Crappy Afternoon!

[angel]

So today we decided to switch the last tank over to sand--the 125 upstairs. We got all the fish into buckets, cleaned the algae off the back side, drained water mostly down, scooped out the aragonite, filled sand, phone rang and that slowed us down some, then were filling back up. I was excited to be able to take my time and examine each fish, take a fishventory, check the holding one(s), etc. But looking in the buckets, some are lying on the bottom. So, I guess they were in there too long. Quickly transferred them back to the tank. They seem to be reviving ok, but the flavus mother spit her babies in the bucket. Some of them(fry) didn't make it. I'm not sure about the others. Keep ur fingers crossed, everyone! My best fish could all croak on me!

[nebelhund]

Sorry to hear that Angel! Yeah, that is one of the few things I won't do is replace the substrate in an active tank. Just a huge disruption for the fish. (I totally agree about using sand over gravel!)

Good luck with them.

[plecoman]

I hope your fish make it ok! That's something I'll have to remember when I get ready to put the sand in mine. I thought I would do it with the fish in the tank. If that's a bad idea, let me know. How are the fish doing now?

[jhayes6405]

Adding sand with fish in is a pretty bad idea. Trust me, if there is something wrong to do, I have done it.

Angel, how long were they in the bucket?

[angel]

I don't really know how long it was. Wasn't watching the clock . I would guess an hour. Maybe a little more. There are a LOT of BIG fish and we had them in 4 buckets. So if they all had to p ammonia could have taken over I guess. No filter and no air in a bucket. They do seem to be doing well now. I still am holding my breath. The fry most of them recovered. Again so far. I'm not counting on a thing. Oh yeah--and I got about 25 Christmas Fulu fry today as well. Grabbed Mom out of the 65 gallon during water change. They're doing great.

[sirknight]

Good news on the fulu.

the falvus was that the one I gave you

Joe

[angel]

Yes that's the one. She spit when she was in the bucket. So they got in the fish p water. They're doing better. I'm pretty sure I lost one. But the rest are moving.
They got a great water change and the sand looks great at least. Now I need to make sure the hardness of the water is enough. The aragonite being out and all. But I just hated how the filth stuck down in it! This will be much cleaner.

[angel]

All the adults are now behaving normally. Oh here's something weird! Two of the marmalades looked like they were trying to spawn as we were draining the water. But they were both girls! Confused maybe?

[sirknight]

Tina,

have you vented the fish?

Also that just maybe aggression, picking order

[angel]

No I've never vented a fish yet. Something else to learn.
It's one of the things I thought I'd try today. Just to see if I can see the difference. But all my plans got changed when my fish were struggling.

[davidtcb1]

Probably the lack of an air pump was the biggest problem. I've lost fish by not having air in a holding container while I was working on something, but never when I used an air pump.

[angel]

Everything's normal now. Thankfully! And I spent hours picking through the aragonite to take out the seashells I collected in the Mediterranean to put them back in the tank. Got a bunch back out that were already in the aragonite too. Looks like a beach. Love it! The fish are all sifting and playing.

[davidtcb1]

Great!

[fishme]

That's good news, angel.

I've done the same thing without problem, but the fish were half grown.and probably weren't as stressed being in the bucket. The last time I did it (with my 75) I left the fish in the tank. Vacuumed the gravel really well and in the process drained about half the water, then scooped out the gravel with a dust pan. It did make the water dirty for a bit, but after I put the sand in, I quickly put the rock formations back in and re-filled the tank, which cleared the water up nicely. I also left the Fluval running the whole time. I figured in the long run it was less stressful on the fish than moving them, but in reality, it's possible I was just being lazy. Either way, glad it turned out OK for you.

[angel]

I would have done it that wasy but I had these kooky ideas. I wanted to examine each fish briefly, make sure they looked healthy up close, if they were holding check the egg/fry status, and try to see if I can vent. I want to know if I'll be able to tell the difference in a male and female by venting. So pulling them all sounded great in theory. Just not in practice.
They're all perfect today and I still have lost only one fry so not so bad after all.