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Chad

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Posts posted by Chad

    Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Ah, gotcha. Well let me add some details to the "why" of my decorations then. This wasn't my original idea, but a 33 gallon long is, well, long! As it sat on my table, it looked like a horizon. Which is what I wanted since my latest aim was to get schooling fish to do what they do best and that's swim side-to-side. Starting off, everything was guided by thinking in diagonal angles. Angles add movement and vibrance to a rectangle, they break up the space. Our rectangular tanks are the frame to the picture we're trying to paint. So I started with the driftwood, being smaller than expected, I switched from thinking of an active centerpiece design to that of a quiet valley with busy sides. The pagoda rock on the other side is angled opposite of the driftwood, again vitality/action through opposing angles. By definition it's called contrast. It's also smaller, intentionally. Big and small, smooth and rough. If you think something looks "plain", contrast is almost always the answer. Look at your tank, ask yourself if the objects in there are too similar in size to one another? Maybe add smaller or larger things to it? Also, ask yourself what direction those objects are pointing or drawing your eye. Are they all pointing up? Shifting their placement will add action. Then space, empty space can draw your eye just as much as filled. The sides of my tank are busy (filled), so I opened up the middle, again, contrast. It also directs my schooling fish to swim side to side more often. At it's core though, this works because of how wide the tank/frame is. These are some of the overarching principles at play in my tank. I hope it helps, I certainly owe ya for all your past help.

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    Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Well my ears are burning, or should I write my eyes are burning? Nope that’s just wrong ;), but what exactly did you like about my setup @Guppysnail? I’d be happy to offer suggestions but my tank is really just me throwing things in there, going “nope” a few days later. Basically a lot of trial and error, so I made sure nothing was rooted (almost nothing) and everything was slow growing.

    • Like 2

    The Don’ts & Do Nots of Fishkeeping - Chad’s Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Oh don’t think for a second that I got that water wheel from a local store @Flumpweesel. I had to search Amazon and more to track that bugger down. I almost added a skeleton drinking from a jug of rum for good measure but decided to start slow 😉. Yknow, it might be funny to go overboard on a tank, fill it with the gaudiest bubblers one can find. Add so many the poor fish will think it’s living in a soda can. Kinda like some people’s yards in December. Of course that probably wouldn’t be nice to the inhabitants so I’ll just keep it as a silly thought. Oh, and you were spot on with my thinking about Christmas tree decorations. I always win the battle as to how to decorate the tree. “I’m the designer in this house and I say it needs to be ugly!” Ok, I’ve never said that to the wife either. Thought it lots of times tho 🙂

    • Haha 4

    The Don’ts & Do Nots of Fishkeeping - Chad’s Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Agreed @Beardedbillygoat1975. Besides, what's a parent to do other than throw your kids a bone once in a while right? Get them interested in keeping a pet. My kids were the reason I got into fish keeping. Got my first daughter a betta with the Frozen Castle and everything. She didn't like keeping fish, turns out I did. Got my second daughter a betta with the Neon Mushroom and everything. She didn't like keeping fish either, turns out I really did. 

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    Filling aquarium with 1 schooling fish

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Harlequin rasboras are a good pick. For purely schooling ability, my pick would be the rummy nose tetra. They're very skittish so that keeps them schooling together, even after they get comfy in their aquarium. My harlequins schooled initially, and still would on occasion, but after a while they just swam around. Whereas my rummies still school pretty tightly. But they were a pain to get here, they didn't travel via the postal system well at all. Are you getting a 20 gallon long? 

    • Like 1

    The Don’ts & Do Nots of Fishkeeping - Chad’s Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    On 1/8/2022 at 11:55 AM, eatyourpeas said:

    If the tank makes you smile every time you spend time with it, that is all that matters. I stopped obsessing over a pretty tank a while ago, after realizing it is the home of the critters, and as such, they get the privilege of redecorating to suit their needs. I just wish some of them had a little better design sense. 🤪

    Your tank is beautiful, thanks for sharing!😍

    Hey, thank you for sharing! It is the most important aspect of this hobby, relaxing and enjoying, that I most often forget to do. Good for you and great advice!

    The Don’ts & Do Nots of Fishkeeping - Chad’s Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    The decor of a designer*

    I love aquascaping my tank. I’ve had a heavily planted tank before and my tinkering nature didn’t like how it would “get away” from me so easily. So I got plants here that I could move around (minus the Tiger Lily) and just “tinker” around with the layout of the tank as much as I want. Other than the Lily, it’s Java Fern, Christmas Moss, various Anubias, Buce, and a tiny smidge o’ Frogbit. 

    But the one thing I want to talk about is my bubbler. Again, I’m a designer, and this thing should NOT be in my tank. It’s cheesy and not cool enough for this tank. But I LOVE IT. Often I create art for myself that I want others to be impressed by. Maybe it’s human nature, maybe it’s that my job’s based on others liking my work? It’s a cycle I’ve found hard to break. Same case with my tank, I want you all to be impressed, and that’s a dangerous path. It’s why I generally shy away from social media. I don’t want this journal to become selfies with me in front of my tank and a hot drink in my hand exclaiming, “TEA TIME!!!” because I’m too tired to do anything else. I want my tank to be beautiful, but more than that I need this tank to make me smile. 

    Similarly, I’m coming off that holiday high now that winter is truly here. I’m reminded of an argument I have with my wife every year about Christmas lights. She prefers white only lights, I prefer colorful. My argument has always been that the holidays are a time of fun and nostalgia. I say, the gaudier the better! No kid looks at white lights and goes “ooh and ahh!”. It’s the twinkling, colorful lights with a blow-up ornament that stands 200 feet tall that gets all the smiles. 

