K McZongo

How strange, I was debating on whether or not it would be worth going to a Aquashella. Kinda weird how they don't at least have a tentative schedule (at least who's speaking on which days). At least they have a vendor stand map.

Yup, it's a nice tool for those of us with really soft water/low ph. Its probably more useful for fish/shrimp rather than plants.

Not 100% on topic. But Nice quails, been looking into getting some kind of fowl for the back yard. Lots of folks will probably be interested in a "clean" tank scud starter culture.

I have a similar problem my tanks are setup they I like for some time now and it's just not worth tearing it up. I started with a few aquahuna reds and they have stayed true for the most part. I am noticing a bit more clear/ rilis, usually I catch any I happen to see out during weekly maintenance. I usually dump my culls (if I do it) an 10 gallon outdoor pot with some water poppies. So far they have survived out there pretty well and I have seen some super red ones. If I only kept shrimp tanks I'd definitely be culling a lot more. But I like a nice mix of everything.

Guess I'll be trying out CO2 on a new tank. Generally how much are folks paying for a CO2 cylinder?

Yup, have seen them use pvc with and end cap in a buddy's tank, probably the cheapest. I haven't had any luck in my tank yet, but I think that's because the are still immature. They love a bit of repashy since I'm have them mixed with some Corries I drop in some slightly larger chunks to make sure they can eat since they are a bit shyer.

The breeding pens sound interesting, I'd like to see the results when your fish start breeding. Are you planning on any particular strains? I'm hoping we can start getting some more medaka available in the USA from the Japanese strains.

I've been watching a some Japanese medaka vids recently, it seems like they prefer the smaller containers for selection/line breeding or just being able to separate the eggs. They also might be doing it for space constraints, since their yards (balconies and alleys) look a lot smaller. It also gets pretty hot in Japan so I assume the medaka are fine with that.

Medaka Ricefish also love to go after their own fry, if you have cover like others have suggested you might be able to get them to grow out in a community. A 5 gallon for 6 will suffice you just won't get many fry unless you are separating the eggs. Good luck👍

Had an algae bloom this week. Just got some water hawthorn and water poppies. Disturbed all my substrate but I also saw some Miyuki medaka ricefish fry. Can't wait till it fills in more. I also had to trim back the pitcher plants.

It's possible it's something other than the pH. I have had praecox in 6.5 without any issues. What's been going on with the rainbows?

Is your outdoor tub in direct sunlight? It might help a little. As their name suggests make sure the roots are red. In my experience the leaves are mostly green and turn red as the plants get a bit older and extend out. When kept indoors or in an aquarium I have never had any red leaves nor do the red roots show well. I have a hex bowl of pearl weed and redroot floaters. It gets direct sunlight and the plants have extended out of the water.

Great idea was wondering what I might do when it starts raining

How long has the tank been setup? Newly purchased pearl weed usually doesn't mix too well with corydoras. In my experience they usually uproot the new plants before their roots get going. I found the best way to get pearl weed going from a new pot was to depot it and get it floating. Once it starts taking off and rooting you can plant it. Also note once it gets going to will shade out anything underneath it. Like Ken mentioned having a bit of mulm or a "seasoned" tank can increase your success with rooted plants like crypts. Looks like you got Cryptocoryne Parva and split it up? In my experience they will take a lot of time to recover and fill in. I did the same back in 2020 for a new covid tank setup and they yellowed a bit then recovered. Unless you are running CO2 I'd just make sure the crypts have some tabs underneath. Also, just like when most folks start out keeping fish and you may end up killing a few. You will experience the same with aquarium plants.

I didn't like the look, but let it grow out a bit before I removed it. When the moss attached itself to my driftwood, ( think it took about two months) I cut off the black string holding it to the mesh.

Might be a dud bulb. I have had a one "die" back like that, the newest shoots came out really quick and went clear. I left it in tank and it grew back fine, might want to leave it be. Or grab another, I ended up adding another to my 29g once the first got going.

Tangerine tree, planted a few years ago and finally bearing juicy fruits. I had to ziptie my basket with my pitcher plants to my cinderblocks, hopefully that will keep them from being pushed in. My ricefish are now egged up hoping that the fry can survive. Also the first Lily leaf made it to the surface. Will snap a couple more pics later.

Did some tank maintenance while listening to todays Stream. Noticed some unintentional but expected bristlenose (Super Red/albino) fry in my congo tank. For whatever reason can't get a good photo. Looked like there was a few tiny fry about 1cm and a couple pushing 2-3cm guess I missed a couple spawns. Guess I'll grow them out even though they normal colors. Might have to take out the male bristlenose since I don't want to have too many.

Just had a visit from raccoons this week. Luckily didn't manage to get any of my ricefish. I think they either just jumped in or climbed up a nearby rain gutter downspout. Might need to remove some of the cinder blocks I used to raise my pond plants up. @Patrick_GI had a smaller half filled 10g barrel with mosquito fish and high sides a couple years had to pull out large rodent that had drowned and fouled the water. Haven't had any birds yet. Do you keep that wood/mesh top on your pond year round? Or not because of the plants.

I have had water sprite start off with the same browning. I initially tried planting it in the substrate and wasn't getting good growth. Then my catfish kept uprooting it so I just let if float. For me it works best floating, now it grows so much I have to dump handfuls during every bi-weekly water change. Since every leaf that breaks off starts a new plant. Should not have to separate it from the anubias

Yup. Ended up putting 14 ricefish in to see how it would go. They look super tiny in the 100g. The raccoons in my neighborhood had a visit this week they knocked my pitcher plants into the deeper part of the tub and pulled up two of my lily tubers. However, luckily all they managed to do is cloud up the water my ricefish are fine and the water is clearing up. I'm hoping my lily's will take off soon but the racoons pulled off most of the new leaves. Any ideas on how I should apply netting? Going to hold off on any fancy goldfish till I can keep the racoons out. Initially was just planning to go flat across, might go with a pvc triangle.

Usually a lot of thick cover. I have used mostly plants or make a quick fry trap. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/diy-fry-trap I used dean's trap for live bearers and move eggs into a floating basket with holes too small for adults. Once the fry get big enough just dump out the trap.

Looks good was it just floating or planted in substrate?

Just started a month behind you with nearly the exact same setup. Only difference is I am going grab some other strains of medaka off eBay. The aquahuna medaka are a little bland in terms of coloration, but maybe that's because I current don't have them outside.

Wow didn't even consider skunks, are the climbing up to get to your pond? I just started up 100gal stock pond as well. Used to see skunks and raccoons around my yard all the time a few years ago, haven't seen them in ages. I guess I am gambling without a cover/ netting for now.