Elvis is in the house

This afternoon we went and bought another Siamese Fighter to replace the one that died last year before Christmas. We also need something to try and keep the baby fish population under control as both the Mollies and Platties are breeding excessively.

He is red in colour with a touch of blue towards his back. Photos to follow later. When L saw him, she fell in love with him and named him Elvis. We hope he will supply us with lots of enjoyment.

Sailfin Molly No More

Yesterday I discovered that the Sailfin Molly had gone to the big fish tank in the sky. Over the last week his swimming had been getting worse and we noticed that his body was starting to bend. I think he might have been suffering from old age and like humans who become hunch backed, so do fish. I have noticed this with a few fish that I have had.

An interesting thing I have noticed about the tank is that the female fish live longer than males. Most of the deaths we have had were males, not sure why that is. Could be that the males were older when we got them or that they have short live spans. Or by going on the number of baby Mollies we have, they just wear themselves out.

Unhappy Male

Today L noticed that our male Sailfin Molly was acting strangely. He does not seem to be able to swim properly and is struggling to right himself. Will keep an eye on him.

Another Guest Departs

One of the last two remaining female Guppies was found on the gravel last night. We will miss her. Seems every time I get new fish, one of the old ones decides to leave the hotel. Though I must say that she was looking thin and old.

Death By Exhaustion

Last night I noticed our last male Guppy resting on the gravel, panting away. Did not look happy at all. Because he had done this before and then bounced back to health, I was not too concerned, but unfortunately I discovered him dead this morning. Either he died from poor health or he exhausted himself entertaining the two female Guppies.

He will be missed by all.

Uprooted

I have been away for a few days and came back to a tank that has had most of the Cabomba uprooted. My current suspects are the Mollies as they have a habit of nibbling on plants and if those plants are not rooted down strongly, they slowly get pulled free of the substrate and end up floating.

I took some awful photos to show the effects of the uprooted plants in the tank.

The sparse location where the plants used to be.

Caught on the Java fern and Vallis

Caught on the bogwood

Replanted

Cleaning Crew

I have noticed an increase in algae growth on the bogwood over the last two weeks and decided I had better do something about it. After a bit of research I discovered that Mollies (Poecilia sphenops) like to eat algae as part of their diet, so I bought four today to help keep the algae growth down in the tank. Of course doing regular water changes helps reduce the amount of algae growth, but having a cleaning crew helps as well.

We bought four different coloured ones, total black male, white and with black spots female, total white female and a total orange female. The white and orange ones are settling in and have already started eating some of the algae. The other two are currently a bit skittish and are hiding below the filter or amongst the plants.

I also decided to get two female guppies to keep the remaining male happy. He appears to be happy and is already chasing them around the tank.

Fish Update

It appears that the last remaining Guppy is back to his old self. He is once again swimming around with the other fish. I suspect that the heat wave we had caused the tank temperature to rise, which might have affected him. He was swimming at the bottom of the tank where the water was cooler and not swimming around too much. I am just glad that so far he has survived.

My solution that I used in the "And They Call Him Houdini" blog to keep the Siamese Fighter out of the filter appears to be working. He often snoops around the pipe and plant container to see if he can find a way in, but so far I am winning.

Bloodworms

Today we went to the local fish shop to get some frozen bloodworms for the guests. I thought it would be a good idea to vary their diet. The bloodworms come in a pack of 30 portions. I popped one portion out and dropped the frozen cube into the tank. It took a while to thaw out and then sank to the bottom of the tank as one big lump of knotted worms. The fish loved them, especially the Danios, Cories and the Cardinals. One Danio ate so much that it's stomach is now exceptionally swollen. Hope this will not cause it any harm.

I think the amount of worms in one portion is too much for the number of fish I have in the tank at the moment. Next time I treat them I will only give them half the amount and also thaw it out before hand so that it can spread around the tank in the current, giving the fish more of a chance to get some, instead of them all fighting over it at one location and the strongest hogging it all to themselves.

I am a bit worried about the last Guppy at the moment. He was not interested at all in the worms and is very lethargic at the moment. I suspect he is not well and might be checking out soon as well.

The King And His Entourage Have Arrived

Today L and I went to our local fish shop to see what they might have and we came home with a Siamese Fighter (Betta splendens) and six Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), or as I have named them, the King and his entourage. When we bought them they all happened to be in the same tank and Siamese Fighter has the same colouring as the Cardinal Tetras (both have red, white and blue in them)

They appear to be settling in OK. Everyone is busy sorting out the pecking order. The Danios are taking nips at the Siamese Fighter, who either ignores them or just swims away. What is funny is the fact that the remaining Guppy is chasing the Siamese Fighter around and harassing him. It appears the Guppy is quite the bully. I suspect the Guppy is not happy that the Siamese Fighter gets to stay in the penthouse.

Siamese Fighter

Cardinal Tetra

Serious Problems

OK, the tank has serious problems. I lost 2 more Guppies (Peocilia reticulata). Both were acting lethargic last night and I found them at the bottom of the tank this morning. I have done a gravel clean and water change tonight to see if that will help, though according to the water tests everything is fine. The 7 remaining fish seem to be ok, but only time will tell.

Guppy Fact Sheet

Here is a fact sheet of the Guppy

Scientific Name	Peocilia reticulata
Family	Poeciliidae
Common Names	Barbados millions, Guppies, Guppy, Queue de voile
Origin	Central America to Brazil
Adult Size	3.5cm Male / 6cm Female
Social	Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
Lifespan	1 - 3 years
Diet	Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding	Live bearers
pH	6.0 - 9.0
Hardness	4 - 10 DH
Temperature	18 - 28 C

First Guests To Check Out

After a few days away on holiday, we came back home to discover that 1 Guppy (Peocilia reticulata) and 2 Zebra Danios (Brachydanio rerio) were missing. Apparently there was a murder mystery week at the hotel.

The missing Guppy below was a favourite of mine as the pattern on his body would be more pronounced when the tank light was switched off. This is because it would reflect any light in the room off the white pattern on it's body.

Not sure what caused the deaths as no bodies could be found. Guess some of the fish ate well while we were away. All the other fish appear to be ok. The fish will be much missed.

6 New Guests

Yesterday my father bought me 6 new fish for the tank. 2 Leopard Cory (Corydoras julii)

and 4 male Guppies (Peocilia reticulata), each looking different.

The Danios seem a bit putout at the arrivals of the new fish, as the had the run of the tank so far. Lets hope all the guests can get along.

Thanks for the fish and the photographs Dad.