Haley the Cuban Gar

[E_americanus]

that's a relief. for a moment i thought i would've had to stay up with another fish...filtration is a simple OHF with 3 trays of mechnical and 3 trays of biological filtration. works well for tanks up to 6x2x2. the turnover rate is 5000L/Hr. i do a 20% weelly water change. and yes i'll try and find the substrate asap.

something about my water change though. the tank is located in my room. thus everynight the water is warm(heater) while the room is cold(air-con), thus water evaporates at about 20%/week. so i just top off the water on sundays. is this any different from the normal water changes?

topping off the tank is NOT the same as doing a water change and should be considered completely independent of water changes. in fact, by just topping off the water you're merely maintaining the same state of waste/impurities in the water, because as the water evaporates, the toxins concentrate in the remaining water (i.e. the toxins do not evaporate with the water, they stay in the tank).

i would definitely increase water change volume and (maybe) frequency, but do it gradually so as not to shock your fish. this week don't just top it off, actually do a real water change, which means take 20% out and replace it...this is separate from any topping off.

the other species you have in the tank are much more tolerant, so you probably haven't seen issues like this before...Cubans, on the other hand, are not. if you keep up the present maintenance, the fish will die. end of story.

as for filtration, i am guessing this is not enough for your tank at all. never go with the max volume/tank size that a filter says as your main filter. in other words, if the filter says "good for up to 110 gallons" don't use just one filter like that in a 110g tank. filter products generally overestimate their efficacy. i would double the filtration on your tank on top of bumping up the water change schedule. just because the other fishes are very tolerant of poor water quality (which they are generally living in now), doesn't mean they should.

these statements may seem a bit coarse, but they are fundamentals that need to be put into practice, especially if you intend on keeping more challenging species--
--solomon

 

[xander]

aye aye captain. will start first thing in the morning. but the fish should pull through the night yes?

 

[E_americanus]

aye aye captain. will start first thing in the morning. but the fish should pull through the night yes?

while i was typing my last post you posted that more recent pic...the progressive darkening is not a good sign, and it is tough to say what the best move is right now. when did you last feed the fish?

if you didn't feed it today or yesterday, then i would skip any feedings for the entire tank, and do a small water change, probably 15-20%, today. this may help things a bit. if you have recently fed the fish then you'll have to just leave it along overnight as a water change could cause puking and then the fish will be in even worse shape. keep us posted--
--solomon

 

[flemming]

nice fish dude!

 

[xander]

i fed the rest of the tankmates. but she didn't eat. and it's 2am in the morning. i doubt my parents will appreciate me doing a water change at this hour...

ps--the fish has been like this all the while, the previous pic just didn't show it. tomorrow i'll bump up the filtration and do a 30% water change.

 

[E_americanus]

i fed the rest of the tankmates. but she didn't eat. and it's 2am in the morning. i doubt my parents will appreciate me doing a water change at this hour...

ps--the fish has been like this all the while, the previous pic just didn't show it. tomorrow i'll bump up the filtration and do a 30% water change.

forgot about the time difference. if it's already 2am i would just leave it all alone until tomorrow like you've said. good luck and keep us posted. as for filtration, get something equivalent to your present filtration (essentially doubling what you have) and that should work in conjunction with water changes (real water changes). i would stop feeding the tank for the next 24 hours (african arow should be fine for this period) --
--solomon

 

[xander]

unfortunately african aro has been removed from the tank. he looked way too much like a feeder beside the cuban...i havent been feeding them for a while in attempt of improving the water quality, but had to feed them some pellets tonight as the gator and bichirs were attacking each other. i'll bump up the filtration and do my best to find the appropriate substrate tmr.

 

[headbanger_jib]

oooh man
i hope everything gets cleared up by tomorrow your cuban looked way too beautiful fo anything to happen
Good Luck

 

[E_americanus]

oooh man
i hope everything gets cleared up by tomorrow your cuban looked way too beautiful fo anything to happen
Good Luck

i hope it pulls through as well, although a basic knowledge of water changes and toxins in the aquaria should be a requirement for keeping such rare species (unfortunately there is no way to make that so). hopefully the situation hasn't gotten too far out of hand to be fixed--
--solomon

 

[channarox]

hope she pulls through.
btw,you said the gator and bichirs were fighting?
the gator may be able to kill them.