I visited the local LFS (Lunds Dyrehandel) who actually do a pretty good job with fish. I wasn’t there looking for fish, but we can’t help “looking” can we? I was actually there to look at Elodea densa plants (also known as egeria, waterweed, anacharis). These are very fast growing plants, that are good for removing Nitrate. They can be used as floating plants, but can also be dug into to the substrate where they will make simple roots in order to anchor the plant in place. Simply remove the leaves from the lowest part, and stick it into the gravel.
I don’t have much Nitrate in my tank, but I have a spot in my tank, with quite a lot of light, that I wanted to see if I could grow these. If I place anubias or even stones there, they will grow algae, so I currently just have an empty area there. The main issue, with buying these, would be that they may get eaten within a few hours, so I was not willing to pay too much for them. The shop did have them, but they were a bit too expensive and too small for me to be willing to give them a try. Especially because I often see them more or less for free from other aquarists who have them in their tanks.
What I did see though, was that they had gotten some very cute veil-tail goldfish. They were very small, and not very unique, but they looked super cute and healthy! There was a tiny small black moor though in the plant section that was recovering from some sort of issue. It was floating at the top, and seemed very tired. It also had some damage on its fins that seemed not dangerous but could maybe get infected
I asked the owner what had happened, and they informed me that it had been attacked by the other goldfish. I have never really experienced aggressive goldfish, unless its towards egg laying females but it won’t surprise me if it was true! It’s strange because I have had a feeling that black moores get either ignored or bullied by other goldfish. Mine seem to be more solitary than the other goldfish, and often swim alone whereas the others will form loose groups.
As I am currently treating Wendy with antibiotics and salt, I asked if they wanted me to take it home and share the treatment with it. It would be good for Wendy, and would be a good precautionary treatment for the baby to not get infected.
The owner accepted, and I brought this tiny little fish home to the treatment tank where Wendy is recovering from an eye injury. I had moved Hermesetas into the tank a few days back, because she was having issues floating after having eaten a bit too much, but I had left her there because she was happier with the smaller tank, and Wendy had been feeling lonely.
The baby fish, was quite stressed, and probably because of this, was struggling with some swim bladder issues. This is quite common with stressed fish, especially the ones that are very round. A year ago, I would have panicked, but I let it rest and acclimatize for some longer time than I normally would.
After getting used to the temperature and water quality, I let it loose into the tank. It is a pretty small tank, with only 60 liters, but I do 80% water changes every day, with water from my main tank. I am currently treating with antibiotics and salt, to prevent bacterial and fungus infection on Wendys injury. It is getting better, but not quite as fast as I had hopped. I plan on moving Hermesetas away from the tank soon, but I think she prefers the smaller tank to the large one, so I may need to make a new home for her.
The baby is doing better than it seemed to be doing at the LFS. It has started swimming more actively, but still struggles a bit with its swim bladder. I have also noted that it is heavily deformed, with much larger eyes, even for a black moor, and its gills covers are slightly flaring outwards. It seems like a fragile fish, but I will keep an eye on it and see how it handles things. I don’t think it will manage well in my large tank though
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