DSH OUTDOORS

Has it always been that color or is this new? My guess is it has a genetic mutation that gives it this coloration. Leucistic is the term that comes to mind.

If the battle of Lake Tanganyika happened 30 years later... The battle of Lake Tanganyika was a small naval battle during World War One that was fought between the German forces at the time in control of the lake and the English forces looking to gain control. The English ended up commandeering one ship and sinking another while capturing the first German Naval Ensign to be taken prisoner in the war. England gained control of the lake but in the end the battle proved to be inconsequential to the overall war. I like to think I am paying tribute with this scape. 50 low boy with pool filter sand and crushed coral for a substrate. Sandstone type rock form a ridge across the middle to give the appearance of a reef crashed ship. The rock and ship actually form visual barriers for the Multis to limit aggression between the males. The crashed ship and airplane beckon closer to WWII. This was a close second in my consideration for a breeding setup submittal. I started with 8 Multis and there are over 75 in the tank now. I expect that number to grow significantly once they settle in a bit as this was set up just a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

This was a tough one to decide which tank. I am just finalizing my new "fish room" and last night was crazy for breeding activity. I decided to go with my Neolamprologus Brichardi tank. The tank is a 33 long, pool filter sand and crushed coral for a substrate, escargot shells, ceramic caves, a random Kong shell , and rock for décor/breeding space. Target temp is 77-79 degrees and I have buffered the water for KH and PH (8.5-9) to match their native Lake Tanganyika. As you can see, I have two sizes of fry. The largest fry I first noticed free swimming on May 18th maybe 50 free swimmers, this second, much larger batch with 100+ were free swimming just a week after moving and completely rescaping and buffering the water on the 4th of July +-. The tank is fed twice daily with a rotation of spirulina flakes, BBS and COOP easy fry. Brichardi are known for their community raising of generations of fry. The level of aggression in this tank is actually much less than a number of other Lake Tanganyika species only tanks I have set up.

Finally Juli Transcript Babies!!!! I will try to update all tanks next week after they all get moved to the new room but these guys finally showed up for the first time today!

Nice work! What was your initial amount of salt per gallon?

I was going to suggest Green Neon Rasbora but @Brackon beat me to it. I have them in a 38 gallon with Endlers, CPDs, Emerald Rasbora and Venezuelan Cory. They are always schooling mid water level and I still have more Endler babies than I know what to do with. This is by far my favorite tank to watch also.

P.S. I started with 8 adults in February, 3 male 5 female. There are now over 100 in the tank and I just moved them from a 33 long to a 50 low boy. One of my males is swimming to the left right in front of the ship, you can see he has almost a concave forehead.

You are most likely going to have to wait a bit to tell the difference. Yes the males get bigger than the females, and mine have a flatter/boxier nose than the females but they are almost full grown. Either way, if you have your water buffered to raise your PH and you feed them well you will see little swimming eyeballs soon enough. They are fun to keep, I have learned the hard way to keep them in a species only tank though.

My suggestion, as I just started a project myself is Zoogoneticus tequila, or commonly known as the Tequila Splitfin. If there is a wild population left it is small and vulnerable. The American Livebearer Association has them listed in their species maintenance program. The gestation period is long for a livebearer buy the fry are large and fairly easy to care for. I also think they look pretty cool.

@Beau1990 the base is 24"x48" and is 10" tall. I would love to have a few more for my species only lake Tanganyika tanks.

Officially started my "fish room". Which means consolidating my tanks to one corner of the basement family room. 12' X 13' when all said and done. First tank to get set up with new residents is the 50 Low Boy with my multis. I think they are liking the new set up. Anyone want to come help move the 150 gallon? It only has to go 10 feet... 😂😭

What other fish do you have in the tank with her? I have more Platy than I know what to do with without any protection or special arrangements to protect the fry from their parents. Just some live plants and driftwood for cover. I even had two survive the chaos that is my Barb tank before I got them moved into their 40 breeder home.

That is a quick crash after 4 months. I'm not a discus guy but keep plenty of tetra and Cory. My first question is could anything foreign have made it into the tank? Cleaning solutions being sprayed nearby, sun screen on your skin when you netted something out, etc, etc? How about Nitrates? You mentioned Ammonia and PH but what are your other parameters? Did your nitrates finally creep up high enough to start causing issues with a few fish that cascaded from there? You mentioned Black Beard Algae. Did you use something to try to treat this? Was something added to the tank that could have brought it with along with other contaminates? Just trying to get a better picture so you can gain control again and so that others dont run into the same issues. Thank you

Don't forget about us Minnesotan's!!!! We have quiet a few great options within an hour of the metro area. I think options are pretty limited outstate though besides the big box pet stores. The long cold snowy winters and the COVID lockdowns are what got me back into the hobby.

