Think Fish Keepers Daily News. [2016-2019]

An active day in the main tank today. Somehow, the water level today is such that the filter outflow pipe is creating bubbles on and below the surface, resulting in the neon green rasboras (plus some of the others, to a lesser extent) surfing for most of the day in their 'jacuzzi'. Everyone seems to be in good form, even those elderly ones who occasionally look like they may not make it through the day. Both snails emerged from a small clay plot this morning, round the side of a moss ball which was partially covering it - the newly-appeared white dots inside the clay pot and over the moss ball reveal what they'd been up to overnight!

Meanwhile, in the quarantine tank, the ever-so-polite cardinals are very calm and sedate, and queue up in very orderly fashion to take turns to feed, only venturing up once the previous one has descended with its mouthful. Their colours are stunning, with the blue line appearing as blue or green, dependent on positioning. I think I have 2 females and 4 males, with the 2 females being first and second in line for first pickings of the food, almost after everyone huddles together and acknowledges that food has arrived and if collective permission is obtained to proceed with dining. This is the most genteel group of fish I've had so far, and there's no frantic swimming up and down the glass or hierarchy-development spats - wonder how long this will last, though.

I think my greedy fish from each shoal (two female x-ray tetras plus the healthy female neon green rasbora) have been reincarnated as two of the six cardinal tetras - two of them seem to eat all the food and have at least tripled in size (body mass), while the other four look as though they no longer have permission/rights to any food despite me tempting them with garlic pellets. 

Updated a few days later to add:
Aha - finally I've found a method that works... I need to actually feed the fish via a pair of tongs so that the food gets released underwater rather than requiring them swimming up to the top. Now everyone's getting fed.
Also decided to do a water change prematurely as I could see a lot of fungused food on the bottom where pellets had sunk before realisation that they were food. Everyone coped with it far better than the first one, possibly because they recalled having survived last week's one, I talked to them in a calming/reassuring manner throughout, and/or they seem to be becoming much less shy and scared in my presence over the past few days. 

So, Donna, with the thoughts of possibly having to relocate within the next 12 months, how's it going with cutting down on tanks & not buying any new fish?

Um, well, not too bad, but probably could do better. 

 

I only went to get some RO & salt for the mudskippers.
The plans went out of the window.
Ooops. 

He is a lovely betta, I wouldn't have been able to resist either 

Sad news, I'm afraid.
I got home at around 7pm last night and did my usual round of tank checks & feeding. Since taking the new job, and having to spend time away from home, things have been ok, but the same can't be said for last night. I've lost a few fish, the main one being the new betta. I'm gutted, and having to seriously think about whether this situation is fair on the fish & axolotls.
I'll look at a few options this weekend to make sure that the welfare of the fish is the priority.
I shouldn't have bought the betta until I was in a position to be at home every day, and I'm feeling awful about getting carried away with that impulsive purchase.
Lots to think about.   

I too need to think about downsizing my fish/aquascape collection... sad new Donna, if you want to discuss any thoughts/plans, let us know!

After going through a spell of only keeping silk plants, I've had some floating plants in the tank for the past month or so - not bad by my records. I then decided to reward myself / the fish with an Echinodorus Amazonicus which arrived today after the postal system took 5 days to deliver it - whether or not it survives that lengthy delivery time, with the seeming sudden transition to winter in the interim, is another matter. However, I'm enjoying the more natural look in the aquarium with the addition of this one live plant at substrate level. In my head, I have ideas for other low-maintenance plants which ought to "fit the bill" - but I'm not even going to go there unless this plant survives beyond a month.

Thanks, @Matt - I was going to give it a miss as it has a tendency to cloud the tank red (it's red-coloured) when disturbed but have now popped it in to give the plant the best chance.

I hope that your plant does well @fcmf   

I've spent some time considering options after the disaster on Friday, and I think I've made the decision to move.

My original plan was to stay in here until I found a house to buy & relocate for work. They were paying for me to stay in hotels during the week, but I find that this doesn't suit me because it doesn't feel very homely. The past few weeks I've been renting a little Airbnb place, which is much better. Although the allowance from work doesn't cover all of the cost, at least I don't have to keep packing and unpacking, which makes me feel more settled.

I've not slept well, so I've spent the past 2 nights looking at rental properties that would be large enough for the fish tanks, and have found some that may be suitable. It will be a massive upheaval, and I'll be renting rather than buying, but at least I can have the fish with me, and can still save some money towards a deposit to buy in the future, though it might take a bit longer than I'd originally planned.

Luckily I checked the water parameters in the new area before I even accepted the job, and it's very similar to what I have here. Also, moving before the end of the year will allow me to take advantage of the relocation package that work provides, so that will help too.

It's a big decision, but would have had to be done sooner or later, and although I'm very concerned about moving the fish, at least I'll have them with me again.