GoofyGarra's Journal

[GoofyGarra]

Sparkling or pygmy guoramis are one of my bucketlist fish. I just think they are generally cool. Ive heard they can be shy but thats partially why i want them, the shyness sounds like a cool thing that i have to look carefully to see them. Due to their shyness id want to get some guppy grass growing out in my tank well before i tried them, but i have one concern.

Would they work with my betta?

I know bettas and guoramis arent generally reccomended, but pygmies are much smaller, and arent always out in the open like the betta, plus the betta is super chill with the current fish. I'd want to get a group of them but i dont know if thats quite feasable, its a bucketlist fish but i need to do a bit more research.

So betta compatibility?

Group Size?

and Breeding?

hmmmm... looks like Prime time has a video out about them, ill have to check that out too.

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

ok after watching the primetime video probably wont be going with the sparkling gouramis right now.

 

I got on youtube to checkout the video then realized KGtropicals was live. Thats where my attention is right now.

[GoofyGarra]

after all night in the fridge, the repashy is all set (🙄 no pun intended). I left it in the mold all night because i was too lazy to move it out into the storage container which i use to store it, but i moved everything today.

i then fed it out, really shows why i need to get the variety back in the fishes diet. The fish like xtreme wafers but are getting sick of them and not taking them as readily anymore, but when i put in the repashy, the fish went crazy.

Any other food recommendations? Im thinking hikari and legit.

 

[Guppysnail]

I use Kens fish food. They mostly gear towards breeders but you can get small quantities if you pay shipping. My breeding has gone way up and my fish seem more colorful and robust. They have a specialty food for every fish type and size. They are also less than half the price of other commercial foods. 

[GoofyGarra]

How fun,

I went to do a water change this morning and my ACO powerhead wasnt working, i turned it around to release trapped air but that didnt work, then it sparked in the tank. On further inspection it appears to have a wiring issue. (ACO has been contacted) No clue what happened, but ill see how my WC goes this morning. I will probably use a different pump. Im a bit traumatized from that spark.

Little Sunshine has been completely released into the 5gallon, we'll see how she does in there and if the mosquitofish bother her, or if she bothers them.

Edited September 10, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

despite the pump problems i managed to get a water change done on the big tank. Any tannins in the water? They dont come out when im looking at the tank on a black background, but in my water change buckets its a bit obvious. Probably just from my peice of wood i have in the tank. The tannins really arent hurting anything (they might be persuading the cories to breed) so leaving those alone.

Little Sunshine is so far doing fine with the mosquitofish,  she is a bit shy as she's not quite used to the tank, but it does not look like the mosquitofish care. Also one of the mosquitofish is pregnant, but the other has no gonopodium. So

Hermaphrodism or Parthogenesis? Or just stored sperm from a previous male? Or something else?

The color on the underside of the Dwarf Aquarium Lily leafs, 😍

 

Also this is an aquarium forum so i dont want to get too off topic, but ive got some neat stuff happening in my terrariums, so i might start posting occasional bits of that too.

Edited September 10, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 9/10/2023 at 12:44 PM, GoofyGarra said:

Im a bit traumatized from that spark.

It's the freakiest thing ever isn't it? I remember trying to fix a neon lighting system that came with a tank and getting a nasty shock when I unplugged the plug. ⚡

[GoofyGarra]

at this point it has been a while since Rohan was moved to isolation, im getting a bit impatient.

Increase temperature?

Try new female?

Leave it alone?

Something else?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/7/2023 at 5:29 PM, GoofyGarra said:

I made some repashy this morning but when i had to go it wasnt quite set. Its been sitting at room temp (76) all day now, Is this safe for the fish? I dont want to waste the food.

I’ve let mine sit out before, by accident, and had to throw it out in case it was unsafe for the fish. It is not worth the risk. Now when I make it, I just let it firm up in the refrigerator.

On 9/5/2023 at 6:58 PM, GoofyGarra said:

I want to use the guppy grass as cover for platy and cory fry, but i dont want to float it for design reasons

I’ve only ever seen it floating. I’m not sure if it would do well planted or if it would melt? You’ll have to let us know how you fare.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

On 9/12/2023 at 6:12 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I’ve only ever seen it floating. I’m not sure if it would do well planted or if it would melt? You’ll have to let us know how you fare.

