Day 6: Red & Stumpy

Stumpy says "Hi!"

Woohoo! We're all still here this morning and so far both Red and Stumpy are looking active and happy and on top of the world.  We had a bit of drama yesterday when Stumpy just got super lethargic and started folding over and acting weirdly.  We changed their bowls out for long plastic tub containers, so they can swim around a bit more now.  We also gave them a cave to hide in and explore.  Both seem to have perked up since that water change, so I think there was something wrong with that batch of water... maybe I didn't leave it to stand long enough.

Both pooped some last night. Stumpy's was healthy and brown and two healthy pieces on opposite ends of the bowl which I think might mean he went twice?

Red's was healthy too, but a little strange. He has one piece but them 4 or so little I guess the only way to describe them would be pellets... like tube shaped though... Maybe he was just nervous. haha

Red says, "Hi!"

Food wise Red still continues to refuse pellets, soaked in garlic juice, bloodworm melt or shrimp brine melt and he also isn't fooled when you roll one up in shrimp and brine and hand it to him. He IS getting less shy about coming to fetch his food from me. Today he ate two healthy mouthfuls of a mixture of bloodworm and brine (the only way I can get him to eat bloodworm).

Stumpy was his usual glutton self. Ate everything I offered. Two pellets soaked in garlic water and a mouthful and a half of the shrimp and blood worm mix. He is scary when he eats because that belly swells up instantly and he looks like he may pop. But I now know it goes down in an hour or so.

This morning I took OFLs advice and skipped a salt bath while I washed out their bowls. I left them in bowl water in their Walmart cups instead. Their bowls today are treated with Jungle Start Right, and 1tsp/gal of Epsom salts. Even though it goes down significantly a short while after meals, the bloat still concerns me so I want to make sure they're not stopped up at all.

Red from above

Red's right gill is still a tiny bit open, but it is definitely showing improvement and is barely even noticeable on photos. Stumpy's right gill is still wide open and unchanged at all. I don't know that it will ever go back down, so it's a good thing he's got other breathing options right!

Stumpy from above

My question is... of the bloat and the gill problem, which is more concerning? Bloat = epsom salt, gill issues = aquarium salt and I guess I want to figure out which I should be dosing their tank with for the next 4 days (up to 10 days) or should I alternate?