Dioaquatics’ Fishroom

[DioAquatics]

Came to check the female albino, no babies yet. Should I leave her in there longer or take her out and wait a day or 2 before outing her back in? coralbandit

 

[coralbandit]

Leave her in .
Feed her and just watch her next couple days .
If she is stressing out like crazy you can pull her .
Ok next trick for tank should you need to turn her loose ..My buddy in Saxony Germany turned me onto broke pot pieces on the bottom of tanks .
Pieces from 1-3 inches randomly broken..The slight curve allows nooks and crannies for fry .
Small , scattered and in piles ..The fry hide under and in the piles and it is easy to stick moss or subbwassetang to bottom and increase fry survival rate .
My 3 10 gallon with the long fin super reds and cauliflowers is packed with sunken plants broken pots and floating plants .I can't even see fry sometimes without a flashlight but they hide and survive this way ..Not saying the whites let me do that but they have same stuff in their tank .
It was last month I found many fry in the adult tank in the morning .Totally surprised and definitley the first time for any from their tank ..
FULL MOON ,no joke ! Don't give her a break till after 1/10 unless you have to ..I will be netting 3 females I think today into separate breeders..

 

[DioAquatics]

Leave her in .
Feed her and just watch her next couple days .
If she is stressing out like crazy you can pull her .
Ok next trick for tank should you need to turn her loose ..My buddy in Saxony Germany turned me onto broke pot pieces on the bottom of tanks .
Pieces from 1-3 inches randomly broken..The slight curve allows nooks and crannies for fry .
Small , scattered and in piles ..The fry hide under and in the piles and it is easy to stick moss or subbwassetang to bottom and increase fry survival rate .
My 3 10 gallon with the long fin super reds and cauliflowers is packed with sunken plants broken pots and floating plants .I can't even see fry sometimes without a flashlight but they hide and survive this way ..Not saying the whites let me do that but they have same stuff in their tank .
It was last month I found many fry in the adult tank in the morning .Totally surprised and definitley the first time for any from their tank ..
FULL MOON ,no joke ! Don't give her a break till after 1/10 unless you have to ..I will be netting 3 females I think today into separate breeders..

Alright I’ll leave her in there and feed her. She has good water movement (I drilled 1/16 holes in the bottom for water circulation and I added a small air stone turned down very low)

That could work also! I’ve thought about putting a layer of larger river rock or gravel to give the fry somewhere to hide but cleaning the detritus from that would be annoying. I might just try the broken pot trick and see how that works if she doesn’t drop fry after 1/10

 

[DioAquatics]

WE HAVE ALBINO SWORDTAILS FRY!!!! AND I MEAN ALOT OF FRY!!!!


At first I thought I only had a few fry, but as I started moving it the anubias to net mom out, they started coming from everywhere! This is awesome!

 

[coralbandit]

Now were talking !
Since they cycle in 28 ish day patterns I think you can follow the full moon now for timing !
Very nice ,congrats!
Leave them a little bit of plant to peck on and help them get comfy .

 

[DioAquatics]

Now were talking !
Since they cycle in 28 ish day patterns I think you can follow the full moon now for timing !
Very nice ,congrats!
Leave them a little bit of plant to peck on and help them get comfy .

I’ll definitely be taking that into account! The week right before the full moon, she’ll go into the breeder box.
I'm going to put back some of the smaller anubias and java ferns for them to hid and pec on

 

[DioAquatics]

Alright guys I need some opinions. I'm planning on adding a thermostatic mixing valve to the water lines I have in my basement instead of a utility sink. Reasoning behind it is, that way I can just add the right temp water to my tanks without having to manually control the hot and cold I have to mix. Also, cost is another factor. With the mixing valve, that's all I have to buy besides the water supply lines. With the utility sink, I have to buy the sink, a faucet that I can use to attach the hose to and the water supply lines.

So now, which one of these 2 mixing valves do you think I should get?

or
Rozin Solid Brass G1/2 Thermostatic Mixing Valve for Shower System Water Temperature Control, Chrome - - Amazon.com

The second has the temp on it so I "know" what the temp is coming from the output but I like the way the valves are set up on the first one. Which do you think I should go with?

