Angelfish Biotope-ish Tank

[Jawjagrrl]

On 5/30/2022 at 11:16 AM, Odd Duck said:

She sounds amazing and it’s wonderful you still have her!

I’m looking forward to seeing your side by side adventure developing.  I think it’s a great concept and your plans are fantastic!

Would love your input on proposed fish and plants (fish posted already, plants to come shortly). Most are new to me, but the plants in the "fun angel 55" are doing great, so I'm feeling braver!

 

[Odd Duck]

On 5/30/2022 at 3:31 PM, Jawjagrrl said:

Would love your input on proposed fish and plants (fish posted already, plants to come shortly). Most are new to me, but the plants in the "fun angel 55" are doing great, so I'm feeling braver!

 

I’d be happy to help any way I can.  I sometimes miss posts when I skim through the forum to catch up after not being on for a few days.  I meant to go back and read through your list again and forgot.  Glad you reminded me!

Edited June 13, 2022 by Odd Duck
Premature send, 😆

[Odd Duck]

In the mean time, this is happening even as I’m writing this.  I figured the BSP pair would be spawning soon.  The last few days they’ve been picking at things like they were checking out spawning sites.  They have about doubled the number of eggs from this photo.  This pair spawned twice in their QT tank but ate the fry both times.  They laid more eggs and got the fry farther the second time, so I thought I might try to raise a few fry at some point, but was planning to move the pair to a 20 high to spawn, then remove them once I had free swimming fry.  If they get them to free swimming in this tank, I may net some out to see if I can raise them at that stage. I have a single 10 G in my rack that has a bit of green water and the embers in there are ready to come out of QT.  I was going to reset that tank with an UGF and 2” matten as substrate, but maybe I’ll take advantage of some green water?

 

[Odd Duck]

This is my view from my favorite chair.

Angels to the left of me, nanos to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you.  [Nod to the Beatles for the catchy hook.]

My sort of Yin and Yang style 100 G tanks with black stand, trim, darker wood, and light sand vs. brown stand, trim, light wood and black sand.  They’re not as opposite as ideal for a Yin Yang, but they didn’t start out planned that way so it’s as close as I can get with them.

The only art I made is the watercolor swallowtail butterfly.  To the left of the butterfly is all from friends or family, to the right side is all professional photos I won at silent auction at vet conferences where the proceeds from the auction go toward exotic animal medicine research groups that improve our knowledge about how to care for and treat exotic pets or zoo animals.  Properly conducted research on animals isn’t always bad.  Oops, when did I climb on that soapbox?  Stepping down, now.

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by Odd Duck
Typo

[Jawjagrrl]

On 5/30/2022 at 7:08 PM, Odd Duck said:

This is my view from my favorite chair.

Angels to the left of me, nanos to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you.  [Nod to the Beatles for the catchy hook.]

My sort of Yin and Yang style 100 G tanks with black stand, trim, darker wood, and light sand vs. brown stand, trim, light wood and black sand.  They’re not as opposite as ideal for a Yin Yang, but they didn’t start out planned that way so it’s as close as I can get with them.

The only art I made is the watercolor swallowtail butterfly.  To the left of the butterfly is all from friends or family, to the right side is all professional photos I won at silent auction at vet conferences where the proceeds from the auction go toward exotic animal medicine research groups that improve our knowledge about how to care for and treat exotic pets or zoo animals.  Properly conducted research on animals isn’t always bad.  Oops, when did I climb on that soapbox?  Stepping down, now.

 

The movie Reservoir Dogs has permanently impacted my association with "Stuck in the Middle with You". So much so that I made my husband watch it so it would happen to him too (I am a bad person). It probably was good for the bottom line for Stealers Wheel though.

I didn't realize you basically have a side by side too, just with a TV in the middle. Is the sound ever an issue with your fish? Or maybe you've run a speaker setup around the room and it's negligible. I've seen video of people blasting video games right next to a tank and the fish looking really stressed.

But yours are clearly happy if they are spawning! I love BSPs and some are going to live with us, just a question of whether the are right side 75 or fun 55 tank for PS. I hope it works out for you - a whole tank of those as babies is pretty darn squee.

So are you a vet? I am a sibling to two, one did some work with exotics and was the pocket pet vet at clinics before going into the traveling ultrasound biz. I got to intern briefly at an exotic animal refuge years ago where I made enrichment toys for a leopard who had been rescued with no fangs, lost a lock of hair to a nasty rhesus monkey named Goober, got spit on by a mama llama in the eye and snuggled with baby lions. An amazing life experience! I think I still have a swag clipboard from the Morris Foundation that Betty White supported somewhere 🙂 Fundraisers at the zoo were the best!

