|  |  | | 
February 11th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Pearls are soooooooooo shy!!!
I've had a new pair of pearls for about a day and half, so overnight basically, and all they do is hide behind some plants I got for them, first I thought the problem was the zebra danios haunting the tank, so I removed them today, I need to know when the pearls are going to start eating, all I have at the moment is flakes and bloodworms. They are all alone in the 29g tank so they have plenty of room, especially because they're both barely over an inch apiece. I'll definitely try soaking the food in garlic if they start reaching the breaking point later on, thats just not an option right now so any other ideas are appreciated. | 
| | |
February 12th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| It's day three and they're still not eating, I really need some help before I have to take my fish back, or they might die, I'm freaking out a little just watching them sit behind all my plants sitting as still as possible. The shyness is so weird because they are all alone in the tank. | |
| | |
February 12th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Help! | |
| | |
February 12th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Does no one have any idea what to do with my pearls, I'm still kinda new at this and have never had a fish that won't eat for nearly three days. | |
| | |
February 12th, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Gouramis are naturally shy fish. I heard a story a little while ago, where someone got a lone male Dwarf gourami and he took about a week before he started venturing out. Have you heard of 'Dither fish'? When you have the Cherry babrs you might be surprised how much more they come out. They will feel more confident to see lots of fish swimming out in the open - and I know that's what my Cherry barbs do.
Fish can go for weeks without food. Don't worry! In the wild, no fish expects to eat everyday. Relax! I'm betting they'll come out a lot in a week or so. Are you sure they're female?
You may want to read this page: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_leeri.php
Although it does mention a lot of them being shy, a pair of females with active cherry barbs and plenty of plants should become really active. I'd just give them time. Pearls are just a little sensitive - they've just come into a completely different world.
Oh yeah, and I think you should go planted - (Well, maybe semi-planted) plants eat nitrates, less nitrate you have to get rid of, less maintenance! I have loads of plants in my 47gal, and I add liquid fertilizer with each water change. They thrive! And my gouramis love them.
Last edited by Blub; February 12th, 2008 at 01:13 PM.
| |
| | |
February 12th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Hatchet can I put marbled hatchets in with my gouramis? or would the cherry barbs make better tank mates? | |
| | |
February 13th, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Marlbed hatchets tend to get a little big. They grow to 8cm long - and you need at least 6, plus they are prone to white spot and can jump up to 2M in the air when stressed - making water changes difficult. Cherrys are better tank mates. Common or Marthae silver hatchets would work. I still say Cherrys.
| |
| | |
February 14th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| cool, thanks again for the advice, I thought I researched them, but I was under the impression that they only get 5cm long, guess I got a bad site. | |
| | |
February 14th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Oh and btw I have fake and real plants in the tank, all of which are doing well but I don't know if I should keep the airstone off or not, I've heard that it keeps CO2 out of the tank which the plants need to survive. Hate to be a newb but this is the first time I've actually had real plants. | |
| | |
February 14th, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Well, the problem with Marbled hatchets is they are prone to whitespot... They get to around 6cm if your lucky. There is a lot of debate on how big they get - due to lack of info on these species. 4cm for Common hatchet, 6-8cm for Marbled if you ask me. I'm thinking of finding out the exact measurements soon by adding a pair of Marbled hatchets to my Common hatchet school (both hatchet species school) to find out. I really love Marthae silver hatchets - they get from 3-4cm. (Lack of info - I can't find an exact measurement)
I keep my plants (I hate fake ones!) without an airstone and they are fine. No CO2, either. In normal aquarium conditions it isn't always necessary. I just add my liquid fertilizer with each water change.
