Fish Folk
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Posts posted by Fish Folk
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Welcome aboard! Thanks for sharing some of your story, and introducing us to your fish.
When you say “observatory overnight,” am I right in assuming you’re speaking of stars, space etc? If so… I have a fish suggestion for you!
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On 4/15/2022 at 9:24 PM, CornAndCrawlers said:
Fish folk, thank you very much for your in-detail response, I figured some might get lost to fish eating them, but did not consider fungus in the equation at all.
I WILL be following your rainbow shiner journey.
I have x2 39 gallon tanks and at that size I feel like minnows, dace and darters are my best options for breeding. I just need to commit to a species and have a go at it.Great! I’m loving my Rainbow shiners. When they spawn, they’re colors are unreal…
My Dace have colored up beautifully this spring…
I’m also excited about my Banded Darters…
And very soon, I’m planning on setting up a new 29 gal for Saffron Darters…
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I don't know the answer to that... but I got an API Master Test Kit (titration drops) specifically for "saltwater" tanks because that's all the store had left. Honestly . . . it was the same as freshwater. Maybe it measured higher pH (high-range) but otherwise, I use it just like the normal Freshwater Kit. So, I assume that the strips would operate the same way.
But . . .maybe I'm all wrong 😄
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On 4/15/2022 at 7:49 PM, CornAndCrawlers said:
im new to the hobby but native breeding is what I want to focus on.
can you explain why you chose to remove these eggs rather than leave them in your main tank and ensure they get fertilized by males?again, im new. maybe the answer is obvious but I have never bred any fish before. thank you
That's great you've got an interest in NANF (North American Native Fish).
So, the reasons why I pulled the eggs are (1) to control fungal spoiling, and (2) to protect against predation by adults and Darters I keep in here.
First off, these Dace -- like most all egg scatterers -- fertilize as the females drop the eggs. There is no further pass-over fertilization, per say. Gametes are unbelievably effective! Only on rare occasions do females drop loads of eggs while males "shoot blanks." There may be some infertile ones, but by and large, they should be fertilized.
As for fungus . . . in the wild, these fish have a _constant_ source of _fresh_ water, fed by rain, springs, etc. that flows over the stony patches where they like to live and spawn 24/7. Fungus doesn't really take ahold and foul up water in such conditions. But in a tank (this one is a 20 gal long), there is a LOT of fungus. If you pull out a clear glass of this tank water, set it on a windowsill, and drop in a pinch of fish food, you'll immediately note that fuzzy fungus covers the fish food very quickly. This will happen to the eggs, and will unfortunately "nip them in the bud." By pulling them, adding air to circulate, and methylene blue periodically (or sometimes we add Hydrogen Peroxide instead) they will fungus _less_ and allow fertilized fry to hatch and thrive.
Now, concerning predators: in the wild, the entire creek or river bed is strewn with rocks and pebbles under which and around with these eggs and newly hatched fry can hide. But in an aquarium, they are quickly exposed to larger fish. Dace do not care for their young, and will quickly eat fry. In fact, they're always eating eggs they drop while spawning -- which is why the rock tray needs to be a couple inches deep with rocks. But in this tank, I also keep several of these...
Rainbow Darters. They coexist very peacefully with the Dace, but will gladly gulp up caviar if they can when the Dace spawn, and will nab any fry they can catch.
I'm also breeding Rainbow Shiners. You can follow that journey here on the Forum if you like...
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Oh boy! Tonight’s haul.. 5:30 pm…
🤭
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On 4/15/2022 at 4:52 PM, Zac said:
Any suggestions with getting Apistos to breed? My idea is to spend a little more to hopefully get an adult male and female so I don’t have to buy 5-6 fish. Would a single male and female be an issue if conditions are right?
We’ve worked with Apistogramma Cacatouides and Apistogramma Bitaeniata. Gotten fry from both in a context with multiple pairs in a 20 long. But haven’t successfully raised fry to maturity. @tolstoy21 has a good system worked out, and might offer more helpful tips.
I think _breeding_ in 10 gal might work best, removing male to larger tank once the deed is done.
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Sounds like a good plan! As long as Loaches don’t poach Apisto eggs after lights out. I doubt the female Apisto will seriously harm Pencilfish. I’m doing something similar…
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My son took this shot today, Western MD. Rocky Gap St. Park. Yellow Warbler.
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Alrighty, ye NERMs!! Today is a good day. For reasons better than this. But this also happened…
I came upon my SRBDs behaving like this…
So i decided to check the stone tray for eggs. WARNING ⚠️ LONG, BORING VIDEO…
I got some eggs! Here’s what that looks like…
In a photo, basically this is the breeding setup now…
I added a cover over the floating fry tray, and added some M-blue. Stone tray returned for more breeding.
This video explains the setup…
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Oh no! That’s really frustrating. I think you’ve learned who _never to do business with again_.
I firmly agree that the CoOp does excellent business. Of the times I’ve ordered, I have always been extremely satisfied.
Hope you get this sorted out, get all of your money back, and get an aquarium that is perfect for your goals.
Just curious: what was / is your stocking plan?
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On 4/15/2022 at 8:55 AM, SunniSki said:
I have a gravel tank but have always wanted sand. Is a gravel or sand substrate easier to take care of? I have several fish such as plecos and cory doras that would love sand. I just have ZERO experience with a sand substrate and Im not sure if this is harder or easier to take care of.
