Fish Folk

Welcome! I like your tanks. They are begging . . . "more plants, mate!" We tape a cheap black-matte Elmer's cardboard backing from Walmart on the back of our tanks to make everything pop, and provide fish a quiet side to swim up against.

First off, I've got to say: I absolutely adore SA Dwarf Cichlids. They're among my favorite type of fish to keep and breed. Now, I'd advise against neocaridina. Even if adults survive, the shrimp fry won't. Apistos and Rams are quite attentive to movement in the lower 1/3 of the tank, and will nab any juveniles. Basic snails are probably Ok, but be advised that fancy mystery snails might get their eyes nipped off. You'll find that all dwarf cichlids have a tendency to form a "pecking order." There will probably end up being a bit of dominance-jostling until one of the males is acknowledged as tank "boss." As for keeping them together, I think Rams prefer slightly warmer water than Apistos, but not by much. Temperature around 80-F is adequate. A school of dithers might decompress them. Tetras of your choice, or pencil fish will do. Here's a couple shots of mine. I don't have them currently in the same tank together...

“The Hulk!” Loving seasonal colors… Etheostoma zonale, male Banded Darter

Temperature is rising. As season moves on, and dehumidifiers put off heat…

I got the jugs from Chick-fil-a. It’s what they sell their tea and lemonade in. My friend is a manager, and gave me a dozen to play around with.

Another fun side note . . . HALO 2 Electric guitar was played by Steve Vai. Found this random footage of him backstage with Bungee guys just free-improvising over this theme loop... Here is the music that will play if you just leave credits go. I swear he sneaks in a modal version of Norwegian Wood at 1:10...

@Streetwise those are some pretty interesting digital tools! I half wonder if Jonny Easton threw in some of those effects here. I've been out of the loop a long while with these patches. Did you ever watch on Disney+ the video of how Göransson put together the soundtrack for the Mandalorian? From improvising on guitar . . . to playing around on oversized flutophones in his shower . . . to tinkering around with 1970s analog effects processors . . . thoroughly fascinating soundscape.

It's a problem of dissolved gasses in high temperature. There's a reason why so many Discus tanks are _not_ planted. Add air stones -- I use two sponge filters already for filtration, and I add additional air. Here's a video...

Far, far off topic. But from a fellow NERM. Here you go... Last night, noodling around online, I learned that the main theme for HALO was invented from a reflection by composer Marty O'Donnell on what made "Yesterday" by the Beatles such a classic, memorable tune. Four small sections . . . one high point . . . one low point. HE wanted something "ancient" so he went with Gregorian Chant, shifted the Beatle's tune into Dorian mode, and created the Halo theme. Had a minute here today. Thought I'd explore that metamorphosis... And if you don't believe me, here's O'Donnell explaining it himself... Now you understand how the world is all connected. (Ok. Break's over. Let's go care for some fish!)

I'd love to see that 50 breeder more commonplace. Not sure if I've ever seen one before.

Birder got a new camera for his birthday... Magnolia Warbler Scarlet Tanager (female)

That's awesome! Got a photo shared today from a a guy who went out collecting for NANF today. Check out this HULK...

First of all, that is a beautiful aquarium! Really like your design and fish selection. Well done. Here are a couple of standard cheat-sheet charts folks use to try to figure problems like these out... I can see why you're thinking potassium deficiency. Your fertilizer dosing and use of root tabs would be first suggestions I'd make. Sometimes plants are not happy with certain substrates. I've always found that Valisneria struggles in warm tanks, but explodes in my cool water tanks. It's grumpy in my 83-85 F Discus tank... But adores my temperate 68-75 F Rainbow Shiner tank... I think, in general, that softer water has certain problems that harder water bypasses by just providing nutrients naturally with water changes. I use Flourish Excell on this 29 gal tank. No root tabs. I use both a 5000-K LED Shop light, and a plant-growth designed Fluorescent bulb for lighting. I think that cooler water also holds more gasses, allowing for easier plant (and fish) respiration.

You can check out this quick overview here from Cory... Go to 2:44 and watch him review the plant. Just put it in, down halfway. Add the gravel / dirt around it. Unless you have high flow, it should settle in for you. I have had good success with lilies from the Co-Op. Not so great success with other lilies from other sources. Just hit and miss. Here's how mine started out (I planted the bulb half way in)... And here's what it looked like awhile later (center of tank)...

Hmm . . . well, there are strange spore-like mushroom things that have been known to suddenly appear in freshwater aquariums. Any plants new in the last few months it might have hitchhiked in on?

This is why it is often recommended that neos be kept in a "mature" tank. Basically, they need something to clean up. In a "new tank" there's really nothing for them. Best thing is to take a majorly gross tank that's been heavily stocked, remove all fish, add leaf litter to it (Oak leaves, Catappa leaves, etc), be sure an aged sponge filter is in there, add Java moss in abundance, and let it sit for a week or two. The Sponge filter + Leaf Litter + Java Moss provides ample context for microorganisms to multiply. Then when you add the shrimp, they'll go to town cleaning up the place.

Flipped the 2nd photo for you... The structure on the bottom right of this photo looks a bit formed. Net them out and touch them. Are they soft, slimy, flexible? Or are they firm? Looks to me like something was dropped in, or fell in. Do you have kids? 😆 My little charges have been known to add stuff from time to time . . .

They definitely did better with the Pencilfish.

Just curious: are you aware of this guy? https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC0G5RgKQzmUh6kZmL9KHSmw

How warm does that water get? Looking at sunlight… just curious.

Yes. I bought a trio. Male and one female spawned once and had fry. In my eagerness to preserve the fry, I made the mistake of pulling them to a breeding basket. They pretty much died off within a week. Females really know how best to nurture fry. I'd have been wiser to have moved out the other female and male. I next moved a female and male to a separate 10 gal to get them to spawn. Nothing doing. No fry. Nothing. Waited over a month. So now they're back in the other tank with Pencilfish.

At home, it's this one... At work, I love this one...

Thanks! I'm still learning how to best manage it. With water changes, right now, I am just topping off with water from across the room in my Discus tank... As for another shelf, you're right! I might be able to do that. But I'd really like to set up a small aquaponics system above the 33 gal underneath, so I'm trying to save space for something like this (sorry for the scrappy sketch)...

Advanced move: Move out the adults. Leave the eggs. 😎

New kids on the block… Month-old reserve batch. ca. 1/5 of original hatch. Rest already shipped off…