beastie

And i managed to capture Xmas lights in the picture too! Total Hallmark material :)))

Who has the cutest butterfly of them all? 🙂

Maintenace, did two tanks two days ago, did the rest of the tanks today. Gravel vac at both asian and big tanks, no issues anywhere. I have to offer my rabbit snails for sale, I think I counted 20 snails in my 54 liter tank! Madness. And I cant even put them in other tanks, too cold, too bolivian ram, too planted and wouldnt be able to gravel vac! I must say I am still unsure about my big tank. The embers/rummynose numbers are low and the fish is ok but not o great, the pearl gouramis are so far meh, I wish we have had honey gouramis available instead, because the pearls are just standing around. For once my b-rams are not guarding so they hang out in their foursome all over the tank, which is fun. The plants are not doing that well, I need new fertilizer and to buy that damn rotala. Sterbais are a big let down, they were one of the fish I was most excited when planning, mainly because of the videos of the large schools of just fed corydoras, but overall they just...sit around. And are not even growing as expected or breeding, which should have happened. Maybe I hyped them up too much in my head. Maybe the cherry barbs would be what the tank needs, but I am afraid I a buying more and more without deterining the root cause....

What was always a safe bet for me was to add a bunch of leaves, oak, adder, magnolia, whatever. That was a safety net for me that the snails would eat instead of the plants. In a community tank i noticed the snail is distressed cause when it finally reaches the pellet the fish are poking at it and trying to take it away and it hardly eats any of it. Maybe feeding at night or repashy thin long stripes or something. They eat very heavily, i feed mine every other day, lettuce, carrots, bell peppers,leafy greens, zucchini,... And those are the foods fish won't eat so they won't bother it too much

How often and what do you feed? Mine ate all the sagittaria, the lotus bulb was super yum and eaten within days. But they tend to eat easier food (pellets, leaves vegetables)

Tbh out of all the schoolers i have had so far i loved my harlequins for the five years i have had them very much. Also zebra danios, fun fish and now i have white cloud minnows, also impressive behavior, not too dull for a schooler.

I have seven of them in my asian tank, i don't feel like they need the lid that much, i have a hole where i feed and they hang under it but in the year that i have had them they never tried to jump out, unlike hatchetfish for example. They are an adorable and fun fish!!!

I am considering replacing the 60x30x30cm with something slightly larger the table could still hold, like 70x35x30 or something cm and looking into some apistogramma or other small cichlids that could survive in a pair in such dimension Ofcourse this is a rabbit hole, cause then I could replace the cube which is an old tank with this 54 liters and so on and so forth....

And i have bolivian rams with sterbais corydoras and my rams are constantly breeding and the only aggression is chasing the other b-ram aways. May be charging at the sterbais to swim in another direction but zero injuries. Maybe their agression is in smaller spaces or so. I recommend against the ember tetras, they don't appreciate the large space and are lazy and not fun to watch and prone to overeating so it is a hassle to feed corydras with them. For cpd think 'jungle' tank, not a bare tank like yours, they will be so stressed and so shy. Absolutely yes to the honey gourami, get as much as your space allows, their behavior is said to be so different in a group setting other than in a pair and they are so lovely. If i had a good source here i would so do that!!! Keep the betta for a small tank you will inevitably end up with, they don't enjoy the community tank and it doesn't enjoy them right back. Consider other schoolers and you have a great setup!!!

