Back In The Game...

[DarkOne]

I went to my LFS to pick up some more driftwood for the plecos and this little guy followed me home.


I shuffled a lot of fish lately. I have a strong suspicion that my Agassizii group is all male (thin bodied) so it makes sense that I got no eggs. I might have to search for some females at a later date. Sterbais are popping out 20-40 eggs every 10 days or so but I'm not sure I want to keep breeding them. I talked to the FW fish mgr at my LFS and we were talking about the fish I was breeding. He has a source for Sterbai so he wasn't interested unless I had full grown ones. I have about 50 in 4 tanks but I'm keeping them. He seemed very interested in the brown BN plecos but he has too many albinos. He also likes my EBAs so I might keep raising small batches of them (they just spawned again). No luck with the RNTs yet. I might just put them back in the main tank but I already lost 2 so I kinda want them to spawn.

 

[DarkOne]

Took some EBA fry out.


A piece of zucchini fell off the fork in the pleco fry breeder box, blocking the output and overflowing it. About 40 fry escaped and I think I caught most of them over a few fishing sessions throughout the day yesterday. There's only corydoras in the tank they escaped into so no danger of getting eaten. I moved 5 albinos into the sterbai fry breeder box because it's starting to get some diatoms growing on the sides. They can also help clean up the bottom of the tank.

 

[DarkOne]

I've been catching a couple of fry every day or so and I think there's only 1 left in the main tank. The 5 in the Sterbai fry box has kept it clean.

I've kept a slice of zucchini and 2 string beans in the tank every day with a slice of Repashy every night. I clean the box twice a day and this pic was taken 5 mins after cleaning it.


I have 3 breeder boxes filled with fry (Sterbai, BN Plecos and EBA). I found out that Rummynose Tetras need to be in a very warm tank (85-92°F) to breed so I added a heater and slowly upped it to 88°F. I'll leave it like this for a couple of weeks and if nothing happens, they'll be moved back to the group and I'll have an extra tank to raise fry.

 

[DarkOne]

The lone pleco in the main tank. I left him there to help keep the tank clean.


EBAs are starting to eat crushed TCTG. There's still a few that won't eat it so I've been feeding microworms too. I added 2 plecos to clean the breeder box.


The 5 plecos in the Sterbay fry box is doing their job of keeping the box clean. I can also overfeed them and the excess food is eaten by the plecos.


These guys are growing fast. I clean the other 2 breeder boxes every day but I have to clean the pleco box twice a day at least.

 

[DarkOne]

The pleco breeder box is getting overcrowded so I separated the albinos out to the QT that's holding the L029 pleco. It's been 2 1/2 weeks with no issues and I need some space. I moved 12 into the OLC tank (20g) to clean it up from all the algae and within 2 days, it's mostly clean. Not bad for little fry. The 4 lemons cleaned my new 10g planted tank in less than a day but they're at least 3x bigger.

So... 12 albinos in the OLC tank, 5 in the Sterbai fry breeder box, 2 in the EBA breeder box and 58 in the QT makes 77 albinos total.


I'm guessing about 100 browns. I'll need to move at least some of these guys soon.

 

[DarkOne]

This is turning into a BN pleco breeding thread.

I got a new Lee's box filter (Medium) and one pleco already got trapped in it. I had to take the whole thing apart and be extra careful not to crush it. On the upside, I was able to put a mexican pebble in it to weigh it down a bit more.


I decided to move some of my browns into the 10g because the breeder box is still packed. I started scooping shrimp nets full of them at a time. I counted these at just over 110 and there's 50 more in the breeder box. I'll probably move the rest into the 10g later tonight. That makes over 240 BN pleco fry!!!


This is 50 pleco fry.


EBAs are getting big but not quite big enough for a tank so I'll move them into the large breeder box (this is a medium).

 

[DarkOne]

Repashy and zucchini.


Just fed these guys some crushed TCTG so the water is cloudy.


Same here. I added a little filter b/c there's too many fry. I need to clear out another 10g for these guys.

