That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

As you may know, our Marine Bio Staff here at That Fish Place works tirelessly answering fish and aquarium questions by phone, email, in person, and of course, on That Fish Blog.  We thought it might be helpful to periodically post some of the answers to FAQs here in the blog as an added resource to common issues and inquiries.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us for info, we’re here to help!  And keep an eye on That Fish Blog for more FAQs and answers, info and advice!

Dale in Pittsburgh wrote:

I have a 30 gal freshwater tank, with 17 tetra-type fish (Bloodfins, Glow-Tetras, Neon-Tetras, Black Tetras, etc) and I have noticed that there are some buoyancy issues, particularly with the neon tetras (3 out of 5 fish). They are not new, they have been around for quite some time, and I cannot recall any changes that have taken place in the last few months. They have an issue with nose down, tail up syndrome, constantly trying to swim down to keep neutrally buoyant in the water. Any ideas why this would occur?

Tank equipment:

Under-gravel filter with a Marineland 660 Powerhead

Emperor 280 filter (diamond blend carbon / ammonia) with a standard gauze filter in-front for fine particulates

Marineland 200 stealth heater (set to 78 deg, room temp 75 deg)

2″ mixed gravel

Artificial Plants

Artificial driftwood

1 piece of gray slate (I think)

I feed Tetramin flake food once daily Mon-Friday (9am), the tank location is in my office.  I do 10 gallon water changes every 2 weeks, and water tests with master test kit results are as follows: slightly high PH (7.2-7.5 avg), ammonia and nitrite 0 ppm at every test, nitrate is around 10-40ppm average.

Answer from MarineBio@thatpetplace.com:

From what you have described, they could have infections in their swim bladders. Typically when you see fish having that problem, the culprit is a bacterial infection in the swim bladder. This can be difficult to treat, but there is one medication that we have had good luck with. Seachem makes a product called Kanaplex (kanamycin sulfate), that has proven effective against internal infections. You can dose your entire tank with the medication, just make sure that you remove the carbon from your filters first, as it will absorb medications from the water. The directed treatment is dosage every other day…. but to be honest, you can dose daily for 7 days and see if you get better results. It should not affect your fish if you increase the dosing frequency to once daily. Just perform a water change on day 3 and you should be just fine. Good luck!

Please write in here if you have any questions or further advice on this question.

Ever wake up one day, take a look in your tank and see a horde of tiny little baby fish that weren’t there the night before? Did you have to run out in search for something to feed the new little fish? Here’s a quick and nutritious solution that you probably already have on hand…egg yolk! Yep, normal old chicken eggs that are probably already in your refrigerator. Just hard-boil an egg and remove the yolk (you won’t need the white, feel free to munch on that while you prepare the fishes’ portion). Put a small piece of the yolk in a small container of water and shake it up until the yolk is completely suspended in the water. You may want to break it up a little before you start to get a headstart but if you still notice larger chunks in the water that haven’t broken up enough, you can strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter to get rid of the bigger pieces. Once the yolk is suspended in the water, just add a little to the tank with the fry. It’ll make the water a little cloudy so you don’t need to add much and you can save the mixture for a few days in the refrigerator.

Quick, easy, and healthy for just about any small fish fry!

Craig here. Parambassis pulcinella. What a name. It kinda rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Well… as cool as the name sounds, the Humphead Glassfish is even cooler looking! If you have ever wanted a fish that has a bit of size and a lot of character for your freshwater community aquarium, this just might be the fish for you!

A relative newcomer to the aquarium scene, the Humphead glassfish was not scientifically described until 2003. Parambassis pulcinella hails from Myanmar, in South East Asia. With changing political climates, many fish have just recently become known to science from this region. Myanmar is a country that has nearly half of its land covered in dense forests. Within these forests are countless streams. It is in these fast flowing streams that the Humphead Glassfish can be found.

The Humphead Glassfish is a schooling fish that benefits from being kept with members of it’s own kind. It has a spine from the dorsal (supraoccipital) area of it’s skull that is extended. This extension is what gives this fish it’s bizarre shape and name. The pH should range from neutral to slightly alkaline. It is not a particularly picky eater. The small group that is kept here will ravenously feed on pelleted foods and thawed frozen foods. It seems that the only things that the Humphead Glassfish are particular about is the need for excellent filtration, higher levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, and room to swim! Other than these requirements, you will find that these curious fish are very sturdy and make wonderful additions to your tank. They will not eat plants, so keeping them in a larger planted aquarium is acceptable provided that your CO2 levels do not rise to a dangerous level. Even though these fish are relatively peaceful and can be kept with smaller community fish, beware keeping them with fish like neon or cardinal tetras. If a tiny tetra will fit in their mouths… it will surely be lunch!

So, if you want something different, something rare, something new… take a look at the odd Humphead Glassfish. When available, these fish are certainly well worth the price. You will have something that many people have never even seen before, as well as a fish that is one of the most interesting and coolest additions to the aquarium trade in years.

Whenever most aquarists see that first dreaded bristleworm in their aquarium, they immediately run out for the nearest Dottyback or Sixline Wrasse or Arrow Crab or little plastic trap. There’s another, often overlooked, little critter that can help out even more than any of the “traditional” solutions – the Bumblebee Snail, Pusiostoma mendicaria.

Bumblebee Snails are flashy little snails, as saltwater snails go. They have solid black shells with thin yellow stripes and only grow to about one inch in length. Bumblebee Snails are more carnivorous than many other species and are known to feed on other snails, ornamental feather dusters or the occasional coral polyp if their supply of leftover foods, tiny crustaceans or small worms in the substrate grows too low. The risk is usually well outweighed by the benefits though to anyone with a bristleworm problem; A sturdy (nuisance level) bristleworm or flatworm population can keep several Bumblebee Snails well-fed enough to leave their tankmates alone as long as the population lasts. While Bumblebee Snails aren’t quite as proficient sand-sifters as the ever-popular Nassarius Snail, they do sort through the substrate and aquarium rockwork to find their food – the same places that the dreaded worms hide.

So, if you’ve tried the traditional solutions or want to cut a bristleworm or flatworm problem off before it starts, try adding a few Bumblebee Snails.

Hi, Melissa here. We are all familiar with puffer fish and what they are able to do. They have the ability to inflate their body 2-3 times their normal size. It is true they may look like a cute prickly little ball, but it is very costly to them. Puffers inflate themselves as a defense when they feel threatened or scared. They can do this by swallowing gulps of water. If they swallow too much water they can actually rupture their stomach. You can only imagine how much pain something like that would cause. So you can see why puffers should never be provoked to the point of inflation. Sadly, once their stomach is ruptured the puffer is a goner.

If puffers need to be transported it much be done very carefully. The puffer must remain under the water at all times. If they ingest air they will have a very difficult time getting the air back out. If the air remains inside the puffer it will mess with their buoyancy and will ultimately lead to their death.

While puffers may look cute when they are puffed up, always remember that it is very stressful behavior. So, next time you visit a pet store and you see a customer trying to make a puffer inflate please make them aware that puffer fish never puff because they are happy and that puffing up can potentially lead to their demise.

If you like puffers, check out our video on the Mbu Puffer: