Blackwater Bloody Mary Neo Setup

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/26/2023 at 3:35 PM, Odd Duck said:

Rooibos tea has a lovely smell (and taste and I don’t even like regular tea) plus adds some very nice color tannins.  I’ve not seen any harm from it, it seems to help, but I’ve not seen any studies for it like for IAL’s (which weren’t especially good studies anyway, honestly).

Red / Rooibos tea is delicious! It's very healthy and tastes good with herbal tea ingredients. The next time you're at the shop, see if they have white tea.  It's the other extremely healthy variety that is extremely light in bitterness.  They usually have a vanilla/chamomile white tea or something like mint goes well with it also.

I am working on a tea order, just send some to my mom for her birthday this week.  You're right, rooibos needs to be on the list.  The one I have now is blended rooibos, orange, and cinnamon, but I need to pick up some plain. 🙂

 

[Odd Duck]

I’ve had white tea, it’s only OK, not very exciting but not objectionable either.  I hate chamomile tea.  Ugh!  Smells sooooo good and tastes sooooo bad.  Even when I’ve grown my own.  I’ve grown loads of different mints, my favorite is chocolate mint.  It doesn’t really taste much like chocolate but it kind of tastes like mint with a hint of chocolate, and the smell is divine.

[nabokovfan87]

I found this today.  My first time seeing this video and what a plethora of information. 
 

 

[nabokovfan87]

Not a major update or anything. I am planning to place an order for this thing.... Tonight.

I wanted to show a side by side of the tanks that used to have the same light. I was frustrated a bit with how yellow the aquasky light was on this tank. I've moved it to a QT setup with a corydoras fry for the time being, but I am having some "feelings" about the light after trying to dial it in yet again on yet another tank.  This is supposed to be a set it and forget it light, just really isn't.

This is the Tank with a planted 3.0 light with a bit better quality LED spectrum and the blackwater visual to it. Not much, not the type of thing where you can't see the clarity of the water, but there's some tannins for sure.

This is the way the aquasky was when it was on this tank except for add a lot more yellow-green color to it.  Here is the aquasky on low as possible on the QT tank.

And here is the aquasky when you cut off the white LEDs and turn on all the color LEDs.

A bit less harsh on the eyes and I'm not sure how different the par would be.... But I spend some time playing with that watching both tanks.

Just an interesting little visual. 🙂

EDIT: First half of the order placed....  The second half I cannot order until the robots decide to make them available.  It's going to be the same species, but just a different genetic source.  (Needless to say I'm committed now, they should be here in 2-3 days and things will either be ok or they wont.  I am HOPEFUL for things to go well)

Edited February 6, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

I woke up today, did the morning things, went off to go run some errands and be out of the house for the morning.  I then got the notification (at 12) that the box would arrive a day early and be here between 10-2.  It's 2 now as of typing, so any minute now!!!

I cleaned the filtration really well, ran my tests, and went ahead and got through the usual routine.  I tend to wait until lights out simply so I can let the plants do their thing. 




Filters weren't too bad, but I definitely have been overfeeding.  I tend to clean these out every other week, I will be going back to every week due to the new stocking.  I don't think there's a lot of waste, ever in this tank, but it's a shot of a bucket of fish water.... we all know it's cleaning day!

QUESTION THOUGH for the hivemind.  When it comes to things you dose in, be it baking soda, equilibrium, and PH up/down powders.  What is the normal timeline for those products to affect the water?  Is this something that happens as soon as they are dissolved?

[knee]

On 2/8/2023 at 1:59 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I woke up today, did the morning things, went off to go run some errands and be out of the house for the morning.  I then got the notification (at 12) that the box would arrive a day early and be here between 10-2.  It's 2 now as of typing, so any minute now!!!

I cleaned the filtration really well, ran my tests, and went ahead and got through the usual routine.  I tend to wait until lights out simply so I can let the plants do their thing. 




Filters weren't too bad, but I definitely have been overfeeding.  I tend to clean these out every other week, I will be going back to every week due to the new stocking.  I don't think there's a lot of waste, ever in this tank, but it's a shot of a bucket of fish water.... we all know it's cleaning day!

QUESTION THOUGH for the hivemind.  When it comes to things you dose in, be it baking soda, equilibrium, and PH up/down powders.  What is the normal timeline for those products to affect the water?  Is this something that happens as soon as they are dissolved?

What kind of heater is that?

 

When I started using pure RODI for some checkerboard cichlids, I mixed everything in a large trash can. I would put equilibrium and baking soda then I leave it for an hour or two (longer if I forget) then test. If it's right parameters then I start my water change.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/8/2023 at 3:50 PM, knee said:

What kind of heater is that?

Fluval E-Series Heaters.

