itsfoxtail

Call him Houdini. Also second the slice of zucchini or cucumber. They go wild for it.

I feel like they're a bit like human babies in that they grow round... then shoot off in length... then round... etc. They are in a round stage right now, lol!

Holy moly! If those are the colors after two months I'm almost scared to see how colorful he'll be in another few! 😱

There are few things on this blue and green marble that bring my brain more serotonin than little orange fry bellies floating around in bliss. I figured surely others felt the same and so please share your fry tums here! I know I can always use an extra dose of cute! On my end at the moment: just a little group of Cacatuoides Apistos checking out the new random sponge.

I felt this in my soul. Also kudos to all of you who have tanks being unused or for 'just in case' scenarios. I try to keep those but somehow they always end up getting filled... I'm officially up to... 36... I don't have a problem, you have a problem. 😭

Wow, reading your story is absolutely insane! I had quite literally almost the exact same thing happen in the pouring rain. Highway, one little fishtail, drove into it and corrected it. Had a turn in the highway afterwards and then a fishtail I couldn't come back from. Skidded through a lane right into the grass/ditch of a median for at least a hundred yards before hitting the guard rail on the other side of the highway. Definitely scariest moment of my life. Mechanic who fixed my car up (miraculously just tore off the bottom sheath part of the car... and I'm literally still picking bits of grass out of one of my wheels almost what... two years later?) said I had an oil leak that was old and leaking down right by one of my tires and that it could've played a role in not being able to recover once the fishtailing started. I choose to think that was the case but always drive like a little old lady in the rain now, lol!

I do use a piece of panty hose over the intake tube for itty bitty fry but it takes a hot minute (or hour) to actually get water out, so for small tanks this is fine but larger ones... not so much. I have tried the sponge method but haven't really been able to get water to come out... maybe I need to use more course sponge? On another note I actually bought and received the little python intake grate thingy to keep (somewhat larger fry) out and it works WONDERS! I would definitely recommend for anyone who wants one to go visit that little Etsy shop and make a purchase! Definitely beats my very janky alternative...

Any update? How is the DIY connecting tube holding up? I'm genuinely impressed it can hold temp even with such cold outer temps! That's awesome! Oh, and thanks for the link; I may or may not be tucking that one away for summer tubbing season...

Wow! Congrats on the awesome fry turnout! I've heard these guys grow like weeds since they have such short lifespans overall. Can't wait to see their journey!

Wow!! I had no idea Minnesota was the place to be! I am now officially extremely jealous! My jaw literally dropped at having BRS as your local supply shop. Minnesota may or may not have just gotten a little boost on the "places it wouldn't be bad to live" list. Having a professor friend in the niche of marine breeding will probably come in handy! He'll hopefully have some insight much better than your average hobbyist if you run into some hiccups. You're building your contact arsenal! The "anyone can do it who puts their mind to it" inspirational stories are the best that come out of this hobby imo. 😂😂😭😭

Welcome! That's an incredible introduction to the hobby! Is your daughter just as interested in the fishkeeping journey as you are or are you the only one who caught the bug from the pets left behind?

Welcome! It's great to hear of families having tanks together! My mom's tank growing up is exactly what got me into the hobby as well! I would think a few tetras would definitely be alright, and with the size of tank I'd say you could add a centerpiece fish as well as long as it was peaceful!

This thread is going to turn into a fever dream real quick and I'm here for it. Always wanted mashups of fish and what they're called. Aka rams with ram horns... or ramshorn snails with ram horns... pea puffers made out of peas, etc.

I must know. What's in the little tank next to the hatchery? Also unrelated, one can use Kosher salt if you don't have any saltwater-salt. I use kosher simply because we cook with it a lot so we have a TON.

Oh holy moly!! It was an amazing read; I had no idea it was by someone on this forum! Tbh gonna read it again now that I know, lol! Congrats!

If you do decide to go that route I'd suggest No Planaria which is betel nut powder. While it does harm snails it is very safe for fish fry.

That's a great number! A good amount but not so many it'll be unfeasible to raise! Let us know how it affects the temp! Are you in an un-heated area and just using a heater? If so I'm curious what your outdoor temps are like if you're able to keep it at a good temp! Also where did you get that sick tub?

