Leaderboard

I would say the fish club Christmas party was a awesome success. We had a great spread for dinner ...buffet of course 🤗. Then it was on to the raffle. So for big club meetings/party's in the spring summer and Christmas we do a round robin style raffle. Everyone brings and donates as many bags of fish,plants, wood fish food and equipment as you want. As a number is drawn you get to go up and pick any item you want. Once all numbers are drawn then go back in the pot for the next round until all items are gone So I walked away with 4 anubias plants 2 crypts, 50ft of air hose and a bag of red neos! So the shrimps went into the sanctuary tank to help spread the genes in there. Not sure where the new plants will gone they are in a bucket full of water for now

It's been a good few days since I've been feeding the fry bbs and have some great news: I haven't found any more dead fry! Definitely does seem like starvation/malnutrition was the cause, and I'll continue feeding them until they get big enough to take flakes/pellets. Thanks so much!

If I can figure out how to do that, I will attach the video, yes. Thanks again! Not to make this sound too much like a commercial or anything, but that's why I buy with confidence from Aquarium Co-op, because I know the products are good and the customer service is second to none.

Had a weird day, watched an amazing movie, and started to get to bed thinking a whole lot about a few things that matter in life. I was a bit frustrated, seems fine... So no concern there for right now, and I just need to keep an eye on fish behavior and how the fish are doing. I went ahead and turned the lights on so I could check them tonight before bed. The pups are tucked away and all the stuff done and I look into the tank. All of the floating plants definitely didn't make it and they are all dead, not surprised at all. I went ahead and checked the fish, they seem ok. Grace was up front and in my face trying to get attention. Water change is tomorrow, so I can do a good clean and check everything again. I'll be out of the house helping with some stuff and so it'll be a long day. The cut on my finger.... Might just put things off and only clean the sponge filter. (Yep, these are the things that we all think about before bed, right!?) There's very few things I know for certain, but universally speaking one thing I have learned and feel is a pretty solid lesson is that: you don't get to choose how you learn. Needless to say you might learn something and you're never going to be ready for it, expect it, or be able to fully understand it in the moment. Sometimes it could take a few weeks to fully grasp something, other times years. The main theme of tonight's movie was to understand what you want, to hope for it. If you don't know what you want, then you can't ask for it.... Among other things. So what do I want right now? Some plants to show up that are delayed. Fish to be healthy. Fish to be happy. The tank to be thriving. There's a lot of things I could hope for. A few days ago I woke up and had a single thought. I was working on the tank the day before and it was day 2 of sitting and staring. It was that moment where you stare at the tank, at the scape, and where you just try to understand if it's good, good enough, or needs some love. I woke up and I just felt really happy with the tank. It had taken 3-4 attempts to get some plants moved and it's not complete, but I'm actually happy with the style and setup. I've never done a triangle layout and seems to be the way the tank is speaking to me. I love having an open area for the corydoras again too. So what do I see when I check in the tank? It seems they're ok with it too. A bit late on their yearly adventures, but I'm quite ok with it and happy to see it. I'll check on things tomorrow. I get the feeling they just started this afternoon.

My arch shaped piece got leaned up against a big piece of dragonstone and was used to hold epiphytes in place.

Well, Snoopy loves garlic Repashy and the snails are practically fighting over it. Even the nerites are there! .5 ammonia today still in Spike’s tank. Another 50% water change with Prime and added some seeded floss from another tank. Put that near the air in 2 sections of tank. Everyone in the tank enjoyed grindal worms today. Spike popped his dorsal fin up and went into hunting mode, swimming toward the prey in quick spurts.

That's a shame, I always added stuff from that list. That was a nice perk for members. It really added value to my membership. Thanks for the info, I do appreciate it.

Can confirm that spixis will eat lots of hydra.

I am not sure tbh. I’ve seen adult ramshorn snails and shrimp walk right over them rather carelessly. The hydra recoil into their tubes, which might indicate some immunity towards the stinging cells? There is quite an elaborate interaction in the marine world between hydra and predators/prey but I admit my knowledge is lacking in the FW side. I wonder to if hydra on the FW side can capture free floating algae and instead of eat them, imprison them in their tube and parasitize their photosynthesis as they do in the marine world.