I don’t plant mine so to speak. I take a wad  and put a plant weight on. It eventually does root in. I think it looks cool “planted”

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/12/2023 at 6:26 PM, Guppysnail said:

I don’t plant mine so to speak. I take a wad  and put a plant weight on. It eventually does root in. I think it looks cool “planted”

I’ve been doing that with moss lately instead of using glue or thread. I like it! Looks like little moss shrubs.

[GoofyGarra]

just a brief update:

I moved Rohan back into the big tank, i figured if she wasnt giving birth i may as well put her in the big tank with her friends.

Also new powerhead on the way. ACO customer service is pretty great.

[GoofyGarra]

i feel like talking about platies today.

My breeding lack may have a advantage, my ratios stay set. At the moment i have 4platy males. 2of them were chosen to stay after my last platy cull out, the other 2 escaped catching. I think that increasing my amount of males could add more breeding, but ive seen breeding happening ( breeding, not birth) so im not rushing to that option.

These are the 2Alpha Males also the biggest and the oldest; Nazgul and Balrog (again, lord of the rings fan). They fight all the time about the finer things in life like 2 minute girlfriends, but never actually hurt each other.

Balrog

Nazgul

This is the betta male, (Sunstreak), but he is getting bigger and is slowly getting into fights with the Alphas. (note the name was definitely not at all stolen from Irene's mystery snail 😄).

This is also the betta male (John):

And last of all the smallest male, (no name yet) who is too small to compete with the big guys.

also my largest female platy. When my friend came over to pick up some fish food, he initially thought she was a balloon molly, she's my oldest platy female i still have.

also a small Little Sunshine/Mosquitofish update:

Ever since i added Little Sunshine to the tank ive noticed the mosquitofish have been out in the open a lot less. I have mentioned before that Little Sunshine is significantly bigger then the mosquitofish and i think she is taking advantage of this and bullying them and thats why she is always out in the open and they are hiding. I will move Little Sunshine, and then probably move the mosquitofish too.

 

Before i try another platy female in the 2 gallon i want to do some work on it. I dont think it was really setup to its best capibility previously and want to fix that.

Also i have a big terrarium project coming up, ( i need to redo a terrarium that has the wrong substrate and isnt holding water well), would you guys be ok if i posted that here, or should i keep to just aquarium stuff?

Edited September 12, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/12/2023 at 6:42 PM, GoofyGarra said:

ACO customer service is pretty great.

They always are 🙂 

& I wouldn’t mind terrarium content!  I have a favorite terrarium YouTuber: Worcester Terrariums. You should check out his channel.

[Guppysnail]

It’s your journal. Absolutely post about your terrarium as well I know I would be interested. I post about my tree frog and my cats. 

[GoofyGarra]

i moved the mosquitofish into the big tank with the lights out.

Im not concerned about agression at this point for multiple reasons.

A.platies are usually peaceful, but can be agressive, i think if the mosquitofish were an issue, the platies would fight back.

B.The mosquitofish didnt bother Little Sunshine

C.The platies are twice the size, it would take real guts for the mosquitofish to pick on them.

Im not too worried about disease as the mosquitofish were perfectly healthy, and im not aware of any diseases that can lie dormant in the Fish for a month. Correct me if im wrong @Colu

I wanted the 5gallon free for platies, and the second reason for the move was as i mentioned one of the mosquitofish is pregnant, and while im okay having lots of platies, and okay having 2mosquitofish, i dont want any large mosquitofish broods as they are hard to rehome.

 

I also did a %100 water change on the 2gallon tank. Im unsure whether or not i want to keep the bio rings as they build up mulm under them, which i suppose it good for fry, considering the bio rings are fry hides as well, other then that i really didnt change all that much in the tank, but ill see how everything is in the morning.

Oh and with 2open tanks, expect to see some possibly platy strain breeding. Though not ALA standard, with isolation from birth etc... ill just be trying some stuff, and storing sperm will totally get in the way, but 4males, i have a %25 chance the female i choose will be inseminated by the male of my choosing. I think if i bred out some specific colors ive seen in my tank i could get some amazing results.

in the latest Serpa Design video a BanjoCatfish was mentioned. A oddball catfish like that seems like it would be really cool for my tank. Any thoughts?

Edited September 13, 2023 by GoofyGarra

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/12/2023 at 8:29 PM, GoofyGarra said:

im not aware of any diseases that can lie dormant in the Fish for a month

Most people quarantine for one month, so I would think you’re ok if you have not observed any symptoms. I also make sure the poop has color before removing fish from a quarantine. If it does not it could indicate intestinal parasites. 

