Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[Guppysnail]

On 7/16/2023 at 6:44 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

@Guppysnail there are not supposed to be any tiny terrorists in my 29g tank. I got them all out over a month ago. Why then, did I find a perfect molt today? 🙄

I had one living in a tank for 6 months I never seen. I would find molts but never see the shrimp. When I moved the tank I finally found him. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:10 PM, Guppysnail said:

I had one living in a tank for 6 months I never seen. I would find molts but never see the shrimp. When I moved the tank I finally found him. 

Yeah I looked but didn’t find the molt’s owner, lol

[Guppysnail]

Another someday fish has come to reside with me. 
 

Psuedomugil gertrudae

They are still coloring up from transport but their home is almost done. 
I wanted a miniature diorama to match Frog Shire but differing. 
 

Overgrown Zen garden. 
 

I still have more green moss rocks coming. It’s not quite how I pictured it. I wanted the hornwort all growing from one side across the tank like a giant weeping tree. The fish thought otherwise. They hid behind the hornwort. So I split the hornwort to both sides. Now they are happy. 
 

I had this little piece of wood floating in a snail tank. It only wanted to sink the bottom part. I looked at it just right and used a bit of imagination and it looks like a Chinese dragon. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:28 PM, Guppysnail said:

Zen garden

Very cute @Guppysnail!

On 7/16/2023 at 7:28 PM, Guppysnail said:

looks like a Chinese dragon. 

Yes! I can see it! Very creative!

[Guppysnail]

After the P. gertrudae are done with quarantine I’m going to have to move one of my hillstreams in with them. 
 

Even though their bickering does not result in injury it is every day. 
All my other cooler temp tanks have vacuum cleaner fish (aka Corydora ). These kids are slower eating so I don’t think that would be great for them.  Though I would love to add them to my 40B cat tank. 
 

It is comical to watch their bickering though. 

 

[beastie]

Love the frog shire tank and the zen garden. Dont do this to me, I was considering getting an african dwarf frog again recently, then decided against it, cause it would have to be frog only tank, but you make them look so cute! please stop! 🙂

Initially I bought 5 hillstreams, all seemed to be males too. I lost two, bought two more, one was definitely a female based on the size. This one is the most aggressive of them all, will chase away any sewellia or even panda garras from food.. Now I do not know if I want more females or not :)) 

[Guppysnail]

@beastie thank you for the info. I was wondering if maybe getting some girls and putting them in a bigger tank would change the dynamic. Definitely sounds like it will cause even more of the same. 
 

The Frog Shire is by far the happiest tank I have ever had. Even when they were in their qt 5 g tank on the floor I spent more time sitting with them than all my other tanks. 
 

The frogs are definitely my thing 🥰

[Guppysnail]

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

African dwarf frogs are hardy and lovely. Along with the kuhli loaches in my sons tank they make for a delightful mix of derpy cuteness. 

I didn’t have my hillstream loaches long enough to be an expert. On my redemption list of fish to try again. 

[Guppysnail]

Every morning just before lights on my CPD start laying eggs in the moss. Just as lights come on the melini cory start laying. In late afternoon the Pygmy lay in moss. 
This tank is always so active but it’s a very calm active. 

.

 

The Zen tank is done. I removed the blue ball because drove me crazy. It was like eyes in paintings that follow you. Every step in any direction I took made it look off center and it was distracting. 
 

 

[Bev C]

@Guppysnail the tanks look beautiful and the frogs are adorable wished i could keep some ,,tried them 3 times   with no luck ,,,

the Aspidora are doing fine with a few accidents they  are in their  forever home   one died after the move he was the smallest & weakest and nothing got him ahold of him next morning he was lying in the sand ,, the other accident whenI  moving them  and one jumped and landing on the floor and my dachshund got him i hated it so much and i seat down and cried ,, next time i know to lock Joey up before moving moving fish or shrimp or snails I was not expecting them to completely jump out of the water and container ,,

I might be interested in getting more 20 or 24 Aspidora in the future not sure yet  next time you have some ,,,, My brother and I are trying to find space for my old 29 gallon ,,, if we put it together I would like a few snails and Aspidora or pigmy cories ,,I am not any hurry ,to set up , not sure if we can make room for another tank or not ,,it depends 

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2023 at 10:59 AM, Bev C said:

@Guppysnail the tanks look beautiful and the frogs are adorable wished i could keep some ,,tried them 3 times   with no luck ,,,

the Aspidora are doing fine with a few accidents they  are in their  forever home   one died after the move he was the smallest & weakest and nothing got him ahold of him next morning he was lying in the sand ,, the other accident whenI  moving them  and one jumped and landing on the floor and my dachshund got him i hated it so much and i seat down and cried ,, next time i know to lock Joey up before moving moving fish or shrimp or snails I was not expecting them to completely jump out of the water and container ,,

I might be interested in getting more 20 or 24 Aspidora in the future not sure yet  next time you have some ,,,, My brother and I are trying to find space for my old 29 gallon ,,, if we put it together I would like a few snails and Aspidora or pigmy cories ,,I am not any hurry ,to set up , not sure if we can make room for another tank or not ,,it depends 

I’m sorry for you accidents. I had 1 jump out of the net and my cat pounced. I know how sad it is. 
 

