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Finally got around to putting the prefilters on my shrimp tank now that I’ve noticed at least one berried female. It was totally easy, no idea why I procrastinated so long lol.





Beautiful tank!Other than going crazy over my Betta's tank, I got some pictures from my shrimp tank.
First group was yellow two years ago?, only a few yellows appearing now, then I added snow balls whose genes took over. This year I added blue.

I had blue, red and orange together and got mostly clear brown color. One time I got one that was fluorescent yellow. Like the safety color. It was a cool looking shrimp for sure! Im sure I have a pic of it around here somewhere.Other than going crazy over my Betta's tank, I got some pictures from my shrimp tank.
First group was yellow two years ago?, only a few yellows appearing now, then I added snow balls whose genes took over. This year I added blue.
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Dandelions, Snow Drops, and Blue Bells are what I coined them.
I keep producing mostly snow balls. Hoping there will be more blues in there. Starting to get a group of different brown variation fellas, which I'm fine with. I'm calling those ones Dahlias.
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But I also got this interesting orange one! Wasn't the first, but the last one was last year I think. It's weird how genes work.
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Is that some kind of oto cat variant? Very cool.Did usual water change on saturday and scrape 8 foot of glass (was pretty easy as it was just soft stuff that collected over the past couple of years) and snap this picture:
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My babies had babies. I have 4 apistos in one of my growout tanks, 1 male and 3 females. I'm estimating the male is maybe 1.5 inches long and the female in this picture is somewhere between 1 and 1.25 inches long. They get started quickly.
The fry are hard to see, but they are under mom, look for the eyes.
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I picked up 3 bristlenoses today at the LFS. They are pretty tiny, probably a little over an inch long. I have them quaranteening in one of my apisto growout tanks. I just don't have any more space for another tank. Hopefully, it will all work out.
That's pretty much how the water in all my tanks is.



Looks great! Can't wait to see it under water. =)Started the aquascape on the 40B Central American tank. I used 3” ABS Y sanitary pipe and 90 degree street elbow to create a dual entrance cave with a viewing window from the side glass, and piled cobblestone, multicolored pea gravel and play sand over it and as the substrate.
I also used 2” abs pipe and suction cups to create additional hides that can be mounted on the back of the tank near the top.
My thought is the Salvini will probably claim the larger cave and the firemouths and convict can retreat to the smaller diameter hides up top if needed. Still not 100% sure on the dither fish I’d like in here but I’m still leaning towards wanting large swordtails or mollies as they would be biotope correct and it seems it can be done with firemouth and convict, the salvini are the ones giving me pause on that choice. A201 suggested Buenos Aires Terra which are a good choice, but I already have Colombian Terra that are very similar and I was hoping for something different. I could also put the Colombians in here and do another schooling fish in the 75 SA community tank but that tank seems to be perfectly stocked right now.
Headed down to a nearby creek for some dry sticks. Currently boiling them and will have them in later tonight or tomorrow
I added water, the heater, and an extra internal filter I had on hand to keep the water moving. I'll put up pictures up when I get home later this evening. Two of the larger branches were still buoyant, so I'll probably boil them a second time and decide what I'm doing for the long-term filter.Looks great! Can't wait to see it under water. =)
Sounds like a great little CentralSo one interesting thing i've encountered since i started running blackwater aquariums is sometimes (not always) they will get a massive out break of bba. I've learned to just leave it alone and sooner or later the bba will die off completely leaving the tank as if it never had bba - these three pictures show my discus tank as it transitions (it is still transitioning); the problem with this is the amount of bba is quite significant and thick and when it dies off it clogs the filter. In the case of the discus tank i have sponges over the sump intake and it clogs the sponges causing the water level to rise. So it means i have to do extra water changes to get the water level below the intake to the sump so i can clean the sponges. That means at least for the next few weeks I am doing extra water changes on the discus tank (normally i just do one a week).
Some photo showing the aquarium as the bba die off:
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On the bright side while the discus still hide when i put the python in their tank they finally (after 20 months) stopped hiding when i clean the aquariums around them.
Sounds like a great little Central American tank. Will be interesting to see how the pecking order plays out. You would think in the order Salvini, Firemouth, then Convict but stranger things have happened.Started the aquascape on the 40B Central American tank. I used 3” ABS Y sanitary pipe and 90 degree street elbow to create a dual entrance cave with a viewing window from the side glass, and piled cobblestone, multicolored pea gravel and play sand over it and as the substrate.
I also used 2” abs pipe and suction cups to create additional hides that can be mounted on the back of the tank near the top.
My thought is the Salvini will probably claim the larger cave and the firemouths and convict can retreat to the smaller diameter hides up top if needed. Still not 100% sure on the dither fish I’d like in here but I’m still leaning towards wanting large swordtails or mollies as they would be biotope correct and it seems it can be done with firemouth and convict, the salvini are the ones giving me pause on that choice. A201 suggested Buenos Aires Terra which are a good choice, but I already have Colombian Terra that are very similar and I was hoping for something different. I could also put the Colombians in here and do another schooling fish in the 75 SA community tank but that tank seems to be perfectly stocked right now.
Headed down to a nearby creek for some dry sticks. Currently boiling them and will have them in later tonight or tomorrow
Even over a male Texas? Interesting. I’ve never had either but everyone seems to think the Texas is supposed to be the most aggressive of these. It’s encouraging that I picked a good mix if it could be any if them…. At least it’s a fair and level playing fieldIf your Green Terror is a real stud male, he might actually be the tank boss.
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I count 26 in there and I'd say no more than 3 are females. I can't believe this batch is so male heavy. This picture doesn't show color well as it was not long after lights on that day. A lot of the males are also muted since there are so many in there.


