[Staurogyne repens: Contemplating its Fate...]

Awesome. Funny fact, I just bought a potted S. Repens from co-op yesterday. 🤣

Plan on adding any photos of this adventure of yours? 🙂

[Platy color genetics and the development of melanistic tumors]

This is great information. I assume that the same would apply to swordtails? Very neat. I breed swordtails and I'm planning to cross my black line to a red wag. Maybe I should rethink this. The wag has black fins. I will inspect him more closely for any black on his body. I just doubt that the gene is inclusive of fin color since that's a controlled area of pigmentation.

[Breeding Sakura Orange Neocaridina Shrimp]

On 1/24/2022 at 6:30 AM, tolstoy21 said:

I'd definitely check the GH/KH (I think GH being the more important of the two) and also maybe try feeding something with a ton of calcium in it.

I feed mineral junkie, but you can also use things like TUMS or an egg shell that's be crushed to fine powder with a mortal and pestle. Certain veggies also have decent amounts of calcium in them.

I haven't fed them any kale since the babies hatched. Maybe that's the culprit. I will start adding mineral junkie when it arrives. I also wonder if the presence of the babies has impacted how quickly the GH is used since they're all molting frequently I assume. I mean they're growing which means they're molting.

[Breeding Sakura Orange Neocaridina Shrimp]

I had a string of failed molts. Not sure why. The water parameters were good. But I didn't bust out the GH and KH kits. I did a water change today. Shrimplets seem okay. I lost a female that was berried. I collected her eggs and made a diy egg tumbler. Time will tell if everyone survives the water change. I let it run for 3 hours. There are so many shrimplets.... Way more then 40. The eggs are probably toast but I have no way of telling so I'll just tumble them.

I only have one mature female left though, which makes me sad.

[Has anyone used this thing and seen a difference?]

Yeah. I have noticed a rise in nitrite the last change I did. Guess I should yank them out. So strange. I expected at least some benefit. Lame.

[Retiring a guppy trio]

On 1/22/2022 at 2:41 PM, PineSong said:

including the grocery store,

Wait, wait, wait. Grocery store fish?! Care to elaborate? 🙂

 

That's a shame about the strain. I've had "line" guppies that I even asked if they breed true, been told they do, then found out that they do not. Because of that event I don't trust anyone local without seeing their setup in person. At least for live-bearers.

[Retiring a guppy trio]

that trio that you're having deformities with, are those Ginga Sulphureus as well? I could imagine a strain like that being difficult.

I'm sorry that you had a group with issues. It's no fun.

[My first fish tank in 18 years]

Also, Welcome back to the hobby! 😄 Your aquarium is amazing and you should be proud to have taken on the challenge of CRS right out of the gate. Bold! 😛 🙂

[My first fish tank in 18 years]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:43 PM, Mathfish said:

Thank you, huge shout out to aquarium coop they helped me pick out the plants. I have a 10 gallon, it started as a shrimp only but I am in love with otos, they are so fun to watch. Once these guys settle in and I have a feeding schedule figured out I might add in a few more. Do you have any recommends for slightly acidic soft water fish?

For fish recommendations, that size tank would do well with a school of Chili Rasboras ( Boraras brigitte). There are several other micro rasboras that would do well in there and be visually interesting and serve you well in keeping micro-flora at bay. The Boraras merah, Boraras maculatus, or Boraras urophthalmoides. That is, if you're wanting to have a decent chance for shrimplet survival. Those fish all thrive in low pH. They all do well in schools of 5-infinity. They are best in schools of 6+. They are short burst schoolers so they don't require large aquariums and only get to be around 1" long at max.

[The frustration of "on sale" fish.]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:56 PM, lefty o said:

have no fear, through life you will find things go on sale after you have already bought them, or just have no money. rarely when you have money, and are looking for something specific will it go on sale.

