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The shiner is still in the tub-pond, which I’ve put a heater in, so hopefully no more drops below 65. 

The 6 gallon is set up with the blackworms and scuds, we’ll see how that goes. 

The White Cloud 20 is fine, hairgrass still brown at the tips, pothos and java moss doing great, CPD and WF WCCM playful, eating well, doing fine. 

Zoe is still healing up in her 2.5. She’s decided to ignore the guppy in it, which is a great indicator that I can set up a community tank for her and some guppies to grow out. Her fins are regrowing. 

The Dragon 10 has gotten a couple water changes, because the tannins were too thick to see through, and several swipes with the big net to thin the population down… but now I have endlers everywhere. The water lettuce in that tank is taking over. It’s also gorgeous.

The Jacaranda 10 is doing well, though I need to remove some newly mature male endlers to the WC 20, they are pestering the females too much. The Longfin Paleatus hasn’t been visible, which is very, very sad. I’m trying to decide if the 3 remaining would be happier in the 20, or if they like the hiding places better. The hornwort in this tank is doing fantastic, and now that it has a cover, so is the duckweed. The anacharis seems happy.

The Blue-gold Lyretail tank has a dozen new tiny golden babies in it! Omg so adorable. I gave them some Sera micron right away. That tank doesn’t have a lid, and it’s had a lot of changes recently, and been thinned out. Several of the fry from this tank are in with Wash right now. 

Wash is doing fine, or seems to be, but I keep finding him lying on the ground. Is he old? Are his fins too heavy? Why on the ground and not on any of the live plants or rocks or the cave?

The GBR kiddos got a few more guppies, who were displaced from the 6, but those will go into Zoe’s tank this week, and leave a reasonable number in with Simon and River. Who are doing great, eating everything offered to them, and being their beautiful selves. The additional cover seems to have helped, I see River out a lot more often and quite a bit sooner now. 

Jar C has some cherry shrimp in it, and I’d like to add a few of the baby golds, and leave it alone to see how it does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited by Elodie Rose
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Ummm. I tried to label the pics and obviously did so incorrectly. I’ll fix it this evening.

tldr: nitrites elevated in Groot 20 (removal of 2nd sponge filter and 2nd pothos) foodculture 6 (cycling), itty bitty pond (cycling). They’re getting attention. 
 

 

Edited by Elodie Rose
Nitrites, not nitrates
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The Blue-golds are getting their 10 gallon, finally, though I left the littles to keep growing in the 5, and put the golden queens in the 10. 

Added a 2nd, rather small side-light to Dragon, so that I can finally see the colors of the fish. The light at the top can’t make it all the way down, and the light on the side can’t make it all the way across. 

Plants starting dying in the GBR 5, so I removed many of them. They’ve been getting 20% water changes daily for a few days to lower the nitrates. The growing pair are doing great, so are the endlers. 

There’ve been a very tiny amount of nitrites in Zoe’s tank every single time I’ve tested for the last week. I’m a little frustrated, and each time I look at the tank I waver between starting her in a fresh 5, and keeping the stability of something that is imperfect, because stress might be worse than the slightly raised nitrite level, between .5 and 1, which is crazy to me. I’ve been changing out the water with Dragon tank water, both to give Zoe the tannins and to make it slightly more visible in Dragon. 

All the dwarf hairgrass in the White Cloud 20 has died back, and I’m unsure what to do about it yet. There are a few scattered stalks of bright green. Could be the substrate is too thin, though even the patches around the root tabes are dead, so. Could be that the pothos is sucking all the nutrients out. A bit of algae is forming on the back glass wall, probably because of the proximity to the window, even if it never gets direct rays of sunlight. The mason jar experiment was not a success, and I have removed the jar. The breeder box for the golden queen was unsuccessful as well, and she was returned to the group of golden queens. I find the little golden endlers/guppies captivating. 

The scuds arrived, a dozen or so, and were placed in the blackworm 6 gallon. Which is very, very clear. It did take them 3 days to clear a 2” long, 1/2” wide bit of frozen cucumber. The snails helped quite a bit, there are a few pink ramshorns, and somehow one enormous blue ramshorn. I’ve never bought a blue one. No idea where that one came from. I’ve always thought the pink ones were prettier, but this one is rather nice. No evidence of the scuds, but I’m sure they’re doing their little scud things somewhere in the tank. 

