Beardedbillygoat’s Fish & Shrimp Tank Journal

[Guppysnail]

I’m sorry for the bad time with guppies. That is so sad. You said a generous helping of bbs. I have previously when first trying bbs put too much bbs in guppy fry tank. It was scary. They ate until they floated at the top gasping for air with frighteningly distended bellies. I did a water change to rid the tank of bbs as soon as I seen what was happening. I have heard stories of guppies eating themselves to death but how true they are I do not know. I now feed tiny amounts at a time until I see roundness in tummies then add no more. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Guppysnailthat may have been what happened- it was a half tablespoon for 12 guppy fry. Who knows right? It’s happened and now I need to figure out how to move on. Thanks for the advice and support, it means a lot. You know more than most how attached we get to them. 

[Patrick_G]

Wow, you’re having a string of bad luck, but the new project sounds fun. Hang in there! 

[Vanish]

On 10/25/2021 at 9:46 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

half tablespoon for 12 guppy

I feed 3 tanks with 1/4 teaspoon of eggs.

[Atitagain]

Sorry to hear about your bad run. It is these times where we learn the most tho (if we choose too) to help us long term to have much success and even more enjoyment.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Atitagainsure looks that way with the info I’ve received from @Guppysnailand @Vanishi was my own worst enemy in terms of feeding live foods. 

[Hobbit]

I’ve killed fry before by over feeding infusoria. It’s a terrible feeling. We all make mistakes, and that’s how we learn.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Hobbitit actually helps that it’s explained vs unexplained so I can move on. If I didn’t know it would have been harder I think.

[Torrey]

On 10/26/2021 at 1:06 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Hobbitit actually helps that it’s explained vs unexplained so I can move on. If I didn’t know it would have been harder I think.

I'm the same way. 

I need to know why, so I can know what not to do again. 

I'm really, really sorry for your losses.

I have to ask you about your adorable frogs! What temperatures do they need?

I've been considering frogs for a cool water tank, and I am starting to think that it's not an option...

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@TorreyI have them at tropical temps 75. Doing very well a bright spot lately. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I spent the weekend cleaning tanks and getting some breeding setups up and running. 

In the frog tank I decided to put a feeding dish in to create a spot for them to come back to. They’ve also got a floating log to use as well as lots of floating plants.

The Sad Bowl and the tower tank maintenance led to me getting some good trimmings. 

I don’t know why but in the end I think the switch to an old Aquaneat light on my sons tank has led to some better behaviors in the fish. Perhaps they needed some old lighting but my two pairs are sitting on eggs/fry. I’m not about to go looking. Hopefully they’ll get them to the point where we can see the fry out and about.

The breeding setups are coming along. I have some sphagnum moss, all the trimmings from my tanks, Java moss, etc in the aquaponics trays with some glass stones/marbles. I’m planning on getting the fish out of the main display tomorrow during a water change then doing a cold water change three nights later after I’ve fed live foods for a couple days. 

Onward and upward hopefully! Have fun everyone and be safe! 

[Atitagain]

All your tanks/ bowl are looking great. Im so intrigued by the sad bowl, I feel like I could look into for hours just wanna pick it up and look through it at all angles. The color on them red platys pops are they Mickey Mouse platy? That’s what I have and my reds don’t seem that vibrant. 
Are the frogs always under water? Their looking great. The breeding project seems to be moving along well, can’t wait to see how the trays work out. What type of leaves are those ?

Great post, really like the way you update always showing the good, bad, and the ugly (and the beautiful)

[OnlyGenusCaps]

I'd not been following this thread, largely because I keep very different tanks and species.  But as @Atitagain pointed out, this is a wonderful journal, showing both the trials and victories of the hobby.  That is something that is missing from image searches, and videos on the web.  Something that people don't understand and ends up frustrating them to the point they leave the hobby.  It's fantastic to see it all here, including the persistence.  Well done @Beardedbillygoat1975!  Now that I know better, I'll be more keenly observing this thread in the future.  Thanks for showing the road to success, potholes, detours, and all. 

[Patrick_G]

Your  frogs are looking happy. We use a little feeding fish too. They’re such sloppy eaters and it really helps contain the mess. 
Have you decided what fish you’re going to breed? 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Atitagainthanks for the kind words. The platys are fireball or coral Teacup platys, they get a deep rust orange/red in the males, females are more bright orange. They look like little blood oranges 🍊 when they swim around pregnant which they are all the time.  The frogs are fully aquatic. They’ll perch near the surface at times but for the most part they just hang somewhere and when they’re needing air they push off and swim for the surface. Yes the sad bowl is mesmerizing. I’ve really really enjoyed this success it’s much sweeter after all the pains of the prior iterations.

@OnlyGenusCapsthanks for the kind words. We are all hobbyists and I learn things all the time from YT videos on brackish and salt setups and from posts like yours. Plus I want to set those kinds of tanks up in the future. The journey is the key for me. If I can glean or learn one thing then that’s enough. I can’t agree more on the things that lead to frustration leading to decision points and sometimes you feel helpless and you give up. We see that in real life why shouldn’t we see that in hobbyist land as well? So much of the internet is contrived so it’s not a surprise you know?

@Patrick_Gi have fed them some vibra bites and they’ve been pretty happy. As you said super clumsy. It takes them awhile to eat everything. I like the vibra bites as they don’t cloud water and stay pretty well together.
 

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Well when you have negative things happen you hope things swing the other way. I’m up late as is my habit and I shined a faint light along the substrate and low and behold there’s a very tiny little fella. So. Freaking. Cool. 

Daddy is a longfin black and grey ancistrus momma is either a calico or brown. Can’t wait to see more of these! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

 

[Odd Duck]

On 11/3/2021 at 2:26 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

 

Very cool!

[Atitagain]

Congrats, love the music watch that show everyday with the grandkids (yes it’s my favorite)

[Guppysnail]

Congratulations on your babies. They are adorable and your long fin adult is stunning. Your success with the Sad Bowl was incredibly hard won. I’m glad your are enjoying it. You make me want frogs so much. As always your tank look amazing. 

[Odd Duck]

We need to have a renaming contest for the sad bowl since it’s no longer sad!

Here are my entries (until I can come up with something better):

Bowl of Joy

Lace Bowl

Mystery Bowl

Perseverence 

Globe of Happiness

Joy Globe

Happy Globe

Lace Globe

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Odd DuckIt will be hard for me to rename it. But I welcome ideas I suppose. @Atitagainand @Guppysnailthe Frogs are a joy and the plecos I've collected over the last year plus now producing offspring! I’m over the moon. Veggies - cucumbers, squash, zucchini make all the difference with some black worms thrown in for good measure was my secret. 

[Guppysnail]

The tranquil bowl. It is so very peaceful now. Oh I missed the list perseverance definitely fits!

Edited November 3, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Patrick_G]

It’s the  Super Awesome Dad (or Doctor) bowl! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I’ve done the deed - grabbed some green neons and some black phantoms and put them in my two breeding setups. Fed them half a cube of brine shrimp and they’ve already been ducking into the plants and moss.

Since I was getting my stock from the main display I decided to do a good trim but I’ve left the mulm as I figure I’ll need that plus some veggies to feed the baby plecos.