Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[Guppysnail]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:07 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

How does your home not have gnats everywhere? (If these are dumb questions, it because I’m not schooled in frog.)

Not dumb at all. The first time I set up a bioactive habitat I worried over the same thing. Though I’ve raised a plethora of feeder insect colonies, bugs roaming wild aka in my home, freak me out. 
 

The best I can explain is critters relocate for resources, mates, climate, escape predation and such. The terrarium is a full ecosystem. All the food, water comfort and relative safety (aside from the occasional frog snack🤣) they need. So they have no need to travel. 
 

Crickets are ornery and kind of dumb so they brave the desert wasteland of my carpet occasionally. My cats LIVE for the errant cricket. I almost feel sorry for those escapee’s 🤣

Edited September 16, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

They sure learn fast where the food dish is. I just moved this little panda fry a few days ago into the LK tank. Turned the light on and he is anxiously awaiting breakfast 

[Minanora]

Soooooo cute!!! 💚

That is such a cool story about your frog!

Seriously though, baby cories are the cutest

[Katherine]

On 9/16/2022 at 4:20 AM, Guppysnail said:

A few years ago I bought unfertilized bagged planting soil. When I opened the bag she was in it. She was so tiny she fit on my thumb nail easily. 

Poor baby! Who knows how long she was in there.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/16/2022 at 11:38 AM, Katherine said:

Poor baby! Who knows how long she was in there.

Couldn’t have been long she was tiny. I’m guessing it was a puddle she was born in that dried. Then she got scooped into a bag. She lived in my cushy patio garden for the summer. I even made her a swimming pool and cave out of extra reptile accessories. I found her on a 96 degree day dehydrated and starving stuck under my bearded dragon outdoor cage. I gave her a second pool and went to push a baby superworm to her and she took it from my hand. So I used a cricket keeper to hold her until I went to the shop and bought her a front open enclosure. When my beardie passed she upgraded to the 40 gallon front open. Now she has her own kingdom 🤗🥰

Edited September 16, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

Angel is a funny one. Sometimes he just hangs right there all day. 🤪

[rockfisher]

I think you will enjoy shrimp. I love I’m and I don’t even have cool shrimp. I just have ghost shrimp in my tanks and I enjoy them greatly. 

[Guppysnail]

On 9/16/2022 at 7:21 PM, rockfisher said:

I think you will enjoy shrimp. I love I’m and I don’t even have cool shrimp. I just have ghost shrimp in my tanks and I enjoy them greatly. 

I’ve had my hordes of tiny terrorists (shrimp) for several years. It’s a love/overpopulation grump 🤣 relationship 

[rockfisher]

For me over population just means there is a treat for the bigger fish. Most of my tanks the adults are bigger than the fish want to eat but the smaller ones are quite the snack.

[Guppysnail]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea and other Bolivian ram owners I have questions please. So I do not have any tanks I keep warm enough for the Bolivian rams. Does anyone keep them at 74-75?  (I will probably post that as a general forum question as well)

My panda Cory do best at 74-75. It’s a 20 long planted tank. The best tank stock wise to get these is that one. Chick you said your girl owns the floor. My pandas have had that tank to themselves for almost a year now. Could that be a problem. 
 

I could put that panda group with the Pygmy but I hate stressing and relocating fish from their home. It’s rude to take their home because I want another fish. But I could if I can’t keep the rams at 74-75 or if the crazy floor hog pandas will stress them or visa versa. 
 

I really want a pair of course but what are my chances of getting that ordered?  
 

WHO ON THE FORUM BREEDS BOLIVIAN RAMS?  
 

Tell me more people. If @Chick-In-Of-TheSea little girl BR videos were Betamax or VHS I would have done worn them all out by now 🤣

 

 

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 6:43 AM, Guppysnail said:

Chick you said your girl owns the floor. My pandas have had that tank to themselves for almost a year now. Could that be a problem. 

The truth is, I don’t know. She’s selective at who she allows. She will allow snails to eat her food all day long. But tetras are a no go. She gets irritated with them. I used this video to learn about the ram. I believe you watched it as well.

@xXInkedPhoenixX has an adorable ram named Punk in their journal. Also I believe @Fish Folk may know some things about rams because he gave me some tips one time. @nabokovfan87 used to have a Bolivian Ram too. @sumplkrum

Edited September 17, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Oh I almost forgot. @redfish recently posted on my Bolivian Ram journal that they got two rams. The fighting in quarantine resolved once they were moved into the main tank. Maybe the quarantine area did not have enough decor or something,  but now they are friends. I think @redfish has gravel too.

[redfish]

We have two BR in a 55 gal.  They are still small so I can’t tell what gender they are yet.  Food still triggers one ram to be aggressive to the other but they don’t bother our guppies, otos or Kuhli loach.  We have pea gravel and keep temps around 77-78.  Our rams are slow and methodical about eating.  So anything that just gobbles up everything tends to compete for their food.  I spread out sinking food to allow the rams to forage throughout the day.  Helps the submissive one to find food after the dominant one has eaten.  It’s also extra food for the loach.

Our rams went through quarantine temps around 76 and seemed to be fine.  I would be interested in seeing how they do at 75-76 degrees.