 

[coralbandit]

This is what I use ;
Homewerks Homewerks 2-Handle Chrome Shower Faucet - Ace Hardware
I like to be able to control the mix easily with independent controls. To avoid having to re set them all the time I use a quarter turn faucet after the water is mixed . Simply connect hot and cold and then connect to faucet .
Use only steel braided hoses for anything under pressure or risk failure and never knowing till you go and find it ..
I have a thermometer built inline for my set up ..Here's mine


Guess who got a boat load of White Albino Swordtails[WAS] and new Ed Parker Jet Black sword within 1 day of the full moon [besides you !] ??
Now using the plant pot trays turned upside down with a small bite taken out of rI'm to make an entrance for fry to escape the parents .
Covered the bottom of the whole tank with them !
I had the WAS in net but haven't got the EP jet blacks on schedule yet since this is first spawn ..Love the lunar cycle !

Get the second one if you go with either of them and figure out real thermometer as I would never trust any thing like those to do my fish right ?

 

[DioAquatics]

This is what I use ;
Homewerks Homewerks 2-Handle Chrome Shower Faucet - Ace Hardware
I like to be able to control the mix easily with independent controls. To avoid having to re set them all the time I use a quarter turn faucet after the water is mixed . Simply connect hot and cold and then connect to faucet .
Use only steel braided hoses for anything under pressure or risk failure and never knowing till you go and find it ..
I have a thermometer built inline for my set up ..Here's mine


Guess who got a boat load of White Albino Swordtails[WAS] and new Ed Parker Jet Black sword within 1 day of the full moon [besides you !] ??
Now using the plant pot trays turned upside down with a small bite taken out of rI'm to make an entrance for fry to escape the parents .
Covered the bottom of the whole tank with them !
I had the WAS in net but haven't got the EP jet blacks on schedule yet since this is first spawn ..Love the lunar cycle !

Get the second one if you go with either of them and figure out real thermometer as I would never trust any thing like those to do my fish right ?

I might use that same one you use, seems easy to use and doesn't need to be attached to an actual sink. I'll have to look more into it and see which I like more. I'll definitely be doing using steel braided lines for sure, I've already learned what happens when hose is under pressure...

How did you build the thermometer inline? I'm looking up some inline thermometers but I don't know how I'd build it in.

Congrats on the swords! I might need to get some of the blacks from you soon lol I'm waiting for my alpha females to drop so I can get the fry from them. I'm loving the excitement of getting fry, even if they're "just" livebearers.

 

[coralbandit]

This is the thermometer I got .It threads into a T I installed in-between the mixing station and shut off.


I love it ! I went through 2 digital shower thermometer that were junk although digital was nice .
I will take pictures of how I prepped the pot bottoms .They scored me a bunch of new Jet blacks in the first 2 days of use [ just in time is more like it !] .. I used pliers just to take a bite out 2 or 3 times around the tray [3 inch] and then added them upside down ..I thank an old friend Arthur in Saxony for this tip .It is as good as packing the breeder net for making a difference !

 

[DioAquatics]

This is the thermometer I got .It threads into a T I installed in-between the mixing station and shut off.


I love it ! I went through 2 digital shower thermometer that were junk although digital was nice .
I will take pictures of how I prepped the pot bottoms .They scored me a bunch of new Jet blacks in the first 2 days of use [ just in time is more like it !] .. I used pliers just to take a bite out 2 or 3 times around the tray [3 inch] and then added them upside down ..I thank an old friend Arthur in Saxony for this tip .It is as good as packing the breeder net for making a difference !

Does that thermometer come with the T also?
I looked at those digital shower thermometers and was thinking of getting that but the reviews I saw aren’t too good.
I might just try the pot bottoms in the alpha tank just to see if I get good results. I was also thinking of taking some larger river rocks and just covering the entire bottom of the tank with them.

 

[coralbandit]

I got the T at hardware store with hoses and fittings .
I like to have what I am fitting with me to keep the trips under double digits !
Between the 2 inch stem and threads I need to se it fit to be convinced ..That and made sure the T fit the hose and short brass extension I used from mixing station ..So much goes into such a simple little thing .Once you get it right you will not regret it .
Stay away from the shower therms .Maybe pressure made them fail but I went through 2 in under 2 years ..

