final

This is the last photo of my last otocinclus. I took him to a new home several days ago.

fry update

I'm not sure how my fry Lucky is doing. A few days ago I did the weekly water change, and the little fish looked distressed afterwards. In fact, they all did. A day before the dose of prazipro was done, everyone looked better especially the oto wasn't breathing hard anymore. But I saw a few of the adult cories flash once again, so just to be sure I did a second dose of prazi after the water change. I also dosed the usual ferts. Came to look in the tank half an hour later, and the fish all looked poorly. Momma was lying on her side under some buces panting,

the oto sitting propped up in the mouth of the cave

and the males in other spots- Leo so lethargic he didn't even move away when I got close with the camera-

you can see from this side view his tail was a bit pinched too.

I'd never really seen them sit so still. The fry looked worst of all, quite pinched:

And I don't know what's up with its eyes. It seems to have a white mark through the bottom of the eye- is this normal?

I was alarmed when a little later I put in a tiny bit of food to see their reaction. Nobody really moved. The only thing I could think was- did I accidentally put a drop too many of Prime? or did the ferts and medication interact and reduce oxygen content? I did a partial water change.

The fry perked up a little bit, but still acted weak and let itself drift into corners. At which point I got a closer look at it, and the tail fin looks a bit ragged. Sigh.

A day later and the adult fishes act totally normal. They're spawning again. Momma stuck a bunch of eggs under the heater this time.

Fry seems a bit better. It's definitely grown- the belly no longer looks transparent but has white solid color like the adults' now.

It seems to increase noticeably in size every day- these pics on leaf litter a few days apart:

And here in the windelov fern:

on anubias:

But I'm still a bit worried about it. This morning the tail looked pinched again, and even though it was going after the food I sprinkled in, it seemed to have trouble swimming. Wriggling around in the plants and sometimes tumbling as if it couldn't swim straight. Because the tail fin is clamped? did it somehow get neurological damage? I don't know if I'm doing right to feed the tank a bit extra, maybe the water is not kept clean enough or it isn't getting the right density of nutrition.

If another one hatches out, I think I will either: feed the tank normal and let it take the chances (of starving). Or put the fry in mesh breeder box or separately in a tote to raise it where I can feed extra just for the baby fish.... This one, I don't know how it will turn out.

how the oto is doing

I am not sure. It seems to sit listlessly breathing hard sometimes (I can't figure out why- none of the other fishes look distressed) and other times dashes around the tank as if frantic, from spot to spot can't sit still. Yet it looks plump and the fins are usually perky.

I thought it would feed off the micro organisms on leaf litter, but I can't tell if it does. Or cleaned it off quickly and needs more?

It usually comes to substrate when the cories are feeding, now. Even when it is food I don't think appropriate for an oto. Today it was moving around as if feeding when I gave the cories betta flake, and the other day did this with hikari loach wafers. I hope it's not going to get sick from eating the wrong kind of food. If it's actually eating it.

daily fry pics

Catfish fry Lucky.

Here in the same spot, with Momma nosing the substrate alongside.

This pic really shows Lucky's size. Momma is about to run over the fry. It's the little gray blob right in front of her nose- fry is facing forward.

I fed the cories gold pearls, but concerned the fry wasn't getting much. It kept searching back and forth against the tank wall, whereas the food was getting pulled slightly further into the tank by the filter current. Adults rooting around so avidly after the food I worried they would find all of it before Lucky got enough. However, a close look a little later showed me Lucky had a tummy full with the color of the food.

I had a bit more of a worry with the filter, my own mistake again. After rinsing it out the day before yesterday, I'd replaced the fine poly media (its just a little strip) in a different position- just under the sponge but outside the ballast housing. I thought this would reduce the bubbles getting caught under the poly and making a blub-blub noise. It did, but I think it also diverted flow from actually going through the main sponge- it was probably going readily thru the gap between layers instead. Because next day I noticed there was a lot more fine debris in the water column moving around in stronger current, the fry held its tail pinched and sat around listlessly, and the oto was in one spot breathing hard. I took the filter out and put the poly back inside the chamber. Tried to work the air out, but didn't get it all. There's a blub-blub again. Flow is normalized, stuff is obviously getting trapped on the sponge again, and the fishes feel better. Oto perked up immediately, and the fry recovered soon after.

I think it's better for the others, too- since I did the more thorough cleaning and bigger water change. Felix still has rounded ends to his barbels, but I think I see them growing out already. I was trying to get a photo to compare but he shies away from the camera like usual. Momma stared at it a fraction of a second longer before darting under the shelter of windelov driftwood after him. Oto is just visible on the top of skull, there.

tenner update

Plants doing good in here. Rotalas bright in the back corner, which is nice and cheerful since everything outside now bitter cold and barren. Java fern leaves have spores lining their undersides. Wisteria plant doubled in height. The anubias lanceolata is starting to grow off its wood support, and dropped enough older leaves that half the rhizome is bare. I snipped it, to make it sprout new leaves on the bare part.