Lol! Hey listen, the mindset is half the battle. 😂 Pelagic spawning is just so mind-blowing to me! I'm SO excited to see your journey. Heck, there are honestly a limited number of people period that have been successful with some of these fish; you may just find your way to a world first! I'm always routing for home hobbyists to magically spawn things that the scientists haven't been able to. It just feel so satisfying for some reason lol. I'll be excited to see your live foods setup too! I've been toying with the idea of culturing rotifers and actually pulling clown eggs sometime but I definitely don't have the space or time at the moment. So I'll be living vicariously though you! Any idea on the general size/tank number for the breeding shelf? Looks like you'll have three species at least to hopefully play around with. I have no idea about the raising of salt critters as far as "growing out" so it'll be a fun ride! I sometimes feel like someone has one zoa head that has just a SLIGHTLY different shade of a color and they're like "*slaps desk* I'm gonna name this sucker". This feels so incredibly accurate. I've always thought the Dragon Soul torches look so cool but I've told myself I won't spend over a hundred on a single coral. You're right, they're getting crazy expensive now. That's a great idea! I have anchored about half of my LPS and have regretted it. Food for thought on the future; thanks! True. Very true. Although I saw a scoly I think go for about 10k the other day... and I just had to take a moment to pause and reflect and say "wow, you could actually buy a half decent car for that price". And then question why I couldn't have picked a cheaper-but-admittedly-not-as-cool hobby.

Just page 78 or the whole article? Is this an article of yours? 😃

That's amazing! Have you seen any spawning activity in your corys? I'd be curious if they would with a big "predator" fish around. And if you have actually seen eggs does the betta snack on them or leave them alone? Of the few fish I've kept with bettas kuhli loaches are actually one of them! They're way too fast for the bettas and after a while my betta just ended up ignoring them completely. He'd even brush them with his bottom fin after a while and neither party would mind. I've also kept them with Cardinals/Neons and so I would assume other small tetras would work just as well. They school typically away from the betta but are FAR too fast to ever really get picked on. I'd just say with the kuhli loaches to make sure they get enough food. My betta was a piggy who liked to eat everyone else's food as well as his own. The noodles on the bottom had to be speedy to get their meals.

This needs to be on a shirt.

Ooh, saltwater breeding you say? You're aiming for the rafters! I cannot WAIT to follow this tank now! Especially personally, selfishly, for the banggai . I mean, have you seen baby banggai? I remember my LFS bringing in a batch the owners had just bred and they are not only incredibly cute but absolutely amazing how perfect they are at such a small size! Would make even the toughest humans melt into a little puddle. If you're planning on pulling fry do you have any ideas for rearing tanks? I mean I'm sure we're jumping the gun a little talking about this already but I must admit I'm curious, lol! There are indeed so many zoas! It took me almost a year to finally pin down what a few I'd been growing were actually named. It's a little insane. I use this website for at least dipping my toe into the zoa-naming scene. (We can post links in this forum, right?) Now I stumbled upon however a list of Scoly types and once I saw exactly how many hundreds there were... I graciously bowed out of ever hoping to learn their names. It's always good to start with softies but imho it's pretty fluid from softies into LPS as long as you get the gist of their differences. I have never heard of pulsing sinularia however and now I also have something to google. There actually are hard-copies of pretty extensive coral encyclopedias but I've never been willing to drop the hefty sum for an actual physical 400-something page hard-cover book... Ah, to only find one in a used bookstore. One can dream. 😂 Euphyllia are the greatest! I'll be excited to see what kinds you get! It's so peaceful watching them wave in the breeze... er... flow. Just a quick two cents on my end for this. Islands work great! However maybe don't actually physically anchor the corals to the rocks because you can't really have any say in where they start spreading their heads. I have an octospawn on its own island far away from absolutely anyone... and it decided to grow heads all in one particular direction so it could start tickle-slapping some zoas that were not ready for the harassment. If they aren't anchored you can easily separate heads (or have a LFS do it because who can afford a wet saw?? (or losing a finger or two)) but if they're anchored you're forced to find another course of action.

I did not realize how dangerously I was apparently living gluing plants underwater. Thought it had the same cure-time in and out all this time. TIL I guess.

So exciting to see SW getting some love! Any idea what your ideal stocking would be? Any corals you can't wait to try? Bowfronts look awesome with saltwater imo and your rocks look very natural! I think your extra time in placing definitely paid off! Also I would most certainly buy cultured "pods" for FW! I'm sure there's a pretty decent market who would!

😍 She's adorable! I'll be excited to hear what you decide to name! She looks like a cute lil ragamuffin to me. Also I'm definitely not opposed to these unsolicited dog pics. Keep 'em coming!