Guppysnail Aquarium Journal

[Guppysnail]

Here maybe you can see better @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

the entire back half of the new panda fry looks like a tadpole. After the body fills in then mine sprout the tail. He is the little black dots by the tip of guppy grass touching the ground 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/30/2022 at 4:37 PM, Guppysnail said:

Here maybe you can see better @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

the entire back half of the new panda fry looks like a tadpole. After the body fills in then mine sprout the tail. He is the little black dots by the tip of guppy grass touching the ground 

Wizard snail photobomb “”😂

[Guppysnail]

On 10/30/2022 at 12:00 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Wizard snail photobomb “”😂

Piano snail. Wizards upgraded to their own tank a few weeks ago

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/30/2022 at 5:17 PM, Guppysnail said:

Piano snail. Wizards upgraded to their own tank a few weeks ago

Sorry!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Guppysnailmy thought is the water was perfect, the environment and excellent stock from @dasaltemelosguyand boom eggs. Congratulations and hope they make it. Even if they don’t they’ll spawn again, cichlids love to breed! 

[Guppysnail]

On 10/30/2022 at 10:08 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Guppysnailmy thought is the water was perfect, the environment and excellent stock from @dasaltemelosguyand boom eggs. Congratulations and hope they make it. Even if they don’t they’ll spawn again, cichlids love to breed! 

I’m going to give it a few spawns before I pull them from each pair. I want to see if I can get them to not eat the eggs or at least not eat all of them by feeding small amounts at short regular intervals. 
I have also been told first spawns usually are not fertile. So this gives me a solid ?4? Weeks to figure out what to do with that many babies while raising them and see who wants them. If no one wants GBR I certainly don’t want stuck. Though I can’t imagine anyone not wanting these stunning beautiful fish. 
 

Question for you. 3 people at my fish club all said they bred Bolivian rams but there was no market for them??? Is this just. Local thing?  I have one darling Bolivian and his personality is so unique I would love for him to at least have a mate but again can’t get stuck with 100s of fish I can’t find homes for. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:37 PM, Guppysnail said:

3 people at my fish club all said they bred Bolivian rams but there was no market for them??? Is this just. Local thing?

I don't get it.

I went to 5 stores to find Snoopy.  The 5th store was big box, and the Bolivian ram tank wasn't even labeled.  They didn't know what the fish species even was in their tank, but I knew.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:01 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I don't get it.

I went to 5 stores to find Snoopy.  The 5th store was big box, and the Bolivian ram tank wasn't even labeled.  They didn't know what the fish species even was in their tank, but I knew.

I was shocked also. I was at the last fish club swap looking for Bolivians and all three said they quit because there was no market for them. 
I am wondering if it is because they were asking to much money?  The only source I found local was my fish guy and he asks $13 each. His prices are usually half what other places want. That’s why I threw the question out. 
 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:16 AM, Guppysnail said:

he asks $13 each

I paid $3.99 for Snoopy.  They rang him up as a "red ram" (whatever that is)

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

To chime in about the "why isn't there a market for Bolivians?" Personally I think there are several factors. As you all know I'm a big fan, love their personalities and think my boy is beautiful- but they are NOT the most colorful of Rams- German Blues come to mind. People tend to like the flashier fish- when it comes to this category while we might disagree with them- Bolivans aren't there when compared to other species.

@Guppysnail pricing is anywhere from 10-20- (I paid 10 for my "used" fish, lol) but consider these are Cichlids- most Cichlid keepers I know (even my Punk's former keeper) has a tank full of different, and mostly larger fish and aren't all that interested in keeping a bunch of Bolivians. (Punk's keeper only  had him in among several larger Cichlids). These fish are teetering on the edge of community tank fish and Cichlid tank fish- which to me are significantly different things- So then there are people like me- my Bolivian is a centerpiece fish and in a 20 without knowing for sure what sex another Bolivian would be (ideally a girl for Punk) then adding another could be a gamble because most sites say if you keep them in groups 6-8 will do. 

So if you bred them- say you have 2 breeding pairs- and the spawns can be significant- lets say 100 babies (equals 200 with 2 breeding pairs). At most you can sell 8 to a person which I think would be a rareity- and I would venture to guess most people would only buy 1 maybe 4. Even if only half the spawn survives that is a whole lot of fish. So while I personally disagree there is no market for Bolivians- I think the volume they can have compared to the number most people would buy is a little off kilter. 

Edited October 31, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX
to clarify

[Guppysnail]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:41 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

To chime in about the "why isn't there a market for Bolivians?" Personally I think there are several factors. As you all know I'm a big fan, love their personalities and think my boy is beautiful- but they are NOT the most colorful of Rams- German Blues come to mind. People tend to like the flashier fish- when it comes to this category while we might disagree with them- Bolivans aren't there when compared to other species.

@Guppysnail pricing is anywhere from 10-20- (I paid 10 for my "used" fish, lol) but consider these are Cichlids- most Cichlid keepers I know (even my Punk's former keeper) has a tank full of different, and mostly larger fish and aren't all that interested in keeping a bunch of Bolivians. (Punk's keeper only  had him in among several larger Cichlids). These fish are teetering on the edge of community tank fish and Cichlid tank fish- which to me are significantly different things- So then there are people like me- my Bolivian is a centerpiece fish and in a 20 without knowing for sure what sex another Bolivian would be (ideally a girl for Punk) then adding another could be a gamble because most sites say if you keep them in groups 6-8 will do. 