We use a very finely crushed stone. It’s not technically sand, but for looks and feel, it is very close.
We’ve also used Black Diamond Blasting sand as a substrate. It is cheap — we buy it at Tractor Supply — but it is very, very messy / dirty to rinse out. You can buy coarse or medium grade.
I’ve heard some folks recommend pool filter sand, but I’ve never tried that.
People report different things, but in general, I do not think that sand is the best substrate for rooted plants.
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First off, I’m loving this tub! I have “tub envy!”
Now, in my opinion, there are reasons to take pause on your idea. Maybe it could work… but I suspect it won’t do exactly what you’re wanting.
The angle at which a person would have to crouch to really enjoy this doesn’t seem to make it worthwhile. Most ponds benefit from some plant cover too, increasing the darkness. Additionally, tubs work well because the grow a lot of unsightly algae, molm, green water, etc that are exactly what we despise looking at in our aquariums normally. So, at least bear these factors in mind.
Now, as for silicone, I imagine that a piece of glass or Lexxan could be sealed into place. You wouldn’t need to make it look neat if you affixed it to the inside. Then just add a neat line of seal on the outside. But troubleshoot this now… if even a small leak occurs, you’re going to lose a lot if water volume. As long as it’s in a place where that doesn’t matter much, all’s well. But if you’re right next to your house, that could be a problem.
I love outdoor tubbing! Hope you have great success. And don’t let my worries discourage you. Sometimes it’s fun to prove the internet wrong! And I’d be very happy for you if it did work!
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Ugh! Barca got handed our head today. Well done Frankfurt...
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I would proceed with caution. I’ve heard certain parts are poisonous to humans if ingested.
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Time for a SRBD update! (Southern Red-Belly Dace)
So! Males are coloring up nicely…
I’ve got a stone tray set under a small hydor powerhead in a 20 gal. long…
Here’s 30-sec of footage…
They do not seem to be focussed on the stones.
I’ve reached out to two experienced breeders. Here’s some initial feedback;
(1) lengthen photoperiod to 12 hrs
(2) They might be spawning over the plants, etc rather than the stones. A bare tank with only one good option to spawn might yield better.
(3) Maybe try putting a few plants in the stones to bring them over to them
(4) Look at the females to see if they’re ready
So, I did a water change, reorganized the stones, removed some excess algae, lengthened photoperiod, and slightly buried the stone tray in the sand.
Now it looks like they’re grouping up (maybe spawning?) in the back… behind the bleachers…
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Here’s my life in 31 seconds… Dad stressed out as kids try to kill themselves every 5 minutes… 🥴
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Europa League matches today... anyone watching?
F. C. Barcelona vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Barça gives up a penalty at 2 min...
🙄
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Bucephalandra are lovely! Nice write up on them here.
Technically, I _think_ there’s only a small handful of taxonomically different species:
(1) Bucephalandra gigantea
(2) Bucephalandra magnifolia
(3) Bucephalandra motoleyana
But the variations within these have acquired for them many, many nicknames.
Yours looks somewhat like Bucephalandra Theia 5…
Or like Bucephalandra Theia 6…
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@Patrick_G That's awesome!
Now: we just need to find a Biologist unafraid of a little criminal enterprise who will help us break into a certain undisclosed location and retrieve a sample of these to breed ex situ... the Holy Grail of U.S. Native Fish...
The Devil's Hole Pupfish. Living blood diamonds my friend. We need 007 to get these...
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Love it! I am guessing you might have extra nutrients + lighting that’s helping it multiply. Not sure.
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I’ve been an avid sport fisherman for many, many decades. Apart from one time when I was a kid and threw a small bullhead into a 10 gal tank in my room feeding him pieces of lunchmeat… it never occurred to me until very recently that native fish can be kept in home aquaria. Yeah… of course I saw natives in big tanks at Bass Pro shops, big public aquariums, etc. But I was caught off guard by the sheer beauty of native fish for home aquaria. Here are photos of ones I keep, and of ones I dream of keeping.
In my tanks…
In my dreams…
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There is an insane DIY Guy in me screaming nonsense about cutting and bending wire coat-hanger . . . but the wanna-be-mature aquarist sitting next to him has his one hand over that guy's mouth, while holding coffee in the other and apologetically shaking his head . . .
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White fungus???
in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers
Posted
Alrighty! Let’s see if we can help relieve your fears here.
(1) To be sure that this is the point of concern, I’m assuming that this stuff is what you’re concerned about…
At first glance… this doesn’t seem to be fungus. Maybe bio-film? You could pull out, and gently rinse off under running water.
Fungal infection on fish looks like this…
Generally speaking, fungus attacks injury sites on a fish body.
(2) I recommend you consider at least a once weekly water change of 20%. Be sure to use water treatment. For Bettas, maybe consider API Stress Coat…
One thing we do to lower risk of heaters cracking is lower them, making them horizontal in water so water change doesn’t expose the element…
(3) If you do end up with a fungal infection, you can treat with API Fungus Cure…
But beware! It will stain your tank green for a long time…
(4) I recommend considering getting a couple floating Water Lettuce plants so your Betta can enjoy some top-water organics…
Meanwhile, rinse that stuff off your Anubis rhizome, and reaffix the plant down low.
Hope this helps!