Chris
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Posts posted by Chris
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A small colony of Thai Micro Crabs would be fun, albeit expensive and hard to track down.
Freshwater Pom-Pom Crabs are a blast! I kept one in a 2.5 gallon, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I saw one in an LFS.
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The most expensive fish I've ever bought would probably have to be my first pair of Wyoming White Clownfish. I had my LFS at the time order them direct from C-Quest (the people that developed that morph of clownfish) in 2013, just four years after that morph had been stabilized. I paid $225 per fish (I got a pair), which at the time was extremely cheap, seeing as how they were new to the hobby and directly from the original developer.
I don't have any pics of the original pair left, but I did get another pair of Wyoming White Clownfish in 2019 for a much more reasonable $80 per fish. Unfortunately, I've since lost both of those, too. Designer fish are awesome, but can just be so finnicky.
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On 9/30/2021 at 11:07 PM, Torrey said:
I fed blackworms to everyone today
As you can see, very full bellies on everyone.
Everyone is now in a food coma, lol.
I wish I could find live blackworms here! The only store that I've ever seen sell them shut down very early in the pandemic. I've considered getting some off aquabid, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. One day!
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Sorry if it was mentioned somewhere in the thread and I just missed it, but where'd you get that tower tank from? It'd make an awesome little reef tank.
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Nanaue took a little piece of a freeze-dried mealworm today. I offered him one the day after I got him and he spat it back out. I think it was too big - these smaller pieces seem to work okay. Lots of chewing, but I've always feed a little insect protein to my flowerhorns. I'd like to try some Repashy Grub Pie, just to see if he takes to it.
I'm wondering how on Earth this little Crypt is still growing - I figured Nanaue would have absolutely shredded it by now. I'm rooting for it!
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Today was just light maintenance and feeding - I'm seeing lots of round bellies tonight!
I'm amazed at how brave my new marine betta is. They're usually incredibly shy fish - hiding for months in new tanks. This guy has only been in this tank since Saturday and is letting me set up cameras and tong-feed him. Pretty wild!
I'm taking name suggestions, if anyone has ideas!
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I used to work in a pet store, and I always tried my very best to steer people away from "non-natural" PH/hardness altering products.
The problem is that there's no way for the average hobbyist to get exact measurements - you'll never know exactly how much water is in your tank (after displacement and evaporation), you'll never know exactly what your PH is (since test kits have a margin of error), you'll never know exactly if that teaspoon is exactly level or not, or if your scale is exactly accurate, etc...
Funnily enough, the exact thing they're saying is bad (the constant release of minerals) is actually what you want - a PH/GH/KH swing will almost always be far more harmful than a PH/GH/KH value that's too low or too high, within reason. That slow release of minerals allows the water to become harder over time instead of all at once, reducing stress on the fish.
Plus, it's reduced stress on you, too. It's far easier (and safer) to chuck a bag of crushed coral into your tank once every couple of months than to be testing and adding chemicals every few days/week. I'm sure a 10lb bag of crushed coral is way cheaper, too!
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He's very pretty! Where'd you get him from?
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On 9/29/2021 at 6:36 PM, James Black said:
My angelfish does this when hes scared too. Its honestly a little scary to watch. He did it a lot when he was younger, but he still does it a bit.
Yeah, I've had angels do it too. Kind of strange that I only ever notice cichlids and puffers bumping into glass! I'm sure other fish do it too.
I'm really just concerned when big fish do it - a full grown oscar swimming full-speed into a tank wall could be bad!
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I posted about my new flowerhorn, Nanaue, in the "What did you do to your tank today?" thread and decided I wanted to make a thread of his own instead of cluttering up that one.
Nanaue is living in a standard 40 breeder (for now), and is only about 4" long at the moment. At the store he came from, he was the most active (and aggressive) flowerhorn they had. He was trying to bite me through the glass, following my finger around, and was generally making a fool of himself - I don't usually buy fish for their aggressiveness, but in this case, I think him being so feisty was a good thing! I always keep my flowerhorns solo (besides the occasional pleco, if they allow it), so I'm not too worried about aggression.
