Theplatymaster's NEW journal: A treacherous 20.

[Guppysnail]

On 2/18/2023 at 6:58 PM, Theplatymaster said:

does having multiple make them less shy?

In my experience yes to zebra and tiger. Racers still pretend to be alien abductions for weeks then spend a week front and center. I put veggies right by the front glass. It a trap 🤣. You want yummies I get to see you. 

[Theplatymaster]

thanks @Guppysnail ill get another next time i got to my LFS.

i did some algae scraping, ill try to get a better picture of baby cories now:

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 2/19/2023 at 12:58 AM, Theplatymaster said:

no offense to @TheSwissAquaristbut i logged on today, 24notifications, and at least %50 percent of them were you (i follow you).

You’re able to change your ‘Notification Preferences’ so that you don’t keep on getting an earful from me. 😂

[Theplatymaster]

i got a great picture of a baby corydora

(if you confuse it with the platy we cannot be friends 😆)

they are reminding me to go feed them.

[Theplatymaster]

water change time, i thought id share my process:

step1. i unplug the HOB i dont do enough of a water change to have to worry about the heater

step2. i hook up my tubing to my power head.

step 3. powerhead goes in the tank, gravel vaccum goes into the bucket

step4.plug the powerhead in for a second to get a strong siphon

step5.unplug the powerhead

step.6. fill the bucket most of the way.

step7.put catch cup in the tank

someone was in the bathroom at this point (cutting off my water supply) so i thought id share a picture:

step.8. manually pour water into the catch cup

step.9. dechlorinate

step10.put everything away.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

Garra Guy has found some snacks on the wall (algae):

he is eating is VERY effectively.

[TheSwissAquarist]

Always fun to watch! 

[Theplatymaster]

My small struggle with hair algae continues! I dislike the idea of using chemical methods and would prefer to get it taken care of naturally, the 2 steps im doing:

1.fasting platies, they will pick at it, but if hungry they will eat it

2.following the aquariumcoop algae guide, i have turned down my ACO light from a 4 to a 3, i might have 1 plant that suffers slightly from this (advertised as a medium light plant) (brazilian pennywort), but im hoping the thing that changed to spawn all this algae was lighting, and turning it town will remedy it.

funny picture of Garra Guy (he is eating algae on the exterior wall of the breeder box):

(BTW: for tanks of 20+ gallons i highly reccomend a panda garra as a flat algae eater or if you just want a fish with fun behaviors, i got it for both)

 

@TheSwissAquaristi dont know if youve seen me post this story about Garra Guy:

On 2/16/2023 at 6:56 PM, Theplatymaster said:

it was very fun to watch him clean a dwarf aquarium lily leaf. Hes not a small fish (3-4in), and the leaf clearly could not sustain his weight, but he kept trying, and was almost hanging on for his life with his mouth, even though the leaf could not support his weight

Edited February 19, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

I saw my nerite snail this morning!

also the baby cories are getting pretty active, (they are reminding me to feed them.)

Im going to a lake near my house today to go check out the life there. I plan on collecting some substrate and water, and if they have them possibly plants.

I went to a different river yesterday, and they wouldnt let you go near enough for me to collect some samples, so anti-biologistist. I did see a fish in a drainage ditch there.

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

@Guppysnailwhat is my best course of action (nerite snail is out of the water):

[Guppysnail]

On 2/20/2023 at 6:45 AM, Theplatymaster said:

@Guppysnailwhat is my best course of action (nerite snail is out of the water):

Do you mean course of action about the nerite out of water?  Do nothing they just do that. Have a good lid. 
 

[Theplatymaster]

thanks @Guppysnail

this snail has gotten very close to escaping before, even with clear holes, (ive found her in my HOB).

[Guppysnail]

On 2/20/2023 at 7:01 AM, Theplatymaster said:

thanks @Guppysnail

this snail has gotten very close to escaping before, even with clear holes, (ive found her in my HOB).

Yesterday at water change I got solidly sprayed in the face when the water line dropped in one tank. My one nerite had jammed itself in the canister outflow causing the equivalent of a pressure washer. Sort of like putting your finger on the end of a hose to get a stronger spray. 

