What are you doing to your tank today?

Did the weekly waterchange yesterday and untangled all the pennywort floating in the tank, removing a good amount. While doing so I found a dead pencilfish, which must have died more than 2 weeks before, as I wasn't able to count all fish due to the amount of plants and that was the last time I counted a number of what should be there. As I have no snails or shrimp in the tank and bacteria and fungi are also rather low profile (well, with a pH of 5.5... what to expect?) the fish was still quite complete. Decomposition outside the leaf litter is slow in my tank.

Anyhow, one casualty almost 2 months after introducing the fish is a good quota i my book.
 

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I'll be thinning out the lilies in my 27g today.
I don't know which ones are supposed to be the Dwarf, but they are taking over. Yesterday I could only count one Cherry Barb. The others might be hanging out in the back of the tank, but I can't see through the lilies into their usual spots. I hope trimming leaves off the bush doesn't shock the plant.
 

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After collecting the kids I will be glueing some rocks together , hopefully they’ll fit together right into what’s in my head. I just have to find the hitch hiker shrimp first so I’m not taking her out of the tank accidentally !! I wasn’t ready for this commitment:D

I’ve also ordered a new backing for this tank , fitted a new air stone and a new heater.

I’ve been researching led lights as this RUBBISH one keeps breaking and I want to make this tank into a decently planted one so any suggestions for a 70L that will fit with a lid will be appreciated as it’s making my brain hurt now !
 
I just did a parameter check on my 20g hi. It picked the perfect time to be cycled.
7.2-0-0-15. Not due for a WC for a couple days. And my 8 Corys are loving it.

I'm thinking about going with Ember Tetras now though instead of the Chilis.
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Posted 35 minutes after the other post above...

Oh NO!
I think I know why my Cherry Barbs are in hiding. I just saw a female scoot behind the water sprite when I went to feed. That's unusual. And when I looked down I saw what was left of my beautiful red male with large bites out of its side :(

No wonder my Flame Gouramis have been going into the heavy cover instead of hanging out in their usual spots. And no wonder they have started looking so big. They may be put into the relocation program.
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Another update (slow forum today it seems)

I netted the more aggressive of the pair. All I had to do was wait and see who chased who. The one is always heckling the other, but at least not biting it and they still hang out together, too. So I netted him and ran him into the LFS.

When I got back home The other was still cruising through the heavily planted area, but I was able to see three female Cherry Barbs hanging out in front of the planted area, so maybe he was looking for his buddy/tormentor.
Maybe I will luck out and I'll still have the other five. Either way I may rehome this guy once my 20 cube is built and cycled. Unless he screws up. Then it's off to the LFS.

They were such a pretty pair, too. Peaceful community fish my butt, lol.
 
I just did a parameter check on my 20g hi. It picked the perfect time to be cycled.
7.2-0-0-15. Not due for a WC for a couple days. And my 8 Corys are loving it.

I'm thinking about going with Ember Tetras now though instead of the Chilis.
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Posted 35 minutes after the other post above...

Oh NO!
I think I know why my Cherry Barbs are in hiding. I just saw a female scoot behind the water sprite when I went to feed. That's unusual. And when I looked down I saw what was left of my beautiful red male with large bites out of its side :(

No wonder my Flame Gouramis have been going into the heavy cover instead of hanging out in their usual spots. And no wonder they have started looking so big. They may be put into the relocation program.
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Another update (slow forum today it seems)

I netted the more aggressive of the pair. All I had to do was wait and see who chased who. The one is always heckling the other, but at least not biting it and they still hang out together, too. So I netted him and ran him into the LFS.

When I got back home The other was still cruising through the heavily planted area, but I was able to see three female Cherry Barbs hanging out in front of the planted area, so maybe he was looking for his buddy/tormentor.
Maybe I will luck out and I'll still have the other five. Either way I may rehome this guy once my 20 cube is built and cycled. Unless he screws up. Then it's off to the LFS.

They were such a pretty pair, too. Peaceful community fish my butt, lol.
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Yep it gets slooooooow like that sometimes...lol

I got my Eheim in a bucket of water hopefully so I can get it the right temp for the shrimp tank.