I've had this happen before with Mollies especially where I bought one or two and in the first 24 hours, one gives birth...what a bargain!!I noticed one of the new swordtails floating this evening and disposed of the body. Checked water parameters since it’s a new tank to see if it was water quality related and everything was fine so I assumed just the stress if being transported and they were from petco and I haven’t had very good luck with fish from them…
But then I noticed baby swordtails. At least 10 that I can count. Now I’m thinking the one that died may have died while giving birth?
I don’t have another tank to put them in where they won’t also be eaten, other than a 27g tote, so we’ll just see if they survive in this tank with the other swordtails. I’ll pick up a breeder box to see if I can get them out in time and if not have it on hand for the next batch.



Such a bargain! I’ve kept the lights off so they don’t predate on the fry but I can see there are still some in there. The breeder box should be here this afternoon and I’ll put them in there to grow out.I've had this happen before with Mollies especially where I bought one or two and in the first 24 hours, one gives birth...what a bargain!!
It's funny, I just considered buying some pineapple swordtails yesterday when they caught my eye at Petsmart! Quelle coincidence!!
Instead, I rescued a pretty little Crown tail girl from a Betta cup. Placed in my old 3 gallon tank the I've been trying to figure out what to do with. I'm not sold on the plants, but not sure what to put in.
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I'll bet your pH is sky high. I have county water with pH above 8.0. I'll bet yours is up there and a lot of plants don't like that. I think Val likes more acidic water. Crypts and anubius seem fine in hard, high pH water.After most of my plants died, I have replaced the substrate with 1.5" of diet and 2.5" of sand. Picked up a 5 gal bucket full of Val, hopefully this time will be more successful. Water is white due to hardness of my well water.
I have val in very soft water and it does extremely (too?) well. But I have heard of others saying it does best in hard water. I did then read once (can't remember where) that there are different varieties and some do better in soft while others prefer hard water, depending on where they originate from. I can't be certain that this is true, but it does seem to make sense.I think Val likes more acidic water.
There is a way but it takes a little time.Trying to find out how in the world I'm going to remove the string algae from my moss lol
Yes my PH is 8.4. Are my Vals not going to make it?I'll bet your pH is sky high. I have county water with pH above 8.0. I'll bet yours is up there and a lot of plants don't like that. I think Val likes more acidic water. Crypts and anubius seem fine in hard, high pH water.
The tank water is well water, hard. Have no idea what varitiy of Vals I have, just that I have a lot of them. They are looking good day 2, will be disappointed if they don't make it.I have val in very soft water and it does extremely (too?) well. But I have heard of others saying it does best in hard water. I did then read once (can't remember where) that there are different varieties and some do better in soft while others prefer hard water, depending on where they originate from. I can't be certain that this is true, but it does seem to make sense.
I was way off, just found this...Yes my PH is 8.4. Are my Vals not going to make it?
The tank water is well water, hard. Have no idea what varitiy of Vals I have, just that I have a lot of them. They are looking good day 2, will be disappointed if they don't make it.
Jungle vals are incredibly hardy, and can adapt to most water conditions. With that being said, they are one of the few plants that prefer hard, alkaline water and may experience slower growth in soft, acidic water. They are also one of the few plants that can tolerate brackish water, though this will negatively impact their growth rate and propagation.
Well mine grow very fast in soft water…anyway yours should be fine!I was way off, just found this...