I hoped we get a pair to breed but time will tell I guess.  I love their personality.  Very thoughtful in their actions.  We recently added a cave for them to use.  They haven’t even gone in it yet.  🤣 @Chick-In-Of-TheSea does your ram use a cave?

 

 

 

 

Right now I’m dealing with a sick guppy.  Will post a new thread.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 10:44 AM, redfish said:

 @Chick-In-Of-TheSea does your ram use a cave?

I call it a cave but it's really a flowerpot that I busted the bottom out of.  She wasn't comfortable with caves with only one entrance.  She likes tunnels.

 

@redfish if the top of your tree/cave is open, maybe you can lay it on its side.

She likes these:

 

Swim through log decoration

Swim through pot 

Edited September 17, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[redfish]

I used those pots in quarantine.  Each would hang out inside looking out.  It was the whole pot.   Now we have a lot of driftwood and a few plants in the big tank so they may feel comfortable without needing a hiding spot.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The pot is tucked in the back there. Currently there’s a big fat snail napping in it.

Also she doesn’t spend much time in it, and doesn’t hide. As far as I can tell, she’s not afraid of anything and never startles. Not even tank maintenance. I have to be careful when I siphon because she’s the one fish that doesn’t get out of the way.

I feed her at the pot because the tetras don’t know the sinking food is placed there. She will attempt to feed with them, usually unsuccessfully, then she will go to her pot-tunnel and dine in peace.

Edited September 17, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Katherine]

On 9/17/2022 at 9:46 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

She wasn't comfortable with caves with only one entrance.  She likes tunnels.

That was going to be my suggestion as well. Never had rams, but with tetras, when I was first given the fish tank it had a few decorations that only had one opening large enough for the fish to go through, they never used them. I replaced them with a fake log with multiple openings to the underside/inside and they started using it all the time.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/17/2022 at 10:44 AM, redfish said:

So anything that just gobbles up everything tends to compete for their food.

This concerns me. My pandas are head and shoulders better than the best Electrolux ever made. I have already put their wafers in then fed the rest of the two fish rooms. By the time I get back I really have to think on if I remembered to give them wafers because there is not a single crumb of food left.

I do make repashy on a stick and suction cup it to they wall  if I did 2-3 smaller ones and give the pandas one and each BR one it might work  

How do they do with grindal worms, white worms and live BBS. I’ve found my Badis badis ignore bbs. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:07 AM, Katherine said:

That was going to be my suggestion as well. Never had rams, but with tetras, when I was first given the fish tank it had a few decorations that only had one opening large enough for the fish to go through, they never used them. I replaced them with a fake log with multiple openings to the underside/inside and they started using it all the time.

My tetras ignore any and all caves & tunnels.  They do like to swim through leaves & roots of live plants though, and in between the branches of the driftwood.

On 9/17/2022 at 11:15 AM, Guppysnail said:

How do they do with grindal worms, white worms and live BBS. I’ve found my Badis badis ignore bbs. 

My ram loves bbs - she will eat it live or frozen, doesn't matter to her.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/17/2022 at 10:46 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

She wasn't comfortable with caves with only one entrance.  She likes tunnels.

This is good info. I have both.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea I DID IT. It’s those adorable pouty lips 👄 I cannot resist. The guy I have been getting fish from used to breed them. He doesn’t anymore but he is going to try and find me some. I told him MUST be 1 male and 1 female for a breeding project 😍😍😍

Edited September 17, 2022 by Guppysnail

[redfish]

I figured the top terracotta pot cover on our cave could double as a feeding tray too.  I can cut a hole in the back if they don’t use it at all.  I was thinking the rams would use the cave for breeding but maybe not.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:19 AM, Guppysnail said:

This is good info. I have both.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea I DID IT. It’s those adorable pouty lips 👄 I cannot resist. The guy I have been getting fish from used to breed them. He doesn’t anymore but he is going to try and find me some. I told him MUST be 1 male and 1 female for a breeding project 😍😍😍

Might there be a new journal forthcoming?  😃🐟

Oh my gosh, how cute would BABY RAMS BE????!!!

[Guppysnail]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:34 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Might there be a new journal forthcoming?  😃🐟

Oh my gosh, how cute would BABY RAMS BE????!!!

No new journal. I only do those for uncommon things so folks looking for info don’t have to wade through 50+ pages. The super fun cute ones stay in my journal 🤗

[Guppysnail]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea I’m like 5 years old when I get excited. Guy hasn’t even located them but I redid the tank for them 🤣 

What are your thoughts. Left cave is panda cave and shrimp moss mountain (yup now it will be a BR snack bar 🤣)

RIGHT I have a tunnel and two size pots for dad (yup positive thinking) to choose and easily guard from the pandemonium. 

I’m open to suggestions. It’s being worked on now so excuse the mess. 

[rockfisher]

Themes for Bolivian Rams can be in the low to mid 70’s so I think the temps are fine. Ph is the biggest issue I had with them. Get them to breed required 6.5-6.3 ph. I made a black water tank and used peat and lots of leaf litter to obtain those numbers but I had 7ph to start. I have discussed how I treat my water for my discus to have the prober ph with phosphoric acid. That came from Whatley discus. It should be a fun Adventure.