Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[Guppysnail]

On 10/8/2021 at 9:46 AM, Hobbit said:

Those pygmies are too polite! They need to shove those shrimp out of the way!!

My loaches are the same way though. They won’t push anyone out of the way for food, not even the little otos. 🥰

They are very polite but only shy when shrimp take over.  I think that is why the tiny terrorists are making me so angry 🤣

[Guppysnail]

Planters came today. I rinsed all three cups to put in 4 glass plant holders.  There were tons of little plants they were packed in like sardines. I knew if I put all into 4 cups the bottom of them would not get enough light. I needed more planters and thought…if only the little cups they came in had suction cups and hole 🤔. Out came the drill, super glue and suction cups. I made planters out of them. I decided to place them at the water line under the light with some leaves and some leaf tips out of the water. I’m hoping access to co2 will help the transition and once they start growing good after adjustment I’ll slowly lower the planters. The ones with just black gravel are the plastic cups. 
 

I now have 10-12 free swimmer CPD. hard to count they are so tiny.  The first two are starting to look like fish instead of eyelashes with eyes. 

Mom laid and dad if fanning

ho can resist these faces 🥰

Lefty’s fin is growing back but not the bony part(do not know the name of that piece) he is growing so well I am proud of him!

Even my gang of CPD love repashy on a stick 

HAPPY ADVENTURES…TRY SOMETHING NEW 

[Patrick_G]

Brilliantly idea! They’re going to grow like crazy in that position. I think I’m going to poach the idea for my 11 gal cube. 😀

[Guppysnail]

On 10/8/2021 at 8:14 PM, Patrick_G said:

Brilliantly idea! They’re going to grow like crazy in that position. I think I’m going to poach the idea for my 11 gal cube. 😀

Feel free it is your idea anyway. I got the idea from your wabi kusa project 🤣

[Patrick_G]

On 10/8/2021 at 5:16 PM, Guppysnail said:

Feel free it is your idea anyway. I got the idea from your wabi kusa project 🤣

That’s funny, my first idea for a comment was that they look like Wabi Kusa. 😀

[Isaac M]

@Guppysnail the planters look awesome! I love all the diy stuff. Just be careful when doing a water change, my planters with suction cups always slide down without the help of buoyancy but maybe mine are too old now haha I used stainless steel wire on my diy planters that I keep at the water level and they have done great for the past year or 2 now. Your baby plecos look great! 

[Guppysnail]

On 10/8/2021 at 10:00 PM, Isaac M said:

@Guppysnail the planters look awesome! I love all the diy stuff. Just be careful when doing a water change, my planters with suction cups always slide down without the help of buoyancy but maybe mine are too old now haha I used stainless steel wire on my diy planters that I keep at the water level and they have done great for the past year or 2 now. Your baby plecos look great! 

Thanks. I was concerned about them especially the ones I glued supporting the weight without coming apart. I like the wire support idea. I think I will try that. Do you have pictures? I think I remember seeing you post one about this. 

[Isaac M]

I did make a post about it on my first journal but for some reason my pictures are not loading up on that post when I checked right now so I just took some new ones right now. So what I do is use this stainless steel wire:

And I wrap it in the location that the suction cup would be in like so:

Then I cut the wire a little long and bend it over the rim so it hangs like this:

I use Leica expanded clay balls now to fill the planters because they are super light but I have older ones that I made with gravel and large plants and they are holding up very well with this system:

[Guppysnail]

On 10/8/2021 at 10:22 PM, Isaac M said:

I did make a post about it on my first journal but for some reason my pictures are not loading up on that post when I checked right now so I just took some new ones right now. So what I do is use this stainless steel wire:

And I wrap it in the location that the suction cup would be in like so:

Then I cut the wire a little long and bend it over the rim so it hangs like this:

I use Leica expanded clay balls now to fill the planters because they are super light but I have older ones that I made with gravel and large plants and they are holding up very well with this system:

Thank you. I’m going to look into the clay balls. I worried the gravel would be to heavy but I needed something to anchor the roots. The steal wire will work awesome. I can drill holes for the diy ones and the glass ones the suction cups are attached to a glass stem I can wrap it around. Thanks again for taking time to take pictures. You are always so helpful.  I finally upgraded from my tea dispenser brine shrimp hatchery you helped me with to the Ziss and Artemis hobby sieves you recommended. Loving it 🥰

[Isaac M]

Sounds like a plan! And no problem, I am very happy to see the progress haha I always look forward to your aquarium updates! 

