Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Super bummed bc the 10 gallon had high nitrites today so it’s still not cycled, so I picked up some different stuff at the LFS than I planned on. Instead of the fish, I grabbed some seachem Stability and some more filter media. I also set up a CoOp sponge to cycle for the 20 long (hence the size lol). In the biggest news of the day, I got a brine shrimp hatchery! I’m going with the San Francisco Bay kit and am gonna follow the video from @Irene, and I’m using the same bottles that @Dean’s Fishroomwas using when he was interviewed by @JimmyGimbala while back (1 liter Essentia brand water bottles). I’m using the Fritz A+ salt because that’s what I have on hand, if anyone has any experience with that salt or advice, lmk. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 Big news: I got new fish! I picked up 6 celestial pearl danios at my LFS on Monday, and they’re settling into their QT tank well. I hatched out live baby brine today (quite a bit too much oops 😅) and also fed frozen daphnia (which they get in the store). They’ll be getting a water change later today, and I may start a preventative deworming treatment, but I’m not sure if I will, since they seem to have round bellies and are eating well. I was gonna get some pseudomugil gertrudaes that they had but they had sold and been replaced with clown killis who got Ich. I’ll be keeping my eye out for more gertrudaes tho. Does anyone know if you can breed signifiers in freshwater? I’ve heard they’re brackish or fresh but I’m not sure about fry. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 6 hours ago, Steph’s Fish and Plants said: Big news: I got new fish! I picked up 6 celestial pearl danios at my LFS on Monday, and they’re settling into their QT tank well. I hatched out live baby brine today (quite a bit too much oops 😅) and also fed frozen daphnia (which they get in the store). They’ll be getting a water change later today, and I may start a preventative deworming treatment, but I’m not sure if I will, since they seem to have round bellies and are eating well. I was gonna get some pseudomugil gertrudaes that they had but they had sold and been replaced with clown killis who got Ich. I’ll be keeping my eye out for more gertrudaes tho. Does anyone know if you can breed signifiers in freshwater? I’ve heard they’re brackish or fresh but I’m not sure about fry. They're adorable! I was wondering what the younger ones might look like, as I have juvenile danio erythromicron (dwarf emerald rasboras) which I've heard can interbred with CPDs and shouldn't be kept together. Mine have been in q for almost 2 weeks and have been very shy, but today one gave me a little swim show. ❤ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 29 minutes ago, Maggie said: They're adorable! I was wondering what the younger ones might look like, as I have juvenile danio erythromicron (dwarf emerald rasboras) which I've heard can interbred with CPDs and shouldn't be kept together. Mine have been in q for almost 2 weeks and have been very shy, but today one gave me a little swim show. ❤ So mine won’t slow down enough for me to get a good photo, but my smaller ones look very similar to the adult male just not as much color, but they have the same pattern and body shape. I’m not sure how old mine are, but there seems to be a dominant adult male and 3 subadult or submissive males, and 2 females. I actually noticed the males chasing the 2 females for the majority of the day today after I fed live baby brine this morning, which is how I found out that they’re males and not young females 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 In other news, I’ve now planted (sorta) the 20 long and started it cycling. I took some trimmings of the water sprite I got from the CoOp a while back and had in Drogo’s 5.5 tank. I also moved a small piece of Vesuvius and I took a trimming from my African Bolbitis (also from the CoOp, and also from Drogo’s tank) and added a piece of dragon stone and a pleco ceramic. I did water changes on everything and switched out the carbon cartridge for a piece of sponge in the HOB in the 20. I dosed some beneficial bacteria in the 20 and I moved the caves from the 5.5 to the 10 and added a shrimp brick since I added some amanos when I got the CPDs. Finally, enjoy a picture of Drogo flaring at my laptop during class 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 Update time! A lot has happened and I forgot to update here. So I for sure have 4 male and 2 female CPDs, so this week I separated out a trio in the 10 gallon and moved my extra males to the 20long, which I cycled out. Today I added a bunch more plants, including crypt parva, crypt undulata, and a mystery red/purple crypt that we got in at my LFS Preuss Pets today. I also got some rotala and planted that in my Groot, which was inspired by one of @JimmyGimbal old tanks. I moved the Crinum from the 10 gallon as well a few days ago. I’m hoping to get some breeding action in the 10 gallon so I took the light off (using it on a crested gecko tank to grow plants) and I have a ton of water sprite floating in the top. The 5 gallon with Drogo is doing well. I’m thinking of doing a cobalt blue goby in the 20 and then maybe getting peacock gudgeons, kribensis, or a pair of apistos I’m not really sure yet (suggestions are welcome 😁) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Dyer Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 I have been thinking about getting CPDs and trying to breed up a colony as well. Very interested to hear your results and learn how it goes! Good luck and lovely tanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share Posted December 12, 2020 Wow a lot has happened since I updated this last. I had all the celestial pearl danios in the 20 for a while, but moved them back to the 10 a week and a half ago after noticing fry. I’m now raising upwards of 20 CPD fry in the 20 long with my blue stiphodon goby Emilia. I’m waiting on an order from the CoOp to separate them into a breeder box and move the parents back since I’m gonna be gone for a few weeks for Christmas. I’ve also fully planted the 10 gallon and am using it a bit as an experiment tank comparing the seachem line of fertilizers to the CoOp easy line (which is my 20 long). Here are current pictures. The 20 is looking a little cloudy because I have the HOB off since the flow is too powerful for the fry. Drogo the betta and the 10 gallon look good tho. