Hi Everyone! Newbie FishKeeper here!

[JessAlba452]

Hey everyone, I've been lurking on these forums for a while now and decided to register today. This is the first time I've kept fish in my adult life. Growing up my mom had a large salt water aquarium about 700Gal and smaller FW goldfish tank 40Gal. So this is my first fish keeping adventure!

As of now I have a 28Gal Hex Tank with mostly bottom dwellers. An eclipse catfish, and 2 plecos. There is also a 29Gal Bow Front tank with a single Jack Dempsey.

I purchased the smaller pleco at Petsmart for $5.99, the second medium sized pleco at a LFS $10. The JD was also from another LFS for $3.

I've had the plecos and JD for about 2 months now. The plecos I haven't noticed any growth really, but the JD has gone from 2.5" to 4.5".

The eclipse catfish belongs to my bf and he has had him for about 2 years, but he's only about 5"

So I hope to stay here on MFK and learn a lot about these monster fish!

 

[Lupin]

to MFK, Liza!

I hope to see pics of your fishies.

 

[biohazardcustomz]

welcome to monster fish keepers. any questions feel free to ask away. wish you the best of luck.

 

[JessAlba452]

Thank you for the welcome!

I forgot to add that at the same time I picked up my pleco from PetSmart that I picked up a blue/red male beta. He lived in a 1gal bowl and learned how to jump for his food within a few weeks.

I never knew fish could learn how to do things and thought it was adorable. He passed a few weeks ago due to dropsy/swim bladder. That is the first time I've seen a fish die before me and it was terrible. He was gasping for air, and having trouble swimming. Didn't know what to do, and so I saw him swim for his last breath and sink to the bottom of the tank. While he was still alive a lot of his red/blue color faded, and came back after he passed. It seemed that I noticed his behavior change about 2 days before his death, and that he was not hungry like he usually is.

This came after a water change, the week prior.

Did not have the heart to flush him down the toilet, so he is buried in the back yard now.

I wonder what could I have done?

 

[Lupin]

Did you use dechlorinator during water change? Assuming your tap water has chlorine and chloramine and you never did, it may likely contribute to this issue. Both substances are very much toxic to all fish. It can burn their gills.

 

[JessAlba452]

Did you use dechlorinator during water change? Assuming your tap water has chlorine and chloramine and you never did, it may likely contribute to this issue. Both substances are very much toxic to all fish. It can burn their gills.

Aww no The only thing I did was a small scoop of API pH7.0 after the water change. Which dechlorinator would you recommend for use?

 

[biohazardcustomz]

i recommend using prime made by the company seachem.. it is a dechlorinator and it makes ammonia and nitrite less harmful to fish. it also helps with slime coat. i use it in all my tanks and it works great.

i also suggest not using those ph chemical products. there are different ways to adjust and maintain ph but i believe chemicals are the wrong way. in many cases it can harm the fish and often kill them. if the ph changes fast its very bad for the fish. also i wouldnt recommend using ph adjusting chemicals in any unfiltered tank (like a betta bowl) as the chemicals wont get properly dispersed.

post your pics in the media lounge. post your questions in the best suited category for your particular situation. that way people that know about that specific issue will be able to see it sooner.

 

[JessAlba452]

Thank you biohazard I'll look into using Prime instead of the API right away.

As for pics...I have a few!

Jack the JD - A little stressed purchased at 2.5" and is now around 5" after a few months.

First month or so, just hiding!

Sailfin Pleco - His first day in the tank! He was 5" when I got him and is the newest addition to the family. Poor guy had to be moved from the tank with JD to another after having his dorsal shredded. He has healed very nicely!

Hifin Spotted Pleco - My first fish purchase from Petsmart he was 1.5" long now about 2" maybe 2.5" had him for 2-3 months.

Male Beta - He recently passed, but he was very smart and knew how to jump during feeding time.

 

[FLESHY]

Welcome to MFK...hope to see you get some monsters during your time here!

 

[Red Devil]

welcome Liza to monster fish keepers...wow great fish collection you have.. a treat that you shared some pics.... hope you enjoy mfk as much as i do... glad your here...