[Guppysnail]

Found about 5 of these today in my guppy community.  Legs are red as well. My original red shrimp were very low grade with clearish legs. I guess my tiny terrorists are trying to impress me because they know I’m mad at the ones in the Pygmy tank 🤣

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Beautiful red though!

[Torrey]

On 10/10/2021 at 7:06 PM, Guppysnail said:

Found about 5 of these today in my guppy community.  Legs are red as well. My original red shrimp were very low grade with clearish legs. I guess my tiny terrorists are trying to impress me because they know I’m mad at the ones in the Pygmy tank 🤣

Those are gorgeous!!!!!

I hope to get a colony of Carbon rili again, and may they be half as prolific and beautiful as yours and I will be overjoyed!

[Guppysnail]

On 10/11/2021 at 3:38 AM, Torrey said:

Those are gorgeous!!!!!

I hope to get a colony of Carbon rili again, and may they be half as prolific and beautiful as yours and I will be overjoyed!

I wish you every shrimp blessing 🥰. A few of mine turn out with the clear stripe in the middle. I had every color to start so nifty ones turn up randomly.  

Edited October 11, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

This is as close as I can get with my big pink flounder phone 🤣. They hate my phone but love me. I do not know how to do video on here …YET… this is reason enough for me to learn. These guys come up always 1 then 2-3 then organize themselves into formation (last photo) then ZOOOOM about the tank in a group. 

[Odd Duck]

On 10/11/2021 at 5:19 PM, Guppysnail said:

organize themselves into formation (last photo) then ZOOOOM about the tank in a group

ORD, but love this!  😍

[Guppysnail]

I did all the tanks in the dressing room with the COOP nano pumps. I have always prided myself on how quiet my tanks were. This is a whole new level. No more backstops. No more flow adjusters because these flow at the perfect rate. I then went into the main room which is where I go for quiet time…it suddenly sounded so loud it made me anxious.  I went ahead and got 6 more nano pumps. Put those in and WOW. Then I heard a clicking sound. Took me a few minutes to track it down. The small wall clock was ticking 😳. I never knew it ticked before 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

These are pictures of the stuff in each room these awesome little pumps replaced. I left 3 of the other backup pumps on. They were unobtrusive and good to have for extra cycled sponges. 

I have seen the light 🤩

Three CPD fry are big enough for BBS

Pleco babies getting big 

guppy boys I kept are really beginning to show dads color

guppy babies on a stick 🤣

HAPPY ADVENTURES…TRY SOMETHING NEW

 

[Atitagain]

All your fish are looking great! The deep blue on those guppies bodies really make their tails flash. 
those nano pumps are amazing, I bought a few for tanks that weren’t in my old fish room and like you said the flow is perfect. Even a little heavy for smaller tanks but nothing a never clog air stone can’t calm down. Your tanks seem to spread out for a Linear piston air pump? that’s what I got for my room and I love it. 1 electric plug for whole room. And it’s more than enough for what I need. And it’s only about as loud as I big regular pump. I keep the nanos for breeder boxes, if I need a quick set up, or temporary use. I have a mess of old pumps like the one you show, don’t know why I can’t just throw in garbage that’s all their good for now. 🤣

[Guppysnail]

On 10/12/2021 at 11:31 PM, Atitagain said:

