The continuation of my goldfish journey.

[fishywoo]

...

Update
Video from tonight after feeding.

Had a good sit down watching them eat. Quite certain we know which ones we're keeping. That will leave at least four to re-home. Maybe 5, but I don't think 6. I'm still not sure on those last two runts, but fairly sure at least the one with swim problems I will have to euthanize.
=(
I'm just really not looking forward to it.
Part of me wants to get it over with tonight and another part wants a second opinion first. I'm not sure how much clove oil I'd need to use either, but I do have a bottle on hand.

 

[fishywoo]

After reading this (link below) and sleeping on it I made the choice to euthanize the one that continued to struggle to swim. I gave him a good look over. When he wasn't swimming straight up he was resting on the bottom and/or dragging along the bottom. It was like he couldn't raise his bottom half and he was struggling to get to food.
RIP Small Fry.

So now we've got 7 fry. One runt I'm going to keep an eye on. All swimming good and eating. If all goes well I'll need to re-home 5 fish.

I guess they all have nicknames now too. Big Silver (family fav), Little Silver, Big Buttons, Yin (right button eye), Yang (left button eye), Freckles (my fav), and Runt.

Thread 'Clove oil alternative - DIY' https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/clove-oil-alternative-diy.535561/

 

[fishywoo]

_____________
Update!

Just got the new background up (burgundy tissue paper!) and light (same that's on my 40 gallon, but only one.

I actually love it. Looks better in person IMO. I wanted to do something different, but not too unnatural. I wanted to try something with a little purple and a little brown.

The plants and everything was just thrown in there for the most part and I haven't touched it since so the scape is still a work in progress.
=)

 

[Fishfur]

_____________
Update!

Just got the new background up (burgundy tissue paper!) and light (same that's on my 40 gallon, but only one.

I actually love it. Looks better in person IMO. I wanted to do something different, but not too unnatural. I wanted to try something with a little purple and a little brown.

The plants and everything was just thrown in there for the most part and I haven't touched it since so the scape is still a work in progress.
=)

Very interesting look. I think I like it . Happy New Year!

 

[kuhlkid]

Beautiful color! So much warmer and cozier than a straight black background, and I love those as well. Complements the green of the plants too, which makes everything pop.

 

[fishywoo]

Thank you guys! Happy New Year!
^_^

 

[fishywoo]

Clearer shots of each one.

Yang


Runt


Little Silver


Big Silver


Yin (appears to have tail deformity)


Big Buttons (also appears to have tail deformity, I'm wondering if that was what Nebula has)


Freckles

 

[fishywoo]

Tidied up the scape last night and added the new plants!
Moved most of the Hornwort out, but put some hanging out of the filter outtake to slow the flow of water which is working out perfectly. Eventually I won't be having any Hornwort in there.



Java Fern with Cryptocoryne Petchii and Flamingo (from Sunset's tank) to the left, on the right more Java Fern and a new Cryptocoryne Brown, center is my new Purple Knight Sword, and for now the little dish on the left is holding surviving remnants of Anubias (one piece of it has a couple new leaves, yay!), and the glass cup to the right just has a clump of Java Moss because I have no idea what to do with it. I don't want to add it to my Shrimp tank and end up with Bladder or Great Pond snails in there.

There were 4 large Great Pond Snails discovered in the tub. I moved them in with the fry temporarily. (My fry love eating the eggs). Last night I decided to plop them in my 40 gallon. I didn't want them to eat the new plants, they seemed to leave the Java Fern alone, so I think they'll be alright in the 40. They're big enough to not be eaten, can help with the Diatoms, and I'm pretty sure any new eggs or babies will be eaten by my big Goldies as my fry had already been doing. Left two bladder snails in with the fry to continue that process.

Fry tank looks so big and empty! Going to be impatiently waiting for these plants to grow. How long will it take?!?!

Also fed them frozen adult Brine Shrimp for the first time last night. Never fed them any baby Brine Shrimp before. Jumped straight to adults. I wasn't sure if they'd fit a whole one their mouth. I figured they'd have to tear them apart. Nope! They sucked them up whole like a noodle, lol.

 

[fishywoo]

Four minute video of all 7 fry. <3
Pardon the glass, it's a little hazy after the substrate settled. Will be wiping that down soon.

