Black Tetra; breeding
6/17/19
Dear Crew. I am engaging in breeding aquarium fish. I saw some of your
articles while searching for the internet and found them interesting. I
though you may help me as I have some problems in black tetra
(Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) breeding. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask
following questions.1. What the water values be when rearing black tetra
brood stock? a. pH.. gH. kh (should it be ?)d. Temperature.
Photoperiod2. Do black tetras reproduces in the same way as neon tetra
as they are from the same family? a. Do they reproduce without any
problems during a certain period and face with insemination problems in
remaining periods?3. During breeding: a. pH b. gh. kh (it is especially
not preferred in breeding the characin group, is it also valid for black
tetra?)d. lighting e. temperature. Should we set the breeding water as
black water; If yes, do I need to use tannic acid or Catappa for this?
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
<The Black Widow Tetra is relatively easy to breed. It's a classic
egg-scattering species, so something like bushy floating plants such as
Cabomba or killifish spawning mops can be used for them to scatter their
sticky eggs, or you can go old school and place them in a tank with
glass marbles across the substrate, and the eggs will roll into the
cracks between the marbles. Either way, the aim is to minimise egg
predation by the adults. Condition the fish beforehand, using a wide
range of frozen or ideally live foods, ensuring the fish are healthy and
sexually mature. Females when they come into breeding condition will be
notably rounded, and the males will often seem to 'sniff' around them,
chasing the females or displaying in front of them. Some people place
pairs in the breeding tanks, others small groups. Keep the tank dark,
with maybe a sliver of light from outdoors to help the fish recognise
night and day. You can certainly add blackwater extract, Catappa leaves,
etc. to condition the water and tint it brown if you want. Either way,
spawning takes place when water temperature is maintained a couple
degrees higher than normal for a couple days, and you do need to ensure
the water is slightly soft and acidic (exact pH and hardness not too
crucial, but around 5-10 degrees dH, pH 6.5 would be ideal). Really,
your biggest problem is not so much spawning them (they'd like spawn in
a soft water community, let alone breeding tank) but ensuring the eggs
aren't eaten and, when the fry become free swimming, about 4-5 days
after hatching, you have the tiny live foods the fry will need. As with
most tetras, we're talking infusoria initially, and baby brine shrimp a
few days (maybe a week) later. You may have some success with finely
powdered flake foods and other baby fish foods (Hikari First Bites,
Liquifry, etc.) but these tend to be a bit unreliable with tetras. Hope
this helps, Neale.>
black tetras sick 2/7/16
Hi, i have a 400 litre tank that has been set up for 12 mths. In it there is
black,
<Gymnocorymbus ternetzi? Usually a rock solid purchase, very hardy, but can be
bit nippy if not kept in sufficient numbers.>
serpae,
<Very nippy regardless of how they're kept! Would not keep with other tetras, to
be honest. On the other hand, very hardy and quite lovely in their way.>
phantom,
<Hyphessobrycon megalopterus? Peaceful and easy to keep, but doesn't like overly
warm water.>
white tip tetras.
<Hyphessobrycon bentosi? Peaceful, verging on nervous; choose tankmates
carefully.>
Also i purchased 3 Colombian tetras.
<Hyphessobrycon columbianus, Can be quite nippy if kept with small, slow-moving
tankmates, and rather boisterous. Not too warm water important as well.>
They seemed healthy, just with a slight darker area, that i thought may have
just been a different colour pattern. All where healthy when purchased and
introduced properly. I maintain at least once a week, water changes filter clean
etc. Started having the issue when 1 of the Columbians died, didn't think to
much of it, as things happen. Then a second one died and
followed closely with 1 black tetra. Now, what we have, is 2 more black tetras
becoming ill with black patches developing over the head, from the mouth to the
top of the eyes. A slight bulging of the eyes develop, when looking head on it
looks like it has thick glasses on. They then develop raised lesions on the body
and hang in the water breathing rapidly.
Appetite is diminished, but, not completely gone. The last of the Columbian
tetras is doing fine, and the rest of the tank mates are fine, healthy with good
appetites. I am completely at a loss, any help will be greatly appreciated
<The fact there's a mix of species getting sick suggests the problem is
environmental rather than, say, parasites. I'd be reviewing all the basics
first. Start with temperature and water quality. Around 24 C/75 F would be okay
for this selection of species. Zero nitrite, zero ammonia. Decent but not
turbulent water movement. Lots of oxygen. Water chemistry not too hard; 2-15
degrees dH, pH 6.5-7.5 would be fine. Use carbon or some other chemical
adsorbent for a few weeks in case the tank was contaminated, for example with
heavy metals, and review any/all substrate and rocks in case something not sold
for fish tanks has got in. Use a copper test kit if you can, or have a
marine-savvy aquarist do this for you. Review any
medications used, and chuck out any old ones. Look around the house to see if
there's a source of airborne pollution such as paint fumes. Really, keep an open
mind about how well the tank is being maintained, how well it was put together,
and how good the water is you're putting into it. There's nothing obviously
diagnostic about a particular disease, which is why I'm
leaning towards environment. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: black tetras sick (RMF?) 2/8/16
Hi Neale,
Thanks for your reply.
I agree with everything you say as to the tank mates and there temperament.
Haven't had any dramas as far as that goes. All parameters are fine and all
within the ranges that you specify. The copper is something I hadn't thought of
though. Will look into it. As far as the water, only fresh rainwater is used, as
town water has quite high amounts of chlorine in it.
<Including chloramine? Do perhaps switch water conditioner, or at least check it
treats chlorine and chloramine. Perhaps increase the dosage 50%, and/or let the
water sit for 24 hours before putting it in the tank.>
Will look at the oxygen as well i.e. putting a bubbler in. Also, will look at
substrate as well. Have used same in the past in other aquariums, with no side
effects. It is a rather high iron content substrate.
<Do you have any plants in the tank? Fast growing species? Rich substrates will
promote either algae or plants depending on whether or not plants are there. If
there aren't fast-growing plants, such substrates tend to cause situations where
tanks bloom with blue-green algae in particular, and these can build up into
organic detritus that will consume oxygen and cause
stress on your fish.>
Since I messaged you have had 1 more black tetra die with 2 more heading the
same way. Have spent time watching the other fish to see if they carry the same
symptoms, but to no avail.
Thanks again,
Regards,
Reiner
<Perhaps medicate with antibiotics or similar against bacterial
infections, but honestly this doesn't sound like an infection of that sort.
There's something amiss with the tank. Good luck, Neale.>
Custom Decorations/White Skirt Tetras
12/11/15
Howdy,
<And you Steve>
My wife and I are plan to get a 36 gallon bowfront. She absolutely loves the
look of Glofish tetras, and although I'm a bit hesitant since I've heard
multiple sources say the bloodlines are inbred,
<They are indeed>
I plan to keep her happy. As far as care for what are actually white skirts, I
intend to have a long term plan of tank setup (read: preparing and buying months
in advance of setup). I also will only keep a school of 6-7, since I want to
deliberately understock the tank. I know white skirts are a considered a
"novice" fish, and I've kept tanks in the past, but if you have any good advise
that applies to keeping a "lower" stock of these fish, I'll eagerly heed said
advise.
<Mmm; simple general care... unless your water is very aberrant a middling pH,
hardness will do; quarter volume gravel vacuuming water change outs weekly,
twice daily feeding with standard commercial foods....>
My second question is a bit...unusual from what you may typically be asked.
I have long been a fan of a video game series called Dragon Quest. It is
exceptionally popular in Japan, but niche here in the US as well as in Europe.
Obviously I couldn't locate any DQ aquarium figurines on English speaking sites,
but I also could not locate such a thing even in Japanese sites (even going so
far as to copy-paste Hiragana, Kanji and Katakana). I decided to search for a
service that make custom aquarium safe figurines, but to no avail. I am
wondering if you know of such a service or have any advise to accomplish a theme
of this nature without access to professionally manufactured decorations.
Many thanks!
Steve
<I don't directly, but would contact the makers of such figurines in other
lines, perhaps some local "pottery"/ceramic clubs, programs in colleges re the
possibility of someone making them custom for you. The latter, once fired are
non-toxic, and very sturdy. Bob Fenner>
|
Ich and Fin Rot?
Hi crew, hope all is well on your end! I'm writing about a black skirt tetra in
my 29 gallon community tank. About a week ago I noticed some white spots on her
tail which caught my attention.
