aquarist48

Good morning. I've moved my 3 new Cory Julli's from the 26g quarantine tank to the 265g tank. I put them all into the 265g at the same time in hopes of avoiding them being bombarded by the "big orange blob" of Bloody Parrots Well, it wasn't a pretty sight for about the first 10 minutes. The Cory Julli's were chased all over the tank until they found a hiding spot. I kind of expected this. Once I placed them in the tank I fed the fish and it helped to distract the Bloody Parrots from the new inhabitants. I've seen 2 of the 3 that I put in there but I haven't seen all 3 of them together. They haven't found each other as of yet and they are not hanging around with my elder Common Cory . I'm hoping for the best that all 3 are ok. The two that I have seen are doing great and are not being picked on or chased. Once the initial shock of new inhabitants is over everyone gets along very well.

My 26g: I've added 3 new Common Silver Dollar juveniles, barely the size of a quarter from nose to tail. Just adorable! It only took them 48 hours to acclimate to their new environment. They came out and were eating this morning and they are swimming all over the place and look "great". The LFS didn't have any Red Hooks or Striped Silver Dollars and with the LFS being an hour away I wasn't coming home empty handed! (I bought 3 new 24" plastic plants too that I really liked).

In addition to the Silver Dollars I bought 4 Mystery Snails. LOVE 'EM!
3 have the yellow shells with dark bodies and 1 has a dark shell with a white body. I've forgotten how much fun snails can be. I've lowered my water level in hopes of having more. They munched down on the "peas" I fed them last night and they seem to love shrimp pellets as well. I also added 1 full egg shell to the tank to add some calcium for the snails. My pH is 8.0 so I don't have to worry about it being to acidic for them.

I'm going to leave all of these guys in quarantine until the 15th. I have no fear of bringing home disease from "this" LFS but it's always better to be safe than sorry. I won't risk the lives of my other fish. My fish family are a "large" part of my life and disease would be very upsetting. My tanks have been disease free for more than 8 years.
When quarantine is complete they will go into the 265g as well.

(I can always do a DIY quarantine if necessary. I have tons of bio media and am going to add even more.)

Future plans for the 26g: I'm going to stock this tank with Lion Head goldfish if I have to call my LFS and special order them. I had them many years ago (before the nigtogen cycle info was available) and lost them to what I now know was septicemia. It won't happen again! I love these fish as well and I know I can do it this time

All of your thoughts, comments, suggestions are always welcomed. Next week.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Ken

Shawnie

sounds like a busy week for you!!!!!! but one you enjoyed allot
I hope all the cories recover soon!!!!! dont be surprised if they dont hang like one big gang as the space they have, they may just hang out together when the need to be comforted is there...mine dont usually school per say but definitely at feeding time, they are on top of one anther LOL ...and with that size tank, they probably will only pass by one another occasionally haha...I hope you find your other two!!

cant wait to see the new kids!!!!!!! they sound exciting...and also cant wait to see your lions love them to no end and wish I had space for some

goodluck and hope your weekend is grand!!

bolivianbaby

Boy, oh boy, you've been busy! With 265 gallons, it may take them a day or two to find each other

Julii's are great! We love ours. I'm telling the princess you got some snails. She'll be begging for pics, so I'm glad you'll be posting them next week.

Congratulations on your new additions, your new acclimations, and can't wait for the pics next week!

aquarist48

Thanks Shawnie and BB. I was just downstairs watching the fish and all 3 Cory Julli's are out and about now A very nice sight to say the least. They are a beautiful species.
Ken

lorabell

Yippee!!!! on all the new stuff goin on!!!!!..lol..lol..those corries probably think theyre back in the wild...just gettin to see their buddies once in a while...lol...they can go around that tank all day and never meet up....lol...how cool is that...and youll have the BIGGEST corries on record in that tank!!!!! glad theyre all doin great.....love the lion head too!!!!! ok so now what will go in the "other 26" on the other side??cause ya know ..that HAS to be next....lol....lol

aquarist48

LOL Thanks Lori. I think I'm going to just have the 265g tank in the fish room for now. I'm going to move the 26g from beside the fire place to the other side of the Baby Grand that way I can have fish to watch as I have dinner Too, if I flank the 265g with a 26g on each side it's going to block the access to my windows. So...We'll have to see what plan pops into my head over the next few weeks while I'm still using the 26g I have now as a quarantine tank.
Have a great weekend Lorabell.
Ken

Lifesabeach

Great to see the cories are doing well. It will be interesting to see how your baby Dollars connect with the adults when they meet. As for your Mystery Snails, you'll soon find out if you have a female. Apart from laying eggs weekly, I've had to save it from itself on three occasions having found it lost outside the tank. You may not have the same problem. The glass cutout for the pipes is just big enough for her to get out, lay eggs, then loses her way back!

Amanda

Congrats on everything!! Can't wait for pics!

Tony G.

awesome! i love love LOVE lionheads! they are adorable and have HUGE cheeks!

aquarist48

Thanks Tony. I'm having lots of fun!
Have a great weekend!
Ken

FishMagnet

It is funny how much fun snails can be isn't it? I've had to resist the temptation to buy some everytime I visit the LFS.

I looked back to find your future stocking list and it appears your at it. I wonder why you decided not to go with the Cardinal Tetras? Or have you not made a decision on those yet?
I think the contrast of all the larger fish with a small school of ... small fish would look very nice. Especially in a tank that size.

Congrats on a job well done!

aquarist48

Hello FishMagnet. Hope you're doing well.

I decided against adding the Cardinal Tetras to the 265g because I fear they would be dinner for my Bloody Parrots. I've seen some of the rocks they can fit into their mouths recently (much to my surprise) while they were clearing a spawning area and it would just be too risky.

Once I add my 3 new Silver Dollar juveniles and Mystery snails to the 265g I'm considering myself stocked. I'll have a total of 25 fish in the 265g so this will give each fish 10+ gallons each to call their own. (my personal guide lines for stocking large fish).

Thanks for the compliment!
Ken

FishMagnet

Doing well enough, thank you.
I was curious about the risk. I don't know much about the Parrots, but thought they were mostly non agressive, about like the Silver Dollars...when it comes to the tetras.
Either way its a very nice tank!

aquarist48

Thanks. FishMagnet the most serious aggression problems I've encountered over the years is introducing new fish to the Bloody Parrots. The first 15 minutes can be deadly to the new fish being introduced. The Bloody Parrots act as a pack and will chase and hunt the new fish down. If the new fish can't find a hiding spot immediately the out come may not be too bright I've been lucky so far. If the new fish survives the first 15 minutes or so and is able to hide for a while, the Bloody Parrots tend to forget about it. By the time the new fish is ready to come out of hiding the Bloody Parrots act like the new fish has been in the tank all along. They do not act this way towards new Bloody Parrots though. It's like members of their own species are welcomed with open arms

Not only does the new fish have to acclimate to the new water but all of the fish in the tank have to acclimate to each other as well.

My Cory Julli's are out and about and swimming any where they like. The Bloody Parrtots treat them as family now
Ken