The 33rd day

I fed the algae eaters with blanched zucchini. The bigger Oto was eating it for a while but the SAE seem to be more interested in it later on. I am not sure for how long you should boil the zucchini. I did it for a minute or so. I will leave it in till tomorrow morning. Let the snails have a bit.
I read a lot of aquarium catastrophe stories and I was preparing my self for this 180 liter tank to be the opposite... the perfect habitat for my plants and fish. One of my Otos was euthanized cause it was getting some strange white patches on its body. This morning I discovered one of my Cardinals having golden patches, over the blue line only! Now, that is strange! My pet shop said that that kind of Velvet disease you can find only in brackish waters and that the freshwater velvet is white. It is true that one of my Angels and my SAEs are scratching against plants and driftwood which is a syndrome for this disease. The good thing is that the parasite dies in 24 hours if not inside the fish and that it needs lights to make chlorophyll. None of my other fish is having any dusty patches on their bodies. I euthanized the affected Cardinal. I don't have money nor space to have a quarantine tank. Sad but true. I removed the light reflectors to reduce the light and will have lights for only 10 hours. The temperature is 27-28'C which helps. The water is OK. The diet is fine. With all this the fish might resist the parasite, with a strong immune system. I can't use medication because I don't have extra place to move out the SAE, Otos and Amano shrimps. They can't survive the medication. I am sure that I introduced the Velvet with the fish. Any way, hope that this will pass away without any major casualties. Will know in a few days.
I don't want my story to be the catastrophe one.

Photo by Dusko Bojic