Shadow's 16G Disaster. Fumigation Poisoned the Tank and Crashed It.

[FlowerMama]

Yeah, I was appalled when I read that statement. Unbelievable. The things said by man sometimes are absurd.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I don't get it, it looks like a pretty fish to me. Unless you're breeding it, then it doesn't matter if its deformed or not. Sounds like they need to get off their high horses.

 

 

Yeah, I was appalled when I read that statement. Unbelievable. The things said by man sometimes are absurd.

 

Yech. I agree as well. Although I have two breeding pairs, I keep the pH high enough that it doesn't induce spawning. If they do spawn, I won't intervene or help them raise the fry - I'll just let nature take its course. People are more concerned over the fact that it's 'shorter' than the standard Ram Cichlid than anything else. I did try to explain that Balloon Rams are the only Rams we can get over here since elongated Rams fell out of favor 15+ years ago in SE Asia. But nobody listens. I swear there are at least two fights a day that occurs on that forum regarding either hybrids, selective breeding/line-breeding or mixing fish. It's probably one of the worst forums that I've had the displeasure of encountering. I'll be exiting the group fairly soon myself.

 

In the meantime, everything is going on really well with the 15G - glass needs a good scrubbing and the anthias needs a bit more fattening up to do. I'm currently sourcing out a pair of clowns, but I think I'll wait for my regular LFS to stock them since their fish usually arrive in the peak of health.

[Tamberav]

People take fish so seriously lol... are they going to go advocate for the destruction of all cross-breed dogs/cats/mutts?

[Snow_Phoenix]

People take fish so seriously lol... are they going to go advocate for the destruction of all cross-breed dogs/cats/mutts?

 

One ignorant douche went as far as saying that they should stop interracial marriages because 'we need to keep our breeds pure'. Honestly, when topics on fish diverts to things like these...It gives me a triple whammy headache. And I personally love mutts. My previous therapy dog was a crossbreed and amazing.

[FlowerMama]

Too much inbreeding makes for mean pets, and is just wrong for people, gives them big foreheads and big ears!!!!!

[Tamberav]

One ignorant douche went as far as saying that they should stop interracial marriages because 'we need to keep our breeds pure'. Honestly, when topics on fish diverts to things like these...It gives me a triple whammy headache. And I personally love mutts. My previous therapy dog was a crossbreed and amazing.

 

Well that person doesn't sound very educated. Pure breds suffer from many different related ailments (hip dysplasia, cateracts, ect) just the same as people of different race are prone to certain genetic diseases. An example is how people of African decent are at a greater chance to have sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis being more common in people of European decent.

 

A mutt is more likely to be a healthier animal.

[deadthrone]

Well that person doesn't sound very educated. Pure breds suffer from many different related ailments (hip dysplasia, cateracts, ect) just the same as people of different race are prone to certain genetic diseases. An example is how people of African decent are at a greater chance to have sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis being more common in people of European decent.

 

A mutt is more likely to be a healthier animal.

 

Hmmm. I'm going to jump right in here though I'm not a regular and haven't been following too long. Just wanted to say that it is actually a common misconception for purebred dogs to have more ailments. If they are being bred to standards and by responsible breeders, dogs with issues will NOT be bred while dogs with good hips for example will be bred to better the genes.

 

This is a hard thing to control in mutts because there is no target "improvement" on their breeding, just puppies. Plus mutts are more likely to have mental instability, tail biting/chasing, aggression. These are faults of poor breeding.

 

The goal is for responsible breeders to enhance the breed genetically so they can decrease issues like juvenile cataracts or hip dysplasia! Just some food for thought. I'm all for a mutt though! Not arguing one way or the other because I've known some damn good mutts and some damn good purebreds.

 

Love the pics btw. Cherry is so beautiful!!