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/20/2023 at 7:04 AM, Guppysnail said:

Yesterday at water change I got solidly sprayed in the face when the water line dropped in one tank. My one nerite had jammed itself in the canister outflow causing the equivalent of a pressure washer. Sort of like putting your finger on the end of a hose to get a stronger spray. 

oof, if i drop my water line id get water everywhere, hopefully it wasnt too much water.

the snail was trying to help clean the canister filter, it just got a little stuck...

[Theplatymaster]

Ive told stories about him, now i have a picture, i present Garra Guy (the star of this journal clearly), on a dwarf aquarium lily leaf (he was doing the hold on for your life thing like 2minutes ago, he is just sitting on it now:

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 2/20/2023 at 12:19 PM, Theplatymaster said:

Im going to a lake near my house today to go check out the life there. I plan on collecting some substrate and water, and if they have them possibly plants.

I sometimes take a fine-meshed net and drag it along the surface, rinse it in a bucket or water bottle, take it home, and put the water through a brine shrimp sieve to get rid of any large predatory infusoria. 

Works great!

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/20/2023 at 10:16 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Works great!

for what purpose? i am doing this is observe some aquatic life, i have cleaned out a large (2gallon i think) preztel jar and i will be adding substrate, water, and plants from the lake, ill see what i can find in there once it settles. (when i did this at camp we had no way of aerating them, and we closed the jars for the smell, so things lived for a day then suffocated, i will be running air to this).(i may RR any plants before introducing them to the jar, because i dont need any say Bass eggs hatching on me)

Edited February 20, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 2/20/2023 at 4:19 PM, Theplatymaster said:

for what purpose

Bit of a treat for fish, and your corydora fry might enjoy it too. 

[Theplatymaster]

@TheSwissAquarist im not really interested in live foods right now, besides the big fish in the 20 are fasting, so the platies will feel determined to eat hair algae. (i know they can, they just need to be convinced), as i said im doing this for my Biology fascination.

[Theplatymaster]

There is a long lunch line today:

corydora fry waiting for food, (the platies want what falls through the mesh).

Garra Guy's lunch is literally on the house. Any guesses?

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

I got back from the lake, ate dinner and here i am.

the lake was not what i expected, it was too cloudy to see anything, and there were no visible plants.

I didnt end up collecting anything.

Ill try a different lake soon (i have higher hopes for this one, as its covered in duckweed, good hiding spots for fry).

[Theplatymaster]

i have been  waiting for my female platies in the 5gallon to give birth, i have another 2weeks i think, but ive been struck by another fish, a dark orange platy.

i dont think i will botch these fish, but a future project might involve some orange/red platies.

I have isolated the dark orange female i want to breed, she is still young and is not pregnant, this is good for me as it means she has not been "ruined" by the wrong male for this project.

i have a male in my main tank aswell of this dark orange, once i can get my female mature, and my my other breeding project going, i will introduce the 2 together, probably in my 2gallon.

 

Also with some slight agression issues, i need to move some males, i will reach out to my friend that wants platies, and i will be bringing a large group of males to the LFS soon.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

baby corydoras have been fed.

all the platies trying to get the food that falls through the cracks:

the things i worry about that other people dont...

for example today ive been worrying i didnt get the right dark orange female, but i dislike catching fish so it just might have to stay with my current not as good one.

[Theplatymaster]

After taking a while to catch out the female (the male was easier to catch) i finally have my dark orange platy pair in the 2gallon, ill leave them for a week, but ill be checking on the female to make sure she

a.is pregnant

and

b.is not being too badly harassed.

@mynameisnobody you might find this interesting.

here is a (bad) picture of the their in their tank. (i used the darkest orange female i could find, im really trying to get out the dark orange/red in the male because i really like it), here is a picture (starring my hand!):

note: its been like 2 minutes since ive introduced them, the male is interested already. (possibly because in the main tank he was chased around by other males and now he has a female to himself) i dont think ill have an issue of the female not being pregnant.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Miska]

On 2/20/2023 at 6:48 PM, Theplatymaster said:

I got back from the lake, ate dinner and here i am.

the lake was not what i expected, it was too cloudy to see anything, and there were no visible plants.

I didnt end up collecting anything.

Ill try a different lake soon (i have higher hopes for this one, as its covered in duckweed, good hiding spots for fry).

Where do you live that you can collect in Feb? That's so cool!