My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?

[Viktor Jarikov]

In short, the three 14inch white sturgeon would rather die than adapt to the new tank geometry and flow. None had any appetite in the 2 weeks here, not even a shade of appetite. One was doing better, as in swimming laps half the time and not trying to jump out of the water, one was doing less of the sticking out of the water, and one wanted to jump out of the water 90% of the time in the last 3-5 days. So we moved them to an oval 180 gal tub and created a circular flow for them. They seem to be improving. Haven't tried feeding yet.

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

As you know the female Volta has been looking kind of shabby in the 25K, causing concern for me for the last year. I finally decided to rehome it back to the 1800 gal where she had come from, for closer observation and hopefully healing and plumping up.

[Viktor Jarikov]

It would seem that I've encountered for the first time that our dorado catfish has been refusing a slightly less familiar feed (fed only occasionally) for several weeks, which led it to attack the bala shark. Of course, I cannot refute an alternative explanation involving two mere coincidences - of the switch to a slightly new feed and my dialing back the elevated water hardness, and of the return to a more familiar feed and the end of the acclimation period to the lower water hardness. But two coincidences seems too much.

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[naturalart]

So happy he is still alive. You know Viktor, maybe it's not the swim bladder that is the problem. Maybe it started doing it because of the eye? I've had fish with missing eyes, some are ok with it, some are not ok with it. Some die from it. What if its trying to keep the eye out of the water because of infection? Just a thought.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Thank you. Another peer had similar thoughts too. I doubt it has anything to do with the eye because the fish had been doing quite well, as well as its 100 two-eyed kin, at the vendors for a long time, months or maybe a year. It's gotta be the temperature. They cannot adjust to temps higher than their usual (72-74F top) so fast and at such smaller sizes. It needs to be done slower, over months, even if possible. It might have been the best if I brought them in winter but the vendor said they might not have them so long.

***

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]

[Viktor Jarikov]