[Tamberav]

Hmmm. I'm going to jump right in here though I'm not a regular and haven't been following too long. Just wanted to say that it is actually a common misconception for purebred dogs to have more ailments. If they are being bred to standards and by responsible breeders, dogs with issues will NOT be bred while dogs with good hips for example will be bred to better the genes. This is a hard thing to control in mutts because there is no target "improvement" on their breeding, just puppies. Plus mutts are more likely to have mental instability, tail biting/chasing, aggression. These are faults of poor breeding. The goal is for responsible breeders to enhance the breed genetically so they can decrease issues like juvenile cataracts or hip dysplasia! Just some food for thought. I'm all for a mutt though! Not arguing one way or the other because I've known some damn good mutts and some damn good purebreds. Love the pics btw. Cherry is so beautiful!!

 

Most breeders aren't responsible. Open the paper "pure bred" blah blah blah $200. My brother's adopted purebred dog was mean as hell and would attack people... it went to a new home and that new owner planned on breeding her because she was "gorgeous".. never mind she was a danger to other people and animals.

 

In general, there are a lot of issues with purebreds and even the "show" quality dog's have issues but that mostly has to do with the fact that those dogs don't look much like the original pure breds and they are breeding for cuteness and not functionality.... fluffier! more wrinkles! squish the face in more!

 

It would probably be beneficial if a dog had to pass certain health standards to be registered but a lot of it is backyard breeding where people can slap "purebred AKC registered" on it to sound fancy and hope to back some money.

 

But yes, there are some breeders out there who actually care and breed great quality dogs (at the cost of a higher price tag) but they are in much fewer numbers. Someone could breed quality in mutts too if they were willing to put the time/money into it, but aren't purebreds just a mix of different dogs originally anyways?

[deadthrone]

Most breeders aren't responsible. Open the paper "pure bred" blah blah blah $200. My brother's adopted purebred dog was mean as hell and would attack people... it went to a new home and that new owner planned on breeding her because she was "gorgeous".. never mind she was a danger to other people and animals. In general, there are a lot of issues with purebreds and even the "show" quality dog's have issues but that mostly has to do with the fact that those dogs don't look much like the original pure breds and they are breeding for cuteness and not functionality.... fluffier! more wrinkles! squish the face in more! It would probably be beneficial if a dog had to pass certain health standards to be registered but a lot of it is backyard breeding where people can slap "purebred AKC registered" on it to sound fancy and hope to back some money. But yes, there are some breeders out there who actually care and breed great quality dogs (at the cost of a higher price tag) but they are in much fewer numbers. Someone could breed quality in mutts too if they were willing to put the time/money into it, but aren't purebreds just a mix of different dogs originally anyways?

I see what you mean. There are a lot of breeders out there that have 0 knowledge when it comes to breeding healthy dogs. And I agree that breeding a dog to look better is a load of shit. I do NOT think this should be the standard and it really upsets me that we put aesthetic value before health. Lots of breeders can put purebred akc registered but in order to find out if we are buying from responsible breeders we have to do 3 things. 1. Observe the parents temperament and mental states. 2. Ask to get vet records of testing done on parents and vet info to verify it happened. And 3. Search the registration website to see if the dogs being bred have pedigrees and are actually registered. At this point we not only do we know the puppies will have healthy minds but we've done our research and know the breeder is legit. I'm thankful I did these things with my puppy!! She's healthy both physically and mentally and I am happy too!Also, show standards do require health testing. In order to show a dog they need hip and eye certifications.

 

Also most breeders that are in it for the betterment of the breed make very little money from it with all of the testing they do.

[Tamberav]

Also most breeders that are in it for the betterment of the breed make very little money from it with all of the testing they do.

 

The higher cost was more about how many people are not willing or can't afford the price of legit breeders or often make uniformed decisions.

 

There are a lot of double mural Aussies on petfinder (causes them to be partially/fully blind and deaf) needing specialty homes which just screams how irresponsible some breeders are.

 

I think temperament has a lot to due with environment more-so than genetics, not that a person should be breeding mean dogs.

[Tamberav]

Okay back on topic.. came across this read for starfish while looking for info about temperate animals.

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/ac/feature/

 

Has me considering adding a red serpent/brittle star from florida to the tank.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Okay back on topic.. came across this read for starfish while looking for info about temperate animals.

