Fish Folk

Pretty tank! Depending on your experience in the hobby and your relationship with your LFS, this could go several ways. I'd personally put in a trio. Honey Gourami are not as boisterous as normal Dwarf Gouramis. Are your goals just enjoyment? Or are you interested in breeding your Shrimp, Corys, and Honey Gourami?

Can you say more about "self-sustaining tank"? Do you plan to feed your fish at all? Is it self-sustaining in the sense that it just needs to be topped off occasionally? I'll tell you what I would put in there . . . Nothobranchius rachovii. Annual killifish. About the size of a Sparkling Gourami. Males are an explosion of color.

Excited for you 😎 You’re probably already familiar with @Irene’s helpful video. I benefited from her tips very much. We have some threads already here on the forum that will speak to many different questions… Here’s random thoughts off the top of my head… (1) Know your limits. Tank space and $ (2) Examine and note lots in advance. (3) At an auction, most money moves in 1st half. Sell early / buy late if possible. (4) Take a cooler or styro. Fish will be Ok if temperature is moderate and stable. I have a 3 hr drive to and from auction. Never lost a single fish selling or buying.

Here we go. Some 6-month old, starting to color up, and some 1-week old fry…

Depending on color morph and subspecies, the answer can vary. Ask your LFS if they will special order female dwarf gouramis. Here’s a setup my son did for breeding…

I love me some NANF! Let me share some personal experiences with both species, and make some personal suggestions. (1) Pygmy Sunfish, on the internet, look amazing! But unless you get an amazing stock -- catch your own, or connect with a specific seller who has guaranteed stock -- they're a secretive, mostly lack-luster colored fish. I've kept and bred Okefenokee Pygmy Sunfish, Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish, and have spent time observing the endangered Spring Pygmy Sunfish breeding setups at Conservation Fisheries in Knoxville, TN. Gianne at Inglorious Bettas has bred some. Andrew at The Aquarium Library has some beautiful videos on wild-caught specimens. If you can source your through reliable connections, you might get some good ones. But even then, these fish are swamp dwellers. They like a messy, algae-infested space with low water disturbance. Here was a setup I did for mine... Now, these were sold to me as Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish, but they were nearly as black as my Okefenokee. In another tank, my little boy and I did a breeding project with the Okefenokee Pygmys a couple of years ago. Here's two videos we made . . . At the end of the day, these Pygmys may simply hide from view in a 30 gallon. Frankly, I don't know that they'd necessarily pair up neatly with Darters. It could be done . . . but might not work well. Pygmys like still, densely vegetative spaces. Darters like cool, flowing, rocky spaces. (2) I've kept a few species of Darters for the last several years. They require a higher level of care than some other species. Mine only really eat frozen foods -- esp. frozen bloodworms. Different species have different sized mouths, and may require smaller servings. They tend to suffer when they are made to compete for food. My personal favorite species -- pretty easy to acquire -- is the Banded Darter (Etheostoma zonale). If you get them from Ohio, they'll look like this... I've kept Rainbow Darters, Tessellated Darters, and a Swamp-Darter. Here's a 45 gallon tank with Rainbow Darters, Rainbow Shiners, Redbelly Dace, and Banded Sunfish. The sunfish hate the high flow, but the Darters love it... So . . . you can always try anything! But my initial thought is that maybe you're interested in the beauty of the Pygmy sunfish and the personality of the Darters. But they are not typically in the exact same environments. One exception could be the Swamp Darter -- they could thrive in a low-flow environment. I'll say that my best source for NANF is here. Antiquated website, but excellent fish and reliable shipping. It will cost you to ship, but that is true anywhere. Send an e-mail with all of your questions, and I believe you will be guided well. Here are the NANF (North American Native Fish) I enjoy keeping right now... (1) Rainbow Shiners (2) Catawba Greenhead Shiners (3) Southern Redbelly Dace (4) Mountain Redbelly Dace (5) Fireyblack Shiners (6) Banded Darters (7) Lowland Shiners

Humbug! Yeah... lot is illegal there...

The rocks protect eggs from being eaten. In a stream / river, hatched fry are also protected, while ample micro-foods flow through. In a home breeding setup, I pill eggs and hatch in a protected space.

I’ve successfully used these three bags… Long Life Breather Bags: Aquatic Arts Breather Bags: Variously sized 3-mil Fish bags, Packed with Oxygen. Here’s how I add Oxygen to non-breather bags…

I hope others chime in. I'll give you my thoughts, but take these with a grain of salt. Plants take time to really adjust when they get shipped, moved, replanted, etc. They will naturally take a sort of "vacation" from thriving no matter what. You can probably plant them just as you normally would once they arrive. If you have no fish in the aquarium, you could try pushing a _tiny bit_ of Osmocote plus into the substrate to help. It could be unhealthy for fish though -- especially if you overdo it. If you have fish, they will be already releasing ammonia, \ pushing through the nitrogen cycle and providing natural fertilization. Your plants just need enough nutrients to survive until root tabs come. I really do not think you need to worry. I'll add that plants may well melt no matter what. They often do when adjusting to an new environment.

