Chris's Fishes Fish Room Journal

[Chris]

Hello all,

Was working in the fishroom a bit and listening to some old Aquarium Co-Op live streams, and heard Cory talking about how important documenting his hobby has been. While I take some pictures here and there (and even have a DSLR!) lately I've been slacking on the documentation. In the past six months I've moved (although just down the street), gone through several jobs, gotten a couple new puppies, and have just in general been too busy to expand the fishroom, let alone document it much. I want that to change!

This is just going to be a journal detailing what I've got going on in my fishroom and whatever maintenance/changes I might have made on a daily/weekly basis. Might be something as interesting as breeding fish and setting up tanks or something as boring as just light tank maintenance. Either way, I'd love for it to be documented.

To start, here's what I did today:

First, I decided to vacuum some of the poop and mulm off the bottom of my Flowerhorn tank. It's a 40B filtered by a single sponge filter, which takes care of the biological needs of the tank easily, but leaves a lot to be desired with mechanical filtration. I'll eventually add a canister or something to help keep some of this mulm sucked up, but for now, weekly siphonings are the way to go.

Before:

After:

Here's a nice picture of my FH:

I also scraped a little bit of algae in my 55 Green Spotted Puffer tank. Added in another 5 gallons of water to keep bubbles from the HOB down to a minimum.

Before:

After:

The mission for this week is to move a 36 bowfront out of my fishroom and to build a cinderblock stand for a 37 XH and 20 tall for some guppies, mollies, and shrimp. The 36 is going to be an upgrade for my Eastern Musk Turtle, who currently lives in a 20 long.

Until next time!

[TheSwissAquarist]

Congrats on cleaning up!

Its always a bit of a pain to have to knuckle down and clean stuff, but it can be rewarding.

[Chris]

On 10/3/2022 at 11:52 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Congrats on cleaning up!

Its always a bit of a pain to have to knuckle down and clean stuff, but it can be rewarding.

Thanks! It definitely can be a pain, but I know it'll be worth it in the end.

Tonight I finally got off my butt and moved the 36 to the bedroom for the Musk Turtle. Also moved the 20 long into the fishroom, but I'm planning on tossing the stand and going with a cinderblock and 2X4 route.

Here's the corner this morning:

Here's the corner tonight:

I went to the LFS today and got a group of 5 guppies (2 males, 3 females), all with a cobra-type pattern. Just mutts, but very pretty. They're in an old 5 gallon salt bucket for a week-long QT, and will be moving into the aforementioned 20 long whenever the rack is complete.

Still lots of tidying and cleaning to do, but I think tomorrow I'll start building the guppy/molly rack. Don't know if I'll get it wet, but I'll at least try and get the materials. Already have the lumber from old builds, so I think I'll just need a bunch of blocks!

Have a Co-Op order coming, but it was due in yesterday... hoping to get it in tomorrow!

[Chris]

Didn't get to Lowe's to pick up cinderblocks. Work was rough and then we went grocery shopping - after all that, I barely wanna move, let alone haul around a bunch of concrete blocks!

Still fed the fish and am observing the new fish. They're eating well and look active and healthy so far!

I love feeding this guy - he's the fish I spend the most time watching and interacting with.

 

[Chris]

So, I spent most of yesterday evening moving cinderblocks and lumber into the fish room. It's a decent little walk from our parking lot to our apartment - long enough to get me pretty winded while carrying a total of 13 cinderblocks. I actually bought 16, but after #13 I decided I had carried enough. Plus, I was starting to get some weird looks from the new neighbors who just moved in upstairs, lol! I'll move the final 3 tonight.

I also ended up with a kitten who decided it liked me. I think it's a neighborhood cat, and it's always been scared of me - but for whatever reason it kept watching me carry blocks and eventually started rubbing up against my legs. It even tried to run in my front door at one point! I wish I had gotten a picture.

The blocks I bought are being used for a stand for a 37 XH on the bottom, and either a 20 long or a 33 long on the top. I had planned on the 20, since it's what I already had, but I'm realizing that the edges of the tank won't actually be over a cinderblock with the 20 long. I actually had lumber begin to sag without support in the past with that same 20 long, so I'm leaning towards a 33. Plus, I know they're in stock at my LFS and who doesn't love that footprint?

If I end up getting the 33 instead of the 20, the 5 guppies I have in QT will go into the 37 on the bottom and a pair of Gold Dust Lyretail mollies I have will go into the 33 up top. The end result for both tanks is to start breeding them, and I noticed an unexpected pro of this stand design last night - I'll have room for several 10 gallon tanks beneath each rack for growing out fry and/or breeding different strains of fish. I've already dedicated the space under my 55 for QT tanks, so I'm excited to have a bit more room up under a different rack. 

