DSH OUTDOORS

I'm realizing my fish like to mess with me before I go on a trip. Work a half day run home to pack and feed before leaving till Sunday. Noticed my electric Blue Acara guarding eggs. Decided to pull into a breeder box to lesson aggression while I'm away. Fingers crossed they look good Sunday.

Hoping these guys do fine in the breeder box while I leave for 5 days. The tank is a cold water tank running around 68° so hopefull they will absorb the yolk sack slowly. Added the wood and some Java moss just in case. Common bristlenose parents.

Thought for sure you were talking about wives and children... I have no advice for your pests or mine...

No question it is a Lamprologus Ornatipinnis. I am keeping the Kigoma variety, it is possible what you have pictured is a different variety. Click here for my journey of keeping Ornatipinnis or here to check out some of the other Shellies I have kept. I have not kept Ocellatus or Simili yet but they would be about the same for care needs as Ornatipinnis, Multies or Juli.

Looks perfect! Get it cycled and get them in there! They will take a month or two to get settled but once they do you will have a ton of tiny eyeballs staring back at you. That goes for the Ornatipinnis, Multies or Julies for that matter. They would all do great in that setup.

You have great water for Tanganyika Shellies then. I don't think you would have to do anything to your water at all to keep them happy. Of course my favorite and first suggestion would be Lamprologus Ornatipinnis. A 20 long would have been ideal but they do use more vertical tank space than some other shellies. A group of 4 would be best but probably need 5 to ensure you have the right balance of male to female. 1 male and 3 female would be best but you cannot sex them until you see breeding behavior and who is raising and protecting the fry. Sand or crushed coral substrate, a few rocks for line of site breaks and escargot shells is everything else you would need.

Got my 8 Banjo Catfish added in. They are loving the black sand as they bury themselves in it and disappear during daylight hours. I hardly see them except when I turn the lights on in the morning. Added in the grey rounded stones and also added my 4 Leopold's Angelfish, 7 Venezuelan Cory and my 3 Electric Blue Acara.

Do you envision the fry/eggs and parents staying in the 20 gallon the entire time? The reason I ask is this really does determine what is an option and what is not an option. Is the tank a 20 Long or 20 Tall? I have had great success with multiple shellies in 33 longs and there is not reason some of these would not work in a 20 Long. All of the current fish you have had success with tells me you are working with harder water with a higher PH. If this is the case then the shellies would be a good option. I think you will need to do more fine tuning to match the conditions needed for GBR, some Cory and rummynose. Not saying they aren't a good fit, just saying that there will be additional efforts to get the water right. Also know that nitrogen cycle bacteria do much better in a higher PH system so what you are doing currently in those tanks will need to be adjusted for the lower PH needed.

Hope everyone has their fish well conditioned. Hopefully everyone is ready to raise some fry!

I have the same conditions. I just bought another blender and run two. Start them on alternate days and you'll have a constant supply.

I'm not a saltwater guy but I've heard blue tangs need lots of space and can be aggressive. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Totally stole this from my local Facebook fish group. I thought of all you tinkerer's in this group when I saw it though! 😂😂😂

That's rough... Considering I have pretty much modeled my 150 after your cold water 29 I'd probably just shrink it down with the same hardscape and half the stock. Rainbow shiners, bearded Cory, a few goby and a pair of bristlenose. My hot water tank is my 180 that I am stocking now. In a 75 the hardscape would be florite base and black sand, smooth grey pebbles, driftwood, anubius, Val and swords. Stocked with an electric Blue Acara pair, a pair of pearlside platinum Angels, Venezuelan Cory and a group of L136 Angelico Pleco.

I wasn't expecting this out of the first few inhabitants!!!! I would say the Rasbora are liking their new home. Current stock. 7 Harliquen Rasbora 8 Red Pencil fish 10 Neon Dwarf Rainbow 12 Silver Hatchet Fish 8 Banjo Catfish

Just as my signature states I picked up the hobby after moving to a metro area. I used to have access to 300 lakes within 15 miles of me. Growing up yes I had an aquarium but as soon as I could drive and go hunting and fishing on my own I lost interest in the hobby. Outdoors was my happy place. Either by myself or with good trusted friends it was mentally calming for me and absolutely recharged my batteries. Now that I am in this metro area, it is a 3+ hour drive to get away to my happy place. Keeping aquariums has brought that home for me. As long as I live in this metro area I will have tanks and ponds. I do not know what will happen when my daughter graduates in 10 years and I have the freedom to move rural again. I have no doubt, as long as I have the time I will still have an aquarium wherever I end up, I just don't know if it will be the 35+ that I have now.

I would go with a Whisker Shrimp/Indian Whisker Shrimp (Macrobrachium Lamarrie). I have had 6 in a 4 breeder for months now with Platy, Guppy, their fry, and cory's. Are they jerks when it comes to grabbing food and running away with it? YES Have I noticed anything missing in my tank since having them in there? NO They are fun to watch and are constantly sifting/cleaning.

Check out the following thread to see that we run the full gambit. You are probably looking for more detail for specific species but not a bad place to start.

In answer to your question @Gator I only want the ones I am breeding and selling to remain rare, and hence more expensive. 😂 All kidding and profits aside I wish the Lamporlogus Ornatipinnis was more popular than it is. Even compared to Multis I would take the Ornatipinnis hands down. They are my favorite Rift Lake Shelly. I have finally had success breading Tequila Goodeid which are thought to be extinct in the wild. They are not overly difficult to breed, just a long gestation period. As far as a livebearer goes they aren't that flashy or fun so I can see why they aren't that popular or expensive. Their rarity in the wild is the only reason I have them. Hopefully I will be able to pass them onto others that have the same eye on conservation that I do. I love rare fish or rare strains/coloration. The challenge of breeding them to make more and pass/sell them to others regardless of profit is what drives quite a few of my current projects.

With only a few plants and bare bottom I would say yes, the med trio knocked out the little beneficial bacteria you had. Your PH, temp and other parameters should be great environments for growing bacteria.

It takes one to know one. Let your NERM flag fly!!! 😂

Gourami species? I don't keep them so couldn't tell you what kind but that's what it looks like to me.

@Colu is 100% correct. It's a male, will eat algae but it's most likely going to be a bully in your tank.

No go this round with these two cannibals. 🙄 Fed them this morning and was expecting wigglers when I got home. Cone is picked clean.

I understand the rational @Colu and @Nik_n about breeding with siblings and what not. But where do we think all those same sized, tank breed fish at the local fish store come from? Whenever I am looking for a new breeding project I run and grab 6-12 of the same species at the store or online and don't think twice about it. My guess, just as when I have sold fish, they come from the same spawn or at most the same tank from different females but most likely the same male. I think the most important thing is to grow out as long as you can, pick your best stock as far as coloration, growth, health, etc. and keep those for future generations. Sell the remaining and supplement your bloodlines from another source entirely when you can. I get that in wild fish/wild anything genetic mutations/deformity due to inbreeding are detrimental to a species. In the aquarium though this is how we managed to get all of these different strains and colorations. There are trade offs of course (weak guppies being first and foremost) but selective breeding, sometimes within the same spawn to isolate this or that is how things are done. I am not arguing either way, I was just reading through the thread and the lightbulb went off. So in conclusion @FriendlyLoach, I see no issue with this, as long as you pick the best looking and healthiest offspring and add new blood along the way and don't get 2-3 generations down the line with only the original pair for genetic material.

So you are saying my current no knowledge back up isn't going to work? 😂 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073Q48YGF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1