<I see these.... sand, air bubbles? Ich?>
When comparing her to the other tetras I realized her tail is not as full. I was
suspecting ich and fin rot, but I was able to find a photo of her that was taken
a month prior. I realized that she has looked this way for at least a month,
possibly since I got her. I guess I just never noticed it. In the tank are five
other tetras, 4 danios, a small school of kuhli loaches
<These don't like most ich med.s>
and a school of cories. All are free from spots, fin rot, etc. All are thriving,
including the fish in question. Ammonia and nitrites are 0. Nitrates are 40
ppm(have been experimenting with matrix and Nitrazorb during the slow process of
reducing this number with moderate results).
<Water changes in the meanwhile>
Please review the attached photos as your thoughts would be very much
appreciated. Thank you. Danielle
<IF anything (and after reading on WWM), simply raising water temp. to the mid
80's F.
The reading:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwich.htm
and some of the first files linked above.
Bob Fenner>
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Rude black skirt tetra 8/4/15
I just put 4 cobra guppies in my tank with 2 black skirt tetra
<Ohh, not compatible. See WWM re BSTs... Gymnocorymbus.... nippy little so and
sos>
and one off the guppies top lip when I got up it I went to bed it was fine got
up it lip was damaged and couldn't move its mouth
<... what's that song refrain? "You gotta keep them separated." See WWM re. Bob
Fenner>
Black tetras with sinky butts 3/29/15
So I have a 30gallon tank, it has some live plants, rocks, and I have had recent
issues with nitrite levels. We started the tank with 5 black tetras, 2 zebra
danios, 2 veil angels, and 2 flying foxes. We are now down to 2 of the tetras
along with all the others. It started shortly after the tetras began spawning
(super exciting). The biggest male began having trouble swimming with his tail
level. I call it sinky bottom. It also lost it's appetite.
<Loss of appetite and inability to swim properly are generic symptoms. They
point towards no one particular problem. Water chemistry and/or water quality
issues are therefore the favoured explanations purely on "the law of big
numbers" -- in other words, 99 times out of 100, when fish get sick in an
established tank without any newcomers, those two reasons are the
explanation. You've provided no data on water chemistry, and no data on water
quality. Check them both.>
Well during two weeks of this the other male dead with no visible cause. I
decided to start a small two and a half gallon hospital tank for the one that
couldn't swim upright. He didn't last through the night.
<Moving a sick fish from an established tank into a hospital tank without a
mature aquarium, especially a very small one (pointlessly small, to be honest)
is almost always the kiss of death. What I mean is this: for a fish to recover,
it needs an environment at least as good as the one it's in now, and ideally,
one that's better. Small hospital tanks are often set up
at a moment's notice, without a mature filter, so conditions inside such tanks
are often terrible. It can very easily be the hospital tank that killed the
ailing fish, not the "problem" whatever that was. Make sense?>
We then had another one start doing the same thing about a week after. This one
lasted about 6days and 3 doses of antibiotics. Now another one has started doing
it off and on. I don't know what to do? And I don't want the other fish to start
getting sick.
<Again, review the environment. For example, after spawning, if you don't want
baby fish, do a water change and suck out all the eggs and milt.
Otherwise such things are just decaying meat (for want of a better word) in the
gravel. Spawn fish in one tank, look after your fish in another, that's the
golden rule. Spawning tanks are usually easy to clean (bare bottom, no gravel,
is standard) and zeolite (sold as ammonia remover in many shots) can be used and
changed every couple days as needed instead of a mature
biological filter. If I was a betting man, I'd put money on water quality having
taken a nose dive after the spawning event, so rather than chucking in
medications, review the tank, and act accordingly. Cheers, Neale.>
White Skirt Tetras constantly chasing
4/29/14
Hi there!
<Kim>
I've had my 36 gallon bowfront tank set up and running perfectly for
around 5 months now (was previously a 20 long that ran for a year before
I upgraded, with same biomedia) and recently have been having issues...
My white skirt tetras have gone onto a chasing frenzy and I've been
losing tankmates left and right in the last couple weeks.
<Gymnocorymbus... what they do at times>
Sometimes the victims have nipped fins, sometimes they seem to just
waste away. Stock prior to issues was 9 Zebra Danios, 8 White Skirt
Tetras,
<Mmm; I'd have you try adding one more or taking one out... do better
schooling-wise in small odd numbers... for some reason/s, chase each
other about more so than w/ even>
6 White Cloud Minnows, 6 Neon Tetras, 4 African Dwarf Frogs (they're
spot fed a variety of frozen food), a couple of Nerites, and some Amano
Shrimp.
The tank has dual 10 gallon tanks plumbed into it as plant grow-out
tanks/shrimp breeding areas for some Yellow Neo shrimp and an oversized
HOB filter, plus 50% water changes weekly (of the whole system). I'm now
down to only 3 Neons, 2 White Cloud Minnows, and 7 Danios.
I'm fairly certain that the White Skirts are the culprits,
<Agreed>
as they've been showing signs of nippiness since just before the issues
started, and have escalated to constant chasing lately. One of them is
looking quite egg-laden and is the most commonly chased target, but
anyone that gets in the way gets equal share. What can I do to settle
them down?
<Perhaps more cover/decor... I'd place a couple, three "bunches" of
floating plants>
While I'm okay on replacing the minnows with a more sturdy schooling
option (I was considering Emperor Tetras), I really love the colors that
the Neons bring and the fact that they help fill out the lower middle
section of the tank... The White Skirts and Danios usually dominate the
top. That said, I don't want to keep restocking the Neons if they're
just doomed from the start. Would adding more White Skirts help calm
them down so they'll ignore the Neons? Thanks!
~Kim
<If all else fails; you may need to catch out and trade in the Black
Skirts... that or most all else for more aggressive, assertive fishes.
Bob Fenner>
Zebra danios versus white-skirt tetra?
2/16/14
Hi wonderful people. Thank you once again for running this
marvelous site!
I have what is hopefully a simple question.
<Let's see>
I just set up my first freshwater low-tech (low light, no CO2) heavily
planted tank, 46 gallons. I cycled it fishless (ammonia method),
which went incredibly well. I don't know why more people don't do
it that way, as it is so fast and easy.
<Agreed>
After just three weeks I can put in ammonia to 2 ppm, and in 8 hours
ammonia and nitrite are unmeasurable. But I digress.
<Take your time; we are all friends here>
I initially stocked it with 5 albino bronze Cory cats, who seem to be
happy and healthy. I was browsing the LFS with my wife, and she
squealed in glee when she saw the GloFish. My heart sank.
Over my dead body. But she has been so wonderful to me, allowing
me to have three reef tanks and now a freshwater tank all over the
house, that I just can't say no to her pleading to get a school of them.
Sigh.
But here's my question: They have two varieties of GloFish, Zebra
danios, and Tetras (white-skirt I think, but not positive).
<Yes; Gymnocorymbus ternetzi... modified>
In terms of care (feeding ease, health, proper social behavior), which do
you think would be easier to keep?
<The Zebra Danios; but they're both close... the Blackskirts/Tetras
being a bit more nippy>
One added factor is that I think I have room for one or two of some
other 'feature' fish, and I'd love to get something striking in a
different way.
A pair of Angels would be nice, but their temperature doesn't overlap
enough with danios. A male Betta would be nice, but I'm sure it's
tail would get nipped. Maybe a pearl gourami or two?
<These last, Trichogaster leeri; would be best w/ either of the two
gene-clipped onto fishes>
Any advice, especially on Danio versus tetra, would be deeply
appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Tim
Re: Zebra danios versus white-skirt tetra?
2/17/14
Bob - Thank you. You and the folks here are wonderful! If I
may, I have one quick follow-up. From my research around the net
and in some books, it appears that the white-skirt tetras are more
tolerant of pH swings than zebra danios.
<Mmm; I'd rank them near the same... both species have been under human
culture for four or so decades... tolerant of human abuse>
Even though my tank is completely cycled, it's still young, and over a
24-hour period its pH swings between 7.4 and 7.8, which concerns me a
little. Do you think danios can handle this better than the
tetras?
Thanks!
<I would say so; yes. BobF>
Tim
Re: Zebra danios versus white-skirt tetra?
Bob - Thank you!
Tim
<Ah, welcome. BobF>
Black Skirted Tetra can't eat 4/1/13
Hi,
I have had a 55 gallon tank for six months- I bought it complete with
fish at a yard sale- so far so good. Except now my black skirted
tetra can't eat. S/he tries to eat but the food falls out of its mouth.
My fish is starving.