When you’re ready let me know. I’ll hatch out some Aspidora for you if I do not have any. I’m redoing their tank and wanted to switch substrate the other day. I found a bunch of babies smaller than the gravel even though I’ve been removing eggs. Guess they hide them well. 
 

I can also send you some piano and white wizard snails if you like. I had them together at one point but they kept trying to mate one another so I separated the two types. 
 

Im glad you enjoy the Aspidora enough that you want more. I know I love them. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/18/2023 at 8:54 AM, Guppysnail said:

Hidden. (For the most part.) 

Lucio has a roommate in the window frame nook now. They sleep squished up next to each other. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/18/2023 at 7:11 AM, Guppysnail said:

After the P. gertrudae are done with quarantine I’m going to have to move one of my hillstreams in with them. 
 

Even though their bickering does not result in injury it is every day. 
All my other cooler temp tanks have vacuum cleaner fish (aka Corydora ). These kids are slower eating so I don’t think that would be great for them.  Though I would love to add them to my 40B cat tank. 
 

It is comical to watch their bickering though. 

 

Do you think they might be mating?  Also isn't it interesting that the white snail has dark brown new growth.  Kind of like how nerites patterns switch.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2023 at 2:21 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Do you think they might be mating?  Also isn't it interesting that the white snail has dark brown new growth.  Kind of like how nerites patterns switch.

The Gertrude’s have only been with me a week. I doubt they are mating yet. 
 

the dark brown is different than nerites. Wizard are born brown. As they age they turn white. The brown will slowly turn white also. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/20/2023 at 2:48 PM, Guppysnail said:

doubt they are mating yet.

No, I’m talking about the hill streams. 🙃

On 7/20/2023 at 2:48 PM, Guppysnail said:

the dark brown is different than nerites. Wizard are born brown. As they age they turn white. The brown will slowly turn white also. 

Snails are awesome, aren’t they?

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2023 at 3:20 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

No, I’m talking about the hill streams

I have not really looked into what hillstream mating looks like because I thought all the squabbling meant both boys. I’ll have to find some YouTube’s and take a look. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:22 PM, Guppysnail said:

I have not really looked into what hillstream mating looks like because I thought all the squabbling meant both boys. I’ll have to find some YouTube’s and take a look. 

Rachel O'Leary is the go to....

 

[Guppysnail]

the Aspidora tank is done. 
The beautiful lotus bamboo was a gift from @dasaltemelosguy  THANK YOU

The Buddha girl on the light came from ordering for the Zen tank. Her and the Japanese cherry blossoms were for the 10g Zen. However their size made her look like an Easter Island Moai instead of a miniature diorama. 
 

While I was looking for the correct size Torii gate for the Zen tank I ran across the trunk up elephant and dragon turtle. They instantly brought a joyful smile to my heart so I got them for this tank. 

So they are my “Foo dog” not dog guardians of the Aspidora realm. 
 

loose meanings

Lotus buddha - balance and stability

Cherry blossoms- New beginnings, endings, impermanence, change

Trunk up elephant = Goodwill, good luck and good fortune

Dragon turtle =courage, success, longevity and fertility (I was hesitant to add it since the Aspidora are already over prolific 🤣)

 

I want to add original Zen garden inspiration credit goes to @xXInkedPhoenixX and all their creative tanks  🤗

 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Aww, thanks! I love it! Those are stupid adorable statues

[Guppysnail]

I trimmed and organized the hillstream /anchor cat tank so I can see better. The anchor cats were not thrilled losing so much cover but there is still plenty of dense hiding spots. 

[Guppysnail]

@nabokovfan87 in Rachel’s video on the hillstreams she mentioned she would share a link to where to buy those ?calvis? Caves as YouTubers often do. 
I never can find or view links they mention. Can you DM me the link to purchase these. I do believe they are also ideal for my anchor cats. 

[Guppysnail]

One of my Psuedomugil gertrudae is coming into breeding condition. These definitely did not disappoint. 
I see I got water on the back of the tank when redoing. 🤣

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:30 AM, Guppysnail said:

One of my Psuedomugil gertrudae is coming into breeding condition. These definitely did not disappoint. 
I see I got water on the back of the tank when redoing. 🤣

 

Cc @Cinnebuns

Do you think ( @Guppysnail) that having one species in there makes it a lot easier to see the breeding colors and that behavior?

[Guppysnail]

On 7/22/2023 at 3:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Cc @Cinnebuns

Do you think ( @Guppysnail) that having one species in there makes it a lot easier to see the breeding colors and that behavior?

Definitely I always see the most natural behavior in species only tanks. Behavior changes based on dealing with other inhabitants