 

[DarkOne]

It's been about 5 weeks so I decided to move my L029 into the main pleco tank. He's been inside a watering spike for at least 4 weeks that I know of so I was a bit worried he wasn't getting any food but he's got a nice rounded belly so he's definitely been eating very well.



I threw in some food and my L075 pokes his head out for a snack. I would guess he's about 7-8" now. My L253 Sunshines are at least 6" now. The L128s have grown a bit too since taking out the EBA juvies (they're pigs). L134s are doing really well too.

 

[DarkOne]

And since this is my thread...

I taught my dog to sit up. Took about 2 months. He's 10 yrs old.

 

[DarkOne]

It's been a while. EBA fry are getting over an inch long now. I moved them to a 30g breeder tank with some of my BN pleco fry. They're also over an inch now. I've been doing 10-75% water changes every day in this tank. Usually 10% and 50% every other day. 75% on the weekend. I must be getting better at raising EBA fry as I haven't lost a single one. I've also lost less than a handful of BN fry. I've been moving the smallest BNs into some tanks that have algae problems and they seem to help a lot. I have 2 Albinos in a 2.6g Fluval Spec with 4 guppies.


I got a group of shell dwellers from Lchi87 last year. I lost 1 from being buried inside a shell. I found it when I was cleaning the tank and it was half decomposed so I don't know how long ago it was. Other than that, they've been spawning regularly but I guess the 20g long was too small and I never saw juvies until last week. Most stayed in the center and right part of the tank but about a month ago, some started migrating over to the left side of the tank and spread out. I've seen 3 groups of fry and this one juvie that's about 1/2" (on the far right in the pic). I would guess at least 10 fry between the 3 groups.

 

[fishbreeeder]

set up your 55g in the basment LOL

 

[DarkOne]

set up your 55g in the basment LOL

I tossed the 55g last year.

I put a few albino BNs in the OLC tank and they grew much faster than the others. There's 17 albinos and 1 brown that I missed when they escaped while in a breeder box.


I'm trying not to do too much with plants as I've lost fish because of them but I've been playing with dirted tanks and they tend to work out really well. I started with the Fluval Spec III (2.6g) and the crypts thrived in there despite my neglect. I set up a 5.5g and the dwarf sag and pearl weed took over. I set up this 10g a few months ago and after acclimating for 2 months, the crypt is doing really well. I originally put the crypt in my 75g and it just laid flat but propagated some new plants so those are what I used. There's 4 lemon blue eyed BNs in this tank. They're juvies so once they grow a bit bigger, they'll be moved to a bigger tank. They're doing a great job with the algae.


I decided to experiment in my 75g. I dug up the remaining crypt (wendtii red) and used a plastic shoe box with 1.5" dirt and 1.5" gravel (bdbs). I layered the bottom with some Osmocote for added nutrients. I just did this last week so I don't expect to see improvements for at least a month.

 

[DarkOne]

New additions. L014 Sunshine and 3 C Schwartzi. I went to drop off some albino BNs at my LFS and I spotted these guys and I couldn't resist. I had to move the 4 L144 blue eyed lemon BNs and use the 10g dirted tank as my QT. They all came from the same tank so QT'ing all together should be fine.

 

[DioAquatics]

New additions. L014 Sunshine and 3 C Schwartzi. I went to drop off some albino BNs at my LFS and I spotted these guys and I couldn't resist. I had to move the 4 L144 blue eyed lemon BNs and use the 10g dirted tank as my QT. They all came from the same tank so QT'ing all together should be fine.

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What LFS are you finding these beautiful plecos at?!?

 

[DarkOne]

What LFS are you finding these beautiful plecos at?!?

Absolutely Fish! They usually have a decent selection of rare(ish) plecos but it can take some time to get a specific type. Fish Hut also stocks some plecos.

 

[DioAquatics]

Absolutely Fish! They usually have a decent selection of rare(ish) plecos but it can take some time to get a specific type. Fish Hut also stocks some plecos.

