[Black Endlers]

Hey all!

i have a tank with some endlers in it and i’ve had some pretty cool traits develop. 
most of my endlers are showing a lot of black with a sword tail (i believe these are class P, endler showing but not pure endlers) 

anyways, my question is does anyone know of anybody who has almost all black endlers? I’m wondering if it’s possible for me to selectively breed endlers until they are mostly black of not all black.

i understand this circumstance can change for wild type endlers, this is just more of a general question.

 

thanks guys!

 

P.S.

there’s a photo example of my favorite one, not the best photo but it’s what i could get. Black bar along the shoulder to the dorsal, from the chest to the dorsal and down the back to the midsection of the tail, and the sword tail. This guy Also has what i call a “monarch dorsal fin” because of the orange and black patterning on the dorsal. 
thanks again

[What’s the biggest Neocaridina shrimp you’ve seen?]

Hey guys!

i have a HUGE femal wild type (brown/clear)  neo shrimp in my 30 gallon. The thing is like almost 2 inches, i keep mistaking it for one of my amanos.

i’ll post a pic if i can get a good one.

i wanted to know what the biggest cherry shrimp you guys have seen or kept is! I’m used to them only being like MAYBE 1 inch at biggest.

 

[Mystery guest]

On 11/7/2021 at 12:08 PM, Tinyfellows said:

Any idea what this little white blob snail like thing can be? 

I just started getting these in my 30 gallon too! I was wondering what they were as well.

[Coldwater Nanotank ideas!]

Hey guys! I’m doing an 8 gallon iwagumi type scape, and i wanted to do a low maintenance cold water type of setup. I have Monte Carlo finishing up its dry start right now and i plan on starting a red cherry shrimp colony first. After that i want to put in 2-3 otos, and 6-8 CPD’s. I just need a decent centerpiece fish and i’m having trouble finding some. The tank is rim less and lidless so preferably something that’s not so jumpy. 
thanks for any help guys! Here are some pics of my scape. I do plan on adding some more plants when it fills up. A small red melon sword i have in another tank, some crypts, and maybe some dwarf saggitaria i have too.

thanks again guys!

[Plants for an ambient light tank]

Crypts, anubias, hornwort, anachris… for floating plants i really like amazon frogbit, easy growing little mini lilly pads, or duckweed (but i know how some people HATE duckweed lmao) these should do well in ambient lighting! And with the nano tank, i would add some nice red neo shrimp (or whatever color you choose). I feel like those would be a great conversation starter for the already excellent common area you’ve got going there.

[Whats your favourite Dwarf Cichlid?]

On 7/5/2021 at 11:59 PM, Colu said:

It got to be Bolivian rams they are one of the more peaceful dwarf cichlids beautiful colours

I just got 4 of them for my 30 gal today… they acclimated so quickly and are eating algae off of everything (which i did not expect) i’m stoked for them to grow in/get used to their new environment

[Black Neocaridina Sighting]

On 7/6/2021 at 7:55 AM, Patrick_G said:

The black ones are so cool! This one came from an Orange mother and produced some red fry. 

I have some “tiger” wild type that came from an orange mother. Really cool and now they’ve bred all over the place. I honestly prefer my tiger colorway because i never see them in my LFS’s

[Hornwort and snails]

On 7/3/2021 at 3:16 PM, Pizzafan said:

Hi- I got some hornwort hoping it might naturally help with reducing my staghorn algae (not really privy to trying a bunch of chemicals, etc to get rid of it). These things shed a ton of needles though - I’m wondering if snails will go after the fallen leaves? I won’t worry to keep up too quickly with the cleanup if they or other critters would munch on it.

Snails will eat pretty much any dying leaf/plant matter. Amano shrimp do even better in my opinion with eating staghorn algae (really any algae) as well as decaying plant matter.

[Can Kuhli loaches be ok in gravel]

On 6/29/2021 at 6:52 AM, AliMcMurph said:

Did you have other fish in there as well? I don’t want to overcrowd my tank

I just had my betta, 6 kuhli’s, and 2 mystery snails and a handful of amano shrimps.

[Can Kuhli loaches be ok in gravel]

Get 3-5 more of them! Lmao…

they love being in groups, and will “cuddle” up to each other. I used to have 6 in a 5 gallon with my betta and they all thrived! More than what people recommended, but the tank was so well established i really only topped it off. Ammonia never spiked, nitrites never spiked, and the nitrates held steady at 20 ppm. It was heavily planted i will say.

i also had similar gravel to yours. They did really well…

[Best ways to breed bolivian rams]

On 6/27/2021 at 9:59 PM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

I started with 5 tank raised adult bolivian rams. I placed all in a 26x18x13 tank to form a pair. 74 degrees, some plants, little bit of sand substrate, lightly planted with floating and moss, clay saucers, and coconut huts. I feed a variety of pellet, vibra , live baby brine, frozen bloodworms, frozen tubifex worms, krill flake, spriulina flake. The live bbs is generally very helpful, in my conditions, to trigger spawning in adults. Pair formed from the group, my female was smaller with a square breeding tube while the male had a basically pointy tube and was larger than his mate. Minus the conditioned pair breeding tubes and behavior together I have no idea how to determine male and female they all look excellent but also pretty much the same to me. My pair spawned on the outside of a coconut hut and guarded the eggs and fry well for 2 weeks. I had to remove the other rams to a new tank to get a 2nd pair to form. Next batch I will try pulling fry at 7 days for better monitoring of food intake and growth. Fun project good luck with them i think just a big enough group, stable parameters, good food, patience and time and you'll have great success

