More critters for my tanks...

[JohnHuff]

Not sure what you mean by head banging? They don't burrow in gravel but maybe they are looking for food?

They swim very fast down to the floor of the tank like they want to burrow into it then the bang their heads on the gravel and come to a stop.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

They are not the best swimmers. Maybe that's what your seeing?

I also wanted to mention that I use a plate in my frog tank as a place to feed him when I'm not feeding with the tweezers. Gives a place where it's easy for him to get his food otherwise it gets lost in the gravel.

 

[JohnHuff]

One of my frogs has died. I think it's because he hasn't eaten because I've never seen him eat. I just found him belly up this morning. The other frog was around him but left when I came by.

A piece of good news is that the Amana shrimp in my small tank is still alive. Hadn't seen him since the water change but saw him yesterday and today. Funny, he is still so small, only about an inch compared to my 2 inch ones from petco. He has got to be 2-3 months old and hasn't grown at all.

 

[j.w]

Well darn sorry about your tiny frog but glad you found your shrimp. Maybe that skin shedding sign was not good and he was sick when you got him. Hope the other one will be ok.

 

[JohnHuff]

Thanks, j.w. The other frog looks ok for now. My son now wants to get Thai Micro Crabs and freshwater clams.

I saw the red claw crabs again at the pet store. They're really nice but I just can't risk the other tank mates with them. If we hadn't gotten the assassin snails, I definitely would have got them. The Thai micro crabs don't look half as good. Clams are interesting, will be interesting to see if we can get them.

 

[addy1]

I had some clams for the pond, no clue if they are still around tiny things. I bought two frogs, one of mine died within the first week it just acted differently, swimming up and down rapidly, the other did fine, hope it is still there when we get home

 

[jmajid]

wow, never thought of clams in the pond...do you have to QT clams if youre going to put them in the pond?
My wife and i have been hanging out at the local Petsmart and Petco for our indoor tank - they have some nice selections... our local Petco is having a 50% off sale on fish anf fish supplies on the 22/23 Feb.

 

[addy1]

No I don't have a qt, the clams were put in when I first built the pond, the second summer, only had 4 fish so was not worried about anything.

 

[JohnHuff]

Well, we got a new fish for our small tank today. In between going to Costco, the gas station, the UPS store, the bank, we stopped by the fish store and got a Betta. It was a blue female on sale for about $3.

Because it was a female, it doesn't have the exotic fins which I thought was representative of all Betta's. Instead, she's rather small and plain. She's actually even smaller than the Platy's in that tank.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Don't worry she will get bigger

And her color will change too assuming she is young. They are also stressed when you see them at the stores. Once they get home and have clean warm water and some food they darken up.

That's part of the fun with bettas. Some of the females will get a longer tail but not like the males.

I have even had females with an attitude just like the males. Even had one build a bubble nest (that is usually left to male bettas)

 

[JohnHuff]

Right now she seems pretty scared. She was first at the front of the tank with the other fish, then she disappeared for a couple of hours. When I went to switch off the lights she was as far back in the tank as could be. Hope she'll feel better in the morning.

 

[j.w]

I've had the pretty betta's before and when I was a kid I used to hold a mirror up to the male and he would fan his gills out and turn really dark and try to kill the creature looking at him face to face. They are so beautiful but sometimes he would bother other fish if they got too near him especially ones w/ flowing fins.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

How is she doing today?

If you can give her a cave (I use a coffee cup turned on it's side of course I won't use it to drink from again lol) or some place she can chill and call her own. She will feel much more comfortable that way.

 

[JohnHuff]

A little bit more relaxed this morning, swimming around a bit. Still hanging in the back a little though.

I tried to feed her breakfast but the resident fish there are like a pack of ravenous wolves. They immediately gobble everything up, even tiny bits of food and she didn't get any. This little tank gets more food than my big tank with more fish because these guys are so greedy.

I'm going to have to try feeding again later and hope she'll be able to eat. The only way she'll be able to eat is if she fights for a spot.

Ya, we have plenty of hiding spaces. There's a house with 1-2 holes in it, a cavern like thing, an old filter lying at the bottom and lots of plants in one corner.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Okay hiding spaces are good for bettas

Typically the bettas in any of my tanks are the first to get the food. Infact, I have to watch how much I feed or they will get a huge tummy from eating too much at once. I like to think of them as really cute food seeking missles