I’m going to have to start really looking at the plecos they have. I need some nice plecos for my tanks

 

[DarkOne]

I’m going to have to start really looking at the plecos they have. I need some nice plecos for my tanks

They have a few L128 Blue Phantoms that are about 2.5" at a good price ($50). They get to about 5-7" but they're one of the slower growing plecos from my experience. Usually, most plecos grow 50-75% of their full size within the first year and then slowly to their full size over the next few years.

Discus Madness has a great selection of plecos (the main reason I went there so often). Beital's isn't bad either but they don't always have a lot of plecos sometimes.

 

[DioAquatics]

They have a few L128 Blue Phantoms that are about 2.5" at a good price ($50). They get to about 5-7" but they're one of the slower growing plecos from my experience. Usually, most plecos grow 50-75% of their full size within the first year and then slowly to their full size over the next few years.

Discus Madness has a great selection of plecos (the main reason I went there so often). Beital's isn't bad either but they don't always have a lot of plecos sometimes.

Looks like I’m making a trip to NJ to visit a few stores lol

 

[DarkOne]

The shelldweller fry seem to be doing great. I've never seen them much bigger than when they're first hatched so this is a good sign. I've been putting crushed TCTG and microworms in the tank daily for the fry and it seems to work. There is definitely more than 10 fry and at least 4 are 1/4" long. There's seems to be a second spawn of newly hatched fry too. I don't have pics because they're very skittish and any time I get remotely close with a camera, they shoot into the shells.

 

[DarkOne]

Got some pics tonight. This is the right side of the tank. There are 2 groups of fry, on the left and right of this pic. The 3rd group is behind the group on the left in the background. There's about 5-6 back there.


I was able to get most of the fry from the group on the right. There's 9 there and the one on the far right is a juvie. The one above and to the left is the female, fairly small. The males are almost twice as big.


A lone newly hatched fry. Can you find him (look for his eyes)?


Here's a shot of 4 males with 2 females for size comparison. The males look smaller because they're in the background.

 

[DarkOne]

Sterbai spawned again a few days ago and I left the eggs in the tank. Most of the eggs have developed so I collected them and a few already hatched. About 50 eggs total.

I counted about 25 shelldweller fry/juvies today, more than I thought. There were a few newish fry too so they're still spawning.

 

[DarkOne]

I put 4 Lemon blue eyed long fins into my 40b community tank and the tetras started munching on the fins of 2 of the plecos so I moved them all to my pleco tank. The fins started growing back almost immediately.


They're also starting to grow bristles. Looks like I have 2 males and 2 females. Perfect.


All my plecos in the tank are nice and fat. The largest pleco is the L075 Para at around 7.5". The 2 L253 Sunshines are up to about 6" ea. The L128 Blue phantoms are growing nicely. L134s are growing but almost at full size at about 3.5". The L240 Vampire is doing great and about 4" now. The new L014 Sunshine is doing really well and have grown a bit in the month that I had him. I'd guess about 3.5" from 3" when I got him. I'm still doing 5-10g water changes daily but started doing 50% twice a week. Most of the specks you see in the pics are tiny bubbles from the moving bed filters and HOB with the wave maker pushing them around.

My shell dwellers are still spawning and there's at least 3 gens of fry groups. I would guess at least 30 fry/juvies. I might need to upgrade them to a 40b.

EBA fry are 1.5-2.5" now. I have my female BN and a few juvie plecos in there too.

 

[DarkOne]

A couple of days ago, the 10g growout for my plecos started leaking and I found it around 11p. I had to shuffle some fish around and swap in another 10g for them. Looks like the bottom back and side silicone failed. It's a 10g so I'm just going to throw it out and get another one. I thought they had warranties but 14g and smaller only have a 90 day warranty and this was the newest one I got (about a year ago).

