[What’s The Weather Like Where You Are?]

90F and mostly sunny In Colorado Springs

[10 gal shrimp tank.]

Adding leaves and cones ahead ensures they are broken down by the time shrimp show up. I felt it was beneficial. (If you haven't decided to already)

[Tub Pond Plant Substrate]

You can check out @Streetwise, He has done walsted style tubs and you could take some lessons from how he does it. I recognize a  pot is a little different.

[Breeding Corys Outdoors]

One thing to check is if there is hardscape for fry to hide in and escape predation.

[Matt's fish doings]

On 7/11/2022 at 2:53 PM, Patrick_G said:

They definitely water puppies. 

Ah, best I can tell three of mine have short fins (common?) and three have long fins (comet?). They definitely have a lot of personality, that is to say... I have trouble not feeding them when they are at the top begging for food 😉

On 7/11/2022 at 12:59 PM, Patrick_G said:

Yes and no. I think I lost a bunch of shrimp in my original shrimp only tank because I hadn’t let the tank season long enough. Now I think it’s mostly predation by fish, I see shrimlets and some grow but the population seems to shrink or stay stable at best. 
I’m eventually going to try another shrimp only tank. I’ll let it season for a long time and if I add fish they’ll be something very gentle like Otocinclus. 

Mine is a species only tank and while It is not "seasoned" (only been up for a month?) it definitely got some seasoning so it will be interesting to see how well it goes.

[Matt's fish doings]

@Patrick_G They are "common goldfish" from a big box store, a couple have long wispy tails. What is the difference between "single" and "comet"?

[Matt's fish doings]

So I was negligent with taking pictures but I finished working on my new pond (for now) yesterday. I moved over the media and plants into the bog filter and hooked up the PVC to the DIY  under gravel filter along with the pump and spray bar. When I was done I was staring and noticed a fry swimming in the current. I looks like at least 2 goldfish fry survived the move from the 70gal tote (the goldfish spawned right before the move and I relocated some of the eggs into the old bog filter bucket). Just another example of "life, uh... finds a way"

The bog filter is where the white clouds will be able to hide.

Made the holes for the spray bar too small then too big... Good enough for today.

The goldfish seem to enjoy swimming up into the shallows, they end up almost out of the water... A behavior I am very curious about.

When all was done I decided I am not very happy about all the PVC pipe that was visible and the noise of the pump (faint hmmm-ing) so I may come back to my original idea of making it air driven. By the morning the water was cleared up, though still green, (a lot of gunk from the filter made the water very turbid) and I could see the gravel in the bog.

[HELP! I think I got planarian]

I have not been able to identify any issue with Planaria being harmful to my plants or fish (I noticed some in my shrimp tank yesterday). I believe small fish likely eat them and I think they are evidence of a thriving micro-ecosystem. If you do not like them then I believe Cory recommended Expel-P to get rid of them... @Zenzo can you confirm what medication is recommended to get rid of Planaria?

[Babies side swimming]

@Fish Folk has experience with rams...

[Matt's fish doings]

@Patrick_G Do you have any idea as to what is causing you difficulty?

[How to get rid of assassin snails]

you could try putting out a snail trap and baiting it with something protein based.

[Need help with an aquarium pun]

"the cook said it was fresh but the whole thing smells fishy to me"

[Matt's fish doings]

I have been posting about some different projects recently so I figured I may as well consolidate my future postings into a single journal... for the most part.

My most recent project, beside my pond, has been setting up my 5g(8g?) tank as a shrimp tank. I found it at a thrift store and this was the tank that started my journey of aquariums. I had some shrimp in this tank (with a betta, which did not go well) but had no idea what I was doing (the cherry shrimp all died) and so I haven't touched shrimp for about 3 years.

I removed the old LED that was installed on the inside of the tank and DIY'd a functioning stand for a 12"stingray light. I added old eco-complete substrate and some crushed coral along with leftover drift wood from a previous setup. I ended up using a cycled sponge filter and water (along with the mulm) from another tank along with some plants from that tank.

I added catappa leaves, acorn caps, and wonder shell, my hope was to create an environment for success. It ran for a few week and developed quite a few micro organisms that I have not yet identified (daphnia/cyclops related?) while I fed it parodically. I noticed the hitchhiker-snails (has anyone done a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy w/ snails meme?) were doing well and I was itching to put some shrimp in, so I went to my LFS and picked up a few different ones trying to make a "skittles" tank.

