Fish Folk

My suggestion is… be mindful of how huge Warmouth grow. They can max out upwards of 11 inches… IMHO … that will be gigantic for a 75 gal. You’ll likely have aggression issues. If you’re open to a very safe species much smaller, buy some Enneacanthus. I keep E. obesus… They’re perfect for a 75 gal.

🤩☀️🛀 tubbing 2024 begins! March… Add some rain water. Dream. April… Add some more water. Maybe add a few hardy plants. May… Add many plants. Spawn some Rainbow Shiners. Dream of other fish to breed outside. Maybe Powder-blue Swordtails… June… Add other fish to breed outside all summer. Maybe breed German Blue Rams outside and break the internet… Right now… just gettin’ the fish itch!

Valisneria americana

Ammonia clears up once your nitrifying bacteria colonies have grown enough. Adding live plants may help to bring in some beneficial bacteria. Certain plants can absorb ammonia, but that won’t necessarily render your tank ready for adding fish. If you have sponge filters going, adding FritzZyme 7 as directed on the bottle can kickstart your cycle. I _think_ most liquid bacteria suspensions are in something like a cystic state. They take a little time to jump-start. I always add an air-stone as well because the type of nitrifying bacteria colonies you are trying to cultivate are aerobic. Generally speaking, I’d say plants always help! Just to give some sense how much I believe in plants 🌱 🪴 … More plants!!! Always!!! 😎🌱🪴💚

Beautiful! Well done. Lovely goldies with hardy greens.

Test your tanks for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. When fish respirate and defecate, they release ammonia. Unless your nitrifying bacteria bacterial colonies are ample enough to convert Ammonia to Nitrite… and Nitrite on to Nitrate… any tank becomes a death trap. Nitrifying bacteria coats all hard surfaces over time. I suspect that your sponge filter was not sufficiently primed.

I was offered a chance to reserve some Variegate Darters today. They’re attractive… But they’re also very commonly _hybrids_ in certain water systems. They cross with the endangered Candy Darter. Here’s a commonly circulated graphic…

I'm eyeing up Etheostoma fricksium as a possible new addition. The Savannah Darter male turns a lovely lime green, with red stripes. Very stunning...

I am always more impressed than I thought possible with hydrophlox shiners. These Alabama blue Notropis chrosomus are among my favorite fish of all time…

The internet has many different answers to Betta questions. It is difficult to find reliable intel. I would assume “aggressive” for King Bettas unless proven otherwise. For tank mates… choose large enough species that will not fit in their mouth. Neocaridina are probably a “no” with King Bettas. It is advisable to always add your Betta _last_ to any community setup. I liked my Betta imbellis. I found them peaceful… More peaceful… but they were jumpers!

Yes, 78°-F.

Do your females box up gravid like they’re going to drop fry? If so, the problem is likely predation. I would get rid of the Mosquitofish. Those are like Ninjas in the nursery! I also would stop adding salt when performing water changes. I would bump the temperature up 2°, bite bullet, and go buy a variety of quality foods.

Looks like! Are you breeding bettas? This week, I’m moving along my juvenile Bettas hatched between Christmas and New Year…

You are 100% correct. “Geophagus” derives from Greek. (If it were Latin … my declension is probably off … “Terraesum” … or similar)

Wow! That Flight Sim looks amazing! This short with Hans Zimmer on making the DUNE soundtrack is amazing…

Please share! I love seeing everyone else’s fish.

I'd lean on @Colu for accurate diagnosis. For me . . . doesn't look very good. If feces continues white, this could be an internal problem.

From what I can gather, this species is rarely bred in aquariums due to its slow egg release strategy. Instead of dropping many hundreds of eggs at once with the reality that many fry will be eaten before reaching maturity, these particular Tetras drop eggs slowly over long, extended periods of time. This leads to fry growing at different rates in relatively small numbers. If you spawn them, a full spawning report would be very helpful to the hobby. I would personally just buy a mature group with clear males and females for a breeding project. As a rather general rule, most schooling fish mature to breeding age either within 6 months, or within 1 year. This accords with seasonal breeding windows in spring and summer. You can read an interesting taxonomical study under "Notes" at the bottom of this webpage. It is most interesting to observe that the "Bleeding Heart Tetra" descriptor encompasses three separate species. Occasionally links from this site will provide detailed information; however, I am not finding exactly what you're looking for. Helpful notes on breeding challenges here, along with corroboration of information from these other links.

I enjoyed reading this write up from Aquarium of the Pacific. It sounds to me like you may have a dominant male. If you add fish, you'll need to up their feeding. I assume that you provide live bugs?

Well, the darker fuzzy stuff is beard algae. I'm not sure what those white-tipped things are. Watch to see if it grows across surfaces. See if there are vine-like runners.

I'd keep up the m-plex with food. Just do not over feed. A light feeding once or twice a day should be fine. Question: at the surface of your water, I notice there are a lot of bubbles from your air-stones in the bottom photo above. Do those bubbles stay awhile along the edges of the water surface? Or do they all pop pretty quickly? I've observed many times that when bubbles remain and build up, there is a chemical imbalance or some sort that is building up. Typically a proper water change schedule clears this up.

Anyone else excited about this epic hitting the big screen next month? It is nearly all I have been interested in watching in the theater for so long…

I got them from my friend. I think he just ordered them from a fish farm.

Little F1 ‘Bama Blues are starting to color up!

I love me a good photo dump! Thanks for sharing. That photo of the EBA + those Archers (?) looks fantastic. Are those Roseline Sharks? (aka Denison Barbs, I think . . . originally from India) Very nice with the light colored substrate. What species is that glorious green pleco? I need one of those someday!