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Quick update.  After the initial setbacks the pupfish have settled in nicely.  They are chasing each other and generally harassing one and other constantly.  Two of the males have set up territories and are defending them with the vigor of guard dogs.  They chase each other so much they make mbuna look chill.  I love it!  They are lively.

One thing I could never have predicted in advance is that they have nearly cleared out the native algae I brought in.  Sure it wasn't doing well, but their grazing on it, in preference to anything except amphipods, is quite striking.  They love algae so much, they have already gone through about half of the green beard algae I put in there too!  One of the pieces of Brazilian pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) that was smothered in the stuff when I got it, has been picked clean and is growing quite nicely now, thank you.  The thing is, I like this algae.  I might have to save it from them to keep it in my systems. 

The down side of this, is it is becoming rapidly clear that these fish might not be right for an "algae ecosystem" in the home aquarium.  They are just too good at eating algae!  We'll see how it goes, but I might have to rename the tank they are in and pick up this thread once I have a suitable setup for my algae dreams.  I'm going to pull some GBA tomorrow to preserve it, and I suspect I'll know in about a week if this is going to become a val, moss, and lettuce tank.  The algae ecosystem idea is fun, and I want to explore that.  But for now these very rare fish take priority. 

More in a week or so.

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On 10/19/2021 at 6:27 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Quick update.  After the initial setbacks the pupfish have settled in nicely.  They are chasing each other and generally harassing one and other constantly.  Two of the males have set up territories and are defending them with the vigor of guard dogs.  They chase each other so much they make mbuna look chill.  I love it!  They are lively.

One thing I could never have predicted in advance is that they have nearly cleared out the native algae I brought in.  Sure it wasn't doing well, but their grazing on it, in preference to anything except amphipods, is quite striking.  They love algae so much, they have already gone through about half of the green beard algae I put in there too!  One of the pieces of Brazilian pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) that was smothered in the stuff when I got it, has been picked clean and is growing quite nicely now, thank you.  The thing is, I like this algae.  I might have to save it from them to keep it in my systems. 

The down side of this, is it is becoming rapidly clear that these fish might not be right for an "algae ecosystem" in the home aquarium.  They are just too good at eating algae!  We'll see how it goes, but I might have to rename the tank they are in and pick up this thread once I have a suitable setup for my algae dreams.  I'm going to pull some GBA tomorrow to preserve it, and I suspect I'll know in about a week if this is going to become a val, moss, and lettuce tank.  The algae ecosystem idea is fun, and I want to explore that.  But for now these very rare fish take priority. 

More in a week or so.

Easy. Another tank! 🤪

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On 10/19/2021 at 10:02 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

its fascinating when nature has something to teach us despite our priorities

Truer words have never been spoken!  The funny thing is, if you look back at the videos I linked, I thought I was looking to nature as a guide.  The natural systems these fish are found in are coated in algae.  I guess that might take poorer water quality and being under the desert sun.  Things I didn't think about.  🤣  Oh well, the fish are awesome!  I suspect I'll migrate the conversation off this thread next week and hold this one until I can try a round two in another tank with other fish. 

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On 10/20/2021 at 8:58 PM, eatyourpeas said:

Do you have a sense of when breeding season is for the pupfish?

Probably summer, but that's a guess.  The males are vigorously defending territories right now.  I've got two and a half in the 75. 

Some sad news. Yesterday I discovered one of the females had dies in a little cave.  Down to 8.  She had no signs of disease.  Indeed she may have been the one that arrived in the popped bag and I was so proud of "recovering".  I'm headed out of town for 4 days so my decision not to medicate might be a risk.  Here's hoping to was stress.  All the others are eating and quite vigorous.  Feisty even.  Nothing looks off, and the dead one didn't look like it died of anything obvious.  I'm a little concerned there just isn't enough cover for them to hide from the persistent aggression of the dominant males.  I have plans to work on this. 

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On 10/21/2021 at 8:52 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Probably summer, but that's a guess.  The males are vigorously defending territories right now.  I've got two and a half in the 75. 

Some sad news. Yesterday I discovered one of the females had dies in a little cave.  Down to 8.  She had no signs of disease.  Indeed she may have been the one that arrived in the popped bag and I was so proud of "recovering".  I'm headed out of town for 4 days so my decision not to medicate might be a risk.  Here's hoping to was stress.  All the others are eating and quite vigorous.  Feisty even.  Nothing looks off, and the dead one didn't look like it died of anything obvious.  I'm a little concerned there just isn't enough cover for them to hide from the persistent aggression of the dominant males.  I have plans to work on this. 

Always hard to lose a fish, but it sounds like you have plans to minimize risk and that’s all you can do.

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On 10/20/2021 at 3:16 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Truer words have never been spoken!  The funny thing is, if you look back at the videos I linked, I thought I was looking to nature as a guide.  The natural systems these fish are found in are coated in algae.  I guess that might take poorer water quality and being under the desert sun.  Things I didn't think about.  🤣  Oh well, the fish are awesome!  I suspect I'll migrate the conversation off this thread next week and hold this one until I can try a round two in another tank with other fish. 

