Ginaekdal's Tanks

[ginaekdal]

Gable is building a bubble nest.

I woke to find this today, and he is working diligently on it as I type. This is the first time he has made one, at least in this tank.

Unfortunately the Vallisneria americana "Asiatica" in this tank has melted away. I have a small hope it might come back. Truthfully it being gone makes little difference to the tank; visually it still looks green and lush. The "Asiatica" specimens in the barb tank however are presenting new growth and looking lovely. All the other plants in both tanks have new growth, but the floating plants are all looking a little sorry even after I moved them from the barb tank. I am actually surprised by the decline in duckweed considering how abundant it looked prior to the barbs making an entry. Perhaps the larger plants out-competed what was left?

 

[ginaekdal]

Brief tank update. Both tanks are doing really well. The Betta continues to build bubble nests which is always a joy to witness, and the barbs are currently spawning again, as they do regularly. With eleven adult barbs in the tank I will be shocked if a fry makes it, as the moment a pair spawns another fish is there to pick up the result. The tank is not dimensioned for a much bigger group as it is so it works out well.
 
I am tentatively planning a third tank. I do dearly want to keep cories (and Boraras brigittae if I can get my hands on a group eventually). In any case a third tank will have fine sand substrate and Mopani wood (hopefully with more success than the previously tried and dismissed Redmoor wood), with several large plants. I will probably also go for the Eheim pickup series a third time, and the Aquael EASYHEATER that I have in my existing tanks. I have been toying with the idea to redo the barb tank in the same way, with sand and wood, but it would of course be a large project and I might try this with a third, empty tank first so I get an idea of how to best achieve the look I want so as to minimise the transfer time with fish in the picture.
 
As for this third tank, I imagine I will go for a size similar to my existing tanks, at 63 and 115 litres. I find this works well within my at present limited space and with the small species I have an interest in.

 

[BettaBettas]

very pretty tank! 10/10 I like how it looks like it can go far back, and how the anubias (I think that's what that is in the middle) is really bright and stands out as a center piece. Also very pretty Betta and what floating plants are those??? So cool!

 

[ginaekdal]

very pretty tank! 10/10 I like how it looks like it can go far back, and how the anubias (I think that's what that is in the middle) is really bright and stands out as a center piece. Also very pretty Betta

and what floating plants are those??? So cool!

 
Thank you! He is alright for having been picked up at the store and he has coloured up some since I brought him home.
 
No Anubias in sight at this point in time. The bright green plant is an Echinodorus cordifolius "Fluitans". It is very attractive in a tank! I would love to supply my tanks with Anubias in the future, but as there are long flowing fins in the picture I am very particular about the piece of wood that will go into the Betta tank and a suitably smooth one has yet to be found. I might give Mopani a go which would enable me to have Anubias.
 
The black paint really does give an impression of depth as well as contrast the colours of the fish and plants nicely. I give all my tanks a black background as seeing the wall through the tank breaks the aquascape somewhat in my eyes. I have matte black acrylic paint painted onto the back glass for those wondering.
 
The floating plants that are most visible are actually not floating plants at all, and not even aquatic. They were part of a bundle at my local store but instead of throwing them away when I realised what they were (or rather were not) I got some mileage out of them. I also have true floating plants; Limnobium laevigatum and duckweed. I have had trouble growing them lately to be honest, without a clear reason why besides my barbs wreaking havoc before, so the next floating plant I will try is likely a Ceratopteris. Mayhaps it will be third time lucky.
 
The Betta tank is a work in progress and sparsely planted but I hope to get there.

 

[ginaekdal]

Had a good laugh today as I observed two of the younger barbs playing and spawning behind the filter as opposed to in the plants.
 
It coincidentally followed directly after giving the barbs a frozen bloodworm treat.
 
The Betta got his glass cleaned for the first time today which went fine; he merely followed the toothbrush around. He, too, got a couple of bloodworms afterwards.
 
