Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[FrozenFins]

I have had great luck with tissue culture. I find that they usually dont melt back for at all. One thing I'll note is that shipping tissue culture I find can be a little risky. I have had  numerous problems with buying tissue culture online, for me it usually comes to me all brown and mushy.

 

[Torrey]

My experience with tissue culture has exclusively been with a light siesta, so should be comparable to your tanks.

1. I set the whole thing in a shallow dish of water as soon as I get the plant home.

2. As soon as I am able (if not within the hour, I have a modification I'll type out below, because disability is fun😅) I carefully extract roots from the gel growing medium. The medium feels like agar for petri dishes, but behaves more like a silica gel.

3. I start the plant pretty close to the light, either inverting a pot to hold the plant up, or placing in my floating canvas tubes, until it starts putting out fresh, new roots.

 

4. I used to look for a shorter pot at this point, but I am going to try airline suction cups for my next batch of plants (borrowing from your idea). Lower the plants every couple of weeks until you get them to where you want to be.

If I notice the plant starts struggling, I raise it back up near the lights, and let it get stable and growing again. 

**If I have a flare, and can't properly take care of the plant, I place the dish of water with the tissue culture in a ziploc bag and exhale in repeatedly until bag is full like a balloon. Place under lights, until you can get to it.

Frequently, the roots have grown out of the gel by the time I can get my fingers to functionally remove the gel🙄

[Guppysnail]

On 9/30/2021 at 6:32 PM, Torrey said:

My experience with tissue culture has exclusively been with a light siesta, so should be comparable to your tanks.

1. I set the whole thing in a shallow dish of water as soon as I get the plant home.

2. As soon as I am able (if not within the hour, I have a modification I'll type out below, because disability is fun😅) I carefully extract roots from the gel growing medium. The medium feels like agar for petri dishes, but behaves more like a silica gel.

3. I start the plant pretty close to the light, either inverting a pot to hold the plant up, or placing in my floating canvas tubes, until it starts putting out fresh, new roots.

 

4. I used to look for a shorter pot at this point, but I am going to try airline suction cups for my next batch of plants (borrowing from your idea). Lower the plants every couple of weeks until you get them to where you want to be.

If I notice the plant starts struggling, I raise it back up near the lights, and let it get stable and growing again. 

**If I have a flare, and can't properly take care of the plant, I place the dish of water with the tissue culture in a ziploc bag and exhale in repeatedly until bag is full like a balloon. Place under lights, until you can get to it.

Frequently, the roots have grown out of the gel by the time I can get my fingers to functionally remove the gel🙄

Thank you. Yes I totally understand the body not always participating and being extremely uncooperative.  I was bed ridden on and off for 3 years and 20+ surgeries.  Thank you for the detailed instructions. 😊

[Guppysnail]

Lefty is doing great. Got a good look at his right pectoral and the tip is broken. It should fall away in a day or so. He is loving his new home. I stub my toe hard and whine for a day. He losses a fin breaks the other and keeps on trucking without a thought to it 🤷‍♀️

Shrimp=infestation 

My Pygmy have been staying in one area for 2 days. So I decided to really watch today to see why. My entire substrate was moving. Every inch newborn shrimp. The walls were covered in juveniles. 🤦‍♀️  I really thought when I put them in there the Pygmy would snack on the newborns. NOPE. I spent an hour fishing tons out I put them in the guppy community hoping for better population control.  Thought I had most out. An hour later I looked….not even close. I moved Scooter out so no more food other than sinking goes into the tank. His fry food was apparently to their liking. My hornwort was also covered in baby shrimp. 2 being eaten by my hydra that were prolific on my hornwort so I took that out and put it in the window until the hydra cyst up. I replaced it with pennywort I had leftover from yesterday. 

Scooter went in with Lefty and the baby boy guppies. He is having fun. He tried swimming with the Pygmy they seemed to not mind so I figured he would fit in. He did. 

2 baby CPD doing great! 

Baby pleco are getting big 

here is the guppy community and mom and dads tank after pennywort untangling yesterday I added some moneywort to mom n dads tank that became overgrown in the baby pleco tank. 

HAPPY ADVENTURES…TRY SOMETHING NEW

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I can't keep shrimp to save my life and you get them like pest snails. Ha! 

Edited October 1, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Guppysnail]

On 9/30/2021 at 8:11 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I can't keep shrimp to safe my life and you get them like pest snails. Ha! 

