Beardedbillygoat’s Fish & Shrimp Tank Journal

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

The Sad Bowl is maturing nicely. Water cleared up after all the planting yesterday. Happy to see my ramshorn snails doing the good work. My plant guy thinks that the mystery crypt is a wendtii green gecko variant. Gorgeous!

I have a new inhabitant in my 45 g display. No name yet but he’s a beautiful long fin BN pleco. He was courting all the ladies and jousting with the other male an albino blue eyed longfin. 
 

I have also become obsessed with my diamond tetras, they’ve been playing in the flow of the filters the last 2 days and you just feel like that would be me if I was a fish. 

And no look at the 45 would be complete without Spikey Feathers 🪶 my boys favorite fish. I’ve really come to enjoy festivums, they are smart, inquisitive and fairly benevolent tank bosses in comparison to my 3 spot opaline gourami whose a real b$t&h.

[Hobbit]

Aww Spiky Feathers! What a great fish name 😄 

I have to say, I wouldn’t be able to keep a lace plant—I have trypophobia (which I realize is not a true phobia, but anyway) so the holey leaves creep me out. But it does add a really unique texture! It’s a constant challenge to find plants with varying colors, leaf sizes, textures, etc. 

And I’m thrilled that the snail’s doing well in the Sad Bowl! That’s a great sign!!!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Hobbit yep lots of positive vibes in the sad bowl. That green gecko variant crypt is really something hoping it settles in nicely. As for the the lace plant it’s really kind of alien looking I think for me that’s what’s appealing so different from all the other aquarium plants. My wife has put the brakes on further fish purchases for awhile so it’s going to be Blue Hawaiian Moscow guppies and I have the pandas 🐼 coming but I think I’d need soften the substrate for them as this setup has a lot of lava rock in addition to the aquasoil.

[Patrick_G]

The Diamonds are really cool fish. I’ve been intrigued by them for a few months now. 
Also it’s hard to picture the size of the not so sad bowl. What’s the diameter on it? 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Patrick_Git stands about 15”, openings about 8-9” and at it widest it’s about 15”, best estimate is a total volume of 11 g. 

@Patrick_Gin a bigger setup 3 ‘ or greater and 2’ high they really have been using all of the tank. They school and shoal and when the light reflects right you get a gorgeous iridescence. Highly recommended no nipping that I’ve seen some conspecific aggression but no torn fins. They do really well with the phantoms and the red eyes. 

[Patrick_G]

Wow, that’s bigger than I thought. Was it from a fish store? 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Patrick_Gnope got it from Bezosibob. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Hello Nerms! I wish I’d been on vacation as before when I was absent for 2 weeks but alas I was working in COVID hell - I live in Central Oregon and unfortunately we are in the midst of the worst weeks of the pandemic we’ve had since April/May 2020. As a cardiology NP it was hard as there was as often very little for us to do but wait and pray for an opportunity to do our work. Enough of life stuff I’m here for the fish and fellowship! 
I got my hands wet tonight after the family went to bed. A long day out in the wilds of Central Oregon at the Polka Dot Mine outside Madras, OR whipped my boys and wife so by 8 pm the house was quiet and I was working. I’m starting with the aquariums in my downstairs- my 45 g community display, my 30 g blue Hawaiian guppy tub, my 10 g plant grow out, and my 3 qt tanks - 2 are occupied with a trio of albino kribs and 15 panda corys, the other is home to snails and mulm. 
It’s just so meditative to work through trimming , cleaning and filling the tanks. Observing the 45 g display they were not happy with the spray bar from the Eheim 2217. Here’s the before: 

The only ones enjoying more flow were the plecos. Here’s the after changing the flow - pointed the jets straight down. 

I’m way overstocked but it’s just so mesmerizing and meditative to see this giant school of tetras - green neons, a couple von rios, black phantoms, red eyes and diamonds just flowing around when the flow and environment are right. 
Tomorrow will be a big day. I’m redoing my Flex 15 and stocking The Sad Bowl. The Flex has actually looked pretty good I’d say quite natural and I’d thought I’d created the proper environment for the goldenback Neocaridina but they’ve dwindled. Not sure why. I’m going to take the remaining shrimp and put them in the sad bowl with my male blue Hawaiian guppies. I’m contemplating a group of CPDs as well in there. 

