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xXInkedPhoenixX

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Everything posted by xXInkedPhoenixX

  1. xXInkedPhoenixX
    I generally like to keep things light here on this journal but because he's a part of this journal from time to time it would be hard to avoid bringing it up. This morning I found my beautiful Koi Betta fish, Koianu Reefs had passed away. It wasn't a shock as he'd not been doing well for the last week. I did what I could to make him feel better but he did not recover (not here to diagnose), it was a pretty steep decline. Anyway, I will very much miss him he was a very good boy. I found some pictures from when I originally got him I'll share and a short video here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DZEYmgBs3Mr7rRN78 I will very much miss his presence in my tank. He got buried in a place of honor with my Pomegranate bonsai. Swimming "upstream" symbolically to turn into the little dragon he was when he was alive. His new friends, the Mudmen, will keep him company: On a positive note, I've decided to keep his tank, the Accidental Tank going and I will be breaking down the Flex. The inhabitants from there will go into the Accidental Tank which includes Serket my rescue GloBetta: As well as her now 4 friends, Kirby the Hillstream, her Endlers Flare and Phoenix and BFG the Nerite will join the other Nerites in the Accidental Tank, Sergeant, Little Red and Serious Black. This is moving towards eliminating tanks. Intrepid Partner and I will eventually be getting an 180 gallon tank. Then of course Betta won't be an option in the tank so as they pass their tanks will be broken down and any tankmates will just be added to the larger tank in future since everyone else are peaceful community fish or snails. The only exception will be the Medieval tank. He really likes that one and wants to see that one continue even after Valere passes whenever that may be. So while this is very sad for me to lose one of my fish friends, we all go through these times and I find comfort in that. I will miss his fishy face and will remember him as the Betta that got me back into Betta. SIP Koianu my little friend!
  2. xXInkedPhoenixX
    I do hear this can be an issue. I've not yet had any of the frogs choke- but I do think it's possible. Personally, I used larger gravel and eco complete in my Mum's tank.
  3. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Awww! Congrats! I love these little guys. @Patrick_G is probably waaaay better with them than I have ever been since really I only care for them by proxy (cause it's my Mum's tank). What I can say is my Mum has target fed them mostly with aquascaping tweezers so she can monitor that both her frogs are eating (and now I think she just enjoys it). She feeds them freezedried tubifex, frozen bloodworms and I think she found some pellet food that they like (that food took a lot of trial and error). So I think your live cultures will be so great for them! My Mum's tank has a heater running around 80 degrees. They really like places to, for lack of a better word, shove themselves. Mum's likes her little bridge and they love the plants which I'm sure you've already provided them places to go. I'm not worried about your froggies- they're going to love living at your house!!
  4. xXInkedPhoenixX
    One of my Kuhlis is almost entirely black. Wondering if it is a "Black Kuhli"? I love how they stick their little heads out. One of my albino Plecos "snail waxing" tonight with the lights off....
  5. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Thanks! I really love them. Funnily enough we were just talking about genetics over here: The Kuhlis are amazing I'm really digging them, I know I won't see them much but I'll be really excited when I do see them, like a nice surprise every time!
  6. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Yes many of us here do this. I have had spider plants but now I am just running a pothos, a dracaena and some bamboo! It helps with Nitrate reduction and also good for people who can't keep rooted plants with things like cichlids (though it works best with bamboo) as they tend to "reaarrange" plants. Peace lilys are also very common as long as these plants leaves are kept above water the plant will be happy.
  7. xXInkedPhoenixX
    That's super interesting @Odd Duck! I just got 2 longfin albinos from another fish keeper and he was also surprised about his outcomes. His pair is longfin albino female and a regular albino male. He came up with his first small spawn and got several common longfins and 2 albino long fin! (below is screenshot from a video he sent before I got them):
  8. xXInkedPhoenixX
    There IS a chance it could be a pleco too. Just from the angle you posted I cannot say for sure it's an Oto. Either way it's still a VERY cool thing!
  9. xXInkedPhoenixX
    SO AWESOME! Looks like a suckerfish of some kind for sure!! If you've only had Otos it is very very likely!!! I have many pics of babies in several stages on my journal that should help ID!
  10. xXInkedPhoenixX
    My memory could be wrong @Sherry, however I believe I remember @Cory saying the best light for a LOT of people would be the 24" light. I believe it's because a lot of aquarium equipment in the US is commonly seen in 2ft increments when you upsize standard tanks. I have two 20 gallon talls, and in order to save on e-waste I won't be buying the ACO light until my lights take a crap but a 24" light would be best for my tanks. I hope that helps.