That’s too good! Lol They’re yummy and easy I like them for breakfast! just in case here’s the recipe and instructions I used but you can top it with anything! https://www.persnicketyplates.com/chocolate-chip-cream-cheese-danish-puff-pastry/?fbclid=IwAR26Bnt9eDuApb7slbf59VYt4OU6stfkNrbGfI-oDBZeoVdjUGMeLRKjVTo_aem_Af23uSg9sM2QBAq_hA0MugrQ5mLGkl5OkLV0BRLIYl8ikO_ZP-QjiqFus-VsO0M0TOA

I'll take this as a sign! After leaving here yesterday, I was actually looking to fix a coffee cake recipe. (my icing tastes gritty) when I chanced upon a Cherry Cheese Danish that looks like yours on YT. I will also use the premade Puff Pastry.

As you can see, this bucket is a catch all for plant trimmings and as the water evaporates I top it off at water change time from the tanks nearby (and it has its own light). I've recently moved plants from QT into the bucket after it was occupied by pencilfish for three weeks. And I've also pulled some plants from CPD jungle tank into here fairly recently. It's unheated and I think the temp probably sits somewhere between 65 and 70. Which do you think these are? It's almost got to be CPDs, but I have no idea how pencilfish lay their eggs so maybe it's likely that there would be eggs in a floating mat of hornwort. I will say they are right at the surface, so I think that's one point for pencilfish. I've never seen a CPD above the midpoint of the tank they're in unless I'm trying to net them. Just the two fry so far (both in first picture).

IDK what they are. Looks like they swim too smoothly to be daphnia but could definitely be something related to daphnia.

@Brainsponge @Guppysnail The member's only category of the website was removed due to issues on the back end with our inventory system. As far as I know, it will not be coming back.

Thanks for the info. The frog bit looks like a cool plant and the water lettuce is easily sourced in about any water way here in S. FL. I did watch that video and was blown away by the amount of filtration media but he has a huge tank above it. I bet your fish were really confused when you fired that router up haha. Y'all have had me thinking and I am going to cut out the baffles and redesign this sump over the coarse of next week. This sump was never perfect, just functional. I have enough projects going on but I dont want to get things set up and then want to change things later on. The first chamber is larger then it needs to be for a single 7" sock. Time will tell but I think this will be an easy once a week swap. I probably won't start with a refugium but want to make it an easy "add on". It would be cool to grow some shrimp/fry, plant propagation. The middle chamber will be a little larger. For the bubble trap on the right side I may increase the baffles width so I can stick the 2"wide 30ppi sponge in each section. I will raise the center baffle here for a little higher water level and might be able to keep the return section pretty small. Once things are up and running Ill probably end up adding an ATO so there won't be extra work for a pet sitter if we go on vacation for a week. Also thinking of a set up where the first chamber is divided in half lengthwise so the water out of the stock flows onto a stack of sponge, down and out into the middle chamber. We will see the wheels are turning. I am doing to try and calculate the amount of water in the return section so even if the over flow is clogged, losses prime( it shouldn't) or whatever the pump will run dry and shut off before main tank over flows.

A sharp blade slices; a dull blade crushes. The cleaner the cut, the less opportunity for disease to take hold. This was the first advice I was given when I first began pruning grape vines in the local vineyard.

Here is a screen shot from a reliable source about the procedure of H2o2 usage. This post was referring to blue green algae but I would Imagine the procedure would be the same for BBA

I think they took it down to edit the prices, when I last checked the scratch and dent products they did not reflect the current prices on the site and were discounted based on the old pricing.

Sometimes my account un-syncs with YouTube. Sync and try again. Also be certain you are logged in. However mine seems glitchy this morning also.

I was so focused on trying to get a picture of how the new easy flow upgrade looked, I didn't notice the Endler fry checking it out as well...

Mostly to populate new tanks with plants. Or when cleaning out QT the plants can go in the bucket for awhile if there's any concern about disease. At times there are no fish in QT, the whole bucket might end up in the QT tank. I also feed trimmings or throw away pieces to our chickens.

I see, i only have one sachet on hand unfortunately 😞 i think it’s pretty diffcult to divide them into 5parts equally. I will try to get a box of it before starting the treatment since it’s suppose to be a 5d course. once treatment started its better to keep the tank dark. but i do have plants in thr, would it cause the plant to die or will it make my tank lack oxygen?

