Crickets Journal

Crickets Journal 2017-05-17T14:46:57-05:00

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    • Anonymous
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      Post count: 104
      #15356 |

      Crickets journal

      Thought I’d get my journal going again. Nitrate 20-25, nitrite 0, amm 0, pH 8, KH 120ish, GH 380. Temp 70. I have the window shade near the tank taped shut because it’s sunny. A tiny sliver of light shines into the tank and it’s beautiful. My algae scrubber is really doing its job, so no algae in the tank, but tons inside the scrubber. Very cool. The cycle seems to be settling and today I’m going to rinse a sponge for the first time since I moved. Fingers and fins crossed that I don’t have a spike. I’ve been doing 20% WCs every other day to every 3 days with no sponge rinse due to the nitrite spike I had at first. I hope I haven’t waited too long, but didn’t want another one. Wish me luck!

      Crickets journal

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Did a very minimal vacuuming and lightly rinsed the back sponge. Hoping for the best.

      Po is still floaty and I’ve been oiling him, but only sporadically. I vow to oil him twice/day until he’s better. He’s been pooping, but I still find him floating at times.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      I would mix up a batch of gel food and add the oil to it. Feed it once a day, and you’ll never have to oil him again. It’s been several months since I’ve oiled Spike. He’s swimming like a champ. It’s no picnic to administer the oil

      Glad to hear the algae scrubber is doing it’s job. We need an article or at least a photo. This would be very appealing to a lot of aquarium people

      Loved your description of the light hitting the water. I felt like I was there

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I should have thought of that, but then you’d be out of a job. lol It’ll be so much easier to do it that way. Thanks!

      The sponge I rinsed today smelled so good. I’ve missed that smell. lol

      Speaking of beautiful, hubby’s going to extend the courtyard outside the front door out to the front of the house. It should be about 20 feet long. There’s a well established rare Japanese maple there and this is where the first pond will go. Should be pretty, don’t you think? I’ll bring a lot of the rocks from this house to put around the edge. I can’t wait! It’ll be fenced eventually and I can worry less about critters getting to the fish.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Since 10/4 I’ve done 0 WCs, but added 5 gals FW to dilute nitrate on 10/6, when it was up to about 35 ppm. Today’s parameters pre WC are:

      Amm <.25 (tap=.25)
      Nitrite 0
      Nitrate 20-25
      KH 161 yikes
      GH 340
      pH 8.2

      I’m going to vacuum 1/3 and rinse a sponge today since nitrate seems to be holding steady and I had no nitrite spike after my last sponge rinse on 10/4. Tank weather, clear and 71F.

      It’s interesting that the aftermath of moving my fish has been less work than before I moved them. It may be due to the algae scrubber, but part of it is letting the cycle settle back in. With as few WCs as I’ve done nitrate hasn’t gone over about 30-35.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Sounds like a dream. Maybe you could have a Japanese theme with a pagoda or something like that

      I’ve come to realize that KH testers read a little higher than the real story; about 20 ppm, so I wouldn’t lower with vinegar. You would see signs of discomfort if the readings were too high; clamped fins, sitting quietly or even a little flashing

      Easy on the oil with the gel food or you’ll end up with glop. When feeding gelatin daily, you really won’t need much if any. I use psllium, and if you use pumpkin as a base, you’re good to go. They love the flavor, and it’s really high in roughage and loaded with nutrients. I’ll send you my not so secrete recipe. lol

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      KH came down to 120 with the WC, so no worry there. (-:

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Yippe for the pH coming down, and yipped for the amazing list of smiley faces. All of the icons are too small, but it’s start

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I know! And the smileys actually work for me! (XD) :8) )-: This is big news! lol

      Today’s readings:
      Amm <.25
      Nitrate 10-20
      Nitrite 0
      PH 8.2
      KH 120
      GH 358

      Added 2.5 gals FW. I’m slowly raising the water table. It’s been 2 days since my last WC. Tomorrow I’ll clean half the algae scrubber and watch for a spike.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Reading this morning:
      Nitrate 25 ppm
      Nitrite 0
      KH 120
      GH 340
      pH 8.2

      Did a 1/3 tank vac and front sponge rinse 2 days ago. Did a 5 gal WC today with no sponge rinse. I’m moving the fish again tomorrow. I’ll be glad to get back to my trusty utility sink! I’m deeply nervous however about moving them so soon before my trip on 10/28 and am really hoping this isn’t a recipe for disaster. Although, I had to do so few WCs after moving them a month ago that it may be an ideal time to be away. As I recall, I was only able to do 2 water changes in the first 2 weeks after moving them over here because nitrate stayed so low for so long. I can have my caretakers add a full dose of Prime each day just to be on the safe side. And since I’ll be starting the tank a half full, I can have them just add 2.5 gals of fresh water if nitrate tests on the high side. My hubby will feed them for the 1st half of my trip and then I have someone coming in once a day for the second half. I’m thinking I’ll get a bunch of duckweed so they can nibble all day long during that time.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Nerve wracking I know, but look at it this way, now you’re our resident expert at moving goldfish. lol