  11. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Like @FLFishChik they are MY favorite snail too, they are the best combination of fun to watch, the best *hands down* tank cleaners out there AND can't multiply out of control (which on another hand I find it kind of a shame I can't get offspring from my lovely little snails).
  12. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Well welcome back to the hobby! Harlequins are a staple in the hobby so I'd be surprised if they didn't have them! I might be a little spoiled with having some good LFS within a short distance but I also think if I lived farther from them it would be a fun day/road trip to drive to a store and come home with new friends!
  13. xXInkedPhoenixX
    So last night I visited my Mum and as always I say hello to Zaggi, formerly known as Purple. She is such a big girl! Sadly since her separation from the original tank because she was a bully- her color is not as bright in this tank as it's a hooded tank with factory LEDs and we all know how that can be! I didn't get a chance to do anything with my tanks yesterday as I had a long shift so I was out before the lights were on and home far after they went off. This also means the 3 gallon QT with the 3 Kuhlis needed attention today. They of course hide so first thing was to make sure the 3 were still alive, and they are! Woot! As fast as they are it's really hard to do visual inspections but it appears they are all still healthy which is awesome since I haven't treated the tank with any meds. There was NOTHING left of the 3-4 mini sinking wafers I put in the tank so I also know they are eating. Once I did a small water change I plopped 4 more wafers in and one came out nearly right away and started eating!
  14. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Hi @PolypterusGuy! Welcome to the forum! I like your stocking ideas so far but have you considered the Cory and CPD will likely be in the same space in the tank? CPD in my experience stick around the bottom third of the tank. I wouldn't discourage you from getting some though they are pretty little fish and should be fun with the Cory. I cannot recommend Harlequin Rasboras enough as a middle dweller.
  15. xXInkedPhoenixX
    I love this! I embrace the glitter!
  16. xXInkedPhoenixX
    I think I'm just about done with the Parent Tank remodel but have yet to take another pic of it. the UV filter seems to have helped clear up some of the foggy water from the disruption the rest was likely the coral settling. My two lovely albino Plecos seem to be doing well. I put in some blanched zucchini to see if anyone is interested (took the seeds out so the piece is small). Everyone seems to like the Repashy and Hikari wafers (though it's rare I catch anyone eating but the snails).
  17. xXInkedPhoenixX
    I got up early enough to watch tank lights go on today. Everyone in the Parent Tank doing fine it seems. The snails knocked off all the plants (which I'm not surprised about) from the wood but for the Anubias which was attached a little better since there was a helpful branch. I was happy to see the Otos taking advantage of the wood, several were sitting on it this morning. Haven't seen the Plecos on it yet but they were both accounted for this morning and seem to be sticking to the glass for now. The cloudiness has settled but there's still a little hanging on. To be safe I'm going to run the UV filter in there later. The 2nd piece of wood still seems to want to float so it will be a bit until I add that piece. Here is the tank so far in its remodel (I need to remove the whitened airline holder along the back wall): Here is one of the Plecos this morning: My "magenta" Mystery snail ("magenta" to me is debatable) blends in well with the new wood (spot the Oto!): The snails were playing king of the mountain this morning too, Magenta on top, then Knock the Nerite, and Blue Mystery. I still haven't named my Mystery Snails though Intrepid Partner claimed naming rights (and I retain Veto power): The Kuhilis seem to all be with me still too and ate most of the food I left out. Yay!