 

[DarkOne]

Not a good week for the fishes. My water heater failed Friday night sometime and I had no hot water on Sat. I didn't do any water changes Friday so some of my overcrowded tanks that rely on daily or every other day water changes had to go 3 days. I picked up a water heater Sat evening but was missing some parts to change out the old water heater. I ended up having to go to Home Depot 3 times Sunday to get parts and stuff but after 7 hrs, the new water heater was up and running. I did 75% water changes on 5 tanks and need to do a few more today as well as weekly on my display tanks.

 

[smee82]

No loses i hope.

 

[DarkOne]

No loses i hope.

Nope. Most of the heavily stocked tanks have lots of bio filtration and it was definitely tested and passed. I also skipped feeding except for the fry/juvies.

 

[DarkOne]

I have pleco eggs!!! They're from my long fin blue eyed BN plecos which is surprising because they're still fairly young and small. Not a lot of eggs like my other brown BN though.

 

[DioAquatics]

I have pleco eggs!!! They're from my long fin blue eyed BN plecos which is surprising because they're still fairly young and small. Not a lot of eggs like my other brown BN though.

Nice! Save some if those long finned babies for me lol. I’m going to be putting the standard fin male lemon blue eye I got into my 75g this upcoming Saturday so I’m hoping to have babies soon too

 

[JLeeM]

I have pleco eggs!!! They're from my long fin blue eyed BN plecos which is surprising because they're still fairly young and small. Not a lot of eggs like my other brown BN though.

I'm raising a clutch of those now myself. It's my first clutch of lemons.

 

[DarkOne]

I'm raising a clutch of those now myself. It's my first clutch of lemons.

My first clutch of brown BN eggs were about 3-5 times the size but they were also fully grown. These guys are less than a year old, maybe 9 months? I was looking for L134 eggs when I found them. The L134s are at least 18 months old and no signs but 2 are in caves all the time.

 

[86 ssinit]

Just an update on the sterbai corys I got from you. They laid eggs in the discus tank and I managed to save 5 .got them now in a fry tank and hoping they grow!!

 

[DarkOne]

It's been a while and some big changes going on in my life so I haven't posted much. I sold my building and in the process of buying a house (closing next week). Unfortunately, the house is a split level with no basement so no space for a fish room. It does have a huge detached 4 car finished garage though but I'm not planning on putting any tanks in there.

Over the summer during a heat wave, I lost a few fish but none of my plecos. I haven't bought any new fish in over a year and won't until after I move and get situated. Plans are to get at least 1 125g tank for the plecos, corydoras and panda garras in my bedroom. My 75g will go into the living room or family room and there's a small bedroom that I might use as a fish room for a few 40g breeders. I'm not sure what I'll do with the 12 20g longs I have. Everything is still up in the air and moving all my fish will be a logistic nightmare.

 

[DioAquatics]

It's been a while and some big changes going on in my life so I haven't posted much. I sold my building and in the process of buying a house (closing next week). Unfortunately, the house is a split level with no basement so no space for a fish room. It does have a huge detached 4 car finished garage though but I'm not planning on putting any tanks in there.

Over the summer during a heat wave, I lost a few fish but none of my plecos. I haven't bought any new fish in over a year and won't until after I move and get situated. Plans are to get at least 1 125g tank for the plecos, corydoras and panda garras in my bedroom. My 75g will go into the living room or family room and there's a small bedroom that I might use as a fish room for a few 40g breeders. I'm not sure what I'll do with the 12 20g longs I have. Everything is still up in the air and moving all my fish will be a logistic nightmare.

Good to hear from you Bobby! Sucks to hear you can’t get a fish room… yet lol. Looking forward to seeing what you do with all the fish and tanks.

 

[86 ssinit]

Congrats on the house!! Good luck with the move!!

 

[DarkOne]

Good to hear from you Bobby! Sucks to hear you can’t get a fish room… yet lol. Looking forward to seeing what you do with all the fish and tanks.

You too! Yeah, I wasn't thrilled about not having a basement but the detached garage more than makes up for it. I still have 8 20g longs in my storage/garage that I haven't used and probably won't any time soon.

