Badger's 150g Rainbowfish Tank

[WhistlingBadger]

Ah,I didn't realize this a dentists office tank you've documented three years now. Usually I can spot a tank that's done for a business as the fish act bored,underfed. These look all happy,gregarious.
Funny,like the dentist I've removed most,not all,stem plants. Tired of the grow and get spindly,pruning. Sword,crypts,moss and the coming on Bolbitis are enough.

Well, functionally it's my tank--I did the build, planned the stocking, ordered the fish, sort out the occasional disaster, and do all the maintenance. All the dentist does is pay for everything. And her office staff take care of daily feeding. Pretty sweet gig!

That's true about the stem plants. I had needle leaf repens, cabomba, and one or two others when I started out the tank. Over times they got leggy and ugly, so I ditched them. All the swords in that tank are descended from the original three I planted. They keep making babies, and I keep replanting them. Now I'm down to giving them away.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I was cleaning out a bunch of old, dead leaves in this tank over the weekend, and spotted an amano shrimp on a log, just eating away and looking fat and healthy as could be. I looked through my notes, and the last time I saw an amano shrimp in this setup was August of 2018. I didn't even know they could live that long! At this point, I really have only the vaguest idea of what lives in this tank.

 

[LostBear]

I was cleaning out a bunch of old, dead leaves in this tank over the weekend, and spotted an amano shrimp on a log, just eating away and looking fat and healthy as could be. I looked through my notes, and the last time I saw an amano shrimp in this setup was August of 2018. I didn't even know they could live that long! At this point, I really have only the vaguest idea of what lives in this tank.

I was reading that Amano shrimp usually live up to 2 years - but yours must be older than that because they can't breed successfully in fresh water, so yours must have been there since you put it in, however many years ago.

We've got four Amano in our tank - I LOVE them! There is one huge one which always seems to be heavily "berried" - she comes out a lot, and we always joke that she is busy with her knitting, as that's what it looks like when she is shovelling bits and pieces into her mouth. The others are another big one (not as big as the "knitter") and two smaller ones. Every now and then they have a mad half hour when they zip about all over the tank.

I never imagined that invertebrates could be so fascinating.

 

[Essjay]

I bought 5 amanos in February 2009. One died very soon afterwards, a female died in 2012 and the second female died in July 2013. The two males were still alive at this point but I didn't make a note of when they died.

 

[LostBear]

I bought 5 amanos in February 2009. One died very soon afterwards, a female died in 2012 and the second female died in July 2013. The two males were still alive at this point but I didn't make a note of when they died.

Then that is a VERY impressive shrimp!

I wonder if they did manage to breed in your tank? Everything I've read states that, like nerite snails, they need brackish water for the fry to develop, but I wonder if, by some incredible happenstance, your tank conditions were just right - even if it was for some short period?

 

[Essjay]

I don't think they bred - they were pretty big when they finally died. The female which died in 2013 was bigger than the dwarf chain loaches in the same tank.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Then that is a VERY impressive shrimp!

I wonder if they did manage to breed in your tank? Everything I've read states that, like nerite snails, they need brackish water for the fry to develop, but I wonder if, by some incredible happenstance, your tank conditions were just right - even if it was for some short period?

Yes, amano shrimp can't breed in freshwater. They take very specific levels of salinity that is very hard to achieve.

Some pretty old shrimp though.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Well, this one looked healthy as a horse. I was surprised.

 

[LostBear]

Well, this one looked healthy as a horse. I was surprised.

A Methuselah of a shrimp.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Maybe I should quit dosing the tank with Geritol...

 

[LostBear]

Maybe I should quit dosing the tank with Geritol...

A nice drop of Sanatogen Tonic Wine. That's what they need.

 

[Essjay]

Just for completion on the subject on amano shrimps - I found another notebook which says that my last amano shrimp died in 2015 - 6 years after I bought it.


I also still have a nerite snail I bought in 2011.

 

[ClownLurch]

Just for completion on the subject on amano shrimps - I found another notebook which says that my last amano shrimp died in 2015 - 6 years after I bought it.


I also still have a nerite snail I bought in 2011.

That clinches it. I’m getting both. “Like getting your money’s worth?” Yip.
Both are ok in 340ppm water aren’t they?

 

[Essjay]

Last time my water company gave a number, my hardness was 92 ppm, so I know they can get to a good age in that hardness. They should be OK in yours as well.

But one of the amanos I bought lived only a few days and I have had nerites die within a couple of weeks.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey, all! I am tearing down this tank next week (the client wants a new setup, and it HAS been four years...) and I really need to find good homes for these critters! Anybody want some semi-free fish?

Rainbowfish, panda garra, zebra loaches looking for a home (Wyoming, USA)

My client has decided they want something new for their tank, so I am looking for homes for a bunch of rainbowfish and bottom feeders. Free to good homes, which is a heck of a deal, as these are really nice fish. You pay shipping. Numbers are approximate, especially for bottom feeders, as this...

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