AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 6, 2022 Author Share Posted December 6, 2022 Home from work and transferred 15-18 little Cory fry to the 2.5 gallon from the tumbler. Also pulled the 5 or so little guys from the Tupperware. Probably 5 or 6 more eggs in the tumbler still waiting to hatch. I’m assuming tomorrow when I get home from work, but we’ll see. Pulled some of the water out of the 2.5 to be able to transfer the fry easier. Squeezed the bulb on the turkey baster to get the air out, gently dipped it in the tumbler, sucked up the fry, quickly capped the open end of the baster with my finger, and then carefully moved the baster into the 2.5 gallon tank. Once my finger (acting as a cap) was underwater, and therefore the open end of the baster, I did my best to equalize the pressure between the baster and the tank, and slowly removed my finger so the fry could swim out. I put the rest of the water from the baster in the tank too, as there were copepods and microorganisms in that water which is good for the tank. I’ll feed first bites for a couple days, and will probably plop a couple BBS in when my next batch batches on Thursday night. Once I confirm the fry are big enough to eat the BBS they’ll get first bites in the morning, and frozen BBS at night. Off to set up the brine shrimp hatchery! Cheers and thanks for coming along for the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Another Wednesday means another day of maintenance. Have a couple fun things to share! -I did a water change on every single tank. All 13 of them. Usually I do 12, but I went ahead and did a water change on the 20 long shrimp/crayfish/snail tank as it had been a couple weeks. Felt good to get everything in the house fresh. Now onto the fun stuff! We have a pair of Panda Angels again! LET’S GOOOOOOO!!! I noticed the male had his “tube” out (I can’t remember the actual name for it) for a couple of days and have been excited. I’ve been waiting for the female to be ready and this morning noticed her tube was quite extended. I think the water change was just a coincidence, but STOKED that I paired these guys up again, and caught them in the act 😉. This tank is in the spare bedroom so after snapping this pic I shut the door to leave them be and focus on spawning. This morning I told my girlfriend, “We have a Panda Angel pair again! I just don’t know where to hatch the eggs since the other 2.5 has the Julii Cory’s…”. She suggested picking up another 2.5 gallon, gave me permission to take up more counter space, and even picked this up for me while she was running some other errands while I did my maintenance. I’m so thankful to have someone that supports EVERYTHING I do and suggests another tank when it’s necessary. She’s the best! Cory fry hanging tough (from what I see). BBS will be harvested in a couple of hours, and the new 2.5 will go next to this one. The heating pad will work just fine to heat both tanks. Thanks for the counter space to hatch and grow fry, love! Cleaned up the 55 Angel community. Trimmed a bunch off the Amazon Sword on the left, including the 5 baby “Swordlets”. Baby swords got planted to the right, and I moved the Dragon Stone and spawning slate to the left of the tank in the hopes that the Marbled Male and all black female will use the slate instead of the Sword leaves. Probably won’t hatch any spawns from this pair as long as I have the Panda pair, but I’m hopeful they’ll use the slate so I can just wash the eggs off to bring harmony back to the tank. Tomorrow I’ll pull the Panda spawn (fingers crossed the Bristlenose don’t eat the spawn over night 🤞) and will document hatching and raising them. This time, I’m going to leave the air stone under the eggs to continue to “fan” them with Methylene Blue. Both times the past Marbled spawns failed I said “this is my sign to focus on the Panda pair”. They’re a pair again and I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure my third public spawn/hatch is successful! This hobby is so fun, brings me so much mental help/calmness/clarity, and I love constantly playing and learning. Cheers, Nerms! Edited December 8, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 8, 2022 Author Share Posted December 8, 2022 Left the lights on overnight so the Bristlenose didn’t eat the eggs and now we cross our fingers that I don’t get a giant algae outbreak. Bristlenose and snails would probably love that, though. Maybe even the Platy’s, too. I guess we’ll find out! Spawn has been pulled and is in the 2.5 gallon hatchery with 2 drops of Methylene Blue and an air stone cranking below the eggs to continue to fan them. The countdown is on 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Congratulations! Panda angels look seriously cool 😎! You’re lucky that your girlfriend is so nice about your tanks. Do you have to put up with houseplants or something ??