- Messages
- 113
- Location
- Bridge Of Weir, Scotland, UK
I had a pair of A. Nijenssi in a 10G tank for 4 months, who got on well, as there was not much fighting.
The water parameters were: PH -7.1, KH - 3, GH - 2, AMM - 0, NITITE - 0, NITRATE - less than 5 (Aquarium Pharmaceutical test kit).
It was filtered by a powerhead with a sponge fitted to it, the powerhead also has an air valve on it to let it pump bubbles into the tank as well.
I did 30% water changes weekly and was feeding them three times a day with frozen food.
I also tried Kent Blackwater Extract for a couple of months, but stopped using it as i thought it wasn't doing anything to encorage the fish to breed.
A month ago i noticed that the male was not eating and hiding away, which was unsual.
I moved his pot and saw that he had lost all his colour, no signs of parasites, stringy poo, or disease, just very pale and not eating.
I waited to see what would happen as the female was still eating and full of colour, and sure enough, the next day his colour was back and he was eating again.
A week later, when i went to feed them after work, i found the male dead, and the female was now showing a loss of colour and not eating, but the next day she was fine again.
I thought i had bought an old pair of fish and the loss of colour was a sign of this.
So i moved the female into my Cory tank (30G with some Peppers & Pandas), to let her live her days out.
I moved a pair of Cacatuoides into the 10G and they are still healthy (couple of weeks now in the tank).
The female has been showing loss of colour on and off for a couple of weeks, and spends a lot of time in her clay pot, usually eats something each day, and when she dose come out for a swim, she hangs near the surface of the water above the filter inlet, i guess to avoid the current.
It wasn't until i was speaking to a LFS owner about it, he said it didn't sound like old age, more like a bacteria build up in the tank.
Did the male die of old age, or could it be a bacteria build up ?
Hope you can help,
Andrew.
The water parameters were: PH -7.1, KH - 3, GH - 2, AMM - 0, NITITE - 0, NITRATE - less than 5 (Aquarium Pharmaceutical test kit).
It was filtered by a powerhead with a sponge fitted to it, the powerhead also has an air valve on it to let it pump bubbles into the tank as well.
I did 30% water changes weekly and was feeding them three times a day with frozen food.
I also tried Kent Blackwater Extract for a couple of months, but stopped using it as i thought it wasn't doing anything to encorage the fish to breed.
A month ago i noticed that the male was not eating and hiding away, which was unsual.
I moved his pot and saw that he had lost all his colour, no signs of parasites, stringy poo, or disease, just very pale and not eating.
I waited to see what would happen as the female was still eating and full of colour, and sure enough, the next day his colour was back and he was eating again.
A week later, when i went to feed them after work, i found the male dead, and the female was now showing a loss of colour and not eating, but the next day she was fine again.
I thought i had bought an old pair of fish and the loss of colour was a sign of this.
So i moved the female into my Cory tank (30G with some Peppers & Pandas), to let her live her days out.
I moved a pair of Cacatuoides into the 10G and they are still healthy (couple of weeks now in the tank).
The female has been showing loss of colour on and off for a couple of weeks, and spends a lot of time in her clay pot, usually eats something each day, and when she dose come out for a swim, she hangs near the surface of the water above the filter inlet, i guess to avoid the current.
It wasn't until i was speaking to a LFS owner about it, he said it didn't sound like old age, more like a bacteria build up in the tank.
Did the male die of old age, or could it be a bacteria build up ?
Hope you can help,
Andrew.