TheSwissAquarist Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 On 1/22/2023 at 2:43 PM, PineSong said: it looks so peaceful when there are large swathes of one plant. I remember there was one video with an entire carpet of Amazon Swords…it would take years to replicate in an aquarium, unless you have a lot of $$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 22, 2023 Author Share Posted January 22, 2023 On 1/22/2023 at 2:14 AM, TheSwissAquarist said: It also makes for a more natural look. On 1/22/2023 at 5:43 AM, PineSong said: Yes, I thought of it after seeing some of Chris Lukhaup's videos of streams and rivers--it looks so peaceful when there are large swathes of one plant. Ironically, I mixed them together after seeing a Dutch style tank. It looked really unnatural so I figured mixing then all together would look more natural. But you're right, if you look in nature plants grow in clumps and patches of the same type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 26, 2023 Author Share Posted January 26, 2023 I got fairy shrimp eggs for Christmas. A while back I tried hatching some. The hatched, I fed some to the fish, the population boomed, then it crashed, and then something unexpected happened... A bunch of daphnia or moina appeared from nowhere! Now I have a daphnia culture that I'm feeding yeast every few days. They've been hanging in there for at least a week maybe two now It's hard to see but the paler, large circles are them. The microworms are also doing really well and climbing up the sides of their container. They really like the bread method the guy I got them from used. Then there's the vinegar eels. I pulled them out today and thought that the culture had crashed and that the water turned cloudy... Nope it's just taking off completely! Now that the food cultures are getting established it may be time to start the next batch of eggs. Soon... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 @Schuyler and @Odd Duck what temp do you keep your vinegar eel cultures at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 27, 2023 Author Share Posted January 27, 2023 On 1/26/2023 at 5:21 PM, Patrick_G said: @Schuyler and @Odd Duck what temp do you keep your vinegar eel cultures at? I just keep them next to me canister filter. Looks like it's about 72° 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 On 1/26/2023 at 7:56 PM, Schuyler said: I just keep them next to me canister filter. Looks like it's about 72° Thanks, I think I need to move mine to a warmer area for better growth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 27, 2023 Author Share Posted January 27, 2023 I crushed up the pellets to make it easier for them to eat but no... They all had to be greedy As the leaves get bigger it just means more room for pygmy corys to hang out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 29, 2023 Author Share Posted January 29, 2023 Big day today! Probably did this on the wrong order but oh well. This morning I did a water changes, cleaned the pre-filter sponge and the sponges in the canister. Then I brought two pairs of the killis from my other journey to the LFS and traded them in for a bag of substrate. While there I asked the worker about special ordering fish and it looks like they would be able to order a pair of Aphyosemion striatum. Once the tank has stabilized for a week or two I'll see about ordering them. Now the work begins. Here is the before shot: The first thing to go was the pogostemon octopus. Coincidentally, someone responded to an old Facebook post where I was offering some plant trimmings. I warned them that I want able to rinse all the duckweed off and that they'll probably want to clean that. They said "it's fine that will just help pull the nitrates out of the water" I just said "alright..." and walked away as my duckweed caked arms left a trail of tiny leaves from the front door to the tank. This little guppy fry was hiding in the other remaining plants One of the females must have given birth recently. Now that the plants were out it was time to add the new substrate That kicked up some mulm. Looking back I should save gravel vac'ed at this point rather than earlier. Hopefully that doesn't go anoxic. Then some rotala clippings, the hygrophylia, and the Riccardia moss were moved in. I'm debating moving the other lotus to that gap there. Any thoughts? Here is the full tank view. It's still a bit hazy from the equilibrium in the water change and the new substrate. Bonus, those pogostemon octopus leaf was floating long enough that it's sprouted roots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 Better picture now that the water has cleared 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 2, 2023 Author Share Posted February 2, 2023 Alright... I'm pretty sure the Riccardia moss I bought was mislabeled and should have actually said riccia because even when pinned in place it all broke up and floated to the surface again In better news, the val is sending out little runners. Their choice of placement isn't great but I'm glad that they are happy enough to be spreading I've also started up a new journal about Killifish, breeding nothobranchius, and specifically I'm going to be hatching the eggs my Killifish laid. That's here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 On 1/29/2023 at 6:12 PM, Schuyler said: Better picture now that the water has cleared Great looking tank. Is this low tech?