😂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 @TheSwissAquarist Nah, lol. I just got lucky to find someone who supports me as much as I support them. If she wanted houseplants all over and cared for them like I do the tanks I’d be all about it though! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Not a ton going on over here. The work is done and now we slowly progress. Cory babies still chillin (mostly by the sponge filter) and they got their first taste of frozen BBS for dinner. Flashed my phone light in the tank and saw some orange bellies so they’re obviously eating it. The nightly baby brine shrimp feast is on! Panda Angel eggs looking immaculate, and a crayfish molt that I couldn’t resist taking a picture of. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) We have wigglers! Super nice to see the spawn that actually mattered happen in real time presented for the the internet. The only difference between this spawn and the previous failed attempts was the air stone under the eggs to fan them. Never had to do that before, but will continue to do that moving forward. You can see some eyes and little tails. The air stone blew some of these guys and gals off the slate so the air stone was moved out of the way. I REALLY wish the forum would let you upload short clips (without YouTube and without gifs). Tried to make a couple gifs for you guys but once the videos were gif’d and saved they were super dark. Pics will have to suffice. Male Bristlenose was looking epic the other night. You can see what I believe is a female in the background. I bought them as juveniles a while back and believe I might have actually had some luck for once and got both a male and a female. ACO order has been placed and in the mail! Pleco cave is on that order as IF I got lucky and this is a m/f pair I want to try to breed them. Also flagged my account as I just passed the 1 year member mark and I want that coin! All is well and I’m excited about continuing to raise the Cory’s, this group of Panda Angels, and the possibility of breeding these Pleco’s once they’re mature. Cheers, Nerms. Edited December 11, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 On 12/11/2022 at 3:55 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said: We have wigglers! Bravo! Can’t wait to see how they develop. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 Nice! Congratulations. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 (edited) You guys ever try to help someone on here that says things like “I’m brand new to the freshwater world” so you give some advice based on your personal experiences but then argues literally every thing you say to try to help them? Irks me so bad, lol. Whatever, it is what it is and I wish them the best of luck. Onto the fun stuff! ACO order came in today! Got everything I ordered (per usual and wouldn’t expect anything less) and one thing I wasn’t expecting until my next order! Angels actually looking like little fish instead of eggs with tails. Maybe tomorrow when I get home from work they’ll be free swimming. As soon as they’re swimming around I’ll do a 50% water change to begin taking out the Methylene Blue, drop a seeded sponge filter in, and start raising them up. Here’s to the 99.9% of Community Aquarists that Respect Each other and best of luck to the other .1%! Edited December 13, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 16, 2022 Author Share Posted December 16, 2022 (edited) A day late on the normal weekly post but the company employee appreciation party will do that to you. Water change on all the tanks but the shrimp/snail/crayfish tank and even got the 2 egg hatching tanks on the counter. Tested the one that’s been growing out the Julii Cory fry and got 0/0/5 so I’m confident the sponge filter in there is doing it’s job and makes me more confident in doing the same for the Panda Angel fry. Those guys are still wiggling away, waiting for them to become free swimming. Once they are, I’ll siphon out any of the infertile/fungused eggs, drop the sponge filter in, do a water change, and start raising them up. Brine shrimp eggs are in the hatchery and everything is all good and moving along. The Angels in the community tank spawned again today, but I just pulled the slate and washed the eggs down the drain. With the Julii’s and the Panda’s already going I literally don’t have the space or time. Still got some cool pics though Edited December 16, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) We have free swimming fry! Still a little confused on why the previous 2 spawns on here didn’t work out. Like, at all. However, I really think it was the universe telling me that I’d have this coming up As you can see in the photo, this was mid water change to get the rest of the Methylene Blue out