xXInkedPhoenixX

Variety. Dried daphnia, Hikari Betta, Xtreme Betta, Xtreme Krill, Fluval Bug Bits, ACO fry food. Also hand feed a few frozen bloodworms 1x a week.

This weekend after some thought I decided to bulk up the Ember Tetra population in the Medieval Tank. There are 5 who came from the now decommissioned Flex9 and they seem much happier in the Medieval. I would like them to be even happier and I think with a boost to their numbers this could be achieved. So I got 4 more over the weekend and they are currently in QT, very pale but seem to be pretty healthy and coloring up slowly over the last few days: One big change in the Medieval: I removed the Subwassertang shelf. Since Valere is no longer there and it was for him I felt it would be ok to remove it. If there were no problems I would have left it however I've been having big hair algae issues with the Subwassertang and it looked terrible. Plus some of the floaters would get caught up in it. I may still use some in the Archway area but for now it's been pulled. It looks very sparse. I'm thinking of leaving plants out of that area because anything over there is getting a heavy infestation of algae- so maybe some hardscape like rock or wood. I don't know. Any ideas? Also the Monte Carlo- not really working out. It's also getting strangled by the hair algae. In the end it's the light mostly. I've been fertilizing and ACO liquid carbon'ing it and no good results (I've also used Reverse Respiration on a couple of plants but of course algae comes back because clearly I haven't solved the problem), I'm going to see if a dimmer switch I have will work but it's usually to the detriment of the light. The 2nd option may be getting something to partially cover the lid but it's going to look crappy. I want the full light on the left side- no issues there since the floaters cover, but I wasn't planning on letting the whole tank be covered by floaters. Maybe I should just give that a try and see if I hate it. Like I said, ideas are welcome! Here's what it looks like at the moment: Speaking of which I have 3 shrimp for sure that I've seen in the Medieval as well. Usually only seeing a couple at a time, today I saw 3 at one time! Whoohoo! I also finally saw 1 shrimp in the 20 gallon Parent tank! Here is my lovely shrimp collage the Parent tank Shrimp in the top left corner: Then this cute little guy or gal on the Arch: The 4 Nerites in the Accidental Foo Dog tank (yeah still haven't decided on the name) are doing well. Lost one of my Endlers sadly but 5 still chasing each other like there is no tomorrow- while Serket just kicks back. Pictured you'll see Little Red, and then BFG who moved in from the Flex9 along with a photo bomb here and there: Invictus doing well. Have some Red Root Floaters doing ok in the tank right now and slowwwwwly multiplying. Took a lot of his Dwarf Water Lettuce out this weekend so he can get to the surface in other places in the tank besides near his tunnel and feeding ring. Those often end up in the Angry Man where surface aggitation and humidity typically strangle them. LOL. I added a piece of Crypt Wendtii to his tank, it doesn't really stand out. I also added 2 pieces to the Medieval tank, same issue. Those were given to me by the keeper I traded the Flex9 to. They appear really healthy though- we'll see if they grow. My AR though, is not doing too bad for a low tech tank. It gets a little leggy but manages to keep its lower leaves and the top leaves are a pretty pink. This is the biggest I've ever seen it at about 3". I didn't think to take a pic. Lastly the inhabitants in the Angry Man doing well, the baby Black Neon growing nicely, it's so funny they are just little mini-me fish with the adults. Got a pic of them in the same position as the adult nearby, both jerking with their movements to stay in one place. It's comical. Punk is doing fine with Industry. She seems totally unbothered by him still and he still chases her but he's much more social and moves all over the tank now. Hopefully that means he's happy. He's very interactive with me. She doesn't care to interact with me at the glass- too busy finding food or things to chew and spit out. I do enjoy that behavior.

Yes high probability, but I do really think it might be the Subbwassertang as the Neons occassionally suspiciously hang out in the dark corners with it. It's very well known for being good for fry and shrimp to hide from predators. The smallest of the ones I've discovered are always near it. Of course some of them may have been hatched in the marbles, they probably get picked off rather quick, Punk tends to hang out there during the day. It's his space. Yes, it's cool how nature takes care of the little ones. I occassionally feed all my tanks Cory's fry food, everyone seems to like it so I thought what could it hurt. I usually crush a lot of the flake I feed too. My fish are small so little mouths I'm sure appreciate smaller foods. Clearly I haven't a clue either, it just happens.....🤪

So in all the hubub of Shrimp and trades with other fish keepers I was remiss in mentioning that I found yet another baby Black Neon Tetra. How does this even keep happening, lol. I imagine there were probably more but likely got eaten by the Bolivians or the Harlequins or their very parents. This little one is hanging out mostly at the top 1/4 of the water now as he's big enough not to be too harrassed. Here is a short google video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gy7jaZck2pdJWj7E6 Here is the little one: So that's pretty cool. They are stupid cute. I've only see 2 shrimp still. Both in the Medieval Tank. No sign of them in the 20 gallong Parent Tank but that doesn't shock me. My long finned Albino Pleco is getting big and so stinking beautiful. Totally in love with it, thanks to @Guppysnail for making me like the long fins so much. I keep wanting to get a pic but they are good at hiding from the camera. Anyway here are the 2 shrimp I see.

