x golden mystery snails
Originally 3x Crimson Spotted Rainbows (Melanotaenia duboulayi) - now only 2, one succumbed overnight.
Gravel substrate
Rocks
Driftwood
Several plants (mainly Elodea and Blue Stricta).
The now dearly departed rainbow was sickly from the day I bought it. One other hasn't grown very much and is quite thin. The other appears to have grown nicely. However both the remaining Rainbows are showing signs of wear, the largest one appears to have a sore on his lip, and both appear to have raggedy fins.
I have kept an eye on water parameters and am consistently 0/0 for ammonia and nitrite, nitrate appears to be in the 40ppm zone (depends on how hard I shake the bottle). 25% water change weekly, filter clean every month or so.
I have a suspicion it's the tetras causing the aggression, I've noticed lately that they're more in the habit of chasing each other around. I treated the fish to some freeze-dried bloodworms and since then they've all become a bit more active/aggressive, the rainbows have shown much better colour, but I may have awakened the sleeping beast in something and now it's taking nips from the rainbows.
I thought I'd set up a nice peaceful environment but it seems that something's now not right. I have plans to move the smallest rainbow into my QT and hope he'll recover quickly and put a bit of weight on before reintroducing him.
On another topic, has anyone tried wild-caught fish in an aquarium? I've found out through a friend that a local creek has rainbows and firetail gudgeons, and he's lent me his traps. I wonder if I secure a few wild rainbows I can both save money (at $10 each when the LFS has them in stock they're a bit expensive, and I've been waiting for 2 months for new stock to come in) and avoid disease. If I catch them (it's totally legal) am I potentially introducing disease into the tank? Has anyone had experience with firetail gudgeons, I've heard they're not very aggressive but fairly boring in that they hide most of the time.
Will post photos of the damage tonight if everyone is feeling photogenic.