of the water. Dropped in another chunk of Java Moss, added the seeded/well cycled sponge filter, filled ‘er back up, and we’re off and running. These guys will grow out in here for a couple/few weeks, then I’ll move them to a 10 gallon tank, before moving them to the 55 grow out tank. The Angels ahead of these guys are ready to go off to the LFS. 55 this time (most I’ve asked them to take) as I’m going to keep 2 “Smokey” variants to replace the pair of Pandas I took out and paired from the community. From here on out I’m focusing on the Pandas and won’t pull any further marbled spawns. If you had ~$200 in store credit, what would you get from your LFS? And, as a side note, I really appreciate you guys rocking and rolling with me through my fish adventures. Even the people I know that keep fish aren’t on the Nerm level that I am, and I appreciate every comment, reaction, and general community sense that this forum brings. Cheers, Nerms! Edited December 17, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 7:28 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: If you had ~$200 in store credit, what would you get from your LFS? Depends on what you want. In something like your case it'd be a stand to hold what need be for tanks / rack. I would buy supplies, equipment, make sure contamination isn't an issue if need be. Second to that would be food, especially repashy, and things that make life easier raising fry. Maybe get the supplies need be to set up a dean's fry tank type of system. Plumbing parts, etc. I personally would spend it on food and plants. There are some things I need like tweezers for aquascaping, but beyond that it's the day to day stuff. Hardscape, wood, substrate, etc. Things you always need, but are always too much to purchase. I'd be looking real hard at a 307. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 @nabokovfan87 For sure. I’d go hard on the food if my LFS stocked Xtreme Foods. They have a nice selection of hard scape so I typically rummage through that and see if anything sticks out. After that, it’s any fish that I want to try. One day I’ll buy a house and will set up a legit fish room/breeding room in the basement and will have plenty of things to buy. Until then, it’s whatever tickles my fancy that’s available at the LFS. I’m getting into this weird world where I have everything I need, so the credit just starts to stack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 10:27 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: @nabokovfan87 For sure. I’d go hard on the food if my LFS stocked Xtreme Foods. They have a nice selection of hard scape so I typically rummage through that and see if anything sticks out. After that, it’s any fish that I want to try. One day I’ll buy a house and will set up a legit fish room/breeding room in the basement and will have plenty of things to buy. Until then, it’s whatever tickles my fancy that’s available at the LFS. I’m getting into this weird world where I have everything I need, so the credit just starts to stack It might be an odd question, but do you have a "display tank"? I would opt for something like a 40B or similar stand where you could stack a handful of tanks and setup a "rack". I would have to go back and forth between what works and makes sense for the dimensions (only one I saw with long enough depth was the 120G stands). Something like a "plants only" tank might be a good way for you to expand what you can offer. Grow moss and other things that might provide you longer term benefits if you can get it balanced. Clippings go into fry tanks as you need and every batch of fry gets a new / fresh plant. I am not as familiar with all the tanks you have and whatever each is intended for. Maybe there's some room there for something. Apart from expensive equipment, frozen foods, filter equipment, meds, heaters, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) @nabokovfan87 Totally understand where you’re coming from. I currently have 13 tanks (15 if you could the (2) 2.5 gallon tanks on the kitchen counter raising fry) and I would consider 9 of the 13 “display tanks”. Most of them have the capability of breeding, but in a community setting. Most of them have multiple opportunities to breed ie 20h with the Julii Cory’s and the Furcata Rainbows. 