The sickly cory died. Looked like it was trying to eat again, but still limped around the tank with odd aimless swimming and clamped fins... Well, the three remaining ones still look robust, and I saw them spawning for a second time. The male quivering while female nosed him making the T-shape. Later I saw a few eggs on the glass, not so many as before. Don't really expect any fry.

Oto continues to look better now with companions. Hangs out with the cories a lot, and nibbles on the same food. It's getting plump again. I had really thought it was wasting away when it was alone, but now I think as long as it cory friends, will be okay. I know it's not ideal. Unfortunately I don't want to get any more otos. The cories are still shy to get a picture of.

another fish shuffle

It's time for some updates on my tanks. Last friday I moved some fishes around. My two serpae tetra that had been in QT (a good long five weeks) still looked pretty good. I didn't see any reason to keep them separate any longer. They were pretty eager to get out of the bag while floating to equalize temperature,

and the other tetras came to check them out. That's Spark bottom left corner, with the rich liver color.

They grouped together immediately. New pair a bit paler than the others for a day or two, now I have to look at their markings to tell them apart.

On the same day I moved my peppered cories out of the window tank, into the tenner. My poor otocinclus in here has been looking listless and thin. I think it was lonely. Over the past week since I introduced the cories, the oto has plumped up a bit again, looking perky and active once more. I wonder if it remembers the cories as individuals, recognizes them? or is just glad of company.

Oto is hanging out regularly with the cories- nibbles alongside them on algae wafers again, even when they are feeding on shrimp pellets or catfish wafers, the oto is often nearby on a leaf.

It's really hard to get a photo of the cories. They are pretty skittish in here- look content and alert but if I approach closely with camera, they flee and hide. Here's a quick photo from the day I introduced them (lights out).

Them seem a lot happier in here. They are out and about frequently, not seclusive as in the window tank (so I think Perry was harassing them to some degree)- only hide at the camera (someone mentioned on fish forum that the dark camera lens must look to a fish like an open mouth approaching!)

Here's one in the front corner. It's nice to see activity in this tank again- their tails waving about as they seek food on the bottom. It's fun to see them flock out of the skull cave together. The other day I saw them spawning. They are definitely getting more to eat on a regular basis now. I know the tank is too small, and their numbers too few, for long-term success in here, but it's better than where they were and I will have to figure out to get new digs for them, or re-home at some point.

two more

serpae tetras. I drove around to all the pet stores in reasonable distance this week. Looking for another betta, but I can't find one I really like... I drove out to the next town over to the lfs. Where I was wowed again- every time I go there I see something cool. A spiny puffer with eyes like blue jewels. Such an unreal face. A lionfish with long, drifting meancingly graceful fins. How does one keep a pet like that? doesn't it eat everything in sight? I guess it would be a saltwater species tank. And I saw a tank full of young angelfish- a swarm of them as big as the ball of my thumb. I have never seen baby angels so tiny. The tank of red parrot fish came up curiously to the glass when I looked at them again, and one made me feel so sympathetic- he had an eye damaged or injured- glassy flat with the pupil just a tiny peering slit. If I took fish home due to feeling sorry for them, It'd be that guy...

But no bettas (the lfs doesn't usually have them anyway). However I felt disappointed to drive all that way and go home empty-handed. I stopped at chain store 3 on the way back, and their tanks looked clean.... so kind of on a whim I picked up two more serpaes for my main tank. Right now they are in the tenner, so my oto is no longer alone.

Of course they all had bitten fins, those should grow back, but I don't know if they are really healthy... I know I wasn't going to buy fish from chain stores anymore, I probably shouldn't have. One keeps going very pale and then the eyes look red-rimmed.

I'm going to keep them in here a full month, or longer, to be sure... and maybe in that time I will find another betta.

I shouldn't name them yet, but I think of the darker one as Ziggy (its shoulder marking is wavy in the middle)

and the paler, small one- usually the aggressor of the two- Spit. It's a little spitfire.

Nice to see fish movement in the tank again. And my oto seems to appreciate having some company. He's been more active since I introduced the two tetras. Not fleeing from them, just out and about.

tenner...

Well my ten-gallon has one fish in it now-

This week it was getting too cold at night; I moved over the little otocinclus. Here he is- at an angle against the wall. His fins are perky, but he's not very active. I don't know if because there's not quite enough algae, or is he lonely... I bumped the temp back up a little and now he moves around more. Put a new catappa leaf in there, too. He's been nibbling over that.

I swear my rotalas haven't looked so healthy since I had the old 20L. And replacing the floaters worked- the new lot of spirodela polyrhiza in here is slowly multiplying, and growing out healthy roots.

But my favorite plant is still the blue buce 'selena'.

I'm trying to spread out the crypt parva, since from a distance and certain angle it looks like a green cover across the substrate- but the one I ordered was smaller quantity than I thought. So I pulled a few that were kind of not-well-rooted on the left of the tank, and replanted them here on the right.

(Even the short rotalas in the background look nice compared to what they were before).

And wisteria is finally regrowing- I thought that one was a goner, again.

Java fern 'tongue' in the skull-