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Ahh, its probably too ling to be a barb, but it just flicked into my head and geez! its only fair to get a new tank after all your er... fish-itarian work!

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I need to move out and get a place where I don't have a limit on tanks. I've got MTS in a good way. On the other hand, the limitation is half parental, half spacial... I have no more space in my room.

I like the "fish-itarian" idea. "I've gone and saved Baby, now he needs a proper home! He can't stay in the five gallon forever... that's promised to someone else!"

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

[chants]get a new tank get a new tank[/chants] er sorry Yea it is definately some sort of barb or tetra. I know it isn't a livebearer because it's mouth is terminal and livebearers mouths are turned up.

Herrrrrrre's BABY!

I took these pics on Friday, intending to upload them so you'd have something to ponder over the weekend. As you can tell, I didn't do that and left y'all hanging. Bad me. *slaps hand*



First, from above, to compare yet again:


And here's the famous lil fry, now showing off his spots!

Sorry about the glare on that one, Baby has decided he doesn't care for the cup and it was hard to get a decent pic.

I'm leaning towards a tetra of some sort at this point, though I'm certainly no expert. However, he's starting to get the body shape of my black neons...

*excited!*:%)[/font][/font]

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Kitten how big is he/she/it now? Can you put it near a coin or something for reference please? I'm so surprised/glad the little guy is doing so well, the conditions he used to be in sound horrible.

And I'm in the same condition, parents don't want more tanks, and barely anything other than betta bowls can fit in my bedroom now. I'm thinking about putting one in the bathroom I have in my room, but I'm afraid the heat from the shower/scented things might bother it.

Keep us updated! Are you thinking of a name for it yet?

[span class="edited"][Edited by ferretfanatic 2004-08-09 19:29][/span]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Frankly, I wasn't expecting him to do as well as he has, either. He's moved from the LCPS to my ten gallon, then to my five gallon (newborn fry were escaping population control by pressing between the glass and the net) in short order.

As for tanks, my sister is taking the computer I'm currently using (in the basement), so I'm moving my computer down in it's place, which leaves me a desk and a file cabinet for counter space. *plotting* :%)

I'll go take some more pics now, penny in hand. brb...

Yeah, those previous pics are a bit misleading... my digicam takes pics at 1600 x 1200 resolution, so it makes it easy to misjudge the size, he's actually much smaller than you might think.


From above:

The penny's under the cup if you wanted to know.

Curious baby:

"Can I go back to my net now, pleeeeease?"

Same washcloth as some of the first pics, if that's of interest. You can see how he's grown in comparison to the loops of the fabric.[/font][/font]

EDIT: As for names, I was pondering "Survivor" or something like that. Other than that, I think I'll wait to see what he is. Maybe the person who IDs him/her gets to pick the name.

[span class="edited"][Edited by kitten 2004-08-09 20:24][/span]

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

From comparing it to pictures, with some imagination, I say either a Tinfoil Barb an Elegant Rasbora or scissortail Rasbora. In the very least, I think it is defintely a Barb or Rasbora of some kind (Red Minor, Rosy Fin, Cherry, Black Ruby Barbs).

When I start thinking of a name, I turn to simple translations of English words to other languages. So I went on a little search into different languages and here are some of my results:

African
- abandoned = immoreel
- alone = anigste
Dutch
- abandoned = gemeen, onzedeligk
- alone = louter, verlatin
Finnish
- one = yski
Hungarian
- one = az ember, ember, valaki
- survivor = maradot, tulelo
Indonesian
- one = satu
- alone = senderi
Japanese
- one = ichi, ikko
- survivor = seizonsha, sounansha, seizensa
Latin
- one = unus
- alone = solum
Swahili
- one = moja, mosi

Probably the two I like the most are the Hungarian ones valaki and tulelo.

Also, I am not an expert in linguistic's, so some of these that I found are most likely not used correctly grammatically, like if it's just a noun or pertains to female or male only. So if anyone wants to correct the usage, please don't flame me. Just trying to help out with ideas for a name.