In other news, I have a bit of a bacterial bloom going on in my Flowerhorn tank. I think I may have gotten a little overzealous with the cleaning the other day and triggered it - water tests fine (no ammonia, no nitrite, 10 PPM nitrate) so I think I'll just wait it out with frequent testing. 

I'm also planning on picking up a few swordtail fry from @PineSongsometime in the next week or two. I finally found a local Nerm! Already have a growout set up for them.

Oh, and my Co-Op order is now 4 days late. I've been watching USPS tracking like a hawk - the Co-Op team had the order out within 5 hours of me ordering it, so I have no doubt this is on USPS. Just hoping I don't have to have plants re-shipped 😞

[TheSwissAquarist]

You’re lucky that you’ve got such a ‘accomplished’ local Nerm, I’ve got diddly squat !

[Chris]

On 10/7/2022 at 1:25 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

You’re lucky that you’ve got such a ‘accomplished’ local Nerm, I’ve got diddly squat !

Right? I saw their post in the trade forum and was like "No way!"

Unfortunately my area doesn't seem to have a huge Nerm population. I met someone once who recognized my Co-Op shirt, but it's been years!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/7/2022 at 7:33 PM, Chris said:

Right? I saw their post in the trade forum and was like "No way!"

I don’t believe in miracles, but sometimes….

[Chris]

Oh, what a busy (and expensive) day!

Worked this morning, and then me and my girlfriend went to a LFS. I made up my mind that I wanted a 33 long instead of the 20 long - partially for piece of mind, partially for the bigger tank size, lol.

We ended up getting way more than just the tank. My girlfriend has always loved the hermit crabs in my saltwater tanks, so she ended up getting a little 1.5 gallon tank, 4 hermit crabs, and an emerald crab. We set it up on the kitchen counter.

We'll see how long she stays interested!

I ended up getting a pair of Kribs (I'm pretty sure they're a pair - they're still young, though), a pair of Ocellaris Clowns, and a urchin for my Green Spotted Puffer tank. The Kribs are going into the 20 for now, the Clowns are going into a 10, and the urchin went into the 55 for my GSP tank. All went well, but I'll have to get pics tomorrow - I'm beat!

Oh, and I also received my Co-Op package today - 5 days late. Thanks to the team's awesome packaging, though, the plants look pretty good to have been in a box since the 30th! The Amazon sword looks flawless, the Bacopa looks good, and the water wisteria is... alive! Still impressive, lol.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/9/2022 at 4:13 AM, Chris said:

Oh, what a busy (and expensive) day!

Worked this morning, and then me and my girlfriend went to a LFS. I made up my mind that I wanted a 33 long instead of the 20 long - partially for piece of mind, partially for the bigger tank size, lol.

We ended up getting way more than just the tank. My girlfriend has always loved the hermit crabs in my saltwater tanks, so she ended up getting a little 1.5 gallon tank, 4 hermit crabs, and an emerald crab. We set it up on the kitchen counter.

We'll see how long she stays interested!

I ended up getting a pair of Kribs (I'm pretty sure they're a pair - they're still young, though), a pair of Ocellaris Clowns, and a urchin for my Green Spotted Puffer tank. The Kribs are going into the 20 for now, the Clowns are going into a 10, and the urchin went into the 55 for my GSP tank. All went well, but I'll have to get pics tomorrow - I'm beat!

Oh, and I also received my Co-Op package today - 5 days late. Thanks to the team's awesome packaging, though, the plants look pretty good to have been in a box since the 30th! The Amazon sword looks flawless, the Bacopa looks good, and the water wisteria is... alive! Still impressive, lol.

It’s quite surprising how you juggle all the different types of water…I thought the minimum size for Ocellaris was 15?

[Chris]

On 10/9/2022 at 1:34 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

It’s quite surprising how you juggle all the different types of water…I thought the minimum size for Ocellaris was 15?

Really, I only have two types of water. Most of my tanks are freshwater, and two of them are FOWLR saltwater. The care for a FOWLR tank is honestly pretty much the same as it is for your average freshwater tank, besides the addition of the salt during water changes. I've done reef tanks before, and while I do enjoy them and do want to set up another soon, I've found that the amount of work that goes into one reef tank equals 4-5 FOWLR or freshwater tanks. Plus, once you've mixed enough saltwater, you get a pretty good handle on how much salt is going to get you to where you want. For my FOWLR saltwater, I mix it to roughly 1.022 or so, which means I need roughly 1.75 cups of salt per 4-ish gallons of water. I mix it, add it to the tank, and test the salinity of the entire tank once every month or two. If I'm off by a little, then I'll add freshwater or saltier water to make up the difference. If I'm mixing brackish, it's about the same way, just less salt. Reef tanks, you have to be more precise with.