[Odd Duck]

Neither my hubs nor I are gamers and we don’t do the TV that loud, typically.  Well, I should say, I don’t do the TV that loud.  Sometimes I swear he blasts it when I’m not home, the deaf old fart!  😆  But he doesn’t watch TV often, anyway.

Yes, I am a vet.  I’m doing all ER work now, although the other day I picked up the wrong line and ended up talking a lady through using some cornstarch on her bird’s toenail that they trimmed too short.  😝 

[Jawjagrrl]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:45 PM, Odd Duck said:

Neither my hubs nor I are gamers and we don’t do the TV that loud, typically.  Well, I should say, I don’t do the TV that loud.  Sometimes I swear he blasts it when I’m not home, the deaf old fart!  😆  But he doesn’t watch TV often, anyway.

Yes, I am a vet.  I’m doing all ER work now, although the other day I picked up the wrong line and ended up talking a lady through using some cornstarch on her bird’s toenail that they trimmed too short.  😝 

I stumbled across a reaction video of people keeping fish... poorly. Mostly students and crazy tiktok stuff, but on clip showed the tank shaking, Jurassic park style, next to a subwoofer. Poor fishies!

When your spouse has hearing loss *and* ADHD, it can make for some interesting volume settings....

Your work is much appreciated - I've been fortunate to only need true emergency care a couple of times, but it truly saved lives! I can't clip black nails on my dog right, so I can relate to the bird client 😉

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Odd Duckthose two tanks really talk to each other and as the new angelfish tank grows in even more so! Enjoyed catching up and inspiring for my future endeavors hopefully with some Leopoldi! 

[Odd Duck]

On 6/1/2022 at 6:47 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Odd Duckthose two tanks really talk to each other and as the new angelfish tank grows in even more so! Enjoyed catching up and inspiring for my future endeavors hopefully with some Leopoldi! 

Thank you!  I can’t wait to see the swords growing in bigger and better.  I think the tanks are just enough similar and just enough different to satisfy my similar but not too balanced craving.  😃 

I need to get some new radicans since they seem to have pretty much melted away.  Other radicans I’ve bought have melted, too.  I’m wondering if others have had any experience with radicans melting more than other swords?  I do still plan to shift some of the Amazon swords over to the left and try some jungle Vals in the back right corner.  I think I still have some struggling in the Jack tank plus I’ve got a couple small ones in small dishes in my 20 high tank.  I have just a few more Staurogyne repens to add, too.  The narrow leaf Sag seems to be doing OK so far in their little sponge blobs.

[Ken Burke]

On 5/30/2022 at 6:08 PM, Odd Duck said:

This is my view from my favorite chair.

Angels to the left of me, nanos to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you.  [Nod to the Beatles for the catchy hook.]

My sort of Yin and Yang style 100 G tanks with black stand, trim, darker wood, and light sand vs. brown stand, trim, light wood and black sand.  They’re not as opposite as ideal for a Yin Yang, but they didn’t start out planned that way so it’s as close as I can get with them.

The only art I made is the watercolor swallowtail butterfly.  To the left of the butterfly is all from friends or family, to the right side is all professional photos I won at silent auction at vet conferences where the proceeds from the auction go toward exotic animal medicine research groups that improve our knowledge about how to care for and treat exotic pets or zoo animals.  Properly conducted research on animals isn’t always bad.  Oops, when did I climb on that soapbox?  Stepping down, now.

 

Is this inspirational or aspirational?  Either way, so jealous 

[Jawjagrrl]

On 6/2/2022 at 7:59 AM, Ken Burke said:

Is this inspirational or aspirational?

Yes!

[Odd Duck]

Angels laying eggs again and the girl super red bristlenose plecos are waiting eagerly to munch on caviar.

Daddy super red is in the cave guarding babies!  😍😃😍  I couldn’t tell if he was fanning eggs or just showing off his fanning skills (I need to adjust the angle of the cave), but now I can see babies in the cave.  Guesstimate of 20-30 maybe?  Based only on how many I can see and extrapolating to how much of the cave I can’t see.

I know it’s stunningly brilliant photography on the super red babies, BTW.  You see that blurry, pale splotch on the inside of the cave above the blurry orange spot that’s Daddy?  That’s a baby.  Best pic I could get with angelfish and cory photobombers.  🙄

 

[PineSong]

Looking good! Those angels are so pretty, too. Although I'll probably never have a tank large enough for angels I often wonder what color I would pick if I could....I do really like those light colors.

[Ken Burke]

I love watching my angels spawn.  It’s so interesting 

[Odd Duck]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:13 PM, PineSong said:

Looking good! Those angels are so pretty, too. Although I'll probably never have a tank large enough for angels I often wonder what color I would pick if I could....I do really like those light colors.

