Fish at Bag End

[Jawjagrrl]

On 3/10/2022 at 8:39 PM, Brandon p said:

We had some Sebrights, Belgian Bearded d’Uccle( both one grand champion for my son that would lay the smallest eggs we every got even compared to other bantams. The Cream Legbars would often lay small blue eggs like that but the were often next to the big true breed Ameraucana which blue eggs where huge. The biggest effect we ever had from chickens were from the Salmon Faverolles( my favorite) even bigger than the brahma eggs. (Sorry there was a lot of cut and paste but chicken names are not the easiest to spell).

That's a lot of chickens I aspire to have at some point, especially the faverolles. I've got a green layer that comes from welsummer/cream legbar that is my favorite - she has the legbar Crest and quite the personality. My partridge cochin runs from me and my french black copper marans are my mean girls. My wheaten maran is a lot more chill and not one I see often. She lays oddball eggs - longer and thinner than normal, always poking into the tops of cartons. 

I was in scouts but always wished I could have done 4h instead, but my mom was too much of a "townie" and would likely be unimpressed by our farm life.

 

On 3/10/2022 at 8:48 PM, Hobbit said:

The other funny part was that I found it in the main part o the coop, so someone had kicked it out of the nest box. Some chicken didn’t want that in her nest!

That's funny! I've also heard another nickname for those that I can't post here, but implies that a rooster laid it 😉

I have one chicken that is so uninterested in the whole egg process that she doesn't nest, or even really squat to lay her eggs. She just be walking around and plop! Egg on the ground, in the water bowl, coop floor, etc. So much for cochins being the best broodies! I've caught several hens on the golf balls in our nest boxes every morning, but never her. 🙄

[Brandon p]

They auction them at the end of every season except the sea right and d’dcule. Here most auction winners return the birds back to the kids(the kid don’t have to auction them)but my kids wanted to work with new breeds. The  faverolles were my favorite. They were big but  easy to handle and like puppies. What my boys did most off the time would find a breeder and get as few eggs as they would sell sell 3-12 and incubate or if they were ready stick them under. Now

On 3/10/2022 at 9:32 AM, JoeQ said:

More plants, and build your cleanup crew!! Ottos and nerite snails, you also failed to mention your water change frequency and fert schedule (or i miss read) . You might want to space out the fertilizer instead of 1 big dose. I'm also not a fan of the blanket reduce light matra. Make sure your lights are on a timer, but if your plants are opening and closing in sink with the lights there is no point to modifying!  Plants need light, it makes them grow! The best way to avoid algea is to grow healthy plants! 

 

On 3/10/2022 at 11:25 PM, Torrey said:

My kids did 4H as well, and always got the blue ribbons. They would go on the Heritage Breeds site, and locate Heritage Breeders within 12 hour drives, then call and find out if they could buy a pair that was being retired. Buy an established older pair, spend a couple of weeks training to walk on leash with a figure 8 harness, and then win blue ribbon for the adult pair and the first year (also typically last good breeding) clutch. Cayuga ducks were their favorites, especially after the regional 4h leader had to make ducks a challenge: "Judges hate ducks, you'll never win best of show"... my kids said "Challenge accepted"

 

On 3/11/2022 at 12:23 AM, Jawjagrrl said:

That's a lot of chickens I aspire to have at some point, especially the faverolles. I've got a green layer that comes from welsummer/cream legbar that is my favorite - she has the legbar Crest and quite the personality. My partridge cochin runs from me and my french black copper marans are my mean girls. My wheaten maran is a lot more chill and not one I see often. She lays oddball eggs - longer and thinner than normal, always poking into the tops of cartons. 

I was in scouts but always wished I could have done 4h instead, but my mom was too much of a "townie" and would likely be unimpressed by our farm life.

 

That's funny! I've also heard another nickname for those that I can't post here, but implies that a rooster laid it 😉

I have one chicken that is so uninterested in the whole egg process that she doesn't nest, or even really squat to lay her eggs. She just be walking around and plop! Egg on the ground, in the water bowl, coop floor, etc. So much for cochins being the best broodies! I've caught several hens on the golf balls in our nest boxes every morning, but never her. 🙄

 there’s nothing like seeing a little Seabright having three giant Favre was following her around and that little Sebright acting like they can’t take care of themselves

Sorry a fell asleep in the middle c     

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[Hobbit]

On 3/11/2022 at 12:23 AM, Jawjagrrl said:

I have one chicken that is so uninterested in the whole egg process that she doesn't nest, or even really squat to lay her eggs. She just be walking around and plop! Egg on the ground, in the water bowl, coop floor, etc.