All I could think was this is how people with duckweed feel. I had a hard time starting, many batches did not make it. I watched a shrimp farm not just breeder video. They had a continuous water change system not automatic. The continuous changes keeppt parameters exactly at source water params so no fluctuations.  I did repeated large water changes until my tank was identical to source. Got some local. Drip acclimated only20 minutes so they molted apsoon after hitting my tank and the new shell was formed matching my source water.  I did 20% water changes or more as need every single day so the tank never deviated from my source parameters.  It worked the parents some only lasted a few months it was enough to have babies. Now they even thrive in mom n dad plecos tank which get 20-50% daily now that there are baby pleco in the tank too.  I now move them tank to tank as well net and drop. They are hardy…like cockroaches!  Ugh…careful what you wish for🤣

[Torrey]

On 9/30/2021 at 6:23 PM, Guppysnail said:

All I could think was this is how people with duckweed feel. I had a hard time starting, many batches did not make it. I watched a shrimp farm not just breeder video. They had a continuous water change system not automatic. The continuous changes keeppt parameters exactly at source water params so no fluctuations.  I did repeated large water changes until my tank was identical to source. Got some local. Drip acclimated only20 minutes so they molted apsoon after hitting my tank and the new shell was formed matching my source water.  I did 20% water changes or more as need every single day so the tank never deviated from my source parameters.  It worked the parents some only lasted a few months it was enough to have babies. Now they even thrive in mom n dad plecos tank which get 20-50% daily now that there are baby pleco in the tank too.  I now move them tank to tank as well net and drop. They are hardy…like cockroaches!  Ugh…careful what you wish for🤣

I would be okay with this, as long as they breed true.

My LFS can't get shrimp in, for anything. 

If I could provide a steady supply of shrimp, my hobby could pay for itself😳

[Guppysnail]

Plant update

 

Scarlet temple is sending out new shoots

ludwiga oval is new leaves

Ludwiga super red new leaves

my existing ludwiga narrow leaf is sending out new shoots and new side roots it has also hit the top of the 29 so soon time to cut and plant doubling my ludwiga 😍(guppy photo bomb)

I also had a narrow leaf tied to spider wood low and it s sending new plants at the bottom of the 29 😳

im excited to get my new red ar. It should be here oct 6-7. Looking behind the backup sponge in the 29 the shrimp have congregated so they don’t get eaten along with….another new guppy batch. My girls are so hardy anymore none of them ever look like they are in labor. No surface breathing no hiding. They either pop out while moms swimming or just show up. 🙄

shrimp even migrated from mom/dad pleco/CPD tank when I pulled the dish for CPD eggs now I have 3 that I seen…sneaky buggers I probably have ten in my CPD fry funny tank 😞

Scooter is a girl hervspot showed today

I added 4 pleco babies that were still as tiny as lefty to that tank since he is doing great. They were getting outcompeted for food they are from the second batch. 

This guy from batch 1 is my nemesis. He is getting large and mom is huge egg belly there are still some batch 2 in their tank but dad has started chasing this guy. I can’t get him for the life of me even with my new coop nets!

I NEED HELP! New coop nano pump??? No instructions so I suppose it’s simple enough not to need them for normal folks…not tech Challenged me 😕. I plug it in to charge but it runs no off switch. I tried the red and blue inlet. So I unplugged the pump and left the power thing plugged in over night but it did not charge as soon as I unplug it ..it stops working??? What am I missing. I thought they were portable ☹️  If someone could explain I would greatly appreciate it. 

HAPPY ADVENTURES..TRY SOMETHING NEW

(but you may need directions 🤣)

Edited October 1, 2021 by Guppysnail

[eatyourpeas]

On 10/1/2021 at 4:29 PM, Guppysnail said:

I NEED HELP! New coop nano pump??? No instructions so I suppose it’s simple enough not to need them for normal folks…not tech Challenged me 😕. I plug it in to charge but it runs no off switch. I tried the red and blue inlet. So I unplugged the pump and left the power thing plugged in over night but it did not charge as soon as I unplug it ..it stops working??? What am I missing. I thought they were portable ☹️  If someone could explain I would greatly appreciate it. 

The brick is just a way to get power from an AC outlet. It does not contain a battery. My guess is the different colors are there to help identify which USB connector goes to a specific pump in case you plug more than one. Just plug and play. 🙃

Edited October 2, 2021 by eatyourpeas

[Guppysnail]

On 10/1/2021 at 9:00 PM, eatyourpeas said:

The brick is just a way to get power from an AC outlet. It does not contain a battery. My guess is the different colors are there to help identify which USB connector goes to a specific pump in case you plug more than one. Just plug and play. 🙃

I get it now…silly me 🤣. It is so quiet!  I really like it. I think I may get one or two more.  I’m going to see if Coop sells the battery.  I knew it ran during power outages I just didn’t get that the battery was a separate thing. I’m going to see if Coop sells them if not I’ll find one. 

