Later Rather than Sooner.
Since I had a 4 day weekend for Thanksgiving, it gave me a good opportunity to observe the two females in their hospital tanks.
Both fish were eating and acting normally. And their poop was normal. All very important things. In addition, they were curious about the goings on outside of their tank and would swim over to peer around the corner to see what we're doing. With the tanks being on the edge of the kitchen and it being Thanksgiving, needless to say, there was quite a lot going on!
Given their normal behavior, On Friday, 11/28, I called Fish Whisperer to ask him if he could think of any reason they couldn't be moved back into the big tank. He briefly surveyed me regarding their health -- eating, behavior, poop -- all normal. His verdict -- it should be OK. He validated my normal fish moving strategy, which is to acclimate them to their new tank (temperature & water parameters) and then let them loose in their new tank before we go to bed (i.e., it needs to be dark in the house). Fortunately, that's something I'd learned when I was breeding them. If these fish are put in the tank during the daytime, the newcomer always gets beat up.
In preparation for their move-in, I did a 25% water change in the big tank -- I normally do tank changes in the big tank on Sundays, but I want to give them some time to settle in before I clean again. If they're doing well in there, I'll do my next tank change on Wednesday night and then another one on Sunday, then I'll be back on schedule.
So, I acclimated them for about an hour and a half. Overlong, I know, but I wanted to make sure they would be OK. Then turned the lights out, did some stuff upstairs for about a half an hour and then came down and let them free in the big tank.
The next morning, Saturday, 11/29, Coco was out in the fray with the other four fish. Moe, however, was hiding in the back of the tank wedged between the tank wall and the heater. Which is quite opposite of what I thought would happen given how skinny Coco is and how mischievous Moe proved herself to be while hospitalized. Different personalities, I guess. Moe came out briefly when I fed the other fish, but neither Coco nor Moe ate anything.
I don't feed them on the weekends other than Saturday morning. But they all came out to see if I would feed them on Sunday. I noted that Moe had a couple of beat up scales on her left side, which is the side that is not against the tank wall.
I fed them on Monday morning and they all ate -- Moe, Coco and the other four fish. That made me happy to see that. Monday evening, they all ate again and I noted that Moe was a little more beat up on her left side. (sigh) It irritates me that I worked for five months to get them healthy again and in a matter of a couple of days they can beat each other up so bad. Even though her scales are beat up, her fins appear to be whole and not ragged, which is good. It could be that she's beating herself up by hitting herself on the aquarium ornaments when she's trying to get away from the others.
When I show up to feed them, Moe's behavior appears to be normal. She darts quickly to grab some food before any of the other fish notice that she's out. I think she's hiding because she's being bullied. Which I'm hoping will abate by the end of the week.
I'm pleased with how well Coco is doing.
Interesting note: They both still prefer the New Life Spectrum food over the spirulina, which my Fish Whisperer said is like the difference of steak vs. salad.
Both fish were eating and acting normally. And their poop was normal. All very important things. In addition, they were curious about the goings on outside of their tank and would swim over to peer around the corner to see what we're doing. With the tanks being on the edge of the kitchen and it being Thanksgiving, needless to say, there was quite a lot going on!
Given their normal behavior, On Friday, 11/28, I called Fish Whisperer to ask him if he could think of any reason they couldn't be moved back into the big tank. He briefly surveyed me regarding their health -- eating, behavior, poop -- all normal. His verdict -- it should be OK. He validated my normal fish moving strategy, which is to acclimate them to their new tank (temperature & water parameters) and then let them loose in their new tank before we go to bed (i.e., it needs to be dark in the house). Fortunately, that's something I'd learned when I was breeding them. If these fish are put in the tank during the daytime, the newcomer always gets beat up.
In preparation for their move-in, I did a 25% water change in the big tank -- I normally do tank changes in the big tank on Sundays, but I want to give them some time to settle in before I clean again. If they're doing well in there, I'll do my next tank change on Wednesday night and then another one on Sunday, then I'll be back on schedule.
So, I acclimated them for about an hour and a half. Overlong, I know, but I wanted to make sure they would be OK. Then turned the lights out, did some stuff upstairs for about a half an hour and then came down and let them free in the big tank.
The next morning, Saturday, 11/29, Coco was out in the fray with the other four fish. Moe, however, was hiding in the back of the tank wedged between the tank wall and the heater. Which is quite opposite of what I thought would happen given how skinny Coco is and how mischievous Moe proved herself to be while hospitalized. Different personalities, I guess. Moe came out briefly when I fed the other fish, but neither Coco nor Moe ate anything.
I don't feed them on the weekends other than Saturday morning. But they all came out to see if I would feed them on Sunday. I noted that Moe had a couple of beat up scales on her left side, which is the side that is not against the tank wall.
I fed them on Monday morning and they all ate -- Moe, Coco and the other four fish. That made me happy to see that. Monday evening, they all ate again and I noted that Moe was a little more beat up on her left side. (sigh) It irritates me that I worked for five months to get them healthy again and in a matter of a couple of days they can beat each other up so bad. Even though her scales are beat up, her fins appear to be whole and not ragged, which is good. It could be that she's beating herself up by hitting herself on the aquarium ornaments when she's trying to get away from the others.
When I show up to feed them, Moe's behavior appears to be normal. She darts quickly to grab some food before any of the other fish notice that she's out. I think she's hiding because she's being bullied. Which I'm hoping will abate by the end of the week.
I'm pleased with how well Coco is doing.
Interesting note: They both still prefer the New Life Spectrum food over the spirulina, which my Fish Whisperer said is like the difference of steak vs. salad.
Labels: fish move
posted by Jammie J. at
12/01/2008 11:10:00 PM
