Aquarium

JBJ 6 Gallon Nano Cube

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Here’s a photo of what I have so far. I haven’t moved Mal (my betta, Captain Malcolm Reynolds) over just yet. He is currently still in his Current Solo 5 Gallon.

Unfortunately I ordered the wrong lights (they’re an inch too long) so the lights that are in there are for saltwater setups. I have to reorder tomorrow from somewhere else and then wait to get them.  UGGG. I’m trying to get an 18 watt 6500K 2G11 4 pin (9″) light.

I purchased another water pump because the one that was in there was designed for a higher flow rate, so I put an AquaScape 90 GPH Water Pump in there, and the flow is adjustable so I was able to set that up just right. Luckily Mal is so easy going that he doesn’t mind a small amount of flow in his tank.

Even though I have an extra 50 watt heater I went ahead and bought a Hydor 50 watt for the tank. Since I am using RO/DI water I need a heater to put in the bucket because the water coming from the RO/DI unit is ice cold. A heater in the bucket of water the night before a water change should warm things right up!
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New Tank Photo

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Same cichlids, new 20 gallon tank! I had to move the multies and their babies over to a bigger tank, and decided to put them downstairs in the formal dining room. My office is getting overrun with fish tanks! I added some fake plants to break up line of sight, new sea shells for the babies to choose from, and a rainbow rock as a focal point (thanks for the goodies, Eric!). They may eventually pull the plants up, but it looks really pretty for now.

I took this photo with my Galaxy S4 and am surprised by how vivid the colors turned out. The only thing I did with it in Photoshop is add my copyright and save it in PNG format instead of JPG. I’m quite pleased with how nice the tank looks.

Neolamprologus multifasciatus

Neolamprologus multifasciatus

New Canister Filter

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First things first… Happy Birthday Doug!! Love you bunches and bunches!!

I finally got off my butt and added a canister filter to my 30 gallon tank. Don’t get me wrong, I love HoB filters and the Fluval C Series offer amazing five stage filtration. I just wanted a bit more.

The AquaTop CF400-UV canister has been installed since Friday night. I took the bio-media (C-Nodes and Bio-Screen) out of the C3 and the C2 (I was running a backup) out of the HoB’s and put them in one of the trays in the new canister. Once Doug and I got everything all set up and running I tossed in a bottle of Dr Tim’s One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria. Normally this is not necessary since I used the bio-media from the other filters, but I wanted to ensure the nitrogen cycle was not interrupted, and I wanted to prevent any chance of a mini cycle.

Going on day 4 now and everything seems to be peachy in the tank. Whether or not it’s all in my head that my aqua babies are more colorful than before, I don’t know hehe. Though they sure seem to be!

AquaTop CF400-UV

AquaTop CF400-UV

Sick Fish

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It goes without saying that you get the most amazing feeling inside when you’re able to help your pet feel better and get over being sick. :)

Doug noticed that one of my female Congo Tetra was getting a huge belly, and I knew she couldn’t be pregnant because she wasn’t housed with any males at the pet store where we bought her, and the male Congo that we just purchased went right into the QT when we brought them home. I also knew that chances were extremely low that she had any type of internal parasite because just like the males, the females were all tossed in the QT and treated with fungus and parasite medicines. Nothing new has been introduced to the main tank, so we figured it was probably a bad case of bloat (constipation).

Did some research online and discovered that cooked mashed peas (squeezed out of the shells) or Brine Shrimp would help a sick fish go potty. So I get some peas and cook them in the microwave in some water, squeeze the insides out and toss the shells away, and mix them up with a small amount of Bloodworms (I had no idea if they would actually eat the peas, so I figured the Bloodworms would entice them to eat it). Sure enough they (including the Panda Garra and Serpae Tetra) gobbled it all up like little piggies. Unfortunately the one female who needed to eat it didn’t get any. I couldn’t move her over to the QT, so I had to move her over to another 10 gallon tank that’s already cycled and ready for some other fish that we were going to purchase.

Since Doug had purchased some frozen Brine Shrimp for his new baby Maroon Clown fish, I went ahead and snagged some of those (the shrimp, not the Clown fish haha), thawed them out, and tossed them in the tank with her. I also added some Kordon Fish Protector since she was stressed from the tank move, and also very stressed from an upset tummy. She gobbled the Brine Shrimp right up! Repeated this twice a day for two days, and when I woke up this morning she was her normal slender self again. She is now happily back with her other tank mates in the main tank, and I am one happy momma. :)

I think I will begin feeding all of my aqua babies Brine Shrimp once a week to prevent this from ever happening again. Nothing like good roughage to keep you regular! LOL