Thank you!  I’m ORD, as usual.

When I decide to raise babies, I’ll likely move this pair into a 20 high that’s only holding plants (and mystery snails) right now.  I’m going to remove sand and put an UGF in it with 2” matten foam as substrate.  I’ll keep the double stacked, medium, ACO sponge filter and ACO foam pre-filtered, foam packed HOB that’s currently on the tank.  I’ve got a couple big Anubias hastifolia and barteri that will go in the tank.  I’ll move the assorted Java ferns and miscellaneous stems out.  All plants in here are either in pots or on wood/lava rocks.  I was going to use this tank for raising gold laser cories, but decided to put them all in the angelfish tank instead after getting all my lemon plecos done with QT.  I’ll have to move my mystery snails out, too.  Yet another project to add to my list.

On 6/8/2022 at 8:24 PM, Ken Burke said:

I love watching my angels spawn.  It’s so interesting 

It is fascinating.  Row, upon row, upon row.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Odd Duck

[Ken Burke]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:24 PM, Odd Duck said:

Thank you!  I’m ORD, as usual.

When I decide to raise babies, I’ll likely move this pair into a 20 high that’s only holding plants (and mystery snails) right now.  I’m going to remove sand and put an UGF in it with 2” matten foam as substrate.  I’ll keep the double stacked, medium, ACO sponge filter and ACO foam pre-filtered, foam packed HOB that’s currently on the tank.  I’ve got a couple big Anubias hastifolia and barteri that will go in the tank.  I’ll move the assorted Java ferns and miscellaneous stems out.  All plants in here are either in pots or on wood/lava rocks.  I was going to use this tank for raising gold laser cories, but decided to put them all in the angelfish tank instead after getting all my lemon plecos done with QT.  I’ll have to move my mystery snails out, too.  Yet another project to add to my list.

It is fascinating.  Row, upon row, upon row.

Yup

[Odd Duck]

Apparently my angel parents are far more determined this time.  The eggs were protected through 2 nights, but were gone when the lights went on this morning and I couldn’t see any wigglers, so I figured they were eaten again.
 

Then I realized the parents were still sticking in that area and now paying attention to a couple of ailing sword leaves I haven’t had time to remove.  A closer look shows wigglers that the parents moved from the side of the filter to the leaves.  They’re getting great water circulation here.  I guess we’ll see how things go.  Maybe having the pair focused on their own babies will give the super red pleco babies a better chance when they finally come out of their cave.

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Odd Duck
Typo

[Jawjagrrl]

On 6/11/2022 at 5:05 PM, Odd Duck said:

Apparently my angel parents are far more determined this time.  The eggs were protected through 2 nights, but were gone when the lights went on this morning and I couldn’t see any wigglers, so I figured they were eaten gain.
 

Then I realized the parents were still sticking in that area and now paying attention to a couple of ailing sword leaves I haven’t had time to remove.  A closer look shows wigglers that the parents moved from the side of the filter to the leaves.  They’re getting great water circulation here.  I guess we’ll see how things go.  Maybe having the pair focused on their own babies will give the super red pleco babies a better chance when they finally come out of their cave.

 

congrats! Every time I see potential mating behavior in my tanks I'm always hoping for something like this one day. My endlers seem to have been born pregnant, so I don't think they count 🙂

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Nature finds a way! The angels are happy, all that work paid off!

[Odd Duck]

On 6/12/2022 at 3:16 PM, Jawjagrrl said:

congrats! Every time I see potential mating behavior in my tanks I'm always hoping for something like this one day. My endlers seem to have been born pregnant, so I don't think they count 🙂

Unhappy fish aren’t breeding so even breeding “easy” live bearers counts plenty.

On 6/12/2022 at 4:14 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Nature finds a way! The angels are happy, all that work paid off!

Thank you!  I’m liking how things are looking and I was planning some significant plant fiddling this week, but don’t dare now with wigglers in the tank.  It seems like there are fewer wigglers now, so I don’t know if any will make it through from this hatch.  I’m sure at some point I’ll put the pair in a dedicated tank and actually try to raise some fry as opposed to letting nature take it’s course.

Sadly, I think I may have lost all the baby super reds.  Daddy is no longer in the cave and I don’t see babies anywhere.  I don’t know if they got picked off or failed to thrive or are just really good at hiding.  The sand is the perfect color for hiding them, so I may spot some as they grow if there are any still alive. Next time I’ll move the babies to a grow out tank before they’re ready to come out of the cave.  I was hoping they would be big enough and elusive enough to not get picked off.  I’ll be watching and update if I spot any.

