Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/9/2023 at 6:38 AM, Guppysnail said:

The weekend adventure that finally allowed the funny tank to be hauled away by the trash company 😁

The club had a swap. I took 9 magenta snails. Meant to take 12 but 3 hid. 30 Spixii snails and a frightening number of Least killifish. 
 

Remember the swarm?

I knew there were way too many so I contacted someone to swap for a tank to replace the funny tank the Piano snails were in. They took as many LK as I could bring. 
I pulled out all the guppy grass so I could easily net and almost had a heart attack. I’m shocked I was not finding dead fish from severe overstock. I had no idea there were that many in there. They become invisible in the guppy grass. 
I took 6 bags with average 15-25 LK/ bag so 100+ and still have to many left. They started hiding behind the UGF tubes so I could not get enough. 
Here is what’s left and it is still to many. I am keeping the guppy grass cut way back now so I can better monitor stock levels so the fish remain healthy  

I set up the new tank for the piano snails and took down the funny tank. I have 49 piano snails from the original 3 now. I forgot to take photos. 
 

I was moving the funny tank under the Melini tank on the bottom for a plant project I have been trying for over 6 months. Every time I set it up something goes seriously pear shaped. This time being no exception. I slid the funny tank in beside the canister filter and bumped the back corner on the metal stand. The entire bottom corner broke out. So the funny tank is no more!  Should be 😭 but really is 🥳. I hate working on that tank but continued to torture my self repeatedly with it. 
Almost had a Peacock gudgeon adventure with @TeeJay but they turned out to be a preorder fish she did not bring to the swap with her. 
I also moved 6 dwarf cat fry into the tank above their fry tank so they can adjust to community life. The fry tank is getting very crowded with dwarf cats and panda fry. 
 

I moved my single girl Honey gourami and the largest most dominant male to the adult panda tank. I have watched and watched since I got them to see which boy she favored. She was an insufferable flirt and I could not tell if she favored one over the other. 2 of the boys were starting to hide from the big guy. Aggressive in Honey gourami is funny. The big guy just swims over and sits in the other boys space until the smaller one leaves. That’s it. 🤣 sorry lights were out when I moved them so the video is a bit dim and foggy looking  

Crazy busy weekend so much that normal football Sunday water change was moved to today 😝

HAPPY ADVENTURES…TRY SOMETHING NEW 

I bet @Hobbit can offer some tips on Honey Gourami breeding!

On 1/9/2023 at 6:38 AM, Guppysnail said:

So the funny tank is no more!  Should be 😭 but really is 🥳. I hate working on that tank but continued to torture my self repeatedly with it. 

It was meant to be.

[Guppysnail]

Some days are like this

And some days are like this 

Yesterday was definitely the latter of the two. 
 

The day before as I mentioned I moved my insufferable flirt girl Honey Gourami and the largest male who she was in the same area the most with over to the panda tank beside the tank they are in. I did not necessarily want fry I wanted to see the mating, bubble nest and dad guarding. Plus I thought she would be happier with only 1 boy and not 5 boys chasing her. 

WRONG 

In the morning I found her on the side closest to her old tank staring  in that tank I found 4 boys staring back huddled on the side of the tank closest to her. The boy in the tank with her kept coming over comforting her with his feelers but she refused to move. Obviously I picked the wrong boy and her mate was still in the other tank  

But which one they are all huddled staring at her.  I figured whichever one stayed there most of the day would be the one.  
I tried to feed both tanks. Nobody would eat.  I got out the white worms. Normally she beelines and eats those from my fingers and the boys get only what falls past her. Nope.  Not interested. I even stuck my hand in and touched her lips with a worm and she refused.
I went about the day pondering what to do hoping to be able to identify her beau. No luck but by evening the situation had not changed  no one was moving or eating. 

I moved them both to the original tank and what happened knocked me for a loop.

The male went to his usual haunt immediately and so did each of the other boys.  She went to each boy in their haunt and they explored one another with feelers and twisting around each other.  Then she resumed her Queen bee 🐝 position front and center of the tank and the boys all met in the middle doing the feeler thing and waggling about in a group.  They then went back to their home but each stopped to entwine feelers with her on their way. 
She then looked at me and started using her feelers on the glass which is her telling me she wants food.  I fed them and everyone ate with gusto in their area.  She is happy as can be again roaming the tank flirting with each boy  

A bonded group?  A reverse bonded harem?  Do Honey gourami do this???? I’ve not read about it if they do.  @laritheloud??????

What I thought was hiding was just their preferred territory.  I watched closer and the boy that chose between the sponge filter and the canister prefilter who does not eat much is actually feasting on baby shrimp  he spent the rest of the evening digging them out and plucking them off the sponges.  
 

She has now earned her name 

Catherine the Great. Cat for short. 
 

So I was VERY WRONG on all accounts 🤣

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Guppysnail

[laritheloud]

On 1/10/2023 at 8:19 AM, Guppysnail said:

Some days are like this

And some days are like this 

Yesterday was definitely the latter of the two. 
 