[span class="edited"][Edited by JediDragon 2004-08-10 03:20][/span]

Hmm... after comparing suggestions to my fish list, I think barb is probably what we're talking about... I don't think they sell rasboras at this particular store. (Actually, they don't sell danios, either, which was a bit of a blink-and-stare moment.)

I have NO experience with barbs... is there a barb with a spot on the caudal penuncle? That's pretty much the only coloring he has thusfar, a black spot or two right there.

Would Baby be okay by himself? In other words, what's the odds that he's going to be a schooling-type of fish? I don't have room for another tank (as has been pointed out) and my tanks are pretty stocked as it is.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

In my opinion, it is definatley something along the lines of a tetra or rasbora, probably a tetra as you said they don`t sell rasboras. I would be pretty sure it will need a school and I think you should start searching the net for Tetras and see if you find any that match when it gets to a decent size

*taps foot and waits for Baby to grow up*

Hrm... *plots what to do if he turns out to be a schooler* Gee, guess I'll just have to sneak another tank into my room. *innocent*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

You will just have to wait til it grows up...which can be a pain ].< Can't wait to find out what it really is

It like watchin a murder mystery. Everyone on the edge of there seats waitin to find out what it is

That baby looks exactly like my rosy barb fry which are about 2 months old. They have the same shape and they have the exact same spot by the tail fin. I'm guessing rosy barb. I'll try to get a few pics of my fry.

Ooooo... yes, please... let's compare pics! Rosy barbs are best in pairs, ne? *wanders off to the profiles* I could handle a pair, but I just don't have room for another school!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Well, to be completely honest, Baby sounds like a great name for the little swimmer...but anyway...I have, what I keep calling "Rainbow Tetras". They are a rainbow of colors, and have a black spot exactly where Baby has one. And since I have 4 of them, all at different ages, and the younger ones look just like him...who knows...could be! But whatever Baby is, I doubt that we will know him as anything but! So I suggest that we just stick to Baby! If I could figure out how to work my darn camera, I would take a picture of my rainbow tetras for comparison, but since I haven't quite figured that part out yet...well, I guess you will just have to take my word for it!

My initial guess was rosy barb too.

Good luck with him!

I think Baby is either one of the following:

One of these "Rainbow Tetras"

or an Elegant Rasbora, which look quite like something he may appear to grow up into...hmm...


I think you should keep his name as Baby, because it tells his story -- plain and simple. You've already started calling him it, why change it?

Bucktooth Tetra?

My rosy barb fry had those exact black spots in the exact same place. And they're tough little fry -- tough enough to survive a pet-shop tank. I found one swimming around the rain barrel where I dump water during water changes. (I'm sure I vacuumed up an egg and it hatched there.) She's a year old now and doing just fine in my community tank.

I've been following along reading all these posts. How exciting. Its like a mystery. I also think it is a Rosy Barb.
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/rosybarb.htm

Ok, so PetSmart has NO IDEA what they are selling people! These are exactly what I was talking about...except I was told that they were Rainbow Tetras!!! THANKS!!! I agree with the Rosy Barbs!

Wow! I had just assumed it was a livebearer. Now that I've looked at it more closely, I can actually see that it is indeed something else! Looks like a bloodfin tetra or something.

I think the move to the general forum sparked interest in this thread... thanks Callatya!

Hmm... rosy barb... quite possible. And after LMuha's rain barrel story, I can imagine that the eggs and/or fry could meander through the filtration system and wind up in a completely different tank at the LCPS.

I think Baby suits him/her fine, so he'll keep the name for now, unless another name winds up suiting better. *shrugs* You're quite right... Baby certainly does keep in mind where he comes from and what he's been through.

I'll have to wait to see what sex he is before getting him a friend... assuming he IS a rosy barb, they're okay in pairs, right?

MrBubbles... it surprised me, too, when I figured out that Baby wasn't a livebearer fry...

