The Beauty of Ping Pong Pealscale Goldfish

my pearlscale goldfish happily swimming in the tank

It has been some time since i started with pearlscale and so far I can consider them stable and no more loosing any of those. I started early this year and lost up to 3 pearlscale in the process. Now I able to keep them happy and lets hope nothing happened to them.

If you are interested in pearlscale. Please do check out my previous post on tips and guided for pearlscale. Something i discovered about their diet.

"Ping Pong" pearlscale from the top view

Growth food such as Saki Hikari for golfish is a nono for these fish. I tried all meals on Saki Hikari. They grow fast then they die.
Mantainace food is the key here. These small fellas cannot handle growth too much. Now I am feeding them Hikari Tropical -Micro Wafers. This product is small enough for these small mouth fish and still packed with nutrients minus the growth. I ended up with this product cause normally the food for goldfish are too big in size for small size pearlscale. They eat like gluttons so something small is good. A treat of tubifex worms and blood worms are good too. I normally feed them just before water changes to make sure the water quality is not affected.

Saki Hikari for goldfish is not recommended. Try Micro Wafers instead

Some tips:
1. Check the pH of the tank frequently. Acidic water kills. I lost a fish because of that.
2. Be careful with their diet. Pearlscale are easily float able or swim bladder disease.
3. Simple filter or no filter with frequent water changes. I change mine every 2-3 days.

Product Review -Neon Water Conditioner

Neon Water Conditioner (7in1 multipurpose water conditioner)
The liquid is yellowish in color

I have stumble upon this so called 7 in 1 water conditioner and decided to give it a review on one of our Malaysian product. The Neon brand is not very well know in the local scene because not many LFS carry them and one more thing they are "Made in Malaysia". Hobbyist tends to have a negative perspective about local products. One of the shopkeepers told be that the margin of Neon and Nika products are low, thats the reason of them not carrying it.
To tell the truth I was not aware of this 7 in 1 water conditioner until my friend, Erin recommended the product to me. I myself never heard of this brand so I decided to give it a try.
Below is the description given in its leaflet

Neon Water Conditioner
(7 in 1 multipurpose conditioner)
This water conditioner when added to the aquarium, will detoxifies ammonia, removes chlorine, chloramines and heavy metal instantly. Dosage may be repeated weekly, thereby reducing the frequency of water change. It can also protects slime coat on fish, inhibits growth of harmful bacteria and promotes healthy gill function. In can be used for fresh and salt water aquarium.

As for the Directions for use on the bottel.
Add 1ml of Neon Water Conditioner to every 10 liters (2.7 US gallons or 2.2 UK gallons).

The price I got this was less than RM10 (it was on promotion) for a 500ml bottle. Looks like it can treats 5000 liters.

normal tap water - chlorine is detected (yellowish) With Neon Water Conditioner- no chlorine detected

As for the test:
chlorine test -
It does remove chlorine as claimed
pH test -
Before -pH 7 After - pH7 (does not affect the pH of water)
Other tests not conducted.

Conclusion:
Nice product with so many functions and cheap. It is definitely worth a try. Could improve alot on its packing. It really looks like a homemade product with no address or telephone. Even with a better website or product leaflet.

MAC/EA Nano Tank Aquascaping Competition

Malaysian Aquascaping Club (MAC)/ East Aqua Official Set

Malaysian Aquascaping Club and East Aqua Studio's have joint organize an aquascaping competition at Ikano, Mutiara Damansara for this upcoming 21st January 2006. The official nano tank (which includes filter, lighting system, soil and some samples) are available at any East Aqua Studio. I just got my set and the price for the whole set is RM 148 which is a very good deal for starters. Just check the price of the ADA soil and you will know what I mean.

Ocean Free Hang On Filter (HOB) which is included in the pack

Other goodies are also thrown in like fish food and Sera's sample. Well i find it quite redundant. They should have thrown in more aquatic plants products rather than fish products.
Anyone that is interested in joining can just go to East Aqua Ikano or East Aqua Cheras to obtain the tank. Please remember to bring back the tank on the 20th January if you want to participate.

3 lit ADA Soil (can choose between Amazonian, Malaya and African)and some samples and goodies included

People who are interested please get your tank fast. It is a good starter tank. (Just missing CO2 and fertilizer)