# Other Pets > Fish >  125 gallon South American fish community

## Snagrio

LONG overdue in posting this but here we go.

Initially had a 55 gallon with a random mishmash of fish and have since upgraded. Kept only four and rehomed the rest. The 125 came with a bunch of huge aggressive cichlids (red devils, green terrors, ect.) that were also rehomed, though I kept the albino bristlenose pleco that was in with them.

Current stocking:

Fauna

1 Giant danio (_Devario aequipinnatus_)*
1 Eastern rainbowfish  (_Melanotaenia splendida splendida_)*
2 Bristlenose plecos (_Ancistrus_ sp.)* (there were 2 babies recently but I don't believe they've survived unfortunately)
4 Three-striped dwarf cichlids (_Apistogramma trifasciata_)
8 False blochi corydoras (_Corydoras delphax_)
5 Fairy corydoras (_Corydoras atropersonatus_)
21 Neon tetras (_Paracheirodon innesi_)
20 Black neon tetras (_Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi_)
1 Glowlight tetra (_Hemigrammus erythrozonus_)
1 Male guppy (_Poecilia reticulata_)
5 Mystery snails (_Pomacea bridgesii_)

Flora

Vallisneria
Ludwigia
Bacopa
Cryptocoryne
Java fern
Anubias
Micro sword
Amazon sword

*Holdovers from previous setup (the top two are the last of their kind and are living out their remaining years with me despite "not fitting" with the theme)








Some extra schooling shots.





Two of the fairy corydoras.


Some mystery snail pics (they go CRAZY for cucumber).



Closeups of the three-striped dwarf cichlids (and the miserable-looking micro swords behind them, I've had terrible luck keeping them going).



Vagrant the stowaway guppy. He arrived on accident as a baby when I bought a couple of the mystery snails, hence his name. He's fully developed now and looks  unbelievably stunning. This pic doesn't do him nearly enough justice  (though the back of his tail sadly has a slight tear).


And finally the glowlight. This little one was an "orphan" pickup I brought along when I bought the black neons. It was all alone in an adjacent tank desperately trying to swim through the glass to reach the neons and have some security, so I decided to give it a home. It's been doing well. Notice the  bunches of Javas in the background, those are all just a handful of the  children my main plants have been producing at an insane rate. If you  look closely you'll see them dotted throughout the aquascape.


As a bonus, 17 silver hatchets (_Gasteropelecus sternicla_) and my 2 prized farlowella  catfish (_Farlowella acus_) in quarantine. The hatchets have been dealing with ich since the  second day they've been here but are responding well to heat treatment.

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ballpythonluvr (07-20-2021),*Bogertophis* (03-27-2021),_Charles8088_ (03-27-2021),_dakski_ (03-27-2021),_GoingPostal_ (03-27-2021),_Homebody_ (12-09-2021),_Hugsplox_ (03-27-2021),_nikkubus_ (07-19-2021),OatBoii (04-08-2021),_Trinityblood_ (03-27-2021),_WrongPython_ (03-27-2021),Zincubus (12-02-2021)

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## Bogertophis

I know nothing about this stuff, but I love looking.  And you obviously know quite a bit.   :Good Job: 

(Gee, maybe you should be working in the tropical fish business?)

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_Snagrio_ (03-27-2021)

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## GoingPostal

Nice setup.  I have a buddy that breeds fish and his house is the first time I'd ever seen apistogrammas, they are very nice looking.  I love the look of hatchet fish too, so unique!

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_dakski_ (03-27-2021),_Hugsplox_ (03-27-2021),_Snagrio_ (03-27-2021)

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## Hugsplox

Fantastic tank! Heres my 45 gallon, been running for years and doesnt look as nice as yours.




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*Bogertophis* (03-27-2021),_dakski_ (03-27-2021),_Homebody_ (12-09-2021),_nikkubus_ (07-19-2021),_Snagrio_ (03-27-2021)

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## Trinityblood

Nice setup!

