Holy Poop, Batman!

[seangee]

Such a gorgeous tank, I'm so jealous! lol. The CPD's, the plants looking so healthy and lush, the shrimp, nerite making a cameo, it's lovely it really is.

You missed the otos putting in an appearance?

 

[seangee]

I had thought I might get some MTS to help keep the sand turned over, would I regret that?

Doubt it. Making sure there is no excess food keeps the population under control. They do breed like crazy when its hot but easy enough to catch and despatch. They usually only come out after dark.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

You missed the otos putting in an appearance?

Had to go back and rewatch and play "find the oto", lol. Finally spotted him hiding behind the CPD's before sneaking back under the driftwood. Aaaww! Love the tank even more with otos in it. Mind if I copy every single thing about your tank? Nah, I wanna create my own, but yours is pretty close to my ideal aquarium.

I'll stick with the plan to get MTS then, more concerned about keeping the sand turned so it doesn't form those toxic pockets, and I don't mind snails that much either. Hope they're easier to remove if they do overpopulate than the tiny round pest snails infesting my dad's tank. They're doing too well, and baiting them with courgette or other veg doesn't work. The mollies and platies eat the veg, and I can only remove 5-6 snails at a time. Easier to knock them off the glass right before a water change and syphon out a hundred or so...

Oh! The CPD's! The one (male?) that hovers above them all throughout the feeding, appears darker than the others? Although that may just be the lighting. But the way he set himself apart and stood out, and was perhaps darker, made me wonder if it was a dominant fish in the school or something, if that even happens?

 

[seangee]

There are several dominant males in the group. Never seen any trouble but you do see the occasional injury. There are enough line of sight hiding places that its not an issue. One of the reasons I sometimes feed pellets or wafers in a bowl is that I can go back an hour after dark and remove it and all the MTS that have collected inside it. Its also fun watching the CPD and shrimp squabbling. The shrimp will steal some of the pellets and carry them off so the CPD can't get them. They also get very protective against the snails and try to stop them coming over the rim - sometimes they even carry the snails off if they are too persistent