Last week I found an egg in the middle of the lawn. Literally. Usually they all lay in the coop but someone was caught way off guard 😆

They’ll also let me know when someone else is in the nest box and they NEED TO GO. Some birds will only lay if there’s an egg (fake or real) in the nest box already, so if they’ll just waddle around the yard squawking until I go move an egg to an open box. I have three fake eggs now so it usually isn’t an issue—unless some of the top birds decide to sit in the nest box for no reason (looking at you, Fluffy 😒). She goes broody every summer, too.

In fish land… the stand is up! 🤩

And the hubby expressed his hopes that the 20g tanks on this shelf would be pretty. He says he was really blown away at how nice the 55 breeder looks and it would be so nice if the other tanks looked that good too!

So of course I’ll be happy to oblige 😇

Edited March 11, 2022 by Hobbit

[Jawjagrrl]

On 3/11/2022 at 9:04 AM, Hobbit said:

Last week I found an egg in the middle of the lawn. Literally. Usually they all lay in the coop but someone was caught way off guard 😆

They’ll also let me know when someone else is in the nest box and they NEED TO GO. Some birds will only lay if there’s an egg (fake or real) in the nest box already, so if they’ll just waddle around the yard squawking until I go move an egg to an open box. I have three fake eggs now so it usually isn’t an issue—unless some of the top birds decide to sit in the nest box for no reason (looking at you, Fluffy 😒). She goes broody every summer, too.

In fish land… the stand is up! 🤩

And the hubby expressed his hopes that the 20g tanks on this shelf would be pretty. He says he was really blown away at how nice the 55 breeder looks and it would be so nice if the other tanks looked that good too!

So of course I’ll be happy to oblige 😇

I did toy with the idea of using one of my 55s in the same way for shrimp colonies - yours looks great! Going a different route with mine, as part of our living room display. Can't wait to see how your rank evolves. My Patient Spouse is starting to expect part of our basement becoming a fish room 😉

On 3/11/2022 at 1:55 AM, Brandon p said:

 there’s nothing like seeing a little Seabright having three giant Favre was following her around and that little Sebright acting like they can’t take care of themselves

That must be hilarious! Even my petite olive egger and big cochin are funny side by side, I can only imagine sebrights 🙂

[Torrey]

On 3/11/2022 at 7:04 AM, Hobbit said:

Last week I found an egg in the middle of the lawn. Literally. Usually they all lay in the coop but someone was caught way off guard 😆

They’ll also let me know when someone else is in the nest box and they NEED TO GO. Some birds will only lay if there’s an egg (fake or real) in the nest box already, so if they’ll just waddle around the yard squawking until I go move an egg to an open box. I have three fake eggs now so it usually isn’t an issue—unless some of the top birds decide to sit in the nest box for no reason (looking at you, Fluffy 😒). She goes broody every summer, too.

In fish land… the stand is up! 🤩

And the hubby expressed his hopes that the 20g tanks on this shelf would be pretty. He says he was really blown away at how nice the 55 breeder looks and it would be so nice if the other tanks looked that good too!

So of course I’ll be happy to oblige 😇

That's awesome! Glad the hubby is appreciating your pretty tanks, that mkaes the hobby more enjoyable when a happy compromise can be struck with cohabitants.

On 3/11/2022 at 9:40 AM, Jawjagrrl said:

I did toy with the idea of using one of my 55s in the same way for shrimp colonies - yours looks great! Going a different route with mine, as part of our living room display. Can't wait to see how your rank evolves. My Patient Spouse is starting to expect part of our basement becoming a fish room 😉

That must be hilarious! Even my petite olive egger and big cochin are funny side by side, I can only imagine sebrights 🙂

Our silkies were like this. Always bossing everyone else around, acting like they were going to protect the entire flock when the golden eagles would fly overhead... right up until one of the girls had to try and save the rooster... and the eagles left with two birds instead of one. Brain cells kicked in after that and shadows meant "take cover!!!"

Which really made me appreciate Cory even more yesterday!

[Brandon p]

I want a shelf for the 2 55g like @Hobbithas. It only needs to be two levels but I want one that is just at eye level. One the chicken front we once found four girls smashed in once box. We had 5 boxes to lay. 

[laritheloud]

I did not realize you lost both Mom Fish and Dad Fish. My heart hurts for you. Glad to hear you have other projects and beautiful chickens to occupy you, and I'm so sorry for your losses. SIP little ones...

[Hobbit]

Thanks @laritheloud. I was not prepared to lose them both so soon. ❤️ I’m still hoping to get mates for their kids and raise up some of their grand fishies.

[laritheloud]

I hope so. You deserve more happy moments in the months and years ahead. It feels like so much has changed in such a short amount of time. 