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_Snagrio_ (03-27-2021)

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## Zincubus

> Fantastic tank! Heres my 45 gallon, been running for years and doesnt look as nice as yours.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Looks beautiful ... have you considered black gravel/sand like the pros use in their display tanks ??





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*Bogertophis* (03-28-2021),_Hugsplox_ (03-28-2021),_nikkubus_ (07-19-2021)

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## Hugsplox

> Looks beautiful ... have you considered black gravel/sand like the pros use in their display tanks ??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I have! I plan to the next time I do a substrate change. I still want to upgrade tank sizes once more before Im happy with what I have, so Ive been holding off until then. 

This is a planted tank substrate that works amazingly well. When I initially set the tank up it was this dark red, almost clay color that looked amazing. Sadly overtime its faded to what you see now. 


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_dakski_ (03-29-2021)

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## Spicey

I kind of miss keeping fish but after I married a guy with an itchy foot, it became too problematic to move even a 20-gal along with 3 kids, 2 cats, and various assorted birds, every couple of years, so I gave it up.  I tried again after settling into my current digs, but could never get the tank balanced.  So I will enjoy looking at your fish instead!

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*Bogertophis* (03-29-2021),_dakski_ (03-29-2021)

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## Snagrio

After a bit of research it seems I've made an error. My hatchets are not _Gasteropelecus sternicla_ as I originally thought and are in actuality _Thoracocharax Stellatus_. Figured this out once I noticed today that they started developing black coloration on their dorsal fins, something I've not seen from other hatchets. They apparently share the common name of "silver" with several species, but another one they have is the more appropriate "spotfin."

Couldn't get good pics of my own because of lighting/movement/bad phone camera, but this is what they look like now.

Notably, some have started to show courtship behavior (swimming side by  side in a kind of duet), and when they do almost their entire dorsal fin  flushes black.

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ballpythonluvr (07-20-2021),_dakski_ (03-29-2021),_nikkubus_ (07-19-2021),Zincubus (04-08-2021)

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## Snagrio

My poor hatchets are still dealing with ich... The heat treatment hasn't fully gotten rid of them and I've resorted to ordering some Seachem Paraguard (wanted to just buy it from a local store but no brick and mortars apparently carrying it). Unfortunately it won't arrive until sometime next week, plus the upcoming two weeks of medicated treatment to be absolutely certain the parasite is eradicated.

It's unfortunate because both species are getting fed up with their living situation. The hatchets are butting heads due to lack of space (the quarantine tank is only 10 gallons) and my precious farlowellas can only gnaw on cucumber slices as the algae they crave has been stripped clean long ago...

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*Bogertophis* (04-08-2021),OatBoii (04-08-2021)

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## Snagrio

The medication came in yesterday, but when I was doing roll call I found one of the hatchets dead. Just my luck... I don't think it was anything the medication could've helped (I believe it was one that got injured during a water change some time prior) but still disheartening.

Hopefully the rest pull through during the next couple weeks of treatment.

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## Bogertophis

Sorry for you loss... but hope the rest will be fine.

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## Snagrio

Been a while, and quite a bit has changed.

Biggest thing is that ick somehow got into the main tank a few months ago, and my immediate reaction was to raise the temperature, which turned out to be the worst thing I could've done. Several fish died and my Java ferns were all but destroyed. Thankfully I had medication that quickly eradicated it, but the damage from my poor judgement was already done...

The vallis are about the only plant actively thriving as you can see by it taking over everything. The rest are either gone or just barely existing.

Only new additions are bristlenose babies (evidently 3 have survived and are quite sizable now) and a random feeder guppy orphan I picked up from a store where they couldn't even tell what it was.


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_nikkubus_ (07-19-2021)

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## nikkubus

Oof. Sorry you lost some but I'm glad that you got rid of the ick. Hopefully no more fish die now and your plants spring back to life. I've had plants that looked basically dead come back with a vengeance given enough time and love.

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## Snagrio

> Oof. Sorry you lost some but I'm glad that you got rid of the ick. Hopefully no more fish die now and your plants spring back to life. I've had plants that looked basically dead come back with a vengeance given enough time and love.