 

[DioAquatics]

I got the T at hardware store with hoses and fittings .
I like to have what I am fitting with me to keep the trips under double digits !
Between the 2 inch stem and threads I need to se it fit to be convinced ..That and made sure the T fit the hose and short brass extension I used from mixing station ..So much goes into such a simple little thing .Once you get it right you will not regret it .
Stay away from the shower therms .Maybe pressure made them fail but I went through 2 in under 2 years ..

Looks like I’ll be taking a trip to the hardware store to make sure I get the right fittings. Thankfully I live close to a Home Depot so it won’t be that annoying if I have to make a few trips

 

[jmaldo]

Interesting!
Thanks Guys "Good" info, if I ever decide to setup a system.

I like to have what I am fitting with me

Agree!

Happy plumbing.

Learning all the Time.

 

[DioAquatics]

Got my mixing valve from Amazon today I also ordered a 35ft water drinking hose so I can use this to fill the tanks. All I need to get now are the stainless steel braided water lines from home depot and my water change system will be good to go
I’m excited to be able to do these water changes so much easier, carrying 5 gallon buckets down to the basement was a hassle

 

[DioAquatics]

I think another one of my albino females is dropping fry! I went down to the fishroom to feed the fry and I found 2 fry swimming outside of the breeder box. I immediately scooped them up and put them in with the rest of the fry.
I don’t have any other breeder boxes so I put this “together”.

All I did was throw a piece of that mesh material stuff and basically sectioned off a corner of the tank. If any fry are born, they can swim to this section and hide there “safely” until I can scoop them out and into the breeder box.
The 2 fry I found were at the surface of the water so I’m not too sure how well this is going to work but I’m hoping a can save a few more fry at least.

Edit: I moved all of the anubias that’s in this tank over to the same side as the mesh, hoping the female feels safe over there and drops her fry. The fry can either swim in the anubias, or drop behind the mesh.

 

[DioAquatics]

My water change system/contraption is alive and working! Had to buy the right fittings to make everything work but I did it! The thermostatic mixing valve seems to work great. Tested it out with the different temps and it gets gets pretty cold (18C) and really hot. Only thing I need to buy is a metal shut off valve so I can turn the water on and off at the end of the hose. I’ll probably run out tomorrow to get that.

 

[DioAquatics]

My water change contraption is done! Got the shut off valve and a T pvc fitting so the water isn't shooting right into the tank. Tested it out and the outflow is still really strong so I’ll only be opening it part way. Time for easy water changes!

 

[DioAquatics]

Quick fishroom update.
Did my first water change with my new water change contraption and let me tell you, easiest water changes I’ve ever done down in the fishroom. It worked perfect!

Now for the fish. So as mention before, I had some disease hit my 20L alpha sword/super red pleco tank and it wiped out almost everything. I was left with 2 adult female swords, and one juvie male super red pleco. I’m gonna have to buy some more super reds from coralbandit soon. I did get some fry from the female alphas, only 6 though. From what I can tell, I have 2 males and 4 female fry (if their sex goes by color).
Here’s the young male super red pleco.


The 6 alpha ry


The albino swords in the second 20L are doing great. Waiting for another female to drop so I can get more


I put my Para Pleco in the albino sword tank a couple weeks back and he/she is doing great! I put a cave in there so it can hide but it’s not using it yet.


The third 20L with the 24k gold wcmm are doing well also. No breeding from them but that’s expected since I don't have a heater in that tank.


The last 20L with the 2 regular wcmm are doing good too. Same situation as the goldens. Pretty much treating them as if they were outside in a pond.


Lastly, I’m not sure if everyone remembers but I bred my silvertip tetras a few month back in a 10g. Well out of I’m not sure how many fry, only 2 of them are alive from what I can tell. I did see some smaller fry a while back but I haven’t seen them in a long time. These 2 are growing great and I’m super excited to put them in the 75 gallon once they're bigger.

 

[coralbandit]

Nice on the water changer ! Don't leave it under pressure when you are done !
Find more fittings so you can hang it on the tanks while filling ..
I have a bunch of the ruby red alphas that are slow turning to males if the sex color thing stays the same ..Slow ,but still only 2 ever red alpha male and the second one is still changing at like a year old !
I am loaded with both the BNP and alphas ..Working on long fin ruby reds for the alphas ! They have thrown red alpha color fry but not sure if those will be long fin or not ?