The tank is filtered with a large Aquarium Co-Op sponge filter (powered by a USB air pump) for biological filtration and an AquaClear 30 so that I have a place for filter floss. I don't typically run any chemical media, although I have been known to keep little pieces of sponge or pot scrubbies in my water polishers for extra biological media for QT tanks. I'm actually only using a 50W Aqueon heater, and it's keeping the tank between 75-80. The tank is near my dehumidifier and a long way from my AC, though, so it natural runs a few degrees warmer than room temp anyway. Nothing special for lighting - just a 36" Marineland LED fixture that I got for $20 from a friend. I wouldn't pay $20 for it again, honestly - it's incredibly dim. If was going to be doing many plants, I think I'd honestly be better off with 2-3 5000K E26 LED bulbs from Lowes, The color is decent, I guess. But it has a terrible spread front-to-back, especially considering it came with an 18" deep tank! I have to keep the light pulled forward unless I want nearly complete darkness in the front 6" of tank space or so.
At first, I had the tank completely bare with just a little substrate. He got very skittish, and seemed to be favoring the dark corners of the tank. I went to Lowe's and picked up a couple cheap plastic pots, and pulled some silk plants out of my brackish tank, and that seemed to help him feel a little more comfortable. He's still behaving far more skittishly than I expected him to, but I think he's just settling in.
This is his favorite pot - he seems to like the darker one more than the lighter one, so I may go get a bigger size gray one whenever I get the chance. He'll outgrow these small ones pretty quickly!
I had a little java moss and a baby Crypt stuck to my sponge filter, so I planted the Crypt into the substrate. I've never had a flowerhorn allow me to grow live plants in tanks, so we'll see what he does to this one. I noticed today (these are older pics) that the Crypt is missing an entire leaf, but it's not been uprooted, so I'm thinking it may have fallen off on it's own since it's not the healthiest plant in the world. We'll see! There is a teeny-tiny new leaf growing in.
The biggest issues I've had with him so far has been him jumping at the glass lid and running into the tank walls when he gets scared. He's got a couple bruises on his nuchal hump from bumping into stuff, so I'm trying to get him to chill. If he behaves like this when he's 10", he could seriously injure himself - I had a large flowerhorn break a glass lid by jumping into it once. No injuries, but not a fun mess to clean up. To help him chill, I've been sitting in front of the tank a lot with my camera and lights, trying to get him to get used to my presence, as well as new objects outside the tank. It's been mildly successful so far! Excuse the camera work - it was an impromptu shoot!
There's not a ton I really want to change about this tank right now - I'd like to replace the substrate I'm using (aragonite) with something a little darker and coarser. I think a nice brown substrate would be nice, but the main thing I want to steer clear of is the cloudiness from the aragonite. Every time he stirs up the substrate the tank turns white for a couple hours! My fault for not planning ahead, I guess. I'd also like to put a background on the tank, probably a dark blue. I'd considered painting the back like I usually do, but I'm not a fan of blue backgrounds for any other setups, so I figured I'd do something a little easier to clean off since he'll be outgrowing this tank at some point anyway. I'd like to get a new light, but since it's not an urgent need, I think I may just DIY some pendant bulbs above the tank so I could grow some Pothos/other emersed plants out of the top to help with filtration.
Thanks for the read!
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I have such a hard time with themed tank builds - I think they're cool, but I always get incredibly impatient and rush them! This is very well done, and I think it appeals to people who're fluent in nerd-speak and also people who just like fish.
I don't care if you like comics or not, invisible jets and lemon plecos are cool!
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My LFS was able to get mine in for me - I thought about ordering online, but a lot of the times they don't even have the right species in the picture! I saw lots of Green Spotted or Ceylon puffers listed as Figure 8's, and vice-versa.
LiveAquaria has them in stock right now - they're not my favorite online vendor, for sure, but I've always had decent luck with their customer service and shipments.
