CJs Aquatics

Hey all, I told a forum friend @mountaintoppufferkeeper I would post this new process I’ve been playing with today so here we go. I have a fish that only eats live food. This specific fish is so stubborn he would actually probably rather starve then eat anything that isn’t alive. Makes feeding time really tough. He loves earthworms and snails however for reference he is a species of puffer, although I think this would probably work for other pickier types of fish as well perhaps some cichlids and bichirs etc. that like things live. Started to run low on worms the other day or maybe was just too lazy to feed them and had an interesting idea. I wondered if I could find worm shaped silicone molds so I could make artificial worms and perhaps ween him to other foods that way. It made sense bc it would be no different the artificial worms used for actual fishing or something of the sort so I went online and found these: Pardon any mess or not great pictures but here they are. These are silicone molds the first 2 specifically for gummy worms. I ordered them and decided to make repashy worms/ bears bc the bears are funny. Grabbed a few kinds but for the worms I used the grub pie fish, it just made sense. A few more tools for this trial and error project we’re some plastic cups, some colorful pipettes that came with the molds, a measuring spoon this one was 1TBSP and a spoon to make the mixture. Also this measuring glass, anything would work though. I used 2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of water I heated to a boil in the microwave. I did it a little at a time bc I was using different flavors of repashy for different species of fish. I mixed it and used the pipettes to make the molds and stuck them in the freezer for later. I also used a credit card to scrape over top of the molds to remove as much excess repashy as I could after it had started to set. I had to play around with the ratio as you might see things were thicker then I wanted but will still work for there purpose. I stuck them in the freezer then moved on. the second batch I eliminated a bunch of unnecessary steps in my opinion such as the cups and the measuring spoons and it went much smoother. I just poured the powder into 1 cup of the boiling water right into the measuring glass, and mixed it in there to a more liquid consistency. Then I piped it into the molds. I left excess on top to show what I meant by using the credit card/ consistency, then just scraped it right off. (Last statement sounded good but it was actually bc I’m messy). stuck these in the freezer as well to finish setting and they will be ready to go. The point of this whole post was it worked. I fed the “repashy gummy worms” to the picky puffer and as it thaws it wiggles like a real worm. He loves them. Using it as hopefully the first step towards transitioning him to eating pellets flakes etc. The bears were just a funny bonus. If you have a picky eater that likes worms or stuff that wiggles it might be worth a shot/ an easy alternative, just thought I would share.

@Odd Duck definately a great observation, I did that a while ago I forgot to list it

@Lennie

@nabokovfan87 I’ll 2nd that

Hey all, thought it might be fun for us to post some of our fish food recipes on here, doesn’t have to specifically be repashy but it was a catchy title in my opinion. I’ll go first… simple and to the point, just got done with some repashy but I made it in a silicone gummy worm tray in hopes that one of my picky eaters who loves worms might get fooled lol sometimes I make it with some oyster shells in it for my puffers to resemble artificial snails as well. Other then that, a pinch of garlic guard or vitachem and served at room temp….

@mynameisnobody I bought and use it also

Weird thing is I’m sure I treated him when I got him, and have had him for a while, but definitely some sunken belly going on. He’s got an appetite for live but puts on no weight. I was concerned dosing the tank might negatively impact his healthy tankmates but I assume it shouldn’t

what you’ll need: a pitcher a fish net - many of you know I’ve been struggling with duckweed for a while. I’ve taken everyone’s suggestions and finally found a system that works well. step 1: went to goodwill or any thrift store and bought a pitcher for a few dollars (mine was $6 bc it’s a Brita pitcher) step 2: a fish net (using that green one you see with all in 1 tank kits) step 3: rest fish net over water in a corner of the tank using the rim or top of tank step 4: dip the pitcher in the water, duckweed, water and everything else fills up the pitcher step 5: dump the contents of the pitcher back into tank through the net. Your net catches the duckweed and everything else and your water returns to the tank step 6: repeat until desired results achieved then eighter dump contents in trash and rinse net out or discard 🤣 I actually am a big proponent of not letting anything go to waste so I feed the duckweed to my worms

Hey everybody, quick question I have a puffer fish that absolutely refuses to eat anything that’s not alive. This isn’t unusual in and of itself however the weird part is I have been pretty successful at getting them to eat a specific pellet. All of my other ones of the species except the new ones love this pellet. This particular puffer just refuses. He is extremely skinny in comparison to the other ones, noticeably more aggressive probably due to hunger. I do give him live still but I’ve been trying to introduce him to this pellet the others love as well. It occurred to me maybe it’s possible he’s still harboring parasites. Obviously this could be inaccurate and it could just be a personality thing with him (stubborn). I wanted to hear the forums thoughts on hitting the tank with a dose of paracleanse or prazi? Would it negatively effect them if they don’t have worms or parasites bc there’s a strong chance they don’t he eats live food just fine. Thoughts?

