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Torrey

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Everything posted by Torrey

  1. @Odd Duck, are we sure it's only 2 loci? 🧬 Bear with me, but in A&P we learned that the human genome project identified one set of genes that control the amount of melanin in the eyes, another set controls the melanin expression, and a third set controls secretion. Hence the various shades of blue, and how some people seem to change eye color with strong emotions (they do, due to interplay between expression and secretion), and the entire class went "but high school biology said BB = brown, bb = blue, and Bb = hazel" And the teacher proceeded to break my brain with genetics.😅 Turns out sometimes (like blood type) their can be 3 options: O, A, B, and the resultant AO = A, AA = A, AB = AB, BB= B, BO = B, & OO= O So, we can chalk it up to the more we learn, the more we realize we don't know?
  2. This is where I see this behavior with mine. I put the sub-dom male in the breeder box until the babies born in Q/T are a little bigger and can help spread the aggression out. Everyone is chill again. I had tried breaking up line of site, first, but the dominant male was locating the sub-dom no matter where he hid... So, separation time boys!!! I automatically treat with PraziPro in my Q/T, and the bottom of Q/T is glass (my only glass bottom tanks) with a small area of lava rock for easy vacuum of "substrate" each morning during the PraziPro treatment. So each batch of fry are a solid 2 weeks apart, and last batch 3 weeks apart when I was concerned about a potential illness. Nope, just tired of being bullied. Next week, adult trio will go into a patio pond, and lone male will hang out with the fry. WCMM show zero infanticidal behavior. @ChillFish I am sorry you didn't have as good of an outcome. Odd Duck posted these instructions for parasites (will kill snails) that have been a real game changer: Deworming Siphon out debris from the bottom before and after dosing to remove any expelled worms, eggs, debris, etc. Levamisole is inactivated by organic debris and by light, so dose after lights out and black out the tank for 24 hours, remove organics via water changes and cleaning the bottom of debris as much as possible. It’s likely that levamisole does what it can do within the first hour, but best to follow directions precisely. If you have a bare bottom hospital tank available, it might be best and easiest to transfer the fish to that tank for the duration of treatment - up to 5 weeks total treatment time if doing 3 doses of praziquantal. Levamisole treatment should be weekly for 4 treatments. Praziquantal treatment should be every other week (at least) for 2-3 treatments and it is left in for a week at a time. It can be dosed the day after levamisole treatment. Remove any carbon or Purigen from filters before dosing. Have enough dechlorinated water to do a 50% water change immediately if any adverse symptoms are seen in the fish. A typical treatment regimen: 1. 50% water change with careful siphoning of debris from the bottom of the tank. 2. Dose with levamisole and black out the tank for 24 hours. Then 50% water change siphoning the entire bottom of the tank. 3. Dose with praziquantal directly after the second 50% WC. 4. One week later, 50% water change siphoning the bottom thoroughly. Dose with levamisole following directions in step 1-2. 5. One week later (start of week 3 of treatment), repeat all steps 1-4 over another 2 weeks time. 6. Repeat all steps 1-5, then do last WC one week later after third dose of praziquantal. Not all snails will tolerate treatments, so best to remove any snails in the tank. Condensed, weekly schedule: Week 1: siphon debris and do 50% water change, levamisole x 24 hrs, siphon. Treat with praziquantal and leave in until next week. Week 2: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon. Week 3: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon, then prazi. Week 4: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon. Week 5: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon, then prazi. Week 6: siphon. ************* It's very, very important to do the entire course, as directed, so you don't end up with treatment resistant organisms in your tank. Bare bottom is easiest to suction out, and I keep floating plants with thick roots (dwarf water hyacinth and dwarf water lettuce) in my Q/T during the PraziPro (keeps ammonia and nitrite levels non-existent while keeping the correct concentration of the medication), and take them out for the 24 hours of levamisole. Hope that helps!
  3. It's possible. And then one of the females will probably sex change on you if they go long enough without a male (it's a normal thing in nature, to ensure survival). I haven't had any males turn in my bachelor tanks, but I have had females go male, and had to do a lot of research to make sure I wasn't crazy (turns out hens do this too). I agree with above recommendations: I talked with my LFS, and was their supplier for a few species until a management change I sell/trade with my local fish club members I occasionally ship fish I intentionally get some plants from a local pond supplier to introduce damselfly nymphs into my tanks to remove weak genetics. I keep a turtle pond with excellent filtration and lots of plants, and I cull/separate fish 2× a year. Endler culls go in the turtle pond, everything else gets relocated out of my house. I'm currently working on a 4' ecosystem that will (hopefully) be balanced with predators maintaining population control... Eventually. My endlers now have 2 bachelor tanks, 5 breeding tanks, and a cull pond (that periodically gives me beautiful males to strengthen genetics), as well as a breeding colony in the porch pond Guppies have 2 breeding tanks and a bachelor's tank WCMM are in QT, with a porch tub waiting for them. I quit breeding danios, and use them for a modicum of population control in endler tanks. The endlers love the danio eggs. A friend keeps a harem of Bettas in her guppy tank for population moderation. It's a matter of finding the balance that works for you, or trading out what you are no longer interested in breeding for something else... which is completely worth a long drive to a fish club meeting.