No ammonia or nitrites. PH around 6.5. I have a pretty consistent
nitrate issue. 40-60ppm. Probably from over feeding or maybe from
the snail infestation I deal with.
I don't see any growths or protrusions on my Black Skirt and the rest of
the fish are happy.
Any ideas why my fish can't eat?
Cheers,
Reese
<Can the fish take food into its mouth? In which case, if it can, but
then drops or spits out the food, try alternative foods and/or
smaller-sized foods (even hard boiled egg yolk can work great, despite
the tiny particle sizes). But if the fish cannot take food, it may have
damaged its jaws.
Fish almost never recover from physical damage of this type, but do
review "Mouth Fungus" (actually, a bacterial infection more often called
Columnaris these days, caused by Flexibacter bacteria), and if that
seems likely, treat accordingly. But otherwise a fish with dislocated or
damaged jaws is unlikely to survive, so should be euthanised: 30 drops
clove oil in 1 litre of aquarium water makes a good killing bath that
sedates the fish (in minutes) then kills it (leave in bath for 20-30
minutes). See here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasiafaqs.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Black Skirted Tetra can't eat
4/2/13
The fish tries to eat, it appears the food falls out. I have switched to
micro pellets and still it can't swallow.
<Not good.>
I will look into "Mouth Fungus."
<Do, but don't get your hopes up. It is possible to force-feed fish,
which may help if you're medicating. Im brief, the aim is to take a very
small piece of something soft (shrimp is good) and then force it into
the mouth by holding the fish down (preferably underwater so your hands
are wet) and then use something like a blunt cocktail stick to push the
food into the
gullet (not all the way down, just far enough it doesn't fall out or get
spat out). Once successful feed is adequate, and because this is
stressful and likely to damage very small fish, it isn't recommended for
casual aquarists. An adult Black Skirt Tetra is borderline big enough to
be do-able, but still, be careful.>
Thank you for the prompt options. I appreciate it as I hate to see the
fish suffer. Best, Reese
<Glad to help, Neale.>
Re: Black Skirted Tetra can't eat
5/6/13
Hey! Thank you so much for responding to me! I treated the
tank for fungus and it helped my tetra. He is swimming around,
happy and eating well. He looks shiny and colorful.
I'm so relieved that s/he is OK! I'm truly grateful for your
advise.... And so are my fish:)
Best!
Reese
<Hi Reese. So glad things turned out so well! You must be doing a good
job!
Cheers, Neale.>
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possible prolapse? 8/14/12
The black skirt tetra in question developed the condition sometime
earlier today. After a little research, it appears to be a prolapse. She
(he?) is acting perfectly normal and is still eating. I tested the water
and it appears to be fine: 0 ammonia, 10ppm nitrate, 0 nitrite, GH
75ppm, KH 80ppm, pH 7.5. Is it a prolapse or something else? What should
I do? A
quick response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
<Yes, you do seem to have a Black Widow Tetra with some sort of
intestinal infection. As the pathogens (often Protozoans rather than
bacteria) multiply, they cause the large intestine to become inflame and
emerge from the anus. Metronidazole ("Flagyl") is the medication of
choice here, and the only one that works reliably. The use of Epsom salt
can be helpful too,
at 1-3 teaspoons per 5 gallons/20 litres, alongside the Metronidazole.
Cheers, Neale.>
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Great pix. B |
Angelfish and Black tetra 7/20/12
Hi, I have a 55 gallon tank with two angelfish, 9 cherry barbs, and 2
Raphael's. I want to add a few black skirt tetras, is that possible?
Will they get along with the angelfish?
<Black Skirt Tetras (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) are fin-nippers. I would
not trust them with Angels; in fact I kept them together in my first
community tank some 25 years ago, and the Angels were nipped!>
Thank you!
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Jelly-bean Tetra and Mexican Biotopes 7/11/12
Hey there, WWM crew! I'm back again to pick your genius brains for
information that I can't really seem to find elsewhere! I have questions
on two totally unrelated subjects for you today, and am hoping you can
help sort me out as you always have done so well!
<Will try.>
First, I have the opportunity to purchase a school of very beautiful and
tiny Jelly-bean Tetra.
<Now, what are we talking about here? The artificially coloured form of
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi (the Black Skirt or Black Widow Tetra)? These are
very widely sold in the US, but thankfully absent from the UK trade.
They are tattooed with dye into the muscle underneath the skin. It's a
cruel, dangerous process and I would suggest you should not buy these
fish! Or do you mean Ladigesia roloffi, a rarely-traded tiny (~3 cm/1.2
inches) species from Africa? This is a lovely fish, somewhat delicate,
and does need soft, acidic water to do well.>
I've fallen in love with these little dwarfs, and I think they'd be the
perfect finishing touch to my soft-water community tank. . . but I'm
having a bit of trouble finding very much information on the species. It
seems that they're very rare in the trade (at least around here),
<Yes.>
so I'm wondering if you can link me to any articles or just tell me what
you can about these pretty little fish.
<There's a great summary over at Seriously Fish, here:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/ladigesia-roloffi/
But the basics are simple enough. Water chemistry needs to be soft (1-10
degrees dH), and the pH slightly acidic (6.5-7). Middling water
temperature is fine, 25 C/77 F. Feeds on tiny live foods (like Daphnia
and Cyclops) and their frozen substitutes, but will take flake once
acclimated to aquarium conditions. Highly social, so keep a decent sized
school, I'd say much more than 6, and really at least 8 to 10, and
ideally more. Terrified of larger midwater species, but gets along fine
with bottom dwellers that stay away from the middle of the tank, such as
Corydoras and Apistogramma. Should also work fine with small midwater
fish like Threadfin Rainbowfish or Golden Pencilfish.>
They will be the final addition to my well-planted, established tank.
Nitrates stay steady at 7.5, and the substrate and background are dark.
Lots of open swimming room for them (planned into the aquascape) and
floating plants. The other creatures that live here are 4 Bolivian Rams
and a small shoal of 5 Kuhli Loaches, so they'd pretty much have the top
of the tank to themselves. Also, I believe these were wild-caught, and
according to the shop owner have been QT'd and medicated before being
put up for sale (though I'd QT them anyway, of course) I've never owned
a wild-caught fish before, are there any special rules to follow here?
Have you any information to offer or advice to give?
<With wild-caught fish, your main problem is feeding: they have no idea
what flake is! So be ready to offer live foods, perhaps newly-hatched
brine shrimp if you want the cheap and easy approach and have a few days
prep beforehand. So long as they're not competing with midwater fish,
you shouldn't have any real problems here.>
My second question is this. . . I'm still working out what to do with my
Mollies! They do still live in my main tank, but will be transferred to
their own tank when the tetra (or whatever fish I end up with to
complete that tank) are through their QT period, and that tank is
finally open. The plan is to turn the QT tank into a Molly paradise,
complete with salinated and hardened water.
<Sounds ideal.>
But I've done the community tank, and now I'd like to try my hand at an
authentic Biotope. As far as I have been able to figure out, Mollies
originated in Mexico - but I can't seem to find ANY information on what
a freshwater (or brackish) Mexican Biotope should look like.
<Ah, because they live all over the place! Not necessarily -- or even
most commonly -- brackish water. But any open, sunlit pool or stream is
good Molly habitat. The perfect environment in the aquarium would have
something like lots of flat rocks, bright overhead light, plenty of
algae growing on the flat rocks, and if you want them, some tall plants
around the edges of the tank for shelter and shade (females and fry
appreciate this) -- I'd look at things like Vallisneria and Amazon
Swords (most of which don't come from the Amazon!) as examples of plants
that tolerate hard or slightly brackish water perfectly well. I've seen
nice Mexican-theme tanks using water worn cobbles, a mix of silver and
coral sand for the substrate, and some Vallisneria at one end; you can
see a nice set-up plan in "The Complete Aquarium" by Peter Scott, a
biotope-plan book that you can pick up secondhand for pennies on Amazon.
It's a great book, and I suspect you'll find it inspirational.>
I've found a book for sale on the subject, but it is very expensive, and
the library doesn't stock it, so that's out - and the internet is
failing me on this one. I'd like to be as authentic as I can be, but at
this point, I'm completely at a loss, and hoping you can point me in the
right direction? What substrate? What plants? What on earth does a
Molly's habitat LOOK like!!?
<You name it! There are Mollies that live in caves, and feral Mollies
found in the seas around Thailand, so really, it's all about your
imagination.>
I thank you most sincerely for any information or advice you are able to
share, as always!
