Fish Folk

I bet it’s freezing out in them there local mountain waters! Nothing happening with Greenheads… hence the attempt to get my F-blacks spawning. I have extra females if you decide you want to try spawning them.

Helper… watching Big Blue finish eating an earthworm 🪱 Definitely worked through his system…

Cribbin’ …

Got a new batch of Mountain Redbelly Dace fry free-swimming…

F0… Cool water beauty…

I think that they get Federal grants

Have you visited Conservation Fisheries in Knoxville, TN? We went last March. Amazing place!

I had to look up RAS to begin getting a grip. It would be neat to learn more! I have been working with emersed plant growth in various aquaponics set ups to filter nitrate and cut down minerals. If you’re up for explaining what you’re learning, others would appreciate it !

@JillianGarcia05 I want to share an honest point that some aquarists will be very upset with me for saying. We all need to exercise a proper degree of care for our fish. Many fish keepers have only a few fish, one or two tanks, and feel deeply attached to their wet pets, naming every one. In this scenario, it is possible to spend 500%+ of the cost of the fish on medications and treatments. Perhaps this is you. Maybe you bought your Betta for $20, and are absolutely fine spending $100 or more on medications. No one will judge you. But here is another perspective. Please try to hear this as another approach to respectful care in the hobby (again, this will irritate some people to no end). I have kept over a thousand fish in the last 5-6 years. I’ve had to make limits on how much I am willing to spend on keeping sick fish alive. I have euthanized a few, and flushed plenty of dead fish. If this ends sadly for you, please know you’re not alone. Betta splendens are sickness-prone, injury-prone, tragically inbred, kept in appalling conditions before sale… in truth, this forum alone has maybe seen more “Sick Betta! Help!” posts than anything. Hopefully you can turn things around for your little blue. But if not, don’t give up on the hobby if she passes. Sickness can be brought in with a new fish. For this reason, quarantine is always advisable. Many folks religiously dose Maracyn + Ich-X + API General Cure together with all new arrivals. Many fish stores do not, and tend to lose livestock. Outside the US, some medications are restricted or difficult to come by. Aquarium salt mixtures can be a benefit in those scenarios. But often, the issues with fish stem from environmental factors we can improve as we study and adapt in this hobby. Overfeeding is most problematic. Poor maintenance is a fast second to that. Water quality is vital to master. These are areas all of us are still working to improve. As a fish breeder, let me add this final thought: the healthiest fish I have ever kept were those I bred and raised in my own water. The majority of fish I’ve bought arrived with minor health issues… a few with major issues. So don’t give up. We are rooting for you and your fish. If things go poorly, we have been there too. Keep going!

In my foray into keeping North American Native fish in home aquaria, I came upon the stunning Fireyblack Shiner (Cyprinella pyrrhomelas). In the wild, they look like this… Obviously, they handle high flow very well! I made a visit to Knoxville, met the guy who posted this footage, and he gave me juveniles (F1) he had raised in captivity. As the year has gone on, and they have matured, I found that I have two males and a half dozen females. I cannot stop photographing them… Here, you can see how full this female is with roe. So today, I decided it was high time to try breeding them. For me, there are only two species of freshwater fish I am Ok with keeping but NOT breeding: (1) Goldfish (2) Discus. Both are ornamentally satisfying enough for my taste to keep without breeding. Everything else must breed to keep me happy 😅 Here are a series of short describing the process of setting up a love nest for my Fireyblack Shiners. I began with plans to modify / divide the 55 gal. tank space… 1. Set up plan… 2. Initial Set up… 3. Observations… 4. Adaptation… After this was filmed, I moved the bio-wheel back into the corner and turned down the intensity of the air-stone.

@nabokovfan87 is correct… white dots are an added concern. If it’s Ich… try Maracyn + Ich-X together.

It seems to me to be bacterial. API has several products to consider. I think the best is probably ... E. M. ERYTHROMYCIN [E-mycin is broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment] There are other companies who sell this product under another name. Fritz Aquatics sells it as "MARACYN."

Thank you for the PSA. Sorry for your fish loss. I've used M-fix in the past without a problem, and my water is very soft from the tap -- below 50 ppm. I eventually stopped using it for other reasons. Fish can typically heal fine on their own if their environment is kept clean, chemically stable and stress-free.