Regardless, I don't think I've ever seen them look healthy from stores, unfortunately. Always kept in freshwater, usually underweight, sometimes with ich/flukes, etc. Mine perked up almost immediately once I got him home and acclimated him into brackish SG.
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If this is an AquaClear HOB, some of them have issues with starting their impellers (regardless of how clean they are) - I think it has to do with the magnet not being aligned quite correctly in some of them. I own 6-7 AquaClears in different sizes, and 3 of them never start back on their own, even when filled and cleaned.
I take a soft plastic "stick" of some sort, and nudge the impeller while the filter is plugged in. They usually start right up. Just be careful not to use anything that could break the impeller!
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On 9/27/2021 at 8:58 AM, Atitagain said:
I say we bring back the phrase “Aquatic Vivarium” aquarium is what is awkward and uncouth IMO
That is neat, those old aquatic vivariums are super cool looking. And only using natural light. I wonder how filtration was done?
There's a great thread here by @Daniel that goes into an older tank like this in depth. He targeted the early 20th century, not the 19th, but it seems to be a fairly similar idea.
I'd check out one of the books mentioned, too - The Complete Aquarium Book by William T. Innes. It's a great read, and is available here on the forum for free.
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Honestly. the only time I've ever had success with ottos was when they were decently fat from the store and then went straight into a very mature tank. Supplementing with algae wafers and veggies helps, but I don't think that's enough by itself for most of them - having constant access to a food source is important, IME.
I've kept 2 (started with 3) in a 5.5 with a pea puffer for about a year now, and both are incredibly fat and happy. But the tank is heavily-fed, has an insane amount of plants, has driftwood, and was set up for quite a while before the ottos were introduced.
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On 9/26/2021 at 8:52 PM, Hobbit said:
Sorry you lost so many fish, but I’m glad you still have a lot left. I love the super secret goby meeting. 😄
Yeah, unfortunately the majority of losses were directly my fault - not all of the heaters I was using were submerged all the way to the fill line, and they got stuck on and cooked several different buckets of fish the first night. I ended up losing my mantis shrimp, my group of damsels, my pair of clarkii clownfish, two different pairs of ocellaris clownfish, a royal gramma, a firefish, a neon goby, a cleaner shrimp, a tailspot blenny, a starfish and an urchin, and a handful of tetras/white clouds/rasboras. I haven't had the stomach to put a dollar amount on everything yet, but one of those pairs of clownfish alone was more than $100 per fish due to the morph. Not a fun time!
But I still enjoy it! The little gobies are my current fascination! So little, yet so feisty! I fed everyone some earthworms tonight - check out how the swarm around the worm! (and, yes, I did remove leftovers after I filmed :))
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I went to a (not so) local store yesterday and chose a flowerhorn - they had four, and I picked the one who was trying to murder me through the glass! He's since been named Nanaue, after the shark demigod in the DC universe. Cause I'm a nerd.
He's in a bare tank for now, while I search for some soft/light decorations that he can't hurt himself on.
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On 9/26/2021 at 3:47 PM, H20CultureLabs said:
A cool journal! For what its worth, I have seen pathos growing in and around salt water hot springs in Hawaii. Its not worth giving up ok just yet; just a matter of finding the right plant!
I completely agree! If I had more time to devote to this tank right now, I would be all over it! I do think that, in my case, a lot of the problems I had were the specific varieties I chose. I used Golden Pothos, which may not be as salt-tolerant as other varieties, and Crypt Wendtii instead of Crypt Ciliata, a Java Fern Windelov instead of plain Java Fern, etc...
Not to mention that I ran this tank without a lid for quite a while, which caused the SG to swing higher sometimes. I'm sure the plants didn't enjoy that!
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So, I thought I'd post a quick update on what became of this tank.
I had to remove all of my fish and tanks from my apartment so that it could be treated for pests - the pest company used tear gas as part of the treatment, so I couldn't simply cover the tanks and keep them in here. I ended up losing a lot of fish, unfortunately.