- Jes
<Hope this helps, Neale.>
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What is this fish/disease? 9/4/11
I was wondering if you would be able to identify this fish for
me? I think it may be a long fin white skirt but if it is,
something is wrong and I don't what and couldn't find
anything. I have 3 of them and they all look
identical. They came with a tank I recently bought.
<These appear to be albino Black Widow or White Skirt Tetras,
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, and they do not seem to be suffering from
any disease. They're just very odd looking! This species is a
notorious fin-nipper when bored, and if you have just 3
specimens, do be careful they don't harass any slow-moving or
long-finned fish kept with them -- Angels, Guppies, Gouramis,
etc. Cheers, Neale.>
|
 |
Skirt tetra aren't schooling; clown loach look
malnourished 4/10/11
So I have a 50gal tank with a group of 5 skirts.
<Well, here's one problem: most fish won't school until
there's at least 6 specimens, and often 8-10 is the best number to
start with, especially in a medium-sized aquarium like yours.>
The aquarium is planted and has cave and has gravel/ aquarium sand
combination. The skirts seem to be hanging out on there own not
schooling.
<To be fair, this species is fairly bold and if just a few are kept,
they often do their own thing most of the time, ignoring one another.
The flip side though is that if there aren't enough of them, Black
Skirt Tetras (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) are confirmed fin-nippers. They
aren't nearly as bad as Serpae Tetras or even Tiger Barbs, but they
do sometimes nip the fins of slow-moving tankmates like Angels and
Gouramis.>
The other fish in my aquarium are fine like my tiger barbs are
schooling and rainbow fish are too. And my cats are doing there own
thing. So why do u think the skirts are not schooling? The own big
change recently in my aquarium is taking out all my plastic plants and
swapping them out with real ones, and adding a co2 filter. This change
happened 3 weeks ago. They stopped schooling 5 days ago.
<Curious.>
My second question is that my two clown loaches are malnourished and
not eating.
<Unfortunately very common.>
Last week my clown loaches were schooling with my tiger barbs. This
week they stopped and started to hide. They have always been small so I
never suspected anything. Today I noticed one died and the other 2 were
almost skin and bone. When I caught them they were real slow. So I
moved them in my 20gal tank that is used for my babies and it is
planted. I did this so they didn't have to compete for food and I
could watch them eat. I threw in a couple bottom feeder tablets and
more flakes than usual in that tank.
They are usually outgoing when feeding time hits and get all the
flakes. So why are acting this way?
<Clown Loaches are prone to both intestinal worms and various
microbial parasites, and the use of both the antimicrobial
Metronidazole (Flagyl) and a dewormer such as Levamisole or
Praziquantel is highly recommended. These are safe with Clown Loaches.
In the US, you may be able to obtain these from your pet store;
elsewhere you'll need to get them from a vet. Cheers,
Neale.>
Male Guppy and Glofish... and Blk skirts... Incomp.
stkg. 1/18/10
Hello! I recently bought a male guppy, a female guppy, two black
tetras,
<Gymnocorymbus ternetzi? These are not compatible with Guppies; will
nip them. Also, need to be kept in groups of 6+ specimens.>
and a tiger barb.
<Again, groups of 6 or more essential, otherwise they become very
aggressive and nippy, especially once sexually mature.>
Before I purchased these, I had two African dwarf frogs, a pink
Glofish, and a snail. I was wondering why my male guppy will not leave
my pink Glofish alone and if there is anything I can do to keep him
from chasing it and how I can get him to mate with my female guppy
since I am interested in raising the fry?
<Your mistake here is to keep your fish in the wrong numbers.
Schooling fish should be kept in groups. That means 6 of each, at
least. The schooling fish are the Danios, the Tetras, and the Barbs.
Guppies should be kept in groups of at least two females per male. If
you insist on keeping these fish in groups for which their
psychological programming is not set up for, then you're going to
have problems. End of story.>
I tried using the search engine and it gave the stuff that I read
before and it didn't give me any help. Thanks!!
~Kierstyn
<Do please read on the needs of your fish BEFORE you buy them. Doing
what you're doing and buying "one of each" like candies
isn't going to work. It is cruel to the fish and it creates
problems for your. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Male Guppy and Glofish
All of the fish seem fine
<"Seem" is the operative word here.>
and I haven't had any problems with the rest of the except for the
male guppy and the Glofish. So, do I need to buy more of each fish
<Assuming your tank is big enough, yes. You could keep 6 Black
Widows and 6 Tiger Barbs in a 20-30 gallon tank without problems. Do
bear in mind both species gets fairly big when mature, about 5 cm/2
inches, so these ARE NOT species for 10 gallon tanks!>
or do I need to get rid of certain ones?
<If the tank isn't big enough, this may be necessary too.
I'd certainly get shot of both the Tiger Barbs and the Black Widow
Tetras if you plan on keeping Fancy Guppies. Both those species are
notorious fin-nippers, and sooner or later they'll have a go at the
male Fancy Guppies. In fact, Fancy Guppies are honestly best kept in a
tank of their own, possibly with species that stick to the bottom of
the tank, like Corydoras catfish (again, a schooling species).>
This is new to me and I was in the pet store talking to one of the guys
that takes care of the fish there and he said that they would all get
along.
<Well, if this "expert" told you one barb and one tetra
would be happy, he isn't an expert on anything to do with fish. Do
always remember guys in the pet store range from long-time hobbyists
through to teenagers working Saturdays. So be wise to that fact, and
double-check anything you hear with something in a book. There are
plenty of super aquarium books for newcomers to the hobby, one of the
best of which (in my opinion) is "A Practical Guide to Setting Up
Your Tropical Freshwater Aquarium". For under $10 it's an easy
to read and very practical guide that'll help save you money in the
long term. In the meantime, peruse these three articles:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/stocking.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestk.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlvstksel.htm
These'll give you some idea about how much space fish need, which
ones are least likely to cause problems, and how you can craft a
community tank that looks like a habitat rather than just a box filled
with fish.>
I appreciate all of your help!
<Happy to help. Cheers, Neale>
Re: Corydoras eggs 11/22/09
Dear Neale / Crew,
<Hello again Rose,>
If you don't mind my sharing, I'd like to report on my Cory fry
for others like myself that can't find much in the way of beginner
stories.
<By all means, share away.>
So, continuing from my other posts, when I moved the small Corys from
the breeder net and into the larger tank I counted 74, and this was 40
days since the 120 eggs were first discovered. The filter intakes were
covered with pantyhose so they wouldn't get sucked up and they all
seemed to be active and finding their food.
<Cool.>
Despite daily partial water changes, the next couple days I found a few
dead (various sizes, not just runts) and there must have been many more
dead eaten by their peers in the next days as there now seems to be
only thirty-some (of varying sizes) that seem to be holding steady.
<This does happen. Breeders wanting lots of juveniles tend to keep
the fry in a big tank with no substrate. In standard community tanks,
the substrate at the bottom of the tank is enough to harbour bacteria
that seem lethal to small fry. For casual aquarists, this is no big
deal, since the fun is simply raising a few fry, rather than hundreds.
But if you're serious and want to sell the fry, then a tank where
you can siphon out dirt from the bottom pane of glass daily seems to be
important.>
Back in the original main tank, 40 days after they had the first eggs,
the adult Corys had more eggs (over 170) that stayed on the wall for
five days until I assume they hatched and were eaten. I guess the
parents and the Blackskirts didn't have a taste for eggs?
<Maybe.>
On a side note, today one of the plump Blackskirts has been in a
homemade cocohut all day and I have never seen them go in there (the
huts are for the Corys). The fish's body looks normal, but I do
wonder what it is doing (I assume NOT laying eggs as I have read that
they scatter them carelessly).
<Blackskirt tetras (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) are not the most
peaceful tetras in the hobby, and in insufficient numbers can become
nippy and waspish. Observe for a few days, and see if this fish is
being bullied by its peers, or conversely, is behaving aggressively
itself.>
Thank you, Rose
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Corydoras eggs -- 11/22/09
Dear Neale,
<Hello again Rose,>
Thank you for the response today in the dailies.
<My pleasure.>
I should have mentioned that the tank I moved the Cory fry into IS bare
bottom for now, because I thought it would be easy for me to spot any
dead as they would disappear over the beige sand that I use.
<Very good.>
I didn't know about the potential for substrate to harbor bacteria
that could hurt them.
<Seems to be the case. The flip side is that a tank with lots of
algae and Protozoans also contains lots of food that newly-hatched fish
can eat.
