Mica's fry appear to be all pink, some almost clear. I will be keeping an eye on this as they grow.
More tank pics, updated
- Thread starter FINWIN
- Start date
Here's Speck, the original Queen of the 125. She's sizing up now from her previous petite shape. Looks a lot like her mother Pip but has a yellow top fin! Daughter Mica has the trait. Still the most hyper aggressive female I have but Harlequin (a granddaughter) is getting there quickly. She has the perfect tankmate in bp Kong who equals her aggression and is much bigger, stronger and just as fast. Kong shuts it down when Speck acts out.
Front mug shot of Speck. Unlike her sisters Blaze and Xena, she doesn't have the heavy black beard. Kong photobombs.
More pics next week as I work on Jazz's tank!
More pics next week as I work on Jazz's tank!
Booya! Operation population control is on a roll! Took the hrp batch in the tub to the Petco in Clinton Md. Employee said he believes by next Friday they'll have space for the jumbos too! Maybe I'll call the one in Upper Marlboro next.
Babies in Lazarus' tank can now go in the tub. There's only the 5 jumbos and Cash the syno in there now.
Babies in Lazarus' tank can now go in the tub. There's only the 5 jumbos and Cash the syno in there now.
Brick does some evening rock scaping of his pit.
Situation with my female acara Jazz is now beyond frustrating. This evening I saw early signs of popeye again. She gets fresh water every 2 days and there's nothing in the tub to stress her. She eats fine. Not sure if it's the same eye, I'd have to look at an older pic. Started her on salt and will hit the meds tomorrow.
Cautious positive update with Jazz.
I'm holding off on the meds for now and sticking with clean water/salt. Her eye looks pretty normal from the top and head on but sideways seems a bit 'thick' at the edges. I also removed the bamboo plant that has pointy edges she may have scraped on. Now there is only soft stuff plants. I've added large rock to make things more natural/restful than bare bottom. She's a bit floaty again but I expect that at this point (for those of you who don't know Jazz flopped into a garbage disposal and injured herself).
I generally feed her small and light portions but she appears to be a bit constipated. Saw her pushing some poop out pretty hard. Probably will let her clear out for a day or two. Because of this 'situation' I'm holding off setting up her tank.
I'm holding off on the meds for now and sticking with clean water/salt. Her eye looks pretty normal from the top and head on but sideways seems a bit 'thick' at the edges. I also removed the bamboo plant that has pointy edges she may have scraped on. Now there is only soft stuff plants. I've added large rock to make things more natural/restful than bare bottom. She's a bit floaty again but I expect that at this point (for those of you who don't know Jazz flopped into a garbage disposal and injured herself).
I generally feed her small and light portions but she appears to be a bit constipated. Saw her pushing some poop out pretty hard. Probably will let her clear out for a day or two. Because of this 'situation' I'm holding off setting up her tank.
Thanks, she's acting normally and has no vision issues. In fact she came up expecting food but i'll wait for another day.
A couple of funny stories. For the longest time I've been trying to figure out how my Oscar manages to pitch his ball clear across the room. I'll find it under the other tanks or near the door. One time it was under the window at the far wall. Well today I got a live demonstration.
We were 'playing' with his ball. I skim and spin it across the surface and he punches it. Well today he punched it so hard it went into the air, hit a wall and bounced off the floor. Then it rolled underneath Kong's tank (the floor slopes to the walls). A perfect rim shot. Sometimes he punches it straight up and it rolls back over the glass lids. Mighty Mouth.
There's more. Sir Gourmet can't wait to get his insects in the evening. A combination of soldier fly larvae, mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers. Once a week they get dusted with vitamin powder. So My new storage system has food in the bins with oxygen packs for freshness. It also preserves the smell. When Brick sees me with the bin he goes nuts. I use the spoons to serve pellets or insects. The IDEA was to shake everything on the surface so Brick could eat the way he normally does. Not today. Mighty mouth stuck his head out the water, grabbed the spoon and gulped down a clump of insects. Then he hovered in the water and crunched away. I am not making this up. All I can say is, this fish is something else. I need a video cam.