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 Well, it’s been a while soo Update time. I went to my parents house for a few weeks for the holidays and lost pretty much all the CPD fry. Ive found one but I’m not hopeful on it making it. In other news, I tore down the 5.5 betta tank and moved Drogo the betta to a new 10 gallon palace so I can setup my first ever saltwater tank. I also got 7 habrosus corydoras today that were just moved up from my store’s breeding room 😁 I’ll ad some updated full tank shots tomorrow when the lights are on 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Here are those updated full tank shots I was talking about 😉 pictured first is my 20 long, current stocking is 6 celestial pearl danios, a blue stiphodon goby, and 7 habrosus corydoras. The second picture is my 10 gallon with my betta Drogo and an Amano shrimp. My first ever saltwater build is coming tomorrow 😁 I won’t post in depth about it on here unless ppl ask for it but I’ll include some photos occasionally in case ppl are interested. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Wow I didn’t realize I hadn’t updated this thread in a while, and a Lot has happened. The 20 long now has 2 apistogramma hongsloi for breeding as well as 3 juvenile super red bristlenose for breeding. the 10 gallon has Drogo the betta and the 5 gallon was torn down. The saltwater tank has been up for almost a month now and is doing well, got a few hermits, a snail, and some macro algae. Ok so about the super reds, I’m certain I’ve got 2 males, but my third I’m not sure if it is male or female. I was looking at @Randy albino female and she has some bristles on the side of the head it seems, just like mine. They’re still juveniles but I’m hoping that the unsure one is big enough to sex. He or she is roughly the same size as the other two and they have well developed bristles on the side and the top of the head, whereas the one I’m unsure of only has them on the sides. If anyone could weigh in here with their opinion it would be greatly appreciated, thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Is that a mantis shrimp figurine butt I see? :3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi_Aquatics Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Super cool thread to watch! Keep up the good work with documenting everything! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 1 hour ago, H.K.Luterman said: Is that a mantis shrimp figurine butt I see? :3 Yes it is 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I'd be interested in hearing about your saltwater tank. I have kept SW tanks before, still have a 20 gallon with live rock and a pair of clownfish right now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gestaltgal Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 This took me on a JOURNEY. Thanks for updating. I want to see how the super reds do! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 8 hours ago, Andy's Fish Den said: I'd be interested in hearing about your saltwater tank. I have kept SW tanks before, still have a 20 gallon with live rock and a pair of clownfish right now. I have a 13.5 gallon fluval evo. I’m going to be getting a mantis shrimp for it soon hopefully 🤞🏻 I actually just put my first ever corals in yesterday 😁 just some zoas but I’m excited. So far no major issues have popped up so that’s good. Today marks the one monthiversary so that’s exciting. I’ve got a macroalgae in there as well that’s doing alright, a snail, and two hermits. for my freshwater tanks, everything is looking good. I picked up two berried orange rilli shrimp from my LFS yesterday so that’s exciting. My first time having shrimp in almost 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 6 hours ago, Gestaltgal said: This took me on a JOURNEY. Thanks for updating. I want to see how the super reds do! That’s the hope 😅 at the very least I can look back and watch my hobby progress, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Super reds are doing well. The female sometimes hangs out with one of the males but they’re barely using the cages so far. Hoping to get some new caves soon but I gotta wait till my next paycheck 😅 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 I was wondering if you were going to have a mantis shrimp with the mantis figurine you showed. I've always liked them and thought of setting a tank up for one, but never did. You can't go wrong with zoas, there are so many colors and color combinations in them, you could have a rainbow of colors in your tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 On 2/5/2021 at 10:20 AM, Andy's Fish Den said: I was wondering if you were going to have a mantis shrimp with the mantis figurine you showed. I've always liked them and thought of setting a tank up for one, but never did. You can't go wrong with zoas, there are so many colors and color combinations in them, you could have a rainbow of colors in your tank. I am actually. I’m currently on the hunt for a purple spot mantis (gonodactylus smithii) but I may end up getting a neogonodactylus wennerae since they’re easier to find. My LFS has a peacock right now but they’re much too big for my setup unfortunately. I do want one someday tho. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 It’s been a while, so let’s do some updates! Plecos are doing well, I’m still hopeful the ones a female and have yet to be proven wrong. Unfortunately, I may be wrong about the sex of the apistos. They might both be males 😒 so I’ve separated them and am watching for male dominance colors on the original female. However, I have a betta in the tank I moved it to and the betta has very minimally been chasing, so the colors haven’t changed. I’m not sure if the colors not changing is from being female, being chased, or just not having had enough time to change, it’s been about a week since I moved it. If it does go male my friend wants him so at least he already has a new home. In sadder news, I think I lost the blue goby, I haven’t seen her in at least 3 weeks. I might’ve accidentally gotten rid of her when trimming plants that she liked to hang out on? That’s my best guess because I’ve yet to see a body and I’ve moved everything around. I’m gonna get some more when the ones at my LFS are available (they just came in yesterday so they’re under a 1 week observation period.) Speaking of gobies, we also got in some Desert gobies that I’m thinking of getting as well along with some ember tetras for the 10 gallon with the betta. Today I added 4 gertrudae rainbows and an Amano shrimp to handle an algae issue in my 20long. Hopefully the male apisto doesn’t eat the shrimp 😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 Here are the photo updates 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Some nice jungle tanks going on here! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 Just now, OceanTruth said: Some nice jungle tanks going on here! Yeah there are 😂 just how I like em 😁. I do need to trim back the water sprite in the 10 gallon tho it’s getting a wee bit crazy 😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Are you "freshwater convert" from reef2reef? if so I just read your build/question thread for your mantis shrimp tank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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