That's what baby fish would eat in the wild. I recently bred some
gobies while I was on the other side of the world, simply because the
eggs hatched in a tank filled with algae, and the baby gobies found
enough to eat.
Indeed, with livebearers, this is the best approach to take. But for
whatever reason, Corydoras do seem very sensitive to microbes at the
bottom of the tank.>
There are still more than a quarter from the eggs surviving at 56 days
in and I take comfort in believing they would fare much worse than that
in the wild.
<Heavens, you're doing much better than the wild! One of my
marine biology instructors discussed Herrings, which have to spawn
within a two-week period of time they can't accurately predict. Too
early, there's no zooplankton for the Herring fry to eat; too late,
and the population of algae in the plankton are so high they produce
toxins that kill the baby fish. Some years no fry will survive, despite
the female Herrings producing hundreds of thousands of eggs that
season!>
I had mentioned a Blackskirt in the other tank that is hiding in a
cocohut.
It is still there after at least 27 hours and has missed feedings.
<Odd. It might be ill, especially given its still not eating. Any
other symptoms? Does it look swollen? Are its colours different to the
others?
Are its fins raggedy?>
It is one of seven and none of the others are larger (I think it has
reached full size).
<A good number... they should be happy.>
When they charge and nip they have always seemed to do so evenly and
they are darker than many photos of their kind (even over beige
sand).
<As is their wont. These are "boisterous" fish by any
standards. If there's space, adding 2-3 more might help if the
issue is social. But I'm not sure that it is.>
I'm surprised they don't nip at the Cory Cats as the Cats
nearly blunder into them.
<Interesting. Corydoras are always nipped when I mix them with South
American Puffers.>
Thank you, Rose
<Cheers, Neale.>
Corydoras Eggs, feuding Blackskirts -- 11/22/09
Dear Neale,
<Rose,>
Sorry to bother you again, but wanted to say the Blackskirt finally
came out of the cocohut and was being chased behind the heater and all
over the place.
<By the other Blackskirt tetras? Does sound social, in which case
adding more can help. But if they're picking on a weak or sick
specimen -- as sometimes happens -- this might not work. You could try
moving it to another tank. By itself it might swim about more readily,
and if you're lucky, it won't be nippy.>
When the juvenile Cory Cats grow larger I was going to move some of
them in with their parents and these Blackskirts so there was already
going to be some fish shuffling going on. I am wondering now if I will
have to so some dividing and reintroducing of these Blackskirts as I
guess the odd fish out would not be happy kept all alone either,
correct?
<It isn't ideal, but it is what I'd do.>
Thank you, Rose
<Cheers, Neale.>
Black Skirt Tetra Infection? Help! 2/29/08 Hi, I
have a 75 gallon well-established planted aquarium. The water
parameters are good and all the fish have been healthy for about 5
years now. Today I noticed that a black-skirt tetra is ill. It is
swimming abnormally - it's tail keeps falling and it makes brief
jolts forward to right himself. It looks stressed and on closer
inspection, it's torso area behind the operculum is red and
swollen. I will try to catch him and put him in a quarantine tank
tomorrow (not so easy in a planted aquarium) but what is wrong with
him? An infection? What is the best way to treat him? Are the other
fish in danger? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance. Kim
<Hello Kim. Difficult to say precisely what's happening here,
but it is certainly possible it has a bacterial infection of some sort.
I'd try something like Maracyn and see how things go. Do remember
to remove carbon from the filter, if you're using it. There are
some parasitic infections that cause the gills to inflame, most notably
Velvet, so do check for that (typically an off-white powder on the
body). But parasites don't normally get into tanks unless
you've added new fish. A photo might help pin things down. Cheers,
Neale.>
Black Tetra, hlth. 12/5/07
Hello, In my mothers aquarium is a Black Tetra that has a small black
growth below his lower lip, he is listless and has a very faint red hue
on it's body every where except in the center. The fins are not red
that I can see. He has not eaten in a week that I have seen and he has
a little bit of a clear feces. I put in some furan 2 for 2 days,
<... for what purpose?> did a water change and added some more
for 2 days and I see no improvement. Can you help me. Thanks for any
advice. thanks Sherri <Could you send along a photo? I suspect this
may be a genetic issue... Many Gymnocorymbus have such difficulties
nowadays... Do you have other individuals of this species? What other
livestock is present? What re your water quality tests? Bob
Fenner>
Question about Mollies & Tetras 9/7/07 Hello,
<Ave,> I have a 30 gal. tank with only 6 fish in it. There is a
Blackskirt tetra, a silver sail fin molly, a Plecostomus and two
Platies. <Not a good selection. The Blackskirt tetra (by which I
assume you mean Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) is [a] a schooling fish and [b]
a notorious fin-nipper given that wild fish feed partially on the
scales and fins of slow-moving fish. Plecs (in your case, likely
Pterygoplichthys sp. rather than Hypostomus sp.) are massive fish that
easily reach 45 cm in captivity and consequently need an aquarium
around twice the size of yours to be kept safely. Finally, mollies are
just plain easier to keep in brackish water, which your other fish
don't want.> All of them are male, I think, but I had two
females (one a platy and one a molly) that I had to give to a friend
because they were constantly breeding. <Absolutely no way you can
sex the tetra or the catfish.> Recently, the silver molly started
chasing the tetra around the tank, getting in front of him and
displaying his upper fin in his face, kind of like a screen.
<Mollies are aggressive, and in the wild, adult males dominate
patches of water, driving off other, weaker males and monopolising
access to the females in the area. In short, yours is doing what comes
natural. It is entirely normal for them to chase other species.
I've seen this myself between mollies and Rainbowfish, for
example.> It's gotten so bad that the tetra doesn't seem to
want to eat. So, I went to PetSmart and asked what to do. They told me
to add another Blackskirt tetra because the molly is displaying his
'dominance' as the tank king. <Garbage advice. As a rule of
thumb, anything quoted by a big-chain pet store is more likely to be
wrong than right. They tend to employ casual rather than expert staff,
don't train them beyond selling and customer service, and have no
investment in anything other than you coming back to buy more fish.
There are exceptions I'm sure, but on the average if the person you
talked to looks like a student working a Saturday job, best avoid.>
So, I added a new tetra, and now the molly is going crazy chasing
both!!!! <Quelle surprise.> What should I do? <Up to you. If
it was me, I'd decide on what sort of aquarium I wanted. Do you
want a school (i.e., 6) Blackskirt tetras? Do you want a school (i.e.,
6) Platies. Do you want to keep mollies? The catfish has to go, I'm
afraid, keeping it would be wrong. Me, I like mollies, and I'd go
buy 2-3 more females to go with the male. I'd then convert the tank
to a brackish system by adding a small amount of marine aquarium salt
mix (not aquarium or tonic salt) with each water change (3-5 grammes
per litre will do). I'd then add some gobies or flounders to the
bottom of the tank. The mollies will ignore these completely, and
they'd make for a fun, quirky aquarium. You could keep the Platies
in this tank, too, as they do fine in slightly brackish water. The
tetras, though, would have to be removed.> I really do not want to
add any females because I do not have that much room for the fry. And
the last time they were breeding, I had to isolate all the fry (because
I didn't want them to be eaten!) and it was just a huge mess!
<Just let them get eaten then. If you kept a couple of knight gobies
(Stigmatogobius spp.) believe me, they'd get eaten! Otherwise,
remember that you can always sell on young fish. That's what I do.
