Update on my fishtank
So right before Easter Break when I was packing Elisabeth discovered that Rainbow had Ick. Ick is a bacterial infection that causes little white spots to appear on fishies. So I left my key and asked Jillian to take care of my fishies while I was gone and give them medicine. She did and when I got back Rainbow's Ick was gone, but now Silver had it. But Silver's wasn't as bad and we managed to get rid of that pretty quickly. So my fishies were happy and healthy. Jillian's fishies weren't so lucky. Her fishies got Ick too (apparently the store we bought fishies at had the Ick and since all the fishies there share water...). So both Jillian's fishies died and then her lone surviving shrimp died and she was left with nothing. We had to boil all the stuff that was in her tank because it was so bad. So yesterday we went to Chatty to get more fishies. While we were there I decided to get my Cardinal Tetras that I had wanted since that store was the only one we had found them at. I also got a Black Mollie to replace Black, except that she was pregnant (yay for baby fishies). So when we were acclemating my fishies we found that Rainbow had Ick again. I was really disappointed because I didn't want to put my Ick-free fishies in there, and I especially didn't want the baby Mollies to get Ick when they were born. Jillian had ended up ordering a fish because she wanted a dwarf puffer and they didn't have them there, so I begged a home for my fishies. So this morning I was awakend by a call from Jillian. She told me that Black Mollie had popped. I ran over to Jillian's dorm to see. There were only two babies. We suspect that Black Mollie gave birth in the night and ate the rest, 'cause fishies do that. So I took the babies out and waited to see if she'd have any more. She didn't. So I put the babies back in, took Black Mollie out and brought her over to my dorm. I didn't really want to put Black Mollie in an Ick-infested tank, but we didn't have another bubbler to put her in her own tank, and if we left her with the babies she would eat them. The Cardinals are so small that they can't eat the babies even if they wanted to. So Rainbow and Silver have accepted their new tank mate pretty well. But then she is a large, formally pregnant, black fish. She's kinda... pushy. So I put in this really, as Elisabeth puts it, bad butt medicine. This medicine has formaline in it, what they use instead of formaldehyde nowadays. This medicine will kill any bacteria in the tank, the good and the bad. If I put to much in I can burn my fishies' gills and then they won't be able to breath. So this medicine is serious stuff. Hopefully all the Ick will die, all the fish will live, everyone will get to go in the right tank and it will all be good. I'll keep you updated on the exciting world of my fishtank.
P.S. We also got some Ghost Shrimp that are in Jillian's tank right now too. We got some with eggs so we can have Ghost Shrimp babies too and they will be fruitfull and multiply and fill the fishtank, and we'll have Ghost Shrimp forever and ever and never have to buy them from the store again.
8 comments:
Uh, is that a technical term--"popped"?
Also, do you know anything about hermit crabs? Joanna is now the proud owner of one, thanks to Jeanne.
If the crab was found by the beach, it needs salt water. Enough to immerse itself in. It can survive without it for a little while but it needs to keep it's gills wet.
How are your baby fish now? I hope all your fish get well and stay well. Did you name your new fish yet?
I had my account fixed, but now it won't work again!
Princess
So something was wrong with Jillians tank and all the Cardinals and most of the shrimp are dead. I took out the remaining 4 shrimp and the 2 babies and put them in one of Elisabeth's tanks. They are in my room now. Except that when I got in a little while ago I coulding find one of the babies. I don't know where it is. They are too small to jump out and...I really have no idea where it is. I'm hoping it will turn up soon. If not, those shrimp are in for a world of hurt, despite the fact that they shouldn't be able to eat the babies.
I'm not going to be coming home on a plane. The next time I come it will be for the summer so my parents are going to have to come get me and my stuff.
You don't name fish, it's in a previous post. You are all free to name the shrimp and the plants though.
Accoding to Elisabeth, the remaining baby is premature. She thinks that Black Mollie had a "stress abortion" and that she is still pregnant. We've pretty much determined the other baby Mollie died, because it was premature or it starved, and that the shrimp ate it. She isn't sure that the other one is going to live. But Black Mollie, Silver, Rainbow are doing very well. They are very active which means they are in no immediate danger of death, and the Ick is clearing up nicely. We still don't know what was wrong with Jillian's tank. We're going to do a necropsy on the Cardinal I've got in my freezer.
Oh, you silly, silly bio major types. What have I gotten myself into???
You mean my freezer? Ew!
Elisabeth says that they will get about a hundred Cardinal Tetras at the aquarium but only a few live. She thought that with individual attention my three would live. But anyway, we suspect that the stuff Jillian used to fix a crack in her tank was emmiting harmful chemicals and that's why the fish died. The babies died because they were born prematurely and they were not fully developed enough to survive on their own.
And for your information Black Mollie, Silver and Rainbow are doing just fine. The Ick is almost completely gone and they are three of the happiest, most demanding, bullying fish I have ever seen. It's pretty funny 'cause they just bully each other around all the time. I'm not sure the Cardinals would have made it in there with them anyway.
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