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/ac/feature/

 

Has me considering adding a red serpent/brittle star from florida to the tank.

 

Yep, those red ones are gorgeous. Honestly, only brittle stars and chocolate chip stars seemed to last long for me. The other species by the very most hang on for a few weeks to a few months before vanishing.

[Tamberav]

Ya, the other guys are sensitive to poor collection and don't seem to do well in nano's due to feeding habits. It's too bad, I love the look of traditional starfish.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Ya, the other guys are sensitive to poor collection and don't seem to do well in nano's due to feeding habits. It's too bad, I love the look of traditional starfish.

 

Me too. But even my red linkia lasted only 1 year, and I know he could have lasted longer had he been left in the wild. A lot of folks on a local forum used to suggest using a sandsifter star to clean up the sandbed in a tank, but even I knew they don't last long unless the tank is fairly large.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, I made a classical noob mistake a couple of days back. I ran out of DI so I topped off with dechlorinated tap. Now I have a very nasty GHA outbreak in the tank - it looks like a mini green forest in there. My urchin and Astreas are on the case, but it's still too green. Any way to get rid of it without peroxide dipping (I have clams bored into the rock as well as grown-in Palys and a toadstool)?

[Tamberav]

Maybe spot treat it with peroxide without touching the corals?

[Snow_Phoenix]

Maybe spot treat it with peroxide without touching the corals?

 

I don't know - the algae is creeping up to the corals and clams. It's a bit too close for comfort.

 

Will scrubbing it off manually using an old toothbrush do any good?

[Snow_Phoenix]

Okay, this GHA issue has spiralled completely out of control. It's growing everywhere - even on my corals, my hermits and also on my snails. My tank looks like a green jungle. I can't peroxide the coral-encrusted rocks since I do have palys/zoas/toadstools/clams attached to them. My best option was to pull them up by the clumps and toss them in the bin. My urchin is mowing them down, but he's overwhelmed by this menace. I thought of ordering another three tuxedos to help him out, as well as a Hector's or Rainford's goby as well. My head is spinning literally. Never had this bad an algae outbreak.

 

I just discovered that the chaeto in my fuge has browned out for some reason, so it might have contributed to the increase in GHA as well. I'm awaiting new LR shipment at my LFS - they usually have hitchiker turbo snails that I can snag for free if I'm lucky. I feel so overwhelmed suddenly.

 

To top it off, my mischevious mom overfed my cichlid tank last night, and I had to siphon out all the excess food and do a gigantic 50% WC to compensate for her mistake. I lost my lyretail balloon ram and 3 danios in the process.

Also, my LFS gave me a whole tub full of liquid lathanum chloride, so I dropped about 20ml into the tank. It turned the water cloudy for a few moments, but I'll be testing the tank out for nitrate and phosphate levels over the next few hours. No adverse effect on corals, inverts and fish so far from the dosing.

[FlowerMama]

oh my gosh. Someone else's parent did something too....oh yeah, Ninja's dad. It's like parents need hands off policy. It's wonderful they support having the hobby but it can also cause a little unnecessary chaos. Sorry to hear about your freshwater fish.

[Tamberav]

Hectors/rainford's are actually just trying to get the pods/critters on the algae, they are small and wouldn't put much of a dent in anything. Can you get any phosphate remover? I would do that + aggressive manual removing.

 

Sorry about the fish. My husband is the same way... he LOVES feeding the fish and claims they are hungry (all the time) which ofc the fish act like they are even though they are FAT. I told him my betta can have 3 pellets a day ONLY and not to touch the SPS tank. I let him go wild on the mandarin tank since it is running bio-pellets, it can handle his crazy need to feed.

[Snow_Phoenix]

oh my gosh. Someone else's parent did something too....oh yeah, Ninja's dad. It's like parents need hands off policy. It's wonderful they support having the hobby but it can also cause a little unnecessary chaos. Sorry to hear about your freshwater fish.