If you have lots of real/plastic plants in the aquarium, at least some
baby fish will survive. Having a separate tank to rear them in works
well, and means that you cut down costs on things like food by trading
in baby fish each time you visit the pet store.> Any advice would
really be appreciated! Thank you, Crystal <Cheers, Neale>
Re: Question about Mollies & Tetras 9/7/07 Hello
Neale, <Hello Crystal,> Thank you so much for your reply! I
really appreciate it. The two tetras are sticking together and it seems
that molly is leaving them alone, he displays his fin once in a while,
but it seems the two tetras are ignoring it more and the older guy ate
last night! :) <Very good.> I plan on getting a larger tank, I
have been saving up for one, so I could keep the baby Plec ( a friend
told me they grow fast) the one I'm looking at is a 50 to 60 gal,
do you think that might work? <Sounds great.> I plan to keep the
smaller tank in another part of the house, do you think I can convert
it for a brackish system? I was wondering what other fish normally get
along with mollies (+they would have to live in the brackish system)
and is it okay to keep them all male too? <Converting to a low-end
brackish tank would be easy. Lots of fish would work well here with the
mollies -- bumblebee gobies, glassfish, wrestling halfbeaks, knight
gobies, crazy fish, orange Chromides, flatfish... Have a read around
the Brackish section here at WWM and see what's small and tickles
your fancy. A brackish tank isn't any more difficult to run than a
freshwater one, and in some ways easier because the marine salt mix
tends to make disease less of an issue and buffers against water
chemistry changes. You only need to add 3-5 grammes of salt mix per
litre of water, so it isn't expensive, either.> And what other
fish get along with the tetras, since I plan to get more of a variety
of color for the larger tank. <Blackskirt tetras are best mixed with
tetras, barbs, and Rainbowfish in the middle of the tank as well as
active bottom dwellers like catfish and loaches. The things to avoid is
anything slow or with long, trailing fins. Bettas, angels, fancy
guppies, gouramis, etc would all be bad choices. So it's really not
difficult to mix them with other fish, you just need to be a little
more picky than normal.> Your advice is much appreciated, the only
pet store near me is a PetSmart and I do agree-it seems like I'm
constantly buying something there and they never really answer my
questions! <I'm sure they mean well, but a store is a store, and
largely interested in making a sale. My grandfather used to say about
doctors that they had no vested interest in making you healthy, since
healthy people don't need doctors. They just didn't want you to
die because then they lost a customer! A lot of pet stores are run the
same way... so long as you keep coming back to buy replacement fish and
new bottles of medication, they're happy.> Thank you, Crystal
<Good luck, Neale>
| Black lumps on tetra body and fins
8/23/07 Please, can you help me diagnose my tetras?
<We'll see> I have looked everywhere and can't find
anything to match the appearance of these fish. Something that came
close during my research was "lip fibroma", most common
in angelfish and other "kissing" fish. 2 of my tetra (now
in quarantine for 4 weeks) have lumpy growths first on their lips,
then appearing on their fins and tail bases. It's spreading for
sure. Both fish are eating and lively, but obviously something is
very wrong with their bodies. The lumps are raised, and grey/black
in color. I hope the photos I took help. (Image links:)
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/Meechity/fishy1.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/Meechity/fishy2.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/Meechity/fishy3.jpg Your
site is invaluable. I would not bother to write you if I hadn't
searched all I could elsewhere. Thank you so much :) ~M <Does
appear tumorous... Perhaps there is a bacterial or protozoan
involvement here... I would try one course/treatment with
Metronidazole/Flagyl AND feeding of antibiotic (the
"usual" broad-spectrum, gram-negative varieties
commercially available) like Thera-A as attempts at cure....
otherwise, careful isolation... euthanization. Bob Fenner> |
|
|
Black Skirt tetras, nippy beh. 8/8/07
Hello, Yesterday I did a water change and added 4 new fish to my 20
gal. tank, an algae eater and three red spot phantom tetras. This
morning I noticed my four black skirt tetras frantically chasing each
other, they haven't stopped for hours. I only have 13 fish in the
tank, not over crowded, and have had the black skirt tetras for over a
year and they have always been fine. The water temp. is about 82 deg.
and the rest of the stats fall into acceptable parameters. Do you know
what could have triggered the sudden change in the tetras'
behavior? Jon <Hello Jon. Black skirt tetras -- Gymnocorymbus
ternetzi -- is probably in the top 5, if not the top 3 fin-nippers in
the freshwater aquarium hobby. They should always be kept in groups of
6 or more specimens; any less, and the behaviour you describe is almost
inevitable. Some people may have experiences to the contrary, but they
are in the minority. As a rule, these are fish that should only be kept
with fast moving tetras and barbs, and NEVER mixed with angels or
gouramis, because these poor fish get nipped mercilessly. Why have they
just started? Perhaps they have reached a certain age and have become
sexually mature? Who knows. But the simple answer is that what you have
described is not in the least unusual, and no, there isn't a cure,
beyond adding a few more specimens so that aggression is diffused out a
bit more evenly. The "chasing" seems to be about hierarchical
positioning in the school; the bigger the group, the more quickly they
settle down. Pretty normal schooling fish behaviour, and you'll see
something like this with danios, barbs, all sorts of schooling fish.
Hope this helps, Neale>
Breeding Black Skirt Tetras -- 06/11/07 I recently lost my
6" Jurupari and my Tiger Barb. This morning I awoke to find my
puffer had jumped out of the tank last night sometime. The last two
fish I have in my tank are two black tetras that I have had for years -
about a week ago I noticed the larger tetras belly was getting bigger -
It seemed to be eating fine, but after losing so many fish at once I
was really concerned it might be a parasite. It doesn't have a
protruding scale issue, so I don't think its dropsy, anyway today
as I am watching them, the two Tetras are acting really strange... The
small Tetra will not leave the big Tetras side, its as if they are
dancing together and the one with the big belly keeps spitting up a
round ball - lots of them. I have no idea what is going on please help!
I know my tank's cycle is off right now, but is it infested with
something or what? Beth < Sounds like a typical tetra spawning. The
female is the larger fish and the male is fertilizing the eggs as she
is scattering them about. I guess the other fish were intimidating
them. Now that they are gone they are off spawning scattering their
eggs everywhere.-Chuck> Re: Two Black Tetras, Breeding Tetras --
06/11/07 WOW! Really! What can I do to raise the fry? It is all in
my main tank too, do I take the adults out? And what do I feed the fry?
Thanks! <Most tetras are egg scatters. They swim side by side. As
she lays the eggs he fertilizes them as they swim along. The eggs and
fry will be eaten by the adults. You can remove the adults and you may
see little fry swimming around the tank. They need to be fed very small
live food for about a week or so. In a large tank many fry will starve
because the food is so sparse in the tank. Commercially they set up
pairs in a 10 gallon tank filled with a couple inches of marbles over
the bottom. After the pair spawn they are removed. The eggs fall
between the pores between the marbles so they won't be eaten. After
a couple of days the marbles are removed. The eggs hatch and the fry
are fed green water full of infusoria or paramecium. In a week of so
they are fed baby brine shrimp and microworms. They fry will be very
tiny and hard to see so look closely. Chances are a few will survive if
the eggs hatch.-Chuck>
My Tetra's mouth has moved
3/11/07 I have a 10 gal tank with 3 black skirt tetras 1 white
skirt and an Otocinclus. The white skirt is the oldest member and her
mouth seems to have moved from the point of her face up her face toward
the top of her head. The bottom Jaw flesh seems to have gotten bigger
and the top lip receded so that it looks like she cannot really close
her mouth totally. I suspected maybe mouth rot, but there is no white
fuzz on her. <Mmm... much more likely "something"
developmental (like acromegaly in humans) or resultant from an injury
(jumping...)> I had one other white skirt go this way until he
started swimming on his side in vertical circles and doing stupid stuff
so I euthanized him. Any ideas what I am dealing with? Could it just be
an old age issue? <Yes> Her right eye seems to have eye pop also,
but her left one is okay. I have been changing the water weekly, but
the water temp is a little high due to treatment for suspected ich.
<Mmm, not likely too high... can tolerate temperatures into the low
nineties F.> Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks <What
is your water quality overall? Hardness, pH... do you have appreciable
nitrate? Bob Fenner>
Re: My Tetra's mouth has moved
(follow-up) - 3/12/07 <<Hello. Tom covering for
Bob this time.>> Water quality: Nitrites 0, ammonia 0.