Thanks to the success of these guys I have my very first BAP submission! 5 of these guys will be finding a new home come Saturday. Only another 100 + to go after these ones are out the door. You can see the variety of sizes in a few of the pictures below.

You might not be able to carry a 75 gallon tank up 3 flights but I bet you can carry 30 or so 20 gallon tanks up over a few days!!! Technically you are still within his "rules" and as far as I'm concerned you "adjusted" 😉 Also, look into acrylic tanks. Much much lighter than glass tanks half their size and in my opinion better to look at. Best of luck to you! Go easy on him with you "adjustment"

This is encouraging @Fish Folk. I have had mine for 5-6 weeks now. The male is always colored up and dancing. My set up is very similar, plants being hornwart, java moss and some anubius. So much so that I can only see a quarter of the tank. I wish I would have seeded with black worms before adding them like you have done but i know there are some that they miss when I feed. Hoping for similar results soon! Thank you for sharing your success!

Congrats on the success from a fellow Minnesotan (North Metro). This encourages me to keep going with my breeding projects started in January. Good luck through the summer slow down and keep it up!

I would put as many snails as you can in a 20 oz plastic bottle with a little food and sink it to the bottom. As the food disappears they will venture out of the bottle and get eaten. This is the best "automatic feeder" I can think of for pea puffers.

I just acquired a 150 gallon truvu acrylic tank with a built in overflow sump across the back, dimensions are 60"x24"x24". It was a package deal with Koi and Clown Loaches currently in the tank (a great deal at that). I plan to rehome the Koi but undecided on the Clown Loaches as of yet. IF the tank was empty and I was starting from scratch I would love to hear some ideas from my fellow NERMS. I have a few things in mind. 1)Heavily planted cold water tank with higher flow. Stocked with: 12 Bearded Cory 6 Hillstream Loach 24+ Rainbow Shiners Optional additions: 8 Banded Pygmy Sunfish (have other tanks with the other species already) CPDs Anything I'm missing that would be compatible? I try to breed whatever I have in any given tank. 1 to share with others and 2 to supplement the MTS costs and utility costs. Those that are breeding these fish, what are the challenges you see in this type of community? I would try the dish setup with river stone for the rainbows and pull any Cory eggs to a separate tank. 2) Lake Tanganyika species tank with sand substrate and rock wall against the back stocked with: My ever growing Multi population. 12 adults, 20+ juveniles and 40-50 shells 12-15 Blue Neon Herring Cichlid 12 masked Julie. I currently keep the multis and Julies in separate 33 longs. The herring Cichlids are new to me but would cover the upper part of the tank. That is all I have for ideas for now as I just picked up the tank on Wednesday. I would love to hear all of your ideas. I have some time as I am moving things around and need to rehome the Koi still.

My cost is at .15/kWH. Last year I was running 17.7 kWH/Day and this year I am running 39.6 kWH/Day. I had no tanks last year. This year I have 7 300W heaters and a 500W heater running my tanks in my 65 degree basement to tropical temperatures and 1 500W heater in my 165 gallon pond outside, in Minnesota, in May maintaining temps over 65 degrees. Long story short, ALL of my aquarium equipment (heaters, filters, air pumps and lights) for my 15 plus tanks have cost me $2.50 - $3.00 a day or $75-$90 dollars a month compared to last year. To answer your questions, any foam insulation that you plan on adding is going to reduce these costs. The insulation against the concrete and on top of tanks will be the most beneficial.

Vegas isn't making it out of the first round. Go Minnesota Wild!!!!!!!!!! (I would put money on the Avalanche though)

I didn't get anything done today but my Birchardi momma sure did! I imagine they were laid a while ago in the shell but they are free swimming and outside for the first time today!

Moved the landscaping rock from the front of the house to around the pond. About a ton worth moved today, another ton or two left to go 🙄 Got dark before taking a picture of the rock all the way around. 165 gallons and probably 130 guppies in it.

The first hatch is starting to color up and are looking good. I really have no idea what to expect moving forward. The oldest fry are over a month old now, more than big enough to eat their younger siblings but I have not witnessed this from them or any of the adults. There have been several hatches from what I believe to be 3 female and one dominant male, with the less dominant male hanging out in his own corner but still enjoying life. I'm seeing new hatches about once a week between the 3 (3-4 weeks between each hatch per female) I will keep you all apprised of the process. PH 8.6+, KH 300+, GH 75, NO3 40-50 Looks like I will have to step up my water changes with that many babies around. The hornwort and duck weed isn't keeping up anymore. But it has been 2 weeks so still cannot complain.