Even if it does not eat them directly, is it still a stress factor for snails, shrimp or surface grazers to touch it due to their stinging cells?

A noobi-ish question....why do you keep the trimmings in the constantly renewed bucket? I've tended to compost them. Your post has me seeing I'm overlooking something. Fun to see those babies...have you id'ed them? Thanks.

If your BBA is on wood or hardscape, remove it from the water, and spray the area with 3% H202 (over-the counter). Wait 5 minutes. Then put it back. The BBA will turn red / pink and die off. No idea about snails. Unless they're ornamental pets -- e.g. Mystery Snails -- I wouldn't worry too much about them. I assume that the chemical reaction with H202 balances out in tank water reasonably quickly once re-immersed. The tragic problem is . . . once you get some going . . . BBA is very, very hard to eliminate. I've bought a group of Siamese Algae Eaters before. They do wonders. I have a Clown Pleco that seems to eat some BBA if it's on wood. Some people buy Female Florida Flagfish to nibble on algae.

Here's the oldest group of sterbai. There's 14 left. Was over feeding early on. I have a second group from a smaller spawn of 10 or so that are on BBS now and looking good. They're SO orange. The CPDs are mostly to the wall clinging stage. There's about 30 of them. Jacked with all sorts of picture settings so you can kind of make them out.

Jut snapped a few pics of my setup . These are meant to show how simple this can all be in theory. This first picture shows how small my waste water container is. The sump + float valve keeps up with my usage fine. A bigger waste water container would help if the flow of water into this tote exceeded its ability. In fact, I had a much large container there but realized that I was only using a small portion of its total capacity, so I downsized in order to squeeze another 10g into the room. The sump is connected to a simple garden hose that runs up 7 feet and across my basement, about 25", discharging into a slop sink. This second pics is of a simple DIY siphon hook for use when emptying tanks that are not hooked up to the auto-water-change system. These tanks typically have caridina shrimp or blackwater species who wont breed in my tap water. All my grow outs get tap water via drip lines on a timer. Waste water for the auto wc tanks flows out 1/2" bulkheads at the back of all the tanks. This discharges into ABS pipe. This is the black pipe the siphon is dumping water into. The ABS leads to the tote/sump.

Last week my order of the sponge filter upgrade kit arrived. All I have to say is it has made a world of difference. I also added the 5 salt and pepper Cory’s I picked up a couple months ago which has helped as well. Before installing the upgrade, I did a water change, filter squeeze and removed whatever Mulm I could get to. After installation Today, I did another water change and filter squeeze. The amount of gunk that came out of the sponge was insane! The gunk was even starting to buildup in the center of the sponge With the Cory’s kicking up debris and the flow pushing stuff back towards the filter, this is the cleanest it’s been since it was first set up. I do want to see if I can increase the flow a bit more though. Probably has to do with the air pump at that point. Seeing what @Cory has coming out of his setup probably has to do with the linear air pump rather than the single outlet ACO air pump. I have to say, this is great for tanks larger than 20 gallons. Adding flow which reduces dead zones and helps carry debris towards the filter, it’s a steal at $4.99. Dropped in a couple squares of Repashy Community before I took this shot. and an appearance of an elder cherry shrimp chowing down Curious how much gunk will be in the filter next week? Plan on doing another small water change just so I can see.

Hooray for getting things worked out! The thing that has helped me most to have healthy tank conditions is plants, plants, plants. I have enough plants growing that I can't keep nitrates in my water even with 2x week fertilizer so I know for sure my tank can absorb "everyday" fish waste.

Welcome welcome @KoeIC!

I bred Asolene Spixii snails. I recently gave my colony to @Elodie Rose now I have hydra 😭 they decimated a severe hydra infestation in a 20l (like everything carpeted in a thick layer) in roughly 2 weeks.

