Swamp Sunflower Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 (edited) Hi all, I recently moved my salamander to a 20L and freed up a 10G, so I find myself back in the hobby after a ~20 year hiatus. I'm an ecologist/wetland scientist, so I thought keeping fish in planted aquariums would be a fun way to blend interests. One thing led to another, and I am up to: 20L - Fathead minnows (20 cents a piece!? These are an awesome fish!) in a riparian edge setup 20L - neon tetras, panda corys, bandit corys, ghost shrimp, random neo shrimp, pond snails and ramshorns 10G - adult male long-finned Betta splendens 5.5G - juvenile male plakat Betta splendens & low grade blue neos (I have a lot of chinquapin oak leaf litter available, so I use that and cholla wood for shrimp cover) 5.5G - red cherry shrimps (these things have been breeding like crazy. Lots of fun to observe them) My next project is moving my older, less active long-finned betta to the 5.5G and my younger plakat betta to the 10G. They will each get to keep their same floating log bed to hopefully reduce stress after the transition. I just received my first Co-op order (thank you for the bonus sticker!) and I'm most excited to set up the sponge filters and try out Easy Green. Edited March 1, 2023 by SwampSunflower 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 @SwampSunflowerwelcome to our forum! your tanks sound very interesting. looking foward to pictures of more of them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Welcome! It will be interesting to have your perspective as a wetlands scientist. I know there are a few other scientists/biologists on here. Have you considered keeping betta hendra? They're native to peat marshes in Thailand. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Sunflower Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 @Theplatymaster Thank you! I am looking forward to collecting wetland plants this surveying season to see what works in my tanks. I'll post more pictures as they mature (with the disclaimer that I'm no aquascaper 🙂) @Schuyler I hadn't even heard of them before! I am pretty strong in plants and hydric soils but have a ton to learn about fish. I will definitely read up on B. hendra and their habitats. I looked at some pictures and they are gorgeous! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 On 2/28/2023 at 6:53 PM, SwampSunflower said: (with the disclaimer that I'm no aquascaper 🙂) neither am i, i think "aquascaper" is kindof a charged term and people here aren't mean about it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Sunflower Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 On 2/28/2023 at 5:55 PM, Theplatymaster said: neither am i, i think "aquascaper" is kindof a charged term and people here aren't mean about it at all. That's good to know. I've never posted pictures of my tanks anywhere online before because I've seen how brutal people can be lol. The Co-op community is very welcoming so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 On 2/28/2023 at 7:01 PM, SwampSunflower said: That's good to know. I've never posted pictures of my tanks anywhere online before because I've seen how brutal people can be lol. The Co-op community is very welcoming so far! yes, the internet can be a messy place sometimes, ive been on here for a while, this is a very nice (and helpful) community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi_Aquatics Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Welcome to the forum! Your aquariums sound very neat and I’m sure all your wet pets are very happy having a wetland scientist as their owner! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Sunflower Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 On 3/3/2023 at 11:02 AM, Levi_Aquatics said: Welcome to the forum! Your aquariums sound very neat and I’m sure all your wet pets are very happy having a wetland scientist as their owner! Thank you! I would like to try building a couple of low-cost Illinois biotope tanks this summer. I would like to find some native plants that: -will do well in aquariums -stay reasonably small -are easy to propagate -are legal to collect -have healthy, widespread populations One day I will work up the courage to post some pictures! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi_Aquatics Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 On 3/3/2023 at 1:00 PM, Swamp Sunflower said: Thank you! I would like to try building a couple of low-cost Illinois biotope tanks this summer. I would like to find some native plants that: -will do well in aquariums -stay reasonably small -are easy to propagate -are legal to collect -have healthy, widespread populations One day I will work up the courage to post some pictures! That sounds super interesting!! And pictures are always great, but I totally understand that a lot of the internet can be pretty harsh when you show them your aquariums. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJhilljack Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 On 2/28/2023 at 2:04 PM, Schuyler said: On 2/28/2023 at 2:04 PM, Schuyler said: It will be interesting to have your perspective as a wetlands scientist. Welcome! I agree with what Schuyler said. Your photo is amazing, I'm looking forward to seeing your tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtolb15 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Howdy neighbor! Indiana fish keeper, I’m about 15 mins from your border! Welcome! Look forward to seeing updates! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Sunflower Posted March 7, 2023 Author Share Posted March 7, 2023 (edited) On 3/3/2023 at 8:41 PM, Dtolb15 said: Howdy neighbor! Indiana fish keeper, I’m about 15 mins from your border! Welcome! Look forward to seeing updates! Right on! I dig your skrimp profile pic. My red cherries might be my favorite tank right now since they have been so active and cranking out the shrimplets. 🦐 You might notice the Aquarium Co-op nano sponge filter aka shrimplet nursery in the back. Edited March 7, 2023 by Swamp Sunflower To mention the ACO sponge filter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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