[pseudomugil breeding!]

I purchased 13 luminatus a while back.  I put them in a 10 gallon quarantine tank at 75 degrees, ph 7.6 and GH around 107 ppm, with a bunch of guppy grass.  They were in the tank for a month, and then I moved them to a larger tank.  I drained the water out of the quarantine tank and set it up in another location with new treated water.  I left the substrate and plants and decor undisturbed.  A week later, I found 3 fry in the tank.  

I expect that luminatus will eat their eggs and fry any chance they get.  Occasionally I grab guppy grass out of egg layer/scatterer tanks, and toss it in unoccupied tanks.  I get a variety of fry surprises.

I appear to have 3 females and 10 males, but there is no constant harassing of the females.  And the males are all pretty gentle, with just some mild displays.  They  have accepted a Red Beckfordii Pencilfish into the shoal, who was not happy living with its own kind.  

Good luck with your tubs.

[Share your macro photos!]

Cherry Shrimp Mama

[Did I Dream About Nets?]

I sometimes fall asleep while watching FishTube.  Did I dream this, or will there be small nets suitable for shrimp for sale soon?

[USB Nano Pump Lifespan?]

Thanks for the replies.  I've had one dead on arrival, and two others die within 3-6 months.  Out of about 23 I've purchased.  I've taken apart a dead one to see what's inside!  Interesting.  I tried buying one from Amazon, but the funny thing is that the part where you push on the air hose is slightly narrower, so occasionally the air pressure causes the hose to pop off!  Some of the newer surge protectors that I've purchased have USB outlets, so I'm plugging a couple in directly to that without the provided adapter, to see how they go.  Seems OK so far.  Hope I'm not going to set the house on fire.

[USB Nano Pump Lifespan?]

How long have your USB Nano Pumps lasted?  

[Hydra and Hair Algae Advice]

I never thought of using a UV sterilizer.  I have the green ones.  Maybe I'll give that a try.

[My LFS is Now Calling ME!]

No such thing as too many guppy photos! Your setup is interesting and informative.   The one lfs I talked to said they would do me the favor of taking any fish I bred, with a hearty thank you as my reward.  I've been foisting my extras off on fish club people.

[Background]

Maybe what I use is foam board.  It's not just paper, it has a foamy core.  I also use it to card my bettas.

[Aquarium lid assembly help]

Glad it worked!  I tap mine on the floor until it's about an inch from the right spot, then I tap on the edge of a counter so I'm only tapping the plastic and not the glass.  Works better if I fold closed the glass, for easier handling.  

[Weird thing on walls]

Bladder snails, Nerite snails, Ramshorn snails.  The Nerites seem to love it.

[Feeder Snail Tank]

I got one bladder snail on a plant, which multiplied.  I started up a ten gallon tank, which I have named "Overactive Bladder" just for them.  I feed them, they multiply to their hearts content.  It runs a sponge filter.  Just gravel substrate.  Some scroungy looking plants.  I like watching them.

[Aquarium lid assembly help]

I dip the edge of the plastic in water, get the glass started in there, then turn it all sideways and tap it on the floor until the plastic is as far up as I want it.  Takes less than a minute.  

[Where to sell fish locally?]

My Aquarium Society and a lot of other people use BAND.  It's a site where you can feel free to buy, sell and trade fish among many other things.

[How large and/or heavily planted would a tank have to be to support two male bettas?]

Like you, I wouldn't do it personally.  The stress levels would be high.  Some people use opaque dividers in the tank.  Occasionally the fish will get around or over the barrier, not with good results.  

[Weird thing on walls]

I sometimes get this in my newly started tanks.  It goes away by itself after a while, or once the tank is cycled I add some snails and they take care of it.

[Would upside down cats pose a large threat to multis or fry?]

A few years back I had one in a community tank, and it was peaceful and lazy.  I had no fry in the tank, though.

[Background]

I get the poster board from the Dollar Tree for...well, $1.  I have painted some, and plastidipped some to keep it water resistant.  Then I use double sided tape to stick it to the back of the tank.  When it's painted, it wants to curl up so it helps to weight the edges until it's all dry.

[Hydra and Hair Algae Advice]

I first noticed hydra in a tank that had water, substrate, a few plants, and some pest snails.  I wasn't feeding the tank at all.  The hydra thrived.  My Bettas don't eat them, but my Sparkling Gouramis, Platies and Guppies/Endlers will clean up a tank.  I call the Sparklers my Movable Feast, because if I see Hydra I relocate a couple of them into the tank until the numbers are down enough that I don't see any more.

[Murphy Attacked My Betta!]

I was walking along my Betta Barracks to check the temps, and I was carrying this sponge filter box.  8 of the bettas didn't notice, but #9 looked like he fainted or had a stroke.  He was fine a few minutes later, but now I know better !  

[Leech in Shrimp Tank]

Thanks!  I appreciate the information.  The ick factor was there when I walked by what I thought was an empty tank and saw this thing doing graceful laps.  I can pull my plants back out of the other quarantine tank, and plant them now.  

[Leech in Shrimp Tank]

I purchased some new plants, and they arrived a couple of days ago.  Yesterday I found a 2" long, undulating swimmer in the tank, which shrinks down to about 3/4" when stationary.  The tank is brand new, with only water, substrate and the plants I purchased.

Customer service looked at the picture and said it is probably a leech or some type of worm, and is most likely harmless.  I removed the critter.  This tank is going to be exclusively for my Bloody Mary shrimp.  My question is, does anyone have experience with leeches in a shrimp tank?  Although I removed the adult, are there eggs or cysts on my other plants or in the substrate now?

I'd appreciate it if anyone can share their experiences.

[What part of the water column do platys use?]

My Platys use every inch of the tank.  Late last winter I ordered 6 from an online seller.  They sent me one male and five pregnant females.  Soon after, I had countless fry.  My Platys eat fish food, bottom dweller food, algae, snail eggs, Wolffia,  the green beans I feed the snails, you name it.  But they ignore their fry.  Best wishes on your endeavor.

[Multi & Ammonia Test Strips vs API Liquid Showdown!]

Yes, so far I've had a couple of the little squares fall off when I am trying to extract one strip from the bottle.

[Multi & Ammonia Test Strips vs API Liquid Showdown!]

Today I did a side by side comparison of the new Aquarium Coop test strips, and the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

Every test but one was spot on identical results!  My API test showed GH around 160, the multi test strip looked like it was indicating around 300.  Over the next few days I will perform more side by side testing on my other 15 tanks, but I am hopeful that the strips will continue to perform well.  

Wouldn't it be nice to have confidence in a quick dip in all my tanks, instead of the more complicated, messy, error prone liquid kit, for quick check ups?  Fingers crossed.

[Power outages and winter storms]

I keep a big jug of calcium chloride around for heating in an emergency.  Not sure I would want to float the bottles in the tank as as shown in this video but I might tape them to the side of the tank and cover with blankets.

How to heat your aquarium in a power outage! - YouTube