I have been mulling this over....

 

Are you referring to the area in Zacatecas, Mexico?

In the 90's it was free-flowing water from deep springs, and very mineral rich. I can't remember when the dam was built, I'm pretty sure it was after NAFTA. The dam is why there is so much algae now... and is probably also responsible for the loss of wildlife in the area... especially aquatic life.

I really wish we hadn't had the housefire, I had 30 rolls of film that were developed from that area, alone.

Let's just say that there was enough of a difference, I didn't recognize it in your video. It's maybe 2 hours south of Hidalgo, and has seen a lot of blood shed from 2005 to now. A lot of Indigenous people have disappeared.  [If that's the area you are referring to]

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On 10/21/2021 at 2:12 PM, Torrey said:

Zacatecas, Mexico?

Nope.  They are from Nuevo León.

Quick update.  After my travels this weekend, all are still alive.  Took a bit to count them.  I kept getting 7 rather than 8 at first and was quite worried.  But they slowed down enough to eat I could get an accurate count for about 30 seconds, and there are still indeed 8 fish.  😅

I've also decided not to give up on the algae ecosystem.  I mean, if they live top pick at algae so much, I should be cultivating it, right?!  One wouldn't stop growing grass because the cows were eating it!  The new plan, after a bit of distance from the situation, is to dump some large pieces of driftood in there.  I am hoping this does two things.  1: that it provides vidual screening to reduce aggression.  2: that the GBA will grow over the surfaces of the wood and be a fun place for them to graze

Off to find places to get good driftwood.  Suggestions welcome.  😁

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On 10/24/2021 at 10:28 PM, eatyourpeas said:

No idea as to where to get wood on your side of the world. Online sources tend to be expensive. MAS?

I could hike out to some of the LFS (most tend to be a bit of a drive for me), but my goal at this point is to try to use some of the wood I had in what is now my p-salt tank.  The concern here is that it had the BBA on it that I don't want.  I left one large piece out to dry and freeze while I was out of town over the weekend.  I hope that killed all of the snails and BBA on it.  But, I am going to scrub it down using a steel brush and H2O2 this morning.  Just to overdo it.  😁  With that nice GBA hanging on in the tank, I really, really do not want to introduce the BBA.  I'd never get a pure strain of the GBA again, I fear. 

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On 10/25/2021 at 5:49 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

But, I am going to scrub it down using a steel brush and H2O2 this morning. 

FWIW, I have been using H2O2 in a stronger concentration (12%) to clean the filter socks. I do not like the idea of introducing chlorine in case I forget to run them through a dechlorinator. The stuff is amazing!

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On 10/25/2021 at 10:16 AM, eatyourpeas said:

The stuff is amazing!

I'm a big believer in H2O2.  My socks just go through the wash though.  We use low P detergent to help protect the lakes and rivers around here.  Hasn't hurt the tank any either.

I went out to clean the driftwood piece I was planning on using.  It was a chilly experience as it's only in the single digits C here right now.  Also filthy.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the spots the BBA had been growing, but it turns out that was not going to be a problem:

1821431904_AlgaeEcosystpurpleBBA.JPG.e52d648583873bc98153bef0ede084ba.JPG

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On 10/25/2021 at 9:45 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the spots the BBA had been growing, but it turns out that was not going to be a problem

Indeed! I see little aliens running out of the wood as fast as their little extremities can go! 👽 And that is a beautiful grape flavor medicine purple! 😝

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Well, I did clean off the piece of driftwood with a steel brush and peroxide.  It was messy!  But I ended up chickening out and going to an LFS to buy some driftwood. 

After buying a quantity of driftwood that can best be described as an amount that will result in a "conversation" with a non-fishkeeping spouse, I boiled it up.  That made the house smell...  Rustic.  Yup, that's what I am going with.  Further endearing this new effort to my wife. 

With the wood I used (yes, I bought rather more than this), here is the result in the tank:

1568680174_AlgaeEcosystdriftnew.JPG.c2c6dcb882ac0aa873d9deefc87d022c.JPG

Immediately, the males began jostling to determine the new territories.  Yes the blurs are the fish!  I seem to have 3 solid territories in there.  Encouragingly, the females hid under and behind the driftwood while to dominant males displayed and harassed each other.  Success?  I hope so! 

I also decided to spring for some Chara macroalgae, after my failure to find it in habitat here.  It should be coming tomorrow.  I'm hoping that replaces the guppy grass (which is doing terribly) over time as fry cover.  However, I also got the Ziss Egg Tumbler and Ziss Premium Breeder Box (both from the Coop so I think it's okay to mention them here) today as well, in hopes of ensuring I am successful in my breeding attempts.  These are my long-term project.  I don't want this simply amazing species going extinct. 

