Sub-alpine Creek biotope

[Biotope Biologist]

So this morning as I am feeding my white clouds and looking for the 5 Waldos blending into my woodwork I notice something dart across the tank. Look closer and…

 

I guess my whiteclouds have not only already started laying eggs but babies!

 

This I assume female has been fiercely guarding the java fern mass. I have to feed her separately as she will not leave this area.
 

I will not be attempting to move any of the babies. Their is plenty of hiding places and fauna to eat.

[Torrey]

On 6/9/2022 at 11:08 AM, Biotope Biologist said:

So this morning as I am feeding my white clouds and looking for the 5 Waldos blending into my woodwork I notice something dart across the tank. Look closer and…

 

I guess my whiteclouds have not only already started laying eggs but babies!

 

This I assume female has been fiercely guarding the java fern mass. I have to feed her separately as she will not leave this area.
 

I will not be attempting to move any of the babies. Their is plenty of hiding places and fauna to eat.

ORD😍😍😍

 

SWEET!!!!!

[eatyourpeas]

Babies!!! 😍

[Biotope Biologist]

Yesterday I bought baby brine shrimp from the coop for the white clouds and loaches. The loaches are now alot less shy (still shy per the video) and came out to eat. Using it’s fins to kick up the brine shrimp and reverse back over them to hoover it up.

 

Every once in awhile at dusk I see them chasing eachother around the tank but for the most part I still don’t see much of them. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Woke up this morning to a whole lotta eggs. They aren’t snail eggs, I assume they are more white cloud. The females are starting to look a lil beat up from all this spawning

Edited June 25, 2022 by Biotope Biologist

[Biotope Biologist]

Hanging out after a daphnia feast

[Atitagain]

Interesting journal, I need to research this type of set up more. Starting with the isopods and emergent/ land moss. Here goes another rabbit hole 🕳 

thanks for the updates, 

[Biotope Biologist]

On 7/3/2022 at 4:43 PM, Atitagain said:

Interesting journal, I need to research this type of set up more. Starting with the isopods and emergent/ land moss. Here goes another rabbit hole 🕳 

thanks for the updates, 

My first time with emergent plants! Had some failures early on but that’s fish keeping. The maidenhair fern and the false lily-of-the-valley soak nitrates like nobody’s business.

 

Isopods I haven’t seen in about a month. They might have become prey. But my macro invertebrate population is stable and diverse. 
 

intentionally growing algae is harder than I thought…

[Biotope Biologist]

The Rhinogobius filamentosus harem arrived yesterday. Very eager to be put into the tank. 1 male 3 females, one of the females is quite a bit smaller than the other 2. The lizard loaches and gobies had a little territory dispute the first day, but have since occupied the same caves. 

 

Today is my fishes feeding day so the white clouds and lizard loaches got some daphnia. The gobies recruited the same technique as the lizard loaches for eating. Waving their large pectoral fins over them and sliding backwards to eat them as they are kicked up. They are still a bit shy about doing anything in front of me, especially the male. But considering the long trek over here I’m glad they ate right away.

 

With that the tank is complete. The hygger wavemaker proved to strong for my tank so it’ll be utilized in the brackish setup further down the road. For now I have a nano hygger fountain pump that some nanoreefers recommended to me. It’s cheap, small and only produces 56gph.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/4/2022 at 2:50 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

intentionally growing algae is harder than I thought…

I can share my methods if you think it will help! lol.

On 7/7/2022 at 10:30 AM, Biotope Biologist said:

They are still a bit shy about doing anything in front of me, especially the male. But considering the long trek over here I’m glad they ate right away.

Always fun to see them adjusting and getting used to the new surroundings.  Would you ever consider adding a window film on one side of the tank to give them a bit of "cover" from external stimuli that might stress them out?

[Biotope Biologist]

On 7/7/2022 at 10:40 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I can share my methods if you think it will help! lol.

Always fun to see them adjusting and getting used to the new surroundings.  Would you ever consider adding a window film on one side of the tank to give them a bit of "cover" from external stimuli that might stress them out?

I close the blinds to the window behind the tank. They seem to really like this. That and my tank is in a part of the room I have to interact with, so as long as I sit on the couch across the room, they act normal.

