29/07/2006
TANK 1: Odessa Barbs Added -11 June 2005
I added 2 Odessa Barbs to the tank today and will added several more in coming weeks. I am quite taken with this species of Barb and I am keen to added another species to the tank. Initial observations have seen the Odessa Barbs schooling with the China Barbs.
A quick census of the tank has revealed that there are now 5 Yabbies in the tank, with one having died a couple of days ago (a young one). One of the Yabbies appears to be carrying a heap of eggs on its underside.
Fish numbers remain fairly stable in this tank with there now being 6 Longfin Zebra Danios, 2 Odessa Barbs, 19 China Barbs, 3 Gold White Cloud Minnows and 3 White Cloud Minnows.
As the water has become colder due to the winter months having arrived, I have noticed that all the fish appear to be hugging the bottom of the tank. On warmer days the Danios and Mountain Clouds head toward the middle of the tank. The China Barbs appear to school very tightly at the moment and even appear to huddle inside a shelter in an attempt to stay warmer.
This tank is nowhere near as filthy as it was in the set up stages and can now be cleaned about every week and a half, as opposed to weekly cleans in the past. This may be because I have removed an old log I had in the tank, because I remove nearly 4/5s of the water each clean and have removed most of the plants which were being quickly destroyed by the Yabbies and probably fouling the water as a result.
29/07/2006