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Thanks all, I started with the salt as @Colu suggested so we'll see how things stand in a week. I do feed at least a half dozen different foods so I don't think it's nutritional but it's good to know for whoever might read this in the future. His eye is cloudy but not totally white so I have hope maybe it can repair itself, though he doesn't seem to see too well out of that side. I'm not sure if it was absolutely correct to do so but today I put in some Nitrofurazone flakes with their regular flakes. Hopefully he'll eat some of those.

Over the last few years, I have fed aquarium fish live foods. More recently, I have begun learning how to cultivate live foods. It is sometimes a challenge to get things right, but where successful, live foods is a game-changer with bringing fish into spawning condition and nurturing fry through their first month of life. I hope this journal will prove helpful for aquarists looking to get at least one view on several live food species. Call it a live-foods-cookbook. By all means, if you’re a cook, please share YOUR recipes too! Today, I time visiting with a friend just 1-minute away. He is a genius! He wanted to show me his Daphnia tanks. I was so impressed: no water changes. 100% Aquaponics. Here are a couple photos I took with his permission… Daphnia magna - 10 gal (feeding yeast, below) Daphnia moina - 10 gal (feeding yeast below) The substrate in each is Oyster Shells available for under $20 at Tractor Supply… The emersed plants (Pothos, Mint, etc.) used for Aquaponics zero out Nitrate, but also strip out out the minerals. The Oyster shells keep the water bslanced. SO! I was impressed enough, that zI immediately went to town today to set up a spare 10-gal I’ve had sitting around, cycled. Here was the process: (1) Get lights screwed in for plant growth a Daphnia multiplication. (Daphnia require light to multiply) Before… So I added several LEDs… Then I washed out the Oyster Shells… Started setting up the tank… After adding cycled lava rock and cycled sponge filters, sponge filter squeezing from other sponges for bio… I added 3x new Mystery Snails… They began enjoying the digs right away… (BTW… I threw in a bunch of Susswassertang. Because. Just love that stuff!) In the end… Pothos added to floating pot for starting aquaponics… (Mint will go in tomorrow) I keep it in my fishroom bathroom closet… After it settles, and I can test to ensure that there is ample bacteria keeping it all cycled, I will pick up a generous starter of Daphnia magna from my friend. My goal is to cultivate these so well that I have live Daphnia to feed to fish twice a day. To feed the Daphnia, a liquid solution of Active-dry Yeast is prepared… I will go into detail on that in a followup post.

The tank arrived today. Need to start a journal but even still wrapped in the plastic, it's pretty. Foam leveling mat included.

Morning fellow nerms. How about a little coffee with TeeJay shall we .I hope everyone has a good thanksgiving and are waking out of your turkey comas. Not much to report on today but I do have have a new surprise coming very soon. In about a week or so maybe less. I will have a new trio of wet friends for the 29 gal tank. Names have already been picked out. So it won't be long until Lucy, Ethel, and Ricky will make there big debut. But what they are I cannot tell you that. Some things have to stay a surprise. Well time for work so as always keep it fishy my friends

A mama shrimp taking care of her eggs.

Congratulations. I recently began with Daphnia magna and moina to add to my worm and microfauna cultivation. I chose to cultivate live chlorella vulgaris as the food vs yeast etc. I’ll grab photos tomorrow. I use crushed coral as the substrate. My Moina sits in a pickle jar on my kitchen window ledge with a 10watt bullet heater. The chlorella itself is the filter and the self replicating food for daphnia and moina. Only water changes are drain a cup or a gallon to replace the chlorella when they run out of food. These are my favorite cultures. The food for them and they themselves self replicate so almost zero maintenance. I had a fry explosion so had to feed out the daphnia to open the tank. Once these fry are grown and gone I’ll again reset my daphnia. Here is a thread with some of my “recipes”

This is my longest running tank. Set it up Oct. 2021. Had this bent white cloud in it since the beginning. I’ve put other white clouds in to grow out over time. He’s had this female in there for about a year now, though. Some shrimp and snails. Pics are from set up to today.

Unlikely. Mulm is pretty harmless, and those symptoms seem pretty progressed for right afterwards. It's more likely they were already sick or stressed prior to that. I have drudged up tons of mulm before while cleaning with no averse side effects.

Not great but better, I didn't really realize how badly my shorter guys were being choked out.. ill probably give it a few days recovery before tearing through it again.