Thank you!

are the breeding tubes located where a gonopodium would be located? Also are you feeding the Bolivians when they guard the eggs? Also were there anyother fish in the tank? I.e. dither fish, corys, plecos etc? Last question, what’s your preferred method of removing fry and what size tank do you grow them out in? Thanks again.

[Best ways to breed bolivian rams]

I’m starting a Bolivian ram tank in a 30 gallon, whats the best way to breed them? Make to female ratio? Water temp/food? Etc… very curious about these guys.

thanks!

[NEED HELP WITH PH LEVEL]

I have also found that lighting drastically changes how the liquid tests look. I always look at them as a range rather than exact. So your ph is like 7.4-7.8 which isn’t a bad range for your betta.

[Christmas Moss]

As long as the glue is labeled “cyanoacrylate” it should be good. Gorilla Glue, and Loctite brands work well too.

[Low ph help]

On 6/25/2021 at 12:26 PM, Shauna said:

29 gal that has been set up for 10 months, ph has started drop and is currently at 6.4

My tap ph is 6.8 and basically non-existant KH and GH. I didn't realize when I set up my tank, that I would need a ph buffer.  I add Seachem Equilibrium with water changes and wondershells every few months along with easy green and my plants are pretty happy. Just worried about the fish if ph continues to drop. I should have started with crushed coral mixed with my substrate.  I also have 2 large pieces of mopani wood that probably contribute to the ph dropping. I really don't want to just dump crushed coral in with my brown gravel.  Are there other rocks that will buffer ph?

Aragonite sand works wonders and looks natural, i usually layer some when i place the gravel/substrate down. My ph usually holds steady around 7.5 w/ Gh around 120-160 and Kh around 120-180

[30 Gallon: Stocking ideas, Pleco questions, and showing off an aquascape]

On 6/24/2021 at 5:27 PM, Jungle Fan said:

Sounds like you've got a plan, the only thing to consider though is that Gold Nugget Plecos get to be anywhere from 7" to 10" in size, not sure I'd want one in a tank under 50 gallons.

Here are some links:

https://www.aquariumsource.com/gold-nugget-pleco/

https://www.aquariumsource.com/bolivian-ram-cichlid/

Would a bristle nose pleco be a better option? The guys at my LFS said they get about that size, but that a 30 gallon could handle this pleco (my tank is 2 ft across and 16” deep, plenty of flow from the sump system as well as an air pump)

[30 Gallon: Stocking ideas, Pleco questions, and showing off an aquascape]

Hey guys!

this is my first Aquascape that i really took seriously with the planning and didn’t rush into.

it’s an AquaJapan AJ-60 115L (30 gallon) aquarium that i’m doing a South American/Amazonian biotope in.

planted in there right now are 3 Red Flame Swords, 5 Valisnerias, 2 Staurogyne Repens (All of these are from the Co-op), some dwarf saggitaria i propagated from my Endler tank, and a “Sparkling Sword” from my LFS (looks like an ozelot sword except white speckling instead of red). There is also a Pothos cutting i stole from one of my sisters plants that is dipping into the water and running up my Mangrove root.
Because of the built in Sump system in this tank, i was able to hide my heater and my thermometer in the back of the tank, as to not interrupt my aquascape (even though i have 2 Fluval passive C02 systems there in the back by the filter outlet.)

other than showing off this aquascape (waiting for the plants to grow in a little more/for the tank to season a little better before i add fish), i had 3 main questions…

1.) my LFS has a Gold Nugget Pleco in a display tank that no one has bought yet, and i wanted to make sure it would be a good choice for this tank. I think size wise it would do well, but my main concern is if it would eat the mulm that has accumulated on my wood and some of my plants. I know that it will eat the green string algae and the brown diatomaceous stuff that has started to grow, but i want to make sure it’ll eat the ugly bits that i’m really worried about with this aquascape (will be pictured).

question #2:

stocking ideas? I was thinking 3-4 bolivian rams, 13-15 ember tetras, and the gold nugget pleco. I was debating on apistos instead of the rams, but i would want to have 2 separate caves for them and i really only have room for the 1 drift wood cave pictured. I love hearing other ideas about stocking ideas

Water Parameters:

PH 7.2-7.5

GH about 120-150 according to API test strips

KH about 80-120 according to API strips

i’m mid cycle so ammonia just started going down, nitrates have shown up but still spiked nitrites (no fish at the moment)

question #3

what do you think about the aquascape? I love constructive criticism and would appreciate plant ideas, hardscape ideas,  or any overall ego boosting about this tank xD

sorry for writing so much, don’t post on here often but i want to start becoming more active on here, and hopefully become a member soon!