So if you bred them- say you have 2 breeding pairs- and the spawns can be significant- lets say 100 babies (equals 200 with 2 breeding pairs). At most you can sell 8 to a person which I think would be a rareity- and I would venture to guess most people would only buy 1 maybe 4. Even if only half the spawn survives that is a whole lot of fish. So while I personally disagree there is no market for Bolivians- I think the volume they can have compared to the number most people would buy is a little off kilter. 

Thank you. This makes sense as to why. I think Penny will stay a singleton. I love his personality though. I feel bad not allowing him a full rounded life to include having a girlfriend. 
 

I think I am going to have my hands full with my crazy colorful GBR in terms of offspring. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:41 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

my Bolivian is a centerpiece fish

Same. I heard GBR don't do very well in a community tank so that's why I sought out a Bolivian.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:31 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Same. I heard GBR don't do very well in a community tank so that's why I sought out a Bolivian.

So far mine ignore the CPD, mom n dad and the snails prior to me moving them. Occasionally they poked at a shrimp. They seem to only notice each other. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/31/2022 at 2:41 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

To chime in about the "why isn't there a market for Bolivians?" Personally I think there are several factors. As you all know I'm a big fan, love their personalities and think my boy is beautiful- but they are NOT the most colorful of Rams- German Blues come to mind. People tend to like the flashier fish- when it comes to this category while we might disagree with them- Bolivans aren't there when compared to other species.

@Guppysnail pricing is anywhere from 10-20- (I paid 10 for my "used" fish, lol) but consider these are Cichlids- most Cichlid keepers I know (even my Punk's former keeper) has a tank full of different, and mostly larger fish and aren't all that interested in keeping a bunch of Bolivians. (Punk's keeper only  had him in among several larger Cichlids). These fish are teetering on the edge of community tank fish and Cichlid tank fish- which to me are significantly different things- So then there are people like me- my Bolivian is a centerpiece fish and in a 20 without knowing for sure what sex another Bolivian would be (ideally a girl for Punk) then adding another could be a gamble because most sites say if you keep them in groups 6-8 will do. 

So if you bred them- say you have 2 breeding pairs- and the spawns can be significant- lets say 100 babies (equals 200 with 2 breeding pairs). At most you can sell 8 to a person which I think would be a rareity- and I would venture to guess most people would only buy 1 maybe 4. Even if only half the spawn survives that is a whole lot of fish. So while I personally disagree there is no market for Bolivians- I think the volume they can have compared to the number most people would buy is a little off kilter. 

I agree, even across the pond I had to scour the web until I found some at Aquahaus Gaus in Germany (got 4 arriving for me on Tuesday, since Penny looks so cute). I expect breeding Bolivian Rams is a bit like breeding the dreaded convict cichlid: your best chance is offloading them to a wholesaler or just not putting too much effort into breeding them so you can take them to a swap.

I expect it would be easier selling them if you could portray them as the step up from GBRs. 

Also ordered 6 in to my LFS, and I'll report back as to how they sell. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

They are an enthusiasts fish not a general public fish. As aquarists how they look is sometimes secondary to their personality 

[Guppysnail]

Seems my assasins can skim the underside of the water. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/2/2022 at 7:00 PM, Guppysnail said:

Seems my assasins can skim the underside of the water. 

They can do anything apart from living and letting live 🤷‍♂️

[Guppysnail]

My little panda fry stowaway still in tadpole costume 🤣

Since she stowed away into the piano snail tank I’m naming her Cecile Chaminade or Cece for short.  

 

[eatyourpeas]

Love my morning coffee and catching up with this journal! 😍

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/4/2022 at 5:53 PM, Guppysnail said:

in tadpole costume

Hey little guy! Halloween's over!

[The endler guy]

On 11/2/2022 at 2:00 PM, Guppysnail said:

Seems my assasins can skim the underside of the water. 

Jesus snail! Some of my rams horns do that after I cull duck weed 

[Guppysnail]

Cece taking first flight. It appears Cece does have a tail. It’s way sooner than my other panda fry. The only difference between her and the 6 other tanks plus this tank I raised other pandas in is that I removed all but a few shrimplettes I could not catch. 
The other pandas raised in this tank had shrimp galore with them. I wonder now if the shrimp are picking at the tails 🤔 

 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/5/2022 at 3:19 PM, Guppysnail said:

Cece taking first flight. It appears Cece does have a tail. It’s way sooner than my other panda fry. The only difference between her and the 6 other tanks plus this tank I raised other pandas in is that I removed all but a few shrimplettes I could not catch. 
The other pandas raised in this tank had shrimp galore with them. I wonder now if the shrimp are picking at the tails 🤔 

 

C'mon Cece, you can do it! Tadpole power!!

Ghost shrimp have been known to pick at fry fins if that provides any help...?

[Guppysnail]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:47 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

C'mon Cece, you can do it! Tadpole power!!

Ghost shrimp have been known to pick at fry fins if that provides any help...?

Yeah I’m seriously wondering. All the other fry in all the other tanks did not develop tail fins until body shape was full and they were able to swim a decent amount. This is the only one that is not in a tank with too many tiny terrorists (shrimp)

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/5/2022 at 4:16 PM, Guppysnail said:

Yeah I’m seriously wondering. All the other fry in all the other tanks did not develop tail fins until body shape was full and they were able to swim a decent amount. This is the only one that is not in a tank with too many tiny terrorists (shrimp)

Any chance of putting them all in one tank, or is it just impossible?