 

[fishywoo]

Little update. Got two mesh breeder boxes. Unsightly, but temporary. I felt it was beyond time to separate the smaller sizes. Really like the size of these mesh ones, I think they're each 5x10 inches.





So I got little Runt in the one on the left, then Yang, Little Silver, and Freckles on the right. Big Silver, Big Buttons and Yin are the largest and closest in size so they're remaining out in the tank. Hopefully now I can get these little guys caught up!



Found a piece of Cryptocoryne Wendtii green in there, not sure how it got there, but planted it anyway. Moved Moss and floating plants to the breeder boxes and decided to plant my Creeping Jenny in the back of this tank because, why not? There's more space. So far so good... Just waiting for the plants to grow...
______
Another Goldfish Update
Did a little rescaping in my 40 gallon. Almost caught a picture of Hekatos in his terrarium, but he booked it and I caught him on his way out. Tried to get good pictures of them, but mostly just got silly photos that are a bit blurry. Photo of the tank with the Hornwort back in it just floating around. If I see eggs in it again I'm confident I can walk away and happy to see it back in there. Raising the fry has been a sobering experience!















I've also been chronicling the fry experience in a write up. It won't be finished until I get them old enough to re-home, find homes for the extras, and only have two remaining to live out their days in the 29.

I recently realized I might have a much harder time than I thought when it gets to the point of looking for home for them.
=\

 

[fishywoo]

Another little update, and no new cute fry pictures yet, but after observing their eating habits and thinking it over I decided to move Yang over with Runt. Not only will that be better for Runt to not be totally alone in his mesh box, but also Yang takes such tiny bites and looking slim while Little Silver and Freckles fill their bellies.

I also encountered a problem with that mesh that I just didn't see coming.

Yin, Big Buttons, and Big Silver were eating the others food... By sucking it through the mesh from below!!!

I cannot believe these three. ><

So first I feed the big Piggies, then I add food for the others and deliberately make it fall on top of the Java Moss to deter the mesh suckers.

In other news we're getting a dog! Definitely no more tanks! This really is my absolute max right now (probably ever) and it's hard not to worry about making sure I find these guys homes when it's time. I do tend to over worry and over think things though so I'm going to try to take a break from that. They're not going to turn into pumpkins over night... Although Big Silver is definitely making me doubt that logic...

 

[fishywoo]

The breeder boxes have been a success so far!

Runt is catching up in size to Yang.




Freckles caught up to little Silver and both are filling out.





Big Silver is still eating most of the food and as you can see pooping a lot more. Yin is right behind him in size and had been coloring up a pretty yellow. Big Buttons is the smallest of the three big ones, but still bigger than the other 4.







Everyone's been eating Repashy Super Gold and Brine Shrimp.

Life has gotten busier with a dog. Luckily I don't have to take the fry for walks.
^_^

 

[fishywoo]

It seemed like the day right after my last post I ran into a problem with Big Buttons. He hasn't grown as much as the two biggest and now it has become apparent that he has a bent spine. He can no longer swim straight. He's in a similar fashion to Small Fry, the first one I had to euthanize. I gave him a couple of days, but to no avail. This is definitely not something I can fix unfortunately. I will be euthanizing him and place him in my flower pot with Small Fry.

Big Buttons video for reference:

That brings me down to 6.
Took video of everyone else. Also wanted to double check their form. So far it looks like Yin will be the only one left with a fold in his tail and a little bump on his back. I'm not sure if it's going to stay that way. I thought he was developing a dorsal fin, but no, not this guy. He's almost the same size as Big Silver now so I'm not too worried about him health-wise.

Runt & Yang

Freckles & Little Silver

Big Silver & Yin

 

[kuhlkid]

Very sorry to hear about Big Buttons's condition, and have to agree with your assessment. Kudos to you for the care you've been providing these little guys, the others are looking just excellent!

 

[fishywoo]

Very sorry to hear about Big Buttons's condition, and have to agree with your assessment. Kudos to you for the care you've been providing these little guys, the others are looking just excellent!

Thank you! I'm trying. I just can't imagine if there were more of them. Kudos to the breeders that can manage that many! I feel very lucky over all with my small lot.

