Scaperoot

Thursday at 03:26 PM

I have mine in a 20 long with black sand and a black background. I don't think it affects them much, but the color does pop for sure! Post a pic when you rescape🙂

Tuesday at 01:51 PM

I'm hoping to get some tips on transporting fish. I'm planning on buying some fish and then driving them to their new home two days after. I do not have a quarantine tank at the moment. If I'm able to find them, I'd like to buy some Odessa Barbs. The plan is to buy them Wednesday and deliver them Friday. Is that too long of a period of time in the bag they send them home in from a fish store? The reason I'm doing it this way is because if I order online, they're sold unsexed, and I need males. I'm trying to do this in a way that's the least stressful for the fish (and me lol). I'm thinking that if fish can ship cross country in a bag, they can handle those conditions for two days.

April 20

April 20

I'm in Miami and we have an outdoor Guppy pond (30 gallon). It's got a yrd umbrella for shade. No issues so far, but it's only been about a month.

April 20

After losing Sienna, I didn't want to get another Betta for this tank. After going back and forth on trying to decide which feature fish to have join my Golden Minnows and various Corys, I chose to get a Honey Gourami. This is Charlie! He fits right in😊

April 8

On 4/8/2024 at 12:50 PM, Cory said:

Crypt nurii.

Thank you!

April 8

Is this a Pink Flamingo? It was described in a video from April's Aquarium as Cryptocoryne Yuri (?). I reached out to them for clarification so hopefully they'll respond.

April 2

Is there anything that would cause a Nerite to climb(?) out of your tank which an API or ACO test kit/strip doesn't test for? PH is typically around 7.0. I found a Nerite on the ground near the tank rack but I can't tell which tank it climbed out of. If Nitrite and Ammonia are 0, and Nitrates under 20 ppm, what else can I check for? I've found Nerites in the HOB before, but this is the first time one has fallen to the ground.

April 2

I've had a small group (6-8) of Ember Tetras along with a female Betta, Panda, Pigmy, and Venezuelan Corys, and 8 Chili Rasboras in a 20 long, planted tank. I've had the Ember Tetras for about a year. The Chilis spend most of the time in the open part of the tank, towards the front. The Embers, however, rarely come out from underneath my Tiger Lotus. Is it normal for them to be so skiddish? They always scatter when the light comes on, and they only dart out for food. The Betta gets along with all the fish, and never shows aggression. I'm just so surprised that the Rasboras are the smallest yet most 'outgoing' in the tank.

March 28

The mini pond is doing well. Thanks again @clownbaby

March 22

These white clouds are stunning!! We have the normal and golden white clouds, but I've been looking for the yellow fin white clouds for months. Hopefully Aqua Huna can get them in soon.

March 21

On 3/20/2024 at 7:17 PM, clownbaby said:

Hello! This sounds super fun. Ponds and water gardens are great and are so amazing to watch and see grow!

My first question is: what is the size of your barrel? Most wooden barrels are about 30 gallons, which is a great size. Make sure your barrel is not treated with any wood sealants, stains, or chemicals. If it isn't treated with anything... great! The first thing you want to do is go around every corner and wood piece and seal it with aquarium-safe silicone. Leaks are not fun! You may also want to sand down any parts of the barrel that are rough, but that is technically optional.

For "in the morning" sunlight, does this mean 6 am to 11:30 am, or something like 9 am to 11:30 am? How many hours of light you receive will be dependent on the heat of the barrel. I'm unsure what fish you'd like to keep... My general recommendation would be a hardy fish that can handle drastic temperature changes and likes to take up the bottom, middle, and top of the water column, since I assume your barrel is vertically aligned.

Koi and goldfish varieties will not thrive in this size, as it is too small and they create a large amount of bioload. I would say that ricefish, sunset platys, and some killifish are good options. One of my favorite fish is the pygmy sunfish! They can handle temperatures as low as 45 degrees and up to 86 degrees, making them great for an all-year-round species to keep outdoors. Many varieties are endemic to Florida and the subtropical coast, too! I would definitely recommend them. The bigger varieties maybe go to about 3 inches, but mostly they stay under three inches. They love dense cover with lots of vegetation.

Now, as a nerd for ecology, I am going to warn you about what plants you select. Please only choose native plants. Aquatic plants can be extremely invasive and have destroyed so many wetlands throughout the world. Even if you do not release a plant that is nonnative / exotic, it could spread seeds through wind, birds, etc. In the end, we cannot allow our hobby of embracing and enjoying nature to destroy ecosystems, so it is better to be safe than sorry. Please do not plant exotics or invasives and only plant natives for outdoor ponds and aquariums. Exotics (and even invasives) are okay and have no issues contained in an indoor aquarium, but outdoors is just too risky.
Luckily for you, many aquatic plants (even ones common in aquaria) are common and native to Florida!