I noticed that one shrimp was berried and she still was tending the eggs after I had transferred the shrimp in. Imagine my excitement a few days later when I saw a few tiny shrimplings hanging out on the glass. Over the past few days I have noticed them hanging out on the wood and such so hopefully they are here to stay. It has only been a week but I have more hope for these shrimp than the first ones I bought (though I still have an Amano shrimp who went through all(most?) of my mistakes over the last 4 years and has survived).

Here is the tank with a melon sword (couldn't compete in the 45gal) some amazon fernlings and Christmas moss (my favorite over java).

First spotted baby shrimp:

One of the mature yellows. The shrimp seem to eat off the glass so I have neglected cleaning it.

2nd Baby Shrimp:

[What is this tiny creature?]

I have some of these also which stay small. Small type of "pest" snail (pest if you do not want it).

[Why are emerald dwarf rasbora not more popular.]

Don't forget that different regions seem to have preferences (salt water, cichlids, etc.). Also planted aquariums are not necessarily the norm (in the us), I believe, yet. They may not look that good in the store compared to a lot of the more popular fish seen in box stores (guppies, mollies etc.) and thus are not as often purchased.

If you want them, get some and try it out. Start the craze in your city. 😉

[Starting moderately rare/uncommon fish breeding project/business]

Have you watched Cory's breeding for profit series on you tube? That would be a good place to get some tips. Some things to consider are starting with something you know (are able to breed vs trying to start with a potentially difficult fish you have never kept) also something that you know will sell. I talked to one of my local stores and the owner said he doesn't do fish trades but would be willing to for discus because they always need discus (I'm assuming there is a good demand in my aria).

I think evaluating your objective is important. Do you want to make a profit at breeding and selling fish (going to likely have to make certain business decisions) or is it mostly for fun?

[new mini pond build]

I made a pond in my courtyard to provide more space for my goldfish, upgrading them from the 70 gal HD tote. I used 6'4x4's for the length and 3' for the width. I learned a lot and while I was aware that by creating a square pond, folding the liner would be an issue... I did not realize how much of a pain it would be. If I did it again I would likely just make it a complete volume vs building in a falls aria and bog filter pan.

Here is the original mini pond

Disassembling the old pond so I can make space for the new. I had put insulating blankets wondering if that would help it retain heat. I ended up with quite a bit of green water that made it hard to see the fish (the water was hard to see even at 3"-4" deep). When I removed the pond I was surprised as to how big it was (I had forgotten with it being buried for so long).

I found eggs from the fish spawning, The arrow leaf had also grown into the sponge I was using to diffuse the water pumped into the bog filter.

I used brick to try and keep tree roots at bay ( I have found a few medium sized ones while digging) The foam was to try and help soften the edges, between that and the fabric liner I was hoping to make it easer to lay the pond liner... it wasn't.

 

When capping the Liner I found that the folds had caused so much distortion, none of the boards would lay even. I also overlapped extra liner to help reduce possible sun damage. Not as pretty but I often may choose utility over looks.

I set up my "old" bog filter until I build the new one (going to try an under gravel filter). I put the goldfish in and they were quite happy swimming around. I have been working on re-teaching them to come to the surface for food. Fortunately the seem to learn quickly when it comes to feeding. I also put an extra sponge filter in to help stir and aerate the water.

 

 

 

 

 

[Good fish to breed with corydoras?]

Big thing would be to make sure there is enough dense cover to keep the corydoras from eating any fry or eggs.

[How to fix a very low pH?]

I agree with Fish Folk, find things that like your water and there are plenty things that will do fine. I have fairly low pH and have corydoras, white clouds, hillstream loach and one amano shrimp (I dont know how it is still alive), my shrimp and snails never did well. I have found the same goes for plants, some work well with my water/care (anubius, amazon sword) and some do not (vallisnaria & java ferns).

[Bladder snails....]

Many fish/shrimp are opportunistic and omnivores. From what I know about Corydoras and Neos I would say yes. I have seen my corys trying to suck bladder snails out of their shells.

[Lots and lots of holes]

are they rooted plants? are you putting in root tabs?

[New sponge filter]

You could also squeeze the old one out into the new tank.

[Not A Single White Cloud Fry, Ever?]

I've noticed if I don't feed "enough" food (specifically for the fry) the babies will "disappear".

[10 gallon plants?]

On 6/21/2022 at 9:37 AM, kcochran said:

I struggle with that as well.

I noticed my java ferns seem to be perking up after adding wonder shell (correlation or causation?) but my Val already died off so nothing to be able to report there.

[10 gallon plants?]

I read Val doesn't do well in acidic water. I am not sure how accurate that is but I know I have low pH and Val didn't do well for me.