mynameisnobody

@Scaperoot I live on the other side of the state, so I frequent Bioaquatix and Imperial Tropicals. Cory did a tour of Bioaquatix once. I literally do the same thing you do. Dollar per gallon/50% off sale, whatever they call it these days. Everything else from the coop.

@Gannon Nice setup, there’s nothing wrong with your setup. Now obviously, adding more plants is always better, adding more hidey holes, etc. But anything in life can always get better. I had gold lasers years ago and they were always out and about. I acquired these from arguably the best freshwater aquarium store in NYC. So when I purchased them, they already looked great, hence I can’t say whether you’ll see the results you want, but there’s only one way to find out.

@nabokovfan87 I am aware of all the changes and like I said, they were always great. However after a couple of times of receiving less than stellar stock, it becomes discouraging. I actually view them exactly as @anewbie does, I’d order danios from them, but never a rainbow fish. This is in no way bashing them. I actually encourage people to use them, however I’m a bit pickier about what enters this fish house.

@Phoenix1391 same here. I stopped ordering from them for this very reason. They were always great, but I prefer healthier stock if I have a choice.

1-Enjoy your hobby, be sure there is time to sit back and take in your aquariums. 2-Have the patience of a monument and you’ll be rewarded.

Favorite shoaler- cardinal tetras favorite schooler- rummynose tetras

@Lilred you have 2 options: 1- leave the HOB for about 2 weeks, then you can safely remove it. 2- disconnect the HOB, take a sponge out of it and squeeze it into the aquarium. This is messier, but much quicker. By the next day, it should settle down and clear up for you. I usually go with option 2, but either will work.

@OnlyGenusCaps I’ve never been to one and have held off for the reasons you stated. Mind you, I’m a 90 min drive to Orlando. From what I’ve seen in videos, it seems like a glorified fishtuber meet up. I have also been to a ton of reptile expos and those are definitely worth the price of admission. If I can’t buy anything for the hobby then I’d rather stay home and work on the hobby.

@Herefishie well said, now take the effort it would of taken to do all that work and just go love fish. Good luck to you. 😎

@DustinJWagner the answers will vary depending on filtration, feeding schedule, water change schedule, and use of plants. Also size will dramatically effect this. If you are housing for life, personally I wouldn’t add more than 3-5. The more you keep, the more maintenance you’ll have to do for water quality. The great news is that commons and comets, although they get larger than fancies, they also are definitely much more hardy and durable. Your room for error is pretty high with these fish. However, it’s a living thing so I wouldn’t push it too hard. Hope this helps

Usually bad tasting water equates to hard water. Here in Florida, the water is super hard, but it’s perfectly fine for the fish and the plants love the extra minerals. I definitely wouldn’t filter it, however I would use a dechlorinator.

@Herefishie without knowing what you have coming out of the tap and/or what you’re keeping, I’d say you probably don’t need it. There are very specific situations where it is essential, but more than likely, you’re better off not enslaving yourself to that sort of maintenance if you don’t have to.

1- ACO sponge filter 2- Aquaclear 110 3- Fluval FX6 all depends on setup and stock.

I have 5 LFS very close to my home or work. I am also fortunate enough to be within a 30 min-60 min drive to 3 premier Florida fish farms. Within 3 hours and I can visit the fish farms that Cory and the gang visited. Even with all this, I prefer small online breeders and/or the 2 fish clubs near me. Stock always seems healthier to me.

I’m pretty sure anyone can find an orange platy. That wasn’t what I was saying. On the livestream, Cory has said that he once had a particular orange platy that he hasn’t been able to find again. It’s his holy grail of platies if you will. @PineSong It was a sight, and I regret not documenting it. At the time, it didn’t seem like a big deal.

@lewk I think rice fish or white clouds would fit your setup perfectly. They thrive in cooler temps. I’ve had either species go down to the 50’s (for a couple of nights) with no issues. I’ve had variatus platies do well in cooler temps, but all other platies didn’t do well at lower temps. Good luck

@Theplatymaster I’m with you buddy, I concur completely. Yes it is Mobetta. I totally understand supporting the LFS. However if you ever want to treat yourself to something you’ll probably never see in a LFS, treat yourself to 6 of whichever platies he has. Shipping is about $20 so with gas prices you may not be as much in the red. If not, just enjoy what you got. I find it quite admirable at your level of interest in this species as I thought I was the only one. They’re pretty neat.

@Theplatymaster I kind of love how much you love platies. I do know that there is an aquabid user out of Hawaii that has some pretty superior platies. His username starts with an M and ends with an A, I believe. I had a small side colony from him for a while and they were gorgeous, but sadly a power outage ended that project.

@Theplatymaster sounds good. Eventually, you’ll have to think about expanding the blood line. I’ve heard @Cory numerous times talk about the horrible genetics of platies. Hence the search for his perfect orange platy.

@Theplatymaster how long have you had your colony? I’ve had mine for about 6 years. I started with a dozen and probably had 10,000 at one point in a 300 gallon stock tank. After a while, I began seeing more and more deformities. Culling became much more common. In an effort to expand the blood line a bit, I tossed in a dozen platies. That is when the issues began.

@Theplatymaster I actually had some beautiful platies and then I went and ruined it by dropping in some more that didn’t look as stellar. They were quarantined so I thought time would brighten them up. So far I’ve lost half my population since adding these fish. I figured from now on I will only keep wild type platies.

@Lennie just thinking the exact same thing.

@sanford here in Florida, black mold is a very easy thing to get going. Hence, my cleanliness of anything touches water.

@JessLynne7 There you go, if you don’t add enough food for the snails to eat, they eventually die off. Afterwards all you see are empty shells. Try tossing in an algae wafer after feeding the fish. That should get the inhabitants in the aquarium fed.

Are you feeding the aquarium as opposed to the fish? If so, they could of starved. Snail populations can be easily controlled with food or lack thereof.