New tank

[jenny]

ok i got my new tank! yay! its 36 by 24 by 12. quite disappointed though i was expecting them to be swimmin around like mad when they went in but instead elizabeth is sat on top of harriet who is half under a rock!
it seems that harriet has bit a bit of elizabeths tail off. so its nice to see that he has forgiven her for it.
how cheeky! elizabeth just started jumpin about on harriet till she moved from under the rock and then went under himself.

will take some pix soon.

omg omg elizabeth is going mad around the tank smackin his head against pebbles and the glass n stuff and squirming....whats up with him???

 

[sharon]

LOL! You sound a bit like me.

Maybe the temperature difference kicked in?

Sharon

 

[katy]

if you put in a cave (or even a mug) for them to hide in, they should stop the biting

 

[jenny]

theyve settled ok in the tank now. i put lil oswold in with them to see how he goes but elizabeth doesnt like him and i came home to find he is missing a back leg and some skin so he is back in his old tank now. how long do they take to grow to about 5 inches. (i got elizabeth and harriet as adullts)

im actually really start to dislike elizabeth. i try and feed her by dropping a worm near her and sometimes she doesnt see it so when she keeps on missing it i put her in another tank so that i can get the worm back easily without it diggin under the pebbles and she goes in a mood with me and just ignores food so then i put her back in her tank and she just turns her back to me.

btw are slugs ok to feed em? cos there are loads in my garden at night! feeding them guppies would be so much easier but my bf bought a tropical fish tank and i chose all the fish inc 3 guppies which i specifically chose and took the pet shop boy ages to chase the right ones then named them jacob, guppie and amelia so i feel bad feeding my axys other guppies.

 

[katy]

i'm not sure about slugs, axies'd probably eat them, but you'd need to breed them in a controlled environment if you wanted to feed them safely to axies, though, because there are pesticides and other nasties in your garden you wouldn't want the axies eating.

it might help to hand feed elizabeth if she doesn't go for the loose worm. or try sticking the worm on the end of a blunt skewer or hold it with tweezers if she won't take it from your fingers.

 

[mik]

just leave the worm she'll get it later or she aint hungry. Take it out next day with tank-vac or turkey baster.

If you feed from fingers everytime be prepared for fussy axies. Best chuck food in close to them and leave them to get on with it. Take out uneaten next morning.

I reckon slugs could find way out of your tank quite easy so i wouldn't try it plus weird -slug parasites and stuff.yuk.

Jenny u can get about 1200 feeder guppies for about 30 quid at a new aqua shop at Guide Bridge, Ashton-Under-Lyne. he is getting me some I'll let you know ups & downs once they arrive.

Get worms from a bait/angling shop.

Finally if you feed in a seperate tank it will help keep your main tank clean and they will learn to eat when u put them in it. then they are only out of your main tank for about 10-15mins. But with gupppies this would be unnecessary

 

[jenny]

1200! whoa! where you gonna put those!!!

most places i see, guppies are like £1.65 but tim whalley pet shop in wigan sells them for 55p or 4 for a pound. think i will just feed guppies. bet it well hurts them though, just being swollowed alive and being burnt from the axys stomach acids.

 

[kaysie]

Food chain, Jenny. I was telling in chat last night that I apologize to all my worms before I cut them up, and tell them that they're now joining the food chain.

 

[kim]

Mik,

It would be great if you could let me know about the guppies, I am currently trying to breed the normal fancy ones you get in the pet shop, they seem to be doin fine but its a shame to feed them to my axo's but hey food chain!

I cant find any feeders around here, in (Milton Keynes) and i would much appreciate if you could maybe send some to me?

Anyway let me Know

Cheers

 

[mik]

Yeah Kim tried it and I got quite few babies but the parents soon died. But these were the fancy little beggars not feeders. Jenny feeders are small, basically fry, the ones you buy at 1.65 are for the keepers out there.

Got fed up with guppies but having much more success with mollies, they're hardier, have more babies and I find the survival rate is higher.

But until I have a self-sustaniing stock I am considering the feeders. Lets see what the my shop comes back with and I'll be happy to let you know what happens.

As for food chain i tried one shop who said they could order them but wouldn't because they don't hold with feeding live food. He didn't seem to have a problem selling me daphnia, brine shrimp or bloodworms! Must be nice to be able to categorise food and life so well.

 

[mik]

oh yeah with feed being 10-20mm I would expect my axies to devour 4-6 of these each everyday, given their current consumption rate of worms.

Let see 6 adult axies x 5 each = 30 per day
1200 would last 40 days assuming no fatalites which is unlikely

 

[jenny]

feeder guppies? what do they look like? the ones i buy for four for two pounds look exactly the same as the ones in other pet shops for 1.65. well thats females that are 4 for 2 pounds male are 4 for 2.50 but they are proper ones as well because the lad who worked at the pet shop who got me the fish was like dont tell her behind the counter they are food or she wont let you have them. will guppies def not breed in cold water? because no way will my mum allow me to get another fish tank with heater etc