Unfortunately the regular neon tetras have been in decline. Less than half of the original 21 remain, and what's left don't look so good (meanwhile the black neons are all chubby and healthy, the difference is almost comical). Also rather upsettingly, I'm 99% sure I've lost one of my prized farlowella catfish as I've only seen one for a long time now. This tank is so huge and cryptic with a lot of bottom feeders so bodies can easily disappear before I have the chance to find them.

As for the plants, the Javas aren't technically gone. The dying adults produced tons of babies on their leaves before their end that are all just floating around haphazardly. I could glue them to decor but it was such a massive hassle last time that I just don't feel up to the task.

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## Hugsplox

> Unfortunately the regular neon tetras have been in decline. Less than half of the original 21 remain, and what's left don't look so good (meanwhile the black neons are all chubby and healthy, the difference is almost comical). Also rather upsettingly, I'm 99% sure I've lost one of my prized farlowella catfish as I've only seen one for a long time now. This tank is so huge and cryptic with a lot of bottom feeders so bodies can easily disappear before I have the chance to find them.
> 
> As for the plants, the Javas aren't technically gone. The dying adults produced tons of babies on their leaves before their end that are all just floating around haphazardly. I could glue them to decor but it was such a massive hassle last time that I just don't feel up to the task.


I've had a lot of issues with neon tetras over the years. To the point that I just don't even try to keep them anymore. If you want something that in my opinion is more hardy, cardinal tetras get a bit bigger but would look great in a tank your size. Ich is rough, but the API super ich cure has always worked great for me even without raising the temperature in the tank. Might be worth trying next time, although I hope that's the last time you see it for awhile.

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## Snagrio

> I've had a lot of issues with neon tetras over the years. To the point that I just don't even try to keep them anymore. If you want something that in my opinion is more hardy, cardinal tetras get a bit bigger but would look great in a tank your size. Ich is rough, but the API super ich cure has always worked great for me even without raising the temperature in the tank. Might be worth trying next time, although I hope that's the last time you see it for awhile.


I've heard as such in many places, but it has been a long time since I've had any so this is the first time I've really been able to personally observe just how genetically inferior they are, quite sad. Even the singular orphan glowlight tetra I picked up with the black neons is markedly bigger and healthier than all the regular neons combined. I almost went with cardinals too since they're prettier and about match the black neons in size for that perfect "synergy" so to speak, but unfortunately they're over twice as expensive per individual as regular neons and I was already spending hundreds on fish alone.

As for medication, I used Ich X. Really heavy-duty stuff that stains the water (and everything else it touches), but it got the job done extremely fast. Due to on oncoming illness that set me back the past couple months I only managed to do half a week's dosage routine but even that was enough to erase the parasites from the entire tank.

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## Snagrio

Woke up yesterday and found the mother bristlenose dead. That's upsetting...  :Sad: 

My guess is something went wrong if she laid another batch of eggs, but it was impossible to tell.

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## Trinityblood

That really stinks. I'm sorry to hear you're having problems.

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## Snagrio

For the first time in a long while, I went to the specialist fish store and returned with a haul. All but two of my regular neon tetras are gone so now that I have income I decided to try wild cardinals. Got 11 to start with and I'll add more over time in batches so I don't implode my wallet all at once lol. I also got 4 young angelfish for a larger centerpiece species and an unexpected addition, a marbled whiptail catfish. Saw some of them at the store, had no idea what they were but was immediately smitten. Decided to pick one up after a little research.





Not taking any chances this time though and immediately got them started on an Ich X treatment regimen. Hopefully they'll all be fine.

I also got a plant-growing substrate that I'm going to gradually mix into the black sand, since even the vallis, despite having taken over the whole tank, are looking a little sad these days.

