Alison
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Posts posted by Alison
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On 10/14/2021 at 7:39 AM, Jawjagrrl said:
They are hilarious little fish. One purposely swims up and down over this cave until the betta sees him and comes over... taunting him. Then he just lays across the top, daring the betta to do something.
6 cats, 4 dogs, 9 chickens and now 2 bettas, 10 rasboras, 3 nerites, 5 kuhlis, 13 shrimp and countless bladder snails PLUS the market garden is a lot. But it beats "riding a desk" or dealing with academia politics any day. 😄
eh yeah I work in a credit union so I feel ya and yeah I much prefer spending time wtih my animals and garden but the job isn't terrible and the company is actually really good. One of the best I've worked for. And it pays for my hobbies. But still I'd rather sit all day and stare at my tanks and pet cats and fuss with plants.
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I absolutely adore that photo! I just have three cats and fish. I'd probably have a small farm if I could. I absolutely adore animals. Then again the three meow's I already have are pretty high maintenance on their own.
I literally can't with how adorable that photo is.
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On 10/12/2021 at 10:49 AM, Jawjagrrl said:
I think they are very likely candidates. 😄 I actually have two 55s and a special stand I got a friend to build so they can be placed side by side - so you end up with an insane long expanse of fish! The room that will house them can't support a deeper tank like a 75/90/125, etc., so it will be really nice built out even if it means I forgo discus or oscars, etc. We're on a farm and I want to identify the perfect tree stump we can age out then cut in half/quarters with the idea of placing bookend pieces in each tank where they meet, creating the illusion of one really long tank, probably an amazon style. We can then use one half for largish feature fish like a a geophagus tapajo or similar and appropriate tankmates and still have the other side for smaller things like schools of neons, etc. I did enjoy my africans, but I really want to embrace aquascaping and live plants more this time. I've got a 2.5 and two 5 gal nanos running now with live plants and 2/3 are looking great while the 3rd is really fighting me - melting plants, now what I think is staghorn algae run amok 😜 Good classroom before we do this on a much larger scale. It also gives me more time to get my hubby hooked! I saw him feed the betta next to his recliner a treat last night and he actually got distracted from TV by things the kuhli loaches were doing, so I think the table is set...
That sounds like a smart and amazingly awesome idea. I've never considered putting two tanks side by side like that to create a continuous scape. You know... if you have the space how awesome would three tanks be with the larger feature fish in the middle and two tanks on either side of schooling fish.
Not that I needed any more ideas. And just for fun, enjoy my boy trying to stare down one of my kuli loaches.
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@Jeff I have on occasion! I used to go more often when I was attending MSU. Now just due to time constraints I mostly hit up places around town. It's been a good while since I made the trip down there. I should go and see whats up before the snow flies.
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Hello and welcome back! I have personally found the eco complete to be an all around easy substrate for planted tanks. I am currently using it in both of my tanks. My 30 is mostly eco complete with a sand area as well. I'd say just shove in as many plants as you can. Anubias and buce are super easy and can be attached to anything. I've had a lot of really good luck with rotalla, hygrophila and aponogetans such as madagascar lace. Crypts are also very easy and forgiving for the most part. I'm forever adding and subtracting from my tanks depending on what works well and what I find that I like. It makes it a fun and ever evolving project.
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On 10/9/2021 at 12:54 PM, DannyBWell said:
I'm interested in how others plan their next tank. Do you draw it? Do you do a "dry run" in a spare tank? Are you like myself and do no planning and throw the tank together?
I have a strange method. In general I probably have an idea what I want to keep in the tank, at least partly. Then I acquire a tank of the appropriate size. My next step is I look at a lot of tank inspirations and videos online to get an idea of what I want to do or try to do. Generally I will have one or two rough ideas in my head of what I might like. Then I start hitting up the fish stores looking for the right hardscape. What I can find will dictate what design I more or less go with. Even so, the concept evolves as I work on it.
At this point in the process much swearing and alcohol is involved. Once I am satisfied with the overall results of the substrate and hardscape I will make sure I have all the hardware (filtration, lights, heaters) and hit the fish stores or online stores for plants. As many plants as I can find and afford. So many plants. Then I'll plant my tank and fill.
This entire process can take awhile. Even though there is some frustration involved in bringing my vision to life and finding what I need to do it, the end results have indeed been well worth it.-
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Welcome to the hobby! It's so much fun and rewarding. Also, I love your cat.
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Hello and welcome back from Grand Rapids, MI!
On 9/28/2021 at 7:53 PM, Jeff said:Welcome! I grew up in Troy. My home is here in GR now.
This place is the best forum I've ever been on.Hello, Neighbor. Tell me you've been to Water Colors because atm that is my favorite place to go.
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Welcome! I don't have a fluval flex but I really kind of want one after seeing so many pictures of them. I tend to favor planted nano tanks more or less. At this point monster fish aren't in the plan (or budget) but that may change at some point.
