I still need to see the fish room(s)… one day when I’m in the areaYou should have stopped by- I could have given you a spare tube...
What did you do with your tank(s) today?
- Thread starter DMD123
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BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
Kiddo started online classes this week (autistic and anxiety has difficulty in class settings) so I've been mostly just feeding tanks. It does give me time to stare at the female tank and count fin rays / observe movements to move males out lol
You're welcome to stop by anytime.
BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
Stopped at Midway to grab a couple female swordtails. Left with a single female swordtail (it was either her or a pair of green Swordtails and another tank lol) and just needed to have this female Betta. Named her Petunia, she's in the 20 long Also picked up 3 male feeder guppies because I've wanted to do a wild type guppy tank for awhile. Was hoping to get some from an established feral population somewhere, but these will do. Same general look just within the name.
But I'm blaming the kiddo because he specifically asked if we could save the Endlers from the feeder tank lol
Also picked up 3 male feeder guppies because I've wanted to do a wild type guppy tank for awhile. Was hoping to get some from an established feral population somewhere, but these will do. Same general look just within the name.But I'm blaming the kiddo because he specifically asked if we could save the Endlers from the feeder tank lol
Well it was a good thing my silicone grease was lost in shipping, because I found a better deal on it! One tube was $6.99 or I could get 3 tubes of the same item for $9.99! So I got my 3 tubes in... now to figure out a time to tackle the last FX6 filter rebuild.
Getting super bored with my Sajica cichlid tank. They are just boring as can be. Was hoping they would have bred at some point but nope, wont embrace their convict like roots and breed like rabbits. The most interest in that tank are the tetras. ven the rare spotting of one of the plecos in that tank is more exciting than the cichlids, lol. I actually need to pull the large mopani out and see if i still have two of the plecos, maybe one died and got ate? Seriously considering a change to this tank. I would seriously consider another puffer or red wolf variant.
Loving the EBJD and hoping it continues to thrive since they are notorious for dying off for no reason. But when the silver dollars get bigger and get moved to the 300 what do I keep with it? Another schooling fish? A pleco?
Red severum tank needs some ideas... I think the ratio at the moment is 3 Males and 1 Female. I really just want a solo male with color and maybe a colorful school of rainbows or something like that. In general like the tank but just think 3 sevs in a 90 are too much.
Everything else pretty much the same.
How about you guys? Any new fish keeping endeavors or projects?
Getting super bored with my Sajica cichlid tank. They are just boring as can be. Was hoping they would have bred at some point but nope, wont embrace their convict like roots and breed like rabbits. The most interest in that tank are the tetras. ven the rare spotting of one of the plecos in that tank is more exciting than the cichlids, lol. I actually need to pull the large mopani out and see if i still have two of the plecos, maybe one died and got ate? Seriously considering a change to this tank. I would seriously consider another puffer or red wolf variant.
Loving the EBJD and hoping it continues to thrive since they are notorious for dying off for no reason. But when the silver dollars get bigger and get moved to the 300 what do I keep with it? Another schooling fish? A pleco?
Red severum tank needs some ideas... I think the ratio at the moment is 3 Males and 1 Female. I really just want a solo male with color and maybe a colorful school of rainbows or something like that. In general like the tank but just think 3 sevs in a 90 are too much.
Everything else pretty much the same.
How about you guys? Any new fish keeping endeavors or projects?
It seems like I have to move fishes around in my fishroom at least once a year, but it usually involves just a few tanks at a time. However, at the moment just about all my colonies need rearrangement, except for my four Tropheus species tanks. One of those tanks has been a real success story this year, however, which has made me very happy. I obtained a small colony of Tropheus annectens from another Fishbox member several years ago, and until recently kept them with my Tropheus sp. 'black' Ikola. These species are sympatric in the lake, so I figured they'd be fine together, which was largely true, but I never had any T. annectens spawnings. This was of some concern as T. annectens are rare in the hobby, and you seldom see them for sale. I was also worried that my colony might be getting beyond optimal breeding age, so I was concerned about being able to propagate this colony going forward.
