[Shrimp pond yields]

Is anyone feeding their shrimp directly, or just letting them scavenge and eat bacteria and algae?

Also, do they get more colorful with age? My oldest ones all look painted.

[DIY driftwood]

I think that it's fine if it has been dry for so long. I think the only way to get into trouble with drift wood is if you pull it from a body of water and drop it in your tank. To be clear, this is my experience and logic, not fact. 

If you have enough sun this late in the year then you could get it wet, then wrap it in black plastic and put it out in the sun. It wouldn't boil of course but it might pasturize it. 

[Hello from the Smoky Mountains]

15 hours ago, Ben Ellison said:

Hey @C Savidge I'm near Gatlinburg:) welcome to the forums 

Oh cool, I'm in cosby

[300 gallon hillstream community]

That's an impressive amount of snails. Do the darters eat them?

[Hello from the Smoky Mountains]

Taylor Blake, I really like that tank. Do you collect all your natives yourself? Is there a cheat sheet for what species are legal to harvest? 

 

Daniel, I would like to look at that paper. I know the continental glaciers stopped north of here which allowed for uninterrupted development of life. Also no glaciers means no lakes, which means more extensive river systems for fast water specialists. 

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[Hello from the Smoky Mountains]

Thanks Taylor, I dont have any natives at the moment but I would like to try setting up a bio-tope tank next to one of the cold mountain creeks, and pipe water through it from the creek. I like all those little mountain fish like sculpin and darters. 

[When will I need to introduce new genetics into my colony]

I have 6 adult Apistograma Cacatuoides in a 125 gallon tank. 3 of the females have youngsters in the tank.

1. Since the adults were sold as trios can I assume they are not siblings?

1. Is there a rule of thumb for how often I need to introduce new stock for the sake of keeping my genetics diverse and hardy?

Thanks

[Hello from the Smoky Mountains]

Hey everybody,

I'm joining to learn more about things like colony breeding, growing fish in greenhouses, and keeping native species. My main tank is a 125g with apistos, platies, and cherry shrimp. I'm looking forward to the conversations.

C