Fish Folk

So... no external filtration whatsoever? Daniel, sir, you were already a legend. But this??? Lost for words... so awesome!

Looking at that one with the black and orange tail and banding on side. I _think_ that’s a female. If you want an interesting strain, she’ll probably produce a wild and colorful mutt-guppy line. Any female with lively fun coloration is a good choice.

Anoxic filtration: (googling....) http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/anoxic_filtration.html *Sigh* will I ever emerge from this Nermhole??!! 🤭🤪🤣🤣🤣

Over the past year, we've really enjoyed watching some good videos on building and using Freshwater Sumps with larger aquariums. Corvus Oscen (aka Joel) has some excellent videos he put out a while ago. At our LFS, the 125 gal tank they sell plants out of has a freshwater sump. We've never used one before. Most of our tanks are small, and we haven't really been motivated to try drilling tanks, etc. But it struck me that perhaps there are some advantages I've just not been aware of. For example, can a sump be set up to crunch nitrates so well that water changes can slow down significantly? So . . . for those who've tried them, are they worth it? And what have you found to be the best part?

Here's a couple male Honey Gourami. (Ignore the algae . . . we just let it go crazy in some tanks)

Congratulations! And clever DIY fry saver rig.

Yeeaaaahhhh . . . so this is happening in our little fish room right now . . . note baby bristle nose plecos in the tub . . . Annnd . . . the Bettas in cut gallon jugs for "proof of concept" are becoming a thing too . . . 😬

Our Angels also group nicely...

Our Colombian Tetras school beautifully in 40 breeder with electric blue Acara.

Enjoying an active school of young bloodfins right now.

How long has your tank been running? How long have you had the Mollys? We’ve got a group of four up and running for 2x months that have only dropped a few fry. Mollies may only drop once a month though. Our tank is a bit small for them. Try feeding them a variety of quality foods that include some live baby brine shrimp as well as greens like spirulina bug bites flakes. Watch for spawning behavior early in morning when light goes on. It’s possible lines of Mollys sometimes get low fertility on account of inbreeding, or treatment before they reach your tanks.

As a general rule of thumb, I usually “guesstimate” the final weight of an aquarium by adding a zero to the end of the gallon. So a 15-gal could weigh in at 150 lbs full (8-lbs / gallon + tank, substrate, decor, filters, hood, etc). We have used older, well-built dresser tops for tanks. (A poor idea, by the way... every time the dresser is opened and closed it terrorizes fish) We’ve gone the route of either hand making stands, or buying stands specifically designed for aquariums. You’ll want to keep in mind that most things _can_ work for awhile. But if there’s much water leakage over time, it can breakdown and warp low-end wood / particle board.

For Ember Tetras, the one-of-a-kind LRB has a video about breeding them: Once you get the water parameters correct, and they're in good breeding condition (feed females especially well on live foods) then they breed in a container set inside another tank with a mesh bottom so that eggs will fall through holes so they can't eat their eggs. They breed awhile in there, then the internal container is removed, and the fry are left to hatch. Having soft water is important. Lower the pH too -- Catappa leaves are recommended (also great for Apisto breedings set ups) and alder cones. Lots and lots of java moss is brilliant . . . that's always a great thing to have.