I use a fluval inline uvc clarifier with my fluval 307 canister filter on my goldfish tank works well it has I timer so you can set it come on for 4-6-8-12 or 24hr I would leave it running for 24hr a day UV sterilisers work by breaking DNA chains of virus and bacteria to stop them multiplying it also fits smaller fluval canister filter 106 107 206 207

Alright fellow nerms who is ready for some new fish! So up first is that new trio I talked about a couple of weeks ago. They have already been named Lucy,Ricky, and Ethel. I have been wanting them for awhile but just now have been able to get them. They will be a great addition to the 29 gallon tank. They are my new trio of honey gouramis! They are in the tank now with the lights of getting settled in. And the second new edition will be going into the former 10 gallon guppy tank. My friend took the rest of my guppies. They are a very new fish to me. It's a trio of fundulopanchax gardneri killifish. I know try and pronounce that name 😆 the same friend that took my guppys breeds these guys.. I think the 10 gallon for just the trio will be a nice fit. With some shrimp and snails as friends. There in there tank now with lights out for awhile to have some rest time. Updates to follow soon!

Yes without hubby as my control I would overwhelm myself. My hubby is very supportive and happy with whatever makes me happy. He just sees the exhaustion when I do overwhelm myself and realizes that’s not me being happy. Every 2 tanks that come down to put up the larger always lives in the basement. They only come back out for temporary projects… every other week 🤣🤣🤣

Has he figured out that it's actually just going to be another aquarium and nothing is really going away? 😄 I made this argument to get a 40 breeder in order to move everything from this stupid 37 gallon that I'm using for the fry system and combine down a 46 gallon bowfront that I also didn't like. In my defense those two remained empty until I built the fry system. And I have no plans to use the bow front. But it's still hanging out in the basement. 😄 My wife basically lets me do about whatever I want, so I have no complaints really. And truthfully, it's probably good for me to have at least a little bit of a checks-and-balance system in place.

Oh my. I’ve actually had this conversation with hubby many many times.

I’ve had my two towers in a 10 gallon with a HOB filter, two air stones and some floating plants in rain water for five days and once I put an algae tab in the top if each tower the worms moved in to them. Doing my first water change today.

Worming medication such as levamisole and praziquantel metronidazole are effective in food and dosing the water column. praziquantel in food doesn't show increased elimination rates verse dosing the water column. metronidazole is effective in food as it's adsorbed by the intestinal tract. most fish can survive with a low parasite burden for a long period of time it's only when periods of stress effect the immune system that the fish can become overwhelmed and succumb. as long as you treat for the appropriate amount of time do repeated treatments and do though gravel vac to remove as many expelled parasites and eggs from the substrate. Treat once every week for 4 weeks with levamisole. praziquantel once every two weeks for 4 full treatment. metronidazole in food for 3 weeks it will be possible eliminate parasites in your tank. there's always vector for reinfection if your feeding live foods adding new fish or plants that's where having a quarantine tank has its benefits two monitor new fish for a minimum of 4 weeks

It can kill in minutes or hours. It depends on the concentration. Remember that we are still speculating as to what happened in your aquarium. Here is a quick WIKI explanation: https://www.theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/Hydrogen_sulphide

In this case pearling refers to that tiny gas bubble rising out of the substrate. Instead of seeing the occasional bubble, it is possible for gasses to become trapped. If the water smelled of Sulphur or rotten eggs, that would be a good indicator. Pearlng in plants refers to the plants producing oxygen faster than the oxygen rich water can absorb it. Bubbles on the leaves or a string of pearls rising to the surface is considered a good thing.