On 2/8/2023 at 3:50 PM, knee said:

When I started using pure RODI for some checkerboard cichlids, I mixed everything in a large trash can. I would put equilibrium and baking soda then I leave it for an hour or two (longer if I forget) then test. If it's right parameters then I start my water change.

Yeah, that seems like the correct approach.

Alright... let's look at my day today.

The first "new thing" for me was acclimating them over a very, very long period of time.  It wasn't flawless and I definitely made some mistakes, learned a little bit.  I am doing two batches of 5, this is the first batch.  The other one is supposed to be from a different genetic line, same store, but just a separate strain.  Waiting for them to be added on amazon, then I can order them.  I've been checking basically morning and night for them to be added, I got the email stuff setup and still waiting. 

My hope is that there's enough in the tank for these ones to do well.  It's a very well seasoned tank, the corydoras won't bug them, there's plenty of places to hide.  Alder cones are in there to bolster up even more surfaces for them, and I do have some good foods for them as well as the corydoras. 

I am adding these to the tank, trying to rehome the pandas, Move everything else to the 75 when I feel confident these guys are doing ok, and then make an effort to have a decent setup of shrimp to try to help pay for the hobby of sorts.  I saw at least 2 of this set with really nice colors. 2 that looked like culls / black or grey.  7 in total went into the tank tonight.  I am hoping that tomorrow when I check on things I see them doing ok. doing well and behaving like they should. 

I know it doesn't make sense, but part of me really wants to "have success" before saying what is going on in the hopes of not jynxing or dooming the project from the start.

I'm already in awe of these little creatures and I just want to see them do well. I really, really want to see them do well. 

Edited February 9, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Anjum]

Best of luck! I waited so long to get neos because I was so scared of killing them. But I finally got some from the co-op a few weeks ago & I now have at least 2, possibly 3 berried females. So I am quite relieved! 

I got 12 shrimp initially, but I haven't seen more than 8 at a time. There's a mass of PSO & other plants in there though so it's entirely possible there's a few hiding at any given time. 

I think you'll do just fine! 

[nabokovfan87]

Thank you, I appreciate it. Yeah I can imagine them loving the big mass of PSO once it grown in for you. 🙂

[SandBkeeper]

Are you sure those are bloody mary shrimp? Because to me they look like regular cherry shrimp. 

 

Good quality Bloody mary shrimp should look like this, if not even darker. 

On 2/9/2023 at 12:48 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

7 in total went into the tank tonight.

My bloody mary shrimp colony started with only 5 shrimp, so you should be fine. Shrimp are pretty hardy and will breed like rabbits if you let them. Good luck with your shrimp!

[Lennie]

On 2/9/2023 at 9:00 PM, SandBkeeper said:

Are you sure those are bloody mary shrimp? Because to me they look like regular cherry shrimp. 

Shrimp tend to look pale when they are under stress, or when they are kept in a light color substrate/environment. Transportation is not an easy process, so they gradually keep coloring up in my experience

when I got my orange sakuras, they were literally almost transparent-peach color. But they were juviniles, so that also played a role for sure

This is them now:

Edited February 9, 2023 by Lennie

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/9/2023 at 10:00 AM, SandBkeeper said:

Good quality Bloody mary shrimp should look like this, if not even darker. 

They were definitely bloody Marys. Just stressed and I really couldn't get a good photo. To the eye... Exactly what you'd expect and I was happy. 🙂

I checked the tank this morning and I don't see anything in there in terms of shrimp. Not a great sign, I'll check tonight.

Backup plan is to have them in the 10 and move the wood. Setup the 75. Then I can move the two 29s and move the 10 to the 29 after the fish are removed.

Very stressful night, but I had them for a few hours last night just watching them and I got to see just how fragile the neos are compared to my amanos.

[SandBkeeper]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:39 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

They were definitely bloody Marys.

Ok great! Just wanted to make sure as I've seen some shops try to sell regular cherry shrimp as bloody marys. 

 

On 2/9/2023 at 2:39 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I don't see anything in there in terms of shrimp. Not a great sign, I'll check tonight.

If it's a big tank with lots of plants, you probably won't see the shrimp too often. They like to hide and can get into the smallest spaces. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/9/2023 at 11:44 AM, SandBkeeper said:

Ok great! Just wanted to make sure as I've seen some shops try to sell regular cherry shrimp as bloody marys. 

Yeah exactly, that's why I was starting this off with quality at the front and trying to make sure it's a good source.

On 2/9/2023 at 11:44 AM, SandBkeeper said:

If it's a big tank with lots of plants, you probably won't see the shrimp too often. They like to hide and can get into the smallest spaces. 

They were definitely extremely light sensitive, in the tank for a very brief amount of time and the sand does have a lot of commotion. Corydoras spawned last night. I am hopeful they are just hiding well, very small and doing ok.  If I need to be a lot better about hides I'll dump in an entire corner of ceramic rings for now until I can afford more rocks and cover. Moss is growing, has to grow in more. We'll see.