And today marks one year since we brought Nepheli Loux home. Hard to tell in the photos, I never think to do a size reference, but he's gotten so much bigger! Never would have guessed I'd have this guy become a Dad fish, lol.
^_^

 

[fishywoo]

So hard to get good pictures of these guys. They're so quick, definitely camera shy, they get kinda weirded out when I hold my phone up to them. Here's what I could get...

Big Silver, being big, and more bronze than silver now. My S/O is in love with this guy. I have some reservations though. I feel like he'd be the easiest to find a home for one. I'm also worried that the one I'm definitely keeping will be constantly competing for food with how aggressive of an eater Big Silver is, and he's much larger than the one, (Freckles), I want to keep. Kinda stuck in the middle of what I want to do with all that I ended up putting into this on my own VS keeping him for my S/O who puts up with my aquarium antics.




Then there's Yin. Very quirky, but healthy. Almost as big as Big Silver. Little stub on the back and folded tail. Already coloring up to look a lot like Nepheli Loux.




Little Silver is getting lighter in color. Still looking good and healthy.



Sharing space with Freckles, who I absolutely adore. The two seem very bonded together.




I'm going to have to make another comment to merge with this one for the rest.
___________

Next is Runt who really surprised me. I recently realized too that even though they're small, having them start out in a 5 gallon could have caused growth hormones from the larger fish to stunt the smaller ones. Even when that small. Now in a bigger tank and separate from the bigger fish Runt is taking off.



The same cannot be said about Yang, which I did not expect. Runt is passing him in size and Yang is thin as a stick. He seems incapable of taken big enough bites. I did some digging around the forum and Google and found that this might be due to a mouth deformity. I'm not sure if this means I will have to cull him. =(
Definitely looking for advice on that of anyone has any. I may make another post about this and try to get better pictures.







I'm just not sure...

In other news, plants are growing, new leaves are sprouting, and green spots of algae are making an appearance on the glass already and I'm quite ok with that. There's plenty of snails to go around and I know the goldies love picking at algae too. Just hope it doesn't cover the plants!






That's the end of the update for now.

 

[fishywoo]

Five minute video of Ranchu Fry!

 

[Fishfur]

Five minute video of Ranchu Fry!

They are cute wee fishies.

 

[fishywoo]

They are cute wee fishies.

I know! I wish I had a huge tank, I'd keep all of them, lol. Not possible though. Any thoughts on the one in the left breeder box? Hard to see, but it's the one with one button eye one regular eye nick named Yang. He stopped growing. I realized he takes too small of bites of food. The one in there with him I called Runt is passing him in size all around. I'm worried Yang might have a mouth deformity that's limiting his eating. Everyone else in the breeder boxes started catching up except him. He looks thinner than before.
=(

 

[Fishfur]

I know! I wish I had a huge tank, I'd keep all of them, lol. Not possible though. Any thoughts on the one in the left breeder box? Hard to see, but it's the one with one button eye one regular eye nick named Yang. He stopped growing. I realized he takes too small of bites of food. The one in there with him I called Runt is passing him in size all around. I'm worried Yang might have a mouth deformity that's limiting his eating. Everyone else in the breeder boxes started catching up except him. He looks thinner than before.
=(

If you don’t have a camera that takes high resolution shots that can be blown up dramatically without losing details, try getting images shot through a magnifying glass. It may show enough detail to determine what his trouble really is.

 

[fishywoo]

If you don’t have a camera that takes high resolution shots that can be blown up dramatically without losing details, try getting images shot through a magnifying glass. It may show enough detail to determine what his trouble really is.

That's a good idea! I think I have a magnifying glass somewhere. If not I'll try to see what I can do with my camera. I'll take him out of the tank today and try to get clearer video and pictures too.

 

[fishywoo]

If you don’t have a camera that takes high resolution shots that can be blown up dramatically without losing details, try getting images shot through a magnifying glass. It may show enough detail to determine what his trouble really is.