Don't have hardness or nitrate tester. But this may be an issue, my
pH reads 7.6 but this is the max the tester will register so it may be
higher. Could this be the issue? <<Not 'the' issue, as
such, but could definitely be 'an' issue, as you suggest. A
high pH level isn't the problem it was once seen to be as long as
it remains stable. Fish acclimate to pH ranges outside of the
'ideal' quite readily, for the most part, and the consensus is
that it's better to keep our fish in water that's readily
available from the tap rather than 'toying' with it where pH is
concerned. Bob's reference to water hardness was meant to get a
sense of the buffering capability of your water, i.e. the ability of
the water to resist changes in pH. The higher the buffering capacity,
the less likely you will experience a dangerous, potentially
catastrophic, drop in pH. To address your question more specifically,
White Skirt Tetras have a pretty wide pH-tolerance range with the high
end being around 8.5. There aren't many fish in the freshwater
arena that 'prefer' pH levels this high even among the
Cichlids, which are known for thriving in alkaline water.>> How
do I lower it on a permanent basis? <<Rather than
saying you can't, I'd prefer to tell you not to try. First, it
may be totally unnecessary and, second, you may be setting yourself up
for problems. The saltwater folks have a leg up on most of us FW
hobbyists as there are substrate materials, aragonite in particular,
that constantly provide calcium carbonate (among other trace elements)
to the water, raising pH to levels their aquariums require on what
might be deemed a 'permanent' basis. Lowering pH is more
problematic and, unfortunately, temporary over the long haul. Just not
a good idea with play with it.>> I will try to get the other
testers but we live in a small community and may not be able to
quickly. <<As you've probably surmised, I don't think
this is necessarily an urgent matter but I agree that it's one that
should be looked into soon. You need to have a feel for the buffering
capacity of your water to ensure there are no sudden plunges in your pH
levels. If there's an issue here, this is it in my opinion. My best
to you. Tom>>
Pregnant Blackskirt? I have a Blackskirt tetra. I have had
her for almost a year and her tummy has become quite
enlarged. I noticed also she is reddish under her back
fin. Could she be pregnant or sick? <Could be either or
neither... this species does get quite round... from over-eating as
well as egg maturation> That is assuming it's a
girl. I have two other Blackskirts with it, a yellow
gourami, 5 danios, 4 tiger barbs, 2 albino barbs, 1 clown loach, and 4
rose barbs located in at least a 40 gal tank. I
treated the tank for gut worms a month ago. What could it
be? Sincerely Melissa Lee <Might even be just resultant from the
treatment... I encourage you to feed your fishes a type of food that
has a laxative effect... like brine shrimp or Daphnia... once a day for
a few weeks. If your Black Skirt is "full of eggs" it may
release them (they will be consumed by the other fishes unless you
place it, the other Black Skirts in another system). Bob Fenner>
Black Skirt Tetras I have a 50 Gal. Freshwater I have had 3
black skirt tetra in the tank for about 5 months. They have started to
turn gray because of age. The larger one lost half of its back fin
about 6 days ago don't know why it also has a large belly. Why the
large belly? Also just noticed one had a large black bump on its side.
Can't figure that out any ideas? <Hard to tell without a
picture, maybe pregnant, maybe sick, the bump could be a tumor or
something similar.> Also one last Question I bought 3 smaller ones
yesterday they all got along fine yesterday. But today the smaller ones
are constantly like picking on the older ones mostly the bigger one
with the big belly. They chase him all over the tank mostly up by his
head. Any idea why they are doing this? <They could just be trying
to establish dominance, or if the older one with the large belly is
sick, they may be picking on him because he is weak.> I took the new
ones out and put them in a breeder basket <I would test my water to
make sure the parameters are good, and maybe add some more decorations
the tank to provide hiding places for the fish that are being picked
on. If you add the new fish back into the tank the beatings
should stop in time. Best Regards, Gage>
my fish (Tetra color change) Hi My name is Krystal and I want
to know about black skirts I have notice that their fins change colors.
Why? <Black Skirt Tetras fins do become clear to glassy with age,
growth... this is their genetic disposition... that is, their natural
development. Perhaps by having part of their bodies transparent, it
makes them harder for predators to detect. Bob Fenner>
Sick black skirt tetra I have had a group of 5 black skirt
tetras in my 37 gallon community for about 6 months. One of my tetras
has developed some sort of growth (tumor maybe?) on it's tail. the
tail itself is completely intact, but there is a growth, a couple mm in
diameter, that is red with white spots and protrudes about 1 mm from
each side of the fin. I am very confused about this as I have seen
quite a few common fish diseases, and this seems to match none of them.
At this time I have isolated the fish in a 2 gallon tank and am feeding
antibacterial food. Do you have any ideas as to what this growth might
be? <Good description. This may well be a tumor of some sort...
could be a "worm" parasite like one of the many trematodes of
fishes... other possibilities of internal parasite groups... My best
guess, perhaps a Lernaeid (crustacean) called "anchorworm"...
You might try "teasing" the area with a sharp forceps, needle
with the fish underwater, light low, in a net... to see if the mass can
be easily removed... then topically treat the area with a daub
("Q-tip") of antiseptic (the mercury-based ones for humans:
mercurochrome, merthiolate, merbromin... will do). Bob Fenner> Thank
you, Ariel
Sexing Gymnocorymbus To Bob F Hi Bob it's me
Louis again. I wanted to know how to tell the gender between a
white skirt tetra, if you can try to show a picture other websites make
no sense. <At size, maturity, females are much larger, shinier...
males darker, smaller with longer un-paired fins. Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/tetragonopfaqs1.htm
and search WWM, the Net under the names: Black Skirt Tetra,
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi. Bob Fenner>
What this? Blackskirt The nice man at the pet shop told me
this was a "Blue Widow", but it seems that he was the only
person on the planet that knows this species by that
name. He also seemed to think s/he was a great addition to
my tank set up - but needless to say I'm beginning to doubt his
word. What is it? S/he's no more than an inch and a half
long, and flat like a Silver Dollar - and an awful lot prettier that my
crummy picture suggests! <Actually a very nice pic... of a xanthic
variety of a Black Skirt Tetra, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi... you can look
these names up on the Net, Fishbase.org, WetWebMedia.com... a very nice
aquarium species.> Superb website, by the way. An
unbelievable wealth of information. Melinda <Thank you for being
part of it. Bob Fenner>
Black Widow Tetra Hello,
<Greetings> Maybe you can help, <Will most certainly try!>
We have a 55 gal tank with a few fish, among them we have 4 black widow
tetras, one of them is getting "fat", so just in case we
isolated the fish in a plastic floating tank designed so the eggs fall
in the bottom and cannot be eaten. <I would venture the guess that
this fish is just getting fat and is not actually pregnant. I have
about 30 of these fish and certain ones remain fat all the time while
others are fairly slim looking.> Here is the question, I read a lot
of stuff about how long it takes the eggs to hatch, but what we want to
know, is how long we have to wait for the female to lay the eggs? Or
should we let her go w/the other fish, and if so, will they eat the
eggs? <I would go ahead and let her back into the main tank. If you
don't have plants in there, maybe add a few so that if she is going
to lay eggs she has a place to do so.> Thank you for your help.
Patricia <You're welcome. Ronni>
Black Skirt Tetras I have a 50 Gal. Freshwater I
have had 3 black skirt tetra in the tank for about 5 months. They have
started to turn gray because of age. The larger one lost half of its
back fin about 6 days ago don't know why it also has a large belly.
Why the large belly? Also just noticed one had a large black bump on
its side. Can't figure that out any ideas? <Hard to tell without
a picture, maybe pregnant, maybe sick, the bump could be a tumor or
something similar.> Also one last Question I bought 3 smaller ones
yesterday they all got along fine yesterday. But today the smaller ones
are constantly like picking on the older ones mostly the bigger one
with the big belly. They chase him all over the tank mostly up by his
head. Any idea why they are doing this? <They could just be trying
to establish dominance, or if the older one with the large belly is
sick, they may be picking on him because he is weak.> I took the new
ones out and put them in a breeder basket <I would test my water to
make sure the parameters are good, and maybe add some more decorations
the tank to provide hiding places for the fish that are being picked
on. If you add the new fish back into the tank the beatings
should stop in time. Best Regards, Gage>
School's In Session Long story. I have a 5gal
tank, for lack of expenses, though I have heard that 20gal is better.
Last week, out of compassion or whatever, I tried to save some goldfish
some people on my college campus were not treating right. Oops. Found
out later that they are not good starter fish. Well they all died
within a few days. I had not given the tank enough time to cycle. I was
told that I could get a couple fish to put in here for starters. Three
days ago I got one Serpae tetra and one black skirt tetra. The man at
the pet shop said they were his favorites to use. Later that day, I
found out online about the schooling fish, and that they need to be in
groups of six minimum. What do I do? They seem healthy so far, active.
