Fish Folk

Got some nice free swimming Chrosomus erythrogaster fry (Southern Redbelly Dace)… Meanwhile, my Mountain Redbelly Dace also spawned today… I pulled the eggs afterward… In the end, got a wee haul… These sell pretty fast for me once they’re a few months along. Hatching them in a bottom 20-long with some M-blue…

Yessss 😷

I feed when the water clears. If it stays milky, I hold off.

Thanks. They can do OK up to 74°-F. Above that, they begin to breakdown. It’s not all at once…. but they stop spawning, get really skinny… etc. Maximum size is about 2.75 inches. They take 6-12 months to color up. There are a few varieties of color forms. These are from Alabama / Red Hills region. What’s crazy is how they look when they spawn. They turn hot pink with sky blue fins. It is unreal…

Good heavens @Mmiller2001 that tank looks amazing! If I were focussed on setting up just one 40 gallon breeder (instead of the 17x miscellaneous tanks I do random things with) I would get an Oase canister filter with a spraybar for good flow. I'd select a color of stone from ActivFlora (I've used Red, Black, White / Gray), and I'd beg around for LOADS of plants. If you like a community of tropical fish, consider aiming for three species-layers: -1- an active, hardy schooling species (shoaling will do); -2- a modest group of bottom-dweller species; and -3- a nice centerpiece pair. If you use a black background and dark substrate, and loads of bright greens . . . a school of Rummynose Tetras are always impressive in motion. The entire internet will break, but you can buy a young pair of colorful Discus to keep in a 40-breeder. Here's a few I still keep and snapped a shot of the other night... And for bottom dwellers . . . I'd love to add several moderately sized plecos of one species or another. Zebra Plecos are always tempting. But you could easily also turn a 40 breeder into a cool-water temperate tank with no heater. I'd probably go for a mix of Rainbow Shiners, Two trios of Fireyblack Shiners, and some species of Darters. Same filtration . . . but add more air. Here's my Rainbow Shiners and Fireyblack Shiners this week... My favorite Darter is the Banded Darter. This photo isn't mine, but it shows how absolutely amazing they _can look_ in a home aquarium...

O my . . . that Ocellatum . . . WOW!

^^ I agree 100% ^^ Australe… Striatum… Now, I personally have raised many Scheeli. I do get some really nice colors from them. Here’s a few photos from my line. Different fish, different lighting, different maturity… Let me add… most Killis are fin-nippers, and jumpers. Generally speaking… they need to be carefully watched in any community tank setup.

Daphnia feast…

I began feeding some Daphnia to fish today. I was pleased to watch the Elassoma gilberti housed with a sorority of Brick Swordtails showing up… They really can camouflage well… They do not express full colors unless conditions are right. But hopefully I’ll see more as the year turns over the calendar… Bear in mind that the male E. gilberti are capable of nearly unmatched glory in spawning form…

I just use my iPhone 11 pro. I try to limit reflections / room lighting. When you touch the screen, it automatically will refocus. I take 12-20 photos to get 1x decent one. I select ones where target fish are in focus. I try to crop out hardware, bring fish closer, use basic composition principles (rule of thirds, dark / balance). I adjust most all indoor photos: shadows (-20); contrast (+20); blackpoint (+20); and vignette (+30-50) That makes the fish in photos as close to how I see them. The only challenge is that the iridescence on some colorful species seems exaggerated.

Gorgeous!! Lovely pair.

“…I can bring you in cold.” My hot-water Tropicals tonight: My cold-water Temperates tonight:

This is awesome!

Preparing yeast feeding… A look at initial feeding (light)…

My friend hooked me up! Thousands of D. manga + freshly cut spearmint. I cut the audio on these due to background noise… In the tank…

Clear! 😎

Over the last few years, I have fed aquarium fish live foods. More recently, I have begun learning how to cultivate live foods. It is sometimes a challenge to get things right, but where successful, live foods is a game-changer with bringing fish into spawning condition and nurturing fry through their first month of life. I hope this journal will prove helpful for aquarists looking to get at least one view on several live food species. Call it a live-foods-cookbook. By all means, if you’re a cook, please share YOUR recipes too! Today, I time visiting with a friend just 1-minute away. He is a genius! He wanted to show me his Daphnia tanks. I was so impressed: no water changes. 100% Aquaponics. Here are a couple photos I took with his permission… Daphnia magna - 10 gal (feeding yeast, below) Daphnia moina - 10 gal (feeding yeast below) The substrate in each is Oyster Shells available for under $20 at Tractor Supply… The emersed plants (Pothos, Mint, etc.) used for Aquaponics zero out Nitrate, but also strip out out the minerals. The Oyster shells keep the water bslanced. SO! I was impressed enough, that zI immediately went to town today to set up a spare 10-gal I’ve had sitting around, cycled. Here was the process: (1) Get lights screwed in for plant growth a Daphnia multiplication. (Daphnia require light to multiply) Before… So I added several LEDs… Then I washed out the Oyster Shells… Started setting up the tank… After adding cycled lava rock and cycled sponge filters, sponge filter squeezing from other sponges for bio… I added 3x new Mystery Snails… They began enjoying the digs right away… (BTW… I threw in a bunch of Susswassertang. Because. Just love that stuff!) In the end… Pothos added to floating pot for starting aquaponics… (Mint will go in tomorrow) I keep it in my fishroom bathroom closet… After it settles, and I can test to ensure that there is ample bacteria keeping it all cycled, I will pick up a generous starter of Daphnia magna from my friend. My goal is to cultivate these so well that I have live Daphnia to feed to fish twice a day. To feed the Daphnia, a liquid solution of Active-dry Yeast is prepared… I will go into detail on that in a followup post.

I’d add some greens - floating plants, java moss - to provide some available infusoria. Feed well before you leave them. Some might die… hard to predict.

FLU-B: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flubendazole FEN-B: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenbendazole

Fieryblack Shiner… my NANF favorite…

First off… are your fish Ok?? What are you using to measure your parameters? Test strips? Titration tests (API)? Digital? To me, based on your readings, this does not look like a fully cycled tank. - 11-08-23 to 11-18-23 is a very, very short time frame for adequate colonies of nitrifying bacteria to populate across the surface of everything. Typically, without a really heavy boost, this takes 4-6 weeks. Adding cycled sponge filters, Eco complete (which you did use), wood from an established aquarium, and loads of sponge filter squeezings really jump-starts it. A week, and your tank might be ready to roll in those situations. - Your pH readings are odd, honestly. Your water should _not_ shift abruptly from 8.2 to 7.2 in a single day’s time period. You may need to reassess your testing technique. - If you are still measuring 1.0 ppm Ammonia on the day you’re adding fish, your tank _was never cycled_. - A fully cycled tank will _consistently_ read 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, and anywhere from 20+ ppm Nitrate. Your parameters (if accurately measured) are not there consistently yet. - To have Nitrate nearly zero out is the opposite of a proper cycle.

My old brooders… long in the tooth…

Scots Wha Hae! Please say more about this…

I hope that you get some helpful connections. Unfortunately, there are not very many Europeans on this Forum. @mountaintoppufferkeeper may be able to suggest some feeding tips. He breeds interesting Puffers.

Yes. I use breather bags when shipping small fish, and/or individually bagged fish. Unfortunately, I cannot find large breather bags at a good price point.