The day before as I mentioned I moved my insufferable flirt girl Honey Gourami and the largest male who she was in the same area the most with over to the panda tank beside the tank they are in. I did not necessarily want fry I wanted to see the mating, bubble nest and dad guarding. Plus I thought she would be happier with only 1 boy and not 5 boys chasing her. 

WRONG 

In the morning I found her on the side closest to her old tank staring  in that tank I found 4 boys staring back huddled on the side of the tank closest to her. The boy in the tank with her kept coming over comforting her with his feelers but she refused to move. Obviously I picked the wrong boy and her mate was still in the other tank  

But which one they are all huddled staring at her.  I figured whichever one stayed there most of the day would be the one.  
I tried to feed both tanks. Nobody would eat.  I got out the white worms. Normally she beelines and eats those from my fingers and the boys get only what falls past her. Nope.  Not interested. I even stuck my hand in and touched her lips with a worm and she refused.
I went about the day pondering what to do hoping to be able to identify her beau. No luck but by evening the situation had not changed  no one was moving or eating. 

I moved them both to the original tank and what happened knocked me for a loop.

The male went to his usual haunt immediately and so did each of the other boys.  She went to each boy in their haunt and they explored one another with feelers and twisting around each other.  Then she resumed her Queen bee 🐝 position front and center of the tank and the boys all met in the middle doing the feeler thing and waggling about in a group.  They then went back to their home but each stopped to entwine feelers with her on their way. 
She then looked at me and started using her feelers on the glass which is her telling me she wants food.  I fed them and everyone ate with gusto in their area.  She is happy as can be again roaming the tank flirting with each boy  

A bonded group?  A reverse bonded harem?  Do Honey gourami do this???? I’ve not read about it if they do.  @laritheloud??????

What I thought was hiding was just their preferred territory.  I watched closer and the boy that chose between the sponge filter and the canister prefilter who does not eat much is actually feasting on baby shrimp  he spent the rest of the evening digging them out and plucking them off the sponges.  
 

She has now earned her name 

Catherine the Great. Cat for short. 
 

So I was VERY WRONG on all accounts 🤣

 

 

 

Gouramis are actually a very social species! They much prefer living in groups, so it makes sense to me that they are happiest together. They do look like they're 'hiding' when they stake out their spots, but that's mostly their natural behaviors finding a place that's comfy for them. I'm glad that they're happy together again.

By the way, a female Gourami (Clementine) is definitely the gourami boss in my 55 gallon. Not unheard of!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I think I found her theme song.

@Guppysnail

[TheSwissAquarist]

She’s indecisive…maybe take a cut out of tye Tazawa Tanks YouTube logo and see how she behaves towards that! 😂

[Guppysnail]

On 1/10/2023 at 11:08 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

She’s indecisive…maybe take a cut out of tye Tazawa Tanks YouTube logo and see how she behaves towards that! 😂

She is very decisive as I just learned. She wants them ALL!  That’s why I named her Catherine the Great. 😁

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 1/10/2023 at 5:17 PM, Guppysnail said:

She is very decisive as I just learned. She wants them ALL!  That’s why I named her Catherine the Great. 😁

Zenobia might be quite fitting, along with Cleopatra if we’re playing the history game.😁

[Odd Duck]

As long as they treat her like a queen, why shouldn’t she have them all?  😆 😂 🤣 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Odd Duck

[eatyourpeas]

My favourite coffee date! What a great journal this continues to be. Thank you, @Guppysnail!

[Guppysnail]

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/12/2023 at 1:47 PM, Guppysnail said:

Froggin! 😍

[Guppysnail]

@Cinnebuns I couldn’t remember which topic you talked about this. Here is one of mine that changed color. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:05 PM, Guppysnail said:

@Cinnebuns I couldn’t remember which topic you talked about this. Here is one of mine that changed color. 

Yeah that's a dramatic color change!  I've seen it a bunch before with snails too but what threw me about mine is the pattern change too. It had a nice beautiful hand painted looking pattern of a red racer but now it looks like a completely different snail!  

Here's pics to jog your memory. 

 

This was it shortly after I got it

 

[Hobbit]

I just caught up on your honey gourami breeding attempt! And 🤣 what drama! They are such fun, smart little fish. Your female looks like she’s fat and happy. Great condition! The females were always the bosses in my tanks too.

Maybe they’d react better if you took the other males out of the gourami tank instead of removing the mating pair. That’s just a guess, though. If you aren’t actually looking for babies, why not just let her enjoy all the attention? 😆

[Guppysnail]

On 1/15/2023 at 11:43 AM, Hobbit said:

I just caught up on your honey gourami breeding attempt! And 🤣 what drama! They are such fun, smart little fish. Your female looks like she’s fat and happy. Great condition! The females were always the bosses in my tanks too.

