redmare

That’s beautiful! I wonder how old those oscars are… mine was good with plants for the first 8 months or so and then decided they must die

So over the last… 6 months or so, I’ve been on the down side of enthusiasm about my aquariums. This is a pretty normal cycle for me, it hits highs and lows and comes back around. I’ve been trying to maximize the hobby by minimizing it lately. I’ve condensed and gotten rid of tanks so I’m now running 4, rather than 8 like I was last summer. When I initially set up my tanks, I didn’t think about longevity of my plant choices or scapes, and picked mostly stem plants that would just take over and then die on the bottom and just get nasty. My 10 gallon used to have a super fancy scape I was so proud of and now it’s just kind of a mess- quite a healthy mess, but not so attractive. I’ve really fallen in love with different crypt varieties since they grow slow and love a messy substrate, as well as house plants growing out the top- pothos consumes waste like nothing I’ve tried before! so I’m planning on doing a bit of a restart in at least two of my tanks, plant/hard scape wise, but I’m not sure what I should do to help build this low maintenance, pretty, sustainable vision I have. This is my most recently updated tank- it’s a 29 gallon, primarily with guppies and endlers, plus some kuhli loaches that moved in when condensing tanks, a Bristlenose pleco, and an angelfish I got about a month ago to help eat guppy fry. I love the big healthy crypts I’ve got growing in the middle, but the rest of it is just kinda empty or messy. And also a handle of a net that fell in and I haven’t moved because I find it fun watching the fish go through it. this is my other 29 gallon. It has some pristella tetras, an angel, what used to be 3 endlers and is now like 30 (I want to catch them and put them with the other endlers but they’re sneaky), a long fin bristlenose, and a few panda cories. I think I’ve lost a few of them in the last year- or they’re sneakier. The crypts are the newest plants in here as well, and also my favourite. The moss is annoying and keeps growing bba, but the endlers like to peck at it so that’s fine. I used to have the back filled with stem plants but now they’re just kind of all gone and it’s empty at the back. This tank is in my living room and could really do with an aesthetic upgrade. this is my 10 gallon that used to be awesome and is now just kind of… well, this. It got a few random occupants as I condensed tanks and now currently has a (very chill) betta, a few neon and ember tetras, two oto cats, cherry shrimp, and an abundance of tiny ramshorn snails. Of all my tanks, this one I most want to basically tear down and start from scratch again. The next 3 photos are what this tank was when I set it up initially a few years ago… I miss it 😞 and then this is my last tank, 180 gallons with my pride and joy Ursula the Oscar. I tried keeping plants in with her which worked when she was tiny, but she enjoys destruction like any good Oscar. I want to change her tank around a bit to make it prettier- it is like half my bedroom- but obviously there’s not a ton I can do. I do love the emersed plants I’ve got going though! And fun fact, those green pebbles used to be scattered around. She put them in a pile there. so please- if you look at these tanks and have any ideas as to what plants or hard scape or other changes would make them better- but be super easy to maintain- please let me know! Also they all used to have black backs on them but I think in most cases the cats thwarted that plan I’ve been meaning to stick them back on. Thanks so much for any input, or general encouragement!

This would be a pretty straightforward design with some 2x4s. frames for the rim to sit on, resting on legs. I have one at home that's just one on top of one but you could expand it sideways pretty easily. I think I based it off a design by kgtropicals

There's no reason you couldn't but bio media on the substrate, it will grow bacteria anywhere it's coming in contact with water. If your tanks are already stable and running with whatever media you have though, I wouldn't feel the need to add to it or swap it around. Why are you wanting to add additional media?

It's a very open opportunity! The prof I'll be working for does population ecology mainly, but he says he's happy to help me design just about any experiment I'm interested in. We've been talking about doing some behaviour based studies since that's something particularly interesting to both of us! We were talking about perhaps temperature and spawning behaviour/aggression I will 100% come back to share along the way! I think there's such a wealth of knowledge here that could be so useful in designing and troubleshooting a project like this! Along with my supervisor of course 🙂 Yes! He has been my fish ecology prof this semester and that's how I found out about the opportunity. He knows my interest is in aquarium fish, and his research is in native populations, but he's down to help me design a hobby-based experiment!