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_nikkubus_ (12-01-2021)

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## Armiyana

Ooooh, I was MIA when you were actively posting this thread! 
Congrats on the new haul!  Hope that quarantine goes well for them! I would maybe consider doing a run of melafix as a just in case as well if it was my tank. That way you cover parasite and a bit of antibiotic/antifungal

I had no problems with hatchets when I was younger, but as an adult, they are so prone to ick that it isn't even funny. They're always the first ones in a tank to sprout cysts. 
Neon tetras are very hit or miss. And neon tetra disease is not something that's easy to spot. If it WAS neon tetra disease, that is caused by a parasite and angelfish are susceptible to the parasite as well. Weirdly it seems cardinal tetras are a bit hardier though? As far as I know, there's no real cure for it... ;n;

Photos of your tank really made me miss working with fish! One day I really want to start up another tank of my own, just not in the cards with rental agreements being the way they are sadly ;n;

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## Snagrio

> Ooooh, I was MIA when you were actively posting this thread! 
> Congrats on the new haul!  Hope that quarantine goes well for them! I would maybe consider doing a run of melafix as a just in case as well if it was my tank. That way you cover parasite and a bit of antibiotic/antifungal
> 
> I had no problems with hatchets when I was younger, but as an adult, they are so prone to ick that it isn't even funny. They're always the first ones in a tank to sprout cysts. 
> Neon tetras are very hit or miss. And neon tetra disease is not something that's easy to spot. If it WAS neon tetra disease, that is caused by a parasite and angelfish are susceptible to the parasite as well. Weirdly it seems cardinal tetras are a bit hardier though? As far as I know, there's no real cure for it... ;n;
> 
> Photos of your tank really made me miss working with fish! One day I really want to start up another tank of my own, just not in the cards with rental agreements being the way they are sadly ;n;


I have ParaGuard and MetroPlex (both from Seachem) that I used for the previous ich issue (both treatments did nothing which is why I went with Ich X), but I don't want to use multiple treatments at the same time and risk harming the fish.

Not sure if it was/is neon tetra disease. The neons kind of just wasted away one by one, though most of them quickly dropped after my misguided heat treatment when ich somehow infiltrated the main tank. Some discolored and/or developed wacky bodies/spines before they went which seems to be the common symptoms but again, hard to say for sure. None of the other multiple species in the tank seemed affected by it (which reminder includes other tetra species like black neon and glowlight) and often when a small fish dies I never find the body since multiple mystery snails, plecos and cories makes for an overly efficient "disposal crew" if you catch my drift.

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_Armiyana_ (12-01-2021)

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## Armiyana

That's fair! The reason I suggest melafix is because it's a tea tree oil based product not an actual medication based one so it's sometimes easy to add on to an anti-parasitic without too much stress as long as you follow the dosage correctly. It does make the tank really foamy though @_@;
Metroplex is a pretty good one from what I've heard. Just never got to use it myself.

And I totally get you on the clean up crew. I used to run the 1600 gallon tank at a big box pet store.... 
I had to explain to so many people how it doesn't matter that your pleco is a 'veggie' fish.... they WILL attack your tasty goldfish or angelfish's slime coat if they're hungry. Or the whole pacu being veggie versions of piranah. They'll eat anything they can fit in their mouth. Once I had someone explain how the person at a different big box store shorted them fish and showed me the receipt and the bag of fish. I had to point out that the angelfish had a nice snack because the tetra was hanging out of its mouth. =/ 

It's tough to say for the neons really...Neons are such finicky fish. It really is frustrating to diagnose anything but ick in them. They either live forever in your tank or just stress out and belly up after a few hours. I started swearing by white cloud mountain minnows as a good starter schooling community fish but they don't have the flash that a neon does.

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## Hugsplox

Just to throw my 2 cents in. Ive used APIs super ich cure for years and have lost almost no fish with it. Ich-X I tried a few times at the advice of the guys at Aquarium Co-op, but I just didnt see the results I was looking for, and typically still had sick fish after the recommended dosage. One run of the API stuff and it was gone. Of course, as I got deeper into the hobby and finally set up a quarantine tank the need for a lot of this stuff went away, but not everyone has the room to do that and if youre only keeping one tank and only buying fish every few months its a waste.

