Isaac M Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 @xXInkedPhoenixX @Guppysnail thank you both so much! I just got back from the LFS and it went much better than expected, they bought my little sandwich bag of 9 plants for $5 each plant for a total of $45. Not bad at all for my first selling something aquarium related haha I am so happy to hear that your corydoras are loving the flow as well! Its so funny to me how something as simple as water flow can make them so active and playful haha 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 On 11/9/2021 at 3:49 PM, Isaac M said: Its so funny to me how something as simple as water flow can make them so active and playful haha Yes. I went with everything I found on the internet that they did not like flow 🤪. If not for your post I would have never known. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 On 11/9/2021 at 12:49 PM, Isaac M said: they bought my little sandwich bag of 9 plants for $5 each plant for a total of $45. Not bad at all for my first selling something aquarium related haha Wow, that’s a great payout! Those must have been some prime plants! 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 @Guppysnail I always figured they liked flow because if you have ever had one of those bubble wands for an airstone with corys, they love playing in those as well. They will swim up and down within those bubbles all day haha I have had a cory lay eggs on the outflow of a canister filter before 😂 @Patrick_G they had a lot of trouble figuring out how much they would give me given that crypt purpurea is really not sold grown submerged online anywhere. It is a rare plant that is more commonly sold as a tissue culture nowadays. I had no idea how much they would give me but I am happy with that payout given that it cost me about $45 initially to buy my tissue culture colony haha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorydorasEthan Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 On 11/7/2021 at 10:23 PM, Isaac M said: @Torrey the antics are hilarious, I noticed that my corydoras have become much more active once I increased the flow in my aquarium with the aquarium co-op powerhead. To add to the fun, I have added another corydoras species to my now 40 Gallon Breeder Corydoras Riparium haha I have added corydoras eques to the group and they fit right in: Given how grown in my crypts have become, I contacted a LFS about potentially selling them some of my crypts from this aquarium but they said that the plants they get wholesale are cleaner than the ones they usually get from customers. I talked them into letting me send them some photos of the aquarium to see if they are willing to accept my plants, wish me luck everyone! That Corydoras + plants aquarium looks phenomenal! I wish I could pull something off like this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 @CorydorasEthan thank you very much! I do not see why you could not, some cheap floodlights, organic soil and pool filter sand, corydoras and lots of crypts. That is pretty much it haha I would say your 29 gallon is just as phenomenal! I plan to update the aquariums soon but here is a mini update: Baby Sterbai corys have been doing great in the 40 gallon. They have been eating along side the adults and have developed their patterns. Corydoras Eques have been doing well and have been eating very well! I love their color. And here is a little video of the feeding of the sea star in the 40 reef: 5 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Your sea star is voracious! I would have to count my fingers after tank maintenance 🤣. The colors on your eques are beautiful ❤️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 @Guppysnail 😂 this is why I wear long gloves for the reef tank 😂 there are way too many ocean critters in there that I have no idea of plus palytoxins for me to be playing around in there, sometimes I see things move in the rocks or mountains of sand pop up out of nowhere and I have zero idea what made them 😂 plus, the clownfish sleeps in the top corner of the aquarium which makes me think he knows better than to be near the rocks so I stay away too 😂 makes for an interesting aquarium though haha Yes the eques are beautiful, I could only imagine how incredible they would look outside under natural sunlight! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 That’s a lot of drama it sounds so fun. I love so much about saltwater critters I just have no interest in learning to run a salt tank. I live vicariously through folks on here. Yeah I think I would heed the clown fishes advice 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Nice updates! Have you ever been stung by a bristleworm? I had numb fingers for at least a week! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) The Sterbais look great. If I ever set up a higher temperature tank I’d love to get a bunch of them. Edited January 9, 2022 by Patrick_G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 @Guppysnail yeah there is definitely reality tv show level drama in that aquarium. Learning to run a saltwater tank is not very different than a planted aquarium, at least the easier to keep corals haha @Streetwise Oh wow that is crazy! Haha I did remove a fire worm from the live rock in this aquarium but fortunately have never been hurt by anything in my aquariums. I will not lie though, when I had my first reef tank when I was young, I had no idea what I was doing and would not wear gloves or any protective gear. My live rock at that time was teeming with life as well, many many bristleworms and other hitchhikers. I was just lucky I guess haha @Patrick_G thank you, they do great for me and I do not run any heaters in my aquariums. The aquarium is currently running at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and no problems with any of my aquariums. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Update on the 40 Breeder: Still doing well, plants have grown wild and out of control. I will be doing some trimming of the plants of all my aquariums soon. Fish and shrimp are all still doing well. I even find some cory eggs every now and then. These seem kind of small though compared to the sterbai eggs I am used to so I wonder if they are pygmy cory eggs? Either way, this is still my favorite and most easy aquarium to care for. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Update on the 55 Gallon: This aquarium is still doing well also. The rainbow shiners are starting to develop some color and have gotten way larger. The red lizard whiptail cats have fattened up and still look interesting as ever. The riparium planters I purchased with suction cups are starting to fall and slide down so I will likely be replacing them with my own diy planters. The peace lillies have grown in very well though. Update on the 10 Gallon: 10 Gallon is slowly maturing. It gets a bit of algae growth due to the light of the reef tank next to it but that was expected. I also added 3 male guppies to the aquarium. I will attempt to get some close ups next week. Update on the 5 Gallon: The tree needs a good trimming as the moss spreads everywhere. Some changes have been made to the aquarium, mainly, the addition of Pumpkin the pea puffer. My girlfriend loved these little guys at the LFS so I bought one and surprised her with him on her favorite holiday, Halloween. Hence the name and aquarium decor, pumpkin haha he is a shy little guy and I struggle to get him to eat but he is doing better now. I am honestly surprised though that he does not eat his shrimp tankmates haha 4 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 On 1/9/2022 at 12:41 PM, Isaac M said: thank you, they do great for me and I do not run any heaters in my aquariums. The aquarium is currently running at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and no problems with any of my aquariums. Yes, I’d also love to have some in my average temp tank, but if I did set up a higher temp tank for Discus or whatever they’d be top of my list for bottom fish. 😀. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Corydoras Eques They are eating Xtreme Sinking Wafers. What I love about this food over other wafers I have tried before is that they retain their shape for a long time. They do not fall apart within a few hours, I see it as repashy without needing to use a microwave or a container. The shrimp and corydoras in this aquarium can be found at all times of the day eating which is exactly what I wanted. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 Here are the same sinking wafers from the little video I posted yesterday: They are still holding their shape and have yet to turn to mush. Even better, you can see the big ol belly on the pygmy cory. There are nice full bellies all around. With corydoras I find that nice full bellies typically lead to them spawning. My tanks are not heated so they are on the colder side (69-70 degrees during the day) but even then I still find cory eggs if I look close enough. Another little video of the cory eques just because I love the way they look 😂 Here is one of the mutt guppies from my 10 gallon, the picture does not do him justice as I had trouble with the focus. His color looks very muted in the picture unfortunately but here he is! 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 Alright so I think I figured out who has been laying the eggs in the 40 gallon corydoras aquarium, the pygmy corys! Be warned however, I was able to capture some proof that is rated R: If you look closely at the video, you can see she is carrying an egg. I took a screenshot of another video I have showing the egg: This was one of my goals when first purchasing the pygmy corydoras, to get them to spawn so I am very happy I was able to achieve my goal. The cool thing is that I have multiple pairs spawning. Here is an egg that was laid by a different pair: I guess those sinking wafers really do work 😂 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Looking awesome. Congrats on the spawning. You have me thinking. I had the extreme wafers and I “thought” no one not even shrimp and snails were eating them. Now I’m thinking they were eating them but because they do not disintegrate I thought they were not. I’m definitely going to give them another go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 @Guppysnail thank you! I have only been feeding the sinking wafers as of recently (maybe a month) so I was able to get the pygmy corys to spawn pretty much only using that food. The shrimp I have in there have been eating that as well. It usually takes them 2 days minimum to consume the wafers though, all the corys and shrimp will graze on it throughout the day as they like. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Just caught up with your journal, @Isaac M! Your tanks are looking great! I agree with you on the SW drama boxes: we do not need to add to them by risking our lives or body parts in there! 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 @eatyourpeas thank you! And yes, as you know, there is enough drama in saltwater tanks to rival soap operas! and I am not trying to get wrapped up in it haha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 Quick update on 55 Gallon & Rainbow Shiners: The pothos growing on top of the aquarium got too crazy and blocked out all the light so I trimmed it back heavily and gave away a bucketful of all the trimmings. So now we can actually see into the aquarium haha We also are having some peace lillies starting to flower: The best development however is that my rainbow shiners are finally starting to develop their color and boy are they living up to their name: Update on the 40 Gallon Reef: I will be very transparent here, I have not posted much in general and especially about this tank because I have been having so much trouble with the health of this aquarium. Especially with the corals. It has been a big struggle these past 7 months and it has taken a toll on my enjoyment of the hobby. I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. I have kept reef tanks before and I do not ever remember it being this hard, especially for only a soft coral/ zoanthid reef. However, I think we have an answer now. I am using Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt and recently they have put out a statement saying that their salt from a plant in Turkey is being recalled. My salt was from that plant and part of my salt has now been replaced by the company with the rest coming at a later date. Anyways, I will say that I feel much more optimistic now and my enjoyment is coming back. I am currently doing daily water changes to get most of that salt out and replaced. Hopefully the aquarium and its inhabitants begin to respond to this change and can regain their health. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Ooh those shiners are so lovely. I’m sorry you are having issues with the salt. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the new salt brings you back to loving the tanks life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 So disheartening to have something you really want to work- not work. I really hope you found the solution! It's such a relief sometimes to find whatever it was that's wrong was NOT in how YOU were doing it. It sucks though that it has to do with a box full of living things. 😞 Hope things turn around quickly!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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