OverviewFirst, I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this. I've written this guide because I’ve found that there is a lack of correct information in one place concerning Ram cichlids—specifically, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. Therefore, I will try to cover everything a Ram owner should know, whether you already have them or plan to get them, in a single care guide. Much of the information is based not just on what I’ve read, but on my personal experiences as well. A lot of people are intimidated by Rams, because they think they’re incredibly sensitive and will die not long after acquiring them. Let me be clear, they are indeed sensitive; but if you follow this guide, I can assure minimal issues. It should be noted that the guide does NOT cover Mikrogeophagus altispinonsus, the Bolivian Ram.BackgroundM. ramirezi are native to the Orinoco River Basin, in the Llanos (grassy wetlands) of Columbia and Venezuela. The area sits just above the equator, so it gets hot. The water is shallow, very slow moving, and even stagnant in some parts. Below is an I outlined to show where they reside.Color and Body MorphsThere are several different color morphs of M. ramirezi, all of which are man-made through selective breeding—except for the basic Blue Ram. They include the Gold Ram, Electric Blue Ram, and Black Ram. Besides those, there are color mixes as well, but those are the three main color morphs.There are also body morphs. One of those body morphs include the Balloon Ram; however, I never recommend purchasing them, since they’re incredibly unhealthy as they’ve been selectively bred to have those deformities.Parameters and Tank SizeUnlike many fishes sold in the hobby that can tolerate and adapt to a varying degree of parameters, it is a different case for M. ramirezi. And one of the biggest problems people face with keeping them is temperature. The problem is that most people try to keep Mikrogeophagus ramirezi at 78-80° F [25.6 to 26.7°C]. These fish live in shallow areas with little cover, and water temperatures in the wild often get above 90° F. The best temperature range for them is 82-86° F [27.7-30° C].With that knowledge, I keep mine at 84°F (28.9°C). In my opinion, anything under 82°F (27.8°C) is too cold.GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness), and pH do matter as well. GH is the level of divalent metals ions. Captive bred adult Rams can tolerate up to a GH of around 150ppm, though I’ve found the optimal level to be around 80ppm. KH is the level of carbonate and bicarbonate anions, and I’ve found the level to be best at around 80 to 100ppm. As far as pH, captive adult Rams do best with a pH of around 6.5 to 7.6, with my preferred level at around 6.8. The pH is not as important as the dGH and dKH because at the right levels, the pH should fall into place. These levels are based around my personal experience and what levels I find the best for color, activity, and breeding. It should be noted that many quality Ram breeders go solely on TDS (total dissolved solids). If you’re relying on TDS, fry and breeding pairs do best in between 80-100 PPM, while adults that you aren’t attempting to breed will tolerate up to 350 PPM. That said, the worst thing anyone can do is alter these levels with chemicals. I use reverse osmosis water and mix it with my tap water to get the desired levels. Reverse osmosis water can also be used by re-mineralizing with Seachem Equilibrium and Seachem Alkaline Buffer, or similar products. Stay away from products such as “PH Down”.Lastly, never try to cycle a tank with Rams; they will do very poorly. That is because ammonia and nitrites should always be zero, and nitrates should always stay below 20—with 5 to 10 being preferable—which might be difficult to manage during a fish-in cycle. When it starts to go over, it’s time for a water change. This should, ideally, tie in with your water change schedule. Aim for either one 50-75% water change per week or two 25% changes per week, regardless of nitrate levels. And as far as tank size, 10 gallons is adequate for a single pair of a male and female Ram, with no other fish stocking. Keeping more than a pair in anything less than a 40 breeder is very difficult, and, quite honestly, not worth trying unless you’re very experienced or it’s filled with them to spread out aggression. DIETBeing omnivores, a varied diet is a must. To ensure a diet that is nutritionally balanced, a high-quality flake or pellet food should be chosen. I personally recommend Omega One brand for flakes, and New Life Spectrum (NLS) for pellets. However, I’ve found that Rams have a hard time eating pellets, even small ones that are 1mm in size. Therefore, I like to crush up the NLS Cichlid pellets for them, prior to feeding. Or, if possible, simply get pellets that are .5mm or smaller. Flakes seem to be their favorite of the two. In addition to one or both of those, frozen and freeze-dried foods are also important. Recently, I’ve found the small Xtreme pellets drive the Rams crazy, they love them! I incorporate the following frozen foods: Emerald Entrée, Spirulina Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Black Worms, and Krill (cut them). Spirulina based foods specifically have been shown to enhance the natural blue colors in fish, while krill have been shown to enhance the orange colors in fish. On top of color enhancement, foods like Emerald entrée are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and several kinds of meat and plant-based ingredients. Some Rams will also eat guppy fry, but it is only recommended as a treat occasionally and only if bred in a known and healthy environment. Lastly, you