Ok I tried to get good pictures and video and made a separate thread:

Thread 'Should I be concerned about this fry?' Should I be concerned about this fry? | Freshwater Fish Disease and Health Forum

 

[fishywoo]

Pretty happy about my Hornwort just floating around now. I'm not going to try to control it like I did before except for removing any unhealthy pieces or pieces that stop floating, unless they have eggs. I'll be leaving those! Got my hands full as it is. =)



Pond snails have been feasting and yet hardly keeping up, so I did a diatom deep clean and letting them eat the rest off the Java Fern leaves, which they are doing a good job of. Got new fernlets growing out. It seems to me that since the last bunch I robbed from the plant leaves for other tanks the growing has slowed down. They're already a slow growing plant as it is. I won't need any more for other tanks now though so I think the Java Fern growth will be healthier and more abundant as it was before I got other tanks going.

I also discovered the piece of Cryptocoryne I had tossed in there still clinging to life so thought I'd give it a better chance and potted it and put it in the terrarium.



Also made some decisions and changes in the 29 fry tank. After some thought and observation I decided to release Freckles and Little Silver back into general population. They've definitely grown, and while not as big as Big Silver or Yin, they are certainly just as fast if not faster! That leaves me with one breeder box housing Runt and Yang. With that I'm going to ultra focus on these two and hopefully I'll get to see Yang start growing again. Runt seems to be well on his way with developing. Will have to wait a bit longer.









Also took out all the Hornwort hanging out of the filter and decided to glue In Java Moss on the rim of the outtake. No idea if that will turn into a good idea or a bad idea, but it's slowing the flow enough so for now it works.



I did a check to see when these guys hatched, I collected the eggs on November 3rd and my first photo of one was November 7th, so they hatched somewhere around there. That makes them two months old! From I could find on Google Big Silver is more so the size they should be by now. Either way I'm going to wait to re-home for ideal size first then age. Very unsure how long that will take as I see some people saying three months, six months, or one year! I don't think it'll be that long though. Spring is right around the corner and with that maybe some seasonal growth will finally kick in for these autumn babies. Not that Big Silver needs it. He's doing just fine, lol.



_______
Adding one more photo!

 

[Liang]

Oh, man, this is so cool and adds a lot of confidence to me

 

[fishywoo]

Oh, man, this is so cool and adds a lot of confidence to me

Are you planning on breeding goldfish? I got into this by chance and impulse. I was completely unprepared. I'm lucky with this small group though. Would have been much harder with a lot. There's a lot of things I'm learning the hard way. Having to euthanize a couple for health reasons was hard enough. I can't imagine having hundreds of these guys to monitor.

Maybe in the far future when I'm experiencing empty nest syndrome and am more prepared I might want to try raising fry again, but more right now definitely not. It's been an eye opener. My biggest worry is finding them good homes. I can only keep two of these guys in the 29 gallon and if I can't find homes I'm going to have to set up a large tub for the others in the middle of the floor. At least I always have back up plans for worst case scenarios and extra media.

I've also never tried rehoming fish. Maybe it won't be as hard as I think, but there's no guarantee I'll find a place for them. It just seems that the highest demand is for grade a Goldies for those that look for that and then everything else is in demand for the beginner fish keeper that walks into a fish store and picks up a fish without knowing the nitrogen cycle.
=S

 

[fishywoo]

Got around to taking care of the 40 today. The terrarium was great and all, but Hekatos didn't really use it much. Luckily he's still only occasionally having buoyancy issues and gets around ok. Plus he's not getting injured. So I took that out. The biggest reason for that too was that it got too small. Or rather they got too big! I don't want them to get stuck in there and panic.

It was pointed out to me that Nebula's right side is swollen. Really worried she could be egg bound and there's just a hint of raised scales on that side. Mixed kanaplex into her food as soon as I saw that and added one tablespoon of Epsom salt to the tank. Enough that it's ok for them and can feed the plants, but not too much it will bother the others. Threw in some seachem stressguard too with an 80% water change and cleaned all the filters and sponges.

Next I gotta look at Yang and Freckles. Yang is still not growing. Runt is almost the size of Freckles and Little Silver. Runt was the runt smaller than Yang and Yang is now so much smaller! Tried breaking the food down more for him. He's still not growing. =(

Freckles is apparently fine, growing, eating, etc. all fine, but I noticed something weird about her side. It looks like she has a dent in it. I'm so confused by this. I've been monitoring her for a week and she's fine. I kept thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me, but no there's something weird going on.