Meanwhile my Ludwegia still seems to be good and the roots on my dwarf water lettuce are growing pretty quickly right now. I pulled all of the Salvinia minima from the 5g as it was turning brown. I left the lettuce and the giant duckweed.
20210920_170508.jpg
 

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I just had a stressful couple of days. Yesterday morning I did water changes on the festivums’ tank and the Laetacara fry tank. That was all fine. Then pm it was time for the big tank, which always takes a while. Last week I had cleaned out the canister filter, and yesterday I decided it was time to clean the top filters. One of these receives the outflow from the canister, while the other is operated by a separate pump (the tank is 1.6m long). Of course I turned off the canister to do this, but when I switched it back on again nothing happened. The pump was running but not pumping. I asked my husband to help and we messed around, stopping and starting it, priming it (though we had checked it was full), to no avail, so my husband took it to the workshop to have a closer look. Found that the pump is a totally sealed unit with no way of taking it apart. Put it back together and tried again, apparently my husband swearing at it did the trick as it finally started working without really doing anything else. Of course I still had the rest of the water change to do so this took all afternoon. Finally I lit our fire, made a cup of tea and sat down to relax. Then 2 minutes later the power went off! We don’t very often get power cuts these days, and when we do they are usually fixed quickly. Electricity company said they were working on it, but we waited in the dark until 9.30, then gave up and went to bed. I was worried about the fish, especially the fry that are in a small tank, so I could not sleep well. This morning the power was still off (a tree had fallen on the cables and they could not fix it in the dark). The Laetacara fry tank (only 40l) was down to 20C, but they looked OK. I changed some of the water for warmer as leaving it it would go down to about 16. The other tanks were still in range at 22 and 24C (normally at 26). Of course none of the filters were working, so we set up our small generator for the big tank. Meanwhile the others were getting cooler. Power finally came back on at 11 am having gone off at 6 the day before. All the fish seem fine luckily…
 
I just ordered another mini Hygger sponge filter and pump for the 20 high.
I'm getting a little biofilm on the surface. It took care of the problem in the 27, so I imagine it will work in the 20. I'll shift the Tidal 35 over a bit to hide the sponge.
 
I'm counting five Cherry Barbs :)
There are five out and about and hanging in relative close proximity. That means the sociopath only took out my male. Yay. And in the sociopath's defense, that male didn't reach the top of the water column by being a nice guy. He stressed out a few CB's early on by relentlessly chasing them. And I'm pretty sure that's why I don't have any more shrimp in this tank.

So, I was looking today when dropping off the instigator and the LFS had one male CB. And he was decent size, like he could have been in this group. Minus the shrimp cocktails.
I think I might pull the trigger on him and a couple more females. The other Gourami seems to be behaving himself. Although he does seem a bit stressed, too. I know he's looking for his bully/buddy.
 

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My betta is moody, so I did a small water change. After that, he seemed to finally want to eat. Don't know what his issue is. He is so pampered and catered to, it's unreal! Maybe a couple of fast days will get him straight. Bet he won't turn his nose up at whatever I am feeding him again! :rolleyes:
 
Made a light mount for my mangroves.

BEC4BDC8-EB4E-483C-96D9-D53D7000A447.jpeg4B232CCF-1AF0-4E79-AC81-B51E4E80D624.jpeg

Purple was the only color paint I had. But that’s fine, it’s sunk into a purple vase lol
 
Added a small piece of marble pothos to my tank. I already had a plain green variety that has grown all across the back of the tank (I guess 100+ leaves); but i really wanted some that was marbled. Hopefully it will develop some interesting patterns.
 
Power flicker today. The Hygger light seems to have remembered where it was in the 24/7 program, but not the Finnex. So in a few minutes I'll be resetting the Finnex since I'm awake anyway.
I'm not usually awake at midnight. The blue lighting in the Hygger looks pretty cool.

I got an email tonight saying my Ember Tetras have shipped. I ordered them Sat and really expected them to ship Mon, but hopefully USPS will get them here before the weekend. They're coming from WA state. My Seiryu stone shipped, too. That also took several days to get moving. I ordered that last Thurs. Must be an aquarium thing. Seems everything I buy that is directly from a store takes a while to process. Maybe they are one man shows.

I also ordered some stone for the substrate in my new 20. That should be here Fri delivered to my local Ace. I drove into HD for the stone, but they could not find it. 90 bags of one and 55 of the other... It was bugging me so I called after I got back home and whoever I spoke with found it. She said I had a new guy helping me, but I already had it ordered with Ace. I wasn't going to drive back again anyway.

