Neekko

I'm looking for other loaches I can keep in water temps between 65°-72° F (18°-22° C). I would choose a dojo, but they may be a bit big for my needs. I am also fond of shoaling activity, so hillstream isn't it, either. I'm looking for a cold-water snail buster crew, basically. I was looking at yo-yos, but the temperature requirements I found in my research are too varied! What loaches have you successfully kept that thrive in lower temperatures?

It took some effort from weighing a ton, but the 100gal stand is finally in the sunroom/office! It's placed right next to my desk! Ideally, I'd want it behind me so the tank is visible during Zoom meetings, but to the side will do. I also moved my 40gal to the other side of the room. I'm starting a fresh cycle and new plants for it should be arriving soon. All my stock and existing plants & sponge filters are currently in that bottom 20gal or in a storage bin filled with water. Next, to get the sunroom back order. Literally everything had to be shifted around and there's currently a mess of boxes everywhere. I can't wait for this. to finally look like a presentable fish room!

Thanks for the recommendation -- Geophagus sound neat! They are something I have never kept before. Cichlids in general sound fun to have!

I'm here to blog about my first large tank! Several weeks ago I was met with great luck -- a 100-gallon acrylic tank with stand & miscellaneous decor/supplies for less than $200 from a seller who only lived a mile from me! The tank and stand barely fit in our garage with the car... The stand was very rusty, so I spent this weekend and yesterday cleaning it up giving it coats of Rustoleum and glossy enamel: I gave the stand a good scrub and sanding to get rid of as much of the rust as possible... First coat -- Rustoleum Reformer to prevent the remaining rust from spreading further. Top coat -- shiny black enamel to give it that brand-new look! This is also my first time restoring any kind of furniture and I'm quite proud of what I've done! My next step is to clear out space for it in my office/future fish room. It's currently a mess of boxes & junk because we just moved into the house last year and my severe ADHD keeps me from making much progress in unpacking & organizing, but I hope this tank project puts some fire under my feet! The sunroom of our house serves as my work-from-home office. It also doubles as the cat room and will also become my fish room! You can see that I already have a couple tanks set up with my current fish... I also need to ponder on what to put in the 100-gallon tank. I'm currently favoring several ranchu goldfish, but feel free to throw other stocking ideas at me!!! I'll continue to update this thread as my project progresses...

Beautiful scapes! The koi betta with blue eyes is an amazing combo! Makes me miss keeping bettas.

Thank you for the welcome! I was thinking maybe white cloud minnows, or a trio of shubunkin for the pond. But definitely something winter-hardy so I don't have to take them inside during the coldest time of the year. It's funny that you mentioned cherry shrimp -- I have a rimless 17-gallon tank that I plan on aquascaping while housing cherry shrimp! I've been wanting to be more active in the local community and joining the local club sounds like a fun idea!

Hello from Burien, WA! I'm Neekko, pronouns he/him/his. I am a professional web developer and hobby illustrator. I'm originally from Oahu, Hawaii and moved to the mainland for college & to be with my partner of 16 years. I've lived in the greater Seattle area for 4 years now and have been an avid viewer and customer of Aquarium Co-Op for almost as long. I got my prized Amazon puffer from them: Recently, Chewy sent me a painting of my puffer for National Aquarium Month! Look at how happy he is for the painting! I'm currently working on an outdoor pond that came with our house. It's still cycling, but I am excited to add some fish to it! a' Eventually (soonish), I also want to expand my indoor collection. Anyway, thanks for having me! I look forward to seeing what ya'll are working on. 🙂