You can never go wrong with a Master Breeder Dean Tweedle video on "How to Breed Apistos." In Episode 2 of the Aquarist Podcast, Randy Reed interviewed William "Chance" Peragine about breeding Apistos. The audio, if I recall, was awful. But the content was brilliant: Then there's this video from Ted Judy all about breeding various Apistogrammas. It's very helpful: We made a little introductory video about our pair of Apistogramma Cacatuoides awhile back too. We've learned a lot since then, but some of the basic ideas are on the right track: The Apistogramma.com forum is populated with Apistogramma breeding masters who can walk you through whatever you need to sort out: https://apistogramma.com/forum/ Basically, you want to make sure that you get good stock to begin with. Our Cacatuoides were sick and slowly died before we learned how crucial it is to quarantine and med-trio treat new fish. Basically, they like a bit of sand to sift through. Most Apisto keepers also use leaves -- some use catappa, alder cones, and Oak leaf litter. Do not keep plecos (bristle nose) in the tank that you're trying to breed them in. They can respond well to a dither fish -- that is, small fish that provide an "all-clear" signal for apistos to come out and swim around in the tank. Pencilfish work nicely because they do not have large mouths and won't predate on the fry. Be careful about your dither fish choice -- tetras sometimes will eat apisto fry. Our Neons gobbled up our F1 Apistogramma bitaenaiata fry . . . *ugh!* You'll want to provide them with a cave. Check out the Apisto cave from Aquarium Co-Op: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/apistogramma-cichlid-breeding-cave We made our own coconut huts. You can go online a learn how to build a good apisto hut. The key is making sure that the opening isn't too large. Females tend to like small openings. Sometimes pushing a rock to partially cover the mouth of the cave is preferred by the female. Feed them well on live foods. Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, and on frozen foods -- some blood worms, etc. It will be the FEMALE who decides when it's time to spawn. She'll turn bright yellow, and will do crazy bending and dancing in front of the male. Her goal will be to lure him to the cave where she'll lay her eggs all over, he'll fertilize, and then she'll stay there and guard. Once the eggs hatch, she'll bring them out and parade them around the tank. Now, once the female turns into "guarding" mode, she'll sometimes take to tail-whipping the male. It's kind of funny . . . no matter how small, she'll pack a mighty punch! Good luck!!!

Update: 23+ Ancistrus fry doing fine in makeshift tub. Water change day! Plastic bins work fine. Add small primed spong filter, and a simple “stay-put” 50-watt heater. Wood is a favorite of bristlenose Plecos. We feed variety of finely crushed flake foods, some baby brine shrimp, and lightly boiled zucchini.

Agreed with lefty o. You might need to shake that Nitrate test tube again to make sure the agent + reagent mixes properly. And always shake Bottle #2 of the API Nitrate test like mad. The crystals inside need to be broken up. Ammonia and Nitrite look very fine.

Haha! The biggest mistake is thinking you can avoid making a mistake! 😆

Quarantine requires a new tank (already!) 😅 It's typically a bare tank run on well-cycled sponge filters with a heater. New fish go there for a week or two to be monitored prior to adding to your new tank. The purpose is to notice any sickness or problems before bringing illness to your established tank. Experienced fish-keepers are religious about it. Honestly . . . some of us are not as careful. I think that it takes a dramatically sad experience to teach you the hard lesson of always quarantining fish. Now, some fish stores (e.g. Aquarium Co-Op) are very good at quarantining and medicating their fish before they are put on sale. If your LFS already does that, you're fortunate!

Early on, it may be worth the wait -- if you can bear it -- until one of the chain stores has a "dollar-per-gallon sale" on. Petco / PetSmart / Pet Supplies Plus will hold these a few times a year. We've driven . . . quite a ways . . . to purchase a carload full of new tanks before. That being said, we also recognize how vitally important a good LFS (local fish store) is to the hobby. So, we opt to spend more money but at our LFS.

First, I’d get a clean plastic storage bin (Walmart style) and siphon out a bunch of tank water into it. Then I’d reach into the tank, lift up the wood, and pull the whole cave out, Plecos and all, and gently set it all into the bin. From there, you’ll treat that like the growout. We added a small bacto-surge sponge filter, a very basic “stay-put” kit-style thermostat (50-watt), and feed the BNPs finely crushed food, zucchini discs, etc. Just did something like this last week.

Agreed with James Black, your plan makes sense. Just took down a 29 gal at home. It’s hard. But less can be more.

Hygrophilia Because it likes my water ... and poor plant skills! 😂 And because it’s B R I G H T green.

Looks impressive! Our LFS recently built a long rack / row of 20 gal long using 2x4s. Very handsome. We've built a few things, but never a dual 55 gal system like you're planning. We built a rack that holds a 40 gal breeder on top, and 2x 20 gal long on shelves beneath.

Welcome aboard! 55 gal and a 5 gal. Sounds nice! What do you keep in the 55 gal, if i may ask?

Assuming you're still talking about discus? We've observed that they tend to prefer a group of 5x or more. Now . . . full confession . . . we did keep a pair of young discus in a 29 gal for a while together with other fish. But they never were really happy. Now, you can get away with keeping _young_ discus in a smaller tank in a school with the understanding that it's a _temporary_ scenario.