I just finished reading the article on the Glo-fish, and I was wondering if it
would be possible to ask the author if he considers every breed of dog, most
breeds of milk and beef producing cattle, and probably 80% or better of all of
the grains and fruits he eats as also being 'garbage' due to the fact that they
are also man induced 'mutations' (yes, the method may be different, but the
intent and process is the same and similar-one is just more 'trial and error,
after all, no?) For the record, I also don't like the idea of Glo-fish, or
painted chandas, but plenty of folks hate telescopes, black moors, fancy guppies
and swords for just as legitimate reasons. <Agreed> I can understand a POV of
distaste and dislike, I was just wondering what selective bias the author uses
to determine which of our obvious genetic alterations are 'garbage' and why? ;)
(heh, maybe I should write a counter point article for submission, playing
devil's advocate) <All submissions are welcome for consideration. You will have
to use a lot better grammar than you did in this e-mail. Please capitalize the
proper noun "I" and the first letter of sentences. We post all e-mails and
replies. It's a lot easier for folks to read them if they are punctuated
properly. If you do it then we can spend less time proofreading and more time
answering.> Keep up the good work-been observing your website for years, all the
best!
Alan
<Thanks. The author of the article is not a member of the question-answering
crew, so I do not know how to contact him. I do agree with you on this issue. I
have nothing against Glo-Fish (TM) myself. They were created to serve a
utilitarian purpose (pollution detection). If there is a side benefit of
providing pretty fishes that have not been chemically burned and dyed, that's
great from my perspective. I have no problem with GM foods either. I say you're
right that there is no difference in principle between this and selective
breeding. It's only method and speed. In fact, GM is better because the planning
will lead to fewer bad mutations. It just needs to be properly regulated. As for
the other fish you mention, I have qualms about some of them. If fish are
selectively bred for appearance, I only have a problem if that creates a
deformity that impairs the fish or causes pain. Some of the fish sold these days
definitely suffer as a result of their selectively-bred appearance. That's my
opinion, for what it's worth. Steve Allen>
Mad-Crazy Barbs!
We have two tiger barbs, one small and one much larger. Unusually, from what
we have heard, they pretty much totally leave our other fish alone, only
acknowledging each other. Mostly the little one chases the fatter one all over
the tank non-stop, but every once in a while their colors will darken and they
will do this thing where they spin in a circle, nose to nose, sometimes for
several minutes at a time. They don't appear to be fighting for real, as neither
sustains injuries. Is this some sort of play fighting or sparring for dominance,
or something else?
>>Yes, your barbs are sparring. Tiger barbs are schooling fish that will chase
each other all the time. Because you have only two the less dominant animal is
always under stress. The little more slender fish may well be a male, the fatter
fish a female. It may be a good idea to add two more tiger barbs.
Good Luck, Oliver <<
The Beach Boys Givin' off Good Vibrations? 4 Vibrating Green Tiger
Barbs
Hello!
<Hi there>
I have a 37g tank with 4 green tiger barbs and 1 albino Pleco. It's running an
Eheim 2026 with all biological filtration: Ceramic noodles and Eheim
EhfiSubstrate. I do ~10% weekly RO water changes. I've tested nitrates which are
< 20 ppm, nitrites don't register, nor does ammonia. The water has running a bit
warm at 80.
<Okay>
My problem is this: especially later in the day, the tiger barbs stay towards
the bottom of the tank and vibrate, mostly in the same spot. Have you ever heard
of this type of behavior? I'm at a loss to what to do. Could it be the
temperature? I'm going to go through my master test kit and test all the water
parameters... anything I should look out for?
<Have heard/seen this... and do think it's temperature related...>
Thanks!
- Chad
<I would add a mechanical "bubbler", some sort of added circulation, aeration
here... turn your heater down, or if the lighting is boosting temperature, set
this on a timer and leave off during the mid-day... see if you can add surface
disruption and keep the temperature under 78 F. Bob Fenner>
DYING DANIOS
Hi, I love your site and have been performing research here. I need to ask a
question about what's happening and see if there are any ideas. I have a 5
gallon future quarantine tank in which I placed about 1.5" of Danios I purchased
from PMart. I have been performing daily ammonia tests (beginning of cycle). The
bigger one was bullying the smaller one, and the smaller one began to hang
around at the bottom of the aquarium and inside the resin rock cave I'd
purchased from Drs foster smith. The small one stopped eating.
The ammonia levels never got above .25 ppm but I ended up doing daily water
changes (25 - 50%) to see if that helped. To try and defray the bullying, I went
and got a third small Danio from a small local aquarium/fish/pet store that has
been here almost 30 years. The next day, the first small one was dead. I took it
out and did about an 80% water change.
I treat the incoming water with Tetra Aqua Safe and try to match existing
aquarium temperature within 2 degrees. Although I live in Phoenix AZ and the
water is quite hard, I make no other water quality adjustments in an effort to
keep them in stable water like in store.