Nice. The secret for me was that they needed a lot more food than I expected, specifically protein I suspect. Blackworms can foul their water very fast so they needed more fresh, clean water and oxygen than I expected too. I think the biggest hurdle is finding a way to give them enough of what they need that's worth the time and effort for you. I fed them any sort of vegetable scrap form the kitchen, the end crust slices of wheat bread that no reasonable human wants to eat, and biofilm I grew by letting a small amount of molasses sit in a gallon jar of water for a few weeks. They'll eat fruit too but too much will cause a bacteria bloom which can cause oxygen problems. Or if you're made of money they'll go through a pack if spirulina wafers in no time. And always have backup cultures. I lost most of my worms multiple times the last year I had them because a pump failed, sponge filter clogged, or I didn't have the energy to change enough water. An extra tip... co-culturing daphnids with blackworms works really well. I'm not sure what they're eating but you don't even have to add any extra food to sustain a small population. Or if you want a larger population, feed spirulina powder. The daphnids eat the suspended power and the blackworms eat whatever settles to the bottom.

Since this seems to be the official red lizard whiptail thread: I just wanted to show off this little hotel I 3D printed for them. From what I can tell these fish like the half inch PVC pipes that are 6 inches long, so I designed these tubes with slots that can be put into this little hotel. They can slide in and out easily individually, and I can just take all of the caves out at once if needed. I didn't put it in my aquarium yet since I'd still like to do a little post-processing on them a bit, and maybe glue some moss on the outside so it doesn't look like a black brick haha. Hopefully the little guys will like this though!

She's wearing a ghillie suit! 😂

Red Cryptocoryne Pygmaea replaced where the AR mini was. Hopefully it doesn't get mad at me for moving it, trimming its roots and decide to melt.......

1. Yeah 1-1.5” is fairly accurate, they are a more full-bodied fish so they grow taller than wide 2. I have never observed aggressive fin nipping towards other species but they can pick on eachother sometimes. I only see this behavior when they are really stressed out though. But all tetra are capable of this behavior. 3. I believe them to be the only species of the genus to have a large blotch on the upper lateral line near the gill cover. Others have bars or are completely lacking. the species rosacius can have a diffuse blotching but they also tend to have white tipped fins rather than black 4. It appears that the redness of red phantoms is from the locale they were collected from as f0. They appear to retain these colors through the generations. The reddest ones being collected over blackwater habitats. Since almost all sweglesi are captive bred they are denoted with ‘strain names’

It's okay to fully submerge the roots. Every time I've grown any kind of dracaena in water (directly) I've kept the nodes above water. Even though the size is quite different, the concept is pretty similar to people who put pothos or other aroids in their tanks. Roots go under water, nodes go above.

I didn't do this today, but figured I'd share. I have been planning this tank Tetris move for nearly a month and finally got it done a little over a week ago. From right to left it is 2 custom low boys I made out of 29 gallons, sitting over a 150 gallon tub, sitting over a 40 gallon tub, then a 20 gallon long sitting over a 100 gallon tub, next is a shelf with a 40 gallon, a 29 gallon, and 2 10 gallons, sitting over a 75 gallon, with a 40 gallon tub kind of hidden on the floor in the back right corner. Next is a 50 gallon tub and hidden under that in the back left corner I have a 55 gallon drum for aging water that I pump out of my well. Also under the 50 gallon I have a trash can on wheels hooked to a transfer pump for water changes, and then all the way to the left is a 100 gallon tub. I used to have all my tanks spread out in a big room, I'd heat the room to 73 ish with a 4000 watt electric heater, and use heaters in the tanks closer to the floor that I needed a little warmer, now I have them all in this 8' x 8' x7' tall space under my loft/bunkbed, with a whole bunch of curtains hung up around it to trap the heat. So for the last week I've been using a good fan for circulation and the hot air from a dehumidifier to heat the space. The coldest my tanks get are 73-74ish and I'm down 20-30 kilowatts a day. This little change could save me 200+ dollars a month on electricity during these winter months.

Cant really say much without knowing your water parameters. Could be too much fertilizer could be something else. You said its freshly aquascaped so are the fish new to the tank? Maybe they just aren't comfortable in their new tank yet.

I got to enjoy a new fish day! These licorice gouramis are from AquaHuna and I was initially nervous because my water is definitely not at the pH that people throw around for these guys, but a few are already coloring up. They're chilling in my 15 cube (that I even gave two cute little caves for them 🥺) until they're done with observation. After that 2 are going into the family aquarium and 4 are staying in the cube for long-term residence.