I also like Melafix a lot as well. A lot of people online will tell you that it doesnt do anything, but Ive used it almost like a Neosporin for fish with damaged fins and had great success.

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## Zincubus

> LONG overdue in posting this but here we go.
> 
> Initially had a 55 gallon with a random mishmash of fish and have since upgraded. Kept only four and rehomed the rest. The 125 came with a bunch of huge aggressive cichlids (red devils, green terrors, ect.) that were also rehomed, though I kept the albino bristlenose pleco that was in with them.
> 
> Current stocking:
> 
> Fauna
> 
> 1 Giant danio (_Devario aequipinnatus_)*
> ...


Truly amazing !

I hope you bought a few more Glo-light tetras to keep him/her  company  :Smile: 

Could be a well fed male or a young slender female  :Smile: 


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## Snagrio

> Just to throw my 2 cents in. Ive used APIs super ich cure for years and have lost almost no fish with it. Ich-X I tried a few times at the advice of the guys at Aquarium Co-op, but I just didnt see the results I was looking for, and typically still had sick fish after the recommended dosage. One run of the API stuff and it was gone. Of course, as I got deeper into the hobby and finally set up a quarantine tank the need for a lot of this stuff went away, but not everyone has the room to do that and if youre only keeping one tank and only buying fish every few months its a waste.
> 
> I also like Melafix a lot as well. A lot of people online will tell you that it doesnt do anything, but Ive used it almost like a Neosporin for fish with damaged fins and had great success.


Considering I went through around 3 other treatments with no luck and then witnessed the ich practically _vanish_ the second I started using Ich-X, I can say it's worked well for me thus far. Probably different strains of ich that are more resistant to a given medication?




> Truly amazing !
> 
> I hope you bought a few more Glo-light tetras to keep him/her  company 
> 
> Could be a well fed male or a young slender female 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I never did. Thought about it, but it's been doing just fine as an "honorary" black neon, as when I first picked it up it desperately tried to shoal with them from the other side of the display glass and has continued to do so ever since. Maybe when I pick up another batch of cardinals in the future I'll include a few more?

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## Hugsplox

> Considering I went through around 3 other treatments with no luck and then witnessed the ich practically _vanish_ the second I started using Ich-X, I can say it's worked well for me thus far. Probably different strains of ich that are more resistant to a given medication?


Thats definitely a possibility, even humans respond better to certain medications over others. Just offering an alternative should you need it, but If it aint broke ya know lol

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_Snagrio_ (12-02-2021)

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## Snagrio

> Thats definitely a possibility, even humans respond better to certain medications over others. Just offering an alternative should you need it, but If it aint broke ya know lol


I appreciate it regardless. Should the worst happen and I get "Ich-X resistent ich" I'll know where to look next.  :Good Job:

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## Snagrio

Been keeping up daily water changes with doses of Ich X after each and they've all been thriving.

 Good lord I can't believe the look of these cardinals, the image doesn't do them nearly enough justice. It's going to be incredibly stunning once I have a full shoal (planning on a capping to around 30 strong) in the main tank.


This weirdo marbled whiptail's mouth. It's like I own a mini less predatory wobbegong.  :Razz:  Glad I picked 'em up though. I have a growing fascination with the armored catfish groups (plecos, corydoras, ect.).


Some pics of the angels. They're already doing the "feed me" dance which I wasn't even aware was something angels did. The center one in the second pic had some damaged fins but they're already healing and beginning to regenerate.

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## Snagrio

The first batch did exceptionally well, so today they have been transferred and I got what should be the final batch for now.

25 more cardinal tetras to complete the shoal.


A platinum and "blue leopard" angelfish. I wanted an all black and all white angelfish as an extended theme with my black neon tetras, but the second angel is weird. It was sold as a blue leopard, but it looks nothing like one (leopards have spotting and, especially when young like my angels are, are lighter in color while the one I have is solid black like a black veil).



For the record, this is what a blue leopard looks like. And given how it cost more than even the platinum, chances are I was upcharged for a misidentified breed since from what I've researched black veils don't cost as much. I'll probably go back within the week to get that sorted out...