Algae in Washburne’s 2.5, which still has 2 Amano shrimp growing and loving life, and half a dozen blue-golds growing out. A few of those are juuuust starting to shimmer very lightly with pink or blue, in the loveliest way. That white light at the top is obnoxious though. 

Duckweed and water lettuce in the Jacaranda tank have done markedly better since adding a cover (mostly duckweed). But the replacement light really, really needs to arrive. That tank seems to belong to the hornwort, it has a lovely jungle quality, the anacharis is doing fantastic as well. The three remaining Longfin paleatus are lovely and endearing, but I miss the true Longfin boi. I loved him. All the neocardina shrimp in this tank, and this tank ONLY, are thriving. They’re everywhere, and swim freely. I adore them.

Zoe’s fins are about half grown back, though the regrown fins are still nearly clear. I can still see her ovipositor, and she is still pretty plump. 

We’re going to have some nights in the 40s this week, which will test the heater in the small outdoor tub. I want to put white clouds into it very badly. The white clouds seem to be chasing the Galaxy rasboras quite a bit. Wonder if those should be moved to the new Blue-gold 10. They’re so tiny, and so difficult to see in a big (relatively) tank. They’re not amenable to heat, so they can’t go in with either of the bettas or the GBRs.

I’d like to minimize the heaters I’m running, though, and get to the point that most tanks only have a sponge filter, over the summer anyway. I could make a very fun grow-out area with the gray shelves from Costco and the shallow black tubs in the shed. I also thought about putting the over-large dog crate tray that I use for puzzles into the closet ledge, and putting a few 5’s on it. 

Edited by Elodie Rose
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Food…

I’ve been trying to figure out whether or not the teeny endler fry are interested in vinegar eels, or if they’re too small. They can eat baby brine, so maybe they’re not as nourished by them. So teeny though. Sera micron and Aqua-coop fry food are frequent, frozen baby brine every other day, or every couple days.

They do get some kind of frozen food almost every day, maybe every other day. The frozen freshwater variety mix is good, I do break the cubes into smaller chunks and leave them in the freezer, so that I can grab small pieces instead of trying to use up a whole cube between them. 

Blackworms are a bit mysterious to me. That water is *so* clear. I put in a few more pieces of catappa leaves in various stages of being broken down. They get a bit of the fish food that I feed everyone else, a very tiny bit, but if they don’t want it, the snails will surely like it. I throw in a few algae wafers maybe one a week? It’s new, I’m trying to figure out what they need to thrive. Zoe is the only one who consistently gets blackworms, maybe every other day.

Might move this aquarium to the bottom cube of the bookshelf. It’s kind of a shame though, because it’s a very fancy rimless 6 gallon cube that I bought brand new, one of the only two tanks I’ve ever bought brand new. And I look at Zoe every day through some very beat up plastic. I really hate disrupting the sense of equilibrium that I’ve been trying to build in each of the tanks from the moment they were set up. 

There’s a possibility I could put a brine shrimp hatchery over the utility sink downstairs in the laundry room. 

Other foods being used: Vibra bites, Hikari betta pellets, Tetra tropical flakes, Cory sinking pellets, shrimp sinking pellets, freeze dried tubifex worms, and probably something I’m forgetting. There’s always something.

 

 

Edited by Elodie Rose
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Plants… 

Water lettuce are going crazy in the 10 gallon darkwater tank, temp 72-74. Every other tank or jar that I move it into, it dies. Melts. Messy and gross. Only in -that- tank is it thriving. Hornwort, guppy grass, and java moss are surviving in it. The hornwort might be doing better but I think I removed a bunch of it to put into tanks having trouble with nitrites. 

Duckweed loves a cover. It gets nice and lush and thick and bright green. Sometimes I take it out of Dragon, because the dwarf water lettuce is crowding it out anyway, and put it in other tanks to help them along. 

Hairgrass, dead or dying. Baffled. 

Pothos - all the rare varieties died. Only a few of the yellow-green ones have hung on, and I’m trying to keep them going. Most tanks have at least a sprig of pothos. It’s loving the White Cloud 20, sending out new leaves all over the place, even sprouting some directly out of the middle of the tank where it’s root ball is floating. 

Pearlweed - removed from the GBR 5, I think maybe it was getting fried by the temperature. Put it into Blue-gold 10 that I’m setting up today.