[Guppysnail]

Sorry to post twice but…really didn’t know where to put this but it’s a fish thing so here it is

about 25 years ago I spent time in the Hawaiian islands mostly Maui and Kauai.  Every event I attended they played this song. I think of it at least once a month. I never knew what it meant so I looked it up tonight and of course it’s a native fishing technique.  This reminded me of the video of how Dean and Cory were collecting in Peru. 

 

[eatyourpeas]

On 10/1/2021 at 6:13 PM, Guppysnail said:

I get it now…silly me 🤣. It is so quiet!  I really like it. I think I may get one or two more.  I’m going to see if Coop sells the battery.  I knew it ran during power outages I just didn’t get that the battery was a separate thing. I’m going to see if Coop sells them if not I’ll find one. 

The pumps are ridiculously quiet, yes! I am quite thankful for the dual plugs since I am outlet challenged, so I can plug two per port and not tax the power strip. We are very prone to power outages here, so being able to provide filtration and oxygen via a battery are a must for me.

On 10/1/2021 at 7:26 PM, Guppysnail said:

I spent time in the Hawaiian islands mostly Maui and Kauai.

Nice story! I have only been to the Big Island because I am not a beach person, but the volcanoes were hard to resist. I like how different cultures have fishing as the center of village life. Growing up, fishing and alligator catching drew the kids together to learn about our surroundings, survival, and great hunting and fishing skills. Those lessons stay with you forever!

[Guppysnail]

On 10/1/2021 at 10:59 PM, eatyourpeas said:

alligator catching

😳 oh my that sounds fascinating.  The volcanos I did not get to see. I spent my time when possible at waterfalls. I’m not a beach goer either. It was a work trip. They dictated where I stayed. We stayed at the Ka’anapali beach hotel in Maui

[eatyourpeas]

On 10/1/2021 at 8:10 PM, Guppysnail said:

😳 oh my that sounds fascinating.  The volcanos I did not get to see. I spent my time when possible at waterfalls. I’m not a beach goer either. It was a work trip. They dictated where I stayed. We stayed at the Ka’anapali beach hotel in Maui

Walking across Kilauea Iki was definitively memorable, wondering if it was going to erupt while I was in the middle of the crater! Awesome! 😃

Waterfalls are another great gift of nature. Angel Falls did it for me, hard to beat that experience! The perks of living in a country with wonderful opportunities to enjoy nature in a simple way.

[Torrey]

On 10/1/2021 at 8:26 PM, Guppysnail said:

about 25 years ago I spent time in the Hawaiian islands mostly Maui and Kauai.  Every event I attended they played this song. I think of it at least once a month. I never knew what it meant so I looked it up tonight and of course it’s a native fishing technique.  This reminded me of the video of how Dean and Cory were collecting in Peru. 

 

Thank you so much!

My spouse's dad was Samoan, and mom (just passed in May) was Southwest Indigenous (colonization broke the matrilineal line, so it's complicated).

I have been supporting a lot of research and discovery as my spouse is learning about connections that they were denied as a child. 

The relations between the various Pacific Islands has been very enlightening, with conservation and maintaining relationships with the land and the water were of primal importance before Cook disrupted them.

My spouse says thank you for the memories.... apparently their dad learned to sing this as a child living on Hawaií before coming to the states.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/30/2021 at 7:11 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I can't keep shrimp to save my life and you get them like pest snails. Ha! 

Kind of how I’m feeling.  My “shrimp tanks” have shrimp, but they’re not really all that productive.  I think I overfed (shocking, I know 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️) and the scuds got ahead of the shrimp and are outcompeting them.  I need to reset a couple tanks and transfer shrimp only, no scuds if I can manage.  Then eventually put cory babies in there assuming my laser cories will breed for me once I get them into the 20 high I’ll be setting up, you know, when I get around to it.  Cories are still in QT, I’ve got time, just need more get up and go.

[Odd Duck]

On 10/1/2021 at 8:13 PM, Guppysnail said:

I get it now…silly me 🤣. It is so quiet!  I really like it. I think I may get one or two more.  I’m going to see if Coop sells the battery.  I knew it ran during power outages I just didn’t get that the battery was a separate thing. I’m going to see if Coop sells them if not I’ll find one. 

They don’t sell any battery.  You just have to get a battery UPS from elsewhere (Staples or the like).  I’ve been slowly getting enough for each group of tanks (each air pump).  I get the 1500VA ones so it will last several hours for the air pump.  I need 2 more that I’m ordering today, then I’m set for filter/aeration back up as long as I’m only out of power for hours and not days.  We’ll be breaking out the generator and lots of extension cords if I’m out power for days.  

