CJhilljack

I've been wondering about this size tub, I was worried it would be too shallow, but it looks like it's working great. This is what I'd like to get for the 2024 pond season.

Water change in my cube tank today, added wondershell & did some trimming & removal of floating plants to allow more light. My water wisteria was doing really well, but right after trimming & replanting, it suddenly turned brown & died, I also noticed the lily pads of my dwarf lily started dying and the leaves at the base have all become really tiny, no new pad shoots either. Last week, I did place new root tabs, I hadn't put any more in since initial setup in March, so I'm thinking it was past time. I moved my ricefish into the tank for the winter a couple of weeks ago - everyone seems to be doing well.

I have a 14g cube tank with one of these in it. They definitely block the light over time, but I love everything about these plants, so what I've been doing is keeping them trimmed to about 5 lily pads, depending on size. I don't run co2, so my low lying plants are minimal and not spreading much - they probably still aren't getting enough light, but they are holding their own. I'm ok with that and I think, overall, it's working out for me. Maybe you can find the right balance for your tank of lily pads, to help your low lying plants, while still enjoying the full effect of the dwarf lily.

To all of you who have done ponds already - have you had any problems with frogs predating on your fish? I just put my platinum medaka fry in the pond yesterday evening & today, I saw something big swimming in their pond. I'm sure it's a frog - although I didn't get a very good look. How worried do I need to be? pond video link

I'm pretty sure Ryo Watanabe mentioned on his channel they just leave the water hyacinth in their ponds over the winter & they come back in the spring. You might need to cover them. You might also consider moving the ponds into a garage or something if you're at a higher elevation like I am (actually just 1200 ft, but we seem to get cold from the river nearby).

Your ponds all look amazing! Your plants are even blooming. I have one water plantain that has a shoot growing up from it, but no sign of flowers yet. The fish look amazing too, yay!

I actually did some plant trimming in my cube tank yesterday. This morning so far I have topped off my 2 mini ponds, tested them & added easy green. Thinned the floaters in the mini-ponds and the 2 gallon water garden (and, y'all, duckweed is taking over the 2gal again - ugh!). Took these photos of my cube tank and admired my ricefish fry. It will be fun to see your progress. I recently noticed a spot in our house that would be great for a tank, but I don't know if I can manage another tank between the mini ponds, water gardens, nursery & display tank.

Welcome! I'm in Washington too, about an hours drive from Aquarium Co-op, so I feel lucky to live close enough to get fish, plants & supplies there. Looking forward to seeing your tank as you get it set up and stocked.

Welcome! I started off with 2 tiny water gardens, 1gal & 2gal, and have only had snails in them. I really love Blue Ramshorn snails & they have thrived in them. I now also have a 14g cube that I've just started adding fish to, but it has some baby ramshorns from the water gardens as well. I've been very surprised at how entertaining snails can be. Peaches was really pretty, what a fitting name. Have fun!

This is a great tip, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you so much! Wow, nice editing, thank you! I have zero photo editing skills. 🙂

I was finally able to visit Aquarium Coop and pick up some fish for my tank. I decided to get started with my CPD's since Platinum Medaka haven't been available yet. These little fish are so much fun to watch & so pretty. They seem to have settled in very quickly. Please forgive the algae, I'll be cleaning the tank this weekend. Also, how do people actually get good photos of these quick little cuties?

Thanks so much for the additional information, Brandon, I appreciate you!

I was just at their shop earlier today & have to say the redcap medaka are quite lovely, I was tempted. I went with CPD's for this trip and will hold out for platinums a bit longer. It sounds like they expect to have some soon.

I wonder about this every time I receive the email. Thanks, Zeno, for clearing this up for us all.

I've been obsessively watching for this list each week. ☺️Nice ricefish haul, still hoping for platinums to come in.

Welcome!

Welcome! I'm in Ravensdale. We sure did have a heat spike. I'm sorry to hear about Wally.

Same for me. Moving water around is definitely my biggest obstacles. 2nd biggest is water. We're on a well with soft water, high ph. Maybe not an obstacle so much as just a circumstance that required some additional research.

Glad to hear your water wasn't off longer.

It's looking good so far. I agree with @Guppysnail about the river rocks.

How are the panda cory's so cute, seriously!

Welcome! Thanks for sharing pics, I was going to chime in on that request, but there they were by the time I got through the comments!

Welcome! Great video, Mavis was a beauty. I live locally too & can hardly wait to get my first fish from Aquarium Co-op. I'm just waiting for the platinum ricefish I have been dreaming of to be in stock. 🙂 Right now, my cube tank is ready to go & has only some snails & a pair of tiny guppies that hitched a ride in my filter when it was prepping in my Godson's tank. guppy babes

I now have 10 lily pads floating up top. I'm so impressed with this plant.

Welcome!