ShySnail
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Posts posted by ShySnail
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MD's Amazon tank is really great - I love that he added the EBA when he redid it. I had silver tips on my list too, but they weren't in stock when I was ready to order fish. It seems like they were everywhere I looked...until I actually had a place for them. LOL
The two schools of tetra that I settled on are black phantoms and neons. I was really concerned about the neons since they're known to be delicate and I have incredibly hard water with high pH, but they've been doing beautifully. Other inhabitants are: panda cories, a rubber lip pleco, amano shrimp, multiple snails species, and some neocardina that must have teleported from my other setup, because I know I didn't add them. Sneaky little things.
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On 5/12/2022 at 4:00 PM, Jawjagrrl said:
CHAPTER 5: Fish chat and a surprise for Patient Spouse™
Today's update comes to you from in front of the new Patient Spouse™"fun angel tank" because this old 55 now features something it hasn't since 2007: Fish!
After a couple hurdles getting this tank cycled, it was finally ready, happy plants and snails for 3 weeks. Lots of chat with Patient Spouse™ about what might live in this setup despite the earlier jokes about "fun angels". He doesn't know they are here yet, but the first inhabitants arrived from AquaHuna this morning - two days from Seattle to Jawja...not bad! First residents are:
4 Roseline Sharks (we both love these)
5* Siamese Algae Eaters (schooling with the sharks as I had hoped and with luck will work in the little bits of hair algae)
4 Dwarf chain loaches
I already know we will be getting more of these awesome little loaches, which were super active right out of the bag and schooling with everyone. I think they may be Buddhists as their favorite place to hang out so far is around the little temple area in the right corner 🙂 Hopefully as they mature they can keep the bladder snails in check.
Sadly the algae eaters arrived with almost half DOA 😞 but AH was really responsive about it - they cover losses for the first three days, which is really nice. One more is weak, but improving and trying to eat, so fingers crossed. I had gotten 8 with the hopes of moving 6 into the 75s and keeping 2 in this setup to make the roseline school feel larger to them, but we may add a couple more of them anyway. The hunt continues for those fun angels with an auction closing this weekend that will hopefully complete this setup.
But on to the 75s!
I have updates coming on the stand, which is getting close to complete, which means I need to get moving on my wood selections and finally deal with The Stump. But I want to get feedback on what I hope to keep in each one, with the general feel of an Amazon river biotope that features a slower flow, heavily planted left side that appears to open up into more open, faster water as it "moves" around an imagined bend in the stream created by the stump in the center.
PROPOSED LEFT SIDE/TETRA COMMUNITY:
- 20 Rummynose Tetras (my all time favorite tetra!)
- 10 Bloodfin tetras
- 10 x-ray tetras
- 10 silvertip tetras
- 10 green neon tetras (already on hand)
- 10 cardinal/neon tetras
- 6 diamond tetras
- 6-10 "red" tetras - ember, serpae, etc.
- 1-2 siamese algae eaters (on hand)
- calico bristlenose pleco (already on hand - add another for breeding?)
- 6-12 corydoras - gold laser or orange venezuelan
- Pair apistogramma cacautoides "triple red" or "orange flash"
- 6-10 top dweller TBD - eques pencilfish/wrestling halfbeaks/hatchets
PROPOSED RIGHT SIDE/PEACEFUL(ish)CICHLID COMMUNITY:
- ? Geophagus Redhead Tapajos
- ? Angelfish to compliment the mature tapajo coloring, possibly Phillipine blue, platinum, etc.
- 8-10 congo tetras (not SA, but we love them and see as a Columbian tetra alternative for hard water)
- Blue eyed lemon bristlenose or Red Whiptail cat
- Diamond tetras (if they prove too boisterous for the left tank)
- 1-2 siamese algae eaters (on hand)
The right side is trickier as the Geos are my top priority, while my husband loves the angels. But he's getting angels upstairs, so.... how many of each can I pull off in a planted 75 with good line of sight breaks? I'd love to breed the geos - will probably breed the angels in the 55 before these as a priority.
Thoughts on volume, combinations of inhabitants, etc? Our water is moderately hard (200ish?) and roughly neutral at 7.1. I plan for the left side to be much more planted than my concept image, almost jungle style. More wood and less plants on the right side to allow for more big fish swim space and knowing the geos would likely dig them up anyway (epiphytes in order here).
Feedback from NERMS that have kept these species before is very welcome as most will be new for me. Thanks!!
Your fish list looks fantastic! I'm currently in the process of building a similar tetra community in a 40 breeder. One thing that I've noticed with mine is, now that I have 2 of my 3 planned schools of tetras in the tank, adding another species of tetra would make the tank feel too cluttered. So, I'm going to focus on bumping up the numbers in my two current schools instead. I don't think the fish would mind my adding another school at all, but from an aesthetics standpoint, it would drive me crazy in the long run.
All of that to say, make sure you start your stocking with your absolute must haves, in case you end up in a similar predicament. 🙂
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Some shots of the hoop house and the prettiest roses currently in bloom. It has been such a chilly, dreary spring that almost everything is several weeks behind where it was last year. Hopefully things start picking up now!
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My rule of thumb with dormant bulbs has been to give them a squeeze. If they feel firm, with no soft spots or slimy bits, I leave them in the tank and check on them periodically. They usually come back to life - and bigger than ever - within a month or two.
