The qt was at the right temperature and all, so we thought we’d transfer some babies across, largely to make it easier to catch them from KB when she wants them. We did it nicely – into the isolation tank to get used to the temperature (a degree or so different); a bit of water to mix after a while; repeat, and then in. We had one dead at about 4:30, and a couple looking ill. Tonight, at 10:30, I’ve interred about 20. I’ve transferred the more lively one back into the main tank, and left a few in the qt to see what happens. It smells, which may be indicative of a problem… there’s a lot of poo on the bottom, too. I’m so sad. Too eager – always too eager – I should have been more cautious and let the tank get settled more, there will have been some sort of cycling I’m sure even with the gravel to seed it…and there may not be enough gravel in there to do that properly… sigh. I’m feeling very sad, awful and hopeless. And I couldn’t catch Miss Molly; she’s terrified of the green net.

And I’m worried about a couple of the tetras – they seem to have white stuff coming out of their bottoms. It could have been poo, but it seemed to stay there and not go anywhere for quite a while. I’ll check again in the morning, when the light’s on.

Very late at night

I believe the cause of death may well have been the fact that the pH in the qt is around 7.6.