The limnophila mini has not taken off but all the other plants which to be honest are super easy plants are doing great - couple anubias nana species, Madagascar lace, green gecko and spiralis crypts. I may wait a bit longer I. The limnophila but I’m contemplating mircosword or chainsword in its place if it keeps this up.

 
I have baby fireball teacups platys in the 15 g tower. It’s a busy tank with the fireballs constantly courting and the ricefish going here and there. I’m really enjoying the tank. I’m contemplating my final stocking and I’m thinking kuhli loaches maybe 5 would be a lot of fun. I’d see them cruising up and down at night which would be a lot of fun since it’s right next to my bed. Might have to get a blue light just for that. 
I have a whole bunch more maintenance and work to be done so hopefully I’ll update tomorrow. Take care and be safe my fellow fish fam! 

[Hobbit]

Looking good, as always! Glad you’re on break. It’s rough out there.

[Patrick_G]

Your tanks are looking really nice. It’s cool to see someone experienced making a column tank work. Those Fireball Platties are the bomb! (Haha)

hang in there at work! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Hobbityep definitely a weird world we’re living in when there are protesters outside your work, people yelling at staff and all sorts of other drama in addition to the actual work. I’m really happy with the progress on the new setups. @Patrick_Gthe tower is interesting all throughout the build out I asked myself how do we build layers and height and I’ve managed that to some degree. What I’m excited about is the fish are using all the scape. 
Speaking of the tower I got some pics of the babies and the inhabitants after water change. 

The sad bowl has its first inhabitants- the surviving goldenback shrimps. They seem to be enjoying all the biofilm and algae I’ve manage to build up over the last month. It’s nice to see new leaves, algae growth, and some real progress. Unfortunately the limnophila has bit the dust. I’m going to look for a pot of parva, microsword, or chainsword at my LFS when I go drop off guppies and shrimp. 
The Flex was my big project today. I had loads on my honey do list so I tried to make my way through the list and prepped my substrate and hard scape last night. I’m happy with the scape - used a combo of stratum, crushed coral, flourite sand and eco-complete. There’s a layer of lava rock on top of laterite. I used pieces of local blue polka dot agate and obsidian and some smaller pieces of manzanita twigs and small cholla wood. 

I have been contemplating my stocking and knew I had a fish purchase to do. I have been prepping my wife as she always wants to know what’s coming hobbywise. I’d originally planned to get some pea puffers, kuhli loaches and cpds. The catch is as puffers are a long term project they can live for years and well there’s a chance on our family is making a big move in the next 2 years. So this changed my calculus. 
My LFS likes my livebearers - I’ve produced a lot of Endlers (Japan blues, black bars) and the blue Hawaiians, red cherry shrimp and loads of plants - the owner mentioned she’s struggled getting good solid colored guppies. She asked if I could start breeding some for her store. So I said I’d see what I could do. I’d remembered Cory talking about guppy train so I looked them up and placed an order for half black purples and full red albinos. So those should come in this week. The purples will go in the flex (they’re fry) as a growout and the 2 trios of full reds will go in a 30 G sterilite in the garage with some aragonite sand and a ton of guppy grass. I’ll probably throw some blue shrimplets in both setups along with ramshorns. 

[Hobbit]

Yay, shrimp in the sad bowl! I hope they are happy there. 😊

The scape in the flex looks great!

So how come your local stones are so cool?? All I’ve got is yellow blobby sandstone:

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

It’s was a 1 hour plus drive to get there but it was pretty cool to dig out and egg and open it to find incredible stones. We are lucky to have this in Central Oregon. 

[Patrick_G]

Nice update! Platy fry are the cutest. I love that they are pretty much born as little mini adults. 
 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Totally little copies. That reddish Orange of the 🔥 balls is awesome to see . Makes it easy to find the babies! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Tuesday was more maintenance and moving day for some fish.

My two boys tanks - shell-molly village and bikini bottom got a trim and some new inhabitants for bikini bottom.

Kribs have always been a fave and my son identified females as his favorite so I chucked a couple in his tank. They’re doing great. 