And finally, I specifically sought out orphans since it's a nice feeling to give loners a new home, and fun since you can get a random ragtag group. As such, I got two different hatchets, a marbled and I think common (_Carnegiella strigata_ and _Gasteropelecus sternicla_ respectively) and a Miguelito cory (_Corydoras virginiae_). Technically, one of the cardinals was also an orphan as it was in a separate tank with no other cardinals.

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Erie_herps (12-10-2021),_Homebody_ (12-09-2021)

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## Zincubus

Ive only quickly skipped through this thread ... Im sure you know you cant keep Cardinal tetras and Angel fish in the same tank .. but just in case ...


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## Snagrio

> Ive only quickly skipped through this thread ... Im sure you know you cant keep Cardinal tetras and Angel fish in the same tank .. but just in case ...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Regular neons can't. Cardinals get 2 inches long, and I specifically got baby angels so the cardinals would have time to grow up with them. That and the main tank has tons of hiding places and a trio of dwarf cichlids in case the angels get any funny ideas.

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## Zincubus

> Regular neons can't. Cardinals get 2 inches long, and I specifically got baby angels so the cardinals would have time to grow up with them. That and the main tank has tons of hiding places and a trio of dwarf cichlids in case the angels get any funny ideas.


Sounds a tad risky imho 


Cardinals are fairly slow growers even in a big tank whilst Angels grow frighteningly fast .. have a huge mouth and an insatiable appetite... theyre likely to at least be nipping / biting any tetras in there if only to TRY to get a mouthful 


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## Snagrio

> Sounds a tad risky imho 
> 
> 
> Cardinals are fairly slow growers even in a big tank whilst Angels grow frighteningly fast .. have a huge mouth and an insatiable appetite... they’re likely to at least be nipping / biting any tetras in there if only to TRY to get a mouthful 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I know it's a risk, but I've read all over of people having success more than failure with such arrangements, and I've calculated the odds in my favor by getting babies and making them among the last additions to the tank which itself is awash with tall greenery, hiding places and enough angels to have them be too busy with each other to bother others (and if not there's a bachelor trio of apistos; if there's one thing that a cichlid will respect, it's another cichlid).

Meanwhile, I went back to the store today to get store credit for a cardinal I didn't receive (paid for 25 and counted 24 as I was putting them in the quarantine tank plus several times over afterwards). With the discount I picked up this mystery cory that I felt bad about ever since the other day as I took away the only other cory companion it had when I got the bag of orphans, so they're back together now. I do mean mystery though, I have no idea what this species is. It was sold as _C. rabauti_ but it doesn't look like one. _Rabauti_ looks like this.

The one I have doesn't have the single bold black stripe, instead having a series of zigzagging black stripes along the bulk of the body with a single orange spot right on top of the head.


Finally, the black angel saga has gotten even stranger. I couldn't get a discount for the breed discrepancy, but it turns out it only would've been a few bucks' difference so whatever. But I looked at it this morning, and apparently overnight it's started to develop shimmering bluish scales on the side of its body and under/around the gills. No it's not ich or some other parasite, especially as it's already started to regenerate damaged fins (the poor image quality doesn't show it properly but the lighter spots are individual scales that have changed color). So maybe it truly is a blue leopard? Quite bizarre...

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Erie_herps (12-11-2021)

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## Snagrio

I've solved the cory mystery. It's a _C._ _elegans_ "Peru."

Mine.


Stock photo.

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_Spicey_ (12-11-2021)

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## Snagrio

Bad news, my marbled whiptail catfish passed away this morning...  :Tears: 

I noticed it starting to fade in color yesterday, but I wasn't sure if it was simply changing color or something (I had just learned of the species' existence not a couple weeks ago so I didn't know if that was a thing with them). Nope, it was dying...

No other fish new or old have died, it went through quarantine just fine, it was eating, it wasn't bothered by other tankmates, and I just tested the water and it's immaculate so I think I just got unlucky. Hopefully the store will accept a replacement/refund since it's a couple days past their 1 week guarantee.

