Odd Duck

@s1_ Cool, but also kind of sad to see the non-native invaders.

Not specifically the ACO product but the ACO ring could be used this way, too, but I got similar suction cup floating rings, cut them apart and used just the small piece attached to the hinged suction cup and glued them to silicone tubing (double diameter of airline tubing at 3/8” so they float higher than airline tubing) made into rings of the size I want and I use them to either corral, or exclude, my floating plants. You can see one corralling the red root floaters in my “6G Volcano” tank pic. The prefilters can also be slit and slid onto the outflow of an HOB to baffle the flow. Does it count if I put some ground krill flakes into my snello? 😆

My 100 gallon is in the living room right next to the TV. I watch the tank as much as the TV and I just barely started adding my schooling/shoaling nano fish. I just kick back in the easy chair and spend the evenings watching them. On the days when I can sleep late I lay in bed for a bit (or sometimes more) and watch my pea puffer tank and my cubes that FINALLY got some shrimp in a couple. The other 2 cubes are waiting for either my geriatric bad boy pea puffer or a plakat Betta in the 6 G, but I’m going to need to attach my driftwood to some slate for the 14 gallon (it’s *not* sinking!). So there’s a very exciting (🙄) empty cube in the middle of my “low row”. It will get either a Betta or a small school of nanos. I haven’t decided, but I’m leaning toward nanos, likely chilis. I have a comfy office chair that I use for observing my 75G, 29G plant holding that has the last (for now) of my bronze cory babies, and my 12G QT tank full of schooling/shoaling nanos that will go into my 100G in 1 week. I have to stand to watch my 10G QT with more shoaling nanos destined for the 100G in about 10 days, the subadult pea puffers that are awaiting definitive gender determination, and bad boy geriatric Pea Daddy. Middle row of my tank bank is shrimp breeders and the rocking chair works for that level.

@Jcdli It’s completely fine if the roots get to the substrate. If you have root tabs in the substrate you will likely see a growth spurt when those roots reach it. The roots can be buried as long as the rhizome isn’t buried.

Been there, done that, umm, today.

@Stephen Zawacki Sounds like you are well prepared, then. I hope someone can better answer your questions. I know just enough about them to be very concerned when someone still in college wants to take on a very challenging fish. Not all college students think through something like this as carefully as they should. It sounds like you’re preparing well. Please keep us posted on your tank. I’m very interested in how things go. I already have pea puffers so I have all kinds of live food, plus a 10 gallon tank that will be available in a couple weeks. 😆

@Duke Silver Yay! Nice work!

@Torrey Thanks, I’ll take that as a complement! I was hoping to entertain as I educate. I didn’t know about the smallest fruit although it certainly makes sense going along with the other records that Wolffia sets. If I was smarter or maybe just quicker on the uptake (you did just read how long it took me to figure out it was a new plant), then I would have saved all that Wolffia and frogbit and run it through the blender, added some gelatin and, “Viola! Who needs algae wafers?” I just bought spirulina, calcium powder, gelatin, etc, to make snello. I could totally have added frogbit/Wolffia slurry. Would the Wolffia have been sufficiently macerated by a blender, though? I wouldn’t put it past the tiny Wolffia to survive the blender then proliferate in every tank (have I ever mentioned I like snails?). For all I know it’s a conspiracy by the hive mind of Wolffia to worm it’s way into every tank. Oh, and no to the goldfish in with my QT’d pea puffers and the other tank with my blue dream shrimp. I did do a fair amount of reading to try to find a fish that would eat the Wolffia and not baby shrimplets, but nothing seems to be safe. @GoGreen Exactly what happened to me. I have no idea how it got into my tanks. The stuff is so small it never even crossed my mind that it was a new plant I’d never seen before. In retrospect, it took me waaaaaay too long to figure that out. 😆 😂 🤣

