Retrophyllum_minus

Big updates. I've stocked the 20 long over the past week. A trio of Apistogramma hongsloi, Cardinal tetras, diptail pencilfish, dwarf salt and pepper corys, and an elusive Mega Clown Pleco. It has also been rescaped (not that it's all that well scaped anyway). I have moved the Mystery Snails over to the other tank. I haven't seen the shrimp in a few days. Which is fine. Not really too concerned about that. If the Hongslo's start to breed I may move the Cardinal tetras, too. We'll see.

Yes. A good point. I like to wrap some fine filter pad around a sponge filter if I am using a sponge filter with a coarse filter. I like to use multiple sponge filters. Just trying to sort out where I'm going with this 15 gallon. I also could move the mystery snails to a 10 but I worry that might be too small for them.

Yeah. I went big because I know that's not realistic for me but it's fun to dream. I couldn't ever swing a tank that size. But I'd love to see tetras and the like in big shoaling masses in a tank that size. I think it would be super interesting to watch. I have a 40 and a 20, and now the 15. I've never done a true nano tank, although I have a spot I could put a 5.5 so maybe someday I'll try one. honestly I don't have much interest in anything larger than the 40 breeder unless it's a dream tank like this that's huge where I could watch 200 Cardinal tetras shoaling or something.

Oh a pretty big 12 foot long 1000 ish gallon Orinoco region biotope with apistos, Cardinal tetras, and other tetras, pencilfish, plecos, corys, and maybe some other species. Large groups of the shoaling fishes. So basically a giant version of the 20 long I'm doing right now with more accurate plants than I am using in that one.

Yeah, I do it all myself pretty much. But honestly, of all the goats Angoras are the most relaxed and easiest in a lot of ways. And I only have to shear twice yearly, so it's not like I'm milking every day. My grandfather bred and raised standardbred horses and I grew up working his farm. I'd take angora goats over horses any day. The chickens aren't too bad, and like I said the quail are a pain but the eggs sell well so they're sort of worth it for now.

Ahhh. That was my second guess. Haha

Dang. That's a lot of animals. Cattle? My farm is a small one. I'm a teacher, mostly.

Oh and yes I do angora goats for fiber production, not so many chickens but enough for now. Too many quail in my opinion, haha. They are a pain.

It will take me some time to find the right balance with it in the next few weeks. Yeah I wouldn't do the wild bettas in this tank. If and when I do those it'll be in a dedicated tank.

Yeah I should say a tannin tank not really a black water. But I'm using some crushed coral to buffer the pH and kh a bit because of all the driftwood and botanicals in there, too.

It seems It has been every other week recently.

That's a good point. Still, I've seen plenty bettas eat very small snails. But yes, from just a pH, etc. level they'd want a lot of difference from the Mystery snails.

I've considered setting up a tank for some wild type bettas at some point, but if I do that I will either go with B. imbellis or B. mahachaiensis. I'm not sure I'd want to house any betta with the mystery snails, though.

Ooh. Good idea.

Any ideas on some blackwater enjoying small fish for the tank to go with the mystery snails? When the time comes. I'm thinking some Nannostomus marginatus and something else. I do love pencilfish of all kinds. So those plus maybe a good, small blackwater tetra. Phycochorax rasbora (a black water tetra discovered like 7 years ago) looks good but doesn't seem to be available to the aquarium trade. So who knows. Something around that size but not Cardinal Tetras as I have another plan for those.