yannachka

@akconklin thanks! you should definitely get into it, less maintenance (imo) than aquariums and since you can create little jarrariums, you can fit more into your space! that's a win-win lol.

we kept her with some cichlids for a short period of time, she ended up laying eggs. we saw her guarding them so we pulled the rest of the cichlids and left her with them (we were worried about aggression). we culled all of the fry since we didn't want unknown hybrids, she's been on her own since.

yes, typically. you might have one that genetically has short fins, not sure. ive personally never kept convicts but she is tempting.

i just finished up monday’s livestream, the part where cory said that convicts get beautiful long fins if kept alone reminded me of the lone convict we have in the store. we don’t bring convicts in anymore and she’s the only one left. just wanted to share what healthy convict fins look like! id love to bring her home, maybe i’ll get a new tank set up.

i love your jars! i did try to use the warped perspective to make the statue and driftwood look larger/more menacing. we will see if it worked. do you mess around with paludariums and stuff? i love combining aquariums with emersed/terrestrial plants.

@Mike thanks! i have way too many jars i need to build. terrariums can be just as, if not more addictive than fish tanks since you can make pretty small ones. the bowl is sitting right next to one housing a jumping spider. id love to see your builds and what you are keeping!

so i love going to stores and looking for jars, bowls, and other containers to make little jarrariums and terrariums. i came across 2 pretty decently sized bowls. these have been sitting in storage for a few weeks and i decided last night that i’ll make a shrimp bowl using only the materials i have in storage. anyone else constantly buying new stuff “to try” and is left with a very full storage room? in pretty happy with how it turned out, the opening of the bowl is about 9” and it is 12” at the widest. no filter and no heater. also sorry about the bad lighting and photos, 2am me apparently cannot work a camera. also unnecessarily difficult to take photos of bowls it turns out. step 1: i decided to use my favorite substrate combo which is fluval stratum mixed with fluorite dark i love the natural look and i find those two substrates mix well together for good plant growth step 2: i have this statue cave i bought online last year that i planned to use in a jar terrarium, never got around to doing it so i forced myself to use it as a centerpiece. step 4: i had exactly two pieces of spider wood that were small enough to fit into the bowl so those are the two pieces i shoved in. i did like how they branched out and gave the appearance of arms to the statue. step 5: i had a storage container full of seiryu stone from a previous build, unfortunately it was all pretty large pieces but i was able to pick a few to put in the bowl. the stone matched the appearance of the statue pretty well and i liked the look. i thought this was going to be the final resting place but i don’t trust those ikea wall shelves and there was barely any room for a light so i moved it to my plant stand. step 6: plants! i pulled plants from the medusa jungle tank and i had a little tissue culture package of s. repens i was saving for that tank. i also pulled a few plants from the goldfish tank. if anyone could ID the moss i have that would be very appreciated. plants used: crypt lucens, crypt wendtii, red giant jungle val (excited to see how this will look in here), java ferns, wisteria, s. repens, creeping jenny, unknown moss, dwarf hairgrass, deep red ludwigia, and a few floaters step 7: fill it up and add some bacteria booster. i keep a gallon of fritz zyme bacteria in the fridge i use and its worked well for me the water was foggy this morning (i didnt rinse the fluorite, oops) so i did a 50% water change. the water is still foggy in these photos but it’ll clear like always. i’ll post good photos once it has cleared! also the light is temporary, i didnt have any nice lights to use but i am going to swap it for a nice pendant light of sorts. the moss excited about this val and how it will look long term, these are baby shoots i pulled from the gf tank

i have some hairgrass growing pretty well, although not carpeting in a very low tech, low light, practically blackwater tank. i didnt think it would survive in here when i planted it but it’s doing well. i have a few bunches scattered in the tank. the media is a fix of fluorite dark and fluval stratum. i did try it previously in a tank with eco-complete and it didn’t do too well but i assumed it was just the plant being picky. it may be too course of a substrate? id try adding root tabs to see if that gives them a nice kick

sorry not sure how to edit comments/replies so im posting another 😬 i always used pomegranate perm. with salt and pulled off the adults killing them with rubbing alcohol (in a jar or something) and have found that to be effective personally. i did however just find this article that goes into depth on anchor worms and treatment, figured it may be useful to you or anyone else scrolling through here: article i didn’t read it in its entirety but it is from a university and has good references linked.

melafix is actually mostly tea tree oil and ineffective. there was a study done that showed it had no positive effects and could actually be harmful in anabantoids (like gourami) with long term/extensive use since the oil can coat their labrynth organ over time that they use to breathe. with that said, potassium permanganate is what i have used in the past. you can also try ich x or another anti-parasitic medication though if you don’t have access to potassium perm. you may need to run some antibiotics in the water after the anchor worms have been treated to treat any bacterial infections caused by them as well but that would only be if you see a bacterial infection present. lastly, i would also add salt to the hospital tank for the entire duration of treatment, it will help treat both types of infection (parasitic and bacterial).