      I think you’ve got the move down, but as for the vacation…. just make certain your instructions for the caretaker are as simple as possible, with little room for error. I might be tempted to bottle (one gallons jugs) of treated water that is premixed with water treatment, and the right amount so all the person does is poor it in slowly and all around. I would add one gallons daily that’s been treated with a double dose. That would cover you easy enough in case of a small spike or rising nitrates

      This same instructions hold for your husband; keep it simple, and the next time he won’t mind doing it. Thing is, if something goes wrong on his watch, this will be the last of fish sitting days lol

      Feed light feedings and when you get home; feed same amount building back up gradually to avoid a spike

      I might be tempted to prepackage individual meals. This is where the trouble comes from; too much or not enough food and or too much or not enough water treatment

      This way, you’ll enjoy the trip more having less to worry about

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Excellent suggestions, thanks! I was wondering how to handle the complexities and this will make everyone’s lives easier. I’ll have to find some 1 gal jugs; maybe at the dollar store. The last of them will have been sitting for 10 days… will that be okay in terms of bacteria? I guess I’ll be home soon enough after the last of it goes into the tank that I can do a rescue WC.

      I’m thinking of having hubby and fish sitter feed only garlic peas while I’m gone. Good idea? And then I’ll leave some duck weed for hubby to put in before he joins me in FL. By the way, he asked me to prepackage food so he doesn’t screw things up or have to think about it too much.

      Ah, I just love FL this time of year… 75 and sunny. Perfect time to go. 😀 See, I’m already more relaxed about going. You’re the best, Ms. Venus!

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      As long as the lids are on tight, all is well. Another option is to prepare a freshwater bucket with a small pump moving the water. This would keep bad bugs from forming. You could use a pitcher with instructions on how many pitchers a day, according to the pitcher size

      Yes, good idea with the garlic; keep their immune system boosted while all the water and waste is being stirred up

      I’m glad you’re looking forward to Florida. I’ve been to Miami airport to switch planes; does that count?

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Ended up moving them today. Man I hope I don’t have to do this again any time soon. Phew! Hours and hours. They just went in a few minutes ago. Started the actual move at 3:30, after hours of prep time and at 11:30 pm I was b buffering GH. The drove is only 50 minutes. Tonight I had some wine with my whine. lol they seem fine though. Water partners are great. There’s a whole lotta waste going on in there, but the pumps are clearing it.

      I love the idea of a fresh water tub, but we know how hubby feels about open containers of water. I think right lots are my best bet.

      That’s drive not drove up there. I can’t edit well on my phone. Water parameters, not partners and tight lids, not… Whatever that says. Lol

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Her’s tired. =|

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Yep. Her’s tired. Tired 😫. lol
      Everyone’s alive and well this morning tho and that’s what counts. Oh and hungry. lol No sign of a spike!

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Parameters look great tonight except for ammonia at .5. pH is 8 and I’m adding h2o2. Everybody looking good. Nitrate at 10-20.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      I wonder if that .5 is due to having .25 in your tap at both houses. Put them together and that makes .5? Okay maybe not, but I’m glad to see you, the fish and the pups made it through. I know you’re exhausted, but relieved it’s over

      I think you just wanted to make sure you needed this vacation coming up, and you do 😉

      I was notified of the comment; good to know, and yes, you were very funny

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      That’s an interesting thought. If it doesn’t rise maybe that’s it. Our it could be waste overload. All of our was stirred up during set up and man there’s a lot of it. Could it have overwhelmed the cycle as the pumps cleared it? They did an excellent job. Today’s tank weather: Clear and 72. :8)

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Well, my cycle hasn’t skipped a beat with this move and is producing nitrate like crazy. I did more cleaning tonight and hope I haven’t gone overboard. Vac’d left third and rinsed the plants. Man, they were loaed with waste. I decided not to rinse a sponge yet, but will tomorrow if nitrate is up again and nitrite doesn’t spike. Tank is about 2/3 full; removed 5 gals and added 7.5. Feeding mainly garlic peas. I want to clean the algae scrubber and am waiting for a good time to do it. I’ll clean half of it to avoid a spike. I have to remember that I have .5 nitrate in my tap. It read at about 30 tonight before my WC. Same last night, so I changed 5 gallons. Makes me nervous that it’s rising so quickly with my trip just a few days away. Gulp.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Actually, I tested tap nitrate and it was only .25. Before leaving for FL (where it’s very hot and muggy) I made big efforts to remove waste without creating a spike and it worked. I wanted to reduce nitrate levels and things looked pretty perfect by the time I left yesterday a.m. I trained my pet guy to do water changes. He seemed up to the challenge and will do a 15% change every other day, adding a double dose of Prime with each one. I decided to go that route when I remembered that Prime is only effective for 24-48 hours, so leaving it in prepared water that would sit for days before going into the tank wouldn’t work well. They’re being fed 3 times/day until my hubby joins me. He’ll put a bunch of duck weed in the tank when he leaves and pet guy will feed a larger meal once daily. Hubby is actually enjoying feeding them and getting to know them. He says the tank looks good and clear tonight and that the fish look good. I’m happier if I don’t think about them right now. lol Nervous as a cat.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Finally, a day off and time to log on. The fish did super well while I was gone a whole 10 days! My caretaker did a great job and understands the drill. Woohoo! Nitrate was a little high when I got back, but is back down to 10-15 from 35-40. I think it was the duckweed. They ate it quickly (surprise, surprise) and pooped a ton, so he did some extra vacuuming the last day. But, they were happy and look great. I’m so relieved. He’s reasonably priced as well. I’ve decided to go back for Xmas, as my mom doesn’t look good and I can go with confidence now. Phew!