Monte Carlo - seems to be tolerating the temp in the GBR kiddos tank fine. Still in the pot though, kind of ugly. 

Guppy grass - sprigs of it are doing well in lots of the tanks, maybe almost every tank. I’m trying to figure out where it likes to be.

Anacharis - also trying bits of this in many places, but primarily in the Jacaranda 10. A long stalk of it is trying to decide whether to live or die in the White Cloud 20. For no discernible reason it sinks to the bottom of the outdoor tub. 

The mysterious seeds in Jar C are a gorgeous carpet, and though I forget the word for when tiny bubbles rise from the leaves, but it’s happening. It’s very beautiful. The blackworms seem active in that tank, so I threw in a few algae wafers. I also put in a couple ramshorn snails and three tiny golden fry. I don’t think the neocardina shrimp lived, sadly.  But those plants are a lovely carpet, I wish I knew what “Seed Packet C” actually was. I’ll have to post a picture of them in a place to ask a question. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bottom feeders/ scavengers…

Habrosus Cories in the Dragon 10, darkwater tank, seem to be active and plump, and getting their share of the food despite the ravenous endler mamas. I don’t think I ever count more than 4 or 5, though, so we’ve lost one. To be honest I’m not sure how good they are at their job, visibility in this tank isn’t the best.

Haven’t seen the Amano shrimp in the 20 in at least a week. That tank needs scavengers. No idea how the pond snails got in. They do as they do. Omg this tank needs real bottom feeders though. I was kind of hoping to breed White-clouds in it though, so I’m hesitant. 

There are still Amano shrimp in Zoe’s tank and in the GBR tank, though I don’t see them often. Guppies and snails are decent, but not great, in those tanks. What I’d like is a small bottom feeding catfish, loach, or pleco that can be kept singly or in pairs, stays around 1”, and likes warm temps. I guess that’s a pretty clear list to work with.  

Blue-golds need something. Snails are not cutting it. I want their tanks kept in the low 70’s through. Habrosus Cories are super cute, their size works, and they seem to be fine paired with the endler colony. I like having 6 or 8 of them in a 10 gallon. I’m not sure about a 5 gallon. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So many Endlers. So many. Dragon is prolific, there are so many babies in there right now, and the females are getting as big as fancy guppies, almost. It has a second, smaller light installed on the inside, and I can finally see them, and have been enjoying watching them and the Habrosus Cories, and the Green neon tetras. Water lettuce still doing well. Still haven’t gotten it to live anywhere else. 

Zoe’s fins are about half grown back, maybe a little more. It’s mostly clear. She’s been chasing the guppy in her tank around, she either needs a bigger tank or no tank mates. Still trying to decide if she and Wash should get together again. I need to post somewhere. 

Wash is doing fine, same as ever. His tank mates are coloring up, and so far with bright orange? Bit confused, but I guess we’ll see. The Amano shrimp are molting and doing great. 

The GBR kiddos are doing well, though Simon is still chasing River around. I wonder if I should put a separator in it. They have fewer endler tank mates. Their siblings are laying eggs!  They’re at 83, I’m probably going to bump it up to 84. They’re gorgeous, both of them eat whatever I put in the tank, and never fail to greet me when I sit nearby.

The Blue-gold 10 is amazing. It might be prettier than Dragon. It has the 4 golden queens, 8 or so CPDs, and this past week I added 3 Kuhli loaches from the LFS. So far I’ve seen them quite a bit, and find them captivating. That tank has pothos in it and java moss, two pieces of wood, and some christmas garland. It’s very pretty, though it doesn’t have a lid or a light. It’s by the window, but I have been trying to put the Jacaranda’s light on it in the evenings sometimes to help the plants. Also, it’s gorgeous at night, with that light on a dim setting. 

The grow out tank is doing fine, it got 4 Amano shrimp recently to help with the extra food. I don’t like where the tank is, I forget it all the time. Out of sight out of mind. It will be moved, as soon as I figure out where.

The blackworms are doing well, I haven’t seen any scuds to speak of. I stir them once in a while, I’m unsure if it works, I’m unsure if they’re growing. They’re definitely eating, so there’s that, I guess. 