EDIT: Eek... wait, if Baby's a rosy barb, he's going to be the biggest dang fish I have! (Which isn't tough, considering the biggest I have are bettas...) ANYway, umm... assuming he IS a barb, what's optimal tank size and how long before he'll need that? I can't imagine fish much bigger than my betta girls in my twenty gallon long, even if stocking plans weren't already maximized.

[span class="edited"][Edited by kitten 2004-08-11 09:10][/span]

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

If its a Rosy Barb, your in trouble. Cause these fellas do not stop. They are always on the move. Swimming constantly across the tank, back and forwards. I had 3 males. Bad, bad idea. They picked on each other till I had to remove 2 of them. I ended up getting 2 females. Now the 3 are swimming back and forwards across the tank. Compared to the Tiger Barbs, I think my Rosy Barbs are more nasier, exspecially if there is a sick fish in the tank. They single it out and they don't let off from it, until the sick fish dies of stress. Most of the time I remove the sick fish into a hospital tank, but if its just slightly unwell, like bloated abit, or had a bit of a biff with another fish, I leave it alone. But not these Rosy Barbs. Peak, peak, peak, as though they saying, "get out of our tank sick fish". If you not sure if your fish is sick or not, these fellas will tell ya. But by the time I rescue it, it may be too late.
On the other hand, they are a beautiful fish. Except on picking on sick fish and their own species, they seem to get on well with my other fish. I wouldn't recommend to having them in with Bettas though. Too nippy. No problems with my Corys. To tell the sex at that young age is impossible. When it grows, the females are an orange colour, and the males are pink. If it becomes a male, you will need another 2 females. If its a female, just another female will do. I kept my male in a communtity tank with other fish all by himself (meaning no other Rosy Barbs)and he got on fine. He actually paired up with my Striped (zebra) Barb. So I don't think keeping it by itself will hurt it, just as long as the other fish are quick swimmers. Like Barbs, Tetras etc. Just so it has something to swim with. Livebearers are too slow. HTH
Re tank size. Nothing smaller than a 2 footer = 17gal. Better in a 3 footer = 42gal.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile33.html

[span class="edited"][Edited by TigerAngel 2004-08-11 17:39][/span]

Have to agree with most other people: Tetra or Barb
(really just want to be kept informed on Baby )

More pictures???? *puppy dog eyes*

Still think it's highly ironic that Baby is most definitly *not* a livebearer. As you described the tanks, Baby definitly is a survivor! *keeps cheering for Baby*

Ahh! This is a great thread! I have molly fry, and it doesn't look like baby is a molly. By the way, I also think baby is a very appropriate name for him/her. Congrats!

Ceridwen - You're in luck... tonight is another cleaning day, so out comes baby. The plants in the tank need some pruning, so the net has to come out, which means baby goes into his cup.

Baby is starting to sparkle! *excitement* I definitely saw a bit of a goldish flash when he spun around at feeding time. I doubt the camera will pick it up, but I'll do my best.

Baby also seems to have two distinctive spots now, the one bigger one that seems indicative of rosy barb coloring, and one smaller one a bit farther back, nearly on his tail. After doing a bit of research on the rosy barb, I saw that they generally hang out mid-bottom of the tank, which definitely fits his swimming patterns. *shrugs*

I have a feeling the net will soon be too small for him, but I hesitate to let him go free in the five gallon. It's fairly heavily planted, and I'd think I'd loose him. My other choice is to put him in the ten gallon with the guppies (mostly fry) and danios.

I was thinking about giving him his own one gallon (I transferred my bettas from one gallons to two gallon kritter keepers), but that wouldn't be heated or filtered (I could heat it but I don't know about filtration)... and Chicago is having a freaky cold snap. Yesterday was the lowest temperature we've seen for this time of year since like, 1892 or some crap like that. *glares at the thermometer, reading 55 degrees* It's August, dammit! *shivers*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

The rosy barbs in my 55-gallon tank are used to a lot of swimming room; when I had to quarantine one, he went absolutely nuts in the 10 gallon. BUT -- and this is a big but -- the rosy barb from my rain barrel spent six months, at least, in a 10 gallon, and was fine -- probably because it was what she was used to.

