Fish Folk

Doesn’t look like much, but live black worm culture has begun… In about 7-14 days, or whenever the zucchini slices are consumed, I will multiply the black worms by cutting them in a blender (minimal amount of chop). The pieces go back into the tank and take another ca. 14x days to grow full size. After a few months, hundreds become thousands. Stay tuned…

It's hard to tell with just these two photos. The mouth growth might be fungus or something else like columnaris. But for my part, I don't see Ich. If you can take a video with an iPhone, and upload to a YouTube account, you can let us help better diagnose the problems.

PM me.

@Ninjoma holy crap! He’s gorgeous!!!

They can be temperamental. Mine had issues… all died… Frank over at Aquatic Life Farm is a great guy. Send him an email. But ask very specific questions about his water parameters.

Interesting observation! I can see it, though that never came to min before now. I think that Darters, Shiners, and maybe other NANF have features that stand out in low light / moonlight. Not exactly bioluminescence . . . but very interesting. I notice that when I turn on the exclusively blue-LED lights, my Notropis chrosomus go CRAZY 😂 Thanks! Yeah, that's my favorite aquarium size: 33 long. Same footprint at a 55 gal, but only 12" tall. It gets amazing light penetration, making growing plants a breeze.

Rainbow Shiner grow-out tanks are all set up for winter. Lots of culls from fish kept outside, but still ca. 200-250 worth growing out a while… I have taken to performing small, daily water changes rather than huge weekly / biweekly changes. This may sound controversial, but smaller water changes do not require water treatment. One feature that I am enjoying is the window for sone daily sunlight on the top 55 gal. The plants appreciate it!

Here’s a look at the Pygmy Sunfish wall. The two tanks on the right, and the lower small tank on the left are all Elassoma gilberti tanks…

Spent time this past week setting up two live food culture tanks. The top 20 gal long is for Blackworms, and the lower 10 gal is for Scuds… There is a fair bit of confusion about propagating Blackworms. A fellow local aquarist has shared his successful journey, and I aim to follow his lead. I plan to explain on this thread. Scuds are more straightforward. Both are fed frozen Zucchini squash slices.

No good explanation, but both yellow-orange and white tipped pectoral fins are common: https://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/luminatus.htm

That doesn't look quite like "black beard algae." Here is what it typically looks like: As for remediation . . . good luck. If you get this, it's with you to the end. I've just given up, and embraced it . . . sort of. I do keep _female_ Florida Flagfish to nibble away at it. Watch the black carpet in this video . . .

This line of questioning comes up from time to time here, and on other forums. Here is an example of a small thread from two years ago. The white disease that covered the mouth might be fungus . . . maybe columnaris . . . A jaw that has eroded off may not grow back. Sometimes the fish can live on a while, eating awkwardly in a safe aquarium environment. Its ability to "nibble," of course, will be minimized. If the fish was ill when you bought it, there's little you can do apart from quarantining & medicating immediately. Even then, sometimes it's a losing battle. IF, however, the fish got ill in your tank, there is reason for concern. You should perform regular water changes, being sure to use water treatment. But also add beneficial bacteria supplements with your changes -- something like FritzZyme 7. An anti-fungal might be in order if you have fungus problems. Unfortunately, that often stains the water green or blue. Columnaris requires its own separate treatment. The issues in our aquariums often involve a matter of balance with sufficient healthy nitrifying bacteria . . . elimination of chemically over-rich water that courts unhealthy bacteria and fungus via water changes . . . adequate oxygen and flow to avoid surface buildup or "dead spots" in the tank . . . and more.

Rainbow Darter will love that setup. Temperature plan is excellent. If your substrate is dark, they'll carry a darker under color. If it is light, they'll appear more of a tan color. Pygmy Sunfish are not typically found where there is much flow. They'll probably not like that arrangement. Rainbow Shiners, however, will love it. No aggression issues I've ever noticed. I keep and breed both Notropis chrosomus and Elassoma gilberti. I've never kept Hillstream Loaches with Rainbow Darters. I want to assume they'd get along . . . but that's a question mark. Florida Flagfish are Ok with _some_ flow. I prefer female Flagfish to help with algae. Males get very aggressive if they decide to spawn. Mymale torn into my Rainbow Shiner's tails. As far as Darters go, Rainbow Darters can get chunky. I like Banded Darters better -- but they can prove to be harder to keep alive. Here's two tanks of mine featuring Rainbow Shiners and different Darters . . .