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 2, 2023 Author Share Posted February 2, 2023 On 2/2/2023 at 9:23 AM, gjcarew said: Great looking tank. Is this low tech?? Yep low tech. At least what most people would consider low tech in that I'm not dosing CO2. Honestly, I don't think I want to. If they grew faster that would make even more maintenance. As it is now, trimming takes an hour or two every month or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 On 2/2/2023 at 9:36 AM, Schuyler said: Yep low tech. At least what most people would consider low tech in that I'm not dosing CO2. Honestly, I don't think I want to. If they grew faster that would make even more maintenance. As it is now, trimming takes an hour or two every month or so. Yeah, if an hour or two a month irks you then CO2 is probably not the move. I spend about an hour a week trimming. Well it's looking very lush, makes me want to make something with hardscape again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 7, 2023 Author Share Posted February 7, 2023 There has been a murder! ... Maybe One of the male cherry shrimp is dead in the middle of the tank. I can't help but suspect that the sparkling gourami are behind this violence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 Caught a sparkling gourami in the act of hunting a cherry shrimp That shrimp darted just before this picture was taken. But on a more positive note, there were at least four wild type males dating around the tank. Which means two things, there has been breeding and there may be a female trying to breed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 2/8/2023 at 6:35 AM, Schuyler said: Caught a sparkling gourami in the act of hunting a cherry shrimp That shrimp darted just before this picture was taken. But on a more positive note, there were at least four wild type males dating around the tank. Which means two things, there has been breeding and there may be a female trying to breed. Are you going to do anything about the gourami problem, or do you just have so many shrimp that you can afford to lose some? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 2/8/2023 at 3:28 AM, TheSwissAquarist said: Are you going to do anything about the gourami problem, or do you just have so many shrimp that you can afford to lose some? Realistically there are probably only 10 in there at most (7 of those are wild type). With all the plants I doubt I could ever catch them. It's not ideal but I may just see how things play out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 2/7/2023 at 9:35 PM, Schuyler said: Caught a sparkling gourami in the act of hunting a cherry shrimp That shrimp darted just before this picture was taken. But on a more positive note, there were at least four wild type males dating around the tank. Which means two things, there has been breeding and there may be a female trying to breed. Do you ever hear them croak? Mine do it nonstop throughout the day and at night 🥲 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 2/8/2023 at 10:34 AM, knee said: Do you ever hear them croak? Mine do it nonstop throughout the day and at night 🥲 Not yet. Maybe they aren't happy enough or maybe they're just to young? There's also a chance we heard it but didn't realize what it was I forgot they do they! Now I'm going to be ok the lookout for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 2/8/2023 at 10:43 AM, Schuyler said: Not yet. Maybe they aren't happy enough or maybe they're just to young? There's also a chance we heard it but didn't realize what it was I forgot they do they! Now I'm going to be ok the lookout for it Maybe they are too young. They would croak when trying to spawn or when males are asserting dominance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 9, 2023 Author Share Posted February 9, 2023 Getting some "help" searching for eggs. My Eggersi Killifish is starting to show his age but he still eats just as voraciously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 On 2/9/2023 at 5:30 PM, Schuyler said: My Eggersi Killifish is starting to show his age but he still eats just as voraciously. He’s still a rather beautiful fish…it’ll be sad when he goes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 12, 2023 Author Share Posted February 12, 2023 Why to ACO today to use my gift card and to meet up with someone. I have him a batch of killi eggs, a microworm culture, and a vinegar eels culture to get him started. That's dwarf hairgrass and red root floaters in the bags. The guy I met up with bought the eggs for me to say thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 On 2/12/2023 at 9:04 AM, Schuyler said: Why to ACO today to use my gift card and to meet up with someone. I have him a batch of killi eggs, a microworm culture, and a vinegar eels culture to get him started. That's dwarf hairgrass and red root floaters in the bags. The guy I met up with bought the eggs for me to say thanks. Where’s the hairgrass going? Front ‘lawn’ in the 40 gal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 What sort of filter are you using btw?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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