The White Cloud 20 is better with the plants, and without the CPDs. It still doesn’t have any scavenger/bottom feeders. I was going to add the Kuhli loaches, but the LFS lady advised warmer temps than I have the White Clouds in. The Paleatus Cories do NOT want to be caught, so they’re staying in Jacaranda. 

The Jacaranda 10 is full of life, it’s gorgeous. There are shrimp all over the place, the seem small, but not like babies. I did see a white ring of death on one of the biggest reddest cherry shrimp, though. I put crushed coral in their corner, and I’ve tried to get shrimp food to them.

What I’ve been feeding recently: frozen emerald entree / baby brine / bloodworms / brine shrimp, also canned green beans, frozen cucumber, AC fry food, freeze-dried tubifex cubes, and I’m sure I’m missing some various pellets and flakes.

**Wonder shells, I need them. **

I think that’s all the tanks.

The Formicarium with the Camponotus FL is isolated now, I took the portal and the Tar Heel hearth off of it. They’re still in the test tube. Their numbers don’t seem to be growing, but they do have some enormous majors. I gave them a fresh super worm half and another tube of fresh water. 

The Formicarium with Queen Denali in it, Camponotus Castaneus, and her handful of faithful (word for the first brood of a queen ant that i know but have forgotten). I topped up their water and gave them the other half of the super worm. It doesn’t look like they’re doing anything, either. 

 

 

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On 4/25/2023 at 7:14 PM, Elodie Rose said:

The GBR kiddos are doing well, though Simon is still chasing River around. I wonder if I should put a separator in it.

My kiddos chase each other all day long. Both girls just laid their first batches of eggs. The boy fertilized them both. They all feasted on both 🤣

I would not stress out about the chasing. Kind of like when human boys discover girls and chase the ones they like about the playground. As long as you see no real aggression, fin nipping or injuries it’s normal behavior. Their parents did the same thing. Usually means the boy is ready to mate but the girl needs a bit more time. 
Gorgeous puppy. I love all the detail and caring you put in your journal. It’s such a pleasure to read. 🤗

On 4/25/2023 at 7:14 PM, Elodie Rose said:

Wonder shells, I need them

Also I have a bunch I’ll give you at the next meeting or I’ll give them to Miska. 

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Great to know, thank you! They’re both perfectly healthy and beautiful, so far as I can tell. I’ll go around and take photos tonight or tomorrow, so you can see how they’re doing. ❤️

I’d appreciate the shells! If there is anything you’re needing at the moment, let me know and I’ll bring it to trade, or give it to Miska. 🙂

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I FOUND THE CALCIUM CHIPS. 

Those letters should be six feet high and en fuego. Everybody got one. Jacaranda got two.

Four female blue-golds were removed from Wash’s tank today, and put into their 10. They’ve grown so quickly! I don’t know why they’re bright orange as they’re coloring up. It’s my first time doing everything with breeding, with babies, with live plants, shrimp. All I’ve ever kept in the past was fish in a glass box. These tanks are magic. There’s so much life in them. 

I’ve been lax on thinning the water lettuce, and finally did so today. I put a couple into each tank, to see if they will live anywhere else. This might be the 2nd or 3rd time I’ve tried, I don’t understand why it won’t transplant to anywhere else.

Added about 4 gallons of water to the mini pond, apparently i need to stay on that. I didn’t realize how quickly it was evaporating. It’s been nearly covered by duckweed now, with a circle clear where the sponge filter is. 

Haven’t seen the Kuhli loaches in a couple days. But to be fair, I haven’t spent much time with that tank lately, other than in passing. I do pass it many times a day, which is making me wonder if such a high-traffic area is stressful for them. The endlers just come to the glass and beg for food, closely followed by the CPDs. Those little guys are much, much happier now. I’ve got to find the one or two remaining in the 20. 

Simon and River are *gorgeous*. I’ve never seen the ridges/stripes on River so vividly, and Simon’s fins glitter. I’m not sure fish get any prettier than GBRs.

All the tanks got frozen food today, I’ve started mixing a cube of the misc food with a cube of the baby brine shrimp, to feed the different sizes of mouths in each tank. Since, naturally, most of them have endlers growing out, even if only five or six… except Zoe. There might be 3 in there. I want her in a new tank so, so badly. 

Plant fertilizer today, in all the tanks. Not sure I’ve dosed them in over a week, oops. The edges of the water lettuce petals are a little yellow. The texture of the big petals is beautiful, I wish it was easier to see.