Stuff! I had corys hatch out from eggs that transferred from the plant holding tank. They went into a brand-new, dirted, sand capped, heavily planted tank. I was blind-feeding it to cycle it and hadn’t even bothered to test the parameters. Figured I’d give it a week then start with test strips and watch for the nitrite spike, then start drop testing, do a challenge, etc. Then 8 days later I was sitting and staring at my new tank, you know, because. And I see movement that was clearly not from plants fluttering in the current. Closer look showed what was clearly a tiny cory fry! No mistaking that “snuffling around on the substrate” movement! More looking showed more fry! This tank was designed for pea puffers, so I couldn’t leave cory babies in there. Made a fish trap and started feeding only inside the trap. I ended up catching a dozen corys before I was done. These babies survived a fish-in cycle when I didn’t even know I was doing a fish-in! No idea how bad the parameters may have gotten during this first week because there was no point wasting time testing frequently when I expected to be cycling for 3-4 weeks on this (my first dirted!) tank. So, they survived in a brand new tank with food (that was way too big) added about every other day for their first week or so with no real help from me. Deliberately letting food rot/spoil to stimulate the cycle. Waaaaay back in the day, we used to fish-in cycle all the time. I wouldn’t do it deliberately now, but it just goes to show you how tough and resourceful fish really are.

@Just a Pygmy Corydora They look just right!

@Sandyjo Nicely done! Always have an extra tank ready! I fell like I’m skating on the edge of danger right now, because I have fish in most of my tanks (except in my shrimp tanks). I have 2 quarantine tanks with fish right now. I ordered some fish from Aqua Huna on Wednesday (too late for shipment last week). Then I came across deals from 2 different people that were closing down tanks and had species I wanted. Sooooo, I got the first group of local fish (and bought some more nanos from the lfs) on one day, then I got the Aqua Huna fish and second local deal on the same day. All the fish I got the same day went into the same tank x 2 separate days/tanks. All nano fish - chilis, Kubotais, embers, otos, and a few CBD’s) and all will be going into the same tank once out of QT. I already had well seasoned filters in my normal QT and had a filter getting seasoned for the new QT (just transferred it one row up in my 10G bank), plus the big bunch of plants that I got with the second local deal (they needed to be quarantined, too, lol) went right in there, too. I also pulled 4 big mystery snails out of the normal QT to make certain that filter wouldn’t be overloaded since it doesn’t have live plants. I haven’t had to treat anything, yet, in my QT tank (hope I didn’t just jinx myself). Luckily parameters are all good on both tanks, everybody is eating and looking good so far, but I have no wiggle room right now. 😳😬 Well, I have a plant only tank I could use if I *really* needed. And a 6G cube that’s just barely finished cycling but hasn’t been challenge tested yet. MTS is real!

@Bobbie I can’t remember if you’ve mentioned your experience level so I’m going to ask what’s probably a silly question, partially because of my own ignorance about the specific filter you have. Can you access the pump motor for disassembly and cleaning? Sometimes the impeller just needs a good rinse and it will start again. If it does restart, I would still get a new filter, add a sponge filter, etc, like you already have planned. But if you can get it to start in the mean time, that’s always good.

I use black, opaque, static cling type window film for most of my display tanks for all the reasons others have mentioned. This stuff is cheap (about $10) for enough to do multiple tanks. It’s easy to apply. I’ve even applied it on a tank that was already up and running. A spray bottle of water, a fresh, single edge razor blade (or Exacto knife), and any somewhat stiff card (old plastic gift card or similar), is all you need. I cut a piece about an inch bigger than I need, then trim it after applied. The narrowest size was not quite as wide as my 100 gallon, but I applied it against the top of the back since the bottom “gap” would be blocked from view by the substrate. If I was doing a taller tank I would have bought a wider roll and trimmed. For my 75 gallon redo, I’m going to try skipping the background. It’s in front of a window and I will be growing pothos all down the back of it. The algae hasn’t been excessive in there despite my neglect in scraping glass, so I’m willing to risk it. It has a fairly light bioload relative to the filtration and I’m going to be adding a bunch of plants. I want to see how it looks with the light filtering through the plants.