The main thing I really want to see is them do we'll and I know that my water is ok at that point. It really, really should be. Just stressful when everything is brand new to me. 🙂

[SandBkeeper]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

them do we'll and I know that my water is ok

What are your water parameters?

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/9/2023 at 11:50 AM, SandBkeeper said:

What are your water parameters?

PH 6.8-7.2. keeping it above 7.

Temp is 72-74.

GH is "high enough"

KH is 60 PPM.

[SandBkeeper]

On 2/9/2023 at 3:58 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

PH 6.8-7.2. keeping it above 7.

Temp is 72-74.

GH is "high enough"

KH is 60 PPM.

You should be ok then. I have mine at about

pH 7.6

Temp I have my shrimp tanks at anywhere from 68-76

GH I haven't measured my Gh for a while, but my tap is usually 3-4 I think

Kh same as Gh

 

As long as the water isn't too soft, doesn't fluctuate too much, and is at a normal temperature, you should have success. 

[nabokovfan87]

I checked again tonight, I still don't see any.  I may have seen one, but before I could focus on it the thing darted.  I tried to relocate, couldn't see it.  Time will tell...

[nabokovfan87]

I just checked the tank, dug through everything, moved all the wood and filters, they're gone.  I'm just devastated.....  That 29 is destined for some neo's and I really did like that choice of color morph. 

I will move things asap and I can't figure out "whodunnit" so to speak so everything will be moved out as mentioned. 

Grace will go with the black corydoras in the 75.  Until the 75 is setup, the female half of the black corydoras will go to the QT 10 (perfectly fine) after meds are done and I can do some WCs.  Right now it's housing a black cory fry and ultimately they will go in the 75 with the herd.  I need to get a heatpack to mail the pandas, they have a good home to go to, thankfully.  This news also changes plans I had for the 10G 😞.

I apologize for the lackluster start to this project.  I really didn't think it'd go this badly....

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

😞 I haven't been getting the journal updates.  I think I just liked some stuff and didn't comment, so it didn't follow.  

Anyway,

On 1/26/2023 at 6:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I am working on a tea order

I'm normally a coffee drinker, but I've been utilizing some study with me videos for CPA exam 2/4, and they always have a nice cozy drink to start their session, usually tea.  I also have been having test-is-approaching anxiety, so I needed to have something decaf.  I'm drinking chamomile like it's going out of style, as well as the C.S. SleepyTime tea (which has an adorable bear on the package).  I don't even put anything in the tea.  It's quite comforting.

On 1/26/2023 at 7:05 PM, Odd Duck said:

I’ve grown loads of different mints, my favorite is chocolate mint

I love sniffing it in the garden section at the hardware store.  🙂  I thought about buying some but then I didn't know what to do/cook with it.  I've grown regular mint and my favorite thing to do with that is stuff a few sprigs into my water bottle before heading out the door.  Very refreshing!

On 2/8/2023 at 4:59 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

but I definitely have been overfeeding

Haven't we all!  😳

 

On 2/9/2023 at 12:48 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

.

Very nice! 😍

On 2/9/2023 at 11:38 AM, Anjum said:

I waited so long to get neos because I was so scared of killing them.

Me too.  Everyone has been telling me it's normal to have casualties with the first colony, and I've found that to be the case. But I also didn't realize how important it is to drip water back in during water changes. I was only changing 10% when I first got the shrimp, so I thought pouring in such a small amount from a bucket wouldn't be a big deal, but it was.  I now have a good system for water changes and have gone to 20% with no issues as long as I drip water back in.

On 2/9/2023 at 11:38 AM, Anjum said:

it's entirely possible there's a few hiding at any given time. 

For the longest time I thought a shrimp died, but then almost 2 weeks later, there he was, casually going about his day.

On 2/9/2023 at 1:00 PM, SandBkeeper said:

. 

Beautiful!

On 2/9/2023 at 1:17 PM, Lennie said:

:

Nice @Lennie!  They look nice and healthy.

On 2/9/2023 at 2:39 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I got to see just how fragile the neos are compared to my amanos

How much bigger are amanos compared to neos?

On 2/9/2023 at 2:39 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I checked the tank this morning and I don't see anything in there in terms of shrimp

Totally normal.  They're in there. 🙂

On 2/9/2023 at 2:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Just stressful when everything is brand new to me

I keep learning more about them as I go along.  And made mistakes too.  Just remember to drip water back in.  

 

On 2/9/2023 at 10:06 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I just checked the tank, dug through everything, moved all the wood and filters, they're gone

I'm sure they are there.  Proabably attached to the bottom of something or attached to a sponge.  Stop digging, reorganizing, moving things from tank to tank, etc.  Let it ride out for a few days and just keep an eye out for 'em.  Shrimp are like little ninjas.