| |
| | |
February 15th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| I have an air stone and my filter creates bubbles in the water, will this kill my plants? I mean I knew that they needed co2 and that air stones remove it from the water but now that I have something other than gouramis in the tank don't i need some surface agitation? I hate to be a newb but plz help | |
| | |
February 16th, 2008
|
| | Fish Addict
| Really strange about the pearl gourami's not eating... have they started to munch yet? I have one and he is the fattest guy in the tank... when I first got him he was very shy because I had a gold gourami in with him that was beating him up. When I got rid of him the pearl wasnt nearly as shy. Then when I left the tank alone for a week... no moving anything, just left it alone, he became less shy... now I can do a water change and he'll come right up to my hand. His favorite is live brine... maybe you could try that? Garlic is always a good idea though when you can. Sorry Im not of much help  I know the feeling, I had a dwarf gourami that wouldnt eat and eventually died. | |
| | |
February 17th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| The pearls just started to eat yesterday, but only a little, not to mention that they were venturing out of the darker parts of the tank. I just added six cherry barbs and the pearls are were they were, hiding and without appetite. Also the barbs are actively schooling with the two zebra danios I had in the tank. I hope the pearls come around, they're stripes are fading pretty bad. also my nitrite readings are spiking a little with no ammonia readings, really worries me. but the nitrite readign aren't serious I keep them low with adequate water change. | |
| | |
February 17th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Sorry to say that when I woke up this morning one of the female barbs has died, the male is trying to breed with the other four constantly, While he is chasing them the zebras will join in if they pass by to close, its kinda funny but I think its stressing the females way too much. | |
| | |
February 19th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| When I had the zebras in the shrimp tank they seemed fine, I'll definitely try that again now that I found a heater for it. I'm also very glad that your lfs prmotes knowledge of the nitrogen cycle not trying to make a sale. It's also good to know that cycling is natural in the UK. Thanks for all the help and I hope to save my females when I get home. | |
| | |
February 20th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| I think another one of the females is about to die, The water parameters are fine and all the other females are coping just fine, but this one is secluding itself a lot. I also starting feeding the fish whole baby freshwater shrimp crushed up, I do this daily with the regular flake food. They eat it fine but I noticed one of the female barbs is a bit swollen, I don't know if this is from eggs or the food. How often should I feed them the shrimp?
Sorry for the filter noise, it seems like companies that supply filters and air pumps need to have silence as one of thier features. | |
| | |
February 20th, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Do the shrimp once a week. It pollutes the tank more than flakes.
Pearls are shy fish - you need to keep thehide aher time. She should come out in the end - and don't expect her to play at the front 24/7. the idea of this tank was heavily palnted, with Cherry barbs at the front, a BN sucking on a large centeral piece of bogwood and a pair of beautiful Pearls creeping around the plants, sometimes coming out to play at the front. My Dwarfs sometimes hide at the back.
| |
| | |
February 20th, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Cool, the idea part is kinda like a commercial, and btw when I said female I meant barb, my pearls are doing great. I have been feeding bloodworms once a week, but I didn't realize that the shrimp were pollutants, well now I just need to incorporate some veggies into the weekly meal plan, anything recommended other than peas for my fish?
P.S. It was fun feeding the shrimp so often the fish go nuts when I crumble those shrimp husks into the water. I'll miss the daily excitement, also I got one of the danios out of the tank and into the shrimp tank, but the other is impossible to catch, I don't want to try for to long as it will stress my other fish. | |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
| Hi!
The female Cherry is probably the shy one. Worth watching her, though. Cuccumber is a great veggie for fish - it's best fed to plecos and when you get a BN you should do it around 3 times a week. When are you getting your pleco, anyway? If you like, and wouldn't mind not having an algae eater - then you can get a Queen arabesque pleco. It's carnivorous, and will mean no cuccumber, but amazing patterns. If you can find a Clown or Flash pleco - he should eat algae like BN but with a nice pattern. Have you got your bogwood sorted out for your pleco yet?
| |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| I would love a queen abaresque thet look so cool, The thing is I can't find anything other than common plecos. My current lfs keeps promising bristlenose shipments every week, the thing is when I come in on weekends the shipments never came in. I know for a fact that the chain stores in my area don't carry them, because they're not pleasant looking for potential buyers. Kinda stuck at the moment, and I can't find any bogwood, people keep reccomending a large plastick driftwood piece for my tank. | |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| I'll try for some of those, do they need bogwood as well? | |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
|
Last edited by Blub; February 22nd, 2008 at 09:01 AM.
| |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| I'll be sure to look into it, although at the moment the tank has absolutley zero algae in it(visible algae at least), I wonder if I just keep the sunlight off the tank if I could just skip the pleco? | |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Master
| Hi!
You don't know what your missing...
I don't really value plecos for their algae-eating values (Although it is a big bonus!), rather their amazing personality's and quirky action. BN's are really great to watch, Crispy has worked out exactly how to stop the other fish eating HIS catfish tablet - spread out on top of it and suck like crazy! They are really fun fish to have. Clowns and Flash's aren't as crazy as BN's - but have a lovely pattern and still have a personality and a half. Read the links in my previous post. You'll probably be sold! (There's a reason they where yelling with joy every time they found another clown pleco...)
Last edited by Blub; February 22nd, 2008 at 09:09 AM.
| |
| | |
February 22nd, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Both of those plecos look really good, I just don't have any direct access to buy one at the moment, I'm starting to wonder if I can get a catfish or small shark in my tank, not for sure as most catfish are nocturnal and I don't plan to get nightvision to enjoy them. | |
| | | | |
Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads 
It's an AquaOne Maxi 101F.