All your fish are looking great! The deep blue on those guppies bodies really make their tails flash. 
those nano pumps are amazing, I bought a few for tanks that weren’t in my old fish room and like you said the flow is perfect. Even a little heavy for smaller tanks but nothing a never clog air stone can’t calm down. Your tanks seem to spread out for a Linear piston air pump? that’s what I got for my room and I love it. 1 electric plug for whole room. And it’s more than enough for what I need. And it’s only about as loud as I big regular pump. I keep the nanos for breeder boxes, if I need a quick set up, or temporary use. I have a mess of old pumps like the one you show, don’t know why I can’t just throw in garbage that’s all their good for now. 🤣

The linear piston is not practical for me. I looked into it but more trouble than it would be worth. I have so much old equipment it’s not funny. For everything else in my life if it’s old and I no longer use it I give it away/throw it away. Fish stuff😑. I have small pieces of sponge left over from matten sheets that are probably 20 years old so throwing out a pump 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Edited October 13, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

Found a black shrimp in the pleco tank 😳. My photo skills do not do it justice

I pulled some elodea out of the baby pleco tank that was looking particularly rough. I’m not even sure my hand was out of the tank before the mob descended to pick it clean

so it is time. This past week after cleaning all my hobs I sat in front of the tanks alternating heat and ice on my wrist that swelled as large as my hand wondering “what now, I just can’t do hobs anymore) this would not be an issue if I was ok with just sponges. But for all the creepy craw lies, algae, biofilm etc I allow to flourish I have water clarity hang ups. My thing is looking at twinkling sparkling crystal clear water with no floaties, it has to be so crisp it makes me thirsty(no I won’t drink it). If it’s not that crystalline it is just not relaxing and I end up watching the floaters being irritated and not seeing my fish. I’ve only ever been able to get that with hobs. For all the awkwardness of line cleaning with canisters maintaining them does not make me hurt. So I decided to start with the hardest of the hobs the guppy community.  I got a fluval and set it up like my pleco tanks. Hob on left then intake, outflow far right. I went with a larger than needed so if the flow slows at a time my wrist is not up to the challenge I can cheat and just turn the flow up 😝 the other two in the main fish room will be next probably after Christmas 

I took pictures because before I ever used a canister I was intimidated unnecessarily and thought I would never have one because they seem complex…they are not.  So if anyone has never seen inside one or if someone is just nosey like me and enjoys snooping what others do here it is. 
I use bottom layer coop coarse (it is the coarsest then I get aquaneat matten filter pads 20-30-40ppi. I use both the floss pads it comes with on one side and 1 piece of thicker coop floss pad on the other only on start up. When I clean I replace with a thin 40. 
things I DONT use

things I DO use

final set up. The multi colored jigsaw puzzle is all the media from two of 3 hobs on that tank (I did run 3 smaller rather than 1 large as it’s easier on lifting for my wrist)

I always sit inside a tote in case of small leaks (big ones it’s at least a few gallons not on my floor🤷‍♀️)

I refuse to use fluval silicone lubricant because everything you need should come with it not something you have to buy extra increasing their profit so I found I like this for the three o-rings

plants are growing so fast now I have a nutrient deficiency 😲 can someone tell me is it phosphate or potassium or other thanks

HAPPY ADVENTURES…TRY SOMETHING NEW 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

First try test videos. The tiny specs you see in the back moving are new free swimming CPD fry at full zoom

Baby BN 🥰

 

[Guppysnail]

Here are my blue boys the way they look when my questionable photography skills don’t distort them. I got sound on the video of my living room practice video but now can’t figure out how I did it 🤣 enjoy the silent relaxation 

my piranhas want to know why I’m staring and not feeding 

 

[Streetwise]

I love your tanks and contributions, but please share horizontal videos!

[Guppysnail]

On 10/14/2021 at 6:54 PM, Streetwise said:

I love your tanks and contributions, but please share horizontal videos!

What are horizontal videos and how do I do them please?  I’m just taking video with my phone and that’s how YouTube uploads it. I could not find a free editor that works with my phone. 

[Streetwise]

I hope that I don’t sound critical! I help folks with technology for a living, and I am often minimal with my advice.

You should be able to rotate your phone so that the corner cameras are on the upper left, before hitting record.