Thank you guys. The trouble with me having so many tanks is that i most often usually have what you suggest 🙂 i hahave four amano shrimp in my largest tank and they are so large they don't even consider the bolivian rams as predators. For them i have to split the algae wafers into so many small pieces otherwise they take it all and don't let the fish have any :). I also have a cherry shrimp colony and recently got a bunch of no color/cull shrimps for my asian tank to manage all the moss. I have nerites in every tank too, horned and zebra, they are priceless helpers. I will keep thinking. I really want the dario but the supplier said it may take months (already two months ago) so i have to be patient as i assume they are wild caught in spring or something. I also read about danionella but never even heard of having anyone keep them, and pygmy sunfish are not often in stock here either. I will do more goby reading though

I got the itch to do some change to my tanks but I am unsure which way to go. I have three tanks that could be mixed and matched in some way. A 60x30x30 cm tank now sitting at 25 degrees with 14 pseudomugil luminatus and so many rabbit snails. 40x40x40 cm tank with 10 pygmy corydoras and 10 least rasboras and a 55x40x30 cm tank with clown killifish sitting at 20 degrees. I think i would like to move or trade my rabbit snails. While i enjoyed them i have had them for over two years and they prevent me from any bottom dwellers. I also am awaiting shipment of some dario hysgion trio but the supplier is unsure when they will arrive, it may be months. I was thinking some hara jerdoni maybe. Or kuhli loaches. Or move the pygmy corydoras to the luminatus and add some more. I considered moving the least rasbora to my indostomus tank at some point in the future. Or maybe move some of the rabbit snails to the pygmy corydoras/least rasbora tank and do something for the luminatus? I am unsure about what i want...infuriating 🙂

Anyone would say any of the nannostomus are a good option? I have mixed research on them

I have never had barbs but I always wanted them. When I was planning my asian tank I initially thought about odessa, for the temp, but the tank was on the bit too small side. I will definitely check your videos though and will keep thinking barbs 🙂 I used to have zebra danios back in the day, fun fish, but I would want something different ( I try not to cycle back to fish I had before)

I would say absolutely not but due to the size and timidness. I have 6 clown killifish (those are the rockets you mean right?) and they are like pea sized and take forever to notice food. I would be mildly worried the pearl gourami would eat them alongside his food by mistake 🙂 They would not enjoy boisterous company or bright light or movement of the water cause they are just too nano. You could try one of the hatchetfish, but they are just so... but so far they work swell with my pearls (hatchetfish have been there for 2 years, the pearl gourami just a month and half, so my experience is still invalid) I would still lean forward one of the rasboras like espei or hengeli or zebra danios. Active, fun, peaceful, not too large bioload like livebearers would be, will work with neons and rummynose. Or make a different change, replace the sand, replant, redo the decor, increase the current schools and have a same but different experience

I have a 360 liters but only 120 cm in length. even years back I wanted rainbowfish cause the color and the activity, but lately every picture of especially the boesemani ones look like the salmons after they spawned. what is with the body deformity and the weird shape? I agree but it does not change my preference. I have seen tanks with 200 green neons, they are stunning, I have seen tanks with hundreds normal neons, also lovely. I have seen blackwater tanks for cardinals or emperor tetras and in the right setup they are breathtaking. But that is not my setup and behavior wise, they will be as boring as embers I assume. Also they are in EVERY damn tank here and they have one of the weakest genetic stocks. My tank is barely planted and overly bright, they would look so whitewashed in there But noted, they dont deserve my hate, but years of seeing three neons in a 50 liter soup just made me never want to have them 🙂

I had the same idea but did a little research yesterday and they are not for every community, and definitely not for mine 😞

The tank has no heater so mostly at 19-21 degrees C and high flow. Not every asia likes every asia :)) i tried paradise fish there for a while but had to give it away. Angry fella. For thomasi cichlids do you mean Anomalochromis thomasi? They could work but might be shy. I like my bolivian rams way more 🙂

The reason why i didn't recommend any of the pseudomugil is because they are from shallow waters and everyone keeping them in larger tank reports them being super shy. And they pop the most in a dimply lit tank. People moving them from like 200 liters to 60 report way better behavior. My Pearl gourami are at 25 degrees as is the rest of the tank and i only had them few months but they live up to several years so 🙂 i have a male and a female and they chase each other occasionally through the whole length anyways. Chilli rasboras are too tiny for your tank. I have ember tetras instead of your neons and they are red but oh so boring. Check out my journal the tank is there somewhere.