When I get good pictures of both of them I'm going to just add to the thread I already started with my concern for Yang.

I'll try to do updates on the other guys later also.

if anyone has any ideas about any of this in the meantime please let me know.

And here's the new scape for the 40 gallon.
Got the Anubias planted along with a small Cryptocoryne.
What do you guys think?
Much better space for these guys. Don't worry about that Hornwort mess. I had a light bulb moment for keeping it more tame easy, just didn't get around to it.






________
Update:

I found this:
Post in thread 'Egg bound goldfish? Please help.' Egg bound goldfish? Please help. | Goldfish Forum

Which leads to an article about egg binding being pretty much the same as fish constipation and peas. It's a fake diagnosis. =\

So I learned something new today.
I did read though that it could be an internal cyst or tumor. =(

 

[fishywoo]

Good news and bad news.

Good news... So the other day the issue with Nebula was swollen side, I realized she was lethargic not just sleeping and I spotted one area on her side where the scales were raising so very slightly, not sure if I explained all that before, but anyway I treated with kanaplex medicated food and same day she's back to normal.

She continues to be doing great. I have no idea the cause. I added MTS recently, but Nepheli and Hekatos are fine so I don't think it was that. All I know is that she's doing fine right now. Hopefully that's a heartache averted.

Bad news is that I made the choice to euthanize Yang.
Not sure I linked this before, but here is the thread with what was going on with him and also a concern about Freckles:
Thread 'Should I be concerned about this fry?' Should I be concerned about this fry? | Freshwater Fish Disease and Health Forum

I want to end this with some good news... Runt is now practically the same length as Little Silver and is now swimming with his siblings and beginning to fill out. No more breeder box.

Down to 5 fry. That's 62.5% surviving. Let's hope what ever weird thing going on with Freckles doesn't hinder him.

As of now all are swimming around happily together. Runt looks ecstatic and it looks like Little Silver is giving him a tour, lol, so cute.

By the way, I always call unknown gendered fish a he. There's a "he" in "her" and "she" but not the other way around. So I just do that naturally and when I think about it I've got all my bases covered, so it works!

Will definitely be taking a video of the Goldie kids tonight and share it when I do.

 

[Fishfur]

Sorry about the need to euthanize but sometimes it really is the kindest thing we can do for some animals.

 

[fishywoo]

Sorry about the need to euthanize but sometimes it really is the kindest thing we can do for some animals.

I agree, just not something I want to be doing. Didn't set out to be a breeder anyhow, and not feeling cut out for it, though I do appreciate what breeders have to do. Raising these guys up best I can then shuffling back over to just fish keeping.

Got a good video of the rest. So unexpected too, I thought I was going to have trouble with Runt, but here he is! So at least there's that. He definitely surprised me.

No idea what's going on with Freckles though. I'm going to have to look up fish anatomy again because I can't remember a thing and I want to figure out what area looks off, like what organs might be there. I was hoping someone with fry experience might look and say, "that! I've seen that! This is what it is..." But things aren't always that easy.
=/ He's otherwise fine though.

Got a chunk of my brown MTS in there too. Love these guys. Such a relief too that this batch, every single one, is lively and munching away at the algae. I had divided them into measuring cups for three of my four tanks then lowered them into the tanks, and one by one they exited the cup. Even had a bladder snail in there to join my other bladder snails. ^_^

 

[fishywoo]

One of my aquaclears decided to make a grinding sound and keep people awake, so I took it apart and cleaned the motor. Did not do a thing, but at least it's clean. I figured out that if I raise the intake tubes a bit higher it stops. Liked the propeller is raising and bumping into the plastic tube. No idea why, but it's running just fine with it raised a little bit so I'll call it a win for tonight.

I'm also finally mostly satisfied with my main Goldie tank.

I switched the sponge filter into the middle after I cleaned the aquaclear to start. This also helps keep the Hornwort from being pushed to one side.It's been remaining steady drapped over the plant corral too.

I got an Anubias Striped that I'm going to put in the glass dish and then make that more center.

The Cryptocoryne got mad at me for moving it and melted, of course, but has already sprouted new leaves!