Hot looking fish! Wow!! Check this out... And this... Here is a write-up. You may be correct to be concerned about water hardness. It is difficult to say, but at that cost, do take care. You can probably invest about $150 into a small R.O. Unit or water filtration system that could be plumbed to a single sink, thereby filtering out much of your hardness. When / if you wanted your water untreated, you could set it up to easily be removed with pull-apart valves . . . (sorry, I cannot remember what they're called, but I have some on my Aquaponics setup). Here's another website with scientific info on them. Good luck! If only I had more tank space 😅

Yes!

Tub blooms!

I add either hydrogen peroxide, or methylene blue along with the airstone. I dose 0.5 ml 3% H202 (over the counter) ever 12 hrs for just three doses, or 5 ml. methylene blue just 1x times.

Here is how I build mine… This is a hillbilly version of Dean’s fry system.

I would not get those. All you need is: (1) Airline + Adjustable AirStone. I prefer the Ziss airstone. (2) Rubbermaid storage tray + Styrofoam collar + Matten sponge. I will take photos or make a video when I get home. I’ll post here.

Here is a thread I made awhile ago. I have simplified this process, but the explanation is still decent… I have also improved my process for breeding and raising GBRs, but here is a loooong journal if you want to read from the top… Loads and loads of info, videos, errors, corrections, improvements, etc.

We never have had the pleasure of seeing Rams guard their own fry. Ours always ate their eggs, wigglers, or fry. Other aquarists are successful. I cannot explain why. We just pull eggs as soon as they lay on the flat stone. I use a DIY floating flow-through container, allowing eggs to hatch securely _in the same water_ they were laid in. I can explain in obsessive detail if you like.

My eldest son and I have kept them with various tank mates over the last five years: - Cardinal Tetras - Ancistrus - Discus - Angelfish - Corydoras - Threadfin Acaras Of these, they seem to do well when kept with Discus. I've had them breed in large tanks with Discus around. Here's a photo of a large male Discus with a little female Ram nearby. They do not bother each other at all. We crossed a pair of E-blue x Golden morph Rams. After two Generations, we got some stunners. Here's a video, the first part of which shows a tank we kept the "grandkids" in. These Gold Rams were two-generations deep, home-bred and raised. Very nice looking fish! I sold them all. Kind of wish we hadn't now. Here's a video my son made. Starting at 39 sec, you can see the tank with discus, Threading Acaras, and Rams...

(1) German Blue Ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi). I enjoy all of the color variants. I am most proud of some we bred and raised ourselves. Here's my favorite male from a breeding project several years ago. No photo enhancement. This is what healthy fish can look like when they are born and raised in just one water type, fed healthy food, and reasonably well cared for... (2) Blue Gularis Killifish (Fundulopanchax sjostedti). Sadly, I have been unsuccessful at several attempts with these. But they are definitely the super-orchid of the hobby. Here's my best male... (3) Rainbow Shiners (Notropis chrosomus). I love these for their unbelievable colors and ease of keeping -- unheated tanks; will eat just about anything; not fussy; breed easily. And speaking of breeding, they turn hot pink when spawning. Not glowfish. Just naturally amazing. It's a sight to behold! (4) Blue Nothos Killifish (Nothobranchius rachovii). Short-lived annual killifish are a whole world unto themselves. But once you've seen these gemstones, you really can never unsee them. Too gorgeous to pass up... (5) Banded Darter (Etheostoma zonale). This photo is not mine. It was taken by a NANF master breeder in WI who caught this male from cold spring stream waters in Missouri. This is an unbelievably beautiful fish in spawning season. They are not easy to keep happy in a home aquarium. But well worth the effort...

In non-technical language, male guppies + female mollies= yield “Gollies.” ”Muppies” are where male mollies are crossed with female guppies. If I understand correctly, _all_ hybrids here are _infertile_. There are other possible defects. Here is a little write up if you’re curious.

Here’s a video my son made about a pair we kept a few years ago…

I like to mix fresh salt solution for each of my batches. But as long as you have enough salination, reuse could work. I have heard some people use brine water to set up aquariums for raising Brine Shrimp to maturity. I think it’s important to have a skimmer, filtration, etc.

Welcome! That’s a full tank for sure. Everyone get along?

I’m told that they are serious when they start spawning! Good luck.