Not to worry. I moved my T. annectens colony, 14-15 adults, into a 100g species tank about a year ago, and once they settled in they began to spawn regularly. I was so excited about this early on that I moved one of the brooding females to an isolation tank (40L), where she hid for 4+ weeks before releasing 6 fry. T. annectens are a gregarious species that congregate in large groups in the lake, and they clearly don't fare well in isolation.
Since then, I have let all the brooding females simply release their fry into the main tank. The fry have ample hiding places among the rocks, but those seem largely superfluous, as well-fed adults show no interest in the fry, even when newly-released. So by now I would estimate that I have at least 30 progeny, with some fishes nearly 2"TL, and others just-released little ones, as shown below.
This little guy, at ~1.5", is probably a few months old. Already starting to get some blue pigment in the eyes.
This batch was just released in the last day or two. As you can see, they are well-developed upon release, this being some 30 days or so post-fertilization. Most Tropheus fry actually feed whilst in their mother's buccal pouch, so they are robust upon release.
The proud parents. T. annectens is the only Tropheus species that displays sexual dimorphism, as shown here. This young male is transitioning to full adult coloration, while the females retain the pretty banded pattern seen in juveniles.-
Nice update @sir_keith
BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
I just posted mine!
lol
But, I do need to be a better steward at my local nature park. I've been working on my vanity projects there and not working on getting the lake functional. It's a 2.7 acre man made "lake" from a homestead that had been there. It's stocked with pumpkinseed and a couple bass. Obviously these fish are small as there isn't a functional ecosystem. I've been moving tadpoles there from a nearby vernal pond, but now I have the cities ok (and enthusiasm behind the project) so I need to get off my butt and figure out a baitfish to stock in the lake and figure out how to fund it. City and WDFW are both mostly behind the plan, minus making it a kids fishing hole. City wants to, WDFW doesn't want us to ruin our park with jerjwad sport fisherman showing up as has happened elsewhere. Which is fine, I don't think the lake needs trout anyway lol
lol
But, I do need to be a better steward at my local nature park. I've been working on my vanity projects there and not working on getting the lake functional. It's a 2.7 acre man made "lake" from a homestead that had been there. It's stocked with pumpkinseed and a couple bass. Obviously these fish are small as there isn't a functional ecosystem. I've been moving tadpoles there from a nearby vernal pond, but now I have the cities ok (and enthusiasm behind the project) so I need to get off my butt and figure out a baitfish to stock in the lake and figure out how to fund it. City and WDFW are both mostly behind the plan, minus making it a kids fishing hole. City wants to, WDFW doesn't want us to ruin our park with jerjwad sport fisherman showing up as has happened elsewhere. Which is fine, I don't think the lake needs trout anyway lol
Today was my normal water change and tank cleaning day. Got everything done but when I was working on my Sajica 65B I got curious to see the Chubby plecos and if I still had the two since I would only see one large tail moving around under a piece of mopani. When I pulled the wood out to gravel vac I was shocked by the pleco that I saw, it had grown considerably! But I only saw the one.... but then I see the second, it looks like it hasnt grown at all!
So now Im thinking about what I should do. The one is obviously thriving. Do I leave him in this tank or move him out to a bigger 90g tank? Or should I move the runt into the bigger 90g?
The runt is not skinny but its very clear its not getting the same amount of food.
So now Im thinking about what I should do. The one is obviously thriving. Do I leave him in this tank or move him out to a bigger 90g tank? Or should I move the runt into the bigger 90g?
The runt is not skinny but its very clear its not getting the same amount of food.
BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
Used one of the 2.5's I inherited as an infusoria tank. We'll see how it goes. These do a lot better when I neglect them. I set this up in the fish/classroom at my desk lol Genius, it'll crash in a week lol
Since I picked up some feeder guppies with wild type markings, I decided to challenge myself to try to recreate some of the original strains. So I spent a good chunk of the morning reading translated Danish websites
Since I picked up some feeder guppies with wild type markings, I decided to challenge myself to try to recreate some of the original strains. So I spent a good chunk of the morning reading translated Danish websites
The difference in the size of these two fishes- as measured in biomass- has to be at least 3-4 fold. A size differential of that magnitude cannot be caused by diet alone. Can you imagine a dog or cat growing to only half-size because of a restricted diet? No, it just doesn't happen; the animal might be emaciated- which your little catfish is not- but it would not be half-sized. You mention that the little one is 'not skinny,' but 'is not getting the same amount of food.' I would suggest that the smaller fish simply does not need the same amount of food as its larger tankmate.