 

[DioAquatics]

Nice on the water changer ! Don't leave it under pressure when you are done !
Find more fittings so you can hang it on the tanks while filling ..
I have a bunch of the ruby red alphas that are slow turning to males if the sex color thing stays the same ..Slow ,but still only 2 ever red alpha male and the second one is still changing at like a year old !
I am loaded with both the BNP and alphas ..Working on long fin ruby reds for the alphas ! They have thrown red alpha color fry but not sure if those will be long fin or not ?

Definitely. I shut off the water and relieve the pressure after I finish the water changes. I was thinking about that! Possibly getting some pvc to make one of those U shaped attachments.
I want to get some more breeder boxes that way I can continue to get as many fry as possible. When the temps warm up, I want to move the swords from the 20L to 40B. I think it would be pretty cool to have a reverse alpha breeding group with ruby red females and alpha males.
Oh I’d love some long fin ruby reds! Just take my wallet and charge me for all your fish lol!

 

[Geoff]

Hey guys! Long time no see! I know, I'm terrible, I disappeared lol. When did the Fishlore layout change??

Anyway, looks like a lot of exciting things going on in your fish room Dio! Sorry about your losses though, but congrats on the additions!

 

[DioAquatics]

Hey guys! Long time no see! I know, I'm terrible, I disappeared lol. When did the Fishlore layout change??

Anyway, looks like a lot of exciting things going on in your fish room Dio! Sorry about your losses though, but congrats on the additions!

No worries, I disappeared for a little myself lol. The layout changed a while back, don’t remember exactly when though.

Yea I’ve got some fun stuff happening in the fishroom. More to come In the next few weeks Thanks for checking in! Hope you're back for good this time lol

 

[Geoff]

No worries, I disappeared for a little myself lol. The layout changed a while back, don’t remember exactly when though.

Yea I’ve got some fun stuff happening in the fishroom. More to come In the next few weeks Thanks for checking in! Hope you're back for good this time lol

I tend to drop off in the cold months lol. So it might be a while before I get back in the swing of things!

 

[DioAquatics]

I tend to drop off in the cold months lol. So it might be a while before I get back in the swing of things!

I don’t blame you lol not much really going on when its cold like this.

 

[coralbandit]

I tend to drop off in the cold months lol. So it might be a while before I get back in the swing of things!

I don’t blame you lol not much really going on when its cold like this.

I am just the opposite !
Too much work and too hot in the fish room in the summer ..
Never seem to have enough time and never nearly as much as now ..
I love winter in the fish room !

 

[DioAquatics]

I am just the opposite !
Too much work and too hot in the fish room in the summer ..
Never seem to have enough time and never nearly as much as now ..
I love winter in the fish room !

Thankfully my basement fishroom stays decent temps in the summer so its never too hot for me. I actually prefer to sit down there, relax and watch my fish

 

[DioAquatics]

Took a last minute trip to NJ today and met up with DarkOne at discus madness. I didn't buy anything there today but I did get another 25 sterbaI corys from Bobby. I ended up putting 15 in my alpha sword tank and the other 10 in the albino sword tank. They’ll stay in there until I go my substrate change in the 75g. I may keep a few in the sword tanks just as some bottom dwellers. No pictures yet, fishroom lights were off.

 

[DioAquatics]

Here’s the sterbaI in the alpha tank


The sterbaI in the albino tank with my para pleco


And for fun, got a shot of my para pleco actually using the cave I put in there

 

[coralbandit]

Those sterbaI look good .
Bobby has the cories down ! I am very happy with the ones he gave me ..
The para is hot ! Does he stay that color ? How big ??
I was there when you got this ??

 

[FinalFins]

Also curious about the para pleco. Looks neat

 

[DioAquatics]

Those sterbaI look good .
Bobby has the cories down ! I am very happy with the ones he gave me ..
The para is hot ! Does he stay that color ? How big ??
I was there when you got this ??

Bobby has some of the nicest sterbai. He mentioned today that his seem to breed 90% with orange pectoral and analfins unlike most others he's seen so I'm happy with that.
His color will stay the same but the pattern in going to change a bit. He'll lose the stripes on his back and they'll become spots which I love so I'm looking forward to him getting big. Max size is around 10 inches so I'm guessing he'll get to 9ish inches fully grown?
This is the pleco Bobby twisted my arm to get at AE! Super glad I got the push lol

 

[DarkOne]

I still have 2 cory species I have that I want to breed (AgassizI and Sodalis) but I think I might have to start breeding my SterbaI again. Now that my OLCs are breeding, how many do you want?

