KittenFishMom

I was into origami as a kid. I could make hundreds of things from memory. My decades as a computer ended that. But I still have a blue green Brown card and know what abend means. I remember the difference between "shift left logical" and "shift left arithmetic" I use to belly dance a lot, but only for friends. I could shimmy all the way through "Wipe Out". I can't sing or play an instrument, but was in the "only true marching band in the Ivy league", as a manager, chasing hats and music as they blow across the fields. I love music, just can't produce it. I use to drink Tom Collins when we would go out dancing. I learned to tie the cherry stems in a knot with my tongue. It much easier than it looks. (Sigh, the useful things you learn as you grow up) I'm dyslexic. I can read upside down and mirror writing about as fast as I can read normal text. Of course, I can't spell or type. Mom said I had to be a professional when I grew up so someone else would do my typing. I ended up in computers and did all my own typing for decades. Some people use the "hunt and peck" method of typing. I use "search and destroy" method of typing. I can jump a horse bareback, but cannot ride a bike. A very random collections of gifts and challenges. @nabokovfan87 I was a front row hockey fan for years. We would bring 16 inch balloons to blow up at the one minute buzzer and toss them up the stands while the ice was being zamboni-ed. The young and the old had a blast with the balloons. The dignified middle aged folks tried to ignore them as the balloons drifted in front of them while being chased by kids. I wasn't a hockey player, but I skated in hockey skates because they fit my wide feet.

Birds love shelter around and near bird feeders. The birds can hide from hawks and the wind in abandoned clean Christmas trees. We get 3-5 big trees from the rich neighborhoods (those trees are heavily pruned and very dense and very big) after they are placed of the curb after Christmas. They are already cut to a nice transport size. The trees also catch falling seed to give the birds another chance to eat them. The birds don't have to go far to crack open the seeds between their feet on small branches. In the spring we chain the trees to our seawall for wild fish to spawn in and for wild fry to hide in. They birds often build nests in the parts that are out of the water. Other people cut them up for bon fires or mulch, or them on the curb for spring branch pick up.

@Aiden Carter and @rockfisher I did a cool water change as the front hit this morning. The corys are spawning! out side temp dropped from 41 to 24 in about 1 hour. Windchill is 10 to 15 f now.

@rockfisher The lid is rather flimsy. I think cutting it might cause it to fall apart. What would you replace the plastic/glass with?

Cory had a nice video on putting together a power kit that included heat packs to tape to your tank and a blanket to put over the tank and a batter power air pump. I can't find it, but will keep looking. This looks like a good video. Fishing departments have battery powered and solar powered air pumps. I got 2 nice ones from the ACO online web site. From the ACO youtube page:

I want to know if the soon to be available ACO light is write for my tank? And if yes, which size(s) would be best? I have a 55 gallon tank. The front corners are replaced with 45 degree angle glass. (see photo) The dimensions are roughly (in inches): 2 light ports 21 length back 48 length front 35 front to bach 12 depth 21 I have done the substrate with potting soil and large size black sand cap. It is planted with a wide variety of plants some from shops, some from the lake. I don't use CO2. I do use IALs so there are some tannins in the water. The cover that came with the tank has 2 21 inch long light ports. I also have a large piece corrugated plastic 24 x 28 inches in clear that I might might make into a cover more light can enter. On Sunday(12/18), Cory talked about a video he made on Wednesday(12/14) about lights and PAR, but I can't find it on the ACO Youtube channel. Has anyone seen it? I want to watch it before I be lights for this tank. I would also like advice from the forum about what would work well. I attached photos of the tank below. I have differents lights over the tank, which is why the color is strange. I scooped out all the floating plants and monekied with the driftwood some for this photo. I'll get a better shot after dark: The lid showing the light ports and feeding ports.

@rockfisher I would guess the pressure has a great deal to do with it. People often comment that the corys spawn when it is raining outside. I think they must sense the pressure change. We checked the barometer all the time when I was growing up. A tap or 2 told us more than the radio. We never took the sailboat out without checking the barometer.

I have found that HOBs are quieter when the water level in the tank is close to the outlet. The farther the water falls, the more noise it makes. You might try tucking a piece of fabric under the mechanical filter media and over the lip of the HOB and down into the water to prevent splashing. Netting (maybe several layers) should work for this as well. If I notice the HOB getting quieter, or the water volume dropping, I know I need to clean the media in the HOB so the prefilter gets maximum flow and stays clean. If the upper media is partially clogged, the flow slows and the intake filter and tube fill with crud. Much bigger, messer job to clean that than to keep up with the upper filter.

@JessLynne7 That was meant for @Aiden Carter who was got to ask parents about the weather.

We are expecting a storm with low pressure on Friday. When should I do a cool water change to encourage the corys to spawn?

