So, a lot of nothing and some things going on. About 2 months ago the tub I had separated some of the hrps in had a purge. Not me, them. 15 bodies floating or stuck in caves. Not the sort of thing any fishkeeper wants to see. There were about 8 survivors who were moved to the growout.
I've had some losses. I found a dying Arrow in Lazarus tank. No marks, nothing...just rolling over. Tigger, the oversized daughter of her oversized father Brutus also perished cause unknown. Too big I suspect.
Seems as though the unexplained deaths are further down the dna chain where the earlier generations it was mostly from violence. But to continue:
Lost Bella the 'transitional' daughter of Pip/Mongo who started showing male behavior and characteristics. I dubbed her 'bad Bella' but I guess someone else was badder still.
Brothers Neet (two tone lips) and Blackbeard are doing fine. They're running the show in the growout. The others are offspring of them, Sharky and Tigger. Sharky is the sister of Tigger. She's grown but doesn't look well. No fading, no hollow belly and no marks. But she often stops swimming and lays at the top sometimes on her side. Still eats. Totally puzzled.
I thought I had another situation with the all female tank. For WEEKS I saw nothing. No movement or activity even when I tapped on the tank. Still changed water and added pellets but began to wonder if they offed each other too. Sadly, I figured to convert the breeder into a plant tank. So I added a lot of lettuce floaters and cleaned the bubblers. Was hesitant to move any decor. So I took the claw and lifted two logs. And then...
The stinkers came flying out in every direction, bouncing off the walls. THEY WERE ALIVE! I just laughed out loud. Harlequin, Nix, Reeva and the rest were just fine, thank you. And much bigger. Because everyone had a cave they never came out. Crazy!
The blood parrots are fine. Kong greets me each evening when I get back. Tango is HUGE. He can eat whole worm cubes in one gulp! Don't believe the hype that all parrots have small mouths.
In the 125 I still have Frick and Frack, hrp siblings (striped). They are great grandsons of the OGs. Frack has had a major growth spurt. With them is Bumper, a 1st gen offspring of Pip and Mongo. And last is Deuce, a son of Slade who runs the tank. He's a moderate size pink marble. Bumper is big and striped.
The 225 has a strange dynamic since losing BP Boss. Catfish Spot is now interactive like a cichlid. My red rainbow Salt stays in hiding and I can't locate Pip anywhere. Pip is the original hrp hive queen. I hope she hasn't aged out, but she and Boss were buddies. I literally haven't seen her since. Salt has also gotten large, maybe 7 inches.
Major shoutout to water lettuce. It's invasive and restrictive but it hella fine for water quality. I've got it in all the tanks. I let the small leaves clog on the intakes on purpose...they turn into a green ball filter in addition to the floaters. Known for serious water clean and lives up to the reputation. It can grow big, 6 to 8 inches across. They don't like a lot of water movement. Just add water, strong light and a bit of fertilizer. BOOM.
Still have to organize the basement. There's been so many financial issues with the house causing setbacks. Cube tank project still on hold. I still plan another Oscar, maybe a chocolate and tiger parrots. Stay tuned.
I've had some losses. I found a dying Arrow in Lazarus tank. No marks, nothing...just rolling over. Tigger, the oversized daughter of her oversized father Brutus also perished cause unknown. Too big I suspect.
Seems as though the unexplained deaths are further down the dna chain where the earlier generations it was mostly from violence. But to continue:
Lost Bella the 'transitional' daughter of Pip/Mongo who started showing male behavior and characteristics. I dubbed her 'bad Bella' but I guess someone else was badder still.
Brothers Neet (two tone lips) and Blackbeard are doing fine. They're running the show in the growout. The others are offspring of them, Sharky and Tigger. Sharky is the sister of Tigger. She's grown but doesn't look well. No fading, no hollow belly and no marks. But she often stops swimming and lays at the top sometimes on her side. Still eats. Totally puzzled.
I thought I had another situation with the all female tank. For WEEKS I saw nothing. No movement or activity even when I tapped on the tank. Still changed water and added pellets but began to wonder if they offed each other too. Sadly, I figured to convert the breeder into a plant tank. So I added a lot of lettuce floaters and cleaned the bubblers. Was hesitant to move any decor. So I took the claw and lifted two logs. And then...
The stinkers came flying out in every direction, bouncing off the walls. THEY WERE ALIVE! I just laughed out loud. Harlequin, Nix, Reeva and the rest were just fine, thank you. And much bigger. Because everyone had a cave they never came out. Crazy!
The blood parrots are fine. Kong greets me each evening when I get back. Tango is HUGE. He can eat whole worm cubes in one gulp! Don't believe the hype that all parrots have small mouths.
In the 125 I still have Frick and Frack, hrp siblings (striped). They are great grandsons of the OGs. Frack has had a major growth spurt. With them is Bumper, a 1st gen offspring of Pip and Mongo. And last is Deuce, a son of Slade who runs the tank. He's a moderate size pink marble. Bumper is big and striped.
The 225 has a strange dynamic since losing BP Boss. Catfish Spot is now interactive like a cichlid. My red rainbow Salt stays in hiding and I can't locate Pip anywhere. Pip is the original hrp hive queen. I hope she hasn't aged out, but she and Boss were buddies. I literally haven't seen her since. Salt has also gotten large, maybe 7 inches.
Major shoutout to water lettuce. It's invasive and restrictive but it hella fine for water quality. I've got it in all the tanks. I let the small leaves clog on the intakes on purpose...they turn into a green ball filter in addition to the floaters. Known for serious water clean and lives up to the reputation. It can grow big, 6 to 8 inches across. They don't like a lot of water movement. Just add water, strong light and a bit of fertilizer. BOOM.
Still have to organize the basement. There's been so many financial issues with the house causing setbacks. Cube tank project still on hold. I still plan another Oscar, maybe a chocolate and tiger parrots. Stay tuned.
