FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I've never kept rummies nor Congos but think both are gorgeous.

I have a school of ~20 neons in my 30g which I love...and I always show off this pic since it took me ages to get a decent shot of one



Attached Image:


~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I love rosys but i have never kept them and can't find them anywhere

I haven't had any tetras yet, but for looks I'm going to have to go with Cochu's blue tetra! What a looker! I want some for my 55 to go with rams and angels...what a tank.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I really enjoy my red-finned Columbian Tetras. However, these are the only type of Tetra's I've owned. I'm looking forward to expanding my tank in the future, and with other varieties of Tetras....they're a great fish.

I am starting to like my lemon tetras especially now since they are beginning to joust and start other mating rituals It is amazing to watch them! Im not sure if they are my favorite yet but they are working there way up!

Fish CAN fly!

I'd say: Cardinals, Diamonds, Cochu's Blues, male Blue Emperors, and Three-Striped Pencilfish. (I'll add male Red Arc Pencilfish to this list when their cost gets out of the two-figure category.)

That's looks-wise. Where delicacy is concerned, all these fish have given me fits except Cardinals -- although my latest batch of Cochu's Blues seems to be doing very well.

Hopefully here's a pic of my fav!!

EDIT: I got this picture of the blue tetra from http://www.azgardens.com/schooling_fish.phpthey have these guys for sale there and I'm going to purchase some when the 55 is ready!

Sorry, I forgot to give credit ealier....my bad.

Attached Image:

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

My Favorite Tetra is the Buenos Aires Tetra.
I love the irridescent green sheen they get when
they are mature. Peaceful, large, active, non-nippy,
gorgeous. What more could you want from a tetra!


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

I'd have to state my favorite would be the Glowlight Tetra... I just love to see their neon stripe racing through the tank....

To thine own self be true...

rummynoses, congos, yellowfin congos (dont expect to ever find these fish), rosies, black phantoms, diamonds, red-eyes, and splashes have to be my favorite

My favorite would have to be bloodfin tetras. I love the contrast of their silver bodies and their red fins.

Pristellas so far

they are colorful, docile, and active! And if you get a good view of them, you can see their brain, it's greenish-blue!

________________________________________________
I like Led Zeppelin.

My favorite tetra, hands down, is the black phantom tetra. I have two males and three females. Their shape is great! I love watching the two males challenge each other. Even though they are technically black and white, their iridescence adds beautiful color to my tank.

Purple royals, theyre just gorgeous, gonna have to get some soon.

I presume you're talking about Blue Emperors (who go by a variety of names: Kerri tetras, King tetras, etc.) The adult males ARE absolutely beautiful -- but I've found out the hard way that they're also delicate. They're as frustrating in that respect as Rams. They seem very susceptible to infection, although one author last decade suggested that Blackwater Tonic may help prevent this for them (my results on this so far are ambiguous). If I find anything more on ways to help preserve them, I'll let this site know immediately.

I like them all
Here is a picture of my 10 Black Phantoms.




Robby

---

I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Yuppers Bruce, thats them , but I keep rams and madagascan rainbows etc,and they are dead fussy on the water quality and regular changes, diet variety etc. So Im still tempted, cant be harder than raising some of the fry ive succeeded with over the years, I appreciate theyre not for everyone though. I already use blackwater for some tanks, what were the symptoms of infection that you experienced incidentally? Forewarned being forearmed and all that.

I like the pristella and cardinal tetras.....I think they stand out in your tank. BubbleLover

---

My Fish like swimming all day long,
They love my bubbles 'pop' on their bum!
http://photos.yahoo.com/shedevil_90

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to say what kinds of symptoms Blue Emperors display from the kinds of infections they're susceptible to. Because of my freakish position maintaining the tank at the local library without having one of my own, I'm usually not around when a fish actually decides to go to that Great Sushi Bar In The Sky. With depressing frequency, I leave them one day acting perfectly normal and come in 2 or 3 days later to find them sprawled on the bottom. (There have been exceptions -- as when I've had to contend with Neon Tetra Disease and Whirling Disease, both of which have unmistakable symptoms -- but I've never lost a Blue Emperor from those.)