The big one died the next day - another large water change. The new Danio
looked fine except for a small red area near/in his right gill. I went and got
two more small companion Danios for him (don't know sex actually) from the small
aquarium store. Two days later, the Danio w/red spot began gasping - I did about
a 30% water change and added about 1 tsp. salt to the aquarium (I was too
paranoid to add the recommended 1 Tablespoon per 5 gal amount).
I put the ill Danio in a small refugium with a small diameter flex hose as a
bubbler. The refugium hung inside the main tank but no water exchange was
possible. The ill Danio was dead the next day. I did another large water change.
The other two are still eating, but I'm afraid I saw one beginning to gasp. Any
ideas? Thank
you very much. Jane
< Your water is indeed hard and alkaline. Since you only have a 5 gallon
aquarium, I would recommend that you drain all the water out of your tank and
replace it with bottled or filtered water instead. Add some Bio-Spira by
Marineland to get your tank cycled right now. Make sure that the water temp is
up around 80 degrees. Add six or more Danios from the store and add some live or
plastic floating plants so they have somewhere to hide from the more aggressive
fish. Feed only enough food so that it is all gone in two minutes once each day.
Change 20% or one gallon once a week. That should work out fine and get you
going.-Chuck>
DYING DANIOS - Follow-up
Hi Chuck, thank you for the quick response. I'll check out the Marineland
Bio-Spira. Re: the bottled water--my understanding from the fish vendors here is
that their water is good old Phoenix water that's been
dechlorinated/dechloraminated and nothing else, and I felt that my using
anything other than tap water similarly treated would stress the fish too much -
I've learned that in the David Boruchowitz (sorry about spelling of name there)
book and from the "Complete Idiot's Guide" (very fitting in this case!). Of
course, I don't know if either author meant Phoenix water when he wrote that.
< The thinking behind their statements is that the fish from the store will be
in the same water that is at your home, so additional use of bottled water is
not needed. I know of the hard alkaline water that you are using from the
Colorado River too well. As a happy medium I would then try using 1/2 bottled
demineralized water and 1/2 tap water and see if that makes a difference.>
I'm trying to cycle the small quarantine tank first while my 50 gallon Lee-Mar
aquarium is waiting for its 2nd test fill this weekend. I had tested for leaks
and yep, it had one, so we silicone-sealed the leaking seam area this last
Sunday. If I do go with bottled water, does that mean I could never use Phoenix
water?
< If you want to use Phoenix water then you need to go with fish that have the
same requirements like African Cichlids. You will never be able to go with soft
water fish like discus in your tap water.>
I didn't mention that I have an Eco-Aqualizer water ionizer, because I was too
embarrassed to admit I'd forgotten to hook it up to the tank before introducing
any fish. Again I thought it would stress the fish if I hooked it up "mid
stream." Thank you very much - Jane
< When you tank gets stabilized and the fish are doing well I would then slowly
make any additional changes.-Chuck.>
BOOK 'EM DANIO
Good morning Chuck, quick note before going to work - last night I did
50%water change using distilled water for the new water - this morning I have
two [of] what appear to be very happy, active Danios - you rescued them. Thank
you thank you thank you!!! Jane
< Your water is too hard for most aquarium fish. I am glad that the bottled
water has helped.-Chuck>
Spinning Barb
Crew: I have a rosy barb that began spinning wildly in the tank. I took him
out and moved him into a tank by himself. My pet store told me that he probably
had an intestinal infection and would probably die. He's still alive after a few
days and stopped his wild spinning but now stays in a corner near the heater,
doesn't seem to be eating, gasping. I've also noticed he mostly swims in place
and drifts backwards quite a bit, and when I tried to put a live plant that he
might eat into the tank, he started pinging around the tank then cowered in the
corner gasping. Any suggestions please?
<The spinning is not good. Keep him in the QT and watch his old tankmates. Sorry
to say, but Whirling Disease is usually fatal. If he does die make sure you
bleach the tank and anything in it. I would destroy the plant. Just not worth
the risk. Don>
Spinning Barb pt 2
Thanks for the reply Don. The others in the main tank seem fine by the way,
and eating heartily. He stopped whirling and is swimming about a bit more but
always returns to the heater and cowers there with mouth agape bobbling with the
movement of the water. We had noticed the area from his nose to his head has
darkened and along his spine also.
Any ideas what that might be? He was a beautiful vibrant pink before but became
quite dull when he got sick. My daughter is doing everything she can to see that
he makes it. And won't give up on him, salt, keeping the water at 82. Is there
anything we should/could be doing besides waiting and observing? He started
whirling a week ago, and is still here. What do I need to observe to know when
he might be better and if it becomes safe to return him to the main tank?
<I'm sorry to say I do not have any tricks to try here. Please read
this thread from our forum and the references within. Don>