You're also a fantastic, caring person that I'm sure your students look up to, and no one deserves an easy spring more than you. Thank you for being there for your kids (our feathery and scaly ones, too) and working for their health and happiness. Hope that ADF frog project goes well!

(and give those chickens some scratches for the good egg-laying. I'm getting my little flock started in a little less than a month...)

[Hobbit]

You are so kind. ❤️❤️❤️

That’s so fun that you’ll be starting your own flock! If you need any help or just want to share pictures, be sure to post in Off Topic and tag a bunch of us! Based on the comments here I think we could rival any chicken forum. 😁

[Minanora]

I just caught up with your adventure. I'm sorry for your losses. As Lari said, you're an amazing person with a huge heart. I look forward to more updates as the spring unfolds. We could all use a little warmth. ❤️

ANYWAY. I love your wire rack! Great job with the ply. Looks like furniture! ^_^

[Guppysnail]

On 3/12/2022 at 1:00 AM, Hobbit said:

chicken forum. 😁

I just had one of those moments.  I read that and thought…wow there are chicken forums?  Then thought gee your sitting here on a fish forum why wouldn’t there be.  I think that how folks think when I talk about my fish. 
 

That stand is so fantastic. Great job!  

[Brandon p]

Chicken forums are really crazy. I had to tell my youngest me was allowed on them. There is a “type” of person that dominated them or at least that I saw. I’m sure there are fish ones like that too but I was on one or two fish before this. I like this one because here I feel like I can post something get an honest opinion and not be treated like a moron for asking a wild question.

[Jawjagrrl]

On 3/12/2022 at 5:39 AM, Guppysnail said:

I just had one of those moments.  I read that and thought…wow there are chicken forums?  Then thought gee your sitting here on a fish forum why wouldn’t there be.  I think that how folks think when I talk about my fish.

Yes, there are, and I stumbled on one of the oldest right off the bat when I started my flock in 2020. I met the chicken versions of almost everyone on this thread 🙂 I'm in a FB group for one of the hatcheries and am enjoying seeing everyone's chicks right now - lots of "what breed do you think my mystery chick is?" (They will ship an xtra free mystery chick if desired). It's fun seeing new people get into that hobby as well, getting advice from long time keepers there too.

[Hobbit]

A few fish updates:

I’ve set up one of the 20g to be my juvenile platy grow out tank. This is where they’ll go after they outgrow the medium fry 10g. I’m experimenting with using coconut coir planters to see if it’s an easier way to grow non-stem plants to sell. Got to boil them on the stove and weird out my husband. 😁 Didn’t want them leeching too many tannins in the tank.

Putting dirt, then sand, then gravel in various pot. Went yard sale-ing for most of them!

 

Here’s what it looks like now. The plants haven’t grown in yet. Not sure I’m going to be happy with this setup, because while I *can* take everything out when I have to catch the platys, it’s going to be a pain.

I’ve got a great infusoria system for feeding my ricefish fry. Basically I split the culture and add yeast every 48 hours.

Squidward the Swirly Snail lives on! Still haven’t found any offspring that are swirly, but it’s not too late. Here they are enjoying a green bean.

My husband got me an adapter that can fit my hose onto the kitchen sink, and it turns out the same one fits onto the pump I’ve had for ages but never really been able to use. I had a LOT of fun with some water change magic the other day!

The plecos have been having babies almost non-stop. Dad Pleco is taking a much deserved break from cave duty and Mom Pleco looks about ready to burst!

I’ve pulled out the old fry box to try to raise some pleco babies more purposefully. So far I have maybe a dozen juveniles that I barely tried to raise, which means if I actually try to raise them they’ll do even better. Right?? That’s how it works, right?? 😀😜

And lastly, I have two sick platys that I’m trying to nurse to health. One I found in the small fry area with basically no tail. Looks like some really bad fin rot. It’s in some salt water with a homemade sponge filter, and we’ll see how it does. (I don’t have pictures of the other one because it’s really small, but it just seems to be having a lot of trouble swimming. It looks a bit malformed.)

And lastly, I went to a wedding recently and my cat didn’t want me to leave. I was only going to be gone for one night but she didn’t know that, poor kitty!

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Great update! I love that Squidward is still doing well too! I'll cross my fingers for your patients!