In the article I'm referring to, though -- in the July 1996 "Tropical Fish Hobbyist" -- Stanislav Frank describes it:

"...Infections of still-unidentified bacteria, which erupt in the guts of young fish, can wipe out whole broods. The fish suffered from constipation, which caused their bellies to swell up, and they swam around aimlessly. The head and tail areas became darker and darker, and the middle of the body became lighter. Untreated fish died within only a few weeks."

Frank began by using penicillin, which worked -- but to which the bacteria soon evolved resistance. He finally found (God knows how) an unlikely-sounding natural remedy consisting of a brew made out of alder bark and cones, which (judging from his recipe) can be whipped up easily by anyone with a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in a mere three or four months. According to him, this stuff seems to work on a permanent basis -- which suggests that it's actually providing the fish with some kind of vitamin that they need to sustain their natural disease resistance. As he says, "You may notice that this solution is really a blackwater tonic. There are commercial blackwater tonics on the market that may work as well as the solution just outlined, but I have not tried them. You may opt to do so, however, and it may save you some time and effort." To put it mildly.

I have to say that -- in my own limited experience with Blue Emps -- I didn't have much luck keeping them going with Blackwater Tonic. However, I have had bad luck with LOTS of fish in that tank, and have recently acquired strong evidence that this is because the library staff were overfeeding the fish to the point that septicemic bacteria took hold in the tank (despite the fact that standard chemical tests of the water showed it to be clean). After I threatened the librarians with violence and sudden death, they have recently cut down their feedings to the point that the tank is far cleaner, and sure enough my fish seem to be holding up far better -- but I haven't had a chance to try out Blue Emps yet under this new sanitary regime.

Footnote: another article I have from the Nov. 1991 TFH suggests that the bacteria that infest Blue Emps are associated with even very small concentrations of nitrite (as little as 3 mg/liter), which, sure enough, is usually due to "decomposing food animals". This article urges "frequently skimming and changing the water and using an efficient filter". It also says that they seem susceptible to Ich, although I never saw them with it (and in fact have had extremely good luck getting rid of that disease with "Rid-Ich", to the point that I have never lost a fish from Ich in 16 years).

Thanks very much for the info Bruce, it was most enlightening,even if you dont think it was,lol, its a kind of missing piece slips into place thing. I think if I do bother with Blue emperors I will go with a species tank, at least that way I can eliminate cross species infection issues, and I might even indulge in a totally authentic aquarium with as many type locality materials and plants as possible. I reckon ive stopped NTD in tetras at least for the time being with much the same trick, and a bit of (oddly enough) home made blackwater, including some odd quinine barks I found at a chinese health shop.Theyre probably just in a kind of remission, but hey , its a step forward.

Ive had good luck with ich too, since I discovered esha exit Ive not lost a single fish that way.I guess its all down to product knowledge, you have to try a few before you find a good one, and some of the older treatments are probably losing their potency as the parasites get resistant.

My favourite are Serpae Tetras, i have nine of these and they are active, and i have found them to be very hardy. There colours are great and they keep their nipping behaviour to themselves, not bothering my platies or danios.

The very experienced staff at my LFS (I've been extraordinarily lucky in that respect, especially since I live out in the country) say that they've finally found something that can lick NTD -- or rather, reliably stop it from spreading any further, since a fish that actually starts showing any symptons is already doomed. According to them, you give the tank a 50-50 dose of Nalidixic Acid and Neomycin equal in total amount to the dose of nalidixic acid alone that's recommended on the package. I've heard of N.A. being a possible anti-NTD agent before -- but I found out the hard way that the full dose of it recommended on the package is usually lethal to fish. (It's the only really dangerous fish medicine I've found yet.)

According to the store, though, this 50-50 mix -- without poisoning the fish -- will (assuming you've already removed and euthanized all fish showing symptoms) quickly cut down further mortality to a small level, and then eliminate it completely within just a few days.