It's hard trying to be patient with my new build, but I've got enough to do with my other tanks until the stones get here. Including running to the LFS to pick up some more Tetras when I see what size I'm getting. I wanted 15, but the store won't ship 15. Gotta be 10 or 20. Because apparently counting to five makes it a custom order... Scratching my head on that logic.
 
Sitting by the door, waiting for delivery of buce "brownie ghost"
 
I got the little sponge filter and pump in today. I hung it on the back of my 20 hi. It took less than an hour to make the scum/bio film on the surface crystal clear. I really thought I'd have to blot some out, or suck it up with a bottle, but that was not the case :)

Come to think of it, that tank gets its WC today.
 
I just got back from the PO and am acclimating my Ember Tetras as I type.
I hope they color up better than that Java Moss.
Sept 23 Tetras.JPG

I'm also expecting my new light today, so will put that on my 27 cube. Maybe it will wake up my Glossostigma.
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Man, they are really looking great in there.
I wish I could have purchased five more from the store. Fifteen would be perfect.
If I buy five more locally I hope they school with these ten.
 
No pictures but this week I had two projects: First remove most of my mystery snails. While they were cute at first they have become a real pest. I did manage to remove over 50 of them; though i know that i missed at least 6 in one aquarium. One thing I also noticed is the aquarium with the majority of them (which had around 35 removed) the water is a *lot* clearer.

The other project is i picked up some more borelli apisto. 5 to be exact (2m 3f). Right now they are all in the 5 gallon aquarium where i can observe them. The 2 males were flashing a little at each other this morning but no other hostilities (they are rather young and not yet mature). Assuming they behave for the next 2 or 3 weeks I'll let them chill in the 5 before sep. them as they get moved to more permanent homes.
 
I thinned out the herd in my 20 High. I netted four out of the eight Corys I had in there and sent them packing.
The LFS had me thinking they were only going to grow to one inch, but I found out they grow to 2-1/2". And they were clearly disrupting the school of Ember Tetras I added today. Those green/bronze Corys were swimming fools. Clearly my tank was much too small for eight of them, even though they were still small.

So into the LFS I went, Corys in hand.
While there I was told they had gotten my Pygmies in. So I left with six Habrosus/Venezuelan/Salt and Pepper/... Corys for my nano tank and got the five more Ember Tetras I wanted, too.

Still waiting on that light Amazon is delivering...
 

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This is what a typical Thursday night looks like at my place.

20210923_234125.jpg
 
Whew. That was rough.
I just counted the Embers in my one tank. Looks like all 15 survived the night.

I'm only accounting for three of the Pygmies in my nano though. But there are lots of places to hide. Maybe the missing three didn't want to hang out with the three I saw.
 
Weekly water change, and a little clean up in my betta tank. Something is going on with him that I can't put my finger on yet. He is giving off a lot of air bubbles, and going to the top to get air. But it doesn't look like he is struggling to breathe, and he isn't bloated, no trouble swimming, etc. Will just have to keep a very close eye on him.
 
Rinsing stone, rinsing sand, rinsing more stone...
Getting prepped for my 20g cube build.

Not too happy with my order from Buce. Their description said the stones would range from 3" to 12". And I put a special note on my order saying make sure there are at least three close to 12", but I didn't get one. Without having my tape measure on me, I'd be surprised if any are over 8-9". Lots of what I'd call medium stones.

IMG_0407.jpg

I'll probably have to place an order on Etsy and hope they are a color match.

ETA: I was poking around the bottom of some of my plants in my nano and now have five Pygmy Corys accounted for. And a shrimp! How is it possible to hide that long and never be seen?
 
did a 50% water change on my 38 gallon because it looked trashy.

I'm saving my new gravel vacuum for the blue lobster tank. I just like the cheap flimsy vacuum better and find it easier to use.

did 8 of 10 tanks water changes( most get between 25-30% w/c); the other 2 tanks - 8 gallon Biorb and 55 gallon I do on Tuesdays.