To be perfectly honest, a lot of the information you find online about marine tanks is shaky at best. You can go read websites from the late 90's and early 2000's that insist that tanks under 5 gallons are impossible, and now they're commonplace in a lot of places.

This is my favorite resource for saltwater research, specifically with stocking:

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/74703-lgreens-ultimate-guide-to-nano-fish/

I don't agree with everything on the list, but I do agree with the idea that two three inch fish don't necessarily need a 15 gallon tank - a 10 gallon is a nice, comfortable minimum. They have Ocellaris listed as a single specimen being okay in a 5-6 gallon tank, and honestly, I'd agree with that, too - for a long time. Eventually, a bigger tank would be nice.

Here's my girlfriend's little crab tank. I still have to put a background on it:

Edited October 9, 2022 by Chris

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/9/2022 at 4:58 PM, Chris said:

Really, I only have two types of water. Most of my tanks are freshwater, and two of them are FOWLR saltwater. The care for a FOWLR tank is honestly pretty much the same as it is for your average freshwater tank, besides the addition of the salt during water changes. I've done reef tanks before, and while I do enjoy them and do want to set up another soon, I've found that the amount of work that goes into one reef tank equals 4-5 FOWLR or freshwater tanks. Plus, once you've mixed enough saltwater, you get a pretty good handle on how much salt is going to get you to where you want. For my FOWLR saltwater, I mix it to roughly 1.022 or so, which means I need roughly 1.75 cups of salt per 4-ish gallons of water. I mix it, add it to the tank, and test the salinity of the entire tank once every month or two. If I'm off by a little, then I'll add freshwater or saltier water to make up the difference. If I'm mixing brackish, it's about the same way, just less salt. Reef tanks, you have to be more precise with.

To be perfectly honest, a lot of the information you find online about marine tanks is shaky at best. You can go read websites from the late 90's and early 2000's that insist that tanks under 5 gallons are impossible, and now they're commonplace in a lot of places.

This is my favorite resource for saltwater research, specifically with stocking:

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/74703-lgreens-ultimate-guide-to-nano-fish/

I don't agree with everything on the list, but I do agree with the idea that two three inch fish don't necessarily need a 15 gallon tank - a 10 gallon is a nice, comfortable minimum. They have Ocellaris listed as a single specimen being okay in a 5-6 gallon tank, and honestly, I'd agree with that, too - for a long time. Eventually, a bigger tank would be nice.

Here's my girlfriend's little crab tank. I still have to put a background on it:

I’m loving the carb!

*Crab!

[Chris]

Alrighty, here are a few pics. Spent most of the day at a pumpkin patch, so these are whatever cell phone pics I could get without working too hard.

First up - the Kribs! Well, Krib. Both are alive, well, and eating, but are super skittish and dulled out. They went into the hair algae farm that is my 20 long, since it's my most established freshwater setup. Ugly, but I feel it'll be a good conditioning tank.

Next is the urchin. He's just been chilling on the rockwork all day. He was wearing a dead urchin as a hat when I first got him, and I think that's just pretty metal.

Finally, the clowns. They've eaten today and look to be doing well! They're tank-raised, so in theory, they're bulletproof.

I set up all the Kasa wifi timers I got from the Co-Op, and I'm loving them so far. Very convenient! Didn't have any connection issues at all. The mission this week will be to get the 37 and 33 wet. All I need is a couple 2x4's to finish my stand, and then I can move fish around and let things settle for a few weeks. The only other additions I have planned are some swordtail fry from a member, but their tank is set up and ready to go already.

[TheSwissAquarist]

Do you have any special Ocellaris color variations?

[Chris]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:27 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Do you have any special Ocellaris color variations?

Not currently. The two in the picture are just garden-variety.

I did have a pair of Long-Fin Mocha Clowns a couple years ago:

And then one of my very first purchases as an adult after I moved away from home was a pair of Wyoming White Clowns:

[Chris]

Everyone is well in the fish room!

Been trying to find time to actually get some work done. Monday we shopped after work, and while I did get the last of the supplies I need to setup the 33 long, we didn't get home till 8 and I was absolutely exhausted. I bought my girlfriend a game for her PS4 yesterday, so I spent some time watching her play that last night and had a couple wine coolers (plus one that she started and didn't finish) and was just out like a light after that 🤣 I'm a lightweight, what can I say! I found time to feed the fish and check all the new guys for issues, and that's about it.

I'm hoping to get the guppies moved into the 37 tonight, since yesterday was a full week QT. All look great, as far as I can tell! The plants I got from Co-Op have really been struggling more since I put them into tanks - I'll remove any dead plant matter when they get transferred to their final homes tonight.

