One Fixed Pump

At lunch time today I popped out quickly to my local fish shop and bought a replacement pump. I was surprised at how expensive it was. Took a quick few seconds to install it, so the filter is back up and running. In the one day that passed without the filter working, we noticed that the tank was starting to get a bit cloudy. Just goes to show how essential the filter is.

Disaster

Disaster! After being away for a week, we came back to a healthy working tank, no deaths and the automatic feeder working well. Tonight I noticed the Kuhli Loaches swimming around the tank which was a bit unusual, when I suddenly realised that I could not hear the pump running in the tank. After a quick investigation, I discovered that the pump has packed up. So I am off to the pet shop tomorrow to see if I can get a replacement. Luckily it did not happen while we were away!

Baby Suddenly Eaten

The baby Molly has been eaten! Not sure why the fish decided that is was time to use it as a snack. We had setup the automatic feeder, so not sure if we had under fed them and they were still hungry or that it was lucky at avoiding their jaws up until that point.

The plan for next time is to get a floating container that is kept in the tank, that the babies can live in until they are big enough to survive.

Pruning

I have had to do some pruning of the Vallis, as it was starting to cover most of the top of the tank, causing the main source of light to be blocked out. Some of the leaves that were removed were longer than the length of the tank. I was amazed at how few leaves you had to remove to suddenly see a difference.

The other problem is that there are so many leaves in the way that when it comes to feeding, a lot of food gets trapped on top of the leaves, preventing the fish from getting to it. As I also want to setup the automatic feeder this week, I did not want the food getting stuck there.

Tank viewed from above

Baby Update

The good news is that the baby Molly is still around and growing. It is still white, but now has a few black spots appearing on its body. I have tried to take some photos of it, but because it does not stay still long enough, all I get is just a blur. The picture below is the best I can do to date.

Blurry baby Molly amongst the Vallis

Kuhli Loach Fact Sheet

Here is a fact sheet of the Kuhli Loach

Scientific Name	Pangio Kuhlii
Family	Cypranid
Common Names	Kuhli Loach, Coolie Loach
Origin	Thailand, Malaya,Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia
Adult Size	10 cm
Social	Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
Lifespan	10 years
Diet	Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding	Egglayer
pH	6.5 - 7.5
Hardness	5 dGH
Temperature	22 - 26 C

Babies Update

L discovered that there were three baby Mollies in the tank rather than the two we first saw. I say were as there is only one left now. This batch of babies seemed more brazen than the last batch, as they were swimming out in the open amongst the plants and around the bogwood, which probably made it easier for them to be eaten. The sole remaining one has started to loose its transparency and has gained a bit of white in its body. If it survives, it will be interesting to see how it grows up and what colour it will eventually become.

Legacy

It appears that the black male Molly left his legacy behind before he died, as we noticed two baby Mollies swimming around in the tank. They appear much braver than the last baby the speckled Molly dropped, as they are swimming out in the open and eating off the plants. So far the Siamese Fighter has not found or noticed them and the other fish appear to be ignoring them as well. Lets hope they survive longer than the last one. So there has been lots of activity in the tank this last week.

Deaths

Over the last week L and I have not been home much. Unfortunately in that time period we have had two deaths, both while we were away. The first to check out of the hotel earlier this week was the black male molly, who died after suffering from Dropsy. I found his body under the filter and had to fish him out (excuse the pun) with my hand, as nothing else could really get under there. We both enjoyed having him in the tank and he will be replaced as soon as we get a chance. Over the weekend we lost a Leopard Danio who was looking old. Both will be much missed.