Yup. I know what I'm willing to pay. So whatever. It's just frustrating. Honestly now that I'm thinking about it, it's not always a good idea to buy fish while they're on sale because the retailer could be sourcing them from a cheaper wholesaler that could have sub-par quality/health. This may not be the case with good online retailers but it is most definitely the case with the big box stores and even pet shops/fish stores.

[The frustration of "on sale" fish.]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:02 PM, PineSong said:

Wow, I had not seen Phoenix rasboras before--they look like the best of both worlds--the color of a red chili endler but with schooling power.

Your guppy fry are so light in color--what do the adults look like?

These are very light in color compared to her last batch. Shiva is the Red Dragon Dumbo Mosaic female I've had since April. She's now my oldest female, sadly. Shiva has been without male contact since late November. This was her third brood from storage.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. I'm not sure that held broods are from the most recent contacts with males, or if they're stored from contacts before that. I know a female can have held stores, and then mate with a new male (or several) and produce fry readily from that most recent exposure and not use stores held from previous encounters. So, in short, I have no idea who sired this brood. Goby is light colored. He's a Lyretail. But, honestly, it's all a crapshoot. The only other males of mine she had contact with was a Red Dumbo Ear Mosaic, Red Tuxedo, and Goby the Lyretail.

[The frustration of "on sale" fish.]

I really want Phoenix Rasboras for my shrimp tank. Boraras Merah. Pygmy corydoras as well. They just sold out of the Pygmy yesterday and are almost sold out of the Rasboras again. I've been waiting for them from this vendor for 4 months. Flip has 'em... but no sale like this one so I at least know that another reputable vendor has them from time to time. I've been on the waitlist for Chili and/or Phoenix Rasboras at my LFS for 5 months now. They put an order in for them every two weeks, but every time their wholesaler has canceled those line items on the order.

 

On 1/22/2022 at 5:26 PM, PineSong said:

Yes, allow us to live vicariously through you, even if you can't get the fish! What kind of fish is it?

I'm on a No New Fish Until Spring plan, and TBH I'll need to rehome about forty guppies if I want any new fish even then, so vicarious fish cravings will be fun.

The guppy problem is real. Shiva blessed me with roughly 80 more today. 

[Minanoras adventures in fishkeeping]

Shiva finally decided to drop fry this morning. I leave her in the breeder for 36 hours afterwards because she does tend to drop twice.  But look at how cute they are! ❤️

OH and, well, the squad 1-2 females... apparently I didn't separate them soon enough, or not all of them soon enough.... I saw tiny fry in the grow-out tank today. So, if I net any of them with the shipment I'm taking to the LFS this week, they're just bonus fry for them. Unexpected. I really wasn't expecting babies from those... They're only 14 weeks old. Such is life.

[The frustration of "on sale" fish.]

It happens. I just wanted to express my frustration with retailers having sales of upwards of 30-40% on things and NOT HAVING SPACE to take advantage of the sale! It's cruel and I'm sulking because this is the situation I'm in right now.

ESPECIALLY since the fish I want... is almost always out of stock everywhere, all the time! Ugh.

 

I just needed to vent.

I'm just considering this as the universe helping me learn self control and patience. I hate it... *Sulks*

[What's your dream aquarium product that doesn’t exist?]

On 1/22/2022 at 8:30 AM, Guppysnail said:

Nano if I’m “trying”🤣 for one. Small for netting into specimen container I usually scoop about 10 with that. Medium to mass scoop to go to lfs. I also hang remove 10- 20 % of the water and hang the spec cup inside the tank to keep arm and well I’m incredibly messy 🤪

I feel like when you're trying to catch one in particular, they know.... The one you want gains super speed and teleportation, one group tries to get in the net, another group blocks your view of the fish you're chasing and the remaining block the view of everything, hoping for food.

 

Another invention that would be cool is if the aquarium glass was an interactive touchscreen display. So I could pull up my calendar or spreadsheet and make notes right on the tank.

[What's your dream aquarium product that doesn’t exist?]

On 1/22/2022 at 7:30 AM, Guppysnail said:

I use a specimen container and small shrimp net with my coop net. Coop nets them into the container tiny shrimp net sorts. Also I press the coop net to the tank flat to trap. Those nets are durable and flexible I do not know how I lived without them. 