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## Snagrio

The LFS thankfully gave me a replacement marble whiptail free of charge. Hopefully this one does better.

Also picked up one last orphan (knock on wood). Saw it in an adjacent tank, it's a mouse catfish (how oxymoronic), _Tenellus leporhinus_. The employee told me it had been there for a long time, and the species prefers to live in groups so it's likely been pretty miserable. They're apparently quite similar to corydoras (in fact it looks like one that was stretched out) so maybe it'll become friends with my weird ragtag cory group. The guy was happy someone was finally giving it home too.  :Very Happy:

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Erie_herps (12-24-2021),_Trinityblood_ (12-13-2021)

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## Snagrio

It's been a while, so here's the setup proper with everyone moved in.

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_Armiyana_ (12-23-2021),*Bogertophis* (12-23-2021),Erie_herps (12-24-2021)

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## Bogertophis

That looks very inviting- at least, if I were a fish.   :Cool:

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_Snagrio_ (12-23-2021)

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## Zincubus

> That looks very inviting- at least, if I were a fish.


Yeah I agree ..  I have zero success with real plants but thankfully the fake ones these days look real and move  in the water 


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_Snagrio_ (12-23-2021)

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## Snagrio

> Yeah I agree ..  I have zero success with real plants but thankfully the fake ones these days look real and move  in the water 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


The fabric/silk ones do look very nice, though they sadly don't last as long as plastic ones. They inevitably start to fray out over time.

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*Bogertophis* (02-03-2022),Zincubus (12-23-2021)

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## Snagrio

I can actually take pics of the fish now and not just have a bunch of featureless blurs show up on camera.  :Razz: 


This is what the view is like whenever I get so much as 2 feet away from the aquarium. The angels are complete gluttons and do the "dance" every time. They're bad influences too because most of the other midwater fish have picked up on their behavior and do the same thing now.  :ROFL: 




The marbled whiptail has to be my favorite of my "unplanned oddballs." So striking. Notice how big the "baby" bristlenoses are too. They've also developed bright yellow speckling, wonder if that's from their father's albinism.



Some of the delphax cories. It's feeding time so they're actually out, they usually tend to hide otherwise. Not as bad as the mouse catfish though, I almost never see it and it hides in the fake rock hide in the back all the time.


While two are small (one was bought recently and another replaced one that passed away), the rest of my mystery snails are massive at this point.


My hand for comparison.


Pics aside everything's been going relatively well. There's been no behavioral issues from the angels (the apistos keep them in line), though at one point some of the wild-type ones had this weird gray crust on their bodies. Never did figure out exactly what it was but several successive water changes and a dual assault of Ich X and erythromycin fixed the issue. Unfortunately during the ordeal I lost my orphan common hatchet. Don't even know what happened, literally saw it fine one second then in death throws the next. Stress from the water changes maybe? No known casualties beyond that though thankfully. Only other thing is the black veil angel's constantly tattered fins but there's not really anything I can do about that (I hate unnaturally long-finned fish for that reason but it was the only type of pure black angel they had in the LFS).

I also added some fertilizer substrate (the brown balls throughout the bottom in the images). It's technically supposed to be buried, and I did get as much of it under the sand as I could, but clearly that's something meant to be done before everything is added to a tank. Oh well, the plants seem a bit perkier now at least.

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_Albert Clark_ (02-03-2022),*Bogertophis* (01-14-2022),_GoingPostal_ (01-14-2022),_Trinityblood_ (01-18-2022)

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## Snagrio

Some bad news. The old decrepit giant danio finally passed on, leaving the Eastern rainbow as the last "off-theme" resident. One of the apistos also died, though in both cases I could tell they were on their way out.

In better news, I have new pics.











And a special bonus, a rare appearance of the mouse catfish. I almost never see it. They're supposed to be in groups which would probably help its shyness but given its orphan status I didn't really have a choice. And even if the LFS had more in I don't feel like going through the hassle of setting the QT tank up again.