On 9/12/2023 at 8:29 PM, GoofyGarra said:

Im unsure whether or not i want to keep the bio rings as they build up mulm under them

You can put those into a media bag and insert into a filter. I have mine hanging in the back of the tank behind a plant, and I can move it to quarantine or wherever I need some beneficial bacteria next.

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/12/2023 at 9:08 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

You can put those into a media bag and insert into a filter. I have mine hanging in the back of the tank behind a plant, and I can move it to quarantine or wherever I need some beneficial bacteria next.

a bag wouldnt work as fry cant get in. The idea of using bio rings as the substrate is that fry can use the rings as little caves and hides.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/12/2023 at 9:09 PM, GoofyGarra said:

a bag wouldnt work as fry cant get in. The idea of using bio rings as the substrate is that fry can use the rings as little caves and hides.

Oh I see. You can consider lotus pods as an alternative or just moss, or guppy grass, floating plants, etc. 

[Colu]

On 9/13/2023 at 1:29 AM, GoofyGarra said:

i moved the mosquitofish into the big tank with the lights out.

Im not concerned about agression at this point for multiple reasons.

A.platies are usually peaceful, but can be agressive, i think if the mosquitofish were an issue, the platies would fight back.

B.The mosquitofish didnt bother Little Sunshine

C.The platies are twice the size, it would take real guts for the mosquitofish to pick on them.

Im not too worried about disease as the mosquitofish were perfectly healthy, and im not aware of any diseases that can lie dormant in the Fish for a month. Correct me if im wrong @Colu

I wanted the 5gallon free for platies, and the second reason for the move was as i mentioned one of the mosquitofish is pregnant, and while im okay having lots of platies, and okay having 2mosquitofish, i dont want any large mosquitofish broods as they are hard to rehome.

 

I also did a %100 water change on the 2gallon tank. Im unsure whether or not i want to keep the bio rings as they build up mulm under them, which i suppose it good for fry, considering the bio rings are fry hides as well, other then that i really didnt change all that much in the tank, but ill see how everything is in the morning.

Oh and with 2open tanks, expect to see some possibly platy strain breeding. Though not ALA standard, with isolation from birth etc... ill just be trying some stuff, and storing sperm will totally get in the way, but 4males, i have a %25 chance the female i choose will be inseminated by the male of my choosing. I think if i bred out some specific colors ive seen in my tank i could get some amazing results.

in the latest Serpa Design video a BanjoCatfish was mentioned. A oddball catfish like that seems like it would be really cool for my tank. Any thoughts?

Some disease such as neon tetra disease dwarf gourami   iridovirus can lay dormant for upto a year before you start to seeing symptoms most parasitic or bacterial disease  can't survive longer than 4 weeks without a host that why every fish I get has a minimum 4 week quarantine period if I see any symptoms I treat and start the quarantine period over again for another 4 weeks from the end of the last treatment 

Edited September 14, 2023 by Colu

[GoofyGarra]

This is what i would consider my BEST platy, and i think the photos show why. She is simply stunning with her gold and green and other shiny colors. Id love to breed out a whole line like that  but first i need some fry. Ive moved her into the 5gallon tank, it will give her more room to swim around then in the 2gallon. Im not going super cover heavy this time, but there are hiding spots. My thoughts at this point is i should be able to tell when i have fry and move the female out without having her in with the fry for large periods of time. The tank itself has some hair algae/guppy grass blobs in it, as well as some fake plants in the back so the female should be comfortable. This is the fish i will be referring to if i say the "stunning platy". I hope it comes out in the second picture that this fish is definetly gravid, of which male im not sure but i will have to see. I have also marked in my fish calendar this event, so i should have a general idea of when she will give birth.

The first picture is with flash the second is without. I dont really like to use flash when photographing fish as it shows colors that are not usually seen and it is stressful for them.

[GoofyGarra]

My new powerhead arrived today. Leave it to Aquariumcoop to give a free sticker on a warranty fulfillment.

[Guppysnail]

She is stunning. The golds and greens are amazing. I hope you do get babies from her. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 9/15/2023 at 1:40 AM, GoofyGarra said:

My new powerhead arrived today. Leave it to Aquariumcoop to give a free sticker on a warranty fulfillment.

Are the ACO power heads adjustable? 

[GoofyGarra]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:00 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Are the ACO power heads adjustable? 

unfortunately the flow is not adjustable, the output spout can be rotated though.