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They look phenomenal moved in to the house - I can't wait to see them scaped and stocked!
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I think it might be a pygmy cory.
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I second what @nabokovfan87 said about providing more cover. While my pandas weren't as shy as your cories, when I added a ton of leaf litter to the tank that is large enough for them to hide under, they were much more willing to be out and about.
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Those are such pretty snails! I can't wait to see them grow up in your tanks.
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I keep Endlers in with my shrimp colony and I've never seen them bother the shrimp at all. In the past 18 months or so, I've gone from 10 shrimp to...I don't even know how many shrimp. Well over 100, at least.
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I have 3:
- A 16 gallon with 13 male endlers, 2 nerite snails, 2 mystery snails, a hoard of yellow neos, and singleton panda cory who will be getting some friends and moving this spring to the 40 breeder.
- A 40 gallon breeder with ramshorn snails, trapdoor snails, a baby rubber lip pleco and a fancy goldfish who spent the winter inside for medical treatment and monitoring. When Gus the goldfish moves back outside, this will become a South American community.
- An outside 100 gallon stock tank aquaponics system with fancy goldfish.
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A Honey Gourami would be lovely in that set up!
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On 2/22/2022 at 10:57 AM, Odd Duck said:
The greenish/turquoise color is apparently from the inner layers of shell as the brown wears away. I’ve also read that some sellers will deliberately sand way layers to expose the color. I can’t imaging that’s the best thing for the snail, but they seem to survive it anyway. Mine arrived brown from Aqua Huna.
That’s really interesting about the shell color! I wasn’t sure what caused it. Both of mine came green from Aqua Huna.
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I've had two of them for a few months now, and I've really enjoyed them. They're very pretty snails, and both of my have some bright blue-green coloration on their shells (similar to patinaed copper). I haven't had them long enough to have any experience with breeding, but here are my thoughts on your other questions:
- I have not found their care to be any different than other snails. They're currently sharing a tank with a big, pushy fantail goldfish, so it has been very challenging to do any supplemental feeding for them, though.
- While beautiful, I do not find them as interesting to watch as my mystery snails. They pretty much just cruise around eating algae. Their behavior is much more similar to ramshorn snails than to mystery snails. Since mine are still pretty young, I'm curious to see if they develop more of a personality as they age or if this is it.
- They do a great job eating algae. Not as good as nerites, maybe, but still quite respectable.
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I keep a group of male Endlers in with my shrimp, along with some nerites and mystery snails. It's a colorful and very active tank. I'm not sure if they ever eat any of the babies, but if they do, it certainly hasn't put a dent in the population.
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I've worked in nursing administration for the past few years and often assist with surveys when accrediting bodies come in. How the survey goes, what you get cited on, how severe the penalties are...almost all of it is highly subjective and almost entirely dependent on that particular surveyor's personality and pet peeves. It is maddening. My favorite surveyor-related rule: we can no longer use tape to hang signs or flyers because of the "infection risk".
I'm sorry this happened to the Cancer Center patients and staff. Thank you for helping them.
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My nails are painted at least 75% of the time, and I’ve never noticed any adverse effects on my tanks. To be honest, I’ve never even given it a second thought.
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I have fantail with the same type of tumor and he has also had the tumor explosion @PineSong describes...with seemingly no ill effect. I took him out of the pond and put him in a hospital tank for a few weeks of salt treatments and he's currently overwintering in a planted 40 breeder. He is incredibly active, swims strongly, and eats well. My plan now is to move him back out to the pond when the weather warms up a bit this spring.
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In addition to the others mentioned, I've had great luck with the smaller pleco species and goldfish in my liquid rock.
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My duckweed is currently being outcompeted by frogbit. The frogbit is easier to thin out than the duckweed when I do tank maintenance, but since it grows just as quickly I'm not sure if I'm really all that much ahead with changing one for the other. 😆
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My water is typically 8.2/300+, and I run medium lights and fertilize with Easy Green and root tabs. I've had great success with crypts of all kinds, dwarf aquarium lily, red tiger lotus, java moss, java fern, anubias, pogostemon stellatus, dwarf sagittaria, brazilian pennywort, hornwort, vallisineria, frogbit, and duckweed. The only things that have really failed for me are water sprite and water wisteria.
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I have a mature fantail goldfish in a moderately planted 40 breeder with two of the medium ACO sponge filters and my nitrates rarely get over 10 in a one week timespan. I'm sure the plants are contributing a lot to this, but I definitely think that sponge filters only are worth a shot. Especially if you're dedicated to water testing and changes as the tank matures.
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I keep my shrimp in with endlers, panda corydoras, and a betta. Bettas and shrimp are definitely a risky mix, but mine has been completely uninterested in eating them. Even with the tiniest babies, he just sort of gently pushes them to the side if they're in his way. I've gone from 10 shrimp to many (so, so many) in about a year and a half.
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I have one that likes to play in the water and another who likes to be involved...in everything.
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Here are my kittens, Oliver and Prim.
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Show Your Garden Pics
in Off Topic General
Posted
@PineSong, thank you! I found out about David Austin roses last year and kind of lost my mind, lol. I'm up to 5 David Austin cultivars plus a two more types from other growers. There is just such a variety of scent and appearance, I can't help myself.