90 gal FW journal - wish me luck!

**steeler1** · 01-18-2013, 06:10 PM

It's a royal pain in the neck but at least if you act fast enough it will not kill your fish.

**fishmommie** · 01-18-2013, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by steeler1

It's a royal pain in the neck but at least if you act fast enough it will not kill your fish.

Absolutely. That's why I watch them very close. I caught it early, apparently. I only ever saw visible spots on 3 fish - that's not to say the others didn't have it in their gills - but I figure I was ahead of the game by spotting it early on

**Taurus** · 01-18-2013, 06:36 PM

FYI on Paraguard from Seachem site:

Q: Is it safe to use ParaGuard in Planted aquarium? Can my plants survive ?

A: We do not sell or market ParaGuard as invert/plant safe because it would be impossible to test it with every available invert/plant under every potential water parameter. It has been my personal experience that it is generally safe to use in planted aquaria and would not hesitate to do so.

I would not assume Paraguard is invert safe.

**fishmommie** · 01-18-2013, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by Taurus

FYI on Paraguard from Seachem site:

Q: Is it safe to use ParaGuard in Planted aquarium? Can my plants survive ?

A: We do not sell or market ParaGuard as invert/plant safe because it would be impossible to test it with every available invert/plant under every potential water parameter. It has been my personal experience that it is generally safe to use in planted aquaria and would not hesitate to do so.

I would not assume Paraguard is invert safe.

Thanks for the extra info! I love my snails and don't want to jeopardize them. It was hard on them moving them out of the tank simply because I used salt. So I'll stick with heat and possibly the Ick Attack IF I have any future ich issues. Both are invert safe.

**KevinVA** · 01-21-2013, 12:51 AM

Congrats on both accounts, Cindy! It's great that both Rams are surviving. Once they stop terrorizing things, they do become more pleasant and fun to watch. Even if they're bullies, they are still very beautiful and interesting/entertaining creatures. ;]

Let me know how that UV sterilizer works out for you. I've been thinking along the same lines, myself. I still have to do some research on it, though.

**fishmommie** · 02-02-2013, 02:52 PM

Is there ever a normal in fish keeping?
Have been asking myself that a lot lately LOL. Irradiated the ick that invaded the tank as of 1-10. All seemed normal. Then on the 26th I noticed my little geophagus was a bit bloated and had a couple of spots. fished her out and put her in a hospital tank and treated with Prazi and Metro + but unfortunately, she didn't make it. Have no idea what happened. In retrospect, she was a very reclusive fish and perhaps she had not been fully well since I got her back in Sept. So, sad day yesterday.
In the meantime on the morning of the 29th I woke up to find the carpet all around the 90 soaked and the water level down 2 inches. PANIC!! checked all hoses and they were dry so assumed it was a leaky tank. My DEAR hubby helped me empty the entire tank and drain it. we put the fish in a 20 gal plastic tub and rigged the HOB and heater for several hours. Besides it being quite the rodeo getting them all netted, all stood it well.
After getting the tank drained and lifting it off the stand and finding NO water beneath it or inside the stand, we decided it had to have been a hose. I think I'm the culprit as I had difficulty priming the canister the other day after a water change and I think I over did it and must have caused a siphon effect which lead to the leak before water stopped running out. Lots of sopping up the carpet, added a dehumidifier and ran fans for 48 hours straight and it seems all is dried out.
As long as I had the tank torn up I removed the UGF that few one on the forum approve of and also removed about 1/2 the gravel. I will say I'm glad to not have those additional intake tubes running along either side of the tank in back and am hopeful that all is now settled - AGAIN - in this tank.
Back in October when I tried ottos cats (poor babies just won't survive in this tank, whether they were getting picked on or just poor stock I'll never know) I also added 6 wag sword tails. Not sure if I ever mentioned that. I LOVE these fish. they are all over the tank and in addition have picked every speck of green algae off my driftwood branches. Who knew that sword tails = algae control. Also the females pop out babies pretty regularly so the chiclids have unexpected surprise treats from time to time.

The tank looks healthy and lovely and the fish are active and vibrant. The snails survived (I moved them out during the ick treatment) and are busy as ever so, I'm HOPING for NO NEW problems or developments. The only fish I plan to add to this tank is my little Electric Blue Jack Dempsey that started out in the 90 but that I moved to my 30 gal tetra tank when it became apparent he could not compete for food with the bigger fish. He's growing - slowly - and in a few months I hope to return him to the 90.
Hope you are all having uneventful and great tank experiences!

**Cliff** · 02-02-2013, 03:00 PM

Sounds like a bit of bad luck there

It will become a lot easier as time goes on. I have not added any new fish or changed anything in my 90 gallon for over a year now and my biggest even was reaplcing a impeller in one of my canister filters went I broke it (completely my fault).

Once everything settles down for you, you'll have nothing but routine maintenance and hours ove viewing enjoyment to look forward to.

**fishmommie** · 02-02-2013, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Cliff

Sounds like a bit of bad luck there

It will become a lot easier as time goes on. I have not added any new fish or changed anything in my 90 gallon for over a year now and my biggest even was reaplcing a impeller in one of my canister filters went I broke it (completely my fault).

Once everything settles down for you, you'll have nothing but routine maintenance and hours ove viewing enjoyment to look forward to.

Thanks for the encouragement Cliff. Appreciate it. I love this tank so much and am so eager for it to mature and settle in. my 30 gallon is a year old now. It's a breeze to care for and as healthy as can be but I do remember the difficulty I had getting it cycled and various problems until about the 6 month mark. I'm there now with the 90 so I'm HOPING things will stabilize very soon. :o)

**KevinVA** · 02-03-2013, 04:35 AM

Sorry to hear about the run of bad luck of late, Cindy. Honestly, if you take a look around... the people with seemingly the most problems are those with newish tanks. My hope is that once our tanks are better established (and a bit older) we'll be able to sustain life a bit easier. lol Of course, you can't help bad stock, but I think a better established tank will be able to aid in pumping up our fish's immunity to disease/parasites/etc. Anyway, let's just cross our fingers. ;P

**fishmommie** · 02-03-2013, 05:30 AM

Originally Posted by KevinVA

Sorry to hear about the run of bad luck of late, Cindy. Honestly, if you take a look around... the people with seemingly the most problems are those with newish tanks. My hope is that once our tanks are better established (and a bit older) we'll be able to sustain life a bit easier. lol Of course, you can't help bad stock, but I think a better established tank will be able to aid in pumping up our fish's immunity to disease/parasites/etc. Anyway, let's just cross our fingers. ;P

I think you're spot on, Kevin. Once we get past new tank syndrome, let's hope old tank syndrome is a better bet :o)