--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEK00019 Date: 10/16/97 From: RICHARD GLAZER Time: 12:07pm \/To: PHIL DESROSIERS (Read 1 times) Subj: Exotic Fish I would imagine too that Pirhanas would not fair too well in cold water of the north. I will still inquire though. Richard G --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Juxtaposition BBS. Lasalle, Quebec, Canada (1:167/133) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEK00020 Date: 10/16/97 From: ROBBY DITTMANN Time: 03:19pm \/To: NATHAN BELCIK (Read 1 times) Subj: Dead Fish? NB> I had changed the water a day before... NB> Any suggestions?? Did you dechlorinate the water? Any chance that something tainted it? I'd also be interested in knowing if you have checked the possibility of a short in your heater. Is the heater glass cracked or scratched? And another thought I had, do you have small children? :) Robby --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: Red Shift BBS, Home of Mamoosoft! ... (770) 979-9467 (1:133/8003) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEK00021 Date: 10/15/97 From: VERN FAULKNER Time: 10:54pm \/To: MARK DUDLEY (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Lost fishy GD> You did not mention whether you had snails or anything. I've seen a MD> No snails, though I did forget to mention the pleco., I MD> doubt he ate him..hehe Eh... you may want to think again. Plecos are scavengers. And meat is just as good as algae. Now, your finny lip-standing buddy may not have _caused_ the fish to go fins up, but as sure as tootin' he/she/it cleaned up the mess. This is a potentially serious indicator of a long-standing water problem which is killing fish in reverse order of resilience, or - more scary - sickness, that's doing the same. If its the latter, your muck-sucker may find its immune system drained. And then you'll be doing the same with the tank... --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Fox and Dragon Inn - Warm Fire, Hearty Helpings (1:340/44) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEL00000 Date: 10/16/97 From: MARK DUDLEY Time: 08:44pm \/To: VERN FAULKNER (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Lost fishy VF> Plecos are scavengers. And meat is just as good as algae. Now, your finny VF> lip-standing buddy may not have _caused_ the fish to go fins up, but as sur VF> as tootin' he/she/it cleaned up the mess. Nah, any other fish that have died have invariably ended up stuck to the filter intake. I've wondered occasionally if maybe they swim to close and get sucked against it and can't swim away, but surely the filter people have thought of the possibility. VF> This is a potentially serious indicator of a long-standing water problem wh It's definately not the water, as I keep a check on it for PH and amomnia. he water is also crystal clear and has no odor even where the air bubbles surface. VF> is killing fish in reverse order of resilience, or - more scary - cknes Sickness may be a possibility, but it's probably closer to just a matter of t was the smallest fishies that died, they may have simply not been getting enough food with the bigger fish around. The barb simply disappeared.. It's always been hard to tell just how much to feed them, since they always eat whenever you put food in the tank... but since it's known that fish can o days without food, and I feed them once a day.. I doubt that's it. Just no way to really know what happened.. --- Renegade v96-132b * Origin: Nuclear Wastelands - 850-937-9181 - 850-937-9043 (1:3612/601) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEM00000 Date: 10/17/97 From: ROBBY DITTMANN Time: 03:28pm \/To: VERN FAULKNER (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Lost fishy VF> Plecos are scavengers. And meat is just as good as VF> algae. Now, your finny lip-standing buddy may not have VF> _caused_ the fish to go fins up, but as sure as tootin' VF> he/she/it cleaned up the mess. I've actually had a pleco kill a tiger barb that was annoying it, so I agree with you that one way or another, the barb is inside the pleco! Robby --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: Red Shift BBS, Home of Mamoosoft! ... (770) 979-9467 (1:133/8003) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEM00001 Date: 10/17/97 From: ROBBY DITTMANN Time: 03:29pm \/To: MARK DUDLEY (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Lost fishy MD> No snails, though I did forget to mention the pleco., I MD> doubt he ate him..hehe The tiger is inside the pleco! As Vern pointed out, the pleco will scavange any dead fish in the tank, but I have actually had plecos attack tiger barbs that annoyed them too much. Robby --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: Red Shift BBS, Home of Mamoosoft! ... (770) 979-9467 (1:133/8003) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEM00002 Date: 10/16/97 From: CRAIG CHAMBERS Time: 11:00am \/To: MIKE STEPHENSON (Read 1 times) Subj: WHOS Well I live in Ft McMurray in Alberta Canada and no we do not live in igloos --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: Westwood LAN BBS, Fort McMurray, AB, CANADA (1:3402/10.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEM00003 Date: 10/16/97 From: CRAIG CHAMBERS Time: 11:04am \/To: MORTEN OERITSLAND (Read 1 times) Subj: WHOS Hey Morten you live in norway cool. Hey what is it like around there do you have snow there?How cold do it get there inthe winter? While where i live it can get to -50 C and we have lots of snow and I live in Fort McMurray Alberta Canada. --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: Westwood LAN BBS, Fort McMurray, AB, CANADA (1:3402/10.