can never go wrong with live baby Brine.I recommend feeding twice a day. The first feeding should be flakes or pellets and the second should be one of the other foods listed. It should be noted that with bloodworms in general, don’t feed them to Rams too much too often, as it can cause bloating.DISEASEDue to poor breeding conditions at fish farms, commercially-bred Rams are often unhealthy. That is because from day one, they’re pumped full of antibiotics, so they have poor immune systems. It has also been noted that this hurts their digestive systems, causing them to utilize nutrients poorly. Those Rams are noted for suddenly getting emaciated and eventually dying, seemingly for no reason. Signs of this include emaciation, darkening of the body, sitting on the bottom, heavy breathing, erratic swimming, and lack of appetite. If you want to have success with Rams, it’s crucial to get them from a reputable source, ideally privately bred. A good place to buy from is Aquabid. Or, a trusted local fish store.SEXINGSexing Rams takes some practice; once you get it down, it’s not too difficult. There are several sexual dimorphisms between the male and female sexes. The first thing I always look for is a pink/red belly. This indicates a female. These are evident even when they are stressed in the store, which can be especially helpful before purchasing. Next, look at the pelvic fins. Males will have a much longer extension beyond the actual fin. Similarly, look at the dorsal fin as well. Again, males will have an exaggerated second dorsal extension. If you still haven’t made up your mind on their sex, look for the blue speckles in the black dot on their sides. Males usually don’t have any blue speckles in the black area; however, I’ve had males with speckles, so this is not 100% fool proof. If the Ram is sexually mature and ready to mate, you may be able to see breeding tubes: the females are most prominent, being larger and rounded, while the males will be sharp and small.Male ventFemale ventUnfortunately, with color morphs you are restricted to only fin length and breeding tubes. Another method is to watch their behavior. Males will often go up to females and “flex” or flare at them, meaning they extend their fins to make themselves appear bigger. Two males will also often flex at each other, before lip-locking which is them fighting.malefemaleBREEDINGOnce you have a confirmed male/female pair, breeding is the next step. First thing is to decide whether you want to artificially hatch and raise the fry, or if you want to try and let the parents do it themselves. Be aware, though, that Rams are notorious for being bad parents (at least many are). They will usually eat the eggs and if not the eggs, the free-swimming fry.If you want to artificially do this, you need to seed a small sponge filter for at least 4 weeks. Rams will usually pick the flattest area they can find, so provide them with several different flat objects, preferably with cover. My favorites are slate and clay pot bottoms; they’re extremely cheap and easy to find. It will be obvious when they’re choosing where to lay the eggs because they will travel around together, eventually finding a spot. When they do, they’ll start to clean off the area together using their mouths. Then the female will lay the eggs, while the male follows behind fertilizing them. The fry tank should be setup at this time.What you’ll need:-10 gallon tank-heater-seeded sponge filter-air pump-hydrogen peroxide 3%-turkey baster-brine shrimp hatchery-reverse-osmosis waterFill your fry tank with 2-3 gallons of RO water, heat it up to 84-86° F, and simply place a bubbler in. Don’t put the seeded sponge filter in yet. After waiting a few hours for the male to fertilize the eggs, go ahead and move the eggs into the fry tank. But do not try to scrape the eggs off the object where they were laid; instead, take the entire thing with the eggs included. As a warning, the Rams will try to fight you when you try to do this, so expect that to happen. Afterwards, squirt 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water every 10-12 hours to prevent the eggs from getting fungus. If you see an egg that is pure white or has fungus, remove it immediately. When the eggs begin to hatch, stop adding peroxide.As tempting as it is to try and feed them as soon as they hatch, you must wait 3-4 days until they’re free swimming. Until then, they will survive on their egg sacs. Once they’re free swimming, you can start feeding them brine shrimp 2-3 times a day. Do not overfeed. At this time, you can also go ahead and add your seeded sponge filter. A few times a day you should use a turkey baster to suction debris from the bottom. After the first month, they should be big enough to eat crushed flakes. Don’t stop feeding them baby brine shrimp. Substitute one of the feedings with flakes. If you made it this far, it looks like you’re doing it right! After 3 months, the baby brine shrimp will be too small, so it won’t really fill them up anymore. Now you can move away from baby brine shrimp and begin incorporating frozen foods with flakes or pellets. During the first month, I like to do a 75% water change every 3-4 days. Or you can do daily 25% water changes. After that first month, however, 75% water changes once a week are enough. Additionally, the one month mark is when I begin adding tap water into their tank. Start adding a half of a gallon of tap water with each water change until you reach the desired levels discussed earlier. Everyone has different tap water, so my desired ratio comes out to be 3 gallons of RO to 2 gallons of tap. Continue this until they’re large enough to sell, or you can keep them!