Health challenges the past few days have made it difficult to get around and do things. Despite that, or because of it, I still take delight in looking at each of the tanks every day, in each of the rooms that they’re in. I’ve probably never described it, and I won’t remember later. Might be fun to work on that soon.

Edited by Elodie Rose
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Doing some fish maintenance this weekend, I still have 10 tanks, which is crazy nutso, and takes a bit of effort to keep up with. I think of it as “spending time with the tank,” lol, and its as important as watching the tank. Testing the water perimeters, doing a water change, checking the temperature, thinning the plants or adding some, fertilizing the plants if needed, topping them up, adding catappa leaves if needed. It’s such a joy to spend time with each of the tanks. They are all completely unique little worlds unto themselves.
 
There are some problems I need to address with them, of course, and some other things that I hope to accomplish with them.
 
Everyone was fed Emerald Entree and Daphnia today, frozen/thawed, except the pondette and the blackworms. Yesterday everyone got a mix of vibra bites and fry food, very lightly. 
 
There’s no bottom feeder/scavenger in the White Cloud 20. That is an issue that needs resolving. I’d miss the Paleatus Cories in Jacaranda, but it would be so much better for them to be in the larger tank. 
 
I’d have to take down the Jacaranda 10, pretty much, to catch them. But also there are a TON of male endlers in there stressing out the females, and they need to be relocated. That’s the only tank my neocardina shrimp are doing well in, and I’d like to optimize it for them rather than for endlers. I have endlers in two other 10 gallon tanks. I guess that’s something I’m doing this week, I’ve talked myself into it. Ugh I hate disturbing a system that is working. Ish. 
 
The Blue-gold tank is beautiful. It needs a light of its own, it’s sharing one with Jacaranda atm. The Kuhli loaches are darling. I don’t see them all the time, but I’ve taken chances while they’re out to sit and watch them, and they’re tons of fun. One additional CPD was liberated from the WC 20 and returned to their buddies in this tank. Their colors are gorgeous, and they’re not stressed anymore. So I guess moving them is sometimes very helpful.
 
There are a ton of gold babies and some gray juveniles in the grow-out 5, and they need a better home. 
 
So I’d have to…
1. Remove the live plants, fake plants, and tank furniture - keep live plants in tank water 
2. Put the 3 paleatus Cories in the 20
3. Put a bunch of male endlers in a finishing tank
4. Put some of the N class into their own tank? While I can still tell which ones they are? Is it even important? I haven’t decided.
5. Rescale the tank for shrimp, primarily, and let them settle in
 
It really wouldn’t be that tough to get a few 10 gallons, put all of them on sponge filters on a single pump, and let them be grow out tanks for various fry. At the moment it’s the endlers that need space. Later it may be other fry.
 
I could put it in the strangely large walk in closet. It would likely stay plenty warm through the summer, and could be very easily heated with a small space heater on colder nights. It would be a ton of trouble to move it in the future if/when I relocate. But that hasn’t stopped me from setting up 6 aquariums up here, lol. At least this way they’d all be in the same place. 
 
 
 
 
 
Edited by Elodie Rose
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On 4/30/2023 at 11:34 AM, Elodie Rose said:

I hate disturbing a system that is working. Ish. 

This!  I understand this all too well. My panda tank is overrun with babies. The CPD I put there to grow out have long since grown. But the plants are lush and thriving and everyone is so happy. UHG I feel your pain!  
 

A walk-in closet fish room. That sounds so fun. 

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On 4/28/2023 at 12:23 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

How's the pond going? You're so much more organised compared to me: I haven't even started!

Oops! So sorry, thought I responded to this already. 

The pond, which I’ve taken to calling the “pondette” because it’s so small, seems to be doing well. I had to bail it out a bit during the rain, I guess I put too much water in it recently (and we got a LOT of rain). The duckweed has covered most of the surface, the fish and snails seem to be doing fine. 🙂

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There are itty bitty, teeny weeny lil white-yellow babies in the Blue-gold 10, and I’m delighted. Probably only a dozen or so, but they’ve gotten some Sera Micron, some Aquarium Co Op fry food, some vinegar eels, and some frozen brine shrimp. Spoiled much?? Darn I hope so. 