  4. ORD🥰 Yes, this hobby is full of learning experiences, and some hurt more than others. I'm glad you are getting back in the water, can't wait to see what your tub evolves into!
  5. Im ORD🥰 Also ORD🥰 And also ORD🥰 I got into aquascaping (versus just throwing plants in the aquarium and seeing what lives, or the hardscape of my earlier cichlid tanks) after going down the rabbit hole of Josh Sims.... Yes, I have had tanks in the past that I treated as a canvas, and attempted to recreate a piece of nature. Josh Sims gave me the "water theory" of art that I needed to have my show piece tank. I practiced with my roommate's tank (with their permission) and played with which plants grow best with minimal input from me, in our water. Then I started putting together an entire ecosystem in our 4' dining room tank... I bought the tank in Feb 2020 (right before I got covid) and slowly procured the wood, the rock, the UGF parts, and the plants. It was growing plants and snails and microfauna for 6 months before I introduced shrimp. Once the shrimp population is breeding faster than it can be eaten (P paludosus have a 6 stage larval cycle, so I need a solid number of 3rd and 4th gen adults breeding) I am getting my native fish. I wanted a full NANF ecosystem, but the plants didn't all cooperate so I got a little flexible...if I can find invasive species in water ways around me, then they are fair game for Reverse Respiration and then my tank. This is what brings me joy, creating the healthiest environment possible, that enables plant and animals to thrive, in a way that prevents my health issues from making them suffer. And it's taught me a lot about priorities, the environment, and the mistakes we humans make thinking we know better than the larger ecosystem we are a part of... So, no such thing as pests in my tanks, I celebrate the symbiotic green hydra as much as I celebrate scuds, snails, and even planaria. They **all** belong, and have a purpose. That's what is beautiful to me, recognizing that everything has a purpose, even if I don't understand it yet
  6. I separate my endlers (and I now have 2 tanks of endler/guppy crosses) at the beginning of the season (May/June) and again in November. Single top "swords" go together, single bottom swords go together, and the traditional double endler tails go together. Then I break down by color, and label which tanks they originally came from to minimize inbreeding. All males that aren't mature enough for me to be confident on tail shape and colors, go to the generic "bachelor tank" I select my most attractive males that are similar in colors to go to the pond for the summer. Any fry who overwintered help diversity in genetics 😅 I select my females from the breeder dividers where I put females as soon as I can identify, and attempt to maintain a few who aren't pregnant from tank mates. At the end of the season (October/November/very early December) I catch as many as I can and sort them again. If I want to make stripes and the dark spots stronger, I look through the culls in the turtle pond. Nature uses those markings to increase predator avoidance, so once a year (or more) I look for higher quality males that evolved by surviving turtle predation, and that also boosts overall genetic strength in my breeding stock, while improving both color and shape. Give your plain 3rd gen a little more time. I keep my tanks <72° F, so my males can take 9 months to fully color up. I had a trio of platinums... or so I thought. When I went to add them to the 9 platinum blue female endlers I bought, the boys surprised me with big black false eyes on their bodies....at a year old.🤔
  7. In Mexico, they are cenotés, and my favorite place to swim. Sadly, over development of Cancun and Tulum ruined over 20 cenotés that shared the same subterranean river, and a lot of fish species endemic to those cenotés may have been lost forever.... Really awesome pics! My bestie from middle school and her husband own a boat in Morehead/Beaufort, NC that people charter for deep sea fishing and dives. There are great whites off the coast of NC, and generally they leave folx alone. Even watched drone footage of a tagged great white swimming under a paddle board for a handful of minutes, and then moseying on...
  8. Personally, I would edit out the full name, so Cory doesn't have a rep from that company accuse ACO of libel...and I have not been having much luck with companies from that state, lately. I'm going to be looking at the recommendation from @Guppysnail to order, those prices are reasonable.