Should be fine as a treat perhaps not as a daily dietary supplement

Last question can I plant them straight away again or do I need to wait till they root (float them first)

Will the cuttings root, or just the stumps grow new plants?

I have a mess of this stuff I need to organize but it’s all growing from the stumps like that, would you just leave them in to keep propogating?

@JoeQ so in the photo above cut each individual new plant above the nodes, discard extra stem and plant roots?

What is the proper way to cut something like this into new plant starts?

Hey all, it’s late where I am but I had an interesting topic. I feel it’s talked about a lot but basically I find myself in the predicament that I put all kind of work into tanks, and breeding, aesthetics, tech, no tech, just general fish keeping and often times find myself with what I like to call RTS or restless tank syndrome. I get bored with my tanks, want to change them all the time, get bright ideas about making them more effective or aesthetically pleasing or easier to maintenance or whatever the case is, then even after the changes end up repeating this process again not long after, never quite satisfied with them. Anyone have any experience with this/ tips on enjoying them more rather then critiquing them?

@TOtrees this is amazing thank you, like a step by step guide almost, really appreciate it, you also thought of quite a few things I never would have

I was concerned also, however close inspection seems to reveal the kicked out eggs appear unfertilized as they are grey not yellow, and he is on a pile of eggs in the cave as well, new dad perhaps, I can 100% confirm they are way less prolific for me then BN im trying to dial in things regarding them

12:05pm 5/22/23 eggs noticed male is in with the eggs, they aren’t in clutch form like mystery snails or other they are all throughout the cave

baby survivor from previous breeding hanging out on an anubias leaf and showing nice color

2 of the whiptails still in the long pvc pipe

10 gallon -finnex stingray light (had lying around) - no lid -water line is 1.5-2 in below rim (I’ve been lazy) - haven’t water changed it in ages but am planning on topping off as I get more diligent about note taking Filter - UGF - sponge cut and stuffed into output of uplift tubes to reduce chance of losing babies as I witnessed a fish in one before Substrate - looks like worm castings on bottom approx .5in -.5 inches of kitty litter (clay non clumping fragrance free) -.5 in seachem fluorite red -approx 1- 1.5 in of black diamond sand Plants -bamboo - mangroves -various anubias -hornwort -duckweed -azolla -red root floaters -many various algae’s - I see a piece of Java moss - the leaf of a Java fern - a small crypt parva - if I notice more I will list Hardscapes - a piece of spider wood - 2 1 in pvc pipes one 6 in long one closer to 12 - various sized ceramic pleco caves locally made - an open ended shrimp cave 3D printed - various botanicals - lots of algae, mulm, decaying organics Heater - small regular non adjustable preset to 78 degrees - black background Known Inhabitants -random shrimp culls unknown amount - pea puffers (started with 6) probably less - red lizard whiptails being the star of the show -honestly not sure how many I think 5-6 adults and at least 1 baby, I will attempt to keep up with and clarify as things progress - ramshorn snails what else? Plants are potted in clay pots ……………….. parameters at 2:00am 5/22/23 strips were hard to accurately measure as the colors weren’t on charts so I estimated and was surprised at the results bc the tap water I have is on the hard side (update later) 5 nitrate or less 0 nitrite 100 GH 0 KH 6.4 pH 0 chlorine …………………… -2 Red lizards probably attempting to breed are in the long open ended cave currently and have been for a few hours or so - possible trigger, only thing u can think of is the heavy brine shrimp feeding earlier as I slacked off for a long time and recently started back this week so perhaps this conditioned them to prep to spawn or adjusted there water in some way - the ceiling fan is currently on overhead which is different - water temp is 80.2 which is slightly elevated given the temp outside is 56 and the temp the heater is preset to is 78 I believe This mess is the tank possible spawning behavior, they have spawned in the past, first time the eggs disappeared second time also, 3rd time I blocked the intakes of the UGF tubes and it yielded many fry but the fry survivability was almost none (I know one is around perhaps 2 but probably had 22-24 total and they didn’t make it) 4th time I pulled the eggs and unsuccessfully kept them from growing fungus, this time I plan to take some notes for my records and try to up my odds - I plan on cleaning up the tank a bit and getting more accurate measurements of the tank params as well as counts of the inhabitants etc. - need to grab pictures as well - if they breed again I have to decide the best course of successfully growing and raising fry whether it be let the parents parent or pull the eggs, try methylene blue perhaps since I have it on hand other notes currently: - noticed before the addition of the botanicals or the sponges on intakes seemed to have an effect on the eggs actually hatching, perhaps before they were eaten or sucked into filter, or hatched and didn’t have a food source like the leaves, something to watch -anyone reading I apologize for the messy tank/ rambling - attach photos as applicable

Super helpful thank you so much

Grabbed some images from online they do not belong to me but I was hoping someone can help me learn to identify goldfish genders as I’m considering getting some:

Looking for ideas on my next breeding project, I want to do something unique, interested in hearing your thoughts as mine are all over the board