The L075 Para Pleco (Sabaji) can get to 10" and they usually keep the color. I got 2 a couple of months ago and one died. The other seems to be doing really well so I don't know what happened. They are more outgoing than most plecos, especially when you drop some food into the tank. They're not aggressive and are gorgeous when they get bigger.

 

[coralbandit]

So he'll spot up like his front half ?
That will look awesome !
I might have a tank that a 10" fish could fit in ..
That para is a display tank /museum quality fish ..

The SterbaI from Bobby do have awesome color ..I havethem in with the discus and they are eating all day !
Funny watching them zip all over ..They really do seem like good safe cleaners for fry tanks ..

 

[DioAquatics]

I still have 2 cory species I have that I want to breed (AgassizI and Sodalis) but I think I might have to start breeding my SterbaI again. Now that my OLCs are breeding, how many do you want?

The L075 Para Pleco (Sabaji) can get to 10" and they usually keep the color. I got 2 a couple of months ago and one died. The other seems to be doing really well so I don't know what happened. They are more outgoing than most plecos, especially when you drop some food into the tank. They're not aggressive and are gorgeous when they get bigger.

Breed them all lol keep the sterbaI breeding dude. Especially since they got nice coloring. I'll take 20 OLC lol! Don't know where I'll put them but I want them.

Even if he does get 10 inches, I plan on upgrading to a 180g in the next year or 2 so he'll have a nice big home to live in. I love the coloring they have, and the spots when they get bigger are gorgeous.

 

[DioAquatics]

So he'll spot up like his front half ?
That will look awesome !
I might have a tank that a 10" fish could fit in ..
That para is a display tank /museum quality fish ..

The SterbaI from Bobby do have awesome color ..I havethem in with the discus and they are eating all day !
Funny watching them zip all over ..They really do seem like good safe cleaners for fry tanks ..

Yea he'll be completely spotted like the front half.
He'll be going in my 75 gallon in a few months so he'll be my display pleco for sure. I see a 180g in my future so I'll be totally fine with a 10 inch fish in a 6ft tank.
The ones in my 75 sometimes swim all up and down the glass, usually during water changes but they haven't done that in a while. I'll be adding the new guys after my substrate change/rescape.

 

[DarkOne]

Corydoras make great CUCs but SterbaI aren't cheap so not too many people use them unless they breed them or have a hookup . They're also much more enjoyable to watch in larger groups (12+). Juvenile plecos (BN's usually) are also good for cleanup.

Yea he'll be completely spotted like the front half.
He'll be going in my 75 gallon in a few months so he'll be my display pleco for sure. I see a 180g in my future so I'll be totally fine with a 10 inch fish in a 6ft tank.
The ones in my 75 sometimes swim all up and down the glass, usually during water changes but they haven't done that in a while. I'll be adding the new guys after my substrate change/rescape.

Large plecos usually grow to about 75% of their full size in the first year or two and then take 3-5 yrs to grow the rest so a 180g won't be needed for a few years.

Try doing 2 large water changes in 2 consecutive days. Most of my cories respond really well to bigger water changes or daily w/c's.

 

[DioAquatics]

Corydoras make great CUCs but SterbaI aren't cheap so not too many people use them unless they breed them or have a hookup . They're also much more enjoyable to watch in larger groups (12+). Juvenile plecos (BN's usually) are also good for cleanup.

Large plecos usually grow to about 75% of their full size in the first year or two and then take 3-5 yrs to grow the rest so a 180g won't be needed for a few years.

Try doing 2 large water changes in 2 consecutive days. Most of my cories respond really well to bigger water changes or daily w/c's.

I guess its a good thing I know a guy who's breeding some high quality corys lol hopefully I can get the corys to breed when they're of age. I want to breed my female lemon BN plecos so I need a male. I wanted to get one today at DM but none of the juvies they had showed signs of being male so I opted out.