      Tank is still full of waste (tiny particles of debris), so am vac’ing 1/2 today. I think the cycle is fine and so will be more heavy handed and get the place cleaned up. Rinsed middle sponges. 20% change.
      Readings: nitrate 10-15, pH 8.2, amm .25, nitrite 0, GH a little low so am buffering (16 drops, so about 320), KH a tad high at 8 drops so no soda in my last bucket. Rinsed plants, removed debris with net, put sponges on pump paddles and under larger pumps.

      My nitrate sensitive fish Calypso is doing better during WCs. I slacked off on the chlorophyll during all this moving and traveling, but will get back to it today. Aloe in the tank 2 days ago. They look great!

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Am back to a strong, healthy cycle and having to do a 20% WC every other day to keep nitrates at reasonable levels. The fish have all grown, especially my fannies. Io is the least fancy and the best swimmer; he’s growing the fastest. I’m getting ready to set up a second tank, although I keep thinking that I’ll probably do as much work as I am now when I’m changing water in both. Maybe not, maybe I’ll only have to do each of them once a week. That would be so nice. (lolo)

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Good deal about the cycle

      Yippee! two tanks. I’ve had multiple tanks in the past, and yes, it’s a lot of work; hence the giant stock tank, but whatever it takes. Two tanks at the stocking level is much better than one tank heavily overstocked, but…you may see that nitrates rise quite a bit within a week’s time, making for a long and tedious water change, and hard on the fish as well

      I had a thought; maybe you could allow one tank to go crazy with algae if it’s not in the limelight, and keep the algae scraper in the one on display. After putting a second light on my tank, the algae layer has doubled in thickness, and my water changes are getting smaller again

      Algae is the key to fewer water changes, or should I say smaller water changes. The fish appreciate consistent nitrate levels. The only way to accomplish this is smaller and more frequent water changes or lots of algae

      😉

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Well, in addition to Po’s floating and abscess (if that’s what it is), I’ve got a nitrite spike on my hands. I have no idea why. I’m doing my regular WCs and even let an extra day go by due to sheer laziness before doing yesterday’s. I vac’d the regular 1/2 tank. Nitrate was 30 when I got to it. The only thing I can figure is that my algae scrubber is really coming into its own and is reducing nitrate. Before, if I waited 3 days nitrate would have risen to 40+ in 3 days, but now I have lots of hair algae growing in the scrubber, so maybe the reduced nitrate level reduces the need for waster removal… not sure. Treating with full dose of Prime, enough for entire tank volume, waiting and hoping for the best. Will vac 1/3 of the tank when things calm down. Weather in the tank is cloudy, 70 F.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Nitrite spike day 2:
      Amm .25
      Nitrite .25
      Nitrate 5
      pH 8
      GH 412
      KH 120
      Weather: cloudy, 70 F

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Well, my nitrite spike ended the following day, happily. I was exhausted after my trip and kind of out of it. I missed 2 feedings the first two days, but all in all, it’s just not the same having someone else care for your fish. After the nitrite spike, Po (my fat Ryukin) suddenly lost a 1×1″ circular patch of scales on the right side of his rump, all the way down to the dermis. This was 4 or 5 days ago. I’ve never seen a sore like this before and can’t find any photos like it online. I’ll post photos of it soon. There was a line of scale debris at the top of the tank during the 2 days that they were shedding. I’ve been in close touch with Venus via email. We did 3 salt baths, h2o2 baths twice daily and that seemed to stop the carnage. Then, on about day 4 he bloated behind and his scales began to rise – so scary! Garlic and mint and aloe into the tank, stopped the salt and began refrigerating him twice a day for about 2 hours. The opening in his scales was allowing bacteria into his body and he developed a systemic bacterial infection and the dreaded Dropsy, on course for septicemia/blood toxemia. It has been a hell of a few days as I madly searched for the right antibiotic while trying to work full time and keep up with his treatments. I researched and found Kanaplex, a Seachem product. It seemed a good choice and I paid extra at Amazon to have it delivered today, only to find that my order history said it wouldn’t arrive til next Wed. Panicked, I started trying to have it overnighted by anyone, willing to pay out the you know what to get it here fast. Note to self: no one overnights on Friday afternoon! More panicked, I was venting to my husband last night when he said, “Why don’t you try Midway Fish”? Midway Fish is a small, privately owned, smelly fish and pet shop about a half mile from our house. Both times I’ve been in the store, I’ve wanted to bring all of their fish home to save them. It’s that bad. But, in my desperation, I called them and they had the Kanaplex! The big box pet shops don’t carry Seachem products, so I was amazed and overjoyed. I ran and got it, set up a hospital tub and dosed it and plunked him in. Please keep him in your thoughts!