Nebula is continuing doing great atm, thank goodness.

Bad news is that Hekatos swim bladder issues getting worse. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if it gets to the point where he can no longer right himself. He keeps going completely upside down now though.

In the meantime going to keep an eye on him and seek advice if it worsens still. I'm just not sure how to go about this. I've never had a goldfish with swim bladder issues like this other than one Fantail I had in beginning before I knew what I was doing and that I didn't know had a swim bladder issue at the time. Even so, it wasn't as bad as this.
=\

Other than that though they appear to continue to enjoy their space and with everything bunched up but also spread out it looks more balanced to me and they have enough open space while also getting to enjoy their live plants.

 

[fishywoo]

Fry update!

I've been giving these guys primarily brine shrimp 3 - 4 times a day. I think it was too soon to switch to repashy. With brine shrimp it's easier to not overfeed and has the protein they need.

Got a lot of algae growth on the glass, all the more to feed the snails. When I do a WC I rub some of into the water and the fry go nuts trying to catch the particles in their mouth.

Photos!

First, changing Yin's nickname to Smudge on account of the smudge marking on his face.





Big Silver, who's really a Big Bronze now, has such a long tail fin. I'm not sure if this is something he will grow into or if his tail is going to be more on the bushy side. I also have no idea if he's just not colored up yet or if the bronze is here to stay. It's weird how some of them colored up already.





Little Silver, Big Silver's mini me.





Freckles is a much more solid color now, looks like he's going to have a good chunk of white on him.





And Runt is still the runt, but keeping up. Can't wait to see what he's going to look like over time. He has a great slender form imo. Everytime I noticed he's gotten a little bigger everyone else gets bigger too!





If I were to judge the progress of their growth based on Big Silver's size, who I think is on par with the size they should be, then I either did something wrong along the way or this is just the way it is.

I'm pretty convinced though that I think it was because they were in the 5 gallon tub when they were smaller before setting up the 29g. I think Big Silver, being the biggest, was able to stunt the others in competition for space via growth hormone. That's my best guess. That and I only did 25% water changes once a week, because they were initially small and housed with shrimp, not realizing how important removing those hormones from the water would be.

This had been a learning experience for sure!

I also found caribsea's midnight River for 7$ per 5 pounds on bulk reef supply. I got two. My patience has paid off! Going to cap the flourite sand with it when it gets here.

Plants are growing, very slowly, but growing at least. My purple knight sword has all new leaves. That will be about 12 inches or so eventually. My little Cryptocorynes doubled in size. Java Ferns just love life wherever they are. My Creeping Jenny is a few inches taller and the couple of pieces of Ludwigia in there I keep having to replant and each time they say, No. Lol

That concludes the fry update. I'll do more later. My adult Goldies got a new Anubias Striped and Hekatos is having ultra swim bladder problems. He's such a beautiful and fun fishy, I just wish he hadn't gotten stuck with such an incredibly deep body. =\ Going to be trying my best to aid him.

 

[fishywoo]

40 gallon adult Goldies update:

I wanted to do this week's WC a day early and ended up doing it a day late. That gave me time to think about things too though.

To try to help Hekatos with his swim bladder issues I decided to start with teaching them to eat from my hand so that everyone gets the portions they need and not too much. I don't want to move him out and cause extra stress and the breeder box I have won't be easy to turn around in with his bushy tail. Despite the recent developments of going completely upside down at times, he's still able to swim most of the time. He has no injuries from air exposure or substrate. Plus they are all very bonded to each other, so hopefully I can keep that going as long as they seem happy enough to me.

So hand feeding...

Nebula was instantly for it.

Nepheli had to think about it a few times, swimming away then circling back, but eventually the drive for food took over and he got his piece.

Hekatos... Well he said "Hek no" to that.
So I got my trusty little fruit colander for aquaria, tricked him into that, and held the food up to his face which he ate with vigor.



I'm not sure, but I think the problem is that because of his shape and swim bladder issues he can't direct his mouth to where food is and maybe doesn't have the strength to atm. So I'm going to be doing it like this and see if we can change that with enough nutrients. He's still very happy to eat so I'm going to call it a win for tonight.