I'm growing out the baby betta and will add her to the 20 gallon once she gets stronger. The 1st day I had her, the low flow filter just sucked her to it. she's weaker in her tail. she lounges on plants - fake and real. seems to be doing okay and growing in size. nearly x the size as when I got here. Cannot wait to see her final look

Guppies are getting much bigger!!! I have 1 male in the guppy fry that I can see. his coloring is really coming in


pic is 38 gallon, Betta & black neon' Guppies
 

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I did a water change vacuum, and cleaned out the filter.
 
I just ordered some more Seiryu stone from an Etsy seller. Last night I arranged and rearranged the ones Buce sent me but can only use a few of them. I sure wish someone local sold Seiryu so I could pick them out in person. The chance you take buying online I guess.

So I won't be doing anything to my tanks today except the usual WC in my nano trying to keep the trites in check.
 

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Trying to figure out if my 2 month old gourami fry is big enough to release into the main tank yet. Since it loves to get stuck in/on the filter, I need to make sure its head is too fat to go through the slats. Because the 29g filter will, indeed, kill it this time with its motor. No sitting pretty in the reservoir until I rescue it...
 
Trying to figure out if my 2 month old gourami fry is big enough to release into the main tank yet. Since it loves to get stuck in/on the filter, I need to make sure its head is too fat to go through the slats. Because the 29g filter will, indeed, kill it this time with its motor. No sitting pretty in the reservoir until I rescue it...
Click to expand...
Try pantyhose on the intake :)
 
I ended up messing around with my tanks.
I did a before and after parameter check on my nano before a WC and the after was finally 0 ammonia and 0 trites! Yay. I'm not sure if adding the sponge filter media from my more established tank did it, or the switch from Seachem Prime to Aquatic Experts Tank First Conditioner. for it's daily dosing after the WC. But I do like the Aquatic Experts dosing measurement better. One cap treats 10g is much easier to figure than one cap treats 50g when working with small tanks.

I also trimmed my beautiful plant in the 27 and added the shoots to my 20 high. That thing is a growing fool. Hopefully they do as well in the 20, but no potting soil substrate in that one. They'll fill in the one bare corner nicely. Actually, one would fill it in nicely, but I'm doubling my chances :)

And I found two dead Pygmy Corys :(
Three are accounted for and one missing.
I think I am sensing a pattern. The LFS gets their new fish in on one day, and I am often in there the following day. Just a guess, but I'm thinking the travel time and acclimating to two tanks in a 24 hour period can't be good. I'm going to start having them hold my fish if I see something I like and they haven't had it long.

Oh, and I've noticed I have three rogue Ember Tetras. I have no way of telling if they were part of the five I got from the LFS to add to the ten I bought online, but they always seem to be off by themselves until it's feeding time. And one even more so. Funny the things you notice.
 
My Luds are still kicking and growing some roots. The lettuce is growing fast also :D
20210924_190241.jpg
 
My Luds are still kicking and growing some roots. The lettuce is growing fast also :D
Click to expand...
How do you like the filtration of those Flex tanks?
 
How do you like the filtration of those Flex tanks?
Click to expand...
So far for me its been fantastic. No heater in the tank. I like it. But saying that I only have a Betta and a few snails in there. Its a 9g. I also have the outlets baffled with intake sponges because its too strong for the betta. So not much goes into the filter part. I put a piece of filter floss in the first compartment and the 2 times I cleaned the sponge it was really clean still. Its been set up since the beginning of May.
 
So far for me its been fantastic. No heater in the tank. I like it. But saying that I only have a Betta and a few snails in there. Its a 9g. I also have the outlets baffled with intake sponges because its too strong for the betta. So not much goes into the filter part. I put a piece of filter floss in the first compartment and the 2 times I cleaned the sponge it was really clean still. Its been set up since the beginning of May.
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So I have a neighbor that I managed to get hooked in the aquarium hobby she ended up buying that exact tank (9g Flex). And of course I had to help her get it going. I did the same thing with the floss in the first compartment and i dont think its ever really gotten dirty. Inspite of my advice she started out with a bunch of Petsmart glow tetras because "they were so cute and pretty" and she threw them in there mid cycle...I think she has 1 left so I introduced her to the folks at the real fish store and now she has some good fish and a frog.

I was just asking because at a point in time i considered getting the 15g but Im just not a huge fan of that "internal sump" style filter.
Not that there is anything wrong with it. I bet its great as a betta tank.
 
