morphy1701

Huh. Wonder if because it was big and dark they saw it as a predator? On a random side note: my dog is scared of the toaster. No idea why, but when we get it out to make toast she is at the door, pawing to get out. Pets are weird.

I'm seriously considering getting a small tank for my office (somewhere in the 15-20 gallon size) but have never done a small tank. I also want to try doing it planted. But I'm worried about maintaining water parameters and things like that. I'm guessing that the smaller environment is more inclined to go south in a hurry if something goes wrong. Is that true? How much micro-managing do you have to do. With my 55 I do water changes once a week or every other week depending on how the water looks. I check the parameters once a month and have very little fluctuation so all in all, very low maintenance. is it the same for a smaller tank? Hmm... does @Cory have any videos posted on this subject on YT? That would probably be a good starting point.

Colombian Blues by far. I love them! My mini-piranhas. I just put a group of Serpae's in the tank and like them a lot as well. I think Rummy Nose are beautiful and would love to have some of those in the future, but I have never seen them in a store down here in Florida. Also, FYI, my Serpae's have finally decided to actually swim as a school instead of running all over the place and they make a dynamic addition to the tank. You know what? i could have just said I like tall tetras and not skinny torpedo-like tetras and gotten my point across.

Earliest memories are of my dad's freshwater aquarium (probably a 55). He had a huge tire-track eel (at least 12 inches, maybe longer) that lived under a big piece of driftwood. All you would normally see was his head poklng out . Dad would feed him feeder goldfish. They would swim too close to him and he would seem to inhale them. Suddenly no fish and a shower of shimmering scales. Also had two kissing gouramis I loved because they would kiss! Sadly, that tank and fish were lost when our trailer burned down. Fortunately we had moved a few weeks earlier but since the trailer was on our business's property my parents were slowly moving stuff to the new house. Cause of the fire was arson. FD was sure of that but no way to prove anything. Dad is 99% sure he knows who it was (just fired employee). No one hurt but a lot of memories lost. He had an amazing salt water tank (75 I think). I'm not sure if all these different varieties were in it at the same time or over several years but there are three things I remember distinctly. He had two different sea anemones, one Pacific and one Atlantic, that each had there own pair of clownfish. So delightful watching the clownfish grab foos and bring it back to the anemones. There a was a beautiful Brittle Star starfish with loooong arms. And the best was a mated pair of seahorses that actually had babies! I remember him teaching me about how the males carried the babies and I can remember how fat he got! Then was a 75 gallon African Cichlid tank with several breeding pairs. We would keep the pregnant momma up in a smaller 20 gallon in my room to watch over. So neat to see the momma suck all her tiny babies into her mouth when she felt threatened then spit them all back out.

Totally agree. Thank you, Sir! And, yes, I freaked out when I looked at the pic after you commented and thought I had just missed it. But, thank goodness, they are all fine!

FYI, I checked when I got home last night, just to be sure I hadn't missed something and he is clean. Pretty sure what you are seeing is particulate matter in the tank. IE I had just fed them some flakes and let's just say my tetras are enthusiastic eaters! The EBA doesn't have any spots anywhere on him so we are clear. Thanks for the heads up, though!

I first read this as "An Aquatics Mediation" and thought it was going to be asking advice on how to make two fish stop fighting! <facepalm>

OK, finally have some pics of the fishies. In no particular order: Bristlenose pleco nomming on a pleco wafer (daughter named him(her?) Hot Chocolate becuase he looks like hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in it), my EBA - he is doing great, but such a beggar! No name yet, and the least blurry pic I could get of my bigger Yoyo loach. He literally never stops moving!

Both look great. Love the black road leading up to the skull cave in the first!

For what it's worth, dragonflies are my very favorite insect. I fished a lot on local canals and rivers here in Florida as a kid so in the Spring and Summer time you almost always had a dragonfly perched on the tip of your fishing pole. So beautiful to watch in flight and amazing colors if you got to see one up close.