I let their new Anubias Striped plant float for a few days and it went from being sort of flat to bushing out nicely and planted the low end of the roots in the center dish. I had never heard of Anubias Striped before finding this one. I love it and am looking forward to watching it grow.



The Java Ferns are happy. The Cryptocoryne is still clinging to life - maybe it will grow out by next year.
=S

The Hornwort is adjusting what parts it wants to grow and I had to remove some dying parts.

The pond snails are huge and clearly happy.

Having MTS in this tank failed though. Not sure why, the ones I got for this one were a different vendor to my brown ones, but maybe after my other ones in my other tanks are more established and grown I can try moving some over.

 

[fishywoo]

The midnight river substrate has arrived!
Just in time for a fry update.

A tiny bit cloudy even after rinsing and I have to adjust the plants a tiny bit. Really like how this turned out. It's really tiny smooth pebbles. A nice new look and texture I've never tried before.
^_^



Kids are doing great. Probably not the size they would be with a breeder who knows what they're doing. Just been trying to keep these guys alive and healthy.

 

[fishywoo]

Took a closer look at the fin kids today while they were munching. It looks like 4/5 have tri tails/fused tails. (I think.)











From what I understand breeders look for split tails. In terms of survivability I think it would go single tail, tri tail, split tail, then ribbon tail. In my experience ribbon tails are the slowest and most fragile. There's no lift or structure to their tail, like a slack ribbon.

Smudge's tail looks as though it was partly going to split into a tri tail, but ending up not developing into one. It's pretty much all fused and technically is a single tail.



Color wise I think Big Silver and Little Silver have wild genes, but I wouldn't know for certain if they're going to stay those colors. So far they have while the others colored up, but who knows what they'll look like a year from now.

I'm much too attached to these fish though. I know they're not perfect specialty forms, making their value be pet store level. I'm rehoming them anyway, but I don't want them to end up being that fish that a parent gets their kids without knowing any better and they end up being the first fish lesson. To think that I could raise these guys to eventually become throw away fish sucks, another reason I don't really want to give them away locally.
=S
______
Edit:

FYI. If I already stated all this I'm terribly sorry. I don't remember if I did it not! Brain glitches.
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In any cases, here's more pictures I was able to get:

 

[fishywoo]

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[fishywoo]

Another week another video.

We're definitely keeping Big Silver. Eventually he'll get a better name, lol.

I would have liked to keep Runt and Freckles, but most likely going to be keeping both metallics instead.

Smudge really needs a special home. One with a very big tank or pond on account of his tail.

Got an issue in my Betta's tank and hopefully that will clear up. Betta stuff and goldfish stuff is not cross contaminated, but I want to be sure first.

Also hoping they'll be big enough by then.

I'm going to set a goal to hopefully find them homes this May, so two months out.

 

[fishywoo]

I felt it was time to separate my two smallest to be rehomed so Freckles and Runt now have their own space!

I had extra sand left over from using some in my Betta's tank so I put a light layer down for them and they are making adorable little mouth prints like craters all across it. It's so cute!

Moved their sponge filter over and added a Java Fern. Want to try to add more plants later if I can spare them from my main Goldie's tank.

Here's hoping they'll catch up in growth over the next two months and hopefully it won't be too hard to find a forever home for each one. <3

Hard to see them through the plastic, but I took the cat proof lid off for a top view too and then turned the sponge filter down to see them clearly. They're munching on their brine shrimp.
^_^

 

[fishywoo]

I've got a new outlook on my Oranda, Hek.
Not only is he a beautiful fish, but he's also a bit thick in the wen. He's goofy. And he gave Nepheli a companion when he desperately needed one. Now Nepheli has Nebula too and they've become a mating pair (which was awesome, I got to raise a few successful fry from them unexpectedly, though won't be doing that again, lol), but the plan from the start was always to make sure Nepheli wouldn't be alone.

So I'm going to look at like this, as long as Hek is getting by despite his buoyancy issues, then great. They all love being together in their little group. I love seeing them together. I'm going to stop worrying about the day that might come if gets worse. I'm also going let myself be assured that should anything happen Nepheli will still have Nebula.

I'm not going to get stressed/depressed about Hek doing acrobat flips in the tank as long as he can still swim, eat and not be injured.