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Dropsy is a secondary condition. I’ve learned that the term only means that the fish is retaining fluids, usually as the result of a systemic (internal) bacterial infection, or organ failure. In people, the edema that accompanies congestive heart failure, for example, is also referred to as Dropsy, although it’s an antiquated term. As the bacteria attack the organs, the fish becomes unable to regulate fluid exchange and bloats. The abdomen, in Po’s case, his lower abdomen and rump becomes mushy to the touch, like a plastic bag full of water. If you lightly squeeze the fish’s side, fluid will come out of the anal port. If there is blood in the fluid, there is internal hemorrhaging. I haven’t squeezed Po because I don’t want to damage his already compromised body, but I can see a bloody patch under his scales on his fat rump. So, I think it’s safe to say that his diagnosis is hemorrhagic septicemia.

      He’s still very spunky and eating really well, so I’m hoping that he has a chance now that he’s in the antibiotic.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I have a double dose of Prime in the hospital tank. In just 14 hours, ammonia is up to 1 ppm, even though I’m removing all of his poop!

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Sad news; I lost Po on 1/27. He was in his antibiotic tub for 3 days, seemed to really perk up and then took a drastic turn for the worse on day 4, dying that afternoon. The antibiotic reduced his fever, scales were flat again, his sores were healing, etc. I removed the antibiotic from his water when he looked bad, hoping that would help him. He was laying on his side all day, unable to swim or eat, semi conscious, poor boy.

      He had a swollen, hard belly on his right side and a marble-sized lump under his dorsal on the right. He could only swim on his side, like a Frisbee. I’ve read about several fish with the same symptoms, including the sores and lumps, but can’t find the cause, though it seems it must be infection related. I read about one fish who lived in the same condition for 4 months; glad that didn’t happen to my boy.

      Before the antibiotic he got garlic a and mint treatments, h2o2 bath twice daily, h2o2 applied directly to his 2 sores 4 times per day. After the antibiotic he got dandelion and milk thistle and h2o2 baths. He died in my hands as I lifted him out of his last h2o2 bath.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I’m trying to figure out my cycle problems. Got back from FL on 1\11. Did my usual 20% WC, vac’ing 1/2 and rinsing a sponge because nitrate was 30. Created a .25 nitrite spike with cloud lasting 2-3 days. Laid off a few days til nitrate came back up to 30, did 20% vac’ing 1/4 and rinsing a sponge. No spike, so did that for a week and a half or so, but waste began to build up. Then Po got sick. After a week he went into a hospital tank and I used main tank water for him. I tried to be careful, but was exchanging a fair amount of water in the main tank to keep his tub clean. I refrained from sponge rinsing and vac’ing most of those 4 days to try and protect my cycle. More waste built up. After he died on the 27th I did a 20%, probably on the following day, vac’d 1/4 and no spike. Nitrate built to 30, so I did a 20%, vac’d 1/3 and rinsed a sponge. Got a .25 spike and cloud that lasted 1 day. That was almost a week ago. Since then nitrate hasn’t risen over 10. It was 10 three days ago a and i rinsed just the plants to get rid of a little waste. Got a less than .25 spike and no real cloud that lasted a day. Nitrate was 5. Now it’s 10. and I don’t dare do a WC or any cleaning. I’m worried about bacterial infection with all the waste in the tank. The water is clear, but there’s a whole lotta poop in there. Time for a garlic treatment. I’ve been feeding the same amount since Po died, but his poop was way bigger than the fannies’. Maybe I should feed more. The other variable is the algae scrubber which had been growing a big algae bush. I finally cleaned it three days ago, figuring the best time was while nitrate is low. I expected a nitrate spike once the algae was harvested, but no.

      Conclusion? I think my poor cycle has taken a beating and needs time to recover. In the meantime I’ll try feeding a little more and doing a garlic treatment for 5 days to combat bacteria.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Nitrate has been riding at between 12 and 20 for 2 days… yes! I’ve been vacuuming tiny sections of the gravel (like 1/8 of the tank) for the last 3 days trying to get it cleaned up without causing a spike. Haven’t rinsed a sponge since the last spike. Successful so far. Feels great to get some of the waste out. All 4 fish look great; no infection problems thus far. I’m doing a 5 day garlic and H2O2 treatment.

      The wall of the tank opposite the pumps has a build up of slippery film. I don’t like the looks of it (it’s not algae) and am going to have to find a way to remove it; probably just very slowly, one small strip at a time.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Nitrate was over 20 tonight. I vac’d a scant 1/3, removed and replaced 5 gals. I haven’t rinsed a some in over a week. Hey! I could get used to this. Oh wait… Did i say that out loud?

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      A goldfish sing along (to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas)

      On the first day of garlic, my goldfish said to me
      How did you know I liked spaghetti?
      On the second day of garlic my goldfish said to me
      Hold the gel food and serve me a nice baked ziti
      On the third day of garlic my goldfish said to me
      I love spaghetti…
      Hold the gel food…
      I’ve changed my name to Luigi!

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I’ve been cleaning just a little every evening and refraining from a sponge rinse this week. Nitrate was up to 30 today, so I vac’d a scant 1/3 and changed 7.5 gals of water. Also started removing the yucky film on the tank wall opposite the pumps. Things appear to be looking up. If I don’t have a spike, I’ll rinse a sponge tomorrow.

      Calypso is hanging out under the plants more. Makes me nervous.