There are many options of native plants, many of which are easily found at pet stores, LFS, and online!
Native floating plants in Florida:

Duckweed (lemna minor)

American lotus*

Banana Lily

Fragrant Lily*

Spatterdock / Cow Lily*

Watershield*

Fairy Moss / Mosquito Fern (azolla caroliniana)

Little Floating Heart (nymphoides cordata)

Wolffiella gladiata

Native submerged plants in Florida:

Hydrocotyle species

Cabomba

Ludwigia (l. repens & l. arcuata)

Bog Moss (mayaca fluviatilis)

Loose Water Milfoil

Guppy Grass (najas guadalupensis)

Hornwort

American Eelgrass (Vallisneria)

Muskgrass / Chara species

Hygrophila costata (the more-common hygrophila polysperma is incredibly invasive and should not be planted!)

Native Emergent [E] and Shoreline [SH] plants in Florida:

Golden Canna [SH]

Water Spider Orchid [E - semi aquatic]

Smooth Water Hyssop [E]

Golden Club [E - semi aquatic]

Arrow Arum [E or SH]

Pickerelweed [E or SH]

Lizard’s Tail [SH]

*These plants are larger and may not work for a smaller pond or barrel set-up!

Now, some plants are invasive, and some are decimating destruction tornados. All invasives and exotics should be avoided for outdoor ponds, but some should never ever ever be planted.

Decimating Destruction Tornados [extremely invasive plants] in Florida:

Water Lettuce**

Alligatorweed

Waterhyacinth**

Eurasian watermilfoil**

Limnophila sessiliflora (ambulia)

Salvinia

Water Spinach

Lyngbya

Invasive plants in Florida:

Parrot’s Feather

Mosaic Plant (ludwigia sedioides)

Crested Floating Heart (Nymphoides cristata)

Hydrilla Rotala

rotundifolia

Potamogeton crispus

Brazilian Pennywort

Amazon Frogbit

Creeping Jenny

Watercress

Ludwigia peploides

Escaping plants in Florida (plants that have been reported to spread, but have not survived in the wild or did not cause a large effect):

Amazon sword

Dwarf Baby Tears

Water Purslane

Sacred Bamboo

Water Clover

**these plants are also illegal

Finally, go online and look up inspo for how to aquascape it! I do not know if you could go without a filter… I would still recommend an airstone or sponge filter at least, this surface agitation would keep mosquitos and damselflies/dragonflies from laying their eggs within the pond. Floating plants would probably help too. I’ve seen one barrel pond in which it had little shelves attached to the inside to create more area for plants to grow. Maybe try that?

Anyway, I hope this helped a little bit! I cannot wait to see updates!

This is beyond helpful, thank you!!

Ok, so the barrel will most likely be plastic. I love the look of a whiskey barrel, but it's easier (and cheaper) for me to get plastic. It would be about 25-30 gallons.

As for direct light, it would get direct light from 8:00 AM until about noon. My wife wants to get a yard umbrella, so that would block the sun completely. Summers here can be brutal.

Something I saw on YT was a barrel pond where someone had drilled a hole and covered the opening with mesh to prevent overflow. That might be something I do as well. We get tons of rain for about 6-8 months.

I've never owned Rice fish, but I've seen videos where Cory showed his outdoor tubs with them. They seem super hardy! I was hoping for a Guppy pond. Would the shade from the umbrella plus plants help keep the water temp below a dangerous level for Guppies?

Thank you so much for the plant breakdown. I had no idea that frogbit was considered invasive here. I have tons of it in my aquariums. I love Ludwigia repens, and I'm obsessed with Hydrocotyle! I'm so glad these are good options. As for the Amazon sword, would that spread if the tub had a cover (mesh or fencer wire)?

The Pickerelweed, Arrum, and Golden Canna look amazing! I'd love to see any of those growing out of the pond. There's so much to consider. I can't thank you enough @clownbaby🙂

March 20

On 3/19/2024 at 6:52 PM, Whitecloud09 said:

Thanks for update, could not react to post because have done that to much it says today 😉. Sorry about the betta, yeah I don’t have good luck either with those guys, I guess maybe they have been bred way to much and are weaker with lower health.

It's a shame, because I was doing well as far as keeping fish alive for a while and then lost two of our girls in less than two months. We got four of them from the same fish farm, so I'm hoping the others will be ok. Time will tell.

March 19

I'm hoping to get some guidance on setting up a small outdoor pond with fish that can handle Florida weather. Ideally I would use a barrel, and keep it in an area that only gets direct sun in the morning. I'm also hoping to set one up without a filter, but plenty of plants. Any tips would be appreciated.

March 19

Tank update:

We lost our girl Sienna last week. I noticed she was not using the open space of the tank for a couple days. When I went in for a closer look, I saw pine coning. I separated her, treated her as well as I could in a separate container, but she passed two days later. I tested the water and did a water change as a precaution, but none of the other fish were affected. She was the second Betta I've lost this year, and I've decided not to get any more for a while. I have 3 females and 2 males left (all in individual tanks).