Question from someone who knows nothing about planted tanks: where do you get duckweed? Do you just go and scoop it out of a canal/pond? I might experiment with it just for fun since I can always just scoop it out. Some of my fish would probably enjoy it.

Awesome video, truly laugh out loud funny. Subscribed and liked. All my fish have always been furniture movers. Never done a planted but it doesn't matter. "Hey, Bro! I'm gonna take this thing your just bought and placed and move it over here and leave it upside down! That cool?" Years ago, I had a 55 with two Oscars and it ended up being them, one big rock, and one big piece of wood. They demolished everything. Even plastic plants. They would dig them up and drag them around and shake them until they fell apart. Absolute wrecking crew. But that is what Oscars do. No regrets.

So, the EBA is doing well. Took him(her?) about 12 hours to figure out where the food comes from. IE, when I get near the tank he is front and center waiting to be fed. I was weak and bought five Serpae Tetras as well. FYI, don't school really well. They are all doing fine, but kinda all over the place. Two stick together, one is on one side, one is on the other, and the last apparently thinks he is a Colombian Blue because he trails along behind them. Go figure. But everyone is happy and seems to have acclimated well. Point of interest, everything I have seen says EBAs don't eat snails. Well, it's not for lack of trying! This one sees one on the top of the gravel and goes after it. Shakes it and drops it. He's trying! I'm gonna try and take some pictures tonight to post tomorrow.

As I view the carnage in the tank, "But he looked so sweet at the store!" Also: "Hey, yeah, I just bought a fish... can I return this little Tasmanian Devil with scales?"

Same. I'm in Gainesville. Let's just pour the liquid limestone right in the tank!

Anyone else have that one breed of fish they love but simply can't keep alive? Mine is Gouramis. I love them, but I have failed every time I try to keep them. No clue why. I guess just bad luck. I can keep them a few months and then something always happens. Everything else I am fine with, but not them. So I have given up. Sticking with South American fish now because I seem to do well with them. Anyone else have this issue?

Welcome! I'm about a year into restarting after a 15 year layoff. So glad I got back into it!

I agree completely on preferring real wood (my pleco would be very sad without some wood to nibble on!). Perhaps get a larger artificial piece to put towards the front strictly for decorative reasons, then hide some chunks or long pieces of natural wood laid flat in your plants for the critters? That way you have the best of both worlds! Everything in my tank turns green over time anyway and the artificial pieces are much easier to scrub clean!

I was gonna say Gnomes, too!

Unless you are dead set on using real wood, you can find light or sand colored artificial wood.

Welcome! Eight tanks! I'd say you're hooked!

I'm going to get my Electric Blue Acara today and I am giddy with excitement! I know it is silly but I love getting a new fish and watching them grow up. I only have a single tank (a 55) and it is well established so I don't get to buy new fish very often. My shortest lived fish is my Colombian Blue Tetras and they are still 3-5 years so I don't get a lot of turn over. Which is good and bad. I mean, I love watching my fish mature and develop all their own personalities, but new fish are like new puppies! So, yeah, I'm like a kid at Christmas right now. I've never had a EBA, but everyone here spoke so highly of them that I can't wait to see how it goes. I'll post updates. Cheers!

Oh, wow, she is gorgeous! And Roomba! Perfect name! 8-D !!!

I think limestone (or rocks with a lot of lime stuck to them) are your biggest worry. IIRC, you can pour vinegar on rocks and if it fizzes you have limestone mineral deposits. And limestone will definitely dissolve and screw up your tank's ph. But those look like river rocks which should be fine. But I would thoroughly clean them first. Pretty sure fertilizer and pesticides are bad for fish!

My Yoyo Loaches are very good at snail control. But they would probably eat your Nerite, too. I still have a healthy population of Trumpet snails, though. Mostly because I have two or three big ones that the Yoyo's can't eat and they tend to stay burrowed in the substrate. But they will pick off the small ones and that keeps the population in a good balance. For the record, I am a snail fan, but not to the point that they overload the tank.