Hey guys, Today, I've seen red lizards for the first time in my LFS, and I just fell in love with them. I wonder if anyone has any experience with Red Lizard Whiptails. Internet does not have a lot of info on them, and it is hard to come by fishkeeper experiences. We have chatted with @CJs Aquatics about them as I've seen their breeding topic today. They helped me a lot! I've read probably all info online by now, including a previous topic created in this forum around 2 years ago. But I would love to hear some personal experiences if anyone here has any. If you had any chance to keep them; - How many have you kept together under with what parameters/temp/tank size? - What was their diet like? Did yours like blanched veggies? Do they like to graze on algae and biofilm, or make any noticable difference? - If kept more than one, what was your m:f ration in what tank size? or any other stuff you'd like to share! Many thanks, Here is a cute pic online:)

If you wish to try it out, please check out the deal right now on amazon!

It works just fine but I prefer the Aquaclear filters to the Tidals now.

Added 6 platinum white medaka ricefish and 1 blue coral platy. Added more hornwort.

I did a super clean once to a very established tank, I stirred everything up really good, and the worst thing that happened was a bacterial bloom. It took a few weeks to go away, but parameters all stayed in check. I would keep an eye on all your inhabitants for awhile make sure everyone else is ok.

All over. And once they get more comfortable their school becomes more loose with some exploring on their own. But they seem to school when sleeping or being social

Did a WC today the tank is looking clear, the clarity probably wont last after a day or two. Ill be rehoming a mystery snail tommorow, hopefully that helps reduce my stocking to a balance. I was floating some hornwort in the main tank and it was doing pretty well, so im trying to plant it now. Im hoping i can get it taking off because a hornwort forest would help make my tank look good, help with water quality, and be good cover for platy fry. Also very fun to have Vulcan photobombing, he is scared of me and hard to photograph.

to be honest im personally skeptical. Moreso that ill be able to keep up the experiment long term. I also realized that the staghorn algae would provide good hiding spots for platy fry, so it might be to my favor not to continue the testing.

Where I am looking, no dead spots at all, even behind the filter. The spot with the least flow is in the corner on the right in the back. That’s usually where they sit most of the time. And they all like to sit next to the cholla wood where there is shade. They do come out, but when they are sitting down, they are either sitting in the corner or next to the cholla wood. Or under an Indian almond leaf I put in there @nabokovfan87

Thanks, I just have to not over do it.

IME they parents don’t eat the babies.

Update: I finally finished the last week of treatment. Not much improvement since last week. The temperature starting dropping in the house so I plugged the heater in after I saw it was 64F which is too cold for the neons, I don’t know if the peppers and bronze are tolerant of that temperature. But I head the lowest temperature peppers can go down to is 68F. Lowest I’ve seen bronze go to is 70F-ish. I did eventually unplug the heater after the tank started getting a little too warm. Another neon died a couple days ago, it was the older one with a slightly bent spine. I think the paracleanse is too hard on them. Peppers are less active than last week, as well as the other 2 bronze. And the breathing seems to not have improved, so it’s not flukes. Something that’s strange is that I noticed that a piece of a neon’s gill plate is missing a while back, I don’t know if it’s genetic or if it has to do something with this. It hasn’t gotten worse over the past month. I do see most the neons are struggling to breathe but that’s about it. There is occasional flashing but not too much. I also couldn’t get a good picture of the neon as it keeps moving constantly

Pull the parents and see if the fry raise up in there, maybe?

When I read this question, my first thought was, well of course it's possible....However, I imagine it would take so much to do so. Spikeing your nitrates maybe. Like Galabar asked, I would also be curious what the Nitrate levels are? I have been adding 3x the recommended doseing in a 10 gal shrimp tank in an attempt to increase algae and plant growth. The Vallisneria has exploded in growth as well as the Tiger lillys. And I'm still only at 30ppm. I have a Hillstream loach, Ramshorn snails and 30+ Cherry shrimp that are as happy as can be!

This always happens to me right after a female shrimp molts. Males very actively free swim to find the fertile female/s before the shell hardens. When my shrimp get hyperactive like that usually the rest of my inhabitants become active from all the commotion as well. You did due diligence in checking everything. Since nothing was off kilter I would not worry over much and chalk it up to all the shrimp spawning activity. Just watch and as long as nothing drastic occurs it should be fine.