Ok - I think I'm all caught up.  I like the catappa leaf informational video too.  Very interesting.  I was wondering about the oak leaves.  I have SO. VERY. MANY.  Just cleaned big handfuls out from under my windshield wipers and around the seal of my trunk.  But she says they break down and are messy.  The catappa leaves have the larger veins and stay together better, so I will just stick with those.

There are various aquarium leaves on etsy too, but I don't understand what they are, what they do, if they're really safe, etc, so I just avoid them and the mixed botanical packs. How would we know someone didn't just go out in their yard and collect a bunch of random stuff?

Edited February 10, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[The endler guy]

On 1/14/2023 at 1:47 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Not the reveal, but this is Luigi. I believe it's a she, but Luigi has been with me for gosh probably 5+ years? It's been a while.

I've always felt bad because it's the one pleco that is almost always lowest on the totem pole but she would be the one that Grace would allow in her cave.

Meet Luigi 🙂

I added moss to the tank today in hopes to help out with more plant mass in this tank and just help to give some cover for fry.

Checking on the fish tonight I did see what looked like a panda fry.  It would be the first I've seen visually in the tank, but by the time I got the flashlight and the phone it darted and hasn't moved out of it's hide. The group of parents is protecting that section of the tank, Grace is doing her nightly laps and just being her goofy self. She's definitely wanting an Olympic size swimming pool if I let her have it. 😂

This is one of the pandas that is a lot smaller than the rest, there's a few, but as I mentioned I've never seen fry personally. Eggs a few times but never fry.

Today the tank is active, seems happy, and hopefully that's a good omen for everything going forward.

It’s very cool because catfish have eye shine (I commonly use my flashlight to find my clown pleco) speaking of which here he is out during the day!?

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/10/2023 at 5:54 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

How much bigger are amanos compared to neos?

It's hard to say because you can get them pretty small. I would say a normal "small amano" is double the size of a neo. The shells are thicker, they can handle moving around a lot easier. Probably ship a little easier.  Amanos you basically acclimate, but I've also seen people plop and drop them.

On 2/10/2023 at 5:54 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

How would we know someone didn't just go out in their yard and collect a bunch of random stuff?

Exactly. Just get your own alder / IAL tree. 🙂

On 2/10/2023 at 6:01 AM, The endler guy said:

It’s very cool because catfish have eye shine (I commonly use my flashlight to find my clown pleco) speaking of which here he is out during the day!?

What a nice looking clown. Very cool.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:01 AM, The endler guy said:

It’s very cool because catfish have eye shine (I commonly use my flashlight to find my clown pleco) speaking of which here he is out during the day!?

In this photo I see a lot of endblurs.

[nabokovfan87]

Checked on the tanks tonight. The black corydoras doesn't seem to be improving with meds. Still first dose, so we'll see.  I'll try salt again as well after the kanaplex.  Not related to this journal, but slightly is because that's slowing progress.

I checked again for shrimp, there's just nothing there. There was basically all of the swords and all of the pandas on the bottom of the tank. Grace the shark singlehandedly was resting on 4-5 pandas just being her gentle self. 

The thing that's different than this tank, the risk as well as the question in the OP, is that this really isn't a heavily planted tank, but is a well seasoned tank with a good amount of aufwuchs for the shrimp to graze on. There's 3 bigger pieces of wood, 4-5 rocks, and some moss. Some Anubias, but it's not tall, it's not dense.  It's easy to pick up basically everything one by one and go "yeah there's just nothing there".

Anyways....

We'll get it sorted, steps forward. In a perfect world I'd have the 75G up by Sunday, but we'll see. I'll empty it this weekend to test for leaks. Then figure out next steps with moving furniture and whatever else. Progress time.... Because I really need and want to get this stuff up and running.

On 2/10/2023 at 6:26 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

In this photo I see a lot of endblurs.

Eternally ORD. 😂

Made an effort to try to find the panda Cory fry to compare to the endler fry for fun, couldn't find em.  I spent a good 10-15 minutes just being happy with the fish and staring at their progress.  These ones have done really, really well for me and I learned a lot keeping them, growing them, and have been thankful to share that with everyone. I saw 3-5 different generations of pandas growing up and that's just wonderful. 

[nabokovfan87]

I'm flabbergasted....

 

Made sure he got back to the sponge after cleaning. Might've seen 2 but at least 1 left. That shrimp is beautiful.

This is the 3rd or 4th round of spawns for the pandas and their current size. They are basically ready to go. I'll check weather this week and try to get them out soon rather than later. I'll move grace tomorrow into the other 29G tank and then I can move the swords into the 10G following that and hopefully give the shrimp some breathing room and more sustainable water.

Maintenance done. Haven't tested anything and I have been feeding crazy heavy.

Edited February 24, 2023 by nabokovfan87