Also, rosy barbs are supposed to be happier in groups. But she had never been with any members of her own species. She was happy enough hanging out on her own, and even now that she's been in the big tank for more than 6 months, she still hangs mostly by herself. She gets along with the other rosy barbs just fine -- it's just that she seems perfectly content puttering around by herself, while the others are always chasing each other.

So ... if she does turn out to be a rosy barb, that's something to keep in mind.

I have had my rosy barbs for 3 months now, and I have 4. They get along GREAT with everyone and they don't pick on any. But then again, I also have a 75 gallon tank! But, they really are great fish, and they are really pretty. My hubby thinks I'm silly! I really love how colorful they get to be! And like I said before, I have 2 will lots of colors, and long flowy tails, and 2 that have a less coloring, and small tails. And they are shiney!!!

I took my rosy barbs back to the lfs today because they were getting too aggressive. They were eating all my plants and bugging some of the other fish. They were fine when they were smaller but as they got bigger they got nastier.

I'm not sure what it is, but I breed guppys and platies and can tell you that fry is not one of those.

Good luck, you'll identify it any day now !

The Amazon Nut...

I cleaned out the five gallon today. I took baby out into the cup and found that he had friends... thin little wormy things that look like a tiny piece of string squirming through the water. One of them got captured in this picture, that white thing near the surface of the water in the cup. What on EARTH is that? I pulled out several and flushed them down the sink with the rest of the water I changed out.



I don't know what it is, nor where it came from. The previous occupant was my latest female betta (now called Jezebel the betrayer), but she hasn't been in that tank since a week before Baby came home. The plants were ordered online, but I rinsed them thoroughly before introducing them, and again, they were introduced with Jezebel. So... stands to reason that if I just NOW see them, they had to be a recent addition. Anyway, all I want to know is... will they hurt Baby?

I was pondering introducing Baby to my ten gallon, which is admittedly a bit overstocked with young guppies, but it would give him a place to stretch out. He's big enough that the danios wouldn't pick on him, and I thought he might enjoy not being in solitary confinement. I think I'd lose him if I let him out of his net in the five gallon, which is pretty well planted. Those odd wormy things don't make me happy, either.

I did manage to get a somewhat decent shot of Baby's sparkles though. It's he cute?! [/font]

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I found this site on worms.
http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/C772-w.htm

I don't know how the little fella will go in the tank with the Daninos. I have Daninos and they are fast, nippy and chasing all the time. When feeding time comes, the Daninos come charging in and out like a Barracuda. So I don't know if Baby will end up Danino food. But that worm thingy doesn't look good.

he looks like a bard to me... does he have that wierd fin on the underside? the backwards looking fin?

me

long finned barb

I wouldn't put him in with the danios if I were you. I had a bunch of platy fry a little smaller than that and within a week they were all eaten. The danios constantly chased the fry around.

the worms are probably planeria. they are harmless they just mean you are feeding to much. I had them but i cut down on feedings and they went away.

My ten gallon houses three danios, one female guppy and a host of her female children. Newborn guppies don't survive the danios, but once they're more than a day or two old, they aren't bothered. Baby is just about as big as my youngest guppies, which aren't bothered by the danios. That's why I was pondering putting him in there.

A backwards looking fin? *blinks* I don't... think so... I have no experience with barbs, so... *shrugs*

The only reason I wouldn't want to put Baby in the ten gallon is that pictures would be more difficult. Maybe I'll just switch his breeder net back to the ten. I'd feel better if he weren't in with those wormy things... whatever they are. I think I'll recup him tonight, rinse out the breeder net well and move him to the ten, with or without his net... what do you think?

Hmm... planeria? Could that be from the liquid fry food? It's sometimes hard to get just one drop in there... and one drop is probably quite enough for Baby. Maybe I'll just dip the end of a toothpick in the bottle and feed him that way... The wormy things won't hurt Baby, will they?