 

 

Hectors/rainford's are actually just trying to get the pods/critters on the algae, they are small and wouldn't put much of a dent in anything. Can you get any phosphate remover? I would do that + aggressive manual removing.

 

Sorry about the fish. My husband is the same way... he LOVES feeding the fish and claims they are hungry (all the time) which ofc the fish act like they are even though they are FAT. I told him my betta can have 3 pellets a day ONLY and not to touch the SPS tank. I let him go wild on the mandarin tank since it is running bio-pellets, it can handle his crazy need to feed.

 

Well, my mum apologized. And today just took a turn for the worse - I went out to buy food, came back to have a bath and didn't check on the tanks for the past 1 hour. Came downstairs to find my flowerhorn dead as a doornail on the floor - he somehow pushed the lid off his tank and jumped out. Judging by how wet he was when I picked him up, he was just only dead. I admit my heart broke a little. I raised him for the past month and he tripled in size and gained an amazing red color thanks to the live food and frozen bloodworms I was giving him everyday.

 

I just did a check on the marine tank - previous levels before LaCl3: NO3 = 10ppm, PO4 = 0.03ppm. After using LaCl3: NO3 = 0ppm, PO4 = 0ppm. Both tested using Salifert.

 

Lathanum is doing its trick but I don't know how long it would last.

 

In the meantime, I walked out of the house and bought another baby flowerhorn from the same batch as my previous fish. He/She is malnourished and very drab-looking, but if they're from the same batch, then I bet he/she will color up pretty soon once given a proper diet and environment. Also, I'll be getting the glass top from my 15G marine tank cut to fit the the top of the 12G baby flowerhorn tank. Right now I can't risk using another mesh lid top since it seems to get bumped off pretty easily by the stronger fish. I really hate it when they jump out of the tank. Makes me wish I was there constantly so that I could rescue them.

 

As for Phosphate removers - do you mean like RowaPhos, Phosguard and Phosban? If yes, then I think I can snag some at the LFS. Have to wait until Friday though - dad got his car into a nasty accident and he's using mine to work so I'm grounded at home for the moment.

[Tamberav]

Yeah, I meant those.

 

Be careful with all that stuff your dosing. You don't want to starve your corals along with the algae. At least you know the source though, means you can fix it!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Yeah, I meant those.

 

Be careful with all that stuff your dosing. You don't want to starve your corals along with the algae. At least you know the source though, means you can fix it!

 

Yes, keeping tabs on the levels. Sometimes too 'clean' water can have a severe effect on the corals/clams as well.

 

Also, my mum successfully killed all my Ram's with her overfeeding stunt (those guys are super sensitive to nitrates). The nitrate spike from overfeeding was almost 60ppm. Just finished doing a 75% WC again to bring it down to 10ppm, which is far more reasonable. Mum apologized, but my fish had to die for it. I wonder if there's a special 'hands-off' sign for parents/kids that we can tape to our aquariums. Might look tacky, but I honestly don't know how to get the message across.

[FlowerMama]

This past year I did a huge water change on my 55 g freshwater, like they were actually getting used to bad nitrates, I did like a 75% water change and I killed 4 beautfiul silver dollars and a large firemouth. I thought the water change would help, the stress killed them faster than anything that was in the existing water. I've done 50% w/ nothing happening, then I did more and killed half my tank. Nitrates were high in there and was just a dumb move. I knew better but it was a bonehead move. So I can understand when things go wrong.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, after the lathanum chloride, the algae issue is actually reducing (I know it sounds unbelievable, but it is). So I'll keep dosing LaCl3 until I can get some proper PO4 removal media this coming Friday. In the meantime, all tanks are doing well - my bichir babies have gained a whooping 2" in these last two weeks. They're such pigs lol.

 

This was how my Albino senegal originally looked like when I first purchased it about 2.5 weeks ago (please excuse the algae on the glass):

 

 

 

And this is how it looks like now:

 

 

 

 

 

It's as thick as my thumb now. Was originally as thick as a pencil. Also, it loves pigging out on sinking pellets and bloodworms.