55 Gallon tank with the marbled Angels and Albino Cory’s. 29 gallon with Praecox Rainbows, Peacock Gudgeons, and my original group of Albino Cory’s that spawned the Albino’s in the 55. I breed as it happens instead of trying to force it. Everything is planted, too. Most of them heavily planted which helps me feed and do water changes once per week to help with breeding. The other tanks are: 55 grow out tank for whatever fry are raising up, and then (3) 10 gallon quarantine/hospital/grow out for whatever I have going or as needed. In our 2 bedroom apartment, I’m literally maxed out in space and the time I have to dedicate to my tanks. I have tanks in the kitchen, (on the kitchen counter too right now with fry), 7 in the living room on a rack, in our bedroom, and the 55 grow out in our spare bedroom. I work crazy hours at my job, then the tanks, my girl, the dog, and our cat. Honestly, the tanks have taken over other hobbies like gaming but that isn’t a complaint. At ABSOLUTE MOST I could have 1 or 2 more 10 gallons on the rack in the living room, but I’ve never run into the situation where I need another quarantine/hospital/grow out. I take things as they come, and make educated decisions based on what I want to breed/try next, what is currently breeding, what new fish I want to quarantine and add to a display and maybe try to breed, and general life placement. Someday (when the feds stop raising the interest rate…) I’ll buy a house and do whatever I want. The dream is multiple big (125) gallon display tanks around the house with a legit fish room/breeding/grow out room in the basement on auto water change and all that. Until then, I’m maxed out on space and time to dedicate and do the absolute most with what I currently have. Edited December 17, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 You could very likely cut back on tanks by changing from 55 to 75 gallons in a few places. It seems like it's a small thing, but in terms of tank space it's a very big difference front to back. There is also that new 60B from aqueon making the rounds that is the footprint of a 75, but not as tall. Depending if that helps or anything like that, maybe that's something to look into for one or two of your tanks. 15+ is a ton of tanks. I couldn't imagine, especially with those throughout the house and not necessarily in one location. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 @nabokovfan87The idea of upgrading or changing is intriguing, but more in the sense that shiny new things are, well, shiny and new, and that the planning and executing is one of my favorite parts of the hobby. At this point I’m considering a move in six months, and the thought of moving all of this is paralyzing. I understanding that bigger/less tanks would technically be easier to move, but I really feel like it’s all the same and moving everything I have is going to be a giant project in and of itself. 13 tanks seems like a lot, but honestly it’s about 4-5 hours worth of maintenance each week (if you don’t include feeding). I’ve built lots of DIY tools and really have a dialed system at this point. Every Wednesday I’m off work and it’s the same. I’m definitely a “creature of habit” myself snd I also thoroughly enjoy the maintenance so it doesn’t feel like a giant chore. Like I said, my work life is insane, so the feeding/water changes/maintenance/collecting eggs/raising fry helps keep me balanced mentally and gives me something fun to do when I get home each day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows… Sometimes things pile up and it feels like a lot, but that’s 1 maintenance sesh out of every 8 or 12 and the others in between are spent jamming my favorite music for a few hours each week. The work I put in and the things I get out of it far outweigh the cons. I love having a few hours each week to zone out and take care of my ecosystems. I love seeing what’s breeding and the challenge of hatching/raising the fry. I love getting lost in my tanks checking out what’s going on and what’s new. I love the “fruits of my labor” paying off over the few years I’ve had everything set up. The mental clarity/breaks/and joy this hobby brings me is tenfold the time I put into it. I’ve seen @Zenzo say that he spends ~8 hours in his fish room each week and I feel the exact same. I spend way more time enjoying my tanks and seeing what’s going on than maintaining the ecosystems I’ve spent years setting up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/17/2022 at 4:28 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said: $200 in store credit Fry food or fry tanks or lighting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 11:42 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: @nabokovfan87The idea of upgrading or changing is intriguing, but more in the sense that shiny new things are, well, shiny and new, and that the planning and executing is one of my favorite parts of the hobby. At this point I’m considering a move in six months, and the thought of moving all of this is paralyzing. I understanding that bigger/less tanks would technically be easier to move, but I really feel like it’s all the same and moving everything I have is going to be a giant project in and of itself. Yeah I hear you. When I swapped mine out, I realized right away I'll never have a 55G again. It's so tall and so little space that it just