The Kribs have been incredibly skittish - maybe I'll have to add a few dithers in with them? I'd like to get some fry out of the Kribs, so I don't want a ton of fish in there. Any ideas?

[Patrick_G]

On 10/12/2022 at 11:05 AM, Chris said:

had a couple wine coolers (plus one that she started and didn't finish) and was just out like a light after that 🤣 I'm a lightweight, what can I say!

Fist of all, I’m with you, after a beer and a half I’m snoozing!

Second, since you mentioned wine coolers I can’t get the 1980s Bartels and James commercials out of my head. 

 

 

[Chris]

On 10/12/2022 at 2:44 PM, Patrick_G said:

Fist of all, I’m with you, after a beer and a half I’m snoozing!

Second, since you mentioned wine coolers I can’t get the 1980s Bartels and James commercials out of my head. 

 

 

I'm not familiar with the brand (or the commercial), but I definitely feel like I've seen this clip memed somewhere before.

[Chris]

Mission accomplished! Guppies got moved into the 37. I'd share pics, but the tank is a cloudy white mess - I'm using crushed coral and aragonite for a substrate and kicked up a big cloud when I was adding plants. Oops!

I'll definitely have to add in more plants to try and get some fry to survive. I want to take it slow, though - so I may just let all the plants I have grow in and add trimmings from other tanks until I have the lush forest I'm after.

Pics tomorrow!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/13/2022 at 3:25 AM, Chris said:

tank is a cloudy white mess - I'm using crushed coral and aragonite for a substrate and kicked up a big cloud when I was adding plants. Oops!

I think we all have tanks we’d rather hide!!

[Chris]

On 10/13/2022 at 1:16 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

I think we all have tanks we’d rather hide!!

Trust me - a lot of my tanks turn out kinda ugly! But I'm in it for the fish, not necessarily the scape. It would be nice to have some prettier tanks, though!

So, this is where we're at this morning:

Still kinda cloudy, and everything has a layer of crushed coral dust on it. Nothing a quick scraping and water change won't fix!

Both the Bacopa and the Water Sprite are just barely hanging on - it's worse in person than the pics show. Both are pretty yellowed, and the water sprite is starting to feel kinda slimy like it'll melt. We'll see! I dosed Easy Green and will hope for the best.

All 5 guppies are well! I do have one male and one female that I really, really like - I'll get some DSLR pics of them once the water clears. The other male and females are pretty but just not quite as nice.

I used Crushed Coral because I plan to add some cherry shrimp into this tank down the road, and possibly some snails, too!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/13/2022 at 3:04 PM, Chris said:

in it for the fish, not necessarily the scape.

I’m with you on that count!!

I think that after I finish breeding up a lot of stock for a fish selling Event in march, I might try my hand at chocolate gourami breeding.

[Chris]

On 10/13/2022 at 10:04 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

I’m with you on that count!!

I think that after I finish breeding up a lot of stock for a fish selling Event in march, I might try my hand at chocolate gourami breeding.

I've always wanted to try Chocolate Gourami, but I've never pulled the trigger for the same reason I've avoided wild bettas. My tap water is pretty hard out of the tap, and I don't have an RODI filter. If I could find some captive-bred fish, I'd consider it!

[Chris]

Came home and pulled out the DSLR. Didn't bother cleaning the glass up too much, so these pics were taken through a layer of gunk on the glass and from 3-4 feet away, so they aren't as clear as they could be.

First off, the pair of males:

Here's my favorite of the two - I love the green he has on his body:

Here's a pair of females - the one on the bottom is my favorite:

The white spots on the tail aren't ich, I don't think. Pretty sure it's just sand from the bottom.

I happened to look over at my GSP tank and so the urchin doing some work! The pale spots on the rock are where he's been eating.

[Chris]

What a busy day!

I made a visit to @PineSong today, and I haven't met someone so nice and welcoming in a long time. Both I and my girlfriend spent most of the ride home talking about how pleasant you were, and how beautiful your tanks are. Thank you!

The reason for my visit? Well, fish, of course! I picked up a group of 10 juvenile koi swordtails and two trios of young Ginga Sulpureous guppies, all of which were extraordinarily healthy and beautiful. I was surprised at the color on these swordtails - videos don't do them justice! The guppies will be stunners when they're older, too, if their parents are anything to go by.

I also stopped a pet store while I was in town in search for a small dither fish for my Krib tank. I ended up grabbing seven Purple Emperor tetras. They were in a tank with a large, aggressive betta and seemed to be standing their ground with him well, so I figured they'd do the same with the Kribs if they got aggressive.

Pictures to come! For now, enjoy this picture of my urchin wearing a snail shell as a hat.