H.K.Luterman Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 Three fish pile up. Gertrude silently judges. I'm starting to really think about a schooling fish for the 75. But I think I want to wait until Dinky's bigger and the bristlenose is in; see how our nitrates are. Also I want to focus on adding more plants. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 It took me forever to find Gertrude lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 7 hours ago, Hobbit said: It took me forever to find Gertrude lol She's good at blending in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 Me: Greg, c'mere, look. Hubby: Ew, gross! Me: Touch it, it's not gross. Hubby: Ew, no. Me: Tooouuuuuch iiiiiiiiiiiiiit... Hubby: Nooooooooooooooooooooo 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 So far I'm seeing a high survival rate on that very first clutch of mystery snails I let hatch. Maybe the fact that this tank is extremely well seasoned, with lots of mulm and algae helps. Also a lot of food goes into it for my limia. I am employing birth control for the mysteries until I see just how much a single clutch yields. I did try feeding back a clutch to the snails as food. The adults were kinda "meh" about it, but the babies seem to like it. In these photos they're still all over it even after about 12 hrs. They've grown quite a bit, but are still very hard for my camera to focus on. I'm having some Ph and Kh problems, that's why there's crushed coral all over the sand; in frustration I opened up the bag I had sitting on the sponge filter to see if it would help. I had added a small SMALL piece of mopani wood to the tank when I added the baby bristlenose, but apparently that was enough to plunge the Ph down to 6.6! I think the fact that my Gh is pretty high is the saving grace for my snail's shells. I removed the wood, and did a few small water changes but so far it hasn't risen. I may make a thread about it because I'm getting flustered. I may also buy a filter of some sort JUST to put crushed coral into to try to get some buffer in there and raise the Ph. Here's Underfoot trying to help me figure out what the problem is. She's so helpful. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alesha Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 3 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: Here's Underfoot trying to help me figure out what the problem is. She's so helpful. Had I employed your razor-wit dog-naming method in my household, I'd have a "WobegoneEyes" and a "Nippin'AtMyHeels". 😁😁😁 The baby snails are adorbs!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 2 minutes ago, Alesha said: Had I employed your razor-wit dog-naming method in my household, I'd have a "WobegoneEyes" and a "Nippin'AtMyHeels". 😁😁😁 The baby snails are adorbs!!! Rofl! She lives up to her name, too. Though my hubby and I usually call her Undie (or Undiepants). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alesha Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 1 minute ago, H.K.Luterman said: Rofl! She lives up to her name, too. Though my hubby and I usually call her Undie (or Undiepants). Oh my word! That's even funnier! I'm reading a book just now with a horse who was a twin foal and wasn't getting enough food, so had to be hand-fed. They named him "Second Best." 😂😂😂 At least our dogs can't understand the insult. My pup's name is LexaBelle (After Alexander Graham Bell. Our first dog was Newton and our second is Kepler. We've got a name-thing going because our son is "Isaac". We're weird, I know.) Half the time, I call her "Lexa-Ding-Dong" cause she's SUCH a spaz!!! But if I say it sweetly, she responds just the same. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 2, 2021 Author Share Posted April 2, 2021 (edited) Whew! It's been a crazy week for me. I've been spring cleaning and organizing and cleaning out stuff to donate to thrift stores. I was able to clean out this cabinet in our game room (it's actually our dining room but we play board games in there more than we eat) and I now can use half of it for the majority of my aquarium supplies. I really would love to put a small tank on top but I'm not sure what kind of weight the cabinet could hold. Yesterday was my birthday, and my mom sent me a gift card to Petco. I did end up buying a small internal filter just to hold crushed coral (inside pantyhose) in an effort to get my Kh and Ph up since it's a mystery snail breeding tank, as well as a livebearer tank. The 29 has had lower Ph caused by a tiny piece of mopani wood, so today I really went in there and searched and searched for any last remaining bits that might be hidden. I didn't find any. The hornwort started floating from all my rummaging and I decided to just let it do it's thing. I usually weight it down. After a big water change the Kh was up and the Ph had risen; I have a hard time reading the Ph colors on the ACO test strips, but it had turned more orange. I'll bring out my liquid test kit in a bit and see what it says. So hopefully I've fixed the problem and I don't have to worry about my snail's shells anymore (I obsess over my snails you guys, help). Also, I took out a bunch of anubias from the 75 to let the bristlenose graze on it; it's covered in algae. I also trimmed the hornwort a bit. And a pic of baby mystery snails. They're getting bigger! I'm excited to see what colors they'll be. Edited April 2, 2021 by H.K.Luterman 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 I love your tanks and your doggo!!! If the crushed coral doesn't work out for your 29...I've been kind of obsessed with Wonder Shells lately. They do a great job at raising pH...jury is still out on KH! And, they make me feel like I'm giving my snails a shell vitamin. 