Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[Guppysnail]

Fun fish shopping adventures today! Picked up another 20 gallon tote for the pleco babies in case I end up needing it in a month. Hubby said he was going to drill holes in everything in the house that holds more than 2 cups of water. Of course I started describing all the beautiful bowls, vases and jarrariums I have seen on the forum (wrong response 😂). He shook his head and said “as long as you are happy sweetheart “ He is a great husband!  
 

Went to big box to get peace river (out of stock) but found one I loved. Picked up a little tube Anubis to fill in the hole in my one Java bush creation. Got some smooth stones to make a small rock pile and some new backing since it’s in front of the window with all day sun and Pygmys don’t seem to care for the bright light. It’s black with rocks and wood. I think it will add to the underwater forest effect. I’m going all in with the tannins on this one so I ordered 2 small pieces of mopani. I was so excited my new Aqueon pro heater for it came today. This was the last glass heater I have in use. I was so ready to retire it to the community tote for old equipment 🤣. Then I noticed the heater in the funny tank gave up the ghost! Glass heaters will end up going to the grave with me 🤨.

Got to see all the wrigglers in the cave. There are so many. Found a few escapees on an almond leaf. 
Decided adding test gravel to CPDs QT was premature since Wednesday I will be adding new CPD to the QT. I’m thinking I may wait until I sort out the new ones for issues then I’ll add the sentinel fish to be sure none of the CPD are latent carriers.  Then I will add the home gravel. At least that’s the plan for now. 
got a good picture of my spastic boy guppy. I love the one pink spot on his tail!
Not fish related but my northeastern grey tree frog was super active today so I threw in some pictures of her. Her name is Froggin. 3 inch frog 50 gallon tank…am I overstocked? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hope you had a fish keeping adventure today.  I enjoy reading about others adventures so much! 🙂

Edited August 15, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Patrick_G]

The tube Anubias looks pretty nice for a big box plant. Nice score! 

[Guppysnail]

Yeah for whatever reason this big box always has awesome Anubias! Lousy Java fern and water fern though 🤷‍♀️ 

[FrozenFins]

Its hard to walk by an anubias and not love it! Almost all my plant orders had a anubias in them🤣 First plant that I could keep alive!

[Guppysnail]

I am so excited again. My husband got me a submersible endoscope WiFi camera for my birthday.  He gave it to me as an early present today so I could hopefully get good in cave pictures tomorrow!
Baby pleco have 👀 eyes now 😁. I have been trying to grow biofilm and algae etc for them. Guess it worked with the additional almond leaves the CPD are breeding I found 5 free swimming CPD fry today.

Got a lot done on the new Pygmy tank today. My new gravel is in and I mixed some into the black in the funny tank. Snails had a blast while it was bare bottom.  It really brightens up the tank. I pulled a sprig of Italian Val and two sprigs of corkscrew Val from other tanks and dropped them in. Built unbuilt and rebuilt the rock pile I wanted…looked NOTHING like what I envisioned so took it back out 😝

Since I removed the hornwort the tank I did first…all my plants are really starting to pop again. Tried to reread parts of Walstad ecology but forgot how dry and sciencey it was. No way am I gonna make it through so back in the bookcase it went.🤣. 
 

Got the Pygmy QT set up. Used the gravel in their QT since it came from their new home. CPD in qt are doing great. I hate the new QT tubs. They make it foggy to see so I can’t really tell if they are coloring up or how they really look 🤨. They seem perky and happy though. Eating like pigs. I electrical taped all the blue lights in the aqueon plant lights for both QT tanks.  The rock I put in the QT for bacteria has lived in a tank forever barely had a light coat of algae.  Now it is growing I think hair algae in the QT 😡. I hate those two lights. 
 

Since my mosquito larvae dish dried up in the heatwave I have not gotten any more but did attract a green June beetle. I can finally see activity in my vinegar eel colony 😁

Thanks for sharing my adventures!