Hi fish friends! So I have an opportunity to do my honours thesis next year working in a fish lab (how cool is that???) This will involve designing my own research project, carrying it out, and publishing a paper on my findings. I think this could be such a cool opportunity to try and mythbust some aquarium lore or learn more about the things that affect us as hobbyists. My question to you is... what are some big questions you have about the way fish work? What would you love to find out but don't have the resources (or time or energy) to test? I have some ideas already but there's such a smart science-based community here I thought I'd see what cool ideas the nerms have. Some of the things I've thought of: How different diets affect growth/reproduction, how temperature affects sex ratios of livebearers, SOMEthing to do with salt and it's medicinal properties... there's honestly so many things. So many potential topics in breeding, in growth and development, and in disease treatment. The possibilities are a bit overwhelming!

I don't have kanaplex, Canada. I moved him into my always-ready qt with 1tbsp/2gal salt. we'll see, hoping for the best. he still is acting fine... very happy to explore his new digs 😞

I haven't seen or not seen a poop. But I don't think constipation would get so severe so fast.

My betta friend was looking perfectly normal yesterday. He was kind of big this morning, as though he had just had a very large meal, this evening he is severely bloated and pineconing. I had no idea this kind of thing happened so fast!! 10 gallon, 80 degrees, tank running for nearly a year, had this betta for a few months, he lives with 6 ember tetras and shrimp, params 0/0/5, water change 20% a week, struggle to keep enough nitrogen in there for all the plants, pH 7.6, dh 9, kh 7, tank is heavily planted. Never had any other issues with this guy except for a brief tail biting incident when he had no tank mates and got bored- well healed up from that. No change in colour or behaviour, he is still very active and engaged and begging for food. His staple foods are hikari micropellets and bug bites but he gets a large variety with frozen foods about once a week. I've never dealt with this before!! I don't wanna lose this guy, he's the best. I'm in Canada so no antibiotics or meds available here.

Thanks so much, everyone! I ended up taking one of the two heaters out of my oscar's tank and the heater out of my cool tank in the house that only gets a few degrees above room temp and moving them out to the ponds. I'm so glad I did, since the temp dropped right to zero and snowed!! The fish are just fine this morning 🙂

I have some new mini ponds that I just put fish in yesterday- a 110 gallon with sunset variatus platies and a 20 mini with endlers. So far they're shy but doing well. I just saw that there's gonna be an overnight low of 6C (42F) and then tomorrow will only be a high of 11C (51F). Should I worry? What's my best plan of action?

Thanks for the starting advice guys! I got the 100 gallon and two 17 gallon minis to go alongside it. They're full, dechlorinated, and full of easy green ready to grow buttloads of algae!

If the betta is living with no other fish, there's no need to quarantine. Honestly, the way bettas are bred and raised, they never make contact with other fish. The best thing to do in my opinion is get it into a nice new home with good food and good water.

First thing I'd do is a water change and clean, maybe see if your filter needs servicing, and as said above make sure there's no food on the rim.

I've decided to try my hand at an outdoor summer breeding project, here in Ontario, Canada. I can't decide between getting 2 40 gallon tubs or 1 110 gallon tub... and of course I'm not sure what to breed! My short list is platies, white clouds, and rosy barbs, but I'm open to any and all ideas. I'm also not 100% sure what the best way to sell the results of this project will be, but I guess I'll figure that out, and worst case I'll make a bunch of snacks for my oscar, I guess! I'd love to see photos of any of your pond setups and any hints, suggestions, or other advice!

That looks awesome!! I'm very intrigued in venturing into some unusual stuff, but to be honest... I'm a little scared! I've gotten pretty good at the basics, I've only just begun exploring cichlids. Thanks for the ideas!!