@Colu exactly on point again. And Maracyn 2 can be in the water or in the food. With a cloudy eye, I tend to go in the water since since the blood doesn’t really circulate through the cornea. Beware what the antibiotics can do to your biofiltration. Take pics if you can so it’s easier to compare daily.

I think the hold out sterbai finally broke down and spawned today. 40 or so eggs, I think.

Been a busy week! Thanksgiving isn’t really a thing over here, so it’s been all hands at the pumps… Daphnia starter culture arrived today! Along with some springtails that were sold as Paramecium 🤨. Definitely not using that vendor again… Bonus dog pic. Take care!

So that's what catfishing is! Now I know what they're talking about.

So finished up the project. Like all projects that deal with drilling holes in the ceiling, do it when the wife isn’t home. The needle isn’t really steady but it works. Definitely one of those you adjust one and have to go through the system to see what else changed. Trying to keep it at 1.5. Any advise or words of wisdom throw them my way. First time doing a closed loop system.

Are they always so active immediately? The only other fry I have spawned like this are CPDs and those things were catatonic for like 10 days it seemed.

Updated, I kinda of just left the tank to just go wild and green. I add a few frogbit and parameters are good. Weeks later, while I was doing fishroom maintenance, out of no where they started to T-shape each other and doing the mating ritual. I was like wth? So water changes didnt work, pH change didn't work, and temperature change didn't work. But just leaving them, doing nothing and letting the tank go wild cause a trigger. Idk what trigger their breeding? Now im stuck ponding how am I gonna find their eggs in this green water. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂😂😂

The first sterbai fry has hatched. And more coming. Looks to be about 30 coming along. You'll have to trust that the one in the corner has a tail,though you can kind of see it.

I’m liking the sort of sparse idea, but I’m aiming more for an eye-catcher where plants come first and fish second (for a change!). MD Fish Tanks did a really nice one that I’m shooting for.

Schools starting to get the better of me. Hey ho… only 5 more weeks till Xmas! 🎅 Black phantom tetras produced around 3 viable wrigglers, but a lot of fungused eggs. My hypothesis is that the eggs were in the females for so long that they were just sort of infertile anyway. KeepingFishSimple had that problem with his neons so it’s not impossible. Anyway I’m just gonna keep on trying till I get this right! 😵‍💫 Currently musing about not breeding as much fish as I can and just enjoying my tanks. MD Fish tanks on YouTube is definitely to blame 😂! The downstairs 63 gal definitely needs rescaping and my dad says that he’ll contribute if I can make it look nice… what sort of scape would any of you do with a spare 63 gal long? It’s not very wide - only about 12-15 inches (my brains too fuzzy to do conversions 🧠) so that kinda limits options. @Lizzie Block you only seem to do nano scapes, but what would you do with a larger sized tank? Also I took the lid off my Endler tank seeing as it was looking pretty tank and my Indian swamp weed is showing some really cool emersed growth I want to encourage. My sisters want me to get into saltwater. I said it was too expensive and I didn’t know anything. Out of curiosity I had a look for some cheap options (non-existent!) and am sort of on the edge of wether it’s worth a shot or not. Either way here’s my weekend photo dump. Take care!

I am beaming today because I am so proud of Cadet. He made it all the way to the top of the tank! Of the 4 rescues, Cadet was the weakest. Apparently not anymore!

Today I moved my MTS to Geppetto’s tank. They had no heater, and we are about to get a cold snap. Plus I just like watching them. I couldn’t really do it very well on that bottom shelf tank. I acclimated them for a bit since there is a 7-10 degree temp difference. Then I rinsed out the whole container in Geppetto’s tank. Here’s how it went. He did bite the big one. But then it burrowed, so it is OK. Here is one of my rescue mysteries. He explored a little, then had to rest, poor fella. Needs to build up his strength. I can’t presently locate the other one, but it is brown like much of the hardscape. I’m sure I will see it exploring soon. Update: both kids are moving about. Juniper (names are completely random): Cadet (very shy)

Well here is a demo of the tetras being jerks. Seems like the crushed pellet still sank ok though. She thought it was very chewy! 🤣😍 So maybe I could toss this in at the same time as the krill flakes. I think the tetras will go for the flakes first which will buy her time. Agreed! 😳