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_Albert Clark_ (02-03-2022),*Bogertophis* (02-03-2022),Erie_herps (02-03-2022)

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## Bogertophis

Fish are really beautiful & fascinating to watch-   :Love:

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## Albert Clark

Sparkling water and amazing setup! Kudos to you for all the hard work, its very apparent. I always thought you need a filtration system that doubles the aquarium capacity. What do you think? Like if you have a 55 gallon tank your filter should be a 110 gallon capacity system?          :Good Job:

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## Snagrio

> Sparkling water and amazing setup! Kudos to you for all the hard work, its very apparent. I always thought you need a filtration system that doubles the aquarium capacity. What do you think? Like if you have a 55 gallon tank your filter should be a 110 gallon capacity system?


It doesn't hurt, especially if you've got a big bioload. Mine has two huge canister filters and a sponge filter for good measure. That and multiple filters means that if for whatever reason one fails, you still have others going so all the bacterial colonies aren't lost. Like having extra "organs" so to speak.

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*Bogertophis* (02-04-2022)

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## Trinityblood

My gosh your tank looks so good and the water is crystal clear. I'm sorry for your losses. That's always hard. Thanks for sharing.

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## Snagrio

Over the course of the past month I've lost a couple of my mystery snails, and as of a couple days ago my prized marbled whiptail yet again...  :Sad: 

Evidently I've learned that they tend to be sensitive, but both times they were eating and acting perfectly fine and then just keeled overnight despite no water parameter issues, feeding well and no tankmate disputes. It just wasn't meant to be I guess...

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## Bogertophis

> Over the course of the past month I've lost a couple of my mystery snails, and as of a couple days ago my prized marbled whiptail yet again... 
> 
> Evidently I've learned that they tend to be sensitive, but both times they were eating and acting perfectly fine and then just keeled overnight despite no water parameter issues, feeding well and no tankmate disputes. It just wasn't meant to be I guess...


Aw, that's not fair.   :Sad:   So sorry for your losses, it looks like you're doing all the right things, but sometimes nature just likes to stick her foot out & trip us.

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## Trinityblood

I'm sorry for your losses  :Sad: .  Fish keeping can be tough sometimes.

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## Snagrio

So, for the first time in years, I adopted off of Craigslist. The ads were for a candy stripe pleco and a couple panda cories. The lady was as knowledgeable as I am and was also trying to downsize (tanks everywhere) so while I was there she gave me a couple of white cloud mountain minnows, a female albino bristlenose and some java fern for no extra cost. $30 for what is probably $60+ worth of fish. Really great deal.  :Good Job:

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_Albert Clark_ (03-28-2022),*Bogertophis* (03-28-2022),_GoingPostal_ (03-28-2022),_Spicey_ (05-13-2022),_Trinityblood_ (03-05-2022)

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## Trinityblood

> So, for the first time in years, I adopted off of Craigslist. The ads were for a candy stripe pleco and a couple panda cories. The lady was as knowledgeable as I am and was also trying to downsize (tanks everywhere) so while I was there she gave me a couple of white cloud mountain minnows, a female albino bristlenose and some java fern for no extra cost. $30 for what is probably $60+ worth of fish. Really great deal.


Congrats on your new additions!

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## Snagrio

It's been a while since they went through quarantine and were introduced to the main tank. The others have been doing fine but the candy stripe had his hide commandeered by the male albino bristlenose and started digging in the sand, notably underneath the largest piece of dragon stone and I was worried he'd get crushed. So I ordered more of the same type of cave and installed them during a water change, managing to wedge one in the space where the rock is. He's still digging a bit in one front corner during the night but I can live with it since it's at least not life-threatening (the male bristlenose used to do the same thing for a time so I figure the candy stripe will knock it off eventually now that there's multiple cave options now).

As you can see from this pic (the bubbles are from the water change just prior), the black angel is massive. All the angels seem to be growing at different rates, not really sure why. They're all healthy and _definitely_ eating (gluttons, the lot of them) so it's rather odd.

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_Albert Clark_ (03-28-2022),AutumnVanilla (05-13-2022),*Bogertophis* (03-28