I'm going to try your method instead of trying to find the right fish in the black net and getting them out.

What size CoOp net are you using? I use the small. I have a shrimp net coming on Tuesday.

[Minanoras adventures in fishkeeping]

My favorite plant in the 75. The Taiwan Lily. Filling in nicely now!

[Fish with red marks.]

They're lovely. Glad you adopted them! A 75 will do them well. 🙂

[Breeding Sakura Orange Neocaridina Shrimp]

THE CHILDREN!

It's like where's waldo, but cute.

Also, I didn't do a water change today because the fruit trees are threatening to go into "bud break" so I had to prune. Still have to prune more.

[Mutt Guppy - Yellow Fry]

How cool! I'd keep those for at least 6 months to see how they color up! FUN!

My cobra babies have black patches and spots at birth. My Half Black Red Rose have a half black body and tail. My Blue Dragons are silver/white at birth.

[Glass Paint?]

I have used window tint before. Can do that indoors and you can peel it off easily when/if you sell the tank.

STORY TIME: When I was just out of high school I had a tank for sale with tint on it, the guy who was going to buy it was being a nugget and wanted a discount "because it's painted on the back". I asked him how long he thought it would take to remove it, he said at least an hour.... Mind you I could have gotten spray paint off in 3 minutes with some gasoline... but I busted out a heat gun and removed the tint in front of him in less than a minute. He didn't buy the tank. But whatever I wasn't going to cave to some 30+ year old man when I was trying to get gas money for my truck so I could go to school. The next weekend a lady bought the tank at full price and even took some of my guppy kids from my main display inside the house.

On 1/21/2022 at 8:34 PM, MoshJosh said:

I think pretty much anything is safe on the outside of the aquarium. . . though I would just wait till the weather warms up and use spray pain (plasti-dip is my go to). 

Plasti-dip is sweet. I've created rubber lids on my coleman coolers with it so people don't slip on them in the boat. It gets torn up fast, but it lasts a season and then I refresh. I use white so the cooler stays colder, too.

[Have you had an odd accidental fish death?]

I'm sad for your loss. It's frustrating as all get out to have a rando death. I had a beautiful guppy, dumbo ear red mosaic, who was doing so great, then just all of a sudden... BOOM Pinecone... 20 hours later he left me. Then, cory swimming like normal, eating, playing... then... BOOM spiraled downward from the top and was dead... I watched it happen... I was beside myself for a moment.

[Planted 75 gal with Co2 Filter Advice.]

You could do a canister filter with a spray bar. I use a Fluval 407 with a spraybar on my 75. I don't use co2 though.

[Has anyone used this thing and seen a difference?]

Okay, so I may not be using this in an environment where I'd notice because I have two in my 20G fry tank.

This "DrTim's "Waste-Away Time Release Gel"

I don't know what bacteria is in it... or even if it is bacteria... I have two small "10G" ones in the 20, one on each side. So far, it's just pooing out bits and making things look, somehow, even messier. Water parameters are the same, been a week. There's still mulm, etc. I've had to change the water just as often as usual.

Anyone use this and see any benefit? or is this just a gimmick product?

I bought it to try to help with the waste and water conditions of the fry tank, so I could maybe change water one day later than I am. So, every 3 days, instead of every other day. So far... no changes.

[How Important Is It ...]

I plant things. Whatever survives and thrives, I buy more of! If it dies in the tank or fails to thrive I make a note of it and don't buy it again until I make a tank with different parameters. Corydoras uproot things that aren't well rooted. They're constantly rummaging for food. I stopped trying to have carpeting "creeping" plants like monte carlo and the sort. Hairgrass and micro-swords hold up okay against them so long as I plant a mature clump and then let them runner off on their own. I've heard of people making a cover for their plants with strawberry baskets so they have time to root, but I'm chicken and afraid a cory would get hurt or stuck trying to go inside.