Aww, thanks! I love it! Those are stupid adorable statues

He gets it from his cat mom.

I have one and Hardness has always been on the harder side even before wondershell. But I admit to not using the liquid tests in many months. So long that I would just buy a new kit at this point

I think high. The ACO aquarium strips don't have a color for whatever mine is 😬 Both tanks have plenty of oxygenation, the Parent tank has 1 HOB and 2 sponges. The Medieval has a sponge and airstone

Oh yes, I always do this as I tend to find bladders that I throw back in the tank. I won't water change around shrimp if I can see them in the vicinity. I don't do large water changes but they aren't by any means "slow". I'll do a 1-2 gallon water change in the Medieval which is 13 gallons (not counting displacement with hardscape) and 2-3 gallons in the Parent tank which is 20 gallons (not counting displacement here either). Shrimp, as cool as they are, seem very sensitive.

Doubtful. But I think in this case it's best not to expect anything based on my prior experience- if they survive I'll be pleased of course. It's usually after the 1st molt I lose them. I told the keeper my parameters, food and that there's wondershell in there- he didn't say anything- even after I told him all of that and that the shrimp are just going to die in my tanks 😞/😆 He seemed to think I could keep them alive this time. We'll see who is wrong, probably shortly. Not that I'll find the bodies!

See? Not in the cards for me and shrimp!

@Chick-In-Of-TheSeaWell, it's in there for the benefit of the resident snails. So.....

Well I have calcium covered with food as well as Wondershell, but I'll be changing water as normal so they'll survive or they will not! I did try keeping them once in their own tank but they all died. I think I'm just not a shrimp person. It would be cool but I'm not going to hold my breath.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea very possible. Keeper that traded with me had several kinds and asked which I wanted I said "surprise me" and told him that it wasn't likely they'd survive. 😱 It's not that I don't put in the effort. I'm not sure what I do wrong.

Well. I traded my Flex9 for a bunch of plants and 10 shrimp. TBH I don't even know what kind of shrimp they are and sadly in the end it may not matter as with my history with shrimp they won't be with me long. I've never been good at keeping them. I've killed plenty in my time as a shrimp keeper. So I released 5 in the Parent Tank and 5 into the Medieval and we'll see who survives! (or not) The photos above are from when I released them Monday- and I've only seen 1 since then. I know in the 20 gallon they could hide easily. The Medieval is where I saw 1. I was sitting in my chair after lights off time. My Singapura, Epic was on my lap but alerted and jumped suddenly on the counter. I figured out why. The Hillstream Loach, Kirby was on the glass doing their spastic movements. Epic batted at the glass a couple of times but quickly figured out the object was on the wrong side and promptly lost interest....

For me it's hard to say. I'll tag @Colu?

There are a couple of things that could be happening. With the recent change you could have what Cory refers to as "stress Ich". You could also have something called epistylis. Either way I don't think the heat is going to help you. If it's the latter it makes the illness worse. If it's the former it could be causing more stress hence not helping the situation. If you could post a picture of your fish that might help us figure out what they have. Epistylis is a bacterial infection therefore would not be treatable with Ich X, and heat only exacerbates the problem. I've never figured out what Cory means by "stress ich" meaning I don't know what the technical name is for the illness is he describes. Heat in treating Ich only helps your medication (be it salt or something like Ich X) work FASTER. It speeds up the life cycle of Ich and allows the meds to attack the parasite when it's at it's most vunerable, and the only time that is- is when it's free floating before it attached to a fish/host. When it's on your fish or in the substrate as eggs they are protected. Using heat in treating Ich is not necessary. It's a step I've done before but I've stopped the practice as it usually causes my fish more stress and risks other illnesses and loss of oxygen in the tank (though you can add air stones). There are many other reasons I personally choose not to use heat as part of this treatment plan (unhappy plants, more bacterial growth, etc). Sometimes it takes longer to treat that way (no heat) but I feel like the fish are better off. This is a personal preference, but again it is not absolutely necessary in treating the illness. Ich is usually fairly easy to diagnose but I chose not to take the risk that it's something else and exacerbate it by using heat. My hunch is that if it's not gotten any better either you are in the middle of the life cycles of the Ich and it will be another 3-7 days before it's gone. Or it's something else.