Ive been super excited about my redo on the Flex15

but woke to this: 

Nasty crack. So disappointing. With our plan for the future coming together I’m not going to invest in another aquarium. The guppies will have to go in 2 totes/bins and in my 10 g plant tank - separating the two trios of full reds. I’m debating on what to do with the 15 halfblack purple juveniles - maybe I’ll just put them in the half filled flex to start. Then move them to a tote when they’re bigger. I may put them through meds before they go in the 10 g just so I don’t have to bomb the plants. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Received my GT guppies - full red albinos and half black purples and wow the reds are on 🔥! 

This is after a few days of travel. Can’t wait for them to be properly fed and a couple water changes. I think the colors will really pop. I love how colorful the females are. 
The HB purples were a fry pack so they’re tiny but I can already see some males with the half blacK pattern. Can’t wait to get them fat and happy! Brine shrimp Hatcher will be set up just need to get an order in on Amazon as ACO is out as of yesterday. I’ll check again before I put my order in. 
Just little squiggly guppy fry but oh how cute are they! 
The Cracked Flex had a nitrite spike most likely due to having to move media around to keep it under the water. I’ve always wanted to do dwarf African frogs maybe nows the time?

The Sad Bowl - each day I see new growth and positive changes. Scared it won’t last as this is out 4th planting and rescape but I’m savoring it’s beauty. We now have some guppies in there - juvenile blue Hawaiians so they’re used to our water and they took a couple days to acclimate but they’re looking great. The oldest female golden bow I had died but it was really 50/50 if that transition was going to work. Her brothers and sisters x 3 are still in there. 

[Patrick_G]

African Dwarf Frogs are a lot of fun . They’re my wife main aquatic interest. I’m stoked that she’s considering doing a 20 long species only tank for a group of six. 

[Odd Duck]

@Beardedbillygoat1975
What is this plant (red)?  And is this part of it, too (blue)?

[Chris]

Sorry if it was mentioned somewhere in the thread and I just missed it, but where'd you get that tower tank from? It'd make an awesome little reef tank.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Patrick_Gi could see where it could be a family endeavor so that’s encouraging that Mrs Patrick_G is into the dwarf frogs!

@Odd DuckIts Christmas or Taiwan moss. There’s a crypt wendtii next to it. It was already on the wood and liked the spot and has just absolutely taken off! 

 @Chrisits an Aqueon 15 g tower tank. available at the big box stores. Comes as a kit with the light and a filter. 

[Odd Duck]

On 10/1/2021 at 10:17 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Its Christmas or Taiwan moss. There’s a crypt wendtii next to it. It was already on the wood and liked the spot and has just absolutely taken off!

That doesn’t look like my Christmas moss.  It looks more substantial than mine.  Especially the parts I circled in red.  The blue area does look more like mine, that’s why I wasn’t sure exactly what the red area was.  Very interesting how different it looks.  The red area almost looks like a very long, thin, tiny, branching leaf.  Maybe it’s just how the light is hitting it.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Odd Ducki find with mosses that they attract other mosses and algae like a magnet so there is a good chance some other mosses I have -Java, fissidens, or a straggler from the LFS or my plant guy can definitely happen. This one resembles closely the Taiwan 🇹🇼 moss I got from LRB a few years back but who knows what it’s morphed into. I like it and to have jt show up naturally like this in a tank is pretty awesome.

[Odd Duck]

On 10/2/2021 at 10:34 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Odd Ducki find with mosses that they attract other mosses and algae like a magnet so there is a good chance some other mosses I have -Java, fissidens, or a straggler from the LFS or my plant guy can definitely happen. This one resembles closely the Taiwan 🇹🇼 moss I got from LRB a few years back but who knows what it’s morphed into. I like it and to have jt show up naturally like this in a tank is pretty awesome.

I think that might be Taiwan moss - Taxiphyllum alternans ‘Taiwan’.  It doesn’t look quite like Christmas moss - Vesicularia montagnei.  It is very similar, but appears it has its little “leaflets” closer together and flatter.  Probably making it look more like the “long, skinny leaf” part in your picture.  Christmas moss also tends to have its “branches” closer together more reliably, apparently - similar to the area circled in blue.  You might have a little of both or it could be either.

Google is my friend, just have to cross check a LOT!  😆 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Thanks for the help with id @Odd Duck!