[Hobbit]

On 4/5/2022 at 6:03 PM, Hobbit said:

I’ve pulled out the old fry box to try to raise some pleco babies more purposefully. So far I have maybe a dozen juveniles that I barely tried to raise, which means if I actually try to raise them they’ll do even better. Right?? That’s how it works, right?? 😀😜

Well… I only have two pleco babies left in the fry box. 😝

Unfortunately, I’m fairly sure that these pleco parents produce a large number of fry with heart defects. It’s really easy to see their hearts when they stick themselves to the glass, and while some of them beat in a regular quick pattern, other hearts look swollen and seem to stop beating frequently. ☹️ I suspect those fry don’t make it long, and get absorbed into the ecosystem of the tank. If I was breeding these plecos on purpose I’d be sure to trade in one of the parents to see if increasing the genetic diversity would be helpful. But I’m not actually trying to breed them—they’re just doing this on their own!

In other news, I’ve achieved a new milestone in my nermy development:

It appears that I’ve grown green water! (Totally on accident of course 😄)

 This morning it looks more brown than green, so I’m concerned that it’s not going to stick around. But for now it’s a nice extra source of food for my fry. There’s one medaka fry in this jar who seems very happy.

My medaka fry-raising plan continues to get dialed in. The system doesn’t quite work yet but hopefully we’re getting there.

Right now, I collect eggs from the parent tank every week or so and put them in one of these jars:

I mostly physically pick the eggs off the plants and spawning mops, but sometimes I’ll just grab a whole chunk of hornwort and stick it in there.

I feed them infusoria two or three times a day—which isn’t really enough, I think. Plus I think I need to use less yeast in the infusoria jars… still working on that. But either way, after two weeks, the fry get transferred to a larger container.

That used to mean the green water jug, but I was losing almost all the fry I put in there. So I got out an old 1g bowl my mom had saved from when we were kids, and I’m hoping the fry do better in something larger yet shallower.

I seeded it with mulm from the sponge filter in my 55g display tank, so they’ve had a lot to eat for the last 48 hours!

In terms of the two platys that were sick in my last post: I lost the smaller one almost immediately. I wasn’t surprised—it didn’t look like it had developed properly.

The fish with severe fin rot is doing great, though! This was a few days ago and it’s looking even better now:

Aquarium salt really works! 😃

Today I’ll be preparing fish and plants to take to my LFS tomorrow, so I may be back with more pictures soon.

[Guppysnail]

I love the strip light on the Longaberger style basket. Maybe if I made my odd projects pretty like that hubby would not get his knickers in such a knot with them being spread about house 🤔🤣

[Patrick_G]

Yes, green water! I bet the Ricefish will love it. 

[Hobbit]

On 4/14/2022 at 9:13 AM, Guppysnail said:

I love the strip light on the Longaberger style basket. Maybe if I made my odd projects pretty like that hubby would not get his knickers in such a knot with them being spread about house 🤔🤣

Thanks! The light strip is meant for sewing machines. You can cut it to any length you want. As for the hubby being less annoyed… not sure it helps that much 😅

[Hobbit]

Around 50 1”+ platys, separated by color:

(pre-bagging count from my main grow out tank:)

Six 1.25” super red bristlenose pleco babies, six 1” white medaka, and 3 adult platys (2 female, one male).

I’m retiring all my broodstock with black on the body. I don’t’ want to worry about the genetics in order to stop producing babies with tumors. Plus the hubby isn’t a fan of the spotted ones anyway.

That means the Queen Mother and just one female with spots (who I believe is a hybrid between spots/no spots) have been moved in with the orange platys! I’ll retire the last spotted female when I get some more blue females big enough to breed.

The poor Queen Mother was very scared and depressed last night, but I was happy to see she came right to the glass this morning for breakfast.

That leaves the other side of my 55 breeder empty… for a surprise project that has yet to be revealed! 😎😃

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Poor Queen Mamma, glad she adjusted quickly.

[Minanora]

I love your projects! I wish my husband was as patient with my projects as yours. 🤣

It's interesting to see how fish react when you make adjustments to the stocking. I'm glad Queen Mama is feeling more confident.

[Hobbit]

On 4/15/2022 at 2:04 PM, Minanora said:

It's interesting to see how fish react when you make adjustments to the stocking. I'm glad Queen Mama is feeling more confident.

For sure! The large orange female platy always seems sad when I take out another large fish—even the male that was harassing her. She sulked for several days! 😢 Other fish don’t seem to notice though. I do think they’re much more flexible as juveniles—I wonder if it’s natural at their stage of fishy life to be moving and exploring new things. Kind of like people I guess!

Fish have been delivered!

 

[Hobbit]

The little platy in quarantine is now totally healed and back in with its mates! Hard to see but this is the best picture I got:

I moved the platys around as I usually do after selling, putting the medium fish in the big fish tank and the small fish in the medium tank, etc. Well, the new residents of the big tank all developed stringy poops, so they got seaweed for dinner! I’m hoping that will help sort things out.