With the Chara will be coming some aquatic isopods.  I'm hoping to use them as a clean up crew and supplemental live food in my tanks.  All my tanks already have amphipods for that, but isopods will be nice too.  Plus, today's trip to the LFS had me thinking about *gasp* doing a planted tank.  Maybe.  Maybe.  But if I do, I think amphipods and isopods will be useful in there. 

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On 10/25/2021 at 6:59 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

But if I do, I think amphipods and isopods will be useful in there. 

Ahh, keep in mind that they love to eat plants, so make sure you have extra!

The tank is looking great! It looks like the fish are settling nicely in their new home.

On 10/25/2021 at 6:59 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Plus, today's trip to the LFS had me thinking about *gasp* doing a planted tank.

Welcome to the dark green side! We happily await your arrival! 🤪

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Whelp.  So the Chara arrived today.  There are not a lot of FW macro-algae species, and I was excited to get this one, especially as it does well in hard water.  I knew it would have an aroma, as it is often described as smelling "garlicky".  However, I was unprepared for what arrived.  There was definitely a distinct aroma, which I could smell through all of the packaging.  When I opened up the box it hit me.  I had expected garlic like aroma, which to me evokes thoughts of warm garlic bread. 😋 That is not what I encountered.  The smell emanating from this box reminded me of nothing so much as that smell when you walk into your fish room and immediately think "something is very wrong here!"  The nearest I can describe the smell would be that of a poorly maintained seafood counter if someone had just cleaned the floor with a strong ammonia cleaner.  Upon opening the plastic bag with the algae in it, I gagged, even still unprepared for the strength of the aroma. 🤢 I quickly dumped the contents into a plant QT in hopes the water would quash the rising tide of putrid smell.  It did help, although my entire fish room now smells of death, rot, and chemical.  I am no longer left wondering why this algae is not used more in aquaria.  In summary, I'm not sure I'll be using this particular algae in this tank.  😛 

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On 10/24/2021 at 7:11 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

I should be cultivating it, right?!  One wouldn't stop growing grass because the cows were eating it!  The new plan, after a bit of distance from the situation, is to dump some large pieces of driftood in there.  I am hoping this does two things.  1: that it provides vidual screening to reduce aggression.  2: that the GBA will grow over the surfaces of the wood and be a fun place for them to graze

Maybe, like my container "gardens" covered with craft canvas to prevent the turtle from decimating plants, you can rotate wood in and out of the tank so the "spare" grows algae while the other log is being grazed on.

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Against all odds, I finally got a half decent (for me) shot of one of the male pups that sort of shows their awesome color.  They are actual bluer than this, but it's iridescent or somehow variable, and I only got a shot of a bit of his blue.  The black  edging on his tail and anal fin show up nicely.  The black edging on the tail serves to make it look like a puppy wagging its tail when he is stationary.  Anyhow, I just wanted to share the photo.

2075765941_AlgaeEcosystprettypup1.JPG.1bbfa6efdaa6f10a4c752910c604ad04.JPG

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On 10/25/2021 at 8:06 PM, Guppysnail said:

I hope these fish thrive and become a stable colony for you. After reading all your journaling I am shocked that you are considering a walk on the green side 🤣. Seriously though, great job helping this species. 

🎼 Dootdadootdadootdoot a💜

🎼 Dootdadootdadootdoot a💜

🎼Dootdadootdadootdoot a, take a walk on the wild side💜

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It is aquarium crafts night here!  I have made my first spawning mops.  It seems the pupfish ladies are warming to the relentless advances of the boys.  I've heard that mops can help because these are egg scatterers.  Here are the very first two I've ever made:

2137293399_AlgaeEcosystfirstmops.JPG.6cf30a50dbd5809ae660161f306ccbb3.JPG

The longer one, on the left, is the floating mop that will dangle the yarn down into the water column, and the shorter one, on the right, is a sinking mop that will hold the yarn up into the water column.  Or at least that's the idea.  The floater is just attached to a new, wine cork and the sinker attached to a rock.  I'm hoping the acrylic yarn will end up being relatively neutrally buoyant. 

I left the air in the sinker, and it looks great right now!  Not sure what will happen once the air all comes out.  Excuse the glare in the photo. 

270115531_AlgaeEcosystsinkmopnew.JPG.f7fc141dc8b03368345036c82754b31b.JPG

For the floater I squeezed out the air as much as possible, but the yarn is still floating quite a bit.  I know some people like floating mops that reach the bottom, and perhaps it was a mistake that I didn't do that.  We'll just have to see.  Again some annoying glare.  The blue flash at the bottom is one of the pups photo bombing my shot.  😛 

2053834918_AlgaeEcosystfloatmopnew.JPG.e29b8c7cbef2ac820e71b796853b0fdf.JPG

Why both mops?  I don't know which they will prefer.  If I find that they lay on both, I might go with more sinkers as I think they are less annoying and don't shade the algae growth.  But this way, they get to decide. 

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