[Streetwise]

@Odd Duck, have you been choosing APC or CyberPower UPS units?

[Odd Duck]

On 10/2/2021 at 2:47 PM, Streetwise said:

@Odd Duck, have you been choosing APC or CyberPower UPS units?

APC

Why, do you have a suggestion for one?  I’m open.

[Guppysnail]

On 10/2/2021 at 3:58 PM, Odd Duck said:

APC

Why, do you have a suggestion for one?  I’m open.

Me too 😁

[Streetwise]

I have bought both personally, but I prefer APC when I am spending other peoples’ money.

[Odd Duck]

On 10/2/2021 at 3:57 PM, Streetwise said:

I have bought both personally, but I prefer APC when I am spending other peoples’ money.

😆 Pricy, for sure, but it’s peace of mind for me.  I worried the whole time during our Snowpocalypse in February this year and we never lost power for more than a flicker and never lost water.  There were people that came home to burst tanks and so many had fish, plants, shrimp, corals, you name it, die either directly from cold, from disease afterwards, or bad water afterwards.  I didn’t change my water for a couple weeks afterwards and added double dechlorinator for months for fear of having bad bacteria or chemicals in the water.

If we actually lose power in the cold again, I’ll be buying extra heaters and running that gennie plus burning some wood in the fireplace, but if the house gets super cold it won’t save my fish.  That’s another reason to get all the tanks into one room so a single heater can do the job (which our generator will run).

Hubby and I have been talking about what it would take to have a gennie big enough to run the heat or the AC (whole house gennie).  We’ve decided we’ll eventually be buying or building a gennie/storage shed.  Our old storage shed is run down and needs replacing anyway.  We’ll just get/build a bigger one that will cover the gennie and vent it outside the shed.

It’s a long term goal, not likely to happen this winter (I don’t think), but maybe by next winter it will.  I hope.

[Torrey]

On 10/2/2021 at 3:12 PM, Odd Duck said:

😆 Pricy, for sure, but it’s peace of mind for me.  I worried the whole time during our Snowpocalypse in February this year and we never lost power for more than a flicker and never lost water.  There were people that came home to burst tanks and so many had fish, plants, shrimp, corals, you name it, die either directly from cold, from disease afterwards, or bad water afterwards.  I didn’t change my water for a couple weeks afterwards and added double dechlorinator for months for fear of having bad bacteria or chemicals in the water.

If we actually lose power in the cold again, I’ll be buying extra heaters and running that gennie plus burning some wood in the fireplace, but if the house gets super cold it won’t save my fish.  That’s another reason to get all the tanks into one room so a single heater can do the job (which our generator will run).

Hubby and I have been talking about what it would take to have a gennie big enough to run the heat or the AC (whole house gennie).  We’ve decided we’ll eventually be buying or building a gennie/storage shed.  Our old storage shed is run down and needs replacing anyway.  We’ll just get/build a bigger one that will cover the gennie and vent it outside the shed.

It’s a long term goal, not likely to happen this winter (I don’t think), but maybe by next winter it will.  I hope.

There's a new solar roofing material that is also helpful, especially since the majority of TX gets at least a few hours of sun, even during hurricanes (I know, sometimes it's the eye).

We just got lucky, and while@Streetwise recommended UPS system, we had a couple of 'camp units' for my spouse's c-pap that can power the c-pap for 3 nights (each machine) and I discovered one unit can power a heater and the air pumps overnight 😳

I asked spouse where we purchased them, I will grab a pic when we get back home.

[Guppysnail]

I run sab-11 d battery backups that come on when power fails but they are LOUD. I am definitely saving up to replace all 7 with the coop nanos AND battery.  We do have a gas generator for longer term but ours always goes in the middle of the night so the Sab come on even while sleeping.  But when all 7 roar I’m wide awake. 3 days is the longest without power I’ve experienced.  

[Odd Duck]

On 10/2/2021 at 4:26 PM, Torrey said:

There's a new solar roofing material that is also helpful, especially since the majority of TX gets at least a few hours of sun, even during hurricanes (I know, sometimes it's the eye).

We just got lucky, and while@Streetwise recommended UPS system, we had a couple of 'camp units' for my spouse's c-pap that can power the c-pap for 3 nights (each machine) and I discovered one unit can power a heater and the air pumps overnight 😳

I asked spouse where we purchased them, I will grab a pic when we get back home.

I’d love to do some solar.  On the list after a bigger gennie.  And new flooring.  And a new front door.  I’m not sure why we never get around to that one, well, yes I do, the old door is perfectly functional, just ugly.  😆  I’m also interested in this magical 3 day battery, too.