      5th and last day of garlic. Treating tank with h202 once daily. Parameters where they should be.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Nitrate at 30ish again today and was going to rinse a sponge, but when I moved the pump – wow – so much waste sitting under it that I removed only that… it was a lot of waste. GH was low, so buffered. Removed some more of the film on the quiet side wall. I siphon as I go to try to minimize how much of it spreads through the water. Weather report: clear and 72.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Yesterday I changed about 20%, changed the plants and vac’d a scant 1/3. No spike, but a slight cloud, so verging on a spike. Now I’ve been through the whole tank with the vac, but haven’t rinsed a sponge in… I dunno, 10-14 days. The cycle’s still too tender. This am, KH was 161 and GH 429 so I exchanged 2 gals to bring them down a tad.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      New guy arrived on 2/18. I picked him up at Fed Ex and knew he was big when I could feel him swimming hard, right through the box and packaging as I carried him to the car! This is the first fish I’ve had shipped to me who has just done well once in my tank… no floating issues at all and perfectly healthy. One difference may be that rather than putting him through the way-too-long acclimation I did with the others, I brought Nitrate down in the tank (to about 10 ppm) and floated him for temp and then picked him up and plunked him in. Or, he could just be a healthier fish. He’s adjusting really well and likes his new home. He came from a bare bottom tank or pond and it was fun to watch him watching my other fish picking through gravel and deciding to give it a try. Now it’s his new hobby, of course. Then Fanny taught him to ride the jets. Wheeeeeeee! He loves it. He’s such a powerful swimmer that he manages the pumps just fine, in spite of his gigantic ruffled tail. I’m so happy about how that turned out; I was worried that he might have a hard time with them like Hip does, with her huge tail. He’s quite nimble. He’s also friendly and mild mannered – no picking on anyone, though they’re much smaller. Io picks on him a bit, but Io’s got a lot of nerve. lol

      In other news, my fannies have spawned 3 times in the last week! This is a first in my tank and pretty fun for me. I think it’s the warmer tank temp. There won’t be any babies because I’m not gathering the eggs, but it’s fun to watch them chasing. It looks like Io is the female. Calypso chases her a lot. Sometimes he chases Fanny and sometimes Fanny chases him, so hard to tell with those two… they chase each other in circles a lot which is pretty funny to watch.

      Still babying the cycle, still haven’t rinsed a sponge. Keeping nitrate between 10 and 20 with daily WCs of varying amounts, vacuuming about 1/4 of the gravel. Parameters have been great and the tank looks good. Missing Po.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      pre WC parameters:
      Nitrate a very rich 20
      Nitrite 0
      pH 8.2
      GH 375

      Going to rinse a sponge today. Wish me luck.

      Post 18% WC:
      Nitrate between 10 and 20
      KH 125
      GH 375
      So far, no spike. Gave them a milk thistle tonic. Calypso’s bottom resting, well, his tail is. He’s spending a lot of time under the plants, resting on his tail with his nose up at a 45 degree angle and resting on the tank wall. He used to do this when his nitrate issues bothered him, but I haven’t had high nitrate lately. He’s swimming around normally half time and resting the other half. He’s also gasping at the surface some. I think it’s time to go back to chlorophyll.

      I have a nice patina of algae growing on the back tank wall, in addition to what’s in the scrubber.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I’ve continued with daily WCs, usually 15-20%. Nitrate has climbed since the new fish went in (name is Pan btw). I haven’t minded doing them daily until tonight and so am declaring a night off. Will get to them 1st thing in the morning, AFTER I sleep in. Bad fish keeper, I know. I rinsed a small sponge twice this week and vac’d through the whole tank eventually. No spike, even after a 1/3 vac last night. Things are getting back to normal. Oh! Pan chased Hip all day yesterday and they spawned. He looked so cool, shimmying against her sides. Late in the day I found them laying together in the plants, exhausted. IF they were human, they’d have been sharing a cigarette. lol Hip tore a fin, so I put an aloe tonic in with last night’s WC. Goldfish love. lol

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      That’s awesome. You’ve got spawning fish and how. Isn’t it beautiful? Venus used to leap out of the water, flipping his giant tail, making a huge splash. I wish I’d gotten a video, but the pics are pretty awesome

      Ah….they’re lovers. That was how it was with Venus and the comet I had. They were the first goldfish I had, and when they met it was love at first site

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      I’m glad to hear you the new fish are spawning, but it makes one wonder why the fantails didn’t join in. Do you think your fish are prejudice?

      Not sure what is going on with the forum. I responded to this post this morning, but when I noticed it didn’t show up in the recent posts, I checked and it wasn’t there. I created a new post, and when I looked to make sure it posted, the post I created this morning showed up too. Crazy

      If you see another post that says the same thing as above, it’s this morning’s post showing up again

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Okay that’s just weird….both posts are now here lol

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I don’t see any duplicate posts. I guess it works itself out. lol

      The fannies school together and are a definite little click. They were spawning before the new guy came and seem to have stopped since he arrived. Pan and Hip spawned for a couple of days. Since then nobody seems to be spawning. Ah, the mysterious ways of goldfish. I’m excited I had any spawning at all. First time I’ve seen it in my tank.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Nitrate was up near 40 ppm tonight… and after a 15% WC last night. Guess my cycle’s getting back to it’s old self. I’m back to rinsing sponge every other day, finally. And vac’d a scant 1/3 tonight. Rinsed the small sponges. If there’s no spike, I think it’ll be safe to go back to my old routine. Then maybe I can stop these daily WCs… maybe. The fish have all looked great the last couple of days. No Calypso in the corner.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      You should only see spawning with a three to four degree rise in temps, and my guess is, your temps are somewhat stable, but now you know. When you’re ready to start frying, so are your fish :yahoo:

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Yep, tank was at 72F there for a bit and now it’s holding steady at 69.