Congrats on the house!! Good luck with the move!!

Thanks! I'm dreading the move but also looking forward to it.

 

[DioAquatics]

You too! Yeah, I wasn't thrilled about not having a basement but the detached garage more than makes up for it. I still have 8 20g longs in my storage/garage that I haven't used and probably won't any time soon.

I know the feeling man. I recently moved into an apartment and had to shut down my entire fishroom. Only have 3 tanks now until I buy a house with room for more tanks. Remind me, are you staying local or you’re moving out of state?

 

[DarkOne]

I know the feeling man. I recently moved into an apartment and had to shut down my entire fishroom. Only have 3 tanks now until I buy a house with room for more tanks. Remind me, are you staying local or you’re moving out of state?

The new house is about 30m north of Harrisburg (3hrs away).

 

[DioAquatics]

The new house is about 30m north of Harrisburg (3hrs away).

Ah okay gotcha. Thats pretty far out lol

 

[DarkOne]

Ah okay gotcha. Thats pretty far out lol

You'll have to come out and visit. My neighbors are a corn field and a horse farm.

 

[DioAquatics]

You'll have to come out and visit. My neighbors are a corn field and a horse farm.

Listen don’t tempt me, I’ll take the trip out there haha

 

[coralbandit]

Harrisburg

You'll have to tell us about the fish stores once you know your way around.

 

[DarkOne]

Listen don’t tempt me, I’ll take the trip out there haha

You and your gf are welcome as soon as I get settled in. Spring time would probably be best.

You'll have to tell us about the fish stores once you know your way around.

You'll have to come out to visit too. That Fish Place in Lancaster is the only fish store I know of besides PetCo and PetSmart. It's about an hour SE of my new house.

 

[tfreema]

Congrats on the new house. I did not have to move that far, but moved 8 planted tanks and all the stock to my new house. Luckily, I did not have to move all in one weekend. I got the big tank moved on moving day though while we had help and a moving truck.
Here is how I handled it. 2 days before move set up sturdy tubs at the new house out of the way, filled with dechlorinated water, added, heaters, and airstones to get it it ready for fish. The next day, I removed hardscape decor from tank and caught up fish in buckets (smaller fish were bagged) and took them all along with the filters and some choice decor/hides to place into the tubs. I set the filters up running on the two tubs. I observed for a bit to make sure all was operating well then went back to old house to finish breaking down the tank and get ready for the big move the next day. It was a 120g so I removed most the substrate. (For my smaller tanks, I left the substrate and plants covering them with paper towels for transport. But they were all done one or two at a time being set back up and fish added back the same day.)
We loaded the tank last so it could be the first off the truck when we got there. Since the fish were safely tucked into the tubs (should mention I stopped feeding them a day or two before), I could focus on getting everything unloaded and placed in the right rooms and get to setting the tank back up later. Then let it run overnight to aerate and make sure temperature was good. Moved fish and filters to tank the next morning.
I lost no fish and had no bump in the cycle.

Best of luck with your move!!

 

[DarkOne]

Congrats on the new house. I did not have to move that far, but moved 8 planted tanks and all the stock to my new house. Luckily, I did not have to move all in one weekend. I got the big tank moved on moving day though while we had help and a moving truck.
Here is how I handled it. 2 days before move set up sturdy tubs at the new house out of the way, filled with dechlorinated water, added, heaters, and airstones to get it it ready for fish. The next day, I removed hardscape decor from tank and caught up fish in buckets (smaller fish were bagged) and took them all along with the filters and some choice decor/hides to place into the tubs. I set the filters up running on the two tubs. I observed for a bit to make sure all was operating well then went back to old house to finish breaking down the tank and get ready for the big move the next day. It was a 120g so I removed most the substrate. (For my smaller tanks, I left the substrate and plants covering them with paper towels for transport. But they were all done one or two at a time being set back up and fish added back the same day.)
We loaded the tank last so it could be the first off the truck when we got there. Since the fish were safely tucked into the tubs (should mention I stopped feeding them a day or two before), I could focus on getting everything unloaded and placed in the right rooms and get to setting the tank back up later. Then let it run overnight to aerate and make sure temperature was good. Moved fish and filters to tank the next morning.
I lost no fish and had no bump in the cycle.