Instead of keeping these guys in a 36, I decided to rehome the majority of the surviving livebearers and move the tank into a 20 long - I only kept 3 molly fry and (accidentally) 1 platy. I plan to rehome any females I get, and just keep a few males in here for variety and activity. I kept the puffer (of course), and all of the BBGs, as well, and ended up with a fairly decent stocking, IMO.
I'm not using any live plants this time, although I'd like to revisit it in the future. I actually found a baby Crypt Wendtii growing in the 36 behind all the wood, several marimo balls, some anacharis, and a few bits of moneywart, so it seems that some individual specimens had rooted and were growing to some extent, However, as a whole, I'd say that the plants definitely did not thrive in this case. Instead, I've opted to use some silk plants. I'm not a huge fan, but it gives some cover for the fish and some decor for me to look at. I also used some dragon stone, instead of the driftwood, to try and avoid all the tannins in the water this time.
FTS:
Bumblebee Gobies:
Super Secret Goby Meeting!:
The puffer has an eye infection, unfortunately. I'm starting the tank on Erythromycin to (hopefully) get it taken care of.
Anyway, thanks to all of you guys for help with the brackish plants, and I hope maybe I can revisit the idea with more success one day!
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Okay, pic dump time!
Sorry about some of the images being hosted by Imgur and some being hosted by Flickr - Imgur crapped out on me halfway through, and is better supported on other forums I share pics on. I'll make note that this forum integrates with Flickr more, as it's the more useful service IMO.
First off, here's the German Blue Ram tank. This is meant as a breeding tank, not a show tank - hence the plants thrown all willy-nilly in there. So far, the fish seem much more comfortable than they were when the tank was more bare.https://imgur.com/a/7qgzeEw#zlpLbYX
Here's the pair of Long-Finned Mocha Clowns I plan to attempt to spawn at some point. They're still not quite old enough to be laying but they're getting there! The completely black (and smaller) one is the male, and the other is the female. They're probably not the best specimens of the particular morph, if I'm being honest (not enough of the "mocha" color), but I like that they have shorter fins than most long-finned clowns - it allows them to get around the tank, while still being very flowy.
https://imgur.com/a/Gk3vPNi#JpDS5oy
https://imgur.com/a/x0fezBj#93AYvPm
https://imgur.com/a/4ZxNOm7#ELfA64j
And, next, the 37 gallon. It's a new tank so I do have some cyano on the rocks that I expect to pass in time.
Here's the Tailspot Blenny - they're awesome little guys! Tons of color and personality. Good algae eaters, too. They can move their eyes around a lot like puffers, and I managed to get a couple shots of him doing that!
The cleaner shrimp is pretty cool. Ever since he found out he can clean my hand, he no longer runs when I'm around the tank. They're awesome in tanks where they can't disturb corals, IMO.
Here's the Wyoming White Clownfish, checking out my ring light. I've had it for almost two years, and have a new mate in QT for it. It had a female, but she jumped earlier this year 😞
And the "boss" of the tank, the Royal Gramma. He's all bark and no bite, and is beautiful, so I let him stick around.
https://imgur.com/3A1bjzVThere's also a firefish in here, but it stays in its' burrow until feeding time. Definitely not gonna come out with all the lighting I had on the tank for pics.
Getting back into my freshwater tanks, here's the 20 gallon QT/holding tank. I've got a rimless 47 gallon I'm going to set up, so the majority of these fish will be going there. The Neons and WCMM will stay in here for a subtropical community tank.
I think Neons and WCMM's make an amazing combo when both are doing well. The White Cloud was once referred to as the "Poor Man's Neon Tetra", in reference to the Neon's relatively high cost when first imported. Funnily enough, WCMM's are now usually 2X-3X the price of a Neon, at a minimum.
Here's a Black Neon, my favorite tetra. It doesn't look like much in this tank, but whenever it's on a black background with a bunch of plants, I find this fish stunning. I can't wait for them to show off in the 47!
I've also got a lone Green Cory I'll be getting friends for whenever the 47 is set up. These aren't my favorite cory, but are up there. The green coloration, in the right lighting, is a nice accent IMO.