Boss the bp is part of the tank mafia too. He's the enforcer. Now the thing with the parrot is he'll actually allow himself to be pushed around at times but only up to a point. He's more territorial than true aggressive. So because he's kind of laid back he's not always interested in fighting. But if a fish starts trouble Boss will go at it relentlessly for days on end. A fight today is tomorrow and into next week.
My oversized male hrp Hulk found this out the hard way. He and the parrot mix it up occasionally. Problem is Hulk starts the fights but Boss finishes them. So yeah Boss will tolerate or ignore a nudge or push but mess with him and it's a brawl. Hulk intimidates all of his family with two main exceptions. Equally big brother Tank is one and mama Pip is the other. Pip is the only one that runs Hulk around.
So like any cichlid Hulk defends his area of the Tank. But tank bosses don't respect parameters. So when Boss goes over into 'restricted area' Hulk flies out to fight. They lock up. Further back in this thread you can see Hulk's size by the ruler and he is massive. Boss is even bulkier and more aggressive once he gets excited. That famous mouth pinch sends Hulk running. Being a cichlid Hulk doesn't give up easy. But he gets backed against the glass. Charging at the parrot does nothing because he can't force Boss back. So he ends up spinning away and retreating.
Hulk had a brain cramp and challenged Brick as well. The Oscar spends no energy fighting smaller fish. His method is a simple one. Get in front of the smaller fish and give them no room to retreat. He'll just hang there while the other fish panics and tries to get around him. It's effective, too. Hulk nearly ran himself into a log trying to escape. Adding insult to injury Boss drifted up to watch.
A couple of funny stories. For the longest time I've been trying to figure out how my Oscar manages to pitch his ball clear across the room. I'll find it under the other tanks or near the door. One time it was under the window at the far wall. Well today I got a live demonstration.
We were 'playing' with his ball. I skim and spin it across the surface and he punches it. Well today he punched it so hard it went into the air, hit a wall and bounced off the floor. Then it rolled underneath Kong's tank (the floor slopes to the walls). A perfect rim shot. Sometimes he punches it straight up and it rolls back over the glass lids. Mighty Mouth.
There's more. Sir Gourmet can't wait to get his insects in the evening. A combination of soldier fly larvae, mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers. Once a week they get dusted with vitamin powder. So My new storage system has food in the bins with oxygen packs for freshness. It also preserves the smell. When Brick sees me with the bin he goes nuts. I use the spoons to serve pellets or insects. The IDEA was to shake everything on the surface so Brick could eat the way he normally does. Not today. Mighty mouth stuck his head out the water, grabbed the spoon and gulped down a clump of insects. Then he hovered in the water and crunched away. I am not making this up. All I can say is, this fish is something else. I need a video cam.
Boss the bp is part of the tank mafia too. He's the enforcer. Now the thing with the parrot is he'll actually allow himself to be pushed around at times but only up to a point. He's more territorial than true aggressive. So because he's kind of laid back he's not always interested in fighting. But if a fish starts trouble Boss will go at it relentlessly for days on end. A fight today is tomorrow and into next week.
My oversized male hrp Hulk found this out the hard way. He and the parrot mix it up occasionally. Problem is Hulk starts the fights but Boss finishes them. So yeah Boss will tolerate or ignore a nudge or push but mess with him and it's a brawl. Hulk intimidates all of his family with two main exceptions. Equally big brother Tank is one and mama Pip is the other. Pip is the only one that runs Hulk around.
So like any cichlid Hulk defends his area of the Tank. But tank bosses don't respect parameters. So when Boss goes over into 'restricted area' Hulk flies out to fight. They lock up. Further back in this thread you can see Hulk's size by the ruler and he is massive. Boss is even bulkier and more aggressive once he gets excited. That famous mouth pinch sends Hulk running. Being a cichlid Hulk doesn't give up easy. But he gets backed against the glass. Charging at the parrot does nothing because he can't force Boss back. So he ends up spinning away and retreating.
Hulk had a brain cramp and challenged Brick as well. The Oscar spends no energy fighting smaller fish. His method is a simple one. Get in front of the smaller fish and give them no room to retreat. He'll just hang there while the other fish panics and tries to get around him. It's effective, too. Hulk nearly ran himself into a log trying to escape. Adding insult to injury Boss drifted up to watch.