Best of luck with your move!!

Thanks! I'm moving about 3 hrs away.
I have 8 20g longs that are empty in my garage right now. Plan is to move them first and fill them like your tubs as holding tanks. I'm also planning on buying a 125g or 150g for my bedroom. I have at least 15 buckets with lids so I will fill those with all my fish for the move. 2-3 of those buckets will be filled with established media (sponge filters and moving bed filters). Once all the fish are moved, I can break down the tanks slowly. I only have 3 dirt capped tanks (10g, 5g and 2.5g) so those will be easy to move. I'm renting my apartment for an extra month so I can take my time moving not just my fish but my garage as well. I bought a 6 x 12 enclosed trailer to help with the move.

The new house has well water but I haven't tested it yet but I hope to after closing on Tues. I have to drive out there so I plan on installing etracks in the trailer. I found a great deal on an almost new trailer and the seller let me park it in the driveway since I didn't have a place to park it.

 

[DarkOne]

Another update.

I closed on the house on 12/21/2021. My dad passed away on the 30th so plans were pushed back a bit and I moved my mom out here with me so she doesn't have to go into an assisted living place and she didn't want to live with either of my sisters. The priority was to move her stuff out here and then move my stuff later. I rented my apt for another month and the new building owner has been very cool with everything. He was my neighbor for over 30 years and we've always been on great terms so that helped. I still need to move a lot of stuff out of the storage/garage room but my apt is mostly moved.

I still have 4 tanks in the apt, 75, 40, 20l and 20h (empty) that I need to move. I set up 6 20L in my kitchen dining area for temp holding. I bought a new 75g last month for all my plecos, panda garras and kuhli loaches and was waiting for the 125 kit to go on sale. It did this weekend so I just picked one up today. My sister and bro-in-law is coming over today and he'll help me move the tank and stand into my bedroom. Once that's set up, I can move all the fish in the 75 and 40 in my apt to the house. The 20L has 5 plecos and an amano shrimp so that will be easy. Great thing about having a huge garage is that I can park my truck still loaded with the 125g in until my BIL comes to move it into my bedroom.

 

[86 ssinit]

Congrats on the tank and I hope the move continues being a success!!

 

[coralbandit]

Sorry to hear about your dad Bobby.
Cool beans with new tank and garage to help out with things .
Good luck with the rest of moving and your mom .

Late edit ; Welcome to the 6 foot club !

 

[DioAquatics]

My condolences about your dad Bobby. Good luck with the move, hopefully things go smooth for you with moving the tanks and fish

 

[DarkOne]

My sis and BIL came yesterday and we just hung out and chilled. It was in the 20's last night so I wasn't really motivated to move the tank. It warmed up to 32°F today so my BIL and I moved the tank and stand. I got it kinda set up for now with a (don't laugh) Fluval 206 and 2 100w heaters. I added all the bdbs I had which was about a full 5g bucket's worth so far. I'll be in NJ tomorrow to pack the rest of the tanks and fish.

I haven't painted the back of the 75 or this 125 yet. The 40g breeder next to it is all my shelldwellers. They were doing so well in the 20L that I had to upgrade their tank when I moved. I'm not crazy about having all these tanks in my bedroom so I'll have to make some adjustments after everything settles down.

 

[DarkOne]

I needed to sell some EBAs and use up some credit from Absolutely Fish so I took a 3 hr trip (each way) there today. I got a L191 Royal pleco, 3 L204 Flash plecos, 4 panda garras, 6 Denison Barbs and 3 Yoyo loaches. I wanted a few more Panda garras but they only had 4 tiny ones (1"). I'll have to make at least one more trip there to use up the rest of my credit.