Cycling My Fluval Edge

Hi guys,

Well...you did warn me about guppies and otos.  I'm just hoping that will be it now.  The bully guppy has started on the other guppy with the same orange tail and markings as the one that died now....perhaps he's like me and doesn't like orange!  I am left with a beautiful blue guppy and two pink ones, they look slightly different to the two orange ones in that they don't have quite such long tails.  I wonder if anyone has noticed if any particular colour is more prone to bullying or being bullied???

Resa
 

I can't stop thinking about my fish! The best way to get them, which endlers to get etc etc... So to distract me slightly any fishy names on a postcard?!

I really hope my green endlers are in stock! They're the ones I'm currently most excited about, still yet to see the Japanese ones

Thanks Sue! 0ppm nitrite again :-D

They can react badly to being caught, bagged and put in the new tank. Can I ask, what did you do to get them from the bag into your tank? And was the shop somewhere that'll have the same water supply as you?

At this stage, I wouldn't worry too much. It could be that this fish is more sensitive to everything involved with being sold. He could recover when he settles in, I've seen it happen. Keep an eye on him and if the worst happens remove him as soon as you find him. Dead fish do horrible things to the ammonia level.
It could be that he was sick in the shop tank. Fish will try to look as though they are not sick as they would be the first target for predators in the wild. And being netted out of the shop tank will scare a sick fish into reaction.
Did the shop worker catch them all easily and carefully? I've heard some horror stories - fish dropped on the floor then put in the bag, fish being squashed against the glass with the net etc. Fish subjected to things like that rarely make it.



You could always get a piece of wood and a java fern separately and attach it yourself. I've just tied a piece to the flowerpot cave ready for when my cycle finishes. I had to soak the pot in bleach (as with everything else in the tank with my last betta in case he did have lymphocystis) which needless to say didn't do the orginal java fern much good. It'll slowly attach itself like ivy to a wall then I'll be able to remove the cotton.

I used a net to add them to the tank from the bag as I'd heard it's bad to put the shop water into my tank... hopefully I wasn't way off there and causing unnecessary trauma to the fish? However he looked quite poorly before this point and all the other fish were happy despite this :-(

I don't remember them being bashed about or anything in the shop, however the shop keeper did accidentally catch a female fish, which he offered me free but I said I didn't want her so he took her out, so I guess he could have knocked the fish during this process?

I do think I'll be opting for adding a plant to one of my existing woods, as I like the wood I have at the minute and the individual plants looked healthier than the ones in the tanks on wood already!

I'll keep an eye out for him and see... I hope he doesn't die - what a traumatic start to fishkeeping!!

Aww the poor new marine fish Resa, hope he survives!!

In the end I went for:

2 Japanese blue and yellow endlers (one of which is the one I strongly suspect will be dead soon :-( )
3 Green endlers (these are my favourites!!)
3 normal endlers

I was a little disappointed by the Japanese endlers, however the two I got were very pretty. Unfortunately the prettiest one is the one I think is very poorly. In good news all my other fish seem to be having a whale of a time!

Is it OK to put my lights on or shall I leave it for tonight? Is it right to not feed them for two days?

I'll get some pictures ASAP!

Thanks as always Sue! Yes they were a nightmare to catch, they're so quick and loved hiding in the corners! The water was all the same so shouldn't be a problem :-) hehe will keep an eye on my levels!

Oooh pretty! A sort of snakeskin look to him 

Congratulations on your new fish and that's a good photo, too. More please.

Just a hint.... don't name them just yet, let them settle in first and see if your sickly looking one survives. It's always worse if you lose them and they've got names.

Yeah I definitely know what you mean about the names Colin - I think it'll take me a while to think of some anyway!

Also I think I missed your comment about the platys Resa - congratulations! How are your baby shrimp going Colin?

Unfortunately it looks like the sickly Japanese blue must be dead :-( There's no sign of him anywhere in the tank, and I keep doing a headcount but there's only 7 fish to be found. I just can't see the body anywhere :-( He's not floating near the surface, and I couldn't see him under the wood. I think I'll have to go on a body recovery mission :-( Unless my fish could have eaten him!?

In good news however, all other fish seem to be settling well. They're all SO active! This morning when I first checked them they were all happily swimming together. Then when they caught sight of me they started frantically swimming to the front. Are they hinting they want some food!? I was planning to wait until this evening when my partner is in (still trying to get him more interested in them!) but I might give in soon!

Also my water was:

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate somewhere between 5 and 20ppm (same as my tapwater)

The moss ball has rolled itself right to the corner of the tank near my bogwood which is a little annoying, I might have to do some rearranging!

I'm currently charging my batteries before attempting some photos with my proper camera (the other shot was from my phone) so expect more photos soon!

I've just put my lights on too. Unfortunately my plug timer seems to have broken already, I can't turn it to set the time so it won't work :-( Might be popping out later to get a new one, but I'm off both today and tomorrow so it's not too urgent.

How often do I need to supplement flakes for other food? I've only got tropical flakes today, but am tempted to pop out later and buy some loose plants for one of my bits of bogwood (I like the shape of one too much to put a plant on it, but the other is quite well shaped for some plant I think!)

Also should I turn down my filter? It's on one of the highest settings at the minute as I figured the quicker it goes the better and none of the fish seem to be struggling, but I don't want them be worn out!! They all still seem quite confused by the almost mirrored wall effect to the tank - I keep seeing them staring at their own reflections or swimming at themselves!

Regarding non-flake food, I find that bloodworm is a bit to big for my endlers. They swim round for ages with one hanging out of their mouths, presumably eating it bit by bit. Daphnia and brine shrimp are much more endler sized (or you could always chop the individual worms in to tiny pieces  ) Most fish shops sell frozen cubes, there is much less risk of something nasty being in them compared to those bags with live things swimming round in them. One cube will be way to big for a meal for 7 endlers. Cut a piece off a cube and put it in a tub with a bit of tankwater to defrost. I usually sieve brine shrimp in a cheap tea strainer and wash under the tap to remove the salt as they are grown in salt water. Feed frozen live food like this once or twice a week. There is more nutritional value in the flakes, but the change is good for them.
Dried 'live' food has less nutritional value than frozen. Some fish (especially bettas) can have problems with it swelling up inside them, so when I've used dried live food, I've pre-soaked it before giving it to the fish.

All my fish love peas too