      15% WC last night and 10% tonight; just too tired to do more. I’ll do 20% tomorrow. Nitrate at about 25 each evening. It seems like GH is dropping more quickly than it used to and I’m not sure why. I have to use more Epsom and buffer more often. What would cause that?

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Well, even at 69F, Pan is interested in spawning. I think it’s SPRING! Longer, warmer days and spawning season. Some days, if Hip looks too tired, I float her in a colander so that she can rest and recoup. She seems appreciative. Pan looks for her and peers at her through the holes in the colander; pretty funny. When I find them laying together in the plants in the morning I know they’ve been at it and are both exhausted.

      My cycle is back and while I’m happy to report that, it’s a ton o’ work again, as usual with my overstocked tank. Last night I vac’d about 1/2 the gravel and rinsed a big sponge, bringing nitrate down to between 10 and 20. This a.m. it’s back up to 30’ish. And here I was hoping for a day off for all of my effort last night. Silly me. :wacko: Water is crystal clear and tank very clean, though, with a lot of algae on the back wall. You can see bare circles in it where the fish have been eating it.

      Today I’ll clean the algae scrubber and do another 20% change. Glad I slept in this morning. At least I have that. lol

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Well, you’re a brute for punishment. You see, I’ve learned. I’m well under stocked, and I love it. :yahoo: Spike seems to be getting back to normal so I’m gradually raising the water table. After moving it was super low. I think it made the common nervous. She’s really getting big. NO sign of spawning. I don’t think my fancy boys can catch her if she did spawn

      I got a big kick at the thought of Pan peering in through the holes. He’s in love isn’t he? Yes, I think it’s a great idea to give her a break from the action. My females from my old school were a comet and a shu, both built to take it, but Hip…her needs some quiet time. I would love to see a video of the action

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Yes, that would be me; a glutton for punishment. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I bought this giant new fish. Me and my goldfish fever. :wacko:

      If I’d ever get over my laziness and put the background on the tank (remember the one I shopped for for about a year? lol) I’d get some video. Right now, you can see all the junk on the laundry room shelf behind the tank. It’s embarrassing.

      Sigh… nitrate up to 30ish again this a.m. Am in the process of a 20% WC. Rinsed the front pump/sponge and vac’d 1/3. Found 6 teeth today and 4 yesterday! I love it when I find a big bicuspid. It could be a little piece of Po.

      I didn’t dry the algae from the scrubber yesterday (like I have time for that), but put it in the fridge in a container of tank water. I’m feeding it to them once or twice a day. They love it and I hope it will help a bit with nitrate. It’s nice and lush and bright green. Yum! lol

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Well, what do you know? The background is on the tank! Once the fish come out of hiding, I’ll get some video. lol

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Maybe we should start a photo gallery section. I’ll check into it. Some of the best fish photos on the net have come from our own members, and yours are at the top of list. I mean come on…..that one of Hip or Po of the tail fin that looks like the flower? Unbelievable. Who wouldn’t want that swimming in their aquarium

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Why thank you. 🙂 I think a photo gallery is an awesome idea.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Eureka! Don’t know quite why, but nitrate was only 20 or less tonight. Did a 15% WC to bring it down further. Could it be that I cleaned the scrubber 2 days ago and the algae starting to grow? Or is it that I’ve replaced some gel food meals with the algae? Whatever it is, I’m happy.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Nitrate over 40 tonight and only down to 30 after a 20% change. 😥 I realized that I never turned the scrubber lights back on after cleaning it 5 days ago. This might be a good, if painful, experiment… if nitrate comes down as the algae fills in, I’ll get a better idea of how much an effect the scrubber is having. Here’s hoping. I fed all of the last algae harvest to the fish over the last few days. They love it. I’m wondering if I’ve been over feeding when I feed it; easy to do. I’m not sure how it compares with gel food or even peas in terms of nitrate production. I thought it would be a lot less than gel food, so fed it more freely.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Exciting news: the scrubber is working so well, that nitrate came down on it’s own after my last journal post. It came down to 20’ish. I did a 20% WC and haven’t had to do one in 3 days! Nitrate has been riding around 10-15 for 3 whole days. Tonight it was up to around 20, so I added water to make up for evaporation and won’t have to do a WC until tomorrow. Now that’s what I call progress. :yahoo:

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Welcome to the world of algae, where water changes are fewer :yahoo:

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Thanks! Glad to be here. B-)

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      I had a 4 day vacation from water changes, a big deal for me. While the algae on the back wall of the tank is getting pretty thick and dark, it’s really the scrubber that made the difference. I’m trying to figure out its cycle. So far it seems like it’s most effective a couple of days after i harvest the algae and clean it, when the new algae begins to grow; then Nitrate rises again as the scrubber starts to fill with the new growth. If i leave it and let it get really full it doesn’t seem to reduce nitrate as well. At any rate, the fish love having the algae to eat. I move the scrubber from spot to spot, leaving a nice patch of algae each time. Fanny loves to eat it of of the tank walls. The other fish haven’t quite caught on – it’s usually on the pump side of the tank and she’s my little jet rider and most comfortable on that side of the tank. At long last, the scrubber is beginning to feel like a worthwhile investment.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Would love to see some pics of the scrubber full, and then what the algae looks like pulled from the scrubber. Does the algae come off in one piece?