Everything is going well with the fish, except that my new Agassizii Corydoras spend most of the time in the plants and I rarely see them. I think a couple of the Minnows will be dropping fry soon, so that's exciting. The tank won't be the same without Sienna, but I still enjoy the other fish. My wife helped me set up some waffle plants to sit with their roots in the water. I'm hoping they can thrive this way. I'm battling a bit of BBA and green hair algae atm, but it's not too bad. I might add some Amano shrimp in the future.

March 19

On 2/9/2024 at 7:16 AM, EggShappedFish said:

Hello all

I have recently decided to give up on Facebook, Instagram and Reddit, but realised that along with all the toxicity, I also cut out a lot of the better stuff, like the groups of people that share the same passions as I. Therefore I am very happy to see that forums are still around if not better than what they used to be!

I have had fishtanks since the 90s although with periods where I was not able to keep fish. I have some experience with many types of fresh water fish, but at I feel that I have settled on fancy goldfish.

I love DIY solutions and my style is:

Maybe I could make this better

This is not made for this, but maybe it could work

If it works it works. It does not also have to be pretty

I love creating content, sharing updates and ideas of what I am doing and trying to present it in an interesting way. I loved Instagram for this, but I haven't posted anything there since November (when META forced us in the EU to choose between targeted ads, or ad-free experience for €10 a month per profile!). Instead I am working on a blog that might become something at some point. It's not here yet though.

On the side, I like messing graphics, logos, video editing etc.

I also like helping others, and I love not only learning new things, but especially being proven wrong because then I learn something new that I thought was correct. I look forward to getting to know you and sharing the hobby with all of you.

It's great to have you! I recently decided to stop posting on IG as well. The reach and interaction just isn't there anymore. It's humbling when you put the time into creating a reel or post and it only gets seen by less than 10% of the people who follow you. I'm not willing to pay or advertise for likes, so I come here and also to the planted tank forum, as well as a couple groups I found on FB. I encourage you to post and keep updates in the journal section. Those are some beautiful goldfish btw🙂

March 15

On 3/14/2024 at 11:46 PM, Ninjoma said:

Dang, those are awesome crypts. Makes me want to shop around for some less common species/variants.

Thank you! I order them from Aquascaping supply in Orlando. You can reach out to them on IG. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to realize how amazing crypts are.

March 14

I just got the prints mounted in my office today. Couldn't be happier with how they came out😍

March 14

Great start! I'm currently growing a Crypt carpet with what was sold to me as Wendtii Indonesian Brown. They are thriving in three separate tanks. They would look great between the wood and carpet you have growing in. I have them in a 5 g shallow, and two 20 longs. In the pic, you can see the older browns in the center, and the newer ones I planted to the right. The light green leaves were from emersed growth, and the darker fuller leaves are new submerged growth. It has become my favorite plant.

March 11

You did it! Those are great choices for additional plants. They'll fill in the background very nicely. We have White cloud minnows and they are beautiful and very hardy. Another great choice. It's all coming together👏

March 11

On 3/10/2024 at 4:45 AM, Pepere said:

It is a Pink Flamingo Crypt. While it is growing well now, it sat and struggled for about 8 - 9 months with old leaves melting away about as fast as new ones would sprout before it finally started to take off..

8-9 months! Wow, you're very patient. I may have given up long before then. Your scape is lovely. I love the placement of the Pink Flamingo😍

March 11

On 3/11/2024 at 11:40 AM, J3azy said:

Hello,

I am new to the hobby, purchased a 10G in 11/2023 and a 75G in 2/2024. The 75G went through a fishless cycle and I am now adding fish. My LFS has some electric blue acaras that I want for the 75G, but their stock of EBAs was on hold last week due to ich. I called yesterday and the fish are no longer on hold and available for sale. Should I have any concerns about purchasing fish that recently had ich? I am wondering if I should buy or wait another week or two.

I agree with waiting. It's better to be patient and have the peace of mind that you're getting healthy fish. It could also depend on the LFS's track record. If you've been buying from them for a while and feel like they sell healthy fish, maybe the risk isn't that great. A good LFS will put the health of the fish first.

March 11

On 3/7/2024 at 1:03 PM, Whitecloud09 said:

Wow that is amazing! Quick Q @Scaperoot, I was wondering if u use easy iron for your crypts, I was wondering because easy iron is kinda pricey with having to buy root tabs too. I was planning on getting some Cryptocoryne green and red from AC. Obviously I need root tabs but is easy iron essential? Might need to say this in a actual topic about this… Idk really…

So sorry, I thought I had replied but I guess it never went through. I've never used easy iron. I know Cory has actually said that most people don't need it. I stick to easy green and root tabs. Success has been hit or miss. I have a shallow tank with amazing crypts. Those same crypts grow well, but not quite AS WELL in my bigger tanks. Not sure why. You should start a journal and track your progress!

March 11

We raised the light and everything looks so much better! I also added Melini and Agassizi Corys😊

March 7

Here are a couple pics I took today. My crypt carpet is starting to come in😊

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