mynameisnobody

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.

@Zenzo thank you sir

@jodirren You could always purchase a seeded sponge or sponge filter from ocean aquarium and squeeze it into your new aquarium. It’ll look a bit messy but that’s basically an instant cycle, then I’d slowly add fish. This is one of your options. Truth is, once you have 1 aquarium cycled, then it’s much easier to start new projects because you house the beneficial bacteria via other aquariums. Good luck

I love my platies, however it bums me out that they are by far the most genetically weak fish I have. I’ve gotten them from great sources, but 1 particular batch that got mixed in was questionable. As you know, if you have 1 weak fish with livebearers then they’re all weak. It’s a shame because they are one of my faves along with shellies, Goldie’s, and rainbows. In the next couple of months, I plan on starting a breeding project to try to get some beautiful and bulletproof platies. I’m probably going to dedicate a 110 gallon stock tank for the project. By the way, neon white platies are pretty incredible.

Ricefish

@Sleepy will do, I think I’m going with black. The images I’ve seen of them on either sand let’s me lean towards black, but I’m hoping someone that has done this chimes in.

@JettsPapa opinions

I would go with the gladiator racks. You’re going to want more than a little wiggle room when it comes to this sort of thing. I had a wire rack that became a spot to keep all my aquarium supplies, it works perfectly for that sort of thing. I wouldn’t trust it with true weight though.

@Zenzo Any suggestions? Thank you sir

Hello all, I have a dilemma, what substrate to use in a 40 breeder with gold Occelatus? I have my multies on tan sand because it brings out their best colors. I also have similis on black sand for the same reason. I think the black sand would bring out the gold Occelatus colors better, but I’m no expert. Does anyone have any experience with this?

@JettsPapa I think you’d be 100% correct if it wasn’t for YouTube. 10 years ago this was a valid excuse, not now a days. Of course there are outliers, but for the most part…

@jwcarlson Last time I was my LFS, I saw 3 baby Oscar’s houses with a school of larger zebra danios. If someone didn’t know, they’d think these 2 species could be housed together. Obviously this would end up being a pricey snack in a month or so. I think the best way to get people that actually care about what they are keeping is to keep the trends to a minimum. Trends attract the fad crowd. Most won’t take the time to do the research. Just my opinion.

Hello all, I’ve got a breeding pair of Blue Pinoy Paraiba Angelfish in a 75 gallon. I was thinking of tossing 7 Denison Barbs from another aquarium in with the angels. I also was tossing around the idea of 12 Pseudomugil Gertrudae or 15 long fin white clouds from another aquarium as well. I’m pretty sure the Denison barbs will be ok, but what if I went with 1 of the other 2 options. Since it’s a densely planted tank, I think I’d be ok with any of these options because of the size of the aquarium. Any ideas, tips, or suggestion are appreciated.