i have been crazy busy so knowing that redoing this tank is a 1-2 day process (i need to silicone some more rock to the waterfall and backing) i haven’t done it yet. this week it will get done though, please hold me to it lol. i snapped this pic of the tank going through its sunset mode and i want to say i am very happy with this light. i rarely see it getting recommended (price point is the main reason, i know) but it works very well. here is the medusa tank at sunset 😊 i’ll be taking photos of the rebuild/rescape and add them to this build thread.

the emersed golden creeing jenny and charlie mint (i believe thats the plant, cant remember the exactly) are sending thick runners across the surface of the water and growing the leaves as floating plants. it’s mostly the charlie mint that has done this but the leaves are acting as a floating plants these long roots are from the charlie plant as well excuse the reflection but they reach pretty far you can see the roots on the “floaters” around it, the shrimp love to hang on them and its entertaining to watch. i think roots touching the substrate looks cool in general, this is becoming my favorite tank by far and i love the pure simplicity of it! no heater, no co2, very little ferts, and thriving plants. speaking of, the ricefish and pumpkin shrimp are doing well, no heater so the tank sits at 69-74 depending on if we have ac running or not just thought it was cool and wanted to share 🙂

cute! does he chase them around or just watch?

the new kitten enjoys watching the goldfish, do your pets like watching your fish? one of my dogs loves to chase them around when he can (terrier problems 😂). not an issue when the tank is up high but he would really get a workout in when i had tanks on racks and eye-level to him. share your pets watching your fish photos and videos! id love to see your cute furballs.

my plecos are so spoiled they don't even bother to eat any algae, that goes for all three bristlenose plecos and the rubberlip. i have never seen them touch my swords or any plants for that matter. maybe it is caused by nutrient deficiency? it would be really cool for people who have this issue to post what they are feeding the plecos, maybe something lacking in the diet triggers it. in my experience lack of protein in a bristlenose's diet as it ages is what tends to cause it to go after goldfish slime coats.

saw the bee commentary above, this is from my grandfather's bee farm. not too macro-ish but still a close up. i have a little jungle terrarium set up with a jumping spider i take macro shots of too 😊

i broke my macro lens by dropping it so it is stuck on f/2.8 and manual focus 😩 these are a couple shots i've gotten with it though:

this is a topless fluval edge (6 gallons) i made it into a little pond like set up with some plants lots of different leaf litter and rocks to make it look more natural. this is a mix golden creeping jenny, charlie mint, and fissidens moss that has overtaken the driftwood and is spreading to the other piece. the stem plants are all planted in the tank into the substrate so its a mix of submersed and emersed growth.

i am always looking for suggestions, so thank you! i am very happy and pleased with the light. i was worried it would create too many shadows but it has given it a very dramatic look. the sleek and small profile is also very nice and lends itself to a display tank. i wanted the statue and tank overall to have an ancient, abandoned, city/keeper vibe. overgrown jungle and just an old statue guarding something. it’s why i made the back look almost like a mountain or volcano with all the rocks. i appreciate all the compliments, hopefully i find time soon to redo it a bit and i can post photos and videos

thank you! im not super happy with it but tearing it down and redoing it is a little daunting.