[Guppysnail]

Took my last batch of guppy boys to the LFS. They have a 40g breeder for plant sales. They kept my last batch of virgin girls as store pets. Yesterday a big sign was on the tank…snails in this tank not for sale owners pets. Owner said he loved watching them because they were so shiny and active.  I was such a proud grandma. He was excited these boys were hand tame and eat from fingers before I left he was floating them explaining to the staff about them 😁

 

Pleco escapees are doing great  just an hour ago I seen dad let 2 more out of the cave but lights are out so no pictures  I tried to guesstimate how many with the submersible camera …counting in what looked like rough groups of 5 maybe 80 fry  😳

the rest of the Pygmy cory and CPD arrived today  I am very excited!

my two pieces of mopani came in..much to large for both in that tank so I pout the other in the funny tank.  Since I removed everything but the hornwort…the hornwort is on a quest to conquer the world.  I hate where this tank is I stepped back instead of down yesterday…see t-shirt picture in previous post.  Bruised hip 🤬. But now that the hornwort is so lush and the mopani is in I really love the look! I added some of the leftover new gravel to 3 tanks I loved it so much. It makes everything brighter and the fish look so good against it.
 

 

I have been blaming the snails for chewing off all the roots on my frogbit…guppies were caught in the act today

 

very busy couple of days with fish excitement!

HAPPY ADVENTURES!

Edited August 18, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Torrey]

I love all the updates!

 

Yes, guppies are smaller eating machines than goldfish, and I have to keep way more plants than one would think to keep roots on any floaters🤣

 

For as small as they are, they sure do eat a lot!

 

I need to get better at updates on my Walstad tank, except after I work on the tanks I am worn out and forget to journal 😅

 

Dr Diana Walstad has / had a bunch of interviews on a YT channel, and Grandfather Fish has a video with a great *condensed* version of the book.

 

If that helps?

 

I added those acrylic "gems" to my fry tank, and put my 3 moss balls on top of the gems.

 

It's a bare bottom tank, and the addition of the 'gems' helped reflect more light so the growing zebra danios are well illuminated!

Now, I need to figure out the GoPro and start recording. 

[Hobbit]

Those blue guppies are amazing!!

[Patrick_G]

On 8/18/2021 at 9:36 PM, Hobbit said:

Those blue guppies are amazing!!

I agree! They look so good from the top. 

[Patrick_G]

@Guppysnail, the tank in the last pic looks unusual. Is my eye playing tricks or does it have a sort of pyramid shaped top section? 

[Guppysnail]

On 8/18/2021 at 11:48 PM, Torrey said:

Dr Diana Walstad has / had a bunch of interviews on a YT channel, and Grandfather Fish has a video with a great *condensed* version of the book.

That is awesome! Not being the science type it is hard to read for me.  I understand it but need the Walstad for dummies version to not hate reading it.  You know just plant this with that and not those 🤣

[Guppysnail]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:43 AM, Patrick_G said:

@Guppysnail, the tank in the last pic looks unusual. Is my eye playing tricks or does it have a sort of pyramid shaped top section? 

Yes that’s why I call it the funny tank. I got it on a super sale and I had a gift card from big box sending me home with a USED returned fluval canister with water still in. I HATE it!  The front slopes in so it is very hard to maintain.  It’s the aqueon shrimp tank. I thought it would be cool its intention was to see better into the tank from the top. It was a kit for shrimp. I set it up and needed it temporarily for 2 girl guppies while my other was grumpy pregnant.  They were in it 20 minutes I had slowed the out flow but the filter sucked BOTH guppies flat against the intake sponge.  How shrimp are supposed to live in it is beyond me. Plus it was a hang inside filter that took up 1/4 of the tank. I gutted it now just can’t seem to get it down to storage because like everyone I ALWAYS need another tank for something 🤣

[Guppysnail]

Today’s adventure was chaos in motion. I went to test the Qt and the new Pygmy cory were extremely lethargic. Same thing that happened to the last batch I tried this tub with. I am convinced something I cannot test for is leaching. I pulled them out stuck them in a large Rubbermaid 2 gal with fresh conditioned water 20 minutes later they were fine. 
Back to plan A qt in home tank since nothing else is in there except snails.  Scrambled madly realizing my goal of a beautiful aquascape is out of the question. The lowest setting on my light is all the Pygmy seem to tolerate. Guppies and snails demolished all the frogbit in every tank it is barely alive. My red root floaters hate me.

my water sprite is still transitioning so I need floater grrrr back goes the hornwort.  It not a beautiful aquascape but it’s not an eyesore. 