 

Also I’m all ears. I used to have a tank with mature beard algae mats but I wasn’t trying then. It seems now that I’m trying the algae won’t do anything. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:50 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

Also I’m all ears. I used to have a tank with mature beard algae mats but I wasn’t trying then. It seems now that I’m trying the algae won’t do anything. 

Do you have wood in the tank or no?

I had the tubs setup, they got caked with diatom and eventually once the mulm set in there was the hair variety and specifically the black beard all over the surfaces. Broad leaves and the wood (mopani specifically was in those tubs) lingered on the longest of anything else.

EDIT: For clarity, by "lower flow" I mean high aeration, but simply lower flow than normal.  Airstones vs. pumphead but not enough "flow" meaning movement specifically. I never had any issues with respiration, CO2/Oxygen exchange, plenty of surface tension, but it had some dead spots where mulm would settle or food would get stuck pretty often.

I had the flow slightly low, the light slightly too high, but specifically on for slightly too long (11ish hours at 70% and probably should've been 7-8 hours at 40-50% given the setup)

It took about 2-3 months for all heck to break loose and it's been about a year I've been trying to get rid of it. Some of the plants have recovered, most of the Anubias I've specifically tried to work on has recovered and the wood in tanks now has some pretty strong algae cultures.

First picture is from the tub, second is from a tank that was not affected but the algae from those tubs was introduced. Everything was new except for anubias from that tub which has the algae. Very very hearty cultures and they won't be removed unless I specifically take a blade or something and scrape the bark off. The amanos won't touch it anymore because it's so stubborn to get off.

As an example in this tank, the BBA has a very high flow environment with 2-4 sources of flow at any one time.  I have an airstone, skimmer, and HoB right now on this tank and because of that the algae is pretty often found on everything and specifically thrives on the stone and the wood surfaces. This first picture is right by the output of the HoB filter and where the skimmer outputs as well.

These were the tubs I had.

On 7/7/2022 at 8:50 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

That and my tank is in a part of the room I have to interact with, so as long as I sit on the couch across the room, they act normal.

Very cool. I do the same thing with my tank. After a few minutes things settle when I walk in. I was reading a study about sound and fish responses, pretty interesting stuff.

Edited July 8, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[BradfordAquatics]

Both the loaches and gobies sure are cool fish! This tank is coming along nicely and judging by all of the white cloud fry, the fish seem to think so too!

[Biotope Biologist]

Woke up this morning to the male goby (I’m really going to need to start naming my fish) wolfing down an algae wafer. They are quickly becoming less shy.

 

But most importantly my first beard hair! It’s like I’m 13 again it’s just a little tuft right now but in a few months time I’ll have a full beard

[eatyourpeas]

On 7/4/2022 at 2:50 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

intentionally growing algae is harder than I thought…

Isn't that the truth! 😎

And I already have beard envy! 

[Torrey]

On 7/9/2022 at 12:17 PM, eatyourpeas said:

Isn't that the truth! 😎

And I already have beard envy! 

I'm ORD😂

[Biotope Biologist]

It’s been a couple weeks so here is an update!

 

for some bad news I lost a lizard loach. It beached itself on an algae mat and likely got tangled and couldn’t escape. I have since removed just about all of it. The white clouds will have to find a new breeding site. 

The gobies (still working on names) have really taken to the food. I was pipette feeding them bloodworms and the male overeager took my pipette in his mouth and pulled it into the aquarium. Luckily it floats.

I also got everyone a treat and bought some live gut loaded scuds! They went to town on them. Even the lizard loaches came out to dine on them.

 

Everyone is fat and happy, the gobies have also been excavating tunnels. One morning I came out and only saw the minnows and was worried. Looked everywhere on the ground around the tank. Only for all 4 to pop their heads out of their respective tunnels as if I had just woken them from a deep sleep.

 

 

Also to the people who have larger gobies, do yours eat snail? I noticed my male and female suck the snails into their mouth chew on them a bit and spit out a fractured hollow snail shell. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Biotope Biologist

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Glad the gobies are settling in for you.  Tunnels might mean eggs soon... !!!  I'm not surprised about the pipette.  They are not shy and kind of puppy-dog like in their enthusiasm.

On 7/23/2022 at 12:00 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

Also to the people who have larger gobies, do yours eat snail?