🐌👍 Thank you for sharing all the great pictures!!! And...that cabinet looks really sturdy to me! I'm sure you could get away with at least a 20 long! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 3, 2021 Author Share Posted April 3, 2021 5 hours ago, Betsy said: I love your tanks and your doggo!!! If the crushed coral doesn't work out for your 29...I've been kind of obsessed with Wonder Shells lately. They do a great job at raising pH...jury is still out on KH! And, they make me feel like I'm giving my snails a shell vitamin. 🐌👍 Thank you for sharing all the great pictures!!! And...that cabinet looks really sturdy to me! I'm sure you could get away with at least a 20 long! 20 long is exactly what I was hoping for! I REALLY want to do a dirted, top off only, shrimp tank and document the journey. I just need to convince the hubby that 7 aquariums is totally fine and we definitely NEED one there. XD And yeah I use Wondershells and love them. The Gh in that tank is HIGH, but it never has any effect on the Kh or Ph. Hmmph! But yeah, I use them in several tanks and am a fan. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 That tank sounds amazing!!! Good luck with convincing the hubby! I think the surface of that cabinet is looking mightyyyy bare...it's totally screaming for a fish tank! 😜 Was I dreaming that you are from NC? I feel like our water issues are similar, haha!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 3, 2021 Author Share Posted April 3, 2021 1 hour ago, Betsy said: That tank sounds amazing!!! Good luck with convincing the hubby! I think the surface of that cabinet is looking mightyyyy bare...it's totally screaming for a fish tank! 😜 Was I dreaming that you are from NC? I feel like our water issues are similar, haha!! I'm in northern Alabama. Before I started keeping aquariums again after moving here, I thought for sure we'd have liquid rock coming out of the tap; we're surrounded by limestone. But it's really not as hard as I thought it'd be. Around 7.6 with low Kh and low Gh. Also, hubby and I had "the talk." XD He's ok with it but just wants someone to look at the cabinet and add support to it if needed. For some reason, on the inside, the middle support doesn't go all the way to the floor and that worries him. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 So here I am, crafting a baby gate for feeding time because Igor is a NAUGHTY GREMLIN and keeps stealing everyone's food. I chose to make it in three sections so I can collapse it for easier storage. It ain't pretty but it works. And he's terrified of it. I'm sure he'll get used to it eventually since it will be associated with food. (He's hiding in the lower right corner) 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 43 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: So here I am, crafting a baby gate for feeding time because Igor is a NAUGHTY GREMLIN and keeps stealing everyone's food. I chose to make it in three sections so I can collapse it for easier storage. It ain't pretty but it works. And he's terrified of it. I'm sure he'll get used to it eventually since it will be associated with food. (He's hiding in the lower right corner) Love the collapsible design! @JamesB What do you think about this for your grumpy pleco? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Thats a very good idea @H.K.Luterman As @Anita said I have a grumpy pleco who wants all the food in the tank. I'll look into this. I have a peice of driftwood in the middle though so, where my pleco and the upside down catfish all sleep, so it'll be a challenge to work around that. But I'll figure something out Thanks Guys! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Happy belated birthday @H.K.Luterman! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 1 minute ago, Hobbit said: Happy belated birthday @H.K.Luterman! Good catch @Hobbit! Yes, Happy Birthday @H.K.Luterman❣️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 Our little man is out to impress everyone with his ditch digging, plant arranging and booty shaking. 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Igor is so stinkin' cute!! 😍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 @Anita has a new video/ GIF for every event🤣 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 52 minutes ago, JamesB said: @Anita has a new video/ GIF for every event🤣 Meaning I spend way too much time on the Internet. Haha! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 1 hour ago, Betsy said: Igor is so stinkin' cute!! 😍 Yeah, he is! 🤩 So is that head shake a breeding display? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 8 minutes ago, Anita said: Yeah, he is! 🤩 So is that head shake a breeding display? I'm assuming so. I looked up cichlid behavior and did a few searches for "blood parrot cichlid shaking" and "cichlid shaking" and the stuff that came up was that it was breeding/territorial. Though he's not doing it in just one spot... but I mean he's dug ditches everywhere so I think he just assumes he owns the entire tank. This is my first cichlid of any type so this is all new for me. X3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 4 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: I'm assuming so. I looked up cichlid behavior and did a few searches for "blood parrot cichlid shaking" and "cichlid shaking" and the stuff that came up was that it was breeding/territorial. Though he's not doing it in just one spot... but I mean he's dug ditches everywhere so I think he just assumes he owns the entire tank. This is my first cichlid of any type so this is all new for me. X3 OMG, Igor is asking you out on a date! 🤩 How cute! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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