Yes, I do understand why the law is the way the law is but most honest people, in this case in particular, are only trying to pass on an heirloom/piece of musical history that in the end is destroyed (because nobody in my family was able to care for it or had space) because dishonest people make "art". The laws for many just because of a few is what frustrates me personally.

It is so neat to only have 5 tanks now. It's weird you wouldn't think it would make so much of a difference but it does- maybe it's just because the Flex really frustrated me. I could potentially move down to 4 tanks. Invictus could theoretically go into the Medieval Tank BUT I don't think he's a community tank candidate. Plus if something in the Medieval negatively effected Valere I don't want to expose the most vunerable of my rescues to whatever it could be. So he's staying in the Dragon tank. Plus, I like the Dragon Tank, here it was this morning- my tiny piece of AR (front right) is still hanging on and actually doing "ok" for a low tech tank! I sometimes catch Invictus flaring in the direction of the Accidental Tank (still can't decide what to change it's name to so probably just keeping it). I think he sees the activity though they are not in direct view of each other though they are on the same counter. The edges make a V shape. He also flares at me at times. This leads me to believe he's probably best on his own. I don't need him getting stressed and sick. The Accidental Tank is doing well with its new Endler male residents. One of them seems to be a constant target but he has figured out the Betta tunnels and I find him in there occassionally taking a break from the fray. He seems in good shape though (no damage). Serket is the gentle resident of the tank. Just goes with the flow. She is such a sweet Betta. When lights were out last night I went over by the tank where my water dispenser is and was filling a bottle, she came out of one of the 2 Betta tunnels I have in there for her to say hello. There are times I wish I could hug fish. Here was the Accidental Tank this morning, with Serket front and center: Up this morning and the lights were already on in my tanks. As mentioned the Angry Man is testing the new 20" ACO light on a manual timer. Boy does this light REALLY bring out the greens in this tank. You can compare it with more darkness and blue light on the right with my older light. I like them both if I'm frank but I think I'll really like playing with the percentage on the ACO lights when I get my timer strip next week. Speaking of Parent Tank. All the things I hear about Corys being water pigs is true....all 7 (can you spot them all?) were in the food dishes this morning: Clearly they are starving. Lastly the Medieval without its Monarch is doing fine. I'm half tempted to buy a few more Embers though. They are so pretty and a lot less shy than in the past when they were in the Flex. Now in the mornings they actually recognize me as a food source and come forward to the feeding area. I'm hoping to get better/braver behavior out of them if I did do that. I do really love this tank:

Tell me more. What do you like most? I went on the website and I'm seeing 1/4lb as the smallest size on some flakes? Am I looking in the wrong place?

That's crazy, but totally believable that it is so heavy. Our predesessors really did want quality products as they didn't just give things up all the time like we do. Our family had a grand piano that ended up just getting trashed because sadly the real ivory keys could not be sold/transferred/donated per CA state law. Ridiculous IMO since the piano was in existence long, long before any of the animal trade issues were a "thing". Don't get me wrong I'm an animal lover but don't see the point nor honor in throwing it away. Very sad. I'm glad you've found a way to give it a deserving life.

Wow! What a cool idea! Can't wait to see the tank in it!

Frequently see one of the 2 babies I've spotted. This morning we have a healthy poop going.

I got my shipment from ACO of two 20" lights for my 20 gallons. As Cory mentioned 24" works best for lots of applications including my tanks but since I've had such a problem lights causing hair algae- I decided to go with the smaller lights. I also think they'll work better for nano tanks and I'm more of a nano tank keeper for now. If I end up with a 180 gallon as Intrepid Partner plans, I won't have a need for any of these type lights. I also don't have wifi so the casa timer option not happening. I got a power strip that has two sides to it- one side is on a manual timer the other is "always on". Unfortunately I got that yesterday from Amazon and the one they sent me is broken. So I had to send it back. I did however set up one light- for the Angry Man, on a spare single outlet timer to test it for a while. There is a very big difference between the light I was using and this new ACO light. Very happy with it so far. I do also like my choice to go with a smaller light. I'll get pictures later, didn't even think of it at the time. It will also be nice to set up a "siesta" time for the tanks, something I couldn't do with my other lights. That will also help with my previous lighting issues. Anyway. Julii Corycats seem to be doing well in the Parent Tank. They've definitely found the food bowl:

I like that idea. I usually call groups by a group name and the Platinums have been called Spirits thus far. Ember Tetras the Flames, and now the Kuhlis are the Dragons. So I guess the Spirits are the spirits of the White Knights since it's a ruin. 🙃 And thanks.