    So, with that share, I’m trying to get tasteless with my tank. My prerequisite is it needs to make me smile and that includes the inhabitants of the tank. About that water mill bubbler of mine? There’s a nostalgia aspect to that silly decoration as well. The first aquarium I ever marveled at was at my public library. As a preschooler, my mom would take me there to find a book a week (to look at, I wasn’t that bright). They had an aquarium and I remember it being really greenish and yellow, and it had a couple bubblers in it. One of them was this water mill. Every time I look at that dumb bubbler in my tank I remember my awe as a kid and I can’t stop smiling.

    So, my advice to myself: never forget why I don’t just “like” this hobby but I “love" it. And don’t forget the smile test.


    * Again, I’m a graphic designer by day so bear with me as I have a little fun with the graphics. Good graphics are too much work so I’m simply playing around here a little for my own benefit.

     

    2022-01-08_decor_dsn.jpg

    • Like 5

    The Don’ts & Do Nots of Fishkeeping - Chad’s Journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted · Edited by Chad

    So, I’ve been figuring and re-figuring this hobby out. I’ve made mistakes then learned the “right” way to do it only to find it wasn’t right at all. To date, I’ve went through this 3 times. Oops, aha! No wait, still oops. Lather, rinse, repeat. Three times!

     

    My current strategy is to follow what I’ve been learning over at aquariumscience.org. He struck a chord by describing me, and my problems, perfectly. He wrote:

     

    “If I had to take all the problems down to one it would be that the beginners are simply trying too hard. The beginners are using every gimmicky new thing and chemical on the shelf at the local fish store. They are cleaning their filter and their tank very thoroughly once a week. They are changing out their filter cartridges once a month… All these things are just too much and, in many cases, downright counterproductive. They kill the fish.”

     

    This is me, it’s in my nature to make these mistakes. I like to tinker, to try new things and learn. Not usually a bad quality, but I don’t like waiting either. I over-analyze and then over-react to issues with my tank. Prior to this I was taking Cory’s advice and his guidance, pretty much. In truth, I was cherry picking his advice and overlooking some very important details that were causing big problems. Example: add fish slowly to get the cycle going well and feed sparingly. Me: a week is slow enough, right? And the fish are hungry, another little pinch is no biggie, right? Patience, well, it sucks.

     

    We’ll see how it goes. I don’t expect to get it right, but three months into my latest do-over and things seem better. I’ll share some past experiences along the way so don’t expect a completely linear timeline. I’ll also be hugely appreciative of your input. The only thing I know for sure is that I still have a lot to learn. You people have been the best at helping me along and maybe my stories and shares will help someone else in the earlier stages of fishkeeping. That’s my intent anyway.

     

    So, here’s what’s sitting beside me while I work. A 33 gallon long with a few guppies, 7 rummy nose tetras, 8 neons, 8 panda cories, 5 platies, a bristlenose pleco, and cherry shrimp. The last two being all that survived my prior tank, a 20 gallon long.

     

    A special thanks to @Guppysnail for challenging me to give this a try. Thank you!

    2022-01-07_aquarium_gfx.jpg.4b7a34d0a7694f7348a574df5ce7e1fe.jpg

    • Like 5
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    First Fish Quarentine Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I think @xXInkedPhoenixX again gave great advice about finding a mid-dwelling fish first. Fyi, I just added Panda Cory's to my main tank (yes, I quarantined) and dang if they aren't a fantastic addition to the aquarium. I've never kept Gourami's so I'm no help with experience there. Personally, I'm not sure the Cory's would have been the most interesting "first" fish to my tank (a 33 gallon long) but they made for a truly great last add. 

    • Like 1

    First Fish Quarentine Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    For your specific case, I wouldn't worry about a quarantine tank. If your tank is 55 gallons, sure, but 29? Go ahead and use it since you've never kept fish in it. Also, since Aq Co-op med trios their fish I wouldn't medicate right away either but I would buy those meds since they really are important to have on hand. Regarding adding fish from different Aq Co-op tanks? Again, I wouldn't sweat it. As long as all the fish were bought at once and added to your tank at once, from the same store, especially Aq Co-ops, you're best off adding them all together. That said, @xXInkedPhoenixX gave very good advice about overstocking and I'm sure a few q's you ask at the store and they'll help you get a group for your tank that doesn't crash from overstocking. What are you thinking you want to add? Just personal curiosity.

    Patience sucks, it screws with all the impulse buys that can be so exciting. Of course, I learned the hard way that while patience sucks it's an absolute necessity. My lack of patience caused pain for me and death to fish. You're off to a far better start than I was, well done!

    • Like 2

    Feeding Corydoras

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 1/6/2022 at 9:44 AM, Guppysnail said:

    There is something super yummy about those particular wafers. They are the yum snac for all my fish even my Cpd bottom feed on them. Must have fish-nip in them🤣

    For sure! I've had very mixed results with sinking wafers in the past. Bought some expensive-ish Northfin Algae Wafers a few years back and would only get piles of algae dust where they landed in the tank. Nothing would eat them.

    Feeding Corydoras

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 1/6/2022 at 9:34 AM, gardenman said:

    I like to feed in layers. Some floating flake food on top and then shrimp pellets on the bottom. My swordtails attack the flake food first and don't bother with the shrimp pellets until the flake food is pretty much gone. That buys the bottom feeders some unmolested time before the swordtails swarm down to clean up the rest. 

    That's a good tactic @gardenman and the one I tried this morning, fed flakes and the wafers at the same time. It didn't matter, the rummies attacked the wafers right away and the rest of the tank followed suit half a minute later. 

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