Multiplyin' !!!

Recently we seperated a few baby fishes that we saw swimming around. This was to ensure they didn't become sashimi to the other bigger fishes. Imagine our surprise when today we saw lots and lots of fries! They were hovering over the metal mesh we were using to grow one of the plants. (See slightly blur pic below)

Upon closer observation, I realize there were about 20+ of them. We're not sure who are the parents but we suspect them to be pencil fishes (from the way they hover about). Now we've got a full set of Staedtler pencils :p.

We'll have to wait for them to grow bigger to confirm if they are pencil fishes. Meanwhile, we can enjoy observing them while they are still small and cute.

For a side update, out of the 2 new Otos we brought in, 1 survived. From the looks of it, it'll be sticking around for quite awhile too, as it appears to be doing well now. The lone Oto can be seen sucking around such as in the picture.

Also bought 2 new SAEs today! They're like, half the size of the 2 original ones in the tank.

This will most likely be the last additions we'll be making to the tank for now as it's getting quite crowded with high fertility rates. I hope to 'renovate' the tank a little to make more swimming space for the fishes. But this will have to wait till after the exams. Happy mugging everyone!

got fish?

Today me, JJ and Liren went to the Tiong Bahru fish shop, called Wu Hu Shui Zu. To those of you who are keeping fish in hall now, this shop is pretty cool, because they've got quite a variety of fish, and different from the ones in clementi. I like the shop also because you can walk properly through the aisles without having to keep going 'excuse me excuse me'. It's also because the fish look quite well kept. Certain fishes might be more expensive here (eg. rummy noses are cheaper at the clementi fish shop)

Kuhli Loaches (Pangio kuhlii) (credit photo to my trusty w810i)

I got 3x Kuhli Loaches! (yay!). Don't wanna practise favourtism here, but Kuhli Loaches are like the coolest fishes in the tank. The ones I got are comparatively smaller than the original ones in the tank. It can grow up to a maximum of 4 inches, so think it's got about another inch to go.

Got this bit of info from http://www.loaches.com/species-index/pangio-kuhlii: "All kuhlis need well-established aquaria and should not be considered for newly start-up tanks. Lots of hiding places with soft substrate. Best kept in groups, the larger the better. Three fish is the absolute minimum it should be kept together". Phew, good thing I got 3 then. Maybe the old one died from loneliness. Although the loaches don't move around much in the open, but they're quite fascinating to watch when they finally make an appearance.

Otocinclus (Otocinclus affinus) credit photo to www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm

Also got 2 x Otos! Oto @ Otto is short for Otocinclus. Got them to hopefully help me combat the algae that keeps growing on the glass. If not i'll have to keep scrubbing like crazy every once in a while. Was going to buy more but Liren wisely advised me against it as they tend to die easily.

Also got this bit of info from http://www.fishpondinfo.com/otto.htm: "People often have trouble keeping newly purchased otocinclus alive. This is due to a number of reasons. First, most ottos are caught in the wild so they have to suffer long trips to get to the aquarium store. Then, often the stores do not take good care of the fish. They may keep them in clean tanks with nothing to eat but whatever prepared foods that the care giver dumps into the tank. Ottos prefer to eat soft algae and will not do well if they do not have any. So, by the time someone buys a few ottos, they are often weak and starving. If they are then added to a tank without algae, they soon die. If the tank does in fact have algae, the ottos may eat most of that in short order and then starve, even with supplemental feeding." Hopefully this time round the otos can survive and live a good and long life. Definately not short in supply of algae in the hall tank, but not sure if it'll eat spot algae. If these 2 survive, i'm definately going to get a couple more though.

I'm thinking of getting a puffer for the tank coz there's too many friggin' snails! I'm waging a war against them after they botak-ed some new plants that I got. (grr...) Stay tuned for updates!

Note: Wu Hu Aquarium can be found at Blk 71 #01-39, Seng Poh Road. Singapore 160071.