@Aiden Carter and @JessLynne7 It would probably make sense to wait until January when the post office won't be handling as many packages. We can look for a spot of warm weather to ship. Don't post your addresses. When we get things figured out, you can send me your address through the forums message mail (with your parent's permission only! I am a parent). I keep the scuds in a bucket with an air stone and duckweed on top and hornwort. I can send you some of the plants in the bag. They also like tree leaves like maple. I give them a pinch of fish food now and then. They also get some frozen blood worms now and then. They are omnivores and need some protein. I have been told they will eat fish eggs, so don't put the in tanks you plan to use for breeding. I also have snails that I remove from my tanks when the snails need to be thinned out, if you want some of those. You can keep them with the scuds. I often give the snails to a friend with goldfish for live food. Here is a photo of the scuds with a dime for scale:

@nabokovfan87The spot where you say to cut the wood is where the 2 pieces sort of overlap. I could not have gotten it into the tank if it was one piece. It was rather tricky getting each piece in. I'll give them some more time and if they don't sink, I have a pile of other driftwood I gather in the spring to try.

@Guppysnail The seltzer was on sale so I bought 2 12-packs. I have planaria in one of my scud colonies. For some reason I have never had algae problems. (knock on driftwood) Maybe it's the scuds or the snails?

@JessLynne7 and @Aiden Carter I'm starting to question if it makes sense to keep scuds now that I have rehomed my yoyo loaches. Do either of you think it would be worth trying to mail you some of my scuds? I don't have heat packs, but the water I took the last batch of scuds out of was 34 degrees with ice along the shore. I am in central NY. I don't know how far you are, or how cold it is there, but it might work. I wouldn't charge you for the scuds. It would depend on how you want them shipped as to if I would want you to pay shipping. Let me know. I do have a lot of large scuds. They have been indoors with long days long enough to start breeding, but that might stop for awhile if they are in the dark for too long during shipping. They need long days for 4 weeks or so to start breeding.

I have watched some youtube videos that show how to start java mixed with greek yogurt to dry start it, while misting it. The yogurt helps keep the mold at bay. I am also waiting for some large pieces of driftwood to get waterlogged and sink in my 55 gallon tank. I was wondering if wood soaking in my tank might be moist enough for this method. If I could get the java moss to start on the sunny side up of the wood, I'm thinking it might spread on the wood after the wood sinks. I'm not sure how long it will take the wood to sink. It sat in the sun all summer. I'm also not sure what kind of wood it is. The bark and branches were gone when I found it. I'm adding photos now. There are 2 pieces floating in my tank.

Question #1: My peppered corys have gotten much darker after I moved them from a tank with light substrate to a tank with black sand on the bottom. I'm guessing it is to help them blend in with their environment. Is this normal or is something else going on? Question #2: Will my peppered corys eat scuds? I have been working on a colony of scuds, but am not sure if the peppered corys mouths are big enough to eat the large scuds I have. My yoyo loaches loved scuds, but I rehomed the yoyo loaches because I wanted them in a bigger group. Without the yoyo loaches, I'm not sure I have fish that will eat enough scuds to make keeping a colony make sense. I currently have 1 male plakat betta, neon tetras, kuhli loaches, peppered corys and some female flagfish.

I have found the instructions for reverse respiration for plants. I have plants sitting in seltzer in the dark right now. Yippy !! I haven't found instruction for non-plant items, like hardscape or substrate or HOBs and other equipment. Are the instructions different for non-plants? I LOVE this method !!!!!!!!!!!! ❤️❤️ !!!

@Aiden Carter or @JessLynne7 do you have any questions at this point? I only gave you info you could find on the web.

LFS wrote back. They are closing Dec 23. 8-(

@Colu and @Zenzo I moved one of the females to my 55 gallon tank. I will move the other tomorrow, I could not catch her tonight. I'm hoping that will reduce the bio load and the lack of females might slow the males down a bit.

@Zenzo and @Colu It turns out 4 of my 6 female flagfish are males. They are getting aggressive and will be trying to hurt each until I can get them rehomed. I wrote an email to the LFS tonight and hope they get to a new home very soon. I'm going to go rearrange the tank to erase their current territory lines.

https://goliadfarms.com/shop/gammarus-scuds/ does have scuds under live food. I missed it when I looked the first time. https://goliadfarms.com/shop/gammarus-scuds/

Here is what I found. Dan's fish room has starter scuds for $10 plus shipping. I'm not sure how the shipping is calculated, but it looked expensive. You might consider catching your own scuds if you have a flowing stream nearby. I can tell you about how I catch them. I found several scud videos on youtube.com Dan has s good video on scuds: Sonny's fish room has one that is more scientific: Several people mention Goliad Farms. He has a few videos about scuds and how he sells them I don't see them on his website right now. You maybe able to call and find out the prices and shipping. at about 25 minutes he shows you how he bags the

I will look at the web site and see if I can tell.

@Zenzo the maracyn box says no water changes for 5 days of dosing. Would 2 gallon changes each day be OK? it is a ten gallon tank.