They can be tricky to sex when young. Best advice: buy 6-7 of them young on the cheap, raise them, and let them pair off. Here is a video showing one male (electric blue) with two females on each side of this 55 gal. The females get a washed-out, blotchy look (platinum + blue-gray) rather than consistent bright electric blue. Male dorsal and anal fins also _tend_ to grow longer, nearer to the end of the caudal fin. Females tend to grow a bit less. Over a few years, males will grow substantially larger than females. But at the age / size you've shared here, it is hard o say. My initial _guess_ is male. But I've been wrong before! For perspective, we raised many hundreds of EBAs a few years ago. We almost never sold them as pairs unless a pair actually spawned together. Here's a look at the madness that was the most overstocked EBA tank on the planet... Here are three photos of a pair. Notice that the female, slightly smaller, has a lighter-colored top of her head -- with what almost looks like a line between her eyes, dividing an upper head (lighter gray) and lower face (darker gray). Also notice that the scales along her back / sides nearing the caudal fin (tail) show gray rather than solid electric blue. Those are several clues to sexing them... (1) Male lower left / Female upper right (2) Male left / Female right (3) Male left / Female right -- notice the black scales on her lower cheek / jaw

Today, I am taking off work. I got 5x orange neocaridinas to add to my Daphnia tank… My little helper loves this aquaponics tank, jammed in a fishroom bathroom closet… Shellfish all appreciate the oyster-shell substrate… Daphnia still kickin’ fine… I think the shrimp have moved into heaven with this grimy tank 😂 Already buddies…

So I’m sharing a few photos. My unbelievably electric blue Ram… A nice Teal-Diamond Discus… A Betta I’m waiting to breed come warmer weather… Rainbow Shiners, getting fat in cool water over winter… Fireyblack Shiner with Greenhead Shiners… Ok. Back to work now … 🤪

Thanks! That Betta looks great. He reminds me of one my little boy used to keep (here’s a video).

If your BBA is on wood or hardscape, remove it from the water, and spray the area with 3% H202 (over-the counter). Wait 5 minutes. Then put it back. The BBA will turn red / pink and die off. No idea about snails. Unless they're ornamental pets -- e.g. Mystery Snails -- I wouldn't worry too much about them. I assume that the chemical reaction with H202 balances out in tank water reasonably quickly once re-immersed. The tragic problem is . . . once you get some going . . . BBA is very, very hard to eliminate. I've bought a group of Siamese Algae Eaters before. They do wonders. I have a Clown Pleco that seems to eat some BBA if it's on wood. Some people buy Female Florida Flagfish to nibble on algae.

(Just one more Killi recommendation to consider) Fundulopanchax amieti… There’s a secret place here on the forum where some of us dump resources. I remember leaving a Killifish guide there… let me find it… hang on… Ok, here you go: My friend made this introductory video about Killis. It’s not professional video editing, but he’s a great aquarist and scientist…

Whether you know it or not, I believe you are looking for a small, non-annual species of Killifish. Perfect for 10-gal tanks. They’re not fish you’re likely to find in a fish store. I breed Fundulopanchax scheeli… But I also highly recommend Aphyosemion striatum… Or the Aphyosemion australe (orange)… I mean… there are many hundreds of species to consider… just do a single species-only tank. Killis are the orchids of the aquarium hobby.

Great questions. You'll get a number of opinions online. Here on the CARE Forum, I hope you'd get _reasons_ for opinions. Let me share my views, and give you reasons. (1) It is doable if: [a] you are a reasonably good aquarist -- keep the aquarium healthy and in balance, do not overfeed, water change regularly, etc. [b] you add even more plants. And then add more. And then just a few more 🪴🌱🌿 [c] add an additional filter -- HOB is fine. I love AquaClear filters. They are adjustable. But a second small sponge filter would also be fine instead. (2) I rarely use 10-gallon aquariums anymore. a 20-gallon long is a much more satisfying aquarium space. If you're able to afford that, it would make for better digs. Cherry Barbs are lively. A 10 gal. tank would be a bit smaller than optimal. If you want to stick with the 10-gal size, you might consider White Cloud Mountain Minnows as an alternative option, since they probably could manage a bit better in smaller space...

Got loads of Southern Redbelly Dace fry (free-swimming) and just-hatched Mountain Redbelly Dace ("skaters")...

Great fish! They're pretty tough fish. 70-F is fine. Maybe 74-F for spawning. Do you have mops made? They will spawn in yarn mops. I think LR Bretz had a video on making them . . . let me check for it . . . here you go:

Lovely! "The Bronte Tank Journal." Do share photos if you like. I'm a fan of any aquarist who breeds fish -- however intensely or casually as it may be.

A pleasant surprise: I sold these two young pairs of Fundulopanchax scheeli to a CARE Forum member just a couple weeks ago… Now, all these fry are hatching out of the java moss in their tank… I love fish babies!!!