  9. You gave him a wonderful life for 9 months, that he would not have had if you hadn't brought him home. Sadly, most fish store employees don't properly educate (because they aren't properly educated) on Betta needs. If you are a YouTube member, watch Grianne's presentation on Betta breeding and care (very first members presentation guest!) They have a labyrinth organ, and need a closed lid tank to maintain proper humidity for them to breathe (90% +) They need water temperature of 78° F to 82° F, and higher if they get sick. They prefer shallower waters, but love a good, large footprint (males need at least 18" × 18" to patrol in the wild, and apparently will claim a good 4² feet if possible)... but won't fight as much as they do in captivity. Sisters raised together and that never lose sight of each other, can live in a happy harem for years... But if you take one out to Q/T, she generally can't ever go back in with her sisters (there are exceptions...but don't always end well). They thrive on live diets, and can do pretty well on frozen worms, bbs, cyclops and daphnia. They are truly carnivores, with wild specimens rarely having anything beyond bugs and insect larvae in their tummy when autopsied. Think about what the conditions were at the store, and what the conditions were in your tank. Where do you think, out of those 2 options, your Joe was happiest? With you. And he was a gift to inspire you to keep learning, and do research, and keep striving to be the best wet pet parent you can be... which is what separates aquarists from people who serially keep fish. I'm sorry about your Joe, my Kismet and Krishna are buried together under my dracaena, so they can be together forever.
  10. I'll look for the video on SerpaDesign, but Tanner made an awesome scape and covered information like substrate. No promises on how long it will take to find the video, I tend to start watching Tanner's videos and forget what I was looking for 😅 Your ADF are adorable!!! The names are perfect 🥰
  11. If you use the magnifying option on your phone, do you already have copepods and other microfauna in your tanks and ponds? If you have live plants, there should already be thriving colonies of microfauna in your water columns, unless you have recently used meds or done really big water changes. I don't recommend anyone follow my example, but I set my tanks up with microfauna before fish. That way if I end up in the hospital unexpectedly, or go on a month long trip, my fish have a salad bar and full microfauna buffet while I am gone. Even people who don't do that have enough microfauna in the average tank for fish to do well for 7 to 10 days without being fed, unless fry are being hatched from eggs in sterile hatching and grow tanks. Ponds? Well planted indoor tanks? They should be good while you are gone. Have fun!!! (Full disclosure, I came home to a much denser cover of duckweed. I'm still not feeding heavy, so plant growth has slowed) A friend topped off tanks once a week while we were gone.
  12. You make me feel so much better about my tech (in) abilities!!!
  13. For @Odd Duck and @Guppysnail who have some of the same issues I do, most DME stores have used oxygen compressors for sale pretty cheap, thanks to the pandemic. If you twist the bag around the airline, and then keep twisting as you remove the airline, it's easier to keep the water/air ratio. And if the receiver will accept duckweed, it keeps ammonia levels in the bag nearly non-existent, but doesn't seem to decrease oxygen saturation of the water. Is that because duckweed is a floating plant?
  14. @Trailblazur I've only lost one shipment of shrimp since I changed my acclimation system. 1. I dose my Q/T with PraziPro as directed for shrimp, the moment the shrimp arrive 2. I pour the shrimp into the acclimation container 3. I add one drop Prime to 5 ml Q/T tank water, and pour in acclimation container with shrimp 4. I add an air stone on low 5. I set up the drip acclimation with water from Q/T (my drip acclimation quadruples the water volume over the course of 3 hours, hence air stone and plants) 6. I add some floating plants (toss them at the end of acclimation) 7. I observe closely The single shipment I lost were not from Aquahuna. The shrimp displayed unusual behavior (way too calm after air stone was added, that normally perks them up as the Prime addresses ammonia build up and the O2 immediately offsets any oxygen deprivation). My water actually tested identical to the water the breeder had, and I asked permission to look at the shrimp under a microscope. The shrimp came to me already sick (I've not gotten severely infected shrimp from Aquahuna, ever) and at least one had traveled with a planaria under the carapace. Since no healthy, self-respecting shrimp is going to allow a planaria under it's carapace, the shrimp *had* to have already been ill at the breeder's, ill enough for planaria to hitch a ride (explains the overly calm behavior of all the shrimp, planaria emit a paralytic in their slime trail) and the PraziPro was the final stress to their system. Breeder thanked me for the video of the shrimp, and gave me a complete refund, even though they died after I opened the bag (live arrival guarantees don't cover animals that die in QT generally) Once they get a little more experience under their belt, I will try them again, because of the customer service from a new person and their willingness to learn.☺️ Hope this helps you enjoy better success with future shipments!
  15. Add floating plants with long roots, even if only temporarily. New fish were added, and now there's chasing. Options to stop the chasing are catch and remove fish (a pain in a scaped tanks) or rearrange things, or add more plants to address increased bio load *and* break up line of site. Choose the option that works best for you. I'm all about options, and most of my tanks are also scaped (see response to catching fish) so here are visuals to help make an informed choice: 1. Dwarf water lettuce roots 2. Floating plants like hornwort or milfoil 3. Dwarf hyacinth Each has pros and cons. Dwarf water lettuce is the most forgiving of softer water, hyacinth and hornwort will make a mess if they are denied their calcium. European milfoil is invasive in the US, make sure it stays out of the drain and waterways. Hornwort actually grows well with the quarantine meds and using aquarium salt as medication. If I do another brackish tank, I'm going to test hornwort in it. Welcome to Nermtopia!!!!
