Chris
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Posts posted by Chris
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I had good luck when raising pseudomugil Cyanodorsalis fry by using vinegar eels, Sera micron, microworms, and eventually baby brine. As hatchlings, even the eels are a bit big, but I've seen them rip them in half and even eat eels that are longer than the fry are. The Sera micron was just pecked at, but kept them alive on days when I was short on live food or didn't have time to do a full feeding.
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I've been basically 100% sure my blue neos have been a failed endeavor for quite a while... but I found a baby this morning!
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Finally got around to securing the light to the rack. Ended up just using some zip ties - but yall, let me tell you, being able to get in and out of these tanks without worrying about that thing is a game changer!
And, honestly, a 48" finnex stingray at 10" off the tanks is plenty for these 10 gallons. I bet I could grow just about anything low/medium light. Not bad!
Also, my girlfriend decided she wanted a bearded dragon. We had a family member who had one, and bada bing bada boom... $75 later, we got an adult beardie, a 40 gallon enclosure, and all the fixings. Not really my thing, but of course I had to hold him.
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Alrighty, I drilled the 40 last night. Went pretty well, I think - hole is relatively clean. I just gotta finish getting it up on the rack and plumbing it, and we'll be ready for water.
I added three more green corys to the 55 on Friday. My LFS is a bit weird with corys - they just mix them all together in one tank for the same price. So you can get Sterbais, Pandas, salt and pepper, Green, and Albino out of the same tank for like $4.50 a piece. Just gotta get lucky and hope they got the ones you want.
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Quick start wouldn't hurt, I just wouldn't expect it to make a huge difference. Reducing the amount of food going in (temporarily) and manually removing waste will put a band-aid over the issue while you wait for the tank to catch up.
There's quite a bit of fish in there for the tank to be 6 weeks old, so it's likely that just a bit too much was added all at once. Even after a traditional cycle, it's safest to add a little at a time - say, one school of fish at a time. Then let the tank rest for a couple weeks, and add another group.
Either way, sounds like you have it handled! Just keep a close eye, reduce food, and up your water changes until things level out.
Nice tank!
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I've never tried Medaka bowls, but in other filterless setups I've done emerged plants have been the key. You CAN do it with submerged plants, but it's really just turning the difficulty up. In such a small bowl, a pothos cutting can make all the difference, especially once the plant gets up to a decent size.
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How old is the tank? Any recent changes?
I'd recheck the nitrite test - it's possible it's a false positive or maybe the color was misread. .5 nitrite isn't great, but isn't necessarily catastrophic.
If you still get a nitrite reading, I'd do a larger water change (50% or so) and consider cutting back on feeding a bit for the time being. Just to give your tank some time and some breathing room to catch up with the current load.
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Shouldn't be an issue.
My 55 is about an inch off from one end to the other, and most of my tanks have been off to some extent. As long as the stand is flat it should be okay.
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Tank didn't leak overnight. If it does well through the day, I'll probably drill it tonight.
I set up another brine shrimp hatch this morning, and reset one of my vinegar eel cultures. Also grabbed another empty bottle to make another one - just gonna take a portion out of my cultures and that should do it.
The brine shrimp I'm trying to raise to adulthood got a small feeding. I pulled some out into a cup, and it seems like I've got a decent number in there. They're definitely larger at this point than what they've been raising up to in the hatchery - they're big enough I can see their legs now. I also added in another 2 liters of saltwater, to offset any water quality issues.
I'm up to like 7 or 8 ricefish fry, with the largest being about the size of a newborn platy fry now. All seem to be doing well - so far (knock on wood) these guys have been easier to raise than the rainbow fry, for sure. Less random deaths and such.
Oh, and I've got guppy fry! Just a few in the 20. They'll likely get eaten because of the lack of cover, but I'm hoping for the best.
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Test filling my 40 breeder on the tack. Still gotta clean it up and drill it, but so far so good!
I also finally landed on shelf height decisions.
The bottom shelf will hold this 40 and my 37, and will have enough room to get into both tanks comfortably. The middle shelf was lowered so that it can hold 20 highs - its a tight squeeze getting in there, but much easier than tracking down 15's. The top shelf will be for storage and maybe some small fry bins or something.