Waterfall Jungle Tank Build Hey all! Towards the end of last year I was browsing etsy and came across this handmade resin medusa statue (that I unfortunately did not take photos of). She was handpainted so I coated her with a few layers of white krylon fusion spray paint. The resin the artist used was aquarium safe (always message and ask!). I really wanted to make an overgrown, jungle-esque, tank with the statue as the centerpiece. Eventually I want it to be covered in moss and look ancient. I built the tank and stand and have had the plants growing in but I am actually going to tear it down this weekend and redo the scape and planting. I accidentally piled the substrate up way to high and I am not a fan of the look. I wanted to create this journal to show how I built this and to say what did and did not work. The Stand The stand was pretty straight-foward but I did want it to have a natural and minimalistic look from the beginning. I purchased an 8 foot butcher block from the hardware store and used that to make the entire stand including the legs (I wanted them to match in appearance). Wood was stained, I didn't take progress photos since I did not think I was going to share this build with anyone. I also assume most people have built basic stands before. I did want to have a bottom shelf which was built into the stand. dog tax final stand. It actually ended up not being as stable as I thought it would be when the tank was on the tank so I did make one change. I used some basic 2x4s to create a skirt that the bottom shelf sits on and removed the two ledges. They did not provide as much structural support as I thought they would. I did want to keep the top skirt-free for the aesthetical look, I find the bottom skirt is perfect for this stand. The Aquarium The tank is a low iron 25g cube from Seapora.I bought it from my lfs but this is an online listing for it: http://www.reefsolution.com/catalog/aquarium-canopy-stand-aquariums-cube-25gal-crystal-series-cube-aquarium-p-10124.html?osCsid=9fd7b31b3b0bfc84b0d4cc1d0bbbbb22 My initial plan was to have a waterfall on top of the tank. The issue is that every other build I saw used a paludarium style tank where the back glass was taller then the front glass to support the waterfall. I did not want to have it sitting inside of the tank so I decided to build a support wall for it to sit on. I ended up using a little under 3" of footprint at the back of the tank to create the support as well as a compartment to hide the filtration and heater. I used corrugated plastic since it is easy to cut and is rather durable. https://www.michaels.com/plastic-corrugated-board-by-creatology/M10567770.html. FYI! Silicone does not adhere to this very well at all. It wasn't an issue for the compartments and support but it did become an issue when building the waterfall. Sanding it down helped the silicone stick to it much better. Now it looks pretty ugly in the back, I wasn't too worried since I knew that the back would be hidden from view. I layered the pieces in a "T" repeatedly to provide good support for the waterfall sitting on top, it also kept the back panel from bowing in. I used fiberglass window screen on the openings I cut out for water flow to the back. This is to keep critters and anything else from being able to go back there. I made three large cut outs so there is plenty of flow. Here you can see the holding box that the waterfall is built around as well as the "steps" for it. Lots of silicone to waterproof it. I ended up splitting the back compartment into three sections: the left was a planter, the center was open for the filter, pump, and heater, and the right was all support for the waterfall. A top view as I was still building up the support. I cut a window into the planter (similar to the back panel) and used the screen to allow water to flow into the planter. I did not take any photos but I ended up adding 2 more planters that do not receive direct water flow from the tank, they are siliconed to the back of the tank so I can add more terrestrial plants around the waterfall. I bought quite a bit of black slate and black lava rock to use for this build, I like the look of these rocks personally and thought they fit the overall aesthetic well. You can see the little holder for the waterfall where the water is pumped into. All of the tubing is hidden by rocks which are glued or siliconed into place. I used black all purpose pond foam at first but the cure time was too slow, it did create a good base for the rocks to be glued on though. I unfortunately did not take many photos during this process but it was lots of rock layering on the sides. I bought a bag of small black lava rock that I glued to the back panel to hide the ugliness and to create my own diy background. This is the finished tank with the background built. You can see how high the substrate is and why I want to lower it. It takes away more area for the fish to swim in and really is not necessary. I knew I wanted this to be high tech with co2 and good lighting and I went back and forth on the light to use. I was initially going to go with a Kessil but the fact that you need to pay $100 just to control the light is insane and unacceptable. I did want a pendant style light hanging from the ceiling, not a strip/bar light. I also wanted it to give a beam/center light appearance in the tank to create depth, shadows, and a more dramatic look. I ended up going with an AI Prime which I am very happy with. For the substrate I used fluval stratum, only because I like the natural look of it and I had 50lbs of it sitting in storage. Otherwise I personally prefer to use a mix of fluorite and stratum as my substrate. The final shot In the left hand planter I currently have pothos, basil, golden creeping jenny, and arrowhead growing. I also have some red mangrove in the tank as well, you can see the stems sticking out. It has been doing surprisingly well in all of my tanks and is sending out air roots. You cant really see all of the plants from this angle though. I ended up sticking some pothos into the tank on the righthand side to add more greenery. I haven't planted the two back planters but those will be planted once I redo the tank. I'm thinking a nice fern in one and another bushy plant in the other (would love any suggests from you all). I also added some sheet moss to the rocks, you can see some of the white silicone that I want to cover with more moss. Changes I want to make: I am not overly happy with the waterfall itself, I plan to add more rocks and silicone to redirect the water flow a little since it doesn't flow as evenly as I hoped. Lower substrate depth Fix the crooked statue, I thought I wanted her to be slanted to look ancient/apocalyptic in a way but I'd rather have her sit straight Rearrange the scape and plants. I planted some val in there that I really regret, I forget how fast it spreads and I do not want a vallisenaria tank so I will pull that. Otherwise I want to add some red or pink plants (pink flamingo? if it's ever in stock) and rearrange some of the existing plants. I installed a little fog/mist machine but I did not make the holding box deep enough so it only works if the waterfall cap (that has rocks on it to cover the holding box) is tilted off or taken off entirely. I want to mess around and get this working properly I'll keep this thread updated with any changes I make, hopefully I can get this looking how I want it to be soon.

ive used the krylon fusion one with no issues. if there was a formula change it must not have affected it. it may be an issue in saltwater and be fine in fresh.

im not the greatest painter but i think we can work that concept in. i think cory needs a new centerpiece painting for the fishroom anyway

i always air on the side of caution and with a 5+ foot tank i am more comfortable with support in the center. if that’s a standard 150g i think i would go with a center support.

give him a salt dip to see if that helps. i wouldnt keep salt in the tank constantly as it can harm the labyrinth organ over time but a dip should be beneficial. i would also see if you can get your hands on some (preferably live but frozen will do) daphnia. it works similar to a laxative in my experience and may do a better job of flushing him out if he is just bloated. feed him only that for a few days. if you go with frozen defrost it in tank water with some garlic powder. it doesnt look like a tumor to me, from the info you provided it seems to be bloat that just never went away. your fish sitter may have severely overfed him regardless of any instructions you left. i personally use a pill organizer and portion out the food for each tank for the day so whoever is fish sitting only needs to open up that day’s compartment and pour it in. i dont trust written instructions or other’s judgement. i use something like this and have one for each tank. i think i paid like $1.50 at my local grocery store. let us know if this helps it go down a bit!