So, I've not seen them eat snails, but I had them in with snails that could specifically stand up to fish harassment.  It would up their caché if they ate snails.  Were it not a biotope, I'd suggest Thiara winteri snails.  They express spikes as a phenotypic plastic response to fish disturbing them, so they would get really spiky with those gobies. 

[Biotope Biologist]

It’s been a couple weeks! Update time:

 

Start things off with bad news. I lost my large female goby as well as a lizard loach in a night. I have bad luck when I travel. Something I’m guessing spooked them outta the tank. Well I waited far too long on it but I bought a lid to keep nighttime festivities inside the tank.

Now the good news. Everyone is loving their digs. Literally. My whole tank is now a giant tunnel system that the gobies and loaches share 🤔. Really thought the gobies would be territorial over these burrows. But they only are aggressive towards eachother. I have acquired a plethora of food. The gobies new favorite is jumbo mysis shrimp.

I have had success with this algae anchoring to rocks. I still just have the small tufts of beard algae popping up everywhere. Much like freshman year of highschool. Duckweed found it’s way into my tank somehow but I quite enjoy the look. 

I am really settling into the routine which is funny because now I have visions of upgrading them to a 50 gallon lowboy… I’m never happy 😆 

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Biotope Biologist

[eatyourpeas]

Sad to hear about the losses. 😔

I don't think I would ever risk a tank without a lid after losing Miss Ethel. The tank is looking amazing! 😍

[OnlyGenusCaps]

That. Tank. Looks. Awesome!!! 

Sorry you lost a couple fish, but yes, lids are good.

Glad to hear the gobies and loaches are playing nicely with each other. 

A low boy would be cool...  Just say'n.

[nabokovfan87]

Very sorry for your losses.

I have to say, along with everyone else, algae aside (in this case you want it) how amazing that tank really is.  I love the short longer tanks for nano species.  It's so nice to have a "big tank that is 4+ feet long or just looks like it.  Very cool setup you have going on 🙂 .

[Biotope Biologist]

Everyone is doing great have a little cyano bacteria bloom i will take care of, but otherwise the algae has matured and the bellies are fat.

 

Just wanted to share a before/after of the maidenhair fern as it’s getting ready to spore.

Before:

 

After:

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Just caught up after several months of not following. What a rewarding journey you’re on?! Good on you for going for this I really feel like the has panned out and I’m inspired! Thanks so much for the details and updates.

[Biotope Biologist]

I apologize for my absence on this forum and on my journal but I have some exciting news…

I spent the last month moving down to olympia and getting settled in down south. I think I went a little overboard on the new digs but here we go:

 

Its a 50 gallon lowboy with an island in the middle. That island contains Whitetop sedge, ‘sheldon shorties’ reed grass, and small leaf water willow. I ordered these plants from a Clemson University nursery and they didn’t enjoy the trip, but I’m seeing new growth. The island also has a ‘Z’ ABS tunnel system underneath it for the gobies. 

For filtration right now I have to run the old Shiruba, but it’s getting the job done. I am waiting on the sump kit from in2infinity that @OnlyGenusCaps told me about. The first kit got lost in the mail so the next kit will arrive Thursday. I “splurged” and bought a locline setup for the return. The sump is a 20 long from petcos $1/gallon sale. It will have a 10 gallon fill and the rest will be emergency overflow. The sump will house the amphipods and snails I will be breeding for the fish to eat. It will also have a small 50w heater to bump the water temp up in the winter. It’s sitting pretty at 68-69.5 degrees.

I did have an early nitrate spike of 25ppm. And it’s holding steady there but once the plants are done being shocked, I expect that number to go down. The turbidity here is higher certain times of year and I do enjoy a more mineral rich water supply so my kH and gH are at great levels for these fish from the tap.

 

I can’t find the gobies. When I said “I never want to see my fish again” I didn’t mean it literally. I just wanted them to have plenty of room to exist….

So this is the final iteration of the creek biotope. I saw someone running something similar in the UK and boy did that tank look smaller on social media. But I’ve committed and I really enjoy this tank’s dimensions. I will likely be adding another group of 10 whiteclouds and some small polka dot rubberlip plecos. I would also like to bolster my male gobies harem but need to do research on the feasibility of that.

 

anyways enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Biotope Biologist