Yea I’m not expecting this guy to get to 10 inches soon so the 180 won't be immediate and not specically for hime. I want the 180 for larger schools of rainbows, silvertips and corys

I may try that. I tested my water parameters the other day and everything was the same as its always been. The nitrates were at 40ppm so I did a big 60% wc and it went down to 10-20ppm. I might test again tomorrow before weekly wc’s to see how high its gotten in the week.

 

[DarkOne]

There's more to water chemistry than the 3 we normally test for. I find that big water changes usually makes a difference even with low nitrates.

 

[DioAquatics]

There's more to water chemistry than the 3 we normally test for. I find that big water changes usually makes a difference even with low nitrates.

Very true. I’ll be doing a big water change tomorrow anyway so hopefully they start acting like cories should again. I loved seeing these guys swimming up and down and across the glass

 

[DioAquatics]

Made the water change system even easier. Now I can hook this over the side of the tank instead of holding it in place.
Time to test it out

 

[coralbandit]

Coors light in the reflection game ! Always playing .. I have one in my hand ironically !
Nice there and you can make longer or shorter or use a T at end instead of 90...
I have similar for draining water also ..Something to think about ..
When water changes get easier and you do more your fish will thank you ..
Clean water is highly under rated ...

 

[DioAquatics]

Coors light in the reflection game ! Always playing .. I have one in my hand ironically !
Nice there and you can make longer or shorter or use a T at end instead of 90...
I have similar for draining water also ..Something to think about ..
When water changes get easier and you do more your fish will thank you ..
Clean water is highly under rated ...

Always have it on hand lol!
I actually like the length this one is, just long enough for the 20L and the 40B too! I might add some T connections at the end but that's a maybe.
For water draining, I have the tanks drilled and pvc with a ball valve. Just need to get a hose so I can connect it to the pvc and drain it straight to the sump.
I’m hoping to see happier fish now that wc’s are easier.

 

[DioAquatics]

Threw the Christmas moss Bobby gave me in the alpha tank.


The pilo moss went with the albinos. Hoping this creates more hiding spots for the fry if any are born before I can get them.

 

[DioAquatics]

Welp, I lost my last male super red bn pleco. No idea why, I've been feeding the tank a bunch now that the 15 corys are in it and it gets 50% wc's weekly. Anyway, nothing else new to report in the fishroom beside the fact I found another baby albino sword hiding in between the grow out tab and the glass so another female dropped. I'm fine with not collecting them all since I don't have another tub for the female to drop fry in. I want to get some of those marina breeder boxes for the tanks so I can have a place for the females to drop. I am patiently waiting for the female alphas to drop so I can get more of them.

 

[DioAquatics]

Well turns out that one of my 2 “female” alpha swords is actually a male..... I can’t believe it’s taken this long for a sword to start developing on him. I’m going tI have to separate this guy from my female ASAP. I just need to figure out where I’m going to put him.

 

[JLeeM]

Well turns out that one of my 2 “female” alpha swords is actually a male..... I can’t believe it’s taken this long for a sword to start developing on him. I’m going tI have to separate this guy from my female ASAP. I just need to figure out where I’m going to put him.
View attachment 659987

It's so unusual looking!

 

[DioAquatics]

It's so unusual looking!

I know! I kind of like it though.
I want to see if maybe I can get a reverse alpha colony going with alpha males and ruby red females

 

[coralbandit]

That's funny ! Well?
My whole group of 4-5 month old juvies shows all females !
They are slowing down showing ..Yours is probably a year old at least now ..
They say better late then never but when it comes to deciding what sex you are I don't know ?
I should be planning my next trip down to DM or at least get the talk going ..
I could bring you down what ever you wanted ..My long fin super reds have thrown alpha red/blacks so I think I want to breed only that line ..

 

[DioAquatics]

That's funny ! Well?
My whole group of 4-5 month old juvies shows all females !
They are slowing down showing ..Yours is probably a year old at least now ..
They say better late then never but when it comes to deciding what sex you are I don't know ?
I should be planning my next trip down to DM or at least get the talk going ..
I could bring you down what ever you wanted ..My long fin super reds have thrown alpha red/blacks so I think I want to breed only that line ..

I knew that with swords some of them mature late but after a year?! Dude cmon lol
I was thinking about my next trip down there too. Not too sure when but getting some talk going would be fine with me.
Ooooo long fin super reds would be nice. I’ll let you know if I want anything from you