 

here are some pictures!

 

[30-40 Gallon Long Amazon Biotope]

46 minutes ago, CorydorasEthan said:

I always enjoy helping out with planning biotope or habitat oriented aquariums! Here goes nothing!

Are you planning a true biotope aquarium, or just a collection of fish from the Amazon river basin/rainforest? If the former, what specific region or river might you be interested in replicating? Just choose one and I can help you get started. If the latter, here are a few suggestions on stocking:

• An Electric Blue Acara might not fit perfectly into an Amazon biotope aquarium, mainly due to its distribution. The wild form (the blue acara) lives in Venezuela and Trinidad, so not quite within the main Amazon river basin. Also, as you mentioned, the acara might eat the smaller fish like the otos or smaller cories and tetras.
• Keep the Bolivian rams in as mentioned above. They would work great in this style of tank. Other options in replacement of the rams would be any common Apistogramma species.
• The rummynose tetras are also going to work quite well. Of course, when doing an Amazon themed aquarium, virtually any South American tetra will work out fine. Generally smaller species will work better, as in the many tributaries of the Amazon (and their respective tributary steams) the tetras will be found in huge groups weaving amongst the marginal and aquatic vegetation. This means many of a single species would be ideal. Tetras I would recommend other than the rummynose are the cardinals, neons, glowlights, and pristellas to name a few smaller species.
• What is an Amazon themed aquarium without Corydoras? There are hundreds of species to choose from, and it just happens to be that the genus Corydoras is the largest genus of fish in the Neotropical realm (basically Central and South America). In your aquarium any species would work, so get creative!
• The otos and bristlenose would certainly both work.

I am not an expert on plants, but I do know that swords, vallisneria, sagittaria, Amazon frogbit, and more come from the region. Crypts and anubias are native to Asia and Africa, so unfortunately these would not fit with the full Amazon theme.

Hope this helps!

yep! exactly what i was looking for! i love valisneria, dwarf sag, and frogbit (frog bit grown like gangbusters in my pea puffer tank so i'll be sure to transfer some over)

i looooovvee pygmy corydoras... might have to do a big school of them 

i knew the E. Blue acara was a morph, i just cant seem to find any regular blue acaras... i'll probably ixnay this idea.

maybe i'll do a nice cacatuoides trio (i wouldn't mind spawning these guys) as a center piece kind of thing

thanks for the informational reply!

[30-40 Gallon Long Amazon Biotope]

hey guys, i'm planning to do a 30-40 gallon long amazon biotope kind of aquarium and wanted some help with stocking ideas...

i plan on having it heavily planted, possibly with some passive CO2 injection (Using Fluval 20g passive CO2 system, basically bicycle CO2 cartridges into an upside down cup)

i plan on having 4-6 bolivian rams, 10-12 rummy nose tetras, a bristle nose pleco, and for a center piece, i'm thinking an Electric Blue Acara? i was also thinking of doing a decent school of oto's to help with algae when it gets there, but A.) i'll have a pleco and B.) i'm worried the acara would slowly eat them.

any other ideas for a centerpice fish or other clean up crew?

I also wanted some help with plant choice? i know swords are out bc of the pleco... any other good background plants that wont get destroyed? i do plant on some dwarf sag carpet, anubias, crypts, etc... also wanted to know if there are any readily available aquatic plants that come from the amazon, to make it as natural as possible.

thank guys!

[Hello from SoCal]

Hello!

My name is Will, i'm from Orange County, CA

I have 2 tanks: 8 Gallon AJ33, and a 5 Gallon Topfin

In the 8 Gallon, I have assorted k class Endler Guppies (they just spawned i'm going to have to cull soon), 7 CPD's, a bunch of various Neo shrimp (reds, blues, "sunkist", and orange), 2 horned nerite shrimp, 1 hill stream loach, and 1 mystery snail.

Live planted with Red Melon Sword, Dwarf Saggitaria, Java Fern, Anubias nana petite and Java Moss on the bonsai tree, horn wort (that I grow and trade back to my LFS), Various Crypts, and I believe a Hygrophilia of some sort? I got it from my LFS once and i never saw it again, i'll post a Pant ID post later....

Water Parameters: PH 7.5 Hardness 130-150 Nitrates <5 Nitrites 0 Ammonia 0

In the 5 Gallon, I have a Blue Plakat betta named Charles, he's in there with ghost shrimp, and a mystery snail.  Heavily planted with Anubias, Hornwort (does not grow nearly as well in this tank as it does in the 8 gallon) , Frogbit (this tank grows frogbit SUPER well for some reason, i also trade the frogbit at my LFS), various crypts, , some anachris, and an ozelot sword. I also boil less than a gallon RO water with a table spoon of salt and almond leaves when i do water changes.  I change 50% every 10 days or so.

Water Parameters: PH 6.5 Hardness <100 Nirates <5 Nitrites 0 Ammonia 0

 

Been a fan for a while now and thought I'd join up.  Lookin' forward to being active on here!