I have a very very similar stocking :) tbh most of your options are a no go Betta sororities almost never work and are too risky to attempt Most rainbow fish like bosemani need like 120cm length and current to swim against and you do not have that. Same for odessa barbs, longer the better and they are a bit too large if compared to neons. And they can be nippy. I do not have enough knowledge about angelfish. Your best option really is increasing the numbers of current school, especially corydoras, but pick the same variety, they don't really school amongst themselves. You could also increase the rummynose to like 15. I absolutely adored my harlequin rasboras. They were so much fun and active and can't recommend enough. Aren't your pearl gourami enough of a centerpiece colorful fish? I have had mine only for a while but they are fun

Totally, I have like fourty of them in another tank as the only shoaler and they are amazing

Since there are many keepers here with much experience - what in your opinion is the best mid dwelling fish for a community. I am doing some research, as my ember tetras are dying out, my rummynose were obviously purchased as adults (some of them) as they are very large and there may come a time next year where I will have to either boost the rummynose numbers and create a large school or buy another mid level fish. To be completely honest, I do not like the ember tetras, they are boring, prone to overeating, so static all the time (especially compared to the rummynose) so it is most likely safe to say I will not like any similar ones (black, lemon, ..) and I vowed when I began fishkeeping to never ever keep neons (cardinals, blue, whichever) as they are in every beginner tank, every badly made setup and they are such a boring fish. I also have and have had many other fish you are likely to recommend, doesnt mean they are not good choices though. Looking for your recommendations. Thank you

Because I will do a water change later today, I fed bloodworms, some algae wafers (for the otocinclus, but they are not the one who get to eat it). I also found a dead white cloud minnow on the glass support beam under the lid, was there for some time apparently, I nearly hurled. Sometimes the hobby is not so fun. Managed to get a nice picture of my amano, and I tried to use a sieve to separate smaller bloodworms for pygmy corydoras, and ended up with a sieve full of bloodworms, so I just dumped it in the tank for the garras to clean. No idea how other people do it, I guess the pygmies will just get to eat the rotifers and the bbs and the rest with the rasboras

Well for once right now I do not have any airpump free and the box is just so damn tiny I do not know how much would I even have to restrict the flow to the barest minimum Also on the other hand I sort of hoped thanks to the holes in the bottom there will be some water exchange and the surface area to be large enough to promote oxygen but if not, I will have to wait with further experiments till I get some small airpump. I also have no idea where the snails come from, as they are never there when I put the moss in. The reason why I am even trying is after my initial success with clown killifish and luminatus, I no longer have new fry. Either I feed too little ( I think my paramecium cultures crashed, will try to restart them after the holidays) or the juveniles are eating the youngest fry

Hi guys . So I have a one liter breeding box ( for guppies or something) with slits in the bottom. I tried several times moving a clump of moss and pair of fish, or just moss filled with eggs, but it never amounts to anything and I always end up with snails, film on the surface, mess and no fry. I thought the air exchange from the surface will be enough. Should I lift it up to dump the older water and the debries and fill with new? Wont that risk the eggs? How do you do it, without an airstone? Thanks

Thanks for your experience! Based on what I read in other forums/threads most people have some problems with the activity level of the pygmy corydoras as they can go from completely crazy to completely hidden in a matter of days. What I find curious in my tank is, the biggest corydoras that was obviously older than the others in the batch, is always active, always somewhere front and center, and from the others I can hardly see them. They do a lot of leaf resting and under leaf hiding case in point. On the other hand I just counted the visible rasboras and got to 11. Last week I couldnt get above 5-6. Where the heck were the other fish hiding, did they take a vacation and came back recently? Confusing, but loving the fact that they are more out. If you however notice they hang out in this one particular spot in a strange manner. Is that a normal behavior for them? I have to watch some videos I guess