An Aquarist's Journey

[H20CultureLabs]

The rack is starting to produce well, I had my largest order of shrimp and dwarf crayfish yet! A local customer is purchasing over 150 cherry shrimp!

[Anita]

ORD 💜, so ↓ ↓ ↓

 

[H20CultureLabs]

Finally put the boards on top up. I need to finish it as envision it doubling as a bookshelf for my aquarium books. It is so peaceful and enjoyable to just sit and look at it after a long day at work. Not much in the way of fry yet, still working on it.

[Anita]

1 hour ago, H20CultureLabs said:

Finally put the boards on top up. I need to finish it as envision it doubling as a bookshelf for my aquarium books. It is so peaceful and enjoyable to just sit and look at it after a long day at work. Not much in the way of fry yet, still working on it.

This is looking wonderful! 🤩 One caution about the bookshelf. Depending on how humid your climate is, your books might develop mildew from sitting next to all that water. 

[H20CultureLabs]

@Anita Thank you very much for the compliment and the advice! I will be careful to watch for signs of mildew when I finally place them there.

[H20CultureLabs]

Just a quick update today, I was fortunate to be able to snap a quick picture of these gorgeous young male E. gilberti pygmy sunfish sparring with one another.

[H20CultureLabs]

Also residing in the rack is my only "wet pet" a Cherax bosemani var. "Supernova" named Tateyama. He is about 6in now, and as you can see, eats shrimp pellets three at a time!

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by H20CultureLabs

[Anita]

[H20CultureLabs]

@Anita His pellet consumption is over 9000!!!

[Anita]

In other words, not only is he named after a Sumo wrestler, he eats like one! 😁

   Tateyama → 立山 [standing mountain]

   Kototateyama → 琴立山  [zither(-like) standing mountain*]

*Does not translate easily, so my best estimate. 

お見事！[Splendidly done!]

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by Anita

[H20CultureLabs]

@Anita 

ありがとうございますア二タ先輩！こと立山知らなかった、今私はしります！これcrayfish名前の立山富山にです。

(Thank you very much Anita-senpai, I did not know about Kototateyama, but now I do! This crayfish is named for Mt. Tateyama in Toyama.)

あんたの幹事上手ですよ！私の幹事は上手じゃありません。

(Your kanji is skilled! I am not very skilled in Kanji)

So much fun to type some 日本語 in this forum!

Edited April 16, 2021 by H20CultureLabs

[H20CultureLabs]

Discovered some brand new baby Blue Velvet shrimp in one of the rack aquariums today! Look at how small this one is compared to the shrimp pellet its munching on.

[H20CultureLabs]

I will say, one item of frustration for me is getting my fish to drop another clutch of eggs. I have White Cloud females full of eggs but they refuse to drop them. I think its possible the containers they are in are too small, but I have seen breeding activity in them before. Does anyone have any suggestions? It doesn't matter much as I will be moving them out to the "summer tub" soon, but I would like to see a batch of fry before then.  

[Streetwise]

This suggestion has probably been posted before, but sometimes a water top-off of a different temperature can trigger breeding.

[H20CultureLabs]

@StreetwiseI appreciate the suggestion! I'm thinking warming the tanks may be the ticket since I often get more fry in the summer than the winter.  

[H20CultureLabs]

Another project of mine in the racks is trying to breed more blue coloration into my dwarf Cajun crawfish, C. shufeldtii. Here is a picture of where I am so far. I have seen bluer examples, but as they go through successive molts they become more brown. 

[H20CultureLabs]

Here is a picture of a female who previously had a gorgeous blue color. Unfortunately, in later molts, she turned brown. Other people's anecdotal observations are this occurs due to pH swings. However, this crayfish was raised in the exact same water the entire time and still turned brown.

[H20CultureLabs]

The CPO crayfish, the well known and loved orange one, was a very lucky break for the hobby since its coloration remains very stable throughout its life. Other dwarf crayfishes of the same genus (Cambarellus) exhibit an amazing range of coloration and patterns, but unfortunately these change throughout their lives. Here is a gorgeous female C. brazos, but unfortunately she turned brown as well.

Edited April 16, 2021 by H20CultureLabs

[Hobbit]

That’s very interesting about the crayfish! I’ve noticed my amano shrimp have changed color a bit. To me it looks like they’re shifting between greens and browns to better blend in with their surroundings, since they’ve ended up with different colors in different tanks. It could also be related to water parameters though.

@WhitecloudDynasty may have some tips about getting the females to drop their eggs.

[H20CultureLabs]

@HobbitThank you very much for sharing your thoughts and observations. I have also noticed some color change over in my C. multidentata. I agree that that is most likely due to differening surroundings. It would be interesting to see if they change color when they go from fresh to brackish to breed.

[WhitecloudDynasty]

Are your white cloud male actively driving the female?

[H20CultureLabs]

@WhitecloudDynastyYes, and the males are actively sparring with one another. I know its a matter of time and to just be patient, but any other tips would be appreciated, thank you!

[WhitecloudDynasty]

11 minutes ago, H20CultureLabs said:

@WhitecloudDynastyYes, and the males are actively sparring with one another. I know its a matter of time and to just be patient, but any other tips would be appreciated, thank you!

If they are sparring they should be breeding, for some reason egg or fry aren't surviving 

[H20CultureLabs]

@WhitecloudDynastyI sincerely appreciate the advice! I will keep trying things and see how it goes.

[H20CultureLabs]

I did some cleaning of the Cherry Shrimp tank in the rack and was able to take a few pictures of them. I am very proud of this line of them and think they are about as premium as any can find!