Some news.
Pip's fry are getting large. Some are now around 3/4", some a bit smaller. All are striped like Pip, but a couple I'm kind of watching because they seem to be pinkish on the back half and striped up front. Won't be able to tell much until they're larger. They have two distinct body types. Some are sleek and arrow shaped (like papa Mongo) some are tall and chunky (like mama Pip).
Speaking of mama Pip, she seems to be ready for the single life again. The babies pretty much swim all over the tank in groups and she no longer spends all her energy guarding and herding them. If they stay near the log she'll protect, but the ones that roam are on their own! She takes long breaks from the kids.
As predicted, the larger fish have pretty much given up trying to catch/eat a fry...they just swarm all around them. The bold little things might be pressing their luck because a certain Oscar is now starting to hunt. Not serious yet, but their larger size is getting Brick's attention! He eyeballs them and creeps up when they cluster.
The babies eat like exodons. They swarm, grab chunks of soft pellets and dart around trying to get their food down. Piles of smashed pellets disappear as they pick the sand clean. They grab food particles in the water column and on plants. They out compete the synos, who desperately gobble food when they can. The fry also fight among themselves at times. But they've learned how to stay 'safe' by hugging the bottom and weaving through plants. In the next week or two I'll determine if its time for them to come out. Will take pics.
An update on Patch. She is still battling the lump/cyst combo on her right side. It comes and goes. Right now it doesn't look too bad. She's been massaged, medicated, given constant clean water. The cyst was a bit bloody 3 weeks ago but cleared up quickly. She has a follow up appointment on May 23rd to get an aspirate and x ray to get to the bottom of the underlying cause. The only thing I know is that any kind of salt aggravates it. To her credit Patch seems perfectly fine! She eats well, swims, is responsive and relaxes in her 'luxury bucket' by sleeping in her mesh bed or (upside down) under the lily pad. She loves nesting underneath the heater (even at a toasty 82 degrees) near both air stones. The heater is covered. She has a layer of sand to dig pits out of. I have to fish her out from under the heater to check her progress. Of all my parrots she has the highest tolerance for heat and is unaffected up to 87. The other parrots are good up to 85 before they get too aggressive and kind of sluggish.
Pip's fry are getting large. Some are now around 3/4", some a bit smaller. All are striped like Pip, but a couple I'm kind of watching because they seem to be pinkish on the back half and striped up front. Won't be able to tell much until they're larger. They have two distinct body types. Some are sleek and arrow shaped (like papa Mongo) some are tall and chunky (like mama Pip).
Speaking of mama Pip, she seems to be ready for the single life again. The babies pretty much swim all over the tank in groups and she no longer spends all her energy guarding and herding them. If they stay near the log she'll protect, but the ones that roam are on their own! She takes long breaks from the kids.
As predicted, the larger fish have pretty much given up trying to catch/eat a fry...they just swarm all around them. The bold little things might be pressing their luck because a certain Oscar is now starting to hunt. Not serious yet, but their larger size is getting Brick's attention! He eyeballs them and creeps up when they cluster.
The babies eat like exodons. They swarm, grab chunks of soft pellets and dart around trying to get their food down. Piles of smashed pellets disappear as they pick the sand clean. They grab food particles in the water column and on plants. They out compete the synos, who desperately gobble food when they can. The fry also fight among themselves at times. But they've learned how to stay 'safe' by hugging the bottom and weaving through plants. In the next week or two I'll determine if its time for them to come out. Will take pics.
An update on Patch. She is still battling the lump/cyst combo on her right side. It comes and goes. Right now it doesn't look too bad. She's been massaged, medicated, given constant clean water. The cyst was a bit bloody 3 weeks ago but cleared up quickly. She has a follow up appointment on May 23rd to get an aspirate and x ray to get to the bottom of the underlying cause. The only thing I know is that any kind of salt aggravates it. To her credit Patch seems perfectly fine! She eats well, swims, is responsive and relaxes in her 'luxury bucket' by sleeping in her mesh bed or (upside down) under the lily pad. She loves nesting underneath the heater (even at a toasty 82 degrees) near both air stones. The heater is covered. She has a layer of sand to dig pits out of. I have to fish her out from under the heater to check her progress. Of all my parrots she has the highest tolerance for heat and is unaffected up to 87. The other parrots are good up to 85 before they get too aggressive and kind of sluggish.
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