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Just moved - almost lost a fish
#1
Guest_gzeiger_*
Posted 16 January 2012 - 10:07 PM
The new tank has 50 pounds of Special Kitty litter to grow plants. The 5 days they spent in a 5 gallon bucket seems to have removed the algae that was clinging to them before, and I think I've eliminated the trumpet snails in favor of native ramshorns.
When I added the fish I just dumped them from a 5 gallon bucket, thinking that would be the least stressful. They were still understandably spooked, and immediately dove for cover including trying to swim into the substrate. One unfortunate bluespotted sunfish succeeded. The particles of kitty litter are evidently light and loose-packing enough when new that he was able to burrow in. It took me almost a full minute to find him - only the tip of his tail was visible. I dug him out, and he just kind of sat there, breathing hard, with mud stuck all over in his slime coat. I'm sure he would have died if I hadn't pulled him out.
#2
Guest_EricaWieser_*
Posted 17 January 2012 - 12:06 AM
*headdesk*They were still understandably spooked, and immediately dove for cover including trying to swim into the substrate. One unfortunate bluespotted sunfish succeeded. The particles of kitty litter are evidently light and loose-packing enough when new that he was able to burrow in. It took me almost a full minute to find him - only the tip of his tail was visible. I dug him out, and he just kind of sat there, breathing hard, with mud stuck all over in his slime coat. I'm sure he would have died if I hadn't pulled him out.
Here, take a look at this photo: http://gallery.nanfa...hiding.jpg.html
Yeah, that's happened to my Elassoma gilberti, too. Poor fish. I now pack the kitty litter down with my hands as soon as there's an inch of water in the tank. Then I continue filling the tank, slowly. If you pour water directly on the kitty litter, it's extremely dusty. I use a Python faucet connection to fill the tank without disturbing the hard packed, yet dusty and fragmentable, substrate.
You have to pack the kitty litter down with your hands to condense it. It can be loose or dense, depending on whether or not you pack it. If you pack it together, it can be like a rock. If you pack it, the fish won't be able to burrow into it.
Edited by EricaWieser, 17 January 2012 - 12:17 AM.
#3
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
Posted 17 January 2012 - 01:40 PM
#4
Guest_mywan_*
Posted 17 January 2012 - 02:19 PM
Just my guess.
#5
Guest_EricaWieser_*
Posted 17 January 2012 - 02:58 PM
Oh, that makes sense. In my experience when you go to catch a fish with a net they always swim down. If you come up underneath it with the net they don't see it until the last moment and even then swim down into it. Catching fish can be really difficult if you come at them with the net from the side or above.I would suspect that the fish are simply trying to find rock crevices, or partly exposed root system, to prevent predators from getting access to them.
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