Maybe they’d react better if you took the other males out of the gourami tank instead of removing the mating pair. That’s just a guess, though. If you aren’t actually looking for babies, why not just let her enjoy all the attention? 😆

I have decided to leave well enough alone. They are 😃 happy. I did not understand the social dynamic I was seeing. Now I do. Daft human🤣

[Hobbit]

[eatyourpeas]

Coffee, @Guppysnail’s journal update, and it is so good to see @Hobbit! 😀

[Anjum]

On 1/10/2023 at 5:33 AM, laritheloud said:

Gouramis are actually a very social species! They much prefer living in groups, so it makes sense to me that they are happiest together. They do look like they're 'hiding' when they stake out their spots, but that's mostly their natural behaviors finding a place that's comfy for them. I'm glad that they're happy together again.

By the way, a female Gourami (Clementine) is definitely the gourami boss in my 55 gallon. Not unheard of!

Just catching up on your journal @Guppysnail after reading elsewhere you got a group of honeys. I just got a single male for my 29 (w/ 5 harlequin Rasboras & 6 paleatus corys). I wanted a peaceful fish to round out the tank (the SAE I rehomed was a little too rambunctious for this tank). I only got one honey bc everything I read/watched made it seem like a group could invite aggression. But now that he's been here a week, I keep feeling like he's lonely, even though he gets along fine w/ all the other fish. Figured I was anthropomorphizing it all. But after reading your account & @laritheloud post, now Idk! Argh! 

[Guppysnail]

On 1/15/2023 at 7:05 PM, Anjum said:

Just catching up on your journal @Guppysnail after reading elsewhere you got a group of honeys. I just got a single male for my 29 (w/ 5 harlequin Rasboras & 6 paleatus corys). I wanted a peaceful fish to round out the tank (the SAE I rehomed was a little too rambunctious for this tank). I only got one honey bc everything I read/watched made it seem like a group could invite aggression. But now that he's been here a week, I keep feeling like he's lonely, even though he gets along fine w/ all the other fish. Figured I was anthropomorphizing it all. But after reading your account & @laritheloud post, now Idk! Argh! 

All 5 of my boys have breeding beards and still the boy I moved with the girl temporarily would not eat or swim about. He did not like just him and her either. Wait and see if you can find him a girl

[Anjum]

On 1/15/2023 at 4:48 PM, Guppysnail said:

All 5 of my boys have breeding beards and still the boy I moved with the girl temporarily would not eat or swim about. He did not like just him and her either. Wait and see if you can find him a girl

I have half a mind to drive back to the co-op tomorrow & get another. But I should probably slow-play this instead of rushing to conclusions. He's not in distress, he eats & moves about the whole tank. I really am torn. The main reason I settled on a single is that I want this tank to stay peaceful. The Rasboras are so meek & the Corys are so good-natured & derpy. But I don't want a lonely fish either. 🤷 I'll keep researching & seeking input. I read Hobbit's journal & I'm about to read Lari's. 

[laritheloud]

On 1/15/2023 at 8:16 PM, Anjum said:

I have half a mind to drive back to the co-op tomorrow & get another. But I should probably slow-play this instead of rushing to conclusions. He's not in distress, he eats & moves about the whole tank. I really am torn. The main reason I settled on a single is that I want this tank to stay peaceful. The Rasboras are so meek & the Corys are so good-natured & derpy. But I don't want a lonely fish either. 🤷 I'll keep researching & seeking input. I read Hobbit's journal & I'm about to read Lari's. 

I currently have a single honey gourami remaining in my 29 gallon tank. He's just fine, but he is less 'out and about' than he was when there was a handful of other honey gouramis with him. He tends to be pretty shy and likes to swim around the clusters of dense plant life in my tank. He is totally peaceful, though, his color looks great, and he's still doing his thing. I'm not planning on getting more honey gourami right now so he's my main man in that tank.

If you choose to add more to your 29, you can probably add up to 3 more. Some people put up to 6 honeys in a 29, but four or five should be fine. You'll see a lot more activity from these fish when they have company, and they will form an hierarchy amongst themselves. The dominant fish will do some chasing of the others on and off but that is totally normal for the species. There shouldn't be any injury from the chasing, and provide some small areas of cover for the females to seek refuge when they want a break for a bit.

Good luck!

[Hobbit]

@Anjum I currently have two male honeys in my 55g tank and they are pals! They choose to hang out near each other most of the time. Sometimes one tries to entice the other into mating. 😄 I didn’t add them at the same time either—one was maybe a year old when I added the other as a youngster. If you have the option to take a second gourami home as a trial, I’d take it and see what happens. But I’m always going to be in the “more honeys” camp. 😁

[Guppysnail]

6 assasin babies front and center this morning so we treated the tank to frozen bloodworms. 

[Guppysnail]

All these toys and you choose to do fish water? Mom I wonder about you some days. PLAY - play is what is important 🤣

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 1/16/2023 at 3:40 PM, Guppysnail said:

All these toys and you choose to do fish water? Mom I wonder about you some days. PLAY - play is what is important 🤣

Along with cat food 🤤… but PLAY WITH ME PLEASE!