Re: RC: water tank fish??

["Dave n Deb Stoppkotte" <davndeb@farmwagon.com>]

We have to be very careful when using goldfish.  I used feeder goldfish the
first year and they grew great.  Our only trouble is that our well water has
lots of methane gas in it and it will kill the fish - fast.  The best luck I
had was when I used an automatic filler, the methane didn't build up since
the water never dropped very much.  We have so much methane in our water
that you can light the water on fire - just fill a milk jug and drop in a
match and stand back.  Really an interesting conversation piece.  LOL
Debi in Illinois

----- Original Message -----
From: <tallcarabs@juno.com>
To: <Kenzie_Kelly@spc.com>
Cc: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 4:41 PM
Subject: RC: RC: water tank fish??


> Wow,  you've really put a lot of thought into this.  I have 4 large tanks
> and all I did was go to the pet store and get a dozen feeder fish (12 for
> $1).  Usually about 6-8 would die in the following weeks, but the ones
> that survived are still here -- that was 20 years ago for the first tank.
>  I've never fed them.  Just put them in and forget about them.  Some of
> the fish would get sucked in when a horse unused to fish came up to drink
> -- the fish seem to love to nibble on the horse's nose.  There's always
> hay dropped into the bottom which makes hiding places.  All I do is once
> a year I dump the water and wash out the silt on the bottom.  The sides
> are devoid of algae -- just the calcium deposits.  What's nice is no
> scrubbing of the algae, no mosquitoes, and a fun conversation piece when
> a guest notices all those orange and white blobs swimming around in the
> troughs!
>
> Rae
> Tall C Arabians -- TX
>
> On Thu, 8 Jun 2000 12:59:04 -0400 Kenzie_Kelly@spc.com writes:
> >
> > For bugs and mosquito larvae, simple goldfish are best.  Let the
> > fresh
> > tank water sit for 24 hours before adding them to allow the chlorine
> > to evaporate.  I don't know how safe dechlorinators are for horsey
> > consumption, so I wouldn't try it.  You can get a cheap glass gallon
> > fish bowl to house them while the water settles.
> >
> >      For algae, get a plecostomous.  Avoid the fish labeled as
> > "algae
> >      eaters" in the pet store - they are very destructive and will
> > breed
> >      like rabbits.  Also, they are carnivorous and will eat your
> > goldfish.
> >
> >      If the water temperature gets below 40 degrees, stop feeding
> > the
> >      goldfish.  As long as the tank doesn't freeze solid, and you
> > melt a
> >      hole in the ice for oxygen transfer, they'll be fine.  Don't
> > cheat and
> >      break the ice - the concussion will kill them.
> >
> >      The plecostomous is a warm water fish, and will need to be
> > brought
> >      inside when the water temperature drops below 60 or so degrees.
> >  Buy
> >      the smallest one you can find.  They will grow to fit the size
> > of your
> >      tank.  If you can find someone with a 75 gallon tank, you might
> > be
> >      able to work a deal to "overwinter" your pleco.  Large ones are
> > hard
> >      to come by, and very expensive.  There are online fish
> > suppliers - if
> >      anyone has trouble finding a pleco, let me know and I'll dig
> > out my
> >      best sources.
> >
> >      The goldfish and the pleco will thank you for hiding places.  A
> > few
> >      rocks or a small concrete block with holes through it is
> > perfect.
> >      It's a good idea to feed the goldfish every 3 days or so.
> > Don't
> >      overfeed - just what they'll eat in a few minutes.  Try to
> > locate your
> >      tank where it's at least partially shaded.  If the water gets
> > too hot,
> >      the fish will stress and get diseased.
> >
> >      If anyone would like to know more, I'll be happy to go into the
> > finer
> >      points of aquaria.  ;)
> >
> >      Kenzie  (who left her 100gal tank behind with her ex-fiancee)
> >      Birmingham, AL
> >      http://kenzie_k.tripod.com/zane.html
> >
> >
> >
> >
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