Dietary Changes

Before Christmas I ran out of granules and when we went to buy some more, they did not have the same brand as before. So I bought Aquarian as a replacement and found it to be better than TetraPrima. The granules are rounder, work better in the automatic feeder and the fish love it.

I also bought TetraTabimin, which is a tablet for the bottom feeders. With each feed I drop one in while the flakes are been eaten, to ensure that the bottom feeders get a chance to eat before the rest of the fish find it. This has also become one of the fishes' favourite food.

Platy Fact Sheet

Here is a fact sheet of the Platy

Scientific Name	Xiphophorus maculatus
Family	Poeciliidae
Common Names	Platy, Moonfish
Origin	Central America
Adult Size	5 - 8 cm
Social	Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
Lifespan	3 years
Diet	Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding	Live bearers
pH	7 - 8.3
Hardness	12 - 18 dGH
Temperature	20 - 26 C

Automatic Feeder

When I bought my tank, I got with it an automatic feeder. As I like to watch my fish when feeding and use the time to see if all are present and well, the automatic feeder got assigned to the cupboard. But when we decided to go on holiday, I realised this could be very useful tool to feed the fish. So a week before we went on holiday I set it up to feed the fish every 12 hours, so that they could get used to it.

The automatic feeder consists of two parts, one that controls the motor and the timings of when to feed the fish; and the other is a compartment where the food goes into. This compartment has an adjustable gap where the food falls out of when the motor rotates the compartment. Getting the right size of the gap took some time as too big and the fish get overfed and too small and the food does not come out. After a bit of trial and error, I found that the granules worked best for feeding, as the flakes kept getting stuck when a bit of moisture got into the compartment.

The first time we went on holiday, the feeder worked fine and the fish looked well fed on our return. But just before we went on our second holiday, the baby Mollies arrived and this meant that the feeder would only feed adult fish and not the babies as they were in the breeding trap. So for that holiday I had to get external help to come and feed both the adult and baby fish. I have since used it again with success and unless I need babies to be fed, I will use this when going on a holiday.

Box the Juwel automatic feeder came in

Automatic feeder installed on the lid of the tank

Abundance Of Fish

We are back from a lovely cold holiday. The fish have survived again using the automatic feeder, so it is a worthy investment for feeding your fish when you are not around. The tank is doing well, too well in fact. A few posts ago I mentioned that we had a 7 babies in the tank. Well that number has gone up a bit, to about 20. I say about as they are difficult to count because they keep moving around and hiding amongst the plants and bogwood. Still not sure which fish species it was that dropped them, hoping to know when the fish are a bit bigger.

Last Post

I have named this post the Last Post for two reasons. The first reason is the Last Post to the Siamese Fighter, who I found dead at the bottom of the tank yesterday morning. As he was one of my favourite fish, he will be missed in the tank, though I guess any baby fish will not as they now have a chance to survive and not become a fast food snack for him. I will be replacing him next year.

The second reason is that this will be the Last Post of the year. It has been an interesting year with setting up the tank, acquiring the fish and plants, dealing with the few problems that have arisen and the general upkeep of the tank.

Thanks to all of you who follow the blog. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Babies Update

We now have 6 baby Platties in the breeding trap and there are still 7 swimming around the tank. I have decided not to try and catch every one of the babies, as the tank is starting to get full, so I have decided to let nature take its course. Seems nature is already having an effect and the Siamese fighter is not well and appears to have Dropsy. I cannot tell if it is from eating all the baby fish or from some infection.

Out With The Old, In With The New

While L was feeding the fish this morning, she noticed a few new babies swimming around the bottom. When I got home tonight, I was able to catch 3 of the 4 that I saw. They look different to the baby Mollies, and I suspect they are Platties. So I had to fish out the breeding trap which had just been put away. Luckily I am acquiring new fish without paying a penny :-)

Two of the three waiting to go into the breeding trap

By the look of the Siamese Fighter's stomach, someone has had their Xmas dinner early