[Odd Duck]

My angel fry went from wigglers to free swimming today.  The minute the lights went on I could see them jumping off their leaf practically straight into the parents mouths!  And the parents were not relocating them. I grabbed my big, all purpose, aquarium cup and a very fine net, and scooped up everybody I could along with removing the dying sword leaf that had been their home, all right into the cup.

I had intended to move them today, anyway, since I knew yesterday by the timing and their behavior, they were very close to going free swimming.  I had done a good vacuuming, clean up, and partial water change on a very messy 10 G yesterday in prep, but ran out of RO water to mix with my tap.  So I did a bit more moss removal (the tank had become jammed with Christmas moss infested with hair algae, I was just looking the other way, 😆).  Vacuumed again, then filled up with water from the parent tank.  Then released them to eat all the microflora and Protozoa they want.

If they survive, I have other tanks I can use.  The new angels I bought will be ready to go in the big tank well before I need to spread out any surviving babies, so that’s 3 x 10 G’s for growouts, plus I have 3 other 10 G’s that could be available by then.  I was going to get more tetras and rasboras for the nanofish tank, plus I’m still looking for more hummingbird tetras and spotfin hatchets.  🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess we’ll see first if these guys survive, then how soon they need more room.  I guess it’s a good thing I’ve been dragging my feet on buying more fish so I wouldn’t have a ton of fish to shuffle around before getting the fish room ready.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Odd Duck
Add pic.

[Odd Duck]

I also wanted to add some pics of the tank and got all side tracked about the babies.  😆 

First a whole tank pic followed by pics of various swords showing some nice, new, submerse growth.  Then pics of the narrow leaf Sagittaria pretending to be grass that’s falling into the “stream” from the “bank”.  Notice the new runner and roots pushing through the foam?  Then the whole “mossy roots” feature that does have Fiss showing through the algae.

 

[BigJ]

I love this, the whole stream bank idea is brilliant and its coming along nicely. To be honest I wasn't sure I would like it at the beginning with the dry start, but the tank is maturing beautifully I guess a little patience goes a long way. Great job 

[Ken Burke]

On 6/15/2022 at 5:58 PM, Odd Duck said:

My angel fry went from wigglers to free swimming today.  The minute the lights went on I could see them jumping off their leaf practically straight into the parents mouths!  And the parents were not relocating them. I grabbed my big, all purpose, aquarium cup and a very fine net, and scooped up everybody I could along with removing the dying sword leaf that had been their home, all right into the cup.

I had intended to move them today, anyway, since I knew yesterday by the timing and their behavior, they were very close to going free swimming.  I had done a good vacuuming, clean up, and partial water change on a very messy 10 G yesterday in prep, but ran out of RO water to mix with my tap.  So I did a bit more moss removal (the tank had become jammed with Christmas moss infested with hair algae, I was just looking the other way, 😆).  Vacuumed again, then filled up with water from the parent tank.  Then released them to eat all the microflora and Protozoa they want.

If they survive, I have other tanks I can use.  The new angels I bought will be ready to go in the big tank well before I need to spread out any surviving babies, so that’s 3 x 10 G’s for growouts, plus I have 3 other 10 G’s that could be available by then.  I was going to get more tetras and rasboras for the nanofish tank, plus I’m still looking for more hummingbird tetras and spotfin hatchets.  🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess we’ll see first if these guys survive, then how soon they need more room.  I guess it’s a good thing I’ve been dragging my feet on buying more fish so I wouldn’t have a ton of fish to shuffle around before getting the fish room ready.

Look at those eyes!  

[Odd Duck]

On 6/15/2022 at 8:07 PM, BigJ said:

I love this, the whole stream bank idea is brilliant and its coming along nicely. To be honest I wasn't sure I would like it at the beginning with the dry start, but the tank is maturing beautifully I guess a little patience goes a long way. Great job 

Ugh, that dry start!  It took forever with the Fissidens, but I think in the long run it will be worth it if I can manage to get it to outgrow the algae.  I need to take some close ups of the moss/algae mix.  It’s rather pretty, but I really don’t want that much hair algae in my tank.  😆  IF the Fiss can outgrow the algae, that whole root structure will be spectacular with gently waving fronds completely covering the wood.  At least that’s the dream I have in my head.  We’ll see how close to that I can get.  As the swords and other plants grow out it’s going to,be a very green tank overall, which is why I picked so many swords that have red or yellow in them.  Since I can’t seem to grow AR worth a darn, I need the swords to carry some color for me.  Plus I bought angels that have lots of color.  They’re just not in the tank yet since they’re still in QT.  4 weeks from yesterday if all goes well, the tank will get much more lively and colorful.