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEM00004 Date: 10/16/97 From: STACEY IRWIN Time: 03:08pm \/To: NATHAN BELCIK (Read 1 times) Subj: Dead Fish? -=> Quoting Nathan Belcik to Stacey Irwin <=- SI> If all your fish died simultaneously, I think that illness can be SI> ruled out. Sounds like bad water to me. SI> When did you set up your tank? SI> How long had the fish been in the tank? SI> What kind of filters are you running? SI> What was the water temperature? SI> Did you have your water tested? NB> Yes all of them did... NB> I set up the tank up about a year ago... Okay... NB> I have had the same fish for a while... How long is a while? 2 months? 6 months? 9 months? NB> I run a little fish filter type thing... Is it an undergravel? An undergravel has plates that go under the gravel and have tubes that come up out of the plates and an air stone and air pump are put down the tube to create a current which pulls decaying food and feces down under the gravel. The tubes are usually equipped with charcoal cartridges which filter out discoloration, odor, and the chemicals put off by the decaying matter. The undergravel is of very little use if not equipped with charcoal filters and the charcoal cartridge should be changed every month. There are also "intake filters" which hang on the tank, they have an intake tube which pumps water up out of the tank and through filter mediums. I run an Aqua-Clear, they come in 4 or 5 sizes for various sized tanks and have 3 filter mediums -- a sponge to filter out solid matter, a charcoal, and an amonia filter. There are a few other similar styles. My tank has both. It is a little 10 gallon tank and is VERY easy to over-populate, especially with the platy and molly dropping babies like they do. The problem with the intake style filter is that babies can get sucked up into it -- I've rescued quite a few out and the babies are now religated to the fish bowl. NB> I think the water temp. was normal... Always check the temperature first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening and maybe at least once in the middle somewhere. The thermometer (I prefer one that goes into the water and has suction cups on it to secure it into place) should be in the opposite corner as the heater. Besides the range of filter mediums, the intake style filter helps create currents in the water (along with the bubbler) to prevent hot and cold pockets of water in the tank. It also agitates the surface of the water which assists in the oxygenation of the water. NB> Water tested nope.... Get a test kit or take water samples from your tap and tank (mark them so you know what is being tested) to where you buy your aquarium supplies and fish, they will usually test your water for free and direct you to products that will help with any chemical problems in your tank. There are a number of things that the water should be tested for. If something happens with the bacteria (nitrifying bacteria--good stuff) the amonia levels can get high and toxic. If there is chlorine in the water the amonia will bond with the chlorine and make chloramine, which is toxic. Then there are nitrates and nitrites and pH levels. Nitrates can be reduced by adding live plants. But you have to watch that there's enough of them that the fish don't eat them all, and live plants and undergravel filters don't go together very well. And even though real plants will release oxygen into the water during the day, they will give off carbon dioxide at night, so you may need to adjust mechanical aeration to make sure that the fish do not get oxygen starved at night (a large amount of water surface also helps). Some one else is going to have to verify this part, but this is what I understand about nitrites and amonia. The two are linked and can be controlled with charcoal and amonia filters. De-Chlor is very inexpensive to buy. The stuff I have is 2 drops per gallon. When water is going to be added to the tank, add 2 drops of de-chlor per gallon and let it sit for at least 24 hours (to acheive room temperature and evaporate chlorine). pH levels are a little harder. I haven't quite got that part completely figured out, except for this: The pH level measures the acid-to-alkaline quality of water. What your pH level needs to be depends on the type of fish you are going to keep and there are products on the market called pH Perfect or Perfect pH with a certain pH level that they adjust the water to. Those are the next thing on my "to buy" list. Oh! and water hardness. Water hardness can affect the way your water aerates and whether or not the pH will fluctuate wildly. NB> I had changed the water a day before... Could have been something in the water, chemical residue in the containers the water was in, or something on your hands when you did the procedure. NB> Any suggestions?? Don't buy anymore fish. Get your water tested. Check out some books at your local library about aquariums and the type of fish you want (exotic, tropical, etc.). Take your tank apart completely and give it a thorough rinse in hot water. Check all your equipment to make sure it is functioning properly. Look into anything needed to resolve chemical levels in the water and to get equipment compatible with what you intend to do with the tank. In short -- educate yourself and start over. --- FMail 1.22 * Origin: CyberSupport Hq/Co.A PRN/SURV/FIDO+ (602)231-9377 (1:114/428) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 229 AQUARIUMS Ref: EEM00005 Date: 10/16/97 From: VERN FAULKNER Time: 06:28pm \/To: PHIL DESROSIERS (Read 1 times) Subj: Exotic Fish PD> I would think that the Canadian Winters are too cold for Pirahannas....No? Most places, yeah. There are some waters in the Victoria area on Vancouver Island which might be able to handle it. Scary thought, that. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Fox and Dragon Inn - Warm Fire, Hearty Helpings (1:340/44)