Thanks for the input! I've been ready for my oscar to destroy her plants since day 1, and I'm sure it could still happen, but for now she lives in a forest and loves it haha! She has a favourite shell that she loves to play with as well, and I've taught her how to play tic tac toe! She's so smart and personable and my whole family adores her. Thanks for all the other suggestions! I will definitely look into banjo cats, I love weird and special fish

Thanks so much! I never planned on having a single fish to a tank... I've had this 80 for nearly a year thinking and planning on what to put in it, and then an oscar happened! It was never my style but I love her so much and she's a part of the family! When she upgrades I think I'm going to do angels and community fish in the 80. Also... I do have a dwarf cichlid tank!! I have a 15gal with a male GBR and he has a girlfriend in the mail lol

I've got a bad case of collectoritis and I'm getting the craving to buy more fish! Here's what I've got, and what I'm thinking.... Please leave input or other ideas! Tank 1: 80 gallons, currently home to 1 young oscar about 6-7 inches long. Her 6'x2'x2' 180 is in the works for next year. Her tank is heavily planted (amazing, right??) and well filtered. I'm strongly considering getting her a tank mate, but I know it's risky business. I honestly really want a common pleco, I think they are just the coolest things ever. I'm not sure though! Tank 2: 10 gallons, currently home to 1 male betta already tested to be friendly with small fish. Really thinking about a little group of kuhli loaches in there! I know some say 10 gallons is fine and some say too small... But it's a heavily planted tank that I think would be super enriching for them. Also considering pygmy cories, or otos! Tank 3: 30 gallons, currently home to 4 honey gouramis, 10 pristella tetras, 8 panda cories, and 1 longfin BN pleco. Also heavily planted. It's missing some colour, so I've been considering a school of 8 or so neon tetras. I keep the water at 75 in there, so I think neons over cardinals. (not worried about stocking level in here, it's very easily managed currently and can definitely take a higher load) Tank 4: 35 gallons, currently home to a whole bunch of guppies! I'm loving the free-for-all breeding tank. I'm thinking of adding something to eat some algae, maybe otos, a bristlenose, or hililstream loaches, and/or something to eat some fry, possibly a single molly or swordtail, or a small school of larger tetras, or maybe a few danios? Also heavily planted Tank 5: 20 gallons, currently home to just one male betta. This used to be my quarantine tank and now it's just a random holding tank, but I want to bring it back to life, plant it up, make it nice, and put more critters in it. The betta who lives there has lived with several different kinds of fish and is totally fine with things that don't crowd his personal space (he lived with female guppies for a while, and he was good at first, then got sick of them bumping into him during feeding). I really don't know what direction I want to take this, Joey the betta gets to stay, but I'd love to try some things I haven't done yet! I want to plant it with crypts since somehow I haven't grown any yet! Tank 6: I've recently built my first tank from scratch, a 1ft cube (about 7.5 gallons). I'm thinking of doing a new kind of shrimp in here, I have a booming cherry shrimp colony in another 5 gallon that's spread to most of my other tanks. I'm also interested in tiny nano fish like CPDs or chili rasboras. So free-for-all with tiny ideas here too!

update- she LOVES them! I put one in and wow.. she's a great eater and I've still never seen anything get gobbled so fast! I found a second to see if it was a fluke and she ate it even more enthusiastically. Sounds like a win-win to me!

My house has a ton of boxelder bugs in it (southern Ontario). Not as bad as some places I've seen, but enough to be annoying. I've found them floating in my tanks with more gaps in the lids a few times. I was wondering if a- they were harmful to fish or tanks, and b- would my oscar like to eat them?

Yesterday morning when I walked up to the tank, I was very surprised when Ursula had crazy light bars on her sides. They were practically yellow! I tested everything, 0/0/10, hardness and pH stable at 9 and 7.6 respectively. I decided I’d give her a day and see what happens. The colour came and went periodically through the day, sometimes very rapidly. She ate as enthusiastically as usual and is behaving normally. This morning she’s got the bars still, but coming and going. These photos were taken this morning about 2 minutes apart each. Any advice? Should I be worried? footnote- I keep waiting for her to destroy the plants but she keeps loving them!

If you have multiple nerites, they'll keep laying eggs 😞 I had several in one tank and they covered the glass, so I scattered them so now I have one nerite in every tank (except the oscar tank lol)

I'll share with you what I have in my 29! 5 honey gouramis, 8 panda cories, 11 x-ray tetras, 1 longfin bristlenose pleco, cherry shrimp, snails It's a fantastic tank! Activity on all levels, everyone gets along, just a good time.

ALL the plants! Broad leafed plants make good resting spots and are fun to swim through and around.