This is where Ghost Shrimp come to live and feed before they get fed to the puffers, too.
Speaking of inverts, how about these Magenta Mystery Snails? I had seen them online, and about ordered them several times - then, I walked into my LFS and saw 6. I bought 6. I'm not even a Mystery Snail guy - they're fine, but not something I find myself keeping. But these? I'm into these.
Finally, here's the male Pearl Gourami. By far, the most beautiful freshwater fish I've kept. I'm very glad I picked a pair of these for my centerpiece in the 47!
And a FTS of the 20.
And, finally, a tank I don't get very good photos of! It's an extremely-low light tank due to the Finnex light and the dense layer of duckweed in the tank. But, it's always healthy, so I don't change much with it.
It houses a single Dwarf Puffer two Ottocinclus, and a few ghost shrimp. Everything (including the shrimp) has been in here for almost a year. I lost a couple shrimp to acclimation in the beginning, and an Otto that was too skinny from the store.
Here's the puffer!
One of the shrimp, and a Crypt Wendtii in the back - my favorite plant, by far!
The two ottos - I believe one to be a female and one to be a male, due to shape, but I haven't looked into it much.
Here's the intense mat of duckweed - there's some Riccia Fluitans in there, too. I don't clean it out because the puffer seems to like the lack of light.
And a FTS:
This tank has only gotten a couple water changes in the year it's been set up, so it's pretty much running itself. Water tests good, so I'll leave it be!
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On 6/26/2021 at 2:05 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:
I've been thinking about what it would look like to have an algae based ecosystem aquarium and that's one of the types I've been eyeing. There are so many algae based aquatic systems out there, and I'd like to try to do one in a tank to see what that looks like.
I'd love to try a freshwater algae tank!
Unfortunately, it seems as if most of the species that may be suitable for a "presentable" display are either non-native to the US (and aren't traded) or are native to the US but are extremely invasive and are illegal to buy/sell/collect in most states. Bummer!
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After reading through this thread, I began to read the copy of "The Complete Aquarium Book" By Innes that's uploaded here on the forum. After the first chapter, I ordered a hardback copy.
I received it on Wednesday, and so far have read the first 2 chapters - but have skimmed most of them for the juiciest morsels. I love how similar some of the core knowledge in the book is to how a lot of us keep fish today, and how alien some of the methods listed are! Sometimes, you'll find a concept that makes perfect sense and one that makes you balk in the same paragraph!
Also found it amusing that even William Innes advocated for quarantine, and mentioned that the inch per gallon rule is only accurate in certain situations.
My absolute favorite thing so far has been the mention of Stonewort - I love saltwater macroalgae, and had never heard of a freshwater macro. Now I have!
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Hey guys,
I've been growing Wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina) as an emersed plant in some of my tanks for around a month now, and have had good success. It's a house plant that you can get at most department stores, but it'll do well in an emersed situation as well.
In lower light, it'll be Anubias Nana green, and in higher light, it becomes almost bright purple/pink. It'll grow well in any lighting, though, IME, and it seems that fertilizer plays a bigger role in growth rate than lighting does. It's grown bright pink in my dwarf puffer tank - it's situated right underneath the light. But, that tank runs low on ferts most of the time, so I've only gotten 8-10 new leaves over the past month. In my 20 gallon, it's gone from 3-4 leaves to nearly 20, despite being dark green and not receiving much light.
I've also found the plant to be relatively salt-tolerant, as it survived (and grew) during a salt treatment in the 20 gallon - I did 1 tbsp of salt per 2 gallons of water.
Just thought I'd share, since I'm not sure if I'd seen this in an aquarium setting before!
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Need Aquarium Ideas
in General Discussion
Posted
There are saltwater and freshwater crabs under that name - make sure you're looking at the freshwater version!
They're filter feeders, and while they can be really shy, I found that mine was pretty outgoing in a planted tank all by itself. Hardest part about them is finding one! When you do see them, they're usually pretty cheap.