[Bullseye Puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus)]

Thank you!

Thats more or less what I was thinking but a lot more in-depth and easy to follow. 

[Bullseye Puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus)]

Hello all,

My wife just got me a Bullseye Puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus) for my birthday, his(?) eyes are absolutely gorgeous blue, red, and yellow.

I was hoping someone here had experience with them and could answer a few questions. As usual most of the general internet stuff is either obvious bosh, conflicting or just plain vague. 

I believe they are one of the larger species and get between 12 and 16 inches in length and mature at 4-6 inches in size.  They are also listed as freshwater brackish water and saltwater they migrate to saltier conditions as they mature. My main question is whether or not the move to a more saline environment is necessary and if so how and when to make the transition. I have found answers that say they can be kept entirely in fresh water, that brackish water is a must but good enough, and also that they must be in full salt water as adults.  Most of the trustworthy information i have found considers them to be an estuarine species and capable of tolerating the obvious wide swings in salinity that entails.  My guess is that for this reason they can thrive in any of the three water types with some staying in the fresh water wile others migrate all the way to full ocean salt.

I was full on cichlid guy until i got a batch of murder beans last year (they are some of the least aggressive fish i have ever seen, the chili Rasboras i have with them are actually the ones that are chasing them) and i am becoming a puffer fan. I think my ideal tank right now would have my Oscar Gramps, (my grandfather was Oscar) and a school of 5 or 6 Amazon puffers together.  

T

[Hill-stream loach ID help]

Here is a better picture of two of the smaller ones, they are the same size for all practical purposes. 
Also a frame of video of the one on the rock taking evasive action.  I think I saw somewhere that on species has pale blue dorsal an caudal fins, I increased the vibrance a tiny bit and cropped it but that’s all the editing.

[Hill-stream loach ID help]

On 3/13/2023 at 6:46 PM, Colu said:

The one with the spots at the front and stripes at the back could a female Gastromyzon zebrinus the one with the spots could be Gastromyzon scitsulus  I just read that they come in as contaminants with zebrinus  @neidzwiedz

Thanks guys!

That’s the way I was leaning but I haven’t kept them before and online pictures tend to be too varied for a novice like me 🤣

[Hill-stream loach ID help]

I have four ‘hill-stream loaches’. The 2 others are patterned the same as the top one and about the same size. Since it is bigger and has a different pattern, I’m wondering if it’s a a separate genus/species or different gender? They were all bought at the same time and only labeled as ‘hill-stream loach’. Any ID help would be appreciated. 

[Self Awareness in Fish]

I came across this study from Osaka Metropolitan University today and I thought this would be the perfect place to share it.

https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/info/research-news/entry-23252.html

[New Angels]

On 1/31/2023 at 9:51 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Panda? Don't Koi technically have to have orange?

Thanks for the suggestion.  Now i kinda hope they are pandas to go with the 6 panda corys i have in the same tank 😁

[New Angels]

I just picked up these three beauties. Any ideas on the variety? The biggest and the smallest might be Koi but I’m not sure, their bodies are more gold then white and the third one is a shiny silver. 
these are my first angels and the LFS had them in a tank together, the last three. The kid that got them for me has only been working there a couple weeks so he didn’t know. 
 

thanks

[Why did the under gravel filter lose popularity?]

On 1/26/2023 at 12:13 PM, Sweet Fish O Mine said:

With some searching you should be able to find a new plate that will fit. It doesn't have to fully cover every mm of floor space, but if it covered most that would be nice.

Also, do you have the stainless steel top to go with it? I do! 

The top is a heavy duty screen with a stainless rim to fit over the top and the light is also a separate piece. 

[Why did the under gravel filter lose popularity?]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:56 PM, Sweet Fish O Mine said:

UGF never lost popularity on my tanks, I presently have 4 running. Two of them are over 50 years old! The first is a Halvin unit running in the original vintage 50 gallon stainless steel tank it was set up in, powered by the legendary Silent Giant air pump which is also 50+ years old. Back then UGF units didn't use air stones, just a line that metered the air into the uplift tube.