Me being as allergic as I am to several things I do take precautions when handling these and I wear gloves and use a spoon, making sure never to touch anything directly. You never know.

 

[ginaekdal]

Exciting things are happening; I have ordered a homemade stand for a third tank. I have yet to buy a tank, but having somewhere to put one seems the logical place to start! The stand will be made the same as the stand for my 115 litre tank; practically solid as brick except slightly shorter, meaning it can accommodate a tank with base dimensions like my 115 litre tank, or two smaller ones if I so wish. The current stand has space to spare even with the 115 litre and I decided these dimensions would be too big for the bedroom which is where the third tank will be going.

I have also picked up twenty kilos of fine sand and I will be picking up more. I will do sand in any new tank, and I also aim to change the substrate in my existing two eventually. I currently have very small gravel and I want sand so the job has to be done at some point! I have planned it step by step and have a fairly good idea of how to proceed to do it as quickly as possible, so I now need to order Mopani and find plastic boxes big enough to help streamline the process before I can give it a go.

Depending on the tank I buy I will either solely stock a group of cories (I am undecided on species and it will depend on what is available), or cories and a species like B. brigittae, M. kubotai, or simply a species of tetra. This tank will basically be close to what my original intent was for the 115 litre that the barbs took over.

Speaking of the barbs, a few of the females are currently heavily gravid and I expect them to spawn again any day.

The betta is doing well; I do regular waterchanges but did a larger 80 percent one today, taking the time to redecorate the tank a little. The tank now holds gravel and plants and no ornaments. Once I find the right piece of wood, that will go in as well. I do dearly love the idea of a zen type of tank which was what I attempted, but visually I just could not find it in me to be a hundred percent satisfied so I have given up on it this time. The jade Buddhas have joined their kind on my altar instead and the tank, in a more natural state, forms part of the backdrop. Last, I have taken one of my Pothos cuttings that was starting to sprout roots, and "planted" it through the cord gap in the lid. Partly because I want even more plant cover, and partly as an experiment as I want to see whether I can have the plant thrive.

I have absolutely no idea when a third tank will be up and running but hoping to complete the project by Christmas seems reasonable at this point.

 

[ginaekdal]

A few days after I updated this thread last, I was diagnosed with an unruptured brain aneurysm. Initially I was told I would have surgery within two weeks, however they then wanted to perform an angiography first. Due to a hospital strike it took six weeks for the results to be looked at, and it emerged the aneurysm was too big and too badly placed for the hospital to attempt a coiling at that point so I was referred on to the biggest hospital we have. A surgery was scheduled for December 16, however a week before this was due they rescheduled again and I am now to undergo a coiling on January 20.

In the middle of this nightmare my fish tanks have had to take a back seat. Sadly the betta succumbed to what I suspect was velvet while I was in hospital for the initial angiography. He could only have contracted this from the bloodworms he was fed on occasion, but then again my barbs were fed from the same batch and they are doing splendidly. In any case I have partially torn the small tank down to do a substrate change, but as I am not allowed to do any lifting I am unable to complete the rescape.

I did finally find Mopani wood for the big tank; the medium and large pieces were sold out but I purchased three small ones. Two immediately stayed down and the third only needed soaking for a day. They are beautiful to look at, the barbs seem to enjoy them, and I find the tannins a lovely bonus. Once I have recovered and gotten the all-clear I will look into purchasing bigger pieces for both tanks.

 

[ginaekdal]

I went ahead and checked out the new local pet and fish store today. When I say "new", it is actually the old one that has very slightly moved location and expanded a little. I had gift cards valid for the whole centre anyway so I figured I might as well use them all towards my fishkeeping.

Stocking is still a bit thin, with only one wall with tanks, but my general impression is good. The fish looked healthy, and on the goldfish tank they had written that goldfish require a certain size tank and will only be sold to those who meet those requirements, so I feel confident they have at least some idea of what they are doing. You always do have to be careful with chain stores but so far so good and I will be happy to return.