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Absolutely! I've got a 4 gallon set up on my kitchen counter. Ive had reef tanks as small as 1.5 gallons. Totally doable.
Depending on the footprint, a 14 gallon would be suitable for a few small fish. Maybe a pair of clowns and a goby or small blenny of some sort.
As long as you don't overstock, I don't see why you couldn't get away with weekly or biweekly water changes. I keep a pair of clowns in a 10 gallon and only have to change water out every few weeks.
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These platies are starting to look really nice! I gotta get some plants in there.
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On 5/16/2024 at 2:08 AM, Mmiller2001 said:
What do you charge your local fish store for the plants you give them?
I've usually worked out a couple bucks a piece for 3-5 leaf anubias. Usually I throw them into an old pot with Rockwool and bring them in that way. Same deal with crypts and swords.
For stem plants, I usually do a bundle of 3 6" stems for a dollar.
Been a while since I've taken any to the store, but it always worked out well - inevitably, I'd spend whatever I "made" while I was there, and most of the trimmings were going into the garbage anyway. Best thing I did was package the plants before bringing them in - putting them in pots, bundling stems, labeling everything... I don't think any store wants to take the time to sort through a bucket.
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FWIW, just about every aquarium (and aquarium rack, for that matter) that I've ever had has not been exactly level. Most have been off by more than 1/8" - the 55 gallon in my living room is probably close to 1" higher on the left side of the tank than it is on the right. The floor slopes.
What's important (as others have mentioned) is that the surface is flat. It can be pretty unlevel and still be safe, as long as the surface is flat.
I'd use shims as suggested (plastic ones - the wood ones inevitably get wet from tank spills) and make sure the stand is properly supported and that the bowing doesn't get any worse. Theoretically, since the 4 corners of the tank are supported, the bow in the middle shouldn't matter. Especially if shimmed. You just want to make the sure the stand isn't bowing more over time, as it could eventually cause issues.
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I wouldn't recommend it - the peace of mind of having the tank supported properly would keep me from trying such a tank.
It'd be easy enough to solve the issue, though - supporting the tank with some lumber or plywood would probably keep it pretty safe.
Is the tank glass? Rimmed? Rimmed tanks are more forgiving, although I'd still support them well.
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Hard to believe this royal gramma has been with me for almost a full year.
Excuse my algae!
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On 5/15/2024 at 6:58 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:
Ember tetras enjoying Repashy
Man. I gotta get back on the repashy train. I love that food.
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I love it when corys lay on top of sponge filters. Don't know why - its like they're sunning themselves or something. They don't root around for food in the filter much, they just like to sit on it. This filter is overdue for a cleaning!
So, I slept on my decision about what to do with the rack. I'm still not sure, but I'm leaning towards lowering the middle shelf so that I can fit 20 highs onto it. That gives me a little less room on the bottom, but it should still be plenty for the tanks I have. I'm undecided if I want to use the top shelf for tanks or for storage - maybe i can just keep a handful of 10 gallons up there for fry, QT and hospital tanks. As cool as it would be to source a bunch of 15's, it looks like I'm going to pay about 3X as much for those as I am a 10, and about 1.5X as much as I am a 20 high. Just doesn't make much sense.
If anyone has any suggestions on what fish might be fun to see on the rack, please let me know! I've already got some plans, but as is I'll be left wondering what to put in quite a few tanks. I'm planning on some shrimp only tanks to maximize breeding, the seahorses, some shelling, and probably another attempt of Banggai cardinals, but that still leaves open tanks.
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New rack is built!
Rack dimensions are 72"X24"X72". What I'm finding is that I'm going to need some space for tall tanks on the bottom - meaning the top two shelves are a bit squished. Only about 18" of clearance per shelf. Anything taller than about 12" tall is going to be too tall to yet anything in and out of the tank. So it seems that my ideal tank sizes may end up being something like a standard 15 gallon, or maybe some 30 breeders. Not easy to find.
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This morning, I started prepping for the aforementioned seahorse tank.
The species I want to keep is one of the most commonly traded - the Lined Seahorse. They get to 6-7" tall, and a pair can be comfortable housed in about 40 gallons of water, as long as the tank is tall enough.