The phenotypes of so-called 'runts' can have either genetic or somatic bases. In the latter instance, hormonal imbalances during embryonic and/or postnatal development result in individuals that are smaller than normal, but are otherwise fully functional.
You ask what to do. Unless the smaller fish is being bullied by the larger, I see no reason to separate them. Either way, the larger fish will live out its life being large, and the smaller fish will live out its life being small. The factors that led to the differences in size, whether genetic or somatic, operated in the past, and there is nothing that can be done now, or that could have been done then, that will change that. They are as they are. Enjoy them.
Thanks for that perspective @sir_keith, the little pleco is healthy looking and does not seem to be bullied with all fins intact and no visible wounds. I will continue to let them be together.
I was hoping to find the million dollar change in color that these pleco sometimes go through but they were the normal dark color.
I was hoping to find the million dollar change in color that these pleco sometimes go through but they were the normal dark color.
BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
Well, maybe you got the 1/2 million dollar dwarf variety
If it makes the color conversion to this, it would be worth it.Well, maybe you got the 1/2 million dollar dwarf variety
Very cool if it stayed little. While not a huge pleco they get very thick. This is a full grown beast that made the color change
BPSabelhaus
Well-Known Member
Then it would be a 2 million dollar fish. Maths Something my neurocog report verified I'm horrible at lol Been helping my fourth grader with his math. "We draw a turtle and give it a collar then lay an egg"
Yeah, we're gonna do this old skool lol
But back to the fish, that thing is extra bristley
I should add, the female Betta I picked up on a whim is doing well. She had a teeny bit of ich which is gone already. None of the Endlers really pay her any mind now (this colony is used to having a Betta) aside from the first day greeting interest.
Since I'm watching her right now
Yeah, we're gonna do this old skool lol
But back to the fish, that thing is extra bristley
I should add, the female Betta I picked up on a whim is doing well. She had a teeny bit of ich which is gone already. None of the Endlers really pay her any mind now (this colony is used to having a Betta) aside from the first day greeting interest.
Since I'm watching her right now
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John58Ford
Well-Known Member
I had forgotten about this timer chore thanks for reminding us
Daylight savings… didn’t mean any extra sleep for me. My body woke me up the same time as normal like waking up for work. Since I was up, finished rebuilding my final FX6 filter. Now its my turn to do timers… 7 tanks but with my lighting, 9 timers
I am being lazy! Still have not got around to my timer changes, lol.
Been looking for pleco replacement ideas, since I lost my green phantom in my 90g, its been noticeable there is no pleco with the extra algae growth on the driftwood. Dont want a big pleco but dont necessarily want another bristle nose... I have been thinking of adding a bristle nose to my other 90g severum tank too. So lots of looking online at the various plecos available at the moment. might consider a little weekend drive to Portland to Wet Spot to look at fish too.
As to my current chubby pleco, Ive been using my tongs and dropping the food fight into their little 'lair' so that they can be assured of getting food without too much effort to leave the safety of the driftwood. Maybe the little runt will grow more?
Been looking for pleco replacement ideas, since I lost my green phantom in my 90g, its been noticeable there is no pleco with the extra algae growth on the driftwood. Dont want a big pleco but dont necessarily want another bristle nose... I have been thinking of adding a bristle nose to my other 90g severum tank too. So lots of looking online at the various plecos available at the moment. might consider a little weekend drive to Portland to Wet Spot to look at fish too.
As to my current chubby pleco, Ive been using my tongs and dropping the food fight into their little 'lair' so that they can be assured of getting food without too much effort to leave the safety of the driftwood. Maybe the little runt will grow more?
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How often do you feed them?
I think I drop in an algae pellet maybe once a week in the tanks where I have sailfins or BN. Otherwise I expect them to eat the algae on the plants, wood, and glass.