<Well, I would give your tank a little more time to finish cycling,
then you might want to add maybe two more of each. Not exactly a
school, but small groups> I realized yesterday that I was
overfeeding, so I have cut back to once a day, smaller pinch. Water is
clear, but there is a smell, reminds me of urine. No other way to put
it... Here are my questions. is the smell something bad? how do I get
rid of it? <Well, if it smells like urine, it may not be a good
thing. A healthy tank has an "earthy", pleasant smell, not an
ammonia-like smell. What kind of filter are you using? If you are not
already (and assuming your filter can accommodate it), try using some
activated carbon. That will help remove discoloration and odor. And, of
course, in a small tank, you should be diligent about regular water
changes! Acquire some test kits: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. By regular
water testing, particularly in the early stages of your tank's
existence, you can really get a handle for what's going on.>
Would the two groups work good together, or do I need eventually to get
a separate tank? <I think that they will work with diligent
attention to maintenance, but you will eventually have to get a larger
tank to accommodate these fish at full size. Maybe neon tetras would be
a better choice for the long run?> To add fish, how big a tank do I
need for a good number? <Maybe a 10 or 20 gallon tank. This would
give you more flexibility> Don't have the gages yet, but will be
getting them soon. Any help will be so appreciated. Thanks for
everything. I've been reading and it's good info. Amy <Keep
reading and learning! You're doing great! Scott F.>
My fish (Tetra color change) Hi My name is Krystal
and I want to know about black skirts I have notice that their fins
change colors. Why? <Black Skirt Tetras fins do become clear to
glassy with age, growth... this is their genetic disposition... that
is, their natural development. Perhaps by having part of their bodies
transparent, it makes them harder for predators to detect. Bob
Fenner>
Sick black skirt tetra I have had a group of 5
black skirt tetras in my 37 gallon community for about 6 months. One of
my tetras has developed some sort of growth (tumor maybe?) on it's
tail. the tail itself is completely intact, but there is a growth, a
couple mm in diameter, that is red with white spots and protrudes about
1 mm from each side of the fin. I am very confused about this as I have
seen quite a few common fish diseases, and this seems to match none of
them. At this time I have isolated the fish in a 2 gallon tank and am
feeding antibacterial food. Do you have any ideas as to what this
growth might be? <Good description. This may well be a tumor of some
sort... could be a "worm" parasite like one of the many
Trematodes of fishes... other possibilities of internal parasite
groups... My best guess, perhaps a Lernaeid (crustacean) called
"Anchorworm"... You might try "teasing" the area
with a sharp forceps, needle with the fish underwater, light low, in a
net... to see if the mass can be easily removed... then topically treat
the area with a daub ("Q-tip") of antiseptic (the
mercury-based ones for humans: mercurochrome, Merthiolate, Merbromin...
will do). Bob Fenner> Thank you, Ariel
Pregnant Blackskirt? I have a Blackskirt tetra. I have had
her for almost a year and her tummy has become quite
enlarged. I noticed also she is reddish under her back
fin. Could she be pregnant or sick? <Could be either or
neither... this species does get quite round... from over-eating as
well as egg maturation> That is assuming it's a
girl. I have two other Blackskirts with it, a yellow
Gourami, 5 Danios, 4 tiger barbs, 2 albino barbs, 1 clown loach, and 4
rose barbs located in at least a 40 gal tank. I
treated the tank for gut worms a month ago. What could it
be? Sincerely Melissa Lee <Might even be just resultant from the
treatment... I encourage you to feed your fishes a type of food that
has a laxative effect... like brine shrimp or Daphnia... once a day for
a few weeks. If your Black Skirt is "full of eggs" it may
release them (they will be consumed by the other fishes unless you
place it, the other Black Skirts in another system). Bob Fenner>
Pregnant/fat black widows - Bob's
Response Hey... just came across this site by chance, LUCK!
Hoping you could help.... 3 of 5 black widow tetras have huge bellies..
the other two are smaller in size.. they all seem to have slight blood
streaked abdominals...do you think this is due to the shark chasing
them a lot (maybe hurting them)... <Maybe> ...or that they are
having little tetras of their own?? <Doubtful> If they are
pregnant, then how can I tell when they are ready to burst? Last time
my guppy had babies... she went crazy on her own, so I felt bad and put
her back in with the other... and the poor little babies only lived for
2 hours. Thank you....thank you, thank you , Debbie
<Please read through the freshwater site: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsubwebindex.htm
re tetras, feeding... Bob Fenner>
Freshwater fish identifications, ChuckR Hi there I need to
identify two fish to find out more about them. The one was called a
"black widow" in the shop I bought it from. Its shape is very
similar to a silver dollar. It is mostly black on the top half of its
body and the tail is silver. Apprx 2cm long. I've looked everywhere
for information on this fish but can not get anything, except black
widow tetra, which I do not think it is. (saw a picture somewhere) <
The black skirt tetra is sometimes called the black widow tetra. If
this is not your fish then you will need to provide more info like a
photo.> The other fish is definitely a goby, no doubt about that. It
is white with black spots, and a small black "stripe" at the
back of its top fin. The sizes are apprx 3 & 5cm each. The shop
owner said its a spotted goby and that the female is the bigger one of
the two, but alas, I can find no information/pictures on what it
actually is. It is a very shay fish. <Look at photos of the knight
goby (Stigmatogobius sadanundio ). Males have longer fins.> Both are
freshwater fish. I've got two male guppies in the tank and sometime
during today, the one lost half of its tail fin. I doubt that it will
be the "black widow" because they've been sharing a tank
for 2 months now. < The gobies are capable of biting the tail of
smaller fish thinking that they are food.-Chuck> Any help would be
greatly appreciated. Thanking you in anticipation. Jaco Ps. If it is a
stupid question or I can find the info somewhere else, please tell me
so.
Freshwater fish identifications, BobF Hi there I need to
identify two fish to find out more about them. The one was called a
"black widow" in the shop I bought it from. Its shape is very
similar to a silver dollar. It is mostly black on the top half of its
body and the tail is silver. Apprx 2cm long. I've looked everywhere
for information on this fish but can not get anything, except black
widow tetra, which I do not think it is. (saw a picture somewhere)
<Likely a Black Skirt Tetra... there are varieties, differences
within this species: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/characins2/a/blackwidow.htm>
The other fish is definitely a goby, no doubt about that. It is white
with black spots, and a small black "stripe" at the back of
its top fin. The sizes are apprx 3 & 5 cm each. The shop owner said
its a spotted goby and that the female is the bigger one of the two,
but alas, I can find no information/pictures on what it actually is. It
is a very shy fish. <Maybe a knight goby: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracgobioids.htm>
Both are freshwater fish. I've got two male guppies in the tank and
sometime during today, the one lost half of its tail fin. <Could be
from either of the above> I doubt that it will be the "black
widow" because they've been sharing a tank for 2 months now.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanking you in anticipation.
Jaco Ps. If it is a stupid question or I can find the info somewhere
else, please tell me so. <Be chatting, Bob Fenner who encourages you
to investigate before you buy livestock>
Black Skirt Tetra Issue Hi. I'm new to having fish and
need help. I set up my tank at the beginning of October (30 gallon). I
have 3 Black Skirt Tetra, 3 Zebra Danios, and 1 algae eater (sorry I
don't know his real name - it starts with a P). <Pleco works>
Earlier today one of the tetra died. I had noticed some erratic
behavior and sluggish swimming over the last day or so. He
also looked as though he had bubbles on him. When I removed him from
the water the bubbles were white spots, particularly on his tail. The
other two tetras are now acting oddly, they are not schooling, both are
staying near the top, which is odd for them, they normally swim near
the bottom. What do I do? I did a water change about 2 weeks ago - the
fish had been overfed while we were out of town on vacation and the
tank was covered with algae. This is when I added my algae eater. All
has been well until the last 24 hours or so. HELP! Thank
you, Allison <The white spots are a pretty sure sign of Ich. Treat
with salt. Read here for it's proper use. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
You should also be doing more water changes. Use a gravel vac to remove
the old food and fish waste. This is very important when treating for
Ich. Don>
Re: Black Skirt Tetra Issue Thank you for your
response! Today the white spots look more like fluffy stuff
- on the tail and fins. It almost appears to be
fungal. Thanks for any help you can offer. Allison
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwinfectdisfaqs.htm
Bob Fenner>
Tetras with sores Hi there, I have several black high skirt
tetras of different ages. The problem is as they get older
and larger, 2 of them developed a sore around their mouths. <Sores
around the mouth are often times due to mouth fungus. Which
is a treatable disease, I have found that medicines from the Mardel
company have worked exceptionally well.> The largest one died and I
am worried this will continue until I find the problem. They
share the tank with red serapes and a 5-6 inch Pleco. <There
doesn't seem to be any sort of tank mates that would be nipping or
bothering the Black Skirts.> Any suggestions would be great.
<Make sure that the filtration is good on your tank, keep up on the
water changes. This will help keep the fish's immune
system working well, and it will also offer a better environment so
that fungus and bacteria won't be able to
thrive. It's best for you to set up a quarantine tank,
so in the case that your fish do come down with more sores around their
mouth then you will be able to remove them from the tank and medicate
them. Look at medicines like Maracyn, and even a broader
based medicine like Maracide from Mardel for a good treatment for the
problem.> <Good Luck. -Magnus>