Indeed . . . archvillian Aponogeton now moving from office to home 55 gal tank

One plant to rule them all…

It's very nice! Elassoma adults will prey on baby neocaridina. If you're hoping to raise shrimp, don't expect to see many. They'll probably leave adults alone. Elassoma usually require some live foods in their diet. They'll eat some frozen bloodworms. I cut bloodworm cubes up for them daily. For Elassoma to spawn, they'll really look for some java moss . . . or clumps of filamentous algae. I have about 35x E. gilberti right now -- only about 7x are breeding adults. I keep clumps of floating Riccia up top, and Java moss down on the bottom. I keep my breeding tanks rather over planted. Here's a 5.5 gal . . .

I would simply remove the crypts to a pail with tank water, try to see if any of the tabs are still solid . . . if they are, set them aside and re-grid after the substrate is moved . . . if not, just scoop the substrate out and over for the larger tank, tabs and all. If something floats, then bury it or pitch it. You may lose the grid, but will keep some soil ferts. Yes, you might get high nitrogen affects. I've seen powdered Osmocote used between layers of substrate to provide long term fertilization spike nitrate. It's a risk you'll have to take. The more plants you add, the faster they'll absorb the excess nitrate. Go slow on adding fish. Is it a 30 gal breeder tank? 36 x 18 x 12? That's an interesting aquarium size. I have a 33 long that I absolutely adore.

This is my favorite: Activ Flora (Black) It will cost you a lot. (ca. $25 / 16 lbs) You must be very explicit about _Black_ Activ Flora. It comes in a variety of colors. Lay on top of a 2-inch base of well-washed Black Diamond Blasting sand to lower costs. (ca. $13 / 50 lbs) — I prefer the “fine” BDBS (red patches on bag sides). Look for it at Tractor Supply. Be ready to spend hours washing out slag dust in 5-gal pail / tub. But the result is nice. As for your concern about Corydoras getting injured on “sharp” substrate, etc… I am increasingly convinced this is _not_ actually the key problem. More frequently it is poor tank management, allowing infections to thrive in the benthic regions of the aquarium.

E. gilberti male brooder…

La Manita. FC Barcelona thrashes Villareal in the yellow submarine… Glorious Yamal >> Raphina lightning bolt ⚡️

30 seconds… enjoy: Rainbow Shiners, female Flagfish, Banded Darters, Orangebelly Darters. 29 gal. planted + aquaponic filtration.

This old A-bid auction post for a colony of Elassoma gilberti absolutely cracks me up. I would totally over-communicate like this... https://aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/closed.cgi?view_archive_item&fwusnative1533653404 In other news, I cannot get my E. gilberti fellas to pose in good lighting. Here's a few bad photos 😂

Alrighty… Read as much as you can: Seriously Fish Fishbase Fishi-pedia Read this by Scott Fellman. It’s a looooong ramble, but quite worth the read! _______ I would do it this way… (1) Order a load of South American botanicals from someone. I like Tannin Aquatics, but there are many sources. (2) Divide a 20-long with a matten divider — I use these: (3) Fill bottoms of both divided sides of empty tank with botanicals. (4) Add rainwater, or RO water. Water will turn dark tannin brown. (5) Add heater(s) to regulate temperature. ACO has developed some nice heaters. I also like eheim. (6) Place a small sponge filter on both sides of the divided tank. (7) Add tons of healthy Java Moss to both sides — ca 4-inches deep all around. (8) Use a quality aquarium light. (9) Try to separate males from females for several weeks. Feed both high quality live foods — bbs, grindal worms, etc. (10) Move all adults to one side to spawn. Leave for 72 hrs. If you observe spawning — early morning light or evening — move all adults over to the other side. Block light from the spawning side top. (11) Watch and wait. Be ready with infusoria, green water, powdered fry foods, vinegar eels, and eventually bbs to feed and raise them.

Here are steps I would take: (1) Boil any stones you bring from the outdoors in a stock pot for 10 minutes. Carefully allow to air-dry overnight. This kills pathogens and unwanted flora / fauna. (2) Carefully drip a few drops of concentrated vinegar on each stone. If the vinegar bubbles, avoid using. Calcium may negatively affect aquarium chemistry. (3) Siphon a 5-gal bucket of your aquarium water. Test pH. Add rocks for 1-week. Test pH again. If the parameters are significantly altered, avoid using those rocks. Otherwise, enjoy! We have used all sorts of rocks from streams, lakes, etc. in our home aquariums… If you’re keeping fish that thrive in high pH, you can use limestone. We’ve used Texas holey rock before for rift valley African Cichlids…