My turn to share

[TheOtherNewGuy]

In my newbie thread i talked about my tiny tank and have since lost and added fish due to deaths and friends that no longer want fish....so an update on my fish..2 african cichlids a fiddler crab (which i herd was brackish but the pet stores did not have salt or inform me-not that they care-) and a green and black pleco and a spotted puffer....my tank is horribly to small for these fish but they will have a bigger tank soon but they all seem to be living peacefully.
--side note question--
my cichlids only care to eat bloodworms and i know that they are more of a treat but wil it really affect them? same with my crab he only eats shrimp pellets...
oh and my pleco has grown noticably in a week!!

[alliecat420]

how big is your tank? anyway.. bloodworms for the cichilds could cause constipation.. but if you try to suppliment flakes.. that should help.. i think your crab would eat anything he finds.. so whatever he eats i would say is fine... plecos grow quickly.. i have one i bought only about an inch and a half in length.. im putting him in my 55 once i get it set up and running

[TheOtherNewGuy]

2 gallons...yikes i know...but im getting my big tank in a month or so...unfortunately i woke up to 2 living fish the sligtly bigger cichlid talking 1/8 inch max and the pleco..also i told my friend i did not want his spotted puffer as it would probly die...and i looked closer at my living cichlid and it had gotten ick so i i put him out of his misory as i dont have a emergency tank...and i bought a jack dempsey to replace them.the crab was brackish and i assume thats why it died bc i dint have any salt in my tank and dint wana risk my other fish since he looked ok...but that dint pan out

[alliecat420]

you had them all in a 2 gallon tank!? and then replaced the dead ones with a jack demsy after an ich breakout? ok first of all.. wait till you have a bigger tank to get more fish, and second of all you shouldent add fish if you just had an ich outbreak.. you need to treat it with meds to kill all of it.. otherwise.. every fish you buy will get ich..also it is very stressful for a large fish to be put in a small tank.. it makes them more prone to diseases.. and if ich is presant.. they will most certainly catch it every time.. i would say carefully treat the tank (dont overdose, as it is a very small tank, measure out the gallon dose or do what i do and dilute a 10 gallon dose is 10 teaspoons of water and distribute 2 teaspoons to your tank) then when your tank is clear of ich.. it's safe to get a small fish.. and get your hands on at least a 29 gallon to house your demsy and pleco.. for cheap tanks check www.craigslist.com

[TheOtherNewGuy]

i cleaned out the tank and everything i know the tank is way small but my bday and graduation r rite arund the corner so im gunna have $ 4 a tank and im gunna buy a 29 gal and an apple laptop....thanks for your concern/help 4 me and my fish...but im pretty sure ive got it handled now...my tank was way over crowded and im assuming it was ich im not 100% the fins turned brown and so did the gils and scales...not sure if those r the rite terms...

[emc7]

look at http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/ for disease diagnosis charts. But the best medicine is clean water. The smaller the tank, the more water changes you need. I would say every day for an itty bitty with big fish.

[TheOtherNewGuy]

thanks i kinda thought that but dint know....lol....i jst did a complete claen out of my tank washed all the bottom rocks out and filled the tank a small amount with tap and the rest with DI water could that affect my dempsey to where he will swim around a bit then go and sit by somthing and his belly turn pink?.. when he goes to swim away it changes back its kinda trippy lol....my rubber lip has not cared about anywhere ive put him....matter of fact hes seen the floor on 3 separate occaions includng the pet store and is un phased...

[StripesAndFins]

i would buy atleast 2 tanks. GSP's (green spotted puffers) also need brackish water.
Make one a brackish tank for your crab and GSP and another Fw for the cichlids and pleco. Give your cichlids flake with a treat of bloodworms, the crab is considered a scavenger so it will eat anything it can, the puffer should get plenty of snails to help his teeth from getting too long. Good luck with the Dempsey (you'll need it, ive heard they are super aggressive)

[SouthernBelle23]

If you are gonna keep a Jack Dempsey you should get a tank around 55g minimum. 29g isn't big enough.

[emc7]

The trick with DI is to get enough dissolved salts in it. Blending with tap is usually good enough, or you can buy a powder (usually baking soda, epsom salt, marine salt) to replace whats missing (DI takes everything out). I would go buy a TDS pen (about $20 when water filters are sold) if you don't have hardness test kits. Try to keep the TDS of the replacement water the same as what the fish are in. If there is a big difference, add slowly, maybe with a drip method.

[TheOtherNewGuy]

ok thanks for the advice guys....my 29 will b a temp as i live in my parents house still....lol...oh and african cichlids and crab=dead...so now all i have is the dempsey and hes getting his tank on friday im setting it up 2morro and gunna let it do its thing b4 i let him in there...unfortunatly i have a tendancy of going in2 stores and seeing things i like -buying them- then researching lol...so in this tank all im gunna have is my dempsey and my rubber lip...oh and my dempsey hes actually more civil with my rubber lip than my considerably smaller african...and i pick out my fish at the store by size color and dominance lol....my dempsey was all 3....

[TheOtherNewGuy]

and 1 more ? how do i know what sex of fish i have?

[TheOtherNewGuy]

i thought my rubber lip was eaten so i purchased a black spotted pleco 2 days later i see my rubber lip hanging out by the heater....lol

[Obsidian]

Plecos are really good at hiding. I won't see my rubber lipped for days upon days, then he comes out to say hi at feeding time. He is a real recluse. Too bad too, I love to watch him.

[TheOtherNewGuy]

yea my rubber lip is dead now he died from stress...and now all i have is my black spotted pleco (walter)