I confirmed which wholesaler they are dealing with, which means I can check available fishes out on that website and place orders accordingly. I also picked up a couple of Anubias (sadly species was not specified and I am not competent enough to identify them yet) which was my main reason for stopping by; they had a meagre plant selection so I was quick to snap those last two up. I asked when they get plant orders in and they do on Tuesdays so next time I am going on the day they arrive.

I finally picked some designated aquarium glue (which I will test on the next batch of plants) up as well as regular fish tank safe superglue. The Anubias split into four separate plants when I unpacked them, and they now look amazing on my Mopani roots.

The downside to buying anything in a physical store is, of course, the extortionate pricing. Sure, it is neat to be able to go and pick up a plant and take it home the same day, but buying things in bulk online will always work out cheaper even with shipping costs.

They had some nice little tanks for sale, I particularly liked the size of a 180 litre tank, but again the price puts you off when you know you can pick up a secondhand tank twice that size for less. In any case I am unable to purchase tanks until I get the all-clear healthwise following surgery but it is rather hard not to be on the lookout.

With some help I got the substrate in the 63 litre swapped yesterday and it is now Corydoras safe. Having that stocking option is nice.

I have a lot of plans going forward but they all hinge on my getting well first. At least I have something to look forward to.

 

[ginaekdal]

I have certainly neglected this thread but I have far from neglected my fishkeeping hobby.

I had my three-month MRI scan a few days back following my brain surgery and whilst I am still waiting on the results I have kept up with my tanks.

The big tank houses the original group of eleven barbs, all of which are doing well, alongside three surviving fry (that I have been able to count, anyway) that are a decent size already. I also recently purchased a lovely albino bristlenose male that is making himself quite at home. Between the fish activity and the heavy planting this tank is probably my favourite to watch.

The smaller tank is also well-planted and currently home to a mixed little group. A while ago I decided to give crushed coral a try, which has worked wonderfully. As such I now have two gorgeous linebred Endler males, two more ordinary-looking males as well as (what I assume to be) a guppy-Endler hybrid male, and finally three young guppy males that I am growing out. One has a striking Cobra type pattern, the other two will likely grow up as Mosaics but as their only purpose is to look pretty I am less than concerned about that. I will eventually separate these fishes and do two species-specific setups, I think, and while I have little interest in breeding guppies at present and have limited myself to keeping males I think I would quite enjoy trying my hand at raising some Endlers eventually if I can get my hands on more examples of the two nicer strains represented in the tank.

I have gone from keeping strictly P. titteya for a year to branching out to four different species in total and so far I could not be more pleased with my choices. The bristlenose in particular is quickly becoming a favourite and there is a distinct possibility I will be keeping a bristlenose in any future tank that I set up from now on.

My next purchase will be a third tank. If I am able to find a larger tank than the ones I currently have the barbs will go in it and the guppies will move into the barb tank, otherwise the guppies will move into the new tank as I am certainly keeping the Endlers where they are now: sixty litres should do for quite a while for such a small group.

 

[ginaekdal]

The surviving barb fry count has been upped to four as of today.

 

[ginaekdal]

Since my last update it turned out someone on my street was selling a 54-litre tank complete with lid, lighting, and filter, so I caved and picked it up today. Dad is making me a custom stand for it and I expect I can scape and fill it this weekend. I guess I will make the new one my Endler tank and keep the guppies in the 63-litre since the new ended up being so small, but all in all I am pretty happy with the deal I got. They also threw in some equipment and ornaments and while I will not be using those I might be able to sell them.

My landlord is being rather negative about my keeping fish in general so I suppose this is as far as I can push my luck until such a time I move! But I do look forward to having a third tank to keep busy with, especially since losing my dog nearly two weeks ago. Not that it in any way makes up for that loss, but I do enjoy having living beings around.