isn't good for me. I had the 75 and it was like a mansion for the (not a joke) one fish I purchased it for to have a little bit more room. I had one bucket for plants, 2 for substrate, one for fish, used a tub for rocks and stuff, and took about 24 hours to swap it out. The big issue, is just making sure your filter fits on the wider rim of the 75G. As far as how, or the effort, literally just moving from one to the other size, it's really a lot less work than you'd think it would be. Daunting, but it's about a days work. Then you get to decide what to do with it now that it's in place. On 12/16/2022 at 11:42 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: 13 tanks seems like a lot, but honestly it’s about 4-5 hours worth of maintenance each week (if you don’t include feeding). I’ve built lots of DIY tools and really have a dialed system at this point. Every Wednesday I’m off work and it’s the same. I’m definitely a “creature of habit” myself snd I also thoroughly enjoy the maintenance so it doesn’t feel like a giant chore. Like I said, my work life is insane, so the feeding/water changes/maintenance/collecting eggs/raising fry helps keep me balanced mentally and gives me something fun to do when I get home each day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows… Sometimes things pile up and it feels like a lot, but that’s 1 maintenance sesh out of every 8 or 12 and the others in between are spent jamming my favorite music for a few hours each week. I totally get it. I would imagine you have a big trashcan on wheels to drain and fill water. I hope! Drain a bunch of tanks, use a python or something, and then you just go and run through the row of tanks. I have a very similar method when I had my series of tanks around the house, but I did opt for staggering things. I 1000% understand about how it helps with the mindset and you get very zen about it. That's awesome, and is my own journey in the hobby as well. I only mentioned it because I know a lot of people think about MTS (more is better), but I know for me, I actually got a lot more enjoyment when I had one massive place and one tank to sit in front of as opposed to a bunch of smaller ones in many rooms so I always had one in view. Again, I don't have the setup memorized for you or have a grasp on what you use each tank for, but that's just an option. 🙂 Bigger might be helpful, not even about having more gallons or moving 2-3 tanks into one, but just for the sake of room and having that option if you ever need it. I moved 3 tanks I think... into one when I upgraded mine. Some of them weren't full. But it's an upgrade I recommend if you can do it. Might be useful, but definitely a choice you'll have to mull over 🙂 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Maybe an autodoser is in your future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) @nabokovfan87 If I upgraded my 55 Angel tank to a 75, then the 55 would just become another grow out tank for fry, and another tank to maintenance, and more equipment to buy, lol. I totally get where you’re coming from and understand what you’re saying, but I know myself too well. An autodoser could be interesting. I’m tempted to try a canister filter, simply because I never have, but all of my tanks have lids and the possibilities of leaks with canisters scare me with carpet in areas of my house. I also wanna try some Chili Rasboras for my Walstad cube. I guess we’ll see what I’m feeling like when I drop this next round of fish off! Appreciate all your input! Edited December 17, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Zenzo Posted December 17, 2022 Administrators Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 11:42 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: I’ve seen @Zenzo say that he spends ~8 hours in his fish room each week and I feel the exact same. I spend way more time enjoying my tanks and seeing what’s going on than maintaining the ecosystems I’ve spent years setting up. My goal is to average a couple of hours per day in the fishroom. Lately it has been much less, as I have been spending more time in my upstairs office (at least I have tanks in there too). However, with upcoming tank builds as well as making my fishroom office space a little more comfortable, I hope to be able to realize my goal of a couple of hours per day in the fishroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/17/2022 at 7:19 PM, Zenzo said: However, with upcoming tank builds How’s the new shrimp tank doing anyway? Looked superb on YouTube when you set it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 @Zenzo Thanks for chiming in! Much appreciated. One day I’ll be able to dedicate hour(s) per day to my tanks, just not today, lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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