my 2 boy and 2 girl guppies I kept( girls are colorless but loving and interactive I knew they would not find loving homes at the LFS no one but me wants colorless guppies) went into the guppy community tank

all the plants I had in the Pygmy tank got dropped in my guppy sorority so when they grow out that is the tank I will attempt to make a pretty aquascape. I bought glass beads this morning from @Hobbit suggestion to make my anacharis elodea forest 😍 but the girls enjoyed picking at the new plants

baby pleco are being released one and two at a time. Very odd I think but it’s my first batch. I let the walls grow anything they could as a first food source. Found this little one behind the intake eating the horrible growth. It looks so gross but they will have it back to mom and dads spic and span tank in no time

I did manage to cut the egg crate to use instead of pothos planters for the back of 3 tanks.  I tried for an hour to find the person who I got this idea from their post. They had pothos and lucky bamboo lots of it in several huge tanks. If anyone remembers that post could you let me know who it was so I can thank them? I get so many amazing ideas on this forum!

 

HAPPY ADVENTURES EVERYONE!

Edited August 20, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Hobbit]

Phew! That’s a busy day! I hope the beads work out for you. ☺️ Bummer about the tank that the cories don’t like, but I’m glad you were able to rescue them so quickly.

[Picklepuppy]

I love 💕 reading about your adventures. Thank you for sharing both your disappointments and triumphs!  I loovvveeee all the pictures, too!  Please keep sharing!  I’d love to see more pics of your blue & green guppies!

[Guppysnail]

On 8/20/2021 at 4:53 AM, Picklepuppy said:

I love 💕 reading about your adventures. Thank you for sharing both your disappointments and triumphs!  I loovvveeee all the pictures, too!  Please keep sharing!  I’d love to see more pics of your blue & green guppies!

Those are the ones I took to the LFS.  I kept the two that had blue tails. 🥲 these are the other pictures I have of them   I think they were a week younger in these so not as shimmery

[Picklepuppy]

I love ❤️ them!  I’m glad you kept 2! Thanks for posting the extra pics, I’m crazy about guppies! 😃

[Guppysnail]

On 8/20/2021 at 5:50 AM, Picklepuppy said:

I love ❤️ them!  I’m glad you kept 2! Thanks for posting the extra pics, I’m crazy about guppies! 😃

Guppies are my all time favorite they are so interactive and personable.  🥰

[Guppysnail]

On 8/20/2021 at 4:53 AM, Picklepuppy said:

I love 💕 reading about your adventures. Thank you for sharing both your disappointments and triumphs!  I loovvveeee all the pictures, too!  Please keep sharing!  I’d love to see more pics of your blue & green guppies!

Here is one of the boys I kept. The one I really wanted has blue flipper fins but I couldn’t get his pic. He was oogling a girl in back. And this is one of my sweet colorless girls I kept. She looks fat she just pigged out on baby brine 😀

[Hobbit]

Wait a minute… is your LFS near Wilmington/Philadelphia by any chance? I just went there yesterday with some fish+plants and there were some guppies that looked a LOT like yours… 😮 

[Guppysnail]

On 8/20/2021 at 5:54 PM, Hobbit said:

Wait a minute… is your LFS near Wilmington/Philadelphia by any chance? I just went there yesterday with some fish+plants and there were some guppies that looked a LOT like yours… 😮 

No I am in Dover Pa. but that would have been very cool!  Woohoo another northeasterner YAY 👏 ps I just got my beads 😍 

Edited August 20, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

Dad released all the babies but 3 last night. He left the other 3 go today. It looks like an infestation.  It doesn’t show up on camera though.  Here is mom and dad the babies have assumed dads snail polishing duties

I AM NOT READY FOR MORE! Mom already is getting a big white egg belly. She is sniffing about his cave like she did this last time. Dad chases her away…Lady I have not eaten in over a week give me a break! 🤣

I guess I am going to be a bristlenose factory…and I was trying to downsize 🤣🤣🤣🤣

the community tank is doing great

The Pygmy are making themselves at home I think they like it. I love when they hover staring at me they look so cool

Today was water change and gravel vac day that’s always an adventure.  I did not vac the pleco tank I am afraid to suck babies up they are everywhere.  I removed my feeding dishes in the community pleco and Pygmy tanks so everyone could forage. Not thrilled about it but it’s better for them. Now I’m exhausted and I’m going to snoop at everyone else’s adventures!😁

HAPPY ADVENTURES!

