Fish Folk

I know that when flakes are made, food is baked in an oven. I assume your solution works just as well. Be careful to observe that all of it gets eaten. You don't want leftover food to build up uneaten. Also, always watch your fish carefully for any signs of illness. I've had several fish recently succumb to dropsy. I suspect it was, in part, on account of kidney failure due to bacterial infection brought on by an improper diet. Keep up on your water changes, and watch your fish closely. You might be onto something here!

Sometimes it depends on what I have available. But otherwise, if I am shipping more fish or larger fish, I use normal bags. I double bag, inverting one into the other so that there are no tight corners. Here is the O2 I use…

I made you a video… Here’s a thread I made awhile ago…

I’m happy to share what I do. What species of fish are you looking to ship?

I moved them outside. Got a cloud of Endlers in the tank now. Brought a few E. gilberti fry indoors the other night…

What species are you after? Believe me… someone out there has info. I had a guy get me Saffron Shiners… I was offered Bluenose Shiners… I’ve started down a rabbit hole on getting a permit for arking a population of Olympic mudminnows… about the only hard-NO species are endangered Darters [and certain Pupfish]. Darters are tricky to keep healthy. I have three species currently, but I would describe their aquarium experience as suboptimal. They need _cold_ water (ca 50s-60s F) and live foods. I have Elassoma gilberti. I actually brought in 5x fry the other night. They do need live foods, though for awhile they’re fine to live on BBS. Seeding a substrate with live blackworms is a very good idea for them. ALL live blackworm orders I’ve ever gotten have leeches. Every one. You have to get them out completely before feeding. Speaking of nano NANF, look who showed up in my outdoor Red Swordtail minipond… Bluefin Killifish (Lucania goodei) — must have come in as an egg on the water lettuce imported from FL back in the spring. Last year, I gave a leftover pair of these to my LFS to keep in their 120 tank from which they sell live plants. They have been multiplying, and customers have reported discovering unknown fry in their tanks 😂 (maybe annoying… but NANF win 🏆)

I took my two older boys to Conservation Fisheries last March! Derek Wheaton gave us a grand tour. Freaking AMAZING! It all sort of started with Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia. Point in fact: I mailed Derek 9x fish that arrived in Knoxville, TN today! 😅 He likes breeding different species. I sent him two more Microctenopoma ansorgii, 6x Pteronotropis stonei, and a remaining Xenotoca doadrioi from our breeding set up. The live foods room he runs is . . . maybe the best of its kind in the USA. When I was there, I tried to just be 100% attentive, and didn't film or photo anything. Just wanted to take it all in. The Blue Mask Darters they breed totally knocked me off my feet...

All depends on your goals, standards, etc. I build spraybars on a number of tanks for flow and O2. A powerhead with Venturi system is nice too. But if you’re going for subtlety, your plan is good. I’d just put the air stone at the bottom underneath the filter so air bubbles ip and flows forward. Might make noise as intake sucks air in, but otherwise OK.

Nice! I boil mine in a hot pot for 3 mins or so. Helps the Zucchini sink.

Good idea! Might tend to clog. But o2 diffusion could be worth it. Just beware of spray / mess.

Here’s another tub harvest: Elassoma gilberti fry (Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish)…

@Guppysnail 😅 sheesh… I don’t know! Maybe just a juvenile. But it looks like maybe a… juvenile species of Lepidiolamprologus At first blush, I wanted to say it was maybe a skinny Livingstoni, similar to Venustus… but I’ve no really solid guesses. For that matter… could just be a skinny juvenile Tilapia!

The 2nd of many binomials refer to an important field biologist. I guessed “Mark Smith” + “i” = marksmithi There’s actually another Tanganyikan cichlid named Julidochromis marksmithi… My personal hobby-hook fish is the German Blue Ram. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. = “Mikro” (small) + “geophagus” (ca. dirt-eater) + “ramirezi” (after Manuel Ramirez) — a guy who was busy…

It’s common. Moisture meets green growth there, and drips continuously.

— I feel like there should be a prize 🏆— 🤣🤣🤣

Everyone should find the link and PWD in their PM. If you're following and want to be part of this, PM me and I'll share. My recommendation: paste the PWD into the space in the PM, then, once unlocked, click the VIMEO source-link in the lower right corner and watch there. Be sure to adjust the HD to the highest possible resolution for your devices. If anyone has an issue with it, please PM me or message in line. Remember this was @AquaHobbyist123 's recommendation . . . and I could not be happier!

Speak of the devil! Turns out they're active eon FB. Just got the link and codes. Here come the PMs . . .

I've reached out to Freshwaters Illustrated multiple ways. If I do not hear back from them in 24 hrs, I may have another option to get us rolling on watching this film. I do have an "old clearance code" . . . My sense is that the tech / user side of this may be run on . . . a shoestring . . . two guys . . . working from . . . their Mom's rental property garage . . . way up in the woods . . . somewhere . . . 😆

Brought my baby boy down to check out the baby swordtails this morning… ❤️

No new species plans as of now. If things end well with Elassoma, I’d consider new options for next summer.

Check out the little swimming pumpkins from the water garden patch! Moved a bunch of Red Swordtail fry from outdoor mini pond indoors until next summer...

@nabokovfan87 @AquaHobbyist123 @PineSong @Alex S. @DaniV Ok. I did it. I purchased a Virtual Presentation access to "Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia" for us. Cost me the $50, but I'm glad to support conservation in US, and look forward to helping everyone enjoy the film together! I anticipate receipt of a private VIMEO link from Freshwaters Illustrated along with limited-use password. In order to keep this under wraps, I will send you each a PM with instructions for viewing. Please respect this access, and do not post or share the info in public on the forum. If there is someone on this thread who I am missing, let me know please! As you await that, enjoy this seven-minute excerpt...

Yep. Moved all but one tank to concrete-floor basement.

Sounds good! Be patient, stick with your plans.

I think Bloodfin Tetras school wonderfully for a Honey Gourami tank. Here’s a couple HGs with Bloodfins… This photo isn’t from my tank, but shows them up nicely…