I'm also going to be giving them a more varied diet and change up how I make the food. Maybe that will help, maybe it won't, but it will definitely make things more interesting for them.













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[fishywoo]

It has been a minute since I did a baby goldfish update!

I'm so torn with these guys. I know we're definitely without doubt keeping Big Silver, family members favorite, but my goodness... I love them all so much. This is why I can't be a breeder. I love them as much as I love my kitties and pup.

My three guys in the 29:

My two tub dwellers:

They're so cute it's heart breaking!

 

[Fishfur]

It has been a minute since I did a baby goldfish update!

I'm so torn with these guys. I know we're definitely without doubt keeping Big Silver, family members favorite, but my goodness... I love them all so much. This is why I can't be a breeder. I love them as much as I love my kitties and pup.

My three guys in the 29:

My two tub dwellers:

They're so cute it's heart breaking!

They look like real fish now ! They are very cute.

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Wow, they are super precious!!!

 

[fishywoo]

Quick pics of the kids!


Runt is looking bigger, but it's only an illusion, lol, still the smallest!

 

[fishywoo]

Got clearer photos with my handy fish colander today!
These were the best I could get.



I don't think I can give Smudge up. He's the most personable and just so lovable.

 

[fishywoo]

The cool thing about having such a small group is that you can track them much easier.
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It's final, we're keeping Smudge! And the name!

I have SO many pictures of these guys, but I was able to whittle it down and save some storage.
=D

 

[fishywoo]

Wish I got better pictures of the babies tonight, but was crunched for time. Needed to get the lights out after WC.

Tub kids:

They've definitely grown a good chunk already compared to when they were first moved in.

29 gallon

I stopped using liquid ferts on account of using root tabs instead, and because the plentiful diatom/algae snail food needs no extra help.


Purple knight swords are actually getting a little more length. Hopefully they continue to thrive. They were stuck small for months before using root tabs. I was wary of those things and now I love them, lol.

 

[fishywoo]

Past few days have been trying. Hekatos stopped swimming around, resting in the plants all day, and when I did get him to come out for food he could not direct himself at all. I got a closer look at him today as he wasn't coming out of the plants at all and discovered he had dropsy.

I didn't think this would happen so fast. I was expecting to one day have to find with corrosion in his slime coat from air exposure or substrate. Not a blemish on him, but dropsy for sure. My best guess at this point is cancer/tumor effecting his swim bladder and now failing organs, swelling and fluid retention. I knew this had to be the end of the road for him. Really going to miss his big bushy tail fluttering about. He was such a beautiful fish and a great buddy to my other two Ranchu, especially Nepheli. At least I know Nepheli still has his mate Nebula. This couldn't happen at a worse possible time.

SIP buddy.

 

[fishywoo]

Update on all the Goldies!

Moved Big Silver (now named Brisby) in with Mom and Dad. For the first time now, Brisby is the smallest in the tank! They're getting on great together. <3

Moved Freckles (was renamed Puck, but changed the name again and finally settled on Pip) in with Smudge. They are perfect together. Same size now, both misfits (so I'm calling this The Misfits Tank), and Pip is even developing their own little smudge mark! Feels like this was meant to be. (Also, Pip has a curious dark patch of matte coloring speckled with metallic scales. This reminds me of Hekatos' scales!) Didn't get a good picture of it and I could be wrong. Only saw Nebula and Nepheli mating, but who knows?

Moved Little Silver in with Runt. They are the same size and both in good health. They have no deformities/oddities and have the best Ranchu form, so I think it's fitting that I'm rehoming these two. I think their chances are good. =)

 

[fishywoo]

Lots of tank watching today.
Couldn't resist more video.

Will have to wait until tonight to get a closer video of Pip (Pipkin) and Smudge because of glare.

Will have to find a suitable clear container for good pictures and video of Little Silver and Runt.

 

[fishywoo]

The last video I posted of the three, Mom, Dad, and Brisby, was calm and peaceful.

Meanwhile in the Misfits Tank:

Impossible to get a clear closer view of these two without moving the camera around frantically trying to keep up!

 

[fishywoo]

Baby fish pictures!

Babies to be rehomed:

And couldn't resist taking pictures of these two.
Smudge and Pipkin: