Feeding Time!

Wen Growth

The wen - the head-growth on an Oranda goldfish - to me, is the reason why Oranda's are so beautiful. Who wouldn't want to squeesh that cute little head when it gets pushed into the palm of your hand looking for food.

What's the best way then to sustain a well developed growth? A higher protein diet fed to a young goldfish in the first 2 years of its life.

Well that's the theory, which i'll be putting to the test and documenting.  Of course genetics plays a role in the development of the wen too, in fact, quite a big role. Some goldfish might never develop a wen, while others will need surgery to cut the overly large growth away from their eyes in order for them to see properly (not kidding!).

So, to start the project off, i have obtained photos of my two volunteers:

Contestant No 1: Gabby is a beautiful 8 month old Oranda goldy. 

An avid swimmer, she dislikes lazy fishes and fruit.  A thin layer 

of wen growth can be seen on the top of her head. 

Contestant No 2: Franny is a 1 year+ old Calico Oranda. She has a 

lovely nature and striking tail. She loves bloodworms, hanging out 

and meeting new friends.. uumm.. fishies. Her wen has already 

started developing, however, new growth is progressing slowly.

Group Shot!

Things to ponder

Fish tanks are for fishes, not decorations. Keep the deco at a minimum, your fishies will be safer and happier that way!

Once your bio-media is on track and your tank is established, don't go poking around too much! The tank will mini-cycle every time. Don't fix what's not broken!

Don't remove too much gravel at one time - bad.. bad idea! You will go through a mini-cycle blip if you do, instead remove a handful or too with each water change.

How to disinfect plants

I bought a couple of plants today and thought i would share my experience with disinfecting plants in order to get rid of any unwanted parasites (like Ich that can hitchhike on the little bit of water droplets attached to a plant). Even if the tank you bought the plants from does not contain fish, snails or snail eggs can travel on plants, which in turn, can have parasites.

Required: Potassium Permanganate (PP) - also called Condy Crystals, purchased from most any chemist. Apparently they used PP to disinfect lettuce back in the day :)

To Make A Stock Solution (courtesy my forum at thegab.com):
"Thoroughly wash and dry a 1 liter coke (or other) bottle.
Fill the bottle half full of hot tap water.
Add two and one-half (2-1/2) LEVEL TEAspoons (about 15 grams) of PP to the bottle.
Cap the bottle and shake very well for one minute.
Let the resulting purple-black solution stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Shake occasionally.
Invert the bottle and inspect the bottom and sides for any PP crystals which have not dissolved. Continue shaking until all have dissolved.
Top-off the bottle with additional tap water (hot, cold, warm... no matter) and shake once more to mix.

The resulting "stock solution" contains 15 grams of potassium permanganate per liter (15g/L of KMnO4 or a 1.5% dilution).

Then using that stock solution:
1 ppm = 0.25 mL of stock solution per US Gallon.

Then you use the stock solution at the following doses to get the ppm you want to use.
1 ppm = 0.25 mL of stock solution per US Gallon
2 ppm = 0.50 mL of stock solution per US Gallon
3 ppm = 0.75 mL of stock solution per US Gallon
4 ppm = 1.0 mL of stock solution per US Gallon
5 ppm = 1.25 mL of stock solution per US Gallon
6 ppm = 1.5 mL of stock solution per US Gallon
...
10ppm = 2.5 mL of stock solution per US Gallon

So if you have a 10 gallon tank and want a 3ppm concentration, You'd add 7.5 ml."

I used an 8L plastic bucket, filled it with cold water and added a 5ml concentration to it (since 1US g = about 4L) (tsp used = 0.625ml x 8)

Soak the plants overnight (not just 30 minutes). Drain and add fresh water. Stir in some water conditioner/dechlorinator which will neutralise the PP. Double the dosage on the dechlorinator. Rinse plants again. Add to tank

So then i went WHOOOA!