Edited August 20, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

Today was musical critters. I realized not having my guppies to housekeep in the Pygmy tank(they ate all my bladder snails not one to be found when I replaced substrate 🤨) I needed some cleaners. Thought about putting more bladders decided I didn’t want to chance them eating Pygmy eggs so I took a dozen or so shrimp from the pleco tank and put them in. A

seen a shrimp that stowed away on coop sponge to the guppy community was still alive and well so I threw about a Dozen friends in there too. Seen an orange shrimp in the pleco tank then seen a bunch more. Have not had orange in many months very cool

through this process I accidentally netted two baby pleco so I put them in with the guppy fry. Plenty to eat in there. They seem happy but to fast to get a picture. Found a CPD fry so put that in with the Pygmy so it didn’t get eaten. Not too hopeful though as I’m not going through feeding those eyelashes but I hope he does ok. Took some pics of my CPD adults every time I snapped they ran to the back. I kid you not I swear they came right back to the front and stuck their tongue out at me and said nah nah nah you can’t catch me. KIDS!

mom pleco was inside dads cave again  he was not home she proudly showed me her new egg belly🤦‍♀️

dads whiskers grew in while he was egg sitting

Some kids won’t leave behind dads cave  it’s becoming alarming how much debris there is but I can’t vac too many if

adding these for fun. This is water return from yesterday OLD LADY STYLE!

off to watch the corydora presentation 😍

HAPPY ADVENTURES!

[Hobbit]

Those baby plecos are so cuuuuute!

[Guppysnail]

We have had fish madness this week.  Been so exhausted I couldn’t make my brain work to update. So I’ll recap but pics at the end I confuse myself putting them in the middle 🤣🤣🤣

PLECO BABIES &CPD
after the Pygmy qt tub debacle I just don’t trust totes. I have the one the cpd were qt in that’s fine. Otherwise nope nope nope.  So have all these pleco babies…stick with what I know and I know my tanks. I stripped everything but plants and log out of the tank and not enough gravel left to cover the bottom.  (My one pretty tank vs working tank never algae never issues and not an eyesore😭) Started moving all my shrimp so they don’t explode with the excess water changes I am facing.  Moved over 100 to 3 tanks thought I would be good except a stay and some shrimplettes….WRONG. Started pulling gravel it was INFESTED WITH SHRIMPLETTES so could not go bare bottom totally. went to eat lunch came back it did not look like I took any shrimp out ??? **sigh** since I rearranged everything in there I added the CPD from QT. ONLY 2 boys rest girls. I was so lucky it just what I needed. They meshed seamlessly and are happy playful and zoom to the front begging for food.  
 

when the nitrates get beyond water change control I’m most likely going to put a 20 long up in place of the funny tank and put the funny tank where I have the QT  🤫shhhh don’t tell hubby remember I am actively DOWNSIZING 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

PYGMY CORYDORA 

Since the CPD QT tote was safe and cycled I ordered my last set of pygmys. Had them overnighted and they are freaking awesome! Nice fat healthy fish. Zooming around looking for food 15 minutes after drop.  Only two slow down to rest so I’m hoping they do ok but 16 live healthy arrivals 😍 tomorrow I harvest vinegar eels for the first time for them but I have to set up another “mother” culture first at the awesome suggestion from @mountaintoppufferkeeper (Thanks again!)

The original 2 batches of Pygmy are doing great together I added an unsightly amount of shrimp to the ones I already had in it because well…I had way too many and had to put them somewhere. Played musical snails so I had 2 boys in the funny tank so took one of them from the Pygmy tank and put a girl from the funny tank into the guppy/panda/now shrimp community which is doing great no one ate a noticeable amount of Shrimp. 

FUNNY TANK/GUPPY FRY/2accidentally netted pleco babies

FAT FAT FAT

plecos doing great boy snails mad lost their girl.

JUVENILE GUPPY SORORITY 

FAT FAT SUPER FAT…they ate over 25 shrimp 😟 3 left when I thoroughly gravel vacuumed today **sigh** 

giant snail pic on medium coop prefilter for size reference pic just for fun 😀

HAPPY ADVENTURING!