better safe than sorry, and if I remember right the fish from zimmerman will come to you quite young. I wouldn't chance it but that is just me, if they were up against something like your bullhead I wouldn't be so worried but small longears could be just the right prey for whatever larvae you may have.
Question about worms, and things in the tank
- Thread starter Rays of Sunshine
- Start date
Thanks Gang, going to tear the whole tank down, not worth the money loss and possible torment the fry might endure.
Ah bleach will kill most things like bacteria, I bleached all my rocks/driftwoood prior to putting them into the tank. 1 part bleach to 99 part water for bactericide. Now larvae is a different story... a much higher concentration is needed. I've heard of people using upto 1 part bleach for every 5 part water just to kill maggot larvae, depending on the stage of the larvae.
I would suggest cleaning the tank itself and the filtration system well and let it run for a while before adding things in.
For the wood/rocks/things you find in nature decor,
1) throw it in diluted bleach water over night (kills it faster by making chlorine gas)
2) rinse it
3) let it dry a bit
4) rinse it
5) soak it in some VERY hot water for a couple hours (makes me feel better)
6) rinse it, soak it in some water some more over night, and then rinse the hell of out it again, and let it dry once more over night.
Now you rinse it again so that the city (assuming you live in the city) tap water will kill off some more bacteria from letting it dry over night, and then place in aquarium. It's such a pain but this is the price I pay every time i see a nice rock
I am a bit of a clean-freak so steps 4-5 isn't a necessity, just soak & rinse thoroughly ^^
I would suggest cleaning the tank itself and the filtration system well and let it run for a while before adding things in.
For the wood/rocks/things you find in nature decor,
1) throw it in diluted bleach water over night (kills it faster by making chlorine gas)
2) rinse it
3) let it dry a bit
4) rinse it
5) soak it in some VERY hot water for a couple hours (makes me feel better)
6) rinse it, soak it in some water some more over night, and then rinse the hell of out it again, and let it dry once more over night.
Now you rinse it again so that the city (assuming you live in the city) tap water will kill off some more bacteria from letting it dry over night, and then place in aquarium. It's such a pain but this is the price I pay every time i see a nice rock
I am a bit of a clean-freak so steps 4-5 isn't a necessity, just soak & rinse thoroughly ^^
kurare, I have done the same things with driftwood, rocks, etc... This time I had decided to us the wood as is for the beneficial bacteria. I was wrong with thinking whatever small creatures like water fleas and more would be fine. I didn't have a problem with my other native tank, collected all from the same area in the lake, so I thought I was safe. First time, I have ever used driftwood without bleaching, etc...
If I was you I would consider hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach, it takes a while to dissipate. All the creatures you describe are indeed food items to fish big enough to take advantage of them. I grow live daphnia and a great many bugs come in with the daphnia and most are eaten pretty quickly. How big will the fish you are getting be? If they are a couple inches long they will probably eat the bugs but I would remove and really big bugs with a net at least. I commonly add wood from lakes with no sterilization, fish generally clean up the bugs pretty quickly in a closed space but they can eat small fish...
Moontanman, the fish current size is .5-1in according to zimmerman's. I do have a thought I could go to the lake and get some mosquito fish. Maybe they will clean up this mess. I also have a 1 inch bluegill that I could put in there too. Natural pest control, forgot all about the mosquito fish!! Thanks!!!!
Rays of Sunshine;4530146; said:
Mosquito fish might not be such a good idea, they are quite aggressive and can and will kill other small fish. I had mosquito fish kill a baby gar they were supposed to be food for!
Okay, I'll do the mosquito fish completely by themselves and when the problem is gone, put them a different tank.