@Phantom240 Yep. I had to throw away about a half gallon (between 3 x 10 G tanks) of Amazon frogbit in order to have any chance of controlling it. There’s no way I could have rinsed it all enough to feel like I was going to get rid of the Wolffia. I don’t feel it’s under control, yet, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wouldn’t wish this stuff on my worst enemy! It’s so tiny it took me forever to realize just what it was. I kept looking at the first tank with it and wondering what was going on. It’s a tank that the water surface is above my eyeline so I was seeing it from underneath. It was abundant by the time my brain finally snapped into place enough to figure out it was not duckweed that had snuck into the tank. Then I googled “tiny green dots in aquarium” which got me green spot algae (🤦🏻‍♀️), made a couple other tries, then finally “floating green dots” which finally got me to the Wolffia on page 2 or so. I now know there are 11 species of this stuff and it produces the smallest flower in the world! It runs about 20-30% protein on a dry matter basis and has been studied as a fish food source and even a potential human food source since it’s so easy to grow. It is apparently an excellent food for plant eating fish, but my carnivorous pea puffers have, of course, not helped me in any way to get rid of it that I can tell. Why would pea puffers in any way make my life easier? Somebody please remind me why I have pea puffers? 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😉 Once the pea puffers are out of the Wolffia infested tanks (theirs are the 2 worst infested tanks), they are going to get cleaned like no tanks have been cleaned before! 😆 I’m just watching like a hawk on the shrimp tank that had a few in there. I haven’t seen any in there for a couple weeks. 🤞🏻

Yep, new roots. Congratulations!

My experience is like @lefty o. The old leaves held like it was no big deal to be suddenly submerged, but new leaves grew in submerse form and old leaves very slowly melted. This applies only to swords in my experience. May, or may not, apply to crypts.

@GoGreen That looks like Wolffia sp. It is the world’s smallest true plant, apparently. I’ve recently had reason to do some research on it because I had some invade one tank, then make it’s way to 2 others before I even realized what it was. It can definitely become a pest, but it has its good side, too, just like duckweed. Fairly nutritious for those fish that will eat it. But it can also spread like wildfire. It doesn’t float as well as duckweed so it’s a little harder to eliminate.

@Ron UniThe ACO filters can be set up with just airline or can be used with an airstone. The adjustable, never clog, Ziss airstone are worth getting. They can be adjusted to get smaller bubbles for more water flow and less noise. I have airstone in each of my ACO sponge filters, including 3 nanos. @Maximus297759 I have several of the ACO sponge filters (18 total, from nano to large) and have never had one come apart when I just picked it up. When snapped together correctly, they take at least a little effort to get apart. Not like, makes me grunt or anything, but need to actually grip to pop apart. I also have some of the suction cup, double, fine sponge, suction cup filters (6) and stopped buying them as soon as I started using the ACO sponge filters. I have no scientific comparison in any way on how well they filter, but I just had to take apart and clean the dickens out of 4 of those double sponge filters and the ACO coarse sponge filters just don’t need that degree of maintenance in my tanks.