The 3 Kuhli loaches in that tank are doing great, I see them out doing loachey things from time to time. Until the new fry, that tank had been getting mostly vibra bites / fry food the majority of the time, frozen foods every 2nd or 3rd day, and algae wafers once in a while.

That’s the feeding regimen most tanks are getting these days, either a combo of large/small frozen food or large/small processed food. Except the pondette, which I has gotten some entire cubes of frozen food, a cucumber, etc., and the blackworms, which often get flakes or canned green beans. I’ve tried little bits of green beans in the other tanks, maybe once a week.

 

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I tested the upstairs tanks tonight. No nitrites. Dragon  Endlers 10 and Gold-blue guppies 10 could both use some more Easy Green this weekend.

Zoe’s tank finally got converted into a 5 gal. Currently has 2/3 of the Dragon Endlers in it. 

TONS of tiny new gold/white babies in the Gold-blue double-swordtail guppy tank! They’re very cute. 

All the fish, downstairs included, seem to be doing fine. They’re getting frozen food every 3-4 days. I like mixing the baby brine shrimp cubes with emerald entree, and the bloodworms with daphnia. Dry foods are usually vibra bites and fry food. Sinking wafers 1-2 times per week. Tubifex worm cubes stuck to the wall 1-2 times per week. Mostly it has been maintenance. 

Seeing tons of shrimp in Jacaranda, and the 3 remaining Paleatus cories are doing well, don’t seem to be Longfin, or are all females, difficult to tell (for me). They really go nuts for the tubifex worm cubes. Endlers still need to be thinned in that one, mostly the males need to go into the WC 20. What a lovely tank that is right now. The 3 Dansfish LF WCCMs have a much, much brighter white stripe than the dozen or so Aquabid LF WCCMs. I can still tell which ones they are, even after they’re all growing to about the same size. 

The GBR pair had an overnight at 70, the heater cord got jostled when I was rearranging things. It’s secured in place now. It got back up to 82 by lunchtime. They didn’t seem fazed at all, except that maybe they got more aggressive for food when it got warmer? Hard to tell, they’re very social little things. River’s spots are as dark as Simon’s, sometimes, and they’ve both got a lot of deep yellow and orange right now. I can see them moving in and out of their favorite cave, the one on the left, the pottery bowl. That pair of bowls are from a craft festival.

I have messed up with the blackworm culture, and I can’t figure out how to harvest them. I guess the gravel is too small… when I use the turkey baster I get gravel, no worms. The blackworms themselves are doing fantastic, and so are the snails, there are a couple of very large, beautiful pink ramshorn snails. That rosy shimmer often catches my eye. I guess I need to change the substrate, so I can actually harvest them. It’s not really a priority, the harvesting part. I’m still taking care of them as if they were fish. I’ve yet to see a single scud, so I guess that didn’t work. 

Wash’s tank needs a timer for the light. Also, Wash seems to hate that light as much as I do. There’s hair algae in that tank, I just realized what it is. It’s such a pretty, ethereal green cloud that it took me a few days to figure out what I was seeing. I think Wash’s tank is too cold, and it needs a new heater, or he needs to move to one of the warmest tanks. The two warmest tanks are the GBR 5 and the new Endler 5 (Zoe’s old… everything… but her.) Man I am bummed about that. Many tears. 

Still, feeding and water changes for 10 aquariums takes time each day. Everything needs to be topped up right now. 

Water lettuce is living in the Jacaranda 10, amidst the duckweed. They’re both covering the surface. They’re not very big yet. But there are also a few in the Blue-gold 10 that seem to be living and growing, instead of melting. I can see the stalks and connections between the ones in Dragon becoming very large. I thinned them into the new Endler 5, which was 1/2 dragon tank water, and 1/2 new water. Out of catappa leaves. Also need crushed coral

Queen Denali in the Tarheel Hearth has laid a bunch of eggs. I gave them a new super-worm (freshly cut in half) recently, and noticed. I didn’t see any workers but her nanitics, but I’m delighted that she’s starting her colony. I put some new sugar-gel in the out world, too, and topped up the water, all the maintenance things. The Floridians aren’t doing much. Not sure what’s up with them.

Thinking of getting some HF Paleatus, there’s still no bottom feeder in the WC 20.

I’m wondering if Wash would be okay with the GBR kiddos. Except that there’s really no salt or tannins in the tank to speak of. I see the Amano shrimp though, they seem to be doing well. Will be out of calcium chips after this week’s round. But the crushed coral would probably serve the same purpose, ish. 