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

look in the fish profiles here at a long finned rosey barb... hes got the spot in the right place and youll probably be able to see the fin i'm talking about...lol i dont know how to explain the fin thing anybetter.... and hes the right color... i have 3 of them to orange and green and one yellow... but he really looks like my yellow one

me

I loved reading every post, well done for rescuing baby. Looks like he's take quite nicely to your tank set up and he don't mind having the camera flash either.

I would say he is a tetra of some kind. But keep the updates coming.

Love it

I say barb or rasbora. I've never had a barb so I can't speak to that, but he has the same face as my harlequin rasboras (I know it's not a harlequin). I doubt it's a rasbora either because the two most common kind you see (scissortail & harlequin) aren't mentioned and they're not hard to identify so I go with barb. Cute little guy though.

I'm not sure liquifry would provide the best nutrition at this point, and it can make water dirty very quickly. Have you tried crushing flake to a fine powder and feeding baby that? It's what I use for my baby mollies.

I feed the liquid fry food in the morning and First Bites when I get home after work... no problems just to switch to the powder. If that's how the wormy things came about, then buh-bye liquids!

Anyone else have advice on whether or not to put him in with my guppy fry in the ten gallon?

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Baby's in the ten gallon... in his net. I moved him before dinner and came back to see him looking longingly at the guppies and danios outside his abode. I let him out and everything seemed okay for a bit, the danios ignored him, but the guppies didn't! Nip, chase, hide!

I coaxed him back into his net for safe keeping. Funny thing is that the mother guppy chased a moment, but it was the guppies that are just a bit bigger than Baby that were chasing him the most. *mutter*

Anyway, I figured that he's still on powdered food anyway, so it's better for him in the net. Hopefully he won't sit there staring at the guppies outside the net and make me feel sorry for him again. I shall be strong, though! I shall!

He's so cute!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Yes, he is adorable! Just wait until he can start to chase them back. Then the guppies just won't know what to do. Won't that just be a sight to see! Him chasing back! But, I still stand by the assumption that Baby is a rosy barb. And trust me, they are beautiful fish! Just VERY active! But always fun to watch! And never boring!

I can just imagine the guppies when Baby starts getting bigger then them... "Hey, you know we were like, kidding when we chased you, right? 'Cause, like, you could beat us up easily now and... and we wouldn't want any hard feelings, right? Right...? *gulp*"

Hopefully by that time I'll have a nice big tank for Baby... if he's definitely rosy barb, I think I'm out of room.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Wouldn't that be a trip...watching the guppies swimming away from Baby, and he's like..."Guys, I just wanna be friends...Come back guys, please? I'm all alone...I promise I'll play nice..."

Hehe... and he'll go around thinking he's a guppy or danio, so he won't know why they're running away...

Aww... poor Baby. He's going to need a friend when he's bigger. *nods sagely*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Sorry I haven't updated recently, there's just really not much to say. He's gotten to a point where he's not changing drastically from day to day, so there's not a lot to update you on.

He's about half the size of my youngest guppy fry (lengthwise) but about as tall. (And now I really wish I had saved one of the guppies that was born the day after I got Baby, to compare growth rates...) The black spot by his tail just gets more and more obvious as the days go by, becoming a darker black that really stands out against his nearly translucent body.

You should see how much more active he is now than when he was alone in the five gallon. He's a speedy little thing when he wants to be, and seems fascinated with his tankmates. I'd love to release him from his net, but I fear he'd get chomped on. I don't think the other fish would EAT him, but he'd get picked on, and I don't want that.

My guppies will all rocket to the surface when I open the tank. The surface of the water looks like it's boiling with their movements. Talk about an eager welcome! ...of course, they want the food, not my company, but still...

Baby doesn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box, though. He still gets a bit spooked when I open the top and hasn't quite figured out that I'm the one bearing food. (Guppies seem to learn this a lot faster...)

Going with the idea that he's a rosy barb, is it normal that he doesn't come to the surface for food? He's much more likely to pick at it when it starts to sink or when it's at the bottom of the net. I'd be more likely to release him from the net if I was sure that he would get food and not be deprived by the appetites that my guppies have. I swear, they're finned pigs...

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~