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Mixed Bag 2
Apr. 8th, 2016 11:43 amThis time it's bloodworms and daphnia.
Rory2 is still swollen and is whitish around his belly scales. Could be the onset of anaemia,so I thought a mix of waterfleas and bloodworms might help. The water has cleared,which means the bacterial bloom has gone. I can try to treat Rory2 separately by buying a new hospital tank plus pump plus antibiotics plus another bucket...but he is so swollen that if this is dropsy, he is on his way out, and little can help except to make him comfortable. This is why I have dumped the fasting idea. There's no point stressing him out any further. What time he has may as well be a good time. And if anything is going to get his digestive system going it is this kind of diet.
God, I hope these little guys aren't conscious. Aware of a possible need for confirmation bias, I truly don't think there is much more to them than wriggling around.But they are a natural prey for fish,their presence in the tank provides opportunities for proper piscine behaviours and health. Even now, the cories are woofling around joyfully in the sand, while the platties dedicate themselves to daphnia hunting. Sometimes the platties lose - they grab a flea which darts out of their mouth and swims off. Must be a sobering moment to realise your food can outwit you, even from behind your teeth.
I hate the whole live food thing - it's one of the reasons why I didn't have a pet snake back in the 90s. But to be honest, I have seen crickets and certainly mice show fear in various situations, and in most snake tanks, it isn't even about getting the snake into a pattern of normal behaviour because there's nowhere for the prey to go, and they know it. I have been watching the daphnia/bloodworm chowdown and see nothing I can identify as distress or even comprehension on the part of the prey. Then again, I'm hardly an expert on flea behaviour. The bloodworm and waterfleas are living in a tupperware box in the small fridge, under clingfilm. It's a curious sight next to the yoghurt. I am trying not to find it offputting.
Rory2 is still swollen and is whitish around his belly scales. Could be the onset of anaemia,so I thought a mix of waterfleas and bloodworms might help. The water has cleared,which means the bacterial bloom has gone. I can try to treat Rory2 separately by buying a new hospital tank plus pump plus antibiotics plus another bucket...but he is so swollen that if this is dropsy, he is on his way out, and little can help except to make him comfortable. This is why I have dumped the fasting idea. There's no point stressing him out any further. What time he has may as well be a good time. And if anything is going to get his digestive system going it is this kind of diet.
God, I hope these little guys aren't conscious. Aware of a possible need for confirmation bias, I truly don't think there is much more to them than wriggling around.But they are a natural prey for fish,their presence in the tank provides opportunities for proper piscine behaviours and health. Even now, the cories are woofling around joyfully in the sand, while the platties dedicate themselves to daphnia hunting. Sometimes the platties lose - they grab a flea which darts out of their mouth and swims off. Must be a sobering moment to realise your food can outwit you, even from behind your teeth.
I hate the whole live food thing - it's one of the reasons why I didn't have a pet snake back in the 90s. But to be honest, I have seen crickets and certainly mice show fear in various situations, and in most snake tanks, it isn't even about getting the snake into a pattern of normal behaviour because there's nowhere for the prey to go, and they know it. I have been watching the daphnia/bloodworm chowdown and see nothing I can identify as distress or even comprehension on the part of the prey. Then again, I'm hardly an expert on flea behaviour. The bloodworm and waterfleas are living in a tupperware box in the small fridge, under clingfilm. It's a curious sight next to the yoghurt. I am trying not to find it offputting.
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