Good News

I have just purchased a new home for my Tiger Oscar. I bought a 90 gallon all glass aquarium. I will be busy in the next few days setting it up. I'll post pictures.

The other good news is that the owner of the Oscar sent me an email from Iraq. She was concerned about moving the fish when she returns to the US. She told me I could have him. I am very happy about this turn of events because since he has been here I have grown quite attached to the big guy!

I'm going to have to find a net big enough to hold him so I can transfer him to his new home when it is ready.

Tank Update

Well, it's been four days since I added the Glow light Tetras to my 20 gallon. So far, all of them are still alive and have managed to grow. Their color is a lot more vibrant that when I bought them. The water is crystal clear. The Moss balls have also started to green up a little now that the fish are in there.

One of the fish has been concerning me since day one. It swims very oddly; sometimes upside down. I has figured that he would be dead by now, but even thought it swims funny, it too is growing and there is not sign that they other fish are picking on it.

My 38 Gallon tank is another story. The Oscar and Pleco are way too big for it. I am changing 20% of the water multiple times a week and cannot keep up with the waste production. The Oscar is as big as the tank is wide now. The Pleco is even longer. They both have been lethargic and the Oscar is not eating like he used to. I'm currently looking for a larger tank for them.

New Fish for 20G

Last night I added 6 glow light tetras to my 20 G tank. I also purchased two of those moss balls and added them. They are quite interesting. I am going to buy some Java Moss too, but all I have is Wal-mart here so I have to wait until I get to a real fish store.

The new glow lights are from Wal-mart. I really do not like buying fish from there because their tanks are not in the best shape. It's all I have though. I thought I was going to lose two of my new fish last night because they were swimming upside down. 20 hours later though, they are doing well.

I've tried to jump start the cycle by taking some of my biological filter from the 40G and putting it in the 20.

20 Gallon Filled and Ready

I bought a Penguin filter yesterday and and today I did a setup on my 20 gallon tank. I've done some more research on Neon Tetras and have learned that they are not a good fish to cycle a tank with. So, I have changed my approach. I'm still going to make the neons a center piece of this tank, but to get it cycled I am going to select a different fish that will be compatible with the neons.

Today, I laid down a layer of black gravel. About a quarter of an inch thick. My 40 gallon has about and inch and a half of gravel in it and it is very very hard to keep clean. I for this tank I have put less gravel down. I chose black because it will look good with the neon's bright colors.

I also added my bio-wheel filter and filled it with water. I transfered a small portion of the bio-filtration media from my 40 gallon to this one to help kick start the tank cycle.

My next step is to find a hardy fish to cycle the tank with. One that will survive and be able to live with the neons. Any suggestions?

Dave

I've Decided...

I've Decided what I am going to do with my 20 gallon fish tank. I have put down a layer of black gravel on the bottom. I am going to start with a large group of neon tetras. I plan to add some low light plants. I will add other fish that are compatible with neons, but I want the neons to be the main attraction of the tank.

That's the plan.

Took me long enough!

Dave

Getting Bigger

The Tiger Oscar that I am fostering has really gotten big. Here is a picture:




Here is another:

Amquel Plus

I have discovered the merits of using Amquel Plus in the past two weeks. You see, I ran out of it and since I have no pet store nearby that I could buy more from I just switched to using Stress Coat to condition my water with. Normally this probably would not have been a big deal, however, in my 38 gallon take I have a Tiger Oscar (now 7-8 inches long) and a 4-5 inch pleco. They produce mass quantities of waste and without the NH3 neutralizing powers of Amquel Plus the tank chemistry went all out of whack.

At first the water started to cloud and then it took on an foul odor. The water had a slightly green tinge to it. What's a guy to do?

First, I started daily 20% water changes. I also reduced the lighting. Then I went to WalMart (which is my only fish store option) and bought some of Jungle's Ammonia Clear. Finally, I ordered some more Amquel Plus from Big Al's Online. The Ammonia Clear was helpful, but it is not as good as Amquel Plus.

If you have an overstocked tank or have large fish I recommend it!