The second is a Metaframe "HIFI" 5 gallon unit that I got with my first tank as a kid... Which has recently been resealed and set up. Check out the intricate design that was put into the plate to channel the flow. They don't make 'em like they used to!  On this one I "updated"(?) the uplift tube in the 80's to the more modern stye which uses an air stone.

'Metaframe "HIFI" 5 gallon unit that I got with my first tank as a kid' This was my first tank as well, it had belonged to my mother for several years. I just pulled mine out of storage and resealed it as well and im using it to breed snails for my Pea Puffers.  Sadly the plastic had become very brittle and as broken in several places.  I just got back into the hobby after a 15-20 year absence and am using HOBs because they are convenient, but back then all my tanks from that 5 up to my 29 had UGFs in them.  I very well may go back to them the next time i rescape a tank.

[29 gallon aquarium ideas]

Sorry I'm a bit late to this party, but i noticed your question about they petricola.  About 15-20 years ago i had one in a 29 gallon with an Oscar (temporary) a pair of Jack Dempseys and a Common Pleco, at the time that was the only variety you could find around here.  They all got along fine, until i lost the tank in an accident. All of the other fish were juveniles and so they were all about the same size, 4-5 inches.  I definitely had to keep up on the water changes but otherwise i didn't have any real issues.

 

[Mixed lighting for fast plant growth]

Thanks guys, that’s kinda what I thought but I figured I’d ask the experience. 

[Mixed lighting for fast plant growth]

Hello all,

I’ve got a relatively new tank set up and I’m trying to get the plants grown out as fast as possible and still keep them healthy and robust. 
the lighting I am currently using is full spectrum an lights the tank well.  I remembered this evening that I had an RGB LED strip light i fabricated a while ago, so I decided to get it out and see if it will help at all.

my question is, should I set it to red or blue or cycle the two, ie red for four hours then blue for four hours, or some other combination. 
 

Thanks

[Marimo Moss Ball]

On 12/26/2022 at 1:53 PM, lefty o said:

correct your date, 2021 not 2001. i dont think much has changed recently with this.

Thanks! 
Corrected. 

[Hello All]

Hello all,

New to the forums as I am getting back into the hobby after a 15 or so year hiatus. 

Last time around i had a 3 year old Oscar, a pair of Fire Mouths, a pair of Jack Dempseys and a Synodontis Cat.  Unfortunately when we left for a vacation i unplugged the filtration system instead of the PC and when we came 10 days later the tanks were black sludge and the house reeked of death.  Of course it was rather traumatic! Shortly after that we moved and by the time I was ready to get back on the wagon we didn't have the space.  

Fast Forward 15 years and I am able to start up my tanks again. at the moment i have

1. 20 high with 6 Sunburst platys a Clown pleco, 3 Hillstream loaches, and 15 or so ghost shrimp.

2. 20 gallon long with 7 Dalmation mollies (3 are fry), 2 Otos, 15 shrimp, and a couple of snails.

3. 10 gallon with a Koi plakat betta (the most docile betta i have ever seen!), 2 Panda corys 4 shrimp and 2 Mystery snails.

4. 3.5 Gallon with a Dragon scale betta (my wife's) and who knows how many ramshorn snails

5 5 gallon that my mother got for a High School graduation present in the mid 60's that i use for plant storage and snails (my wife has decided she adores snails to the point she was willing to give the molly fry to the betas as a treat but is constantly pulling out the baby snails so they wont get eaten.)

[Marimo Moss Ball]

As far a I know they are not being sold in the US anymore, at least since early 2021, because zebra mussels were found in several import shipments and almost all stores voluntarily stopped selling them. The FDA recommended bleaching and or boiling any you already own to destroy them.  They have since changed the advice to allow for a 6 month quarantine with no water changes. The last thing anyone wants is more zebra mussels in the water.

If that has changed i would love to know because i have been wanting a few myself.  You can probably order them online from outside the country but i myself wouldn't do that.

https://www.fws.gov/media/zebra-mussel-disposal-instructions