  18. xXInkedPhoenixX
    It's always a fun day when you get new fish. In anticipation for future large tank I've had a hankering to get longfin Plecos like @Guppysnail as I have always admired hers. I have an affinity for albino animals as they are often overlooked in the world so I put a call out to my local fish club and asked if anyone had any babies. Today I picked them up! I got 2 and likelyhood is I'm not necessarily lucky enough to have gotten a boy and girl (that surprise will come later) all I do hope is that whatever they are they'll be happy to live together and with my Otos and Mystery Snails until they all get an upgrade in the coming months (6-8 mos probably). I brought an old Betta cup with me and picked them up from the keeper's house, they took a trip with me to the LFS to get some supplies: I needed to get some new fish food and frozen, plus I'm not quite done with the Parent Tank's redmodel (tough to do with occupants). I got a couple of pieces of nice wood. While I was there I'd contemplated the last couple of days (and as I have before) getting a few Kuhli Loaches for the Medival tank. So, after some research I decided if they had them I'd get 3 of those. Unfortunately they did have them, the sad little tank had quite a few dead fish in it. You know what I did of course being the "Colossal Idiot" (sorry @Colu and @Odd Duck, here I go again) that I am when I see fish in need....I got the 3. Now the gal helping me said that they got the shipment 2 days ago so maybe I've saved the 3 she caught in time. I ended up with 2 smaller ones and one larger. They were pretty pale but that's normal in my experience. I couldn't see any VISIBLE signs of illness. Anyway, went home and started water/temp acclimating the Plecos as they were going to go straight into the Parent Tank. Then set up a QT for the Kuhlis. They were pretty frantic. I put in a hide, a small "natural" arch with a windelov attached that I keep aside and some floaters from the Angry Man as well as a sponge filter. Then a dropped a few small sinking wafers for when they felt comfortable to come out. I am already enamoured by them. Here's a couple of them shortly after I finished setting up the QT (hard to get a pic of!) So with the Parent Tank. Well I did a big water change/gravel vac. Then I added more small gravel mixed with coral to brighten up the substrate. I started boiling the wood. I removed the Bacopa Caroliniana. I've decided I'm just not that big a fan of rooted plants. I love me a Java and Anubias. I may be buying more to make up for the plant mass I took out but it looks so much better without the Bacopa. I do love my Amazons so they will stay and they've been in the tank so long I will need to feed them some root tabs so I will be buying some from ACO in the near future. Here is the release of the 2 baby Plecos (short google vid): https://photos.app.goo.gl/AQBoF979iL3puuVk8 Here are my little red-eyed beauties checking out the tank: Even met an Oto first thing: I ended up putting 1 of the new wood pieces in and attaching a few plants (not glued just "stuck") to see what I need to do. It looks kind of like a root coming from the back of the tank. I like it so far. I also ended up removing the Amazon(s) from the green pot in the short video and placing it right down on the gravel and covering them with more substrate of gravel and coral. The 2nd piece of wood is still a floater and it's a smaller piece I think it will just lay on the substrate or go one end in and the other on a tank wall but not positive yet. It may just go in another tank- we'll see. Still one pot in the tank but it is colored like a rock so I'll be leaving it, also creates a wall for the Otos/Plecos/Snails to hide behind. Once I got done fiddling around the tank was pretty cloudy mostly from the coral so I just dosed some Prime, shut the lights off for the day and will hopefully be able to take some decent pics tomorrow. The Plecos are so much more active than my Otos have been so far. It might be because they are exploring. They were in a floating breeder at the keeper's house (don't know for how long) so they probably needed to stretch a fin. I caught a pic of one on the glass after lights out: The Kuhlis are also settling in fine they've gotten a lot of color back. I will let them relax and see if I will need to medicate them. I hope they won't need it but I'm ready! All three of them are poking out from under the hide (not in it! 😄) and they were eating!!! Super thrilled about my new additions! They are both species I've wanted for a long time!
  19. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Yep you have urself some bladders.
  20. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Ha! funny @Guppysnail you and I were spotting 2 different things, I saw: But yes if @Plzhelp is asking about what you see, I wholeheartedly agree they are bladder or pond snail sacs
  21. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Hi @Plzhelp welcome to the forum. Not sure what the first pic is at all, however what can often happen is a Mystery Snail tries to lay eggs on your lid (they lay on dry surfaces not underwater) then what happens is the secretions fail to hold the eggs to the lid often because of moisture or some other issue- then they all fall individually down into the water. If they are small, rounded, white, small bb sized where some are still a little clumped together, then yes, they are likely failed Mystery Snail eggs.
  22. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Having someone's info on my phone however, has been very helpful! (whoops meant this to attach to my last post but another post was put before me doing it! hehe)
  23. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Well that's my point. I have a million of them. Can count on one hand how many of them I cared about in the end.
  24. xXInkedPhoenixX
    (and you can put your contact information on the sign if you want to give out an email address or number for contact - so if you don't want to do business cards you won't have to, they'll say "do you have business card" "I don't but you can take a picture of the sign and it has my contact info on it!" That way they don't lose it! )
  25. xXInkedPhoenixX
    Well here's the thing, everyone has a phone so if you have a care sheet/sign, suggest the buyer take a picture! It costs you no additional money and they will think you are clever! (I did when I first saw someone do this) And yes vendors can get busy and often questions can be easily answered with a good sign and you will lose far fewer sales!
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