      What we really need is a full blown article, so that we can refer aquarium keepers that want algae, but don’t like the looks of it

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Tank pics

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Tank pics

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Tank pics

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Gotta love the orange goldfish against the greenery…….so beautiful. Nice pics

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Hip is upside down every other day, or part of each day. Good appetite, no pine coning. I’ve been giving her dandelion/thistle baths or an astralagus bath every other day or so for the last week and 1/2. I also give her a dropper of smooth move every day. After treatment, she’ll be upright for a day, half a day, etc. Is it safe to keep treating her so often?

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Here is my aquaponics experiment. I have 110 stalks of lucky bamboo in the tank. It looks great and since I put them in yesterday nitrate hasn’t risen as quickly as usual. I’m hoping that this will finally relieve me from every other day water changes! 100 of the stalks are small, with lush roots, so they’ll absorb lots of nitrate while not taking up much room in the tank. I built a frame out of bamboo stakes and rubber bands to suspend the plants from. I was really careful to rinse off all of the moisture gel that the plants ship in off before placing them. They look great!

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Amazing photos as always. Thanks for sharing. Love lucky bamboo, but it wasn’t so lucky for me. Not sure if you can see with this tiny photo; it’s in the teracotta pot on the right. It died, but so did some of the fish. This was back in the day when I couldn’t keep fish nor plant alive. I have no doubt you won’t have any problems, as your tank water is so healthy. It’s looks fantastic too. I’m glad you’re getting some relief with water changes

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      Had to euth Hip yesterday. She started hemorrhaging and had a big blood spot the size of a quarter on her left abdomen. I realized she must be suffering so decided to give her a dignified end and did the Big Chill. It was hard to do but I checked on her frequently and it appeared peaceful the whole time. I’ll bury her and Po together in my garden (yes, Po is still in the freezer!) I’m very discouraged about owning fancy goldfish, having lost two of them (3, if you count the one who died within days of arriving) within 2 years of buying them. My pet store fantails will be 6 in a couple of months.

      Treatments I used for Hip:
      Oil
      Dandelion & milk thistle
      Astralagus
      Smooth Move
      Blood pressure tea
      Garlic
      Digestive therapy
      Shallow water

      She never pineconed, which supports a diagnosis of organ failure as opposed to bacterial infection/ Dropsy. She was able to swim normally off and on for about 3 months, then upside down floating became our new normal. When she did swim it was erratic and exhausting. It was a long 4 months of treatment and feeling discouraged at the lack of results for her. I hope she is swimming happily somewhere, free of disease.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      R.i.p. hip

      She was a lucky fish to have found you. The time she had would not have been so long and so happy

      Although the fantails are fancy, they are the heartiest variety. The orandas are also hearty if you don’t mind a wen trim now and then.

      Most of the fancies will experience short life spans no matter your fish keeping skills for one reason or another

      We should all avoid buying fish with physical shortcomings. The ones with short fat bodies or bulging eyes.

      If we don’t buy them, the breeders won’t breed them. Supply and demand.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 104

      My lucky bamboo experiment is going well! It’s been about 5 weeks since I put it in the tank and wow… I can go 4 days between water changes! Can you believe it?! Nitrate hasn’t been higher than about 20 in three weeks or so. My dream come true.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Awesome

      Love lucky bamboo. Is it too early for pics? I hope the plant holds up well. I’ve heard a lot of controversy over this plant. It needs dirt; it doesn’t need dirt. Keep us posted

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      Finally, back to my trusty journal.

      Copied from yesterday’s post, 2/17/17:
      New development: Fannie now has 3-4 tiny abscesses on her tail lobes. At first I thought they were Ich, but can see now that they’re tiny red abscesses with white heads. I’ve never heard of this before.

      So far I’ve done:
      -Mint tonic in tank 4 days ago
      -Garlic treatment in tank x 3 days
      -Garlic and I TBL salt bath 2 days ago
      -Garlic and 1 tsp salt bath yesterday (added the salt because I thought she had ich)
      -Mint and 1 tps salt bath today
      -feeding only garlic peas x 5 days
      -h2o2 in tank am and pm x 3 days

      I’ve seen her porpoise once last night and once tonight and this worries me. I’ve never seen her do that before and have only seen it in my fish that went on to die.

      I’m thinking of dabbing h2o2 directly on the abscesses followed by a dab of Neosporin. What do you think? Other recommendations?