So I have a neighbor that I managed to get hooked in the aquarium hobby she ended up buying that exact tank (9g Flex). And of course I had to help her get it going. I did the same thing with the floss in the first compartment and i dont think its ever really gotten dirty. Inspite of my advice she started out with a bunch of Petsmart glow tetras because "they were so cute and pretty" and she threw them in there mud cycle...I think she has 1 left so I introduced her to the folks at the real fish store and now she has some good fish and a frog.

I was just asking because at a point in time i considered getting the 15g but Im just not a huge fan of that "internal sump" style filter.
Not that there is anything wrong with it. I bet its great as a betta tank.
Click to expand...
When I set mine up I used the rings it came with in the bottom hole of the sponge and tossed the carbon bag and put a super seeded sponge filter sponge in that hole. Worked like a charm since the sponge was from my 55g to clean for a betta and nerite snail...lol Heater in the pump compartment so I can see the light from outside. I like it. I just have a air stone in my tank because with the flow baffled I was getting surface film. Now its all good.
 

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So I have a neighbor that I managed to get hooked in the aquarium hobby she ended up buying that exact tank (9g Flex). And of course I had to help her get it going. I did the same thing with the floss in the first compartment and i dont think its ever really gotten dirty. Inspite of my advice she started out with a bunch of Petsmart glow tetras because "they were so cute and pretty" and she threw them in there mid cycle...I think she has 1 left so I introduced her to the folks at the real fish store and now she has some good fish and a frog.

I was just asking because at a point in time i considered getting the 15g but Im just not a huge fan of that "internal sump" style filter.
Not that there is anything wrong with it. I bet its great as a betta tank.
Click to expand...
I keep Rams in a 32.5 Flex and use a 15 Flex as a grow-out tank for Ram fry.

I’d recommend both tanks without any hesitation (other than the unhinged lids) and will likely buy another at some point.
 
I keep Rams in a 32.5 Flex and use a 15 Flex as a grow-out tank for Ram fry.

I’d recommend both tanks without any hesitation (other than the unhinged lids) and will likely buy another at some point.
Click to expand...
How many and what kind of rams in the 32?
 
How many and what kind of rams in the 32?
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I’ve got Blues and Golds.

Because my Golds were multiplying faster than my tanks :), I temporarily have 10 (combination of adults and youngins) in my 32. Since their breeding season seems to be on pause (or maybe they’re just tired), it’s actually worked surprisingly well so far.

But I will be taking some more to my LFS in a few weeks. The ideal number for me in the 32 has been 6.
 
Water change on the 29g platy tank. Cleaned sponge filters, replaced intake cover. Sponge filters were not near as bad as on the other tanks....just gotta clean the sponge filters on the fry tanks....
 
Usually Sat. is "WC" day but... as it happens now and then ended up at the job today so....just watching and enjoying the view.
And surfing "Fishlore"
 
Try pantyhose on the intake :)
Click to expand...
Thanks! I've done pantyhose in the past, but when I was moving all of my supplies from a closet to my new stand a few months ago, I must have tossed them... back to the dollar store!

Water changes all around today. I'll be collecting some sticks soon for Tom's tank to cover the back of the tank more so he stops flaring. He seems to be getting a cataract in his left eye, which is strange. He's only a year old, and my last fish to get them didn't get them until he was about 4 years old. I'll do an extra good cleaning today and will keep an eye on him. He loves exploring when he gets his tank rearranged, but if it gets too bad, I guess that will have to stop so he doesn't get lost in his own tank. At least if he goes completely blind, the reflection thing won't be an issue anymore...
 
Watching my new endler babies.
I’ve not kept livebearers in a very long time & forgotten how nice it is to come down in the morning & see a whole load of tiny babies hovering in the plants :)
Edit: grabbed a quick pic, excuse the pothos roots it’s growing like mad.
1545AF1C-9124-4FDF-863A-C8A0D4DC1B5E.jpeg
 
Three quick WC's. 5g out of the 27 and the 20 and 2g out of the 10.
I must have stirred the 27 up a little, as it's cloudy and brown. I'm not sure how that happened, but it is what it is. Maybe I'll put some filter floss in the filter to help things out.
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My nano tested 0 Am and 0 Trites again.
Lovin' it. That was a rough patch there for a while, even though the fish all seemed OK.
 
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