CJ's tanks

Let the filter run in the bowl for a couple days and tested the water (rather than cleaning and changing it daily as before, and it was cycled! I also added a small ramshorn snail ... mainly to help keep a cycle since the 4 tiny shrimp don't have a big bio load and I wanted to be able to skip a couple days in between water changes.

 

Got my Malawas today! They are so tiny! I've read they get to be about 1.2" long but the guy said they get to be about half the size of an adult cherry so I don't know how big they'll get!

They are currently in a jar until I decide where to put them. They are too tiny to put into the tank I'd planned to add them to since there are fish. They'd just be an expensive snack!

 

Got the new light I had ordered today. It fits perfectly and has enough output but I really wish it had a warmer, more natural setting. It's quite purple/blue.

 

What kind of light is it? That looks like the night time setting instead of the day time setting.

 

What kind of light is it? That looks like the night time setting instead of the day time setting.

It's not ... on the one you can see all of the lights reflecting on the top of the tank. There are white, blue, red and green lights. It's one I got from eBay at the recommendation of bizaliz but I just didn't realize how "cool" the temp was.

 

Is there a way to switch the green off? I'm guessing no. I'm no expert on lighting but I'm curious how the green bulb would help or is it just for aesthetics? My Finnex only has the white, red and blue.

 

Is there a way to switch the green off? I'm guessing no. I'm no expert on lighting but I'm curious how the green bulb would help or is it just for aesthetics? My Finnex only has the white, red and blue.

Not sure. My current has natural settings and sort of fades in and out of different color combos to simulate real sunlight. I'm pretty sure I've seen green but I could be wrong. I may just have to save up and get more Current lights instead of trying to go budget.

 

I have the current LED + on my 33g and it does have red, green, blue and white though you don't "see" the green at least from the settings I use. I usually just have "full spectrum" on during the day. I have to say, the plants love it.

 

Here is my 38. This is the setting I usually use as it fades in and out with passing clouds and seems very natural to me.

 

Very nice! The colors on the fish seem to pop!

 

Very nice! The colors on the fish seem to pop!

Yes. I love those glo tetras! My green ("geen fish" as my 2y son has named her) looks more like a yellow highlighter to me though! Lol

 

Yeah that is a nice setting, I have the same remote. That one switches between white and blue it says but what I see changing on it are the red and blue lights. White must include the red I guess.

 

Well, I got my second batch of platy fry a week ago and now I have a guppy, maybe 2, having babies today! Besides keeping a couple here and there for breeding, they are all going to the LFS for credit. My first batch of platy fry are 4 weeks old now.

 

Ok so I either did a good thing or a horrible thing! I redid my 20H grow out tank. I took out the large coral bubble decoration that was taking up so much space in the middle. It apparently was also hindering my ability to clean properly because that tank was NASTY! I ended up doing many large water changes during the cleaning process. I still didn't get all the funk up but I figured I had stressed the fish enough and decided to let it be for the night.

While cleaning, I also decided to do some pruning and moving around of plants. I put all the wisteria on the right, water sprite back left and then distributed all the other random plants I have. Moved the small rock to the center.

I think this will allow me to clean better and give the fish plenty of hiding spots while still leaving more room to swim!

 

I like it!!

 

Ooh! I also just found that someone has laid eggs in my 20L! I have seen 4 so far. One on the glass, one on a leaf and 2 in the moss. Could these be Cory eggs?


Also, should I remove them and put in a Breeder or just leave them? What are the chances that fry will be eaten?

 

Yep, those would definitely be cory eggs! If you want to try hatching them, I'd carefully remove them with some of the moss into a small food container and float it in the tank. The corys and other inhabitants may eat them if you leave them in there. Here's a nice write up by Coradee. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/raising-cory-fry.204003/

 

Eek!! I'm so excited!

 

I really hope you get them to hatch. Keep us posted!

 

I've got them in a separate container with an air stone on low!

 

Yay! So excited for you!

 

I was just sitting on the yoga ball admiring the tank and inhabitants with my toddler and noticed eggs! I spend a lot of time just gazing into this tank so I'm pretty sure they were laid yesterday or today.

 

When I had aeneus corys, they used to lay eggs at least every other week though they were all mostly eaten by the time I could get to them. I have sterbaI corys now which I got about 2 months ago and still no eggs from them. I have 10 so I would think there should be at least 1 male and 1 female in that shoal! Maybe they're too young to spawn? They're all pretty small at around 1 inch.

 

I've had my sterbai's for a couple years and they've never lain eggs. Must not be the right parameters for them in my tank.

 

Hey what should I put the temp on to be ideal for hatching? I think it's hanging around 75 right now. And these are Aeneus cories.

 

Oh hey ... with such a thorough cleaning, should I be ok just adding a dose of bacteria to the tank? I rinsed out my filter sponges (which seem to be falling apart some ... the red layer sort of dissolved!) but didn't change them out. I also have a double bio wheel on this filter.

 

I don't think you'd need to change the temp of the tank. Did you test your water parameters? If everything still checks out, I don't think you need to add any bacteria.

 

So I made a new batch of snail jello tonight. I tried using some fresh foods. Bad thing is it dissolves really a lot but good thing is the shrimp like it!



Also, I'm trying to talk my wife into letting me upgrade my 20 long to a 29. I then might move the 20L to the counter for the grow out tank and take down the 20H. Thoughts?

