Aquarium Finds & Updates

I just saw that Nat Geo Wild has an aquarium show called 'Fish Tank Kings' which is basically like Animal Planets show 'Tanked'. I'm still wishing for a show that specializes in freshwater aquariums, and talks more about the aquatic life in the aquarium and such. In the mean time... 'River Monsters' still ranks as my fave fish show to watch.

Other news... one of my breeding guppy males 'Cheeky' passed away a few days ago, I noticed he was becoming inactive over the past week or so... it was really only a matter of time before he passed since I couldn't identify his condition. I'm not sure if 'Freckles' got pregnant from him or not but the two baby guppies I had found in my tank after giving away my fish appear to be a male and a female so... he will become the young females mate and 'Freckles' new mate in the future if all goes right. I'm also not sure if 'Blue' has impregnated 'Quartz' yet either. On that note, I'm going to have to name them both at some point!

I also wanted to share the recent overstocked, sick, mistreated, etc fish at my local Walmart this week. I think I'm going to periodically try and share these poor living conditions of fish because I don't think it's right for things like this to be acceptable in pet-stores/dealers and I'm trying to get people involved in what I call 'fish rights' because all these other pets (such as cats and dogs) undergo a certain process upon purchase and have rights, etc so, I think that's only fair.

In the first photo on my trip to Walmart's aquatic department you'll see a ton of Oscars all kept in a small tank and also how their are some small fancy goldfish such as Oranda's in the tank with them. First of all Goldfish shouldn't be kept with Oscars because Goldfish aren't tropical fish. Also, Oscars are aggressive fish that acquire a large habitat to live in and Oscars will even attack each other. So, as you can see the Oscars were eating the Goldfish, several Oscars managed to get the entire Goldfish inside them whole... Goldfish tails sticking out of their mouth and some of them still moving after being spit out in the Oscars attempt at eating the Goldfish alive.

Next you'll see a Walmart Goldfish, a case of bad fish care, and having been subject to some fish cruelty (also, yet another case of an overstocked small aquarium). This fish seemed to be swimming around fine and healthy although missing its top fin, the wound did seem healed although the fish will have to live with its handicap. Just out of curiosity but is their anyone out there that cares or collects injured fish because they are truly special and unique, and of course deserve a safe happy life?

Betta's with very low and poor quality water (why does it vary in colors?). I was almost tempted to grab a jug of spring water down the grocery isle and fill these up, eheh. Have you noticed that a lot if not all Walmart's got rid of their sink area in the fish dept?

Oscar the Tiger Oscar Cichlid

I recently helped a very good friend of mine start up a tank of his own since he had recently aquired a 10-gallon tank and he knew I was into fish so I could be of assistance. I was quick to learn he had a love for Oscar's, a fish I have yet to own myself...but obviously this is a fish that is said to require much more living space than he currently has in this tank. So...I couldn't sway him toward the smaller line of hearty tetras, guppies, neons, etc and...we decided to push our luck and try our hands at a Oscar regardless.

A few things I have learned and observed about Oscar's...

#1 They apparently grow fast, so his Oscar that is pushing 3 inches may soon get too big for his tank as they can grow over a foot in length.
#2 Their poop looks similar to many turtles I've seen (yes, a bit large) so a good filtration system would really help (however, his 10-20 bio filter probably isn't up for the job).
#3 They are said to be interior decorators...as their size does not stop them from up-rooting plants and moving heavy decor that you strategically placed in your tank.
#4 It's also said Oscar's will jump out of their tank, as for the reasons why...perhaps to see if the water is cleaner on the other side??? or lack their of, heh.
#5 They love to eat and will eat a variety of food however, vitamins B and C are very essential to their health.
#6 They will lay at 45 degree angles, this is mainly to catch prey by acting as if they are a bit dead.
#7 They tend to be more active at night (or perhaps just like dark places in general?).
#8 They can be aggresive and should be placed in a tank with similar sized fish, they will eat small fish.
#9 I have read it could take them a good week or so before they become more active in a new environment.

So, I had to think up some ways for my friends Oscar to survive in such a small environment...of course I'm always up for a little challenge when I'm limited in resources. So...here's the plan for now...

Our Tank Process

We started by cleaning out the old tank and filtration box (dish soap and a scotch brite goes a long way). Dumped out the old clown colored gravel, bought 2 bags of natural looking gravel (rinsed and placed into the clean tank). Had no clue what filter cartridge to buy because I couldn't tell the actual brand of the filter box, however I got lucky and found that the Whisper cartridges fit perfectly as a replacement for the old one we threw out. Also got him to buy some Seachem Prime water conditioner however, Petco did not have the right size of fish net available so...perhaps we need a trip to PetSmart later. We added roughly 8 gallons of luke warm water to the tank, a small amount of Seachem Prime and let the tank run for several hours (this isn't recommended by most aquarist but...the fish has survived thus far) with the Oscar in the bag on top the tank water. We also bought some pellet type cichlid food (recommended by the Petco employee who gave her 2 cents) which Oscar does enjoy eatting.


5 days later, my friend added a few items to the tank...Oscar's laying on the bottom right.

More to do later

Now that we've realized Oscar the Oscar likes to play dead and be inactive I figure we need to get some heavy peices of driftwood (which ugh...takes forever to soak out the tannins from my past experience). The driftwood will help with nitrite levels and such which will probably be a must for a fish like this in such a small environment. I also think this will help Oscar become more active as he'll have some places to hide and feel more secure rather than just a tank with an inch or so of gravel in it. I will also have to show my friend how to do bi-weekly water changes because a messy fish like this is going to need this done to stay healthy (around 2-3 gallons of water changed every other week) and also cleaning/replacing the filter cartridge. A gravel vacuum will also be of use because I'm sure this filter box will not get out everything from the tank so we'll probably need a 5 gallon bucket as well to help move things along. I read that Oscars don't like much water agitation...however I'm hoping that won't be the case because I feel the more water pressure falling from the filter box may be able to keep particles moving and being filtered through (however, that is just my logic whether it's accurate or not). All else fails...we'll go buy some water test strips and try something else.