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Hello and welcome back! I am also a Michigander. I am in the Grand Rapids area. If you live this way or are ever in the area, you have to stop by water colors aquarium gallery.
I never had a tank blow out when I was keeping fish before, but I also only had small tanks. This time around I went all acrylic myself because I'm that person that is the walking definition of murphy's law. I only have two small tanks (15 and 30g) but so far all has been well. No cracking or leaking. -
Welcome and yea, it's normal to feel the withdrawal when you haven't been to the fist store in awhile. I found myself making a list of stuff I need to look for this weekend when I stop by after work.
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Welcome back! If I had something as large as a 55 I'd look into congo tetras most likely myself. That is one of my someday dream. I've been massively in love with the blue eyed rainbowfish as well. I know I say this in almost every post but they are wonderful little guys that I feel like are really underrated in the hobby. Most people go for either tetras or the larger rainbowfish. I spent most of today watching my males spar and try to impress the females. They are gorgeous on their own but when they are flaring and displaying they are just absolutely stunning.
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I don't know if you've done much looking into blue eyed rainbowfish, but right now they are probably my favorite smaller fish. I'd add pencilfish in there as well. Very adorable and underrated fish but are absolutely mesmerizing when they spar.
Definitely look into some live plants. Even if all you do is go for some easy stuff like anubias and buce, it really changes the look of the tank and for sure helps maintain a healthier ecosystem for our swimming friends.
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Hello! My recommendation for a first tank would be a fun community tank with tetras or rasboras and some shrimp. Honestly, I never was that into shrimp but now that I have them, I realize they are the stars of the tanks. I'd go for something a little more unusual like neon green tetras. Or if you want something really fun, get a community tank of blue eyed rainbows. I have a tank of pseudomugil luminatus and I love them so much. There are many different varieties of the blue eyed, so I'm sure there would be one that appeals to you!
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Welcome back to the hobby! I got back into it rather recently myself and really it was one of the best things I've done for myself. Maybe not for my wallet, but for myself, definitely.
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Some pictures of the tank and corys. I know everything isn't looking pristine atm but the fish and shrimp are happy and healthy.
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On 10/6/2021 at 1:05 PM, amr427 said:
How is your experiment going with the eco-complete and sand? I was thinking about topping some of my eco-complete with sand to have "soft islands" for the corys I want to get.
Its been going really well! My corys are doing great and they spend as much time on the eco complete as on the sand. All of them are perfectly healthy and show no signs of damage with the exception of one which was that way at purchase. I'll have to take some pictures and share them.
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Hi! I love your tank! It's looking really good. I love the look of the tannins.
And I feel you on the guppies. My first tank had mollies and guppies. There were always babies. Always.
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Living room is the direction I am leaning on. Depending on what you use for a stand maybe you can put child locks on the doors so they can't get into the food and such on their own. If there are concerns about it being broken by a stray toy, you can look into acrylic rather than glass. Sometimes you can get monster deals on marketplace if you keep an eye out. I just got a 30g acrylic and stand for $150.
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Hmm if I set a 10 up I would either do something similar to yours. A planted tank with a betta and some small nano fish or a planted tank with a killifish pair to see if I could breed them.
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Everyone else really answered everything else quite well but as to the apistos, wouldn't it be cool to set up like a 20 and get a pair and see if you can breed them? I've tossed that idea around in my head a bit.
Depending on your filtration I am not sure I would try to add one to that tank. I don't know how much of a bioload the loaches will eventually add but they do get to a decent size. Generally I see the recommended tank size for those as a 20 minimum and the same generally goes for apistos.
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Hi and welcome! The tank is looking really good so far. Also don't feel bad. My boy ends up in the tank now and then. No cat tree needed he is just a heck of a jumper. You'd think he would learn after the first time nooooo he has to go for a second. Luckily that tank isn't actually stocked as of yet
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1 hour ago, Dawn T said:
That's part of the reason I've included at least one "predatory" fish in my communities that included livebearers. A pretty blue gourami will hunt down livebearer fry and help control the population. They won't eat all of them, if the tank is well-planted, but they at least prevent population explosions. Bettas are fabulous fry hunters, too.
I wish I had known all that when I was younger. Ahh well. Just means I can set up a new tank with live bearers and a gourami just to see how good at fry eating they are. All in the name of research.. right ? Lol
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Thank you for sharing your experiences with us! Some of those steps sounded very familiar to me lol. It's a journey for all of us. I haven't made it to any breeding intentional or otherwise yet, but who knows what the future holds. I also have been deliberately avoiding live bearers so I don't end up over run by fry. I did that in one of my first tanks. Who know mollies could have THAT many babies.
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Aquarist relapse, MTS in Georgia
in Introductions & Greetings
Posted
Yikes! That sounds more like my last job than current. Some days are a bit rough dealing with sticky situations but at least I have loads of windows. Not that there's much light to let in this time of the year in Michigan, so I still take vitamins.