SeverumKeeper

Anyone got a good source for reading up on how (and when!) different groups of freshwater aquarium fish evolved? I first got interested in the topic when I read about the Madagascar Rainbowfish, and about the debate regarding how it came to Madagascar - by dispersal across the ocean, or because Rainbowfish were already there in the Mesozoic when these landmasses broke apart in the first place (and it seems that the latter explanation is now favored, which is so cool!). Are there any good resources to learn about other groups and their evolutionary history? For example, I assume the different freshwater pufferfish groups are unrelated and represent different instances of saltwater fish colonizing a freshwater habitat? Incidentally, I think I read that after the KT extinction that took out the dinosaurs, marine ecosystems crashed hard (because they relied so heavily on photosynthetic plankton, which was absolutely decimated by the ash clouds thrown up by the asteroid) while freshwater ecosystems did OK (because they could use decaying matter swept into rivers and streams as the base of their food chain until the sun returned). I'll link a study on that topic. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jgrg.20086

Some sad news as well: I did lose one pea puffer the day before yesterday. Parameters all look good and the other puffers seem happy and are eating well, so I'm hoping it just has to do with the condition I got the fish in.

The plants from Aquarium Coop arrived yesterday. I'm still not ready to add rockwork - I'm debating whether I want to break my slate up a bit more or not. Tank with plants: Feeding some mosquito larva:

Plants should be getting here tomorrow, I will hopefully have some time to scape on Wedensday. I'm excited for the tank to finally take form! I have a lot of slate I plan to use. Does anyone know of any inspiration scapes I can borrow for? Going for a jungle and slate feel.

Fed me puffers some frozen Baby Brine Shrimp today, first time trying that particular food. I wasn't quite expecting how tiny it would be! In hindsight, I should have predicted that babies would be incredibly small! It was hard to tell if my puffers were eating or not because of how small the food was. But they did get super excited and zoomed back and forth through the clouds of white specks, so I assume they did get some. I'll feed some frozen mosquito larva tomorrow, maybe I'll actually be able to see them eat that way! A couple of puffer pics from today. I still haven't scaped the tank fully - should hopefully have time tomorrow or the day after. Oops, not sure why the final two photos are upside down. One contains an incredibly cute puffer looking right at the camera!

Anyone know a good source for reading about the topic of how different aquarium fish groups evolved? I was reading about the debate on how the Madagascar Rainbowfish reached the island, with the original proposal being a dispersal across the ocean and more moder analysis favoring rainbowfish getting there during the Mesozoic, before Gondwana broke up. Which would make Rainbowfish as a group truly ancient!

I got Pea Puffers!!!

So, today I was at the fish store, looking at this and that, when I realized that they had pea puffers! And quite active looking ones, too. Since I've had this tank's filter media sitting in the 75 gallon's filter for a few days now, I went ahead and got eight of them. That should give me enough for a colony, even if I need to remove some extra males eventually. I still have some rocks which I plan to add to the tank, and some plants coming in a shipment from Aquarium Coop. But I did get some clumps of Java Moss to encourage microorganism growth and give the puffers something to investigate. This photo shows a curious puffer investigating some moss while his friends swim nearby.

Sneak peak....

Slapped my 5.5 gallon's old light on the tank just so I could properly see what the inside looks like. I'm still waiting on a light actually sized for the 20, I have to find a way to properly mount my lid with the filter on the side, and I want to get it nice and planted. And add my rocks, of course.

Thanks for the tip. I ordered some.

Looks like it comes in jars? Do I just pour the contents of a jar into a media bag?

Just a humble HOB filter, rated for a somewhat larger tank

In my old house, the 75 gallon cichlid tank was in my office. In this new house, we decided to move it to the dining room, which meant that I have no fish to look at when I'm at work. Luckily, I have some space on a desk. So, I purchased a 20g high aquarium, some black sand, black background, a rather nifty piece of decor, and (on order) a light and some live plants. Eventually, I would like the tank to get an overgrown feel, with as many plants as I can grow filling up as much space as possible; and I would like to stock pea puffers. For now, I am thinking up ways to get large numbers of snails breeding here and in my 75...

Gave the tank a quick water change on my lunch today, since I had the Python out anyways for... Reasons... another thread might come out soon to explain why. I fixed some floating plants, moved some anubias on rocks around, and gave the glass a once over. I think the tank looks a lot better! Still full of tannins from the new wood - I don't mind, but my wife hates it, and the tank *is* in a public area now rather than my office, so I'll probably throw in some activated carbon (or maybe try Purigen).