 

I'm stumped! Can large water changes trigger mass molts or death in amanos? I did a large water change and sand vac today on my 20 long. I moved some deco around and really tried to get all the debris up. Because my vac sucks so fast, I had to dump several buckets of fresh water in to continue to vac. I didn't touch the filter media at all. I was just sitting there looking at the tank and noticed I wasn't seeing the shrimp like I usually do. I then noticed one belly up so I started doing a head count. I count 5 belly up, 2 in the corner seemingly frozen standing side by side, one having a large red area I've never seen, and 2 unaccounted for. I checked each bucket before dumping so I don't believe I sucked anyone up.

Has doing a large water change wiped out my shrimp?

Also on my 20H that I cleaned and did the same thing with yesterday, I have noticed my snails being dormant. I picked them all up to out in a net to observe more closely and make sure they could all get a breath if needed, and 1 was actively moving in and out. 1 was completely closed and not moving at all, 2 were open and not moving, even after sitting in my hand and touching their foot (big blue being one ) and 1 sort of sucked in but not completely.

Did I murder my snails and shrimp?!

Here are the shrimp in the corner.

 

When shrimp molt they are extra sensitive. Maybe next time when they molt don't change the water for 4 days

 

Hi, when you say belly up, do you mean floating or lying on their sides? You didn't remove them did you? If you matched temperature and water hardness (GH, assuming the same water) then it could have triggered a mass molt.

Just recently I've noticed some of my shrimp are taking 24-36 hours to finish molting so I added in some more replenish to help them out. I almost took one out last night that had been there for 24 hours lying on its side and now today the white molt is there. If your other shrimp aren't eating them then I would assume they're alive still. I never knew they could take so long and mine never did before so I don't think I've been putting enough minerals in their water.

Snails can go dormant for days so if he doesn't smell I wouldn't assume they're dead yet either. I read they will sometimes go dormant right before a growth spurt too. I have one right now that hasn't moved in at least two days and I would think he is dead but I notice his foot moves a tiny bit around in his shell (in more or out more) so I don't think he's dead.

Could just be all the fresh water has brought this on, not necessarily a bad thing unless parameters were way off or you forgot to dechlorinate.

Time will tell.......

 

When shrimp molt they are extra sensitive. Maybe next time when they molt don't change the water for 4 days

I didn't see any recent shells ... I changed the water then found them like this.

 

Hi, when you say belly up, do you mean floating or lying on their sides? You didn't remove them did you? If you matched temperature and water hardness (GH, assuming the same water) then it could have triggered a mass molt.

Just recently I've noticed some of my shrimp are taking 24-36 hours to finish molting so I added in some more replenish to help them out. I almost took one out last night that had been there for 24 hours lying on its side and now today the white molt is there. If your other shrimp aren't eating them then I would assume they're alive still. I never knew they could take so long and mine never did before so I don't think I've been putting enough minerals in their water.

Snails can go dormant for days so if he doesn't smell I wouldn't assume they're dead yet either. I read they will sometimes go dormant right before a growth spurt too. I have one right now that hasn't moved in at least two days and I would think he is dead but I notice his foot moves a tiny bit around in his shell (in more or out more) so I don't think he's dead.

Could just be all the fresh water has brought this on, not necessarily a bad thing unless parameters were way off or you forgot to dechlorinate.

Time will tell.......

I didn't add replenish til later, not even thinking about the huge huge water change. Usually I just change about 50% and it doesn't drop too low. I'm hoping it wasn't shock and I committed mass murder! I have added replenish to hopefully get them back to what they are used to.

I didn't remove them from the water but I did put them in a floating container in case they were all dead they wouldn't foul the water and kill everyone else! I found all 7 laying down. Some on sides and some literally belly up. I didn't find any actually moving around. 2 are still missing. I did see a fresh molt in the corner this morning by the 2 that were standing up, but they were both laying down by then. All of them have red spots I've never seen before and sort of seem more opaque than clear.

 

Wow. How are they now?

What is your GH normally at in comparison to the new water you put in? I always add in replenish into a bucket of new water before pouring it in.

Hope they recover!

 

Wow. How are they now?

What is your GH normally at in comparison to the new water you put in? I always add in replenish into a bucket of new water before pouring it in.

Hope they recover!

I will have to start doing that now. I just never thought about it like that. I try to keep up around 8-10 and otherwise it's around 5. KH is usually 3-4 even though I use cuttlebone and aragonite. I will have to be more diligent in making sure GH is close when I add water.

 

I wouldn't think that would hurt them that fast if they're hurt or dead instead of molting. Did you match temperature? Remember to use dechlorinator?

 

I wouldn't think that would hurt them that fast if they're hurt. Did you match temperature? Remember to use dechlorinator?

I have a whole home filter but I do use Safe. I matched temp the best I could but our ground water is pretty warm still.

I also added some stress guard, but I didn't do it immediately.

 

Well I'm pretty sure they were all dead. I checked on the cup and it reeked! The water was a bit cloudy too. It hadn't even been a whole day. I'm glad I removed them from the tank!

As far as the snails go, I'm not sure if Big Blue is alive or dead. Earlier his body was really soft and he was hanging out and now he is stiffer and sort of in place but seems to move but I'm not sure. Purple is stuck to the glass but hasn't moved. Ivory is moving a bit but not much at all. One chestnut is still completely sucked in and the other is sort of open. I really hope Blue makes it!

 

That sure is terrible, I'm sorry! :console:

It was either the GH difference though I am wondering out how far off the temperature difference was, did you check after the water change to see how high it was?

 

That sure is terrible, I'm sorry! :console:

It was either the GH difference though I am wondering out how far off the temperature difference was, did you check after the water change to see how high it was?

No I didn't ... and come to think of it, the battery went out on that thermometer and I just got the new one. I should have gotten the radar one and checked. I just didn't think anything of it because it is usually only about a degree, maybe 2, different..