  16. My female P paludosus get up to 1.75", males are a little smaller and a lot skinnier. If you want more pics of tank bred P paludosus to compare to, let me know. They are a great little North American native, and I have never caught them (or had any other evidence) of them catching fry. Now, Macrobrachium lanchesteri (whisker shrimp) have very large, very strong pincers on the second set of pereiopods (walking legs) especially males The first set of pereiopods have smaller pincers (chelipeds) that are used to eat. P paludosus have small chelipeds on the first 2 pairs of pereiopods for eating and in the females for moving fertilized eggs to the pleopods (swimming legs) for incubation. P paludosus also have distinctive orange bands at the base of their feelers and front legs, in addition to a reddish, or reddish orange, dot on each exopod (outside sections of the tail) Young Macrobrachium can be difficult to distinguish from P paludosus, until the second pair of pereiopods develop the larger pincers. M lanchesteri *can* be identified by the lack of the orange markings that P paludosus have, but there are other Macrobrachium that have been known to mimic the coloring of P paludosus. If it's eating your fry, I would say a young Macrobrachium, but hard to know for sure which species. I think there's over 200 globally. One can grow to over 30 cm😶
  17. My solution is a silicone paint strainer, as demonstrated by Dean & Cory when they took in a shipment of fish, and poured the fish into the paint strainer resting in the 5 gallon bucket. Best hack, ever! The baby fish, shrimp 🦐/shrimplettes and snails will move, making it very easy to locate them rapidly and return to the tank. Also saves my tiniest Buce from accidentally getting thrown out, and once the screen dries I relocate the fish fertilizer to plants or the compost pile, and then it's ready to be rinsed/cleaned/sterilized and put up to dry before next use. Total game changer! In my perfect world, I would have one dedicated to each tank. I don't live in that world, yet. Repeated drying of algae in the strainer will eventually stain it as you can see. I'm okay with that, I am keeping all my aquarium stuff out of the local waterways.
  18. I don't have enough fish to plant ratio in any of my tanks to get my nitrates that high. Easy Green is doing a good job at keeping my plants too healthy to be appetizing to my snails, although I do need to watch plant growth and add Mg and Fe periodically. I like the slower but consistent growth of my plants, and not having to trim as often. Except for the day I dose Easy Green, my nitrates match my nitrites and ammonia: 0 ppm. Somehow, everything is still doing okay. Full disclosure, I don't remove much from the tank, and don't do water changes since I live in the desert. I'm not non-existent tech, I do grow plants to keep my water clean (tap water top offs also jump the nitrates up once a week, to over 40 ppm if the single digit humidity happens)
  19. I have yet to find "poisonous roots" in plants that I grow in aquariums, or in mesh plastic boxes in my ponds. Mixed success with woody plants and shrubs, the key is to keep the top of the woody bole (I think that's the right name?) completely out of the water. If that gets soaked, the wood will begin to rot.... I didn't have thriving trees, if it's a tree dependent on the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae to uptake nutrients from the soil. I had better success in tanks at rooting woody plants, but eventually some species just need soil. That being said, roots in well aerated water will typically help even woody plants thrive for at least a time. Look at the rainfall in the area they are indigenous to, and find out how long flooding lasts. That's a good indicator of when you need to hyperfocus on new leaf growth for any signs that transplanting is going to be needed. You won't know if you don't try, so try it! I have successfully germinated a lot of seeds in a paper towel laid on top of lava rocks I suspended on the side (or back) at the top of the tank. Eventually snails will break down the paper towel, or you can carefully cut it away once the seedling is well established. I have not had success with anything other than true riparian and aquatic plants in soil that is submerged. My aquatic stem plants don't even like their stems to be placed in submerged soil, they prefer to be allowed to grow their roots *down* through gravel or sand and find the soil on their own. Can't wait to see where this experiment takes you!
  20. This week's topic on properly cleaning the filter had a link to choosing the Best Filter... and left out one of the oldest filters, the Undergravel Filter (UGF). Almost all my tanks have some version of UGF, whether covered with gravel, lava rocks, or an ACO 9×9" sponge (kind of like a matten filter, but on the bottom) in at least a portion of the tank. I don't think I am alone, in wishing more information was available about UGF. Of course, I wish the Co-op would sell a sturdier version of the TopFin UGF that I have in several tanks. Easily customizable, it's like the Lego version of filters, but TopFin made it out of knock off plastic instead of Lego quality plastic. I bet ACO can do it better. 🙂
  21. Congratulations!!!! Just how much flow do those Redbelly Dace need?
  22. That looks infinitely nicer than the DIY PVC models I help people build! Seriously, looking good @Fish Folk!!
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