Captive-bred specimens are available, but are hard to come by and can be very expensive - if I have the option, I'd love to go captive-bred, but I don't know that'll be the case. It's likely I'll end up with a wild-caught pair.
Why do I want captive-bred? There are the normal reasons - seahorses are harvested at a pretty alarming rate from the wild, due to their popularity in the aquarium trade and also to be preserved for decor and the like. But the main thing I'm concerned about is feeding. Captive-bred are more likely to accept frozen foods, where wild caught are likely going to only eat live foods. Considering their dietary requirements are already somewhat cumbersome, being restricted to live food only could be quite the pain.
But, again, I don't really have $400 plus shipping to shell out for a captive bred pair, so wild caught may have to do.
Regardless, the horses will want SOME live food in their diet, and one of the easiest to culture will be brine shrimp. I'll have to grow them to adult size, so I think long-term I'll either have a tub or maybe a tank for them. For now, i just took the leftover babies from my last hatch, poured them into a bucket with an airstone, and added in another 2 liters of saltwater. Ill continue to add new saltwater till the bucket is full to avoid ammonia issues, and ill add a sponge filter once ive got some larger adults in there. I'll be adding in a bit of expired fry food to keep them fed, and hopefully I'll be able to get a colony started.
The leftovers
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On 5/13/2024 at 6:31 AM, GoofyGarra said:
$4 for a 1/4lb of food that everybody in my tank will eat (whether or not they go super crazy for it) to me is a success.
Honestly, that's what its all about. If everybody eats it, it's probably at least a decent food.
Looks I can get a lb of the meat wafers for about $16. I may order some to try!
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Expansion is underway!
Picked up a 6' steel rack today. Similar to the 4' rack I use, slightly cheaper brand.
No rush in setting up new tanks - not even sure what's going where. I think I want to utilize my existing tanks first - I've got an empty 40 breeder, a 33 long, a 37 tall, and a 20 long.
I've considered doing some shell-dwelling cichlids in the 33 - I think that's a perfect dimension for them. I've been researching seahorses, so I'm thinking the 37 tall would be great for a pair. I want some smaller tanks for more nano fish and for breeding purposes.
I'm sure I'll change my mind 18 more times before all is said and done, but yknow. I'm excited!
This rack pretty much fills up most of the empty wall space in the fishroom. I want a desk, so the wall behind me in the picture will have one. That limits me on tanks, but honestly, between what I'll have in the fishroom, the 4 tanks in the rest of the house, and the ponds outside, I'll have plenty to keep busy with.
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1) Probably Pseudomugil Cyanodorsalis. Maybe Limia Nigrofasciata? Not sure which would be considered "rarer".
2) Co-Op videos! Way back in 2017 or 2018 Cory toured a fishroom that had a group of Cyanodorsalis breeding in a little nano tank. They males displaying really interested me, and I bought some from Gary Lange on Aquabid. I got the Limias because Cory kept some similar fish and I happened upon those in an LFS.
3) Sure! Both were fun, but maybe not for everybody. The Cyanodorsalis really needs brackish water (they can live in full saltwater), and don't look like much unless they're breeding. Still very cool. The limia are a little more accessible, and they're livebearers. Not a ton of color, though.
4) Nope! I bred the Cyanodorsalis a few times and then sold off my group and the fry to use the tank for something else. The limia I kept in a lightly brackish tank with some gobies and a figure 8 puffer, so fry never survived. They eventually died out.
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On 5/12/2024 at 10:21 PM, JMC said:
Unrelated to fry size, my ricefish far prefer to lay eggs on a yarn mop on the bottom, compared to a floating scrubber mop.
Interesting - I've never tried a yarn mop with them. I always heard the opposite. I'll have to give it a try when I'm ready to collect more eggs.
Chris's Fishes Fish Room Journal
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Getting pretty excited about all of these ricefish fry. This has been a pretty problem-free endeavor so far. Knock on wood!
The oldest fry are about 12 days old, with the youngest being about a week or so old. All of them are eating BBS and powdered fry food now. The oldest ones are starting to look a little more like their parents in terms of body structure.