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      2/18/17
      2 days after my last 20% WC and nitrate is barely reaching 5 ppm this morning. What the heck?!? This is a problem I certainly have never had before. I want to do a WC, but fear a spike if I do. I’m beginning to freak out. I’m feeding more… guess I’ll feed more? It’s only garlic peas right now. Maybe I’ll mix up some gel food and use garlic water to make it with – my premade Repashy gel food with garlic water! Great idea!

      Good news: the original abscess on Fannie’s right side looks much better. No more redness, scales look fine.

      Concerns: 3 tiny abscesses on her caudal lobes and it looks like there is now a new lesion on her right side, at the base of her pectoral fin. Yikes. What could cause this? I”m thinking her immune system must be compromised. Is there an abscess disease? With multiple abscesses forming?

      Treatment? Shall I do another 1 TBL salt 1TBL garlic bath to treat the new abscess forming on her left side or is that too much salt too soon? I’ve done 3 days of garlic treatment in the tank. Can I continue it?

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      My question is, why do you want to do a water change if nitrates are only 5 ppm?

      Hum…interesting. Can we see pics?

      It sure wouldn’t hurt; another garlic remedy. Another bath, yes, but a short one this time; one to two minutes; same amount of salt

      Did you get the gel food mixed up yet? How’s about peas marinated in garlic water too?

      There are two immune systems; one in the intestines and the other in the blood. How’s about mean green remedy too?

      How’s your KH been? pH? Boost KH to 140 to 160 ppm. Use H202 two to three times a day

      Is your house getting lots of fresh air?

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      Fish house is topless as usual
      Parameters:
      ntrate 5
      pH 8.2
      KH 140
      GH 375-400
      others are 0

      I want to do a WC because there is a lot of waste in the tank.

      Have been feeding garlic peas for 5-6 days, since I first noticed the abscess. Just made garlic gel food and will be feeding it, too.

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      I put aloe in the tank today. I’ll get some pics.

      I don’t see Mean Green on the TOG remedy page. I also don’t have chlorophyll on hand, but I do have spirulina powder. Want to email a recipe?

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      In one you can see the new lesion. In the other, one of the abscesses on her tail.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Those plants, are you cleaning under them? If they’ve been around for a while, have you checked inside the pots for rot?

      A lot of waste? or is it that the waste bothers you. There should be a lot of waste. It’s a part of the ecosystem. You really shouldn’t see much of it, and the majority of it should end up in the sponges. Recommend cleaning sponges only once a week unless you’re overstocked. I doubt you are, however, your fish have grown.

      The color of stone you have; maybe the waste is more obvious, also, if the layer is too thick, the fish won’t be able to stir up the gravel. This behavior helps stir up waste that’s settled in the gravel. As they go about this daily routine more and more waste ends up in the sponge

      I would guess waste is more discreet in natural colored gravel

      Yes. The one on the tail fin doesn’t really look like an abscess. Examine it. Is it firm? Older mature mails develop little whitish bumps on the tail fin. I believe it’s a sign of a breeding male, but wouldn’t bet my life on it. The other one, yes. It looks like an abscess

    • SammyandIssy (Expert Goldfish Keeper)
      Member
      Post count: 23

      Sorry Cricket about your fish. Hope you can figure it out. 🙁

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      Those are abscesses on the tail… it’s hard to tell in the pictures, but seeing them in person, it’s clear. They are bloody red with white heads and they developed in the last 2 days. There is blood streaking into the tail around them. They’re small and I don’t think too dangerous, but the fish has a total of 5 abscesses now. Actually, the new one looks more like an ulcer or just a bloody opening in the skin.

      The plants are my old ones. I put them in the tank yesterday so Fannie can have a place to hide while sick.

      I’m going to do a couple of h2o2 baths and see if they help.

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      I’m confused. Venus, don’t you do 3 WC/week, rinsing one sponge each WC? You’re not overstocked, right? If I rinsed 1 sponge/week it’d be 3 weeks in between rinses for each sponge because I have 3 pumps (essentially).

    • Cricket
      Participant
      Post count: 11

      Tried to post vid of new fish but it timed out twice and then dumped my whole post. Maybe another time.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      I put the forum up, and then took it down, only to put it up and take it down again. Right now it’s down due to the fact I can’t control the font or background color. Here’s why; every feature you see on this site is created by adding it via a plugin. Each plugin has a job to do. These plugins are updated by the creator; some more often than others. Depending on the size and complexity of the plugin, sometimes things get broken in the process

      I don’t know if you remember it, but I once broke the entire page of Organic Goldfish by updating the theme. I’ve since learned safer procedures, but this site is so big, you would spend days checking every little feature after an update

      Sometimes plugins cause issues because the website is updated, but the plugin isn’t. It’s a real pain, but part of it

      I’ll check periodically to see if I can get control of the styling, but until then we either have to live with the light font on the light background or do without the forum. I prefer posting in the Blog anyway. It’s just less complicated

      Have you tried posting a video in blog post?

      I’ll look for a plugin that supports videos. When I’m posting a video, I upload to utube. What app are you using?

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      I’ve created a section for our journals in the blog is you want to try it out. I could move your forum journal posts over if you like. Oh, and check it out. I’ve found an awesome plugin that allows you to upload videos (top of post box) directly into your (blog) post. Maybe you’ll provide the first demonstration?

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