fish behavior

[j.w]

If you are gonna use kitty litter to pot your plants in don't use that kind that you have. Get the kind that says 100% clay w/ no perfumes, additives etc. You can buy a 25 lb bag at Wal-mart called Special kitty, in a red bag for under $5.

 

[oneman1pond]

This is going to be a bit much, so please bear with me. First I want toThank you all. I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself or a better way to explain it is that I might be trying to learn to much at the same time. I read everything from what yall say and what I read on the internet and try to soak it in as much as I can. I watch videos on youtube and they make it look so easy.
I recently bought a 55 gal aquarium that I planned on using as a QT tank. The thing is I'm wanting to house (quarantine) a few Shubunkins in there before I add them to my pond. I will never add another fish to my pond without observing them for at least a 2 week period....PERIOD! The reason being is that I want to slowly get rid of some of the smaller goldfish that are in my pond now, possibly housing a few in the 55gal tank and also by giving some away and thus having a Shubinkin pond with a few chosen goldfish. With the tank I got a nice air pump, a heater, a few nice ornaments, a bio filter that needs filters, a fish net and chemicals witch include a BS Ph kit. The Ph kit does not have any instructions so I have no clue on how to use it so im probably going to buy a new one witch I should have done already.

I was looking at how to do water changes for a few hours today on aquariums and I noticed a lot of people doing it differently and saying how they do it is the correct way.?! The way I felt would be best for me would be a Gravel cleaner. I found one on amazon for like $35 called the python. It has a lot of great reviews. Also some are saying 25% others are saying 50% or more once a week, every other week and so on. From what I gathered when I do put water back in the tank, it should be just about the same temp. I should treat it or de-chlorinate it. If possible let it set for a day or two and if I can put some sort of air stone in it. Also I shouldn't dump the water in I should gradually add the water. What I don't really understand is the cleaning of the filter part. What water should I use to clean the filters, the water that I took out of the tank? Or the water I'll add to the tank? (confused) Is the pond water changes done the same way? I don't have a back flush system as of yet nor do I really understand how to make one work for my pond. YES I'M THAT GUY! I have to get my pond done and it seems like I came to a stall on the small project.

When I got home from work I done a little observing of the fish. Again most where huddled in the corner under the shelf. I'm thinking they feel the safest their. A few where on the bottom under a rock, I'm figuring that's where the Shubs were because I didn't see them. A few were swimming around and I noticed one little guy swimming all crazy like. Real fast all around the pond, my son thought that was cool. Also I looked as closely as I could and it doesn't appear that any of the goldfish have clamped fins. I done some research on that today as well. (I'm trying yall) From what I can tell They look like they should. I have a ton more questions but ill leave it alone for right now. I have a good friend that is going to come over tomorrow to teach me a few things. I'll let yall know how it goes!

 

[oneman1pond]

Ok I just tested my water from the API Ph kit. It turned a light blue color. The chart that im looking at online is saying it's probably around 8-8.5 and from what I gather is that the water is alkaline. (NOT GOOD) right? now I'm off to research how to lower the Ph safely!!! As im reading, again people have different oppinions on what is safe and what is not. some say that 8 is fine and other say it's not. I don't know if I should freak out or stay calm. I will check it in the morning but doesn't the ph rise in the afternoon and settle back down in the evenings?
Again I only have a fountain as of right now. Is that enough aeration for right now? I need a bigger pump to push the water up to my water fall and through the bio-filter. The one I have isn't strong enough. ARRRrrrrggggh!

Could that be a reason why the Shubs and the majority of the goldfish are not really swimming around?

 

[gardengimp]

OneMan - pH of 8 - 8.5 is just about perfect for goldfish. But, you should check it several times, and at different times of the day. Don't try to lower it.

JW- do you west coasters get the red special kitty and us east coasters get the blue? My special kitty from Wally World comes in blue bags. In fact, going to bring home some more tomorrow. Need to put some out in the lawn, it's getting to be the hot and dry season here. Hmm, maybe that's why the neighborhood cats come fertilize my yard. Oh, and one of my lily pots needs topping off. Couldn't figure out what was going on, the sand level kept going down, and down. Mystery solved! I've got the cutest big tadpoles [Southern Leopard Frog] swimming around in the pond right now. See them at night, guess they spent the cold time in the pot of sand.

 

[j.w]

GG I suppose that must be the case w/ the colored bags of kitty litter as long as it says 100% clay and has no additives then it should be the same thing. We should prolly be very careful when buying this stuff and make sure each time we buy it they haven't changed anything in it cuz these businesses nowadays will all of a sudden change the ingredients in stuff and then we could be in deep doo doo if we use it in our ponds.

 

[addy1]

They changed the color of our bags last year, went from red to blue, but still pure clay

 

[j.w]

I suppose we will get the color change eventually too as everything that happens back east always gets here sooner or later. We are always the last to see the changes out here in the west.