Haven’t noticed any flashing or itching. 

I’m out of lights and out of air pumps. So I guess 10 is my limit, lol. Gonna have to start giving away some Endlers, stat. Or maybe putting them in a larger pondette. Maybe both. 

The pondette doesn’t get the same food, I’m not actually sure how many fish are in it. I give it a cube of frozen food every other day or so, and sometimes throw in some fry food. Pretty sure I tossed in some algae wafers last week. Everybody kind of gets the same thing on the same day, I just take the pouch or package through the upstairs and downstairs, and visit all of them. Sometimes its very fast, but I prefer spending time with them. The frozen food is always slower… I thaw it in a little tank water, and feed it with a pipette. It’s very fun, they all go bananas. Simon bit the pipette a couple times, which surprised me. Fierce boi. ❤️

Also out of test strips. Really need to go shopping, apparently. Not sure I’ve been to the LFS in a while. Maybe tomorrow. 

The nights are almost staying at 50ish, I might be able to get away with swapping the heater on the pondette with a smaller one, and using that heater on a 10. One of the 3 could be warmer, and be more of a community tank. Also I should swap out the heater in Wash’s tank… but test it before I decide its cold. I’m ridiculously terrible at telling temperature by feel. 

Some of the first generation of Blue-golds are finally growing out, and starting to get tails. That tank needs a makeover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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All the tanks got dry food today, since they got frozen food yesterday. Topped up the upstairs tanks this weekend, and topped up the bottom ones today. 

The blue-gold males that are finishing their coloring up  in Washburne’s tank have orange, green, and blue! What on earth! I’m pretty sure their parents were the golden queens! But the smaller ones are doing fine, and Wash is his lovely self. We’ll just see how those beautiful bois turn out. 

Jacaranda has started to show some really gorgeous coloring up, particularly from the males I -still- need to cull/separate. I think I might be able to catch the Cories with tubifex worms, and transfer them to the White Cloud 20. Still planning on getting some Longfin Paleatus Cories. 

Simon and River are great, gorgeous. I’m watching to see if the Endlers in their tank are outcompeting them for food. Those Endlers are pretty quick. I don’t see it yet, but I’ve been thinking about other tank mates, and places those Endlers could go, just in case I see something like that. 

The Dansfish Blue-gold Male has been returned to the Blue-gold tank, that beautiful, beautiful boy. He seems to be doing well. There are more babies in that tank!  I need a couple of ponds to raise all these babies! I’m more interested in the gold-blue ones than the more traditional Endler ones, and I’ve been thinking about changing one of the 10s to a fancy-guppy breeding colony. 

Pondette is doing fabulous, those fish get frozen food a little more often than the others.

The White Clouds are growing out, I’m watching them to see how long-finned they are, and loving how *gorgeous* they ALL are, long fins or growing ones. The pothos in that tank is growing like crazy, and seems to be keeping the levels fairly decent. 

Dragon is doing well, the lowered levels suit the tank, and I’ll probably be introducing a female betta soon. That is going to become more of a community tank, I think. I miss Zoe. Painfully. I feel very strongly that I failed her, which is undeniable. She deserved better. There are gaps along both sides of the Dragon’s lid, I can’t possibly put a betta in there without figuring out a better lid. 

Nothing else has changed much, everybody seems to be in a good holding pattern. I top up tanks when they’re low, add Easy Green when the nitrates get low, and change the water every 2-3 weeks. They’re still getting the same mixture of foods. Everybody needs more crushed coral, more catappa leaves, and more snail calcium/food. 

Haven’t been to Go Fish in a while, might go tomorrow, just to look at their bettas, and see if my heart can find another wet-pet. She was so lovely. That electric-blue edge to her fins was gorgeous. I’ll have to be sure about the lid before I bring another lady betta into the house. 

Edited by Elodie Rose
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The Paleatus Cories were spawning yesterday!! I managed to save a few eggs and put them into a little container that is floating in the tank. I still really want that trio put into the White Cloud 20. The hornwort and java moss are starting to dye off in Jacaranda, because the duckweed and dwarf water lettuce have grown in so thick at the top. 

All the other tanks are doing well, this weekend there were water changes, easy green dosing, and some spot cleaning. 

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