This is what he says in the article on the ACO website under 5 oddball fish for a 10 gallon tank. Have you grown your own live food cultures before? What other fish have you kept? I actually DID keep saltwater pipefish and seahorses for a while. It was a major struggle to get them to eat and supply them with appropriate live and frozen foods and it didn’t end well for the fish, I’m sad to say. I set up the tank specifically for those species, I let it mature fully, I had live food cultures ready way before I got the fish, and still failed even with over 20 years of fishkeeping experience, including over a decade of saltwater/reef tank experience by that time. I don’t want to discourage you, per se, but I would hate to have you struggle and have the fish suffer for it. I have decades of experience with fish keeping (got my first tank in 1975) and I would think twice about trying to keep freshwater (or saltwater) pipefish and I currently have 3 tanks with pea puffers. My live food cultures take up more room than my puffer tanks. What are you going to do when you go home for the weekend, when you go home for the summer? Are you going to haul all your tanks home? Fish tank, live food culture tanks, the works? “2. FRESHWATER PIPEFISH The African freshwater pipefish (Enneacampus ansorgii) is an advanced species that we typically only recommend for veteran fish keepers because of the time investment and specialized diet they required. As cousins of seahorses, they like to hook their tails onto objects as their heads bob around to investigate their surroundings, so provide them with lots of aquarium plants or fish tank decorations as anchor points. The difficulty comes in their food requirements since they have small mouths and like to eat tiny live foods that move, such as baby brine shrimp and daphnia. Because they are also slow eaters, use a sponge filter or other low flow filtration to prevent the food from being swept away. Most tank mates should be avoided since they will outcompete the pipefish during mealtime, but snails may be useful as clean-up crew members to pick up leftover crumbs. Due to their difficulty level, they are not readily available in the aquarium hobby, so you may need to ask your local fish store if they can order them for you.”

I think they’re trying to tell you it would be extremely challenging to keep the live cultures that would be required to keep pipefish healthy, all while trying to keep up with classes and the social life changes that usually happen at college. Maybe try a less picky fish instead of pipefish?

I would dose the levamisole again. It’s fast acting and also clears quickly so less risk of side effects. Don’t forget your before and after water changes. If he still doesn’t eat for another 24 hours or so, then do a round of the prazi/metro combo.

My guess is also Windelov or Lace Java fern (Leptochilus pteropus ‘Windelov’). Has leaves sprouting from what appears to be a rhizome, has brown, skinny, slightly fuzzy looking roots, and it looks like it has multiple forks/splits starting at the leaf tips. Looks in rough shape currently, so don’t be surprised if it fades. All varieties of Java fern like to be attached to something (wood, rock, decoration) and hate their rhizome being buried in substrate. Their roots can be buried, but the rhizome will be prone to rot if buried. They are water column feeders, primarily. I've noticed, if you can attach them to something so that their roots can eventually reach substrate, they seem to especially like that. They also seem to do a slightly better attached to wood vs rocks or decorations. I suspect it gives them just that little bit more nutrition as the roots dig in to the wood.

I think I would risk another dose of levamisole if he doesn’t start eating tomorrow. It looks like there’s still way too much stringiness to that poop. Then move his next dosing date to a week from tomorrow (if he doesn’t eat and you decide to dose again).

I’ve also seen it as potted plants, but my goal was to do a big swath of them in the 100 gallon, so TC was the only way I could afford that many plants. Wellll, . . . . I have a little swath in my 6G. 😆 And I have sturdier, better rooted plants in the 100G. I can’t even tell you how many times I replanted tiny pogos in the 100G. 2-6 *daily* for at least 2 weeks or more. I kind of got ahead of myself in adding the corys. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks! I really love that contrast, too! Really makes them both stand out better. The Crypt ponte was supposed to be nearly the same color as the pogos to contrast from the other side of the dark Buce, but it doesn’t look as bright because the ponte got so tall. You see the color *through* the leaves instead of *on* the leaves and it doesn’t come across nearly as bright, neon green. Plus they have that single E. ‘Red Flame’ behind them and it darkens that corner a bit. If that sword gets big enough it will have to come out and I’ll let the pontes grow in that direction. Maybe it will give it more contrast that way. I also had the *hardest* time getting that Pogostemon to establish! The first 2 TC melted, but the second TC melted slow enough I thought, “Well, I might still have a chance at getting it to work”. The third TC did fine, but I had split the plants between this tank and my 100 gallon. The cories kept dislodging the ones in the 100 gallon! I finally just stuck them all in this one and they’re doing great! I like the aquascape to evolve and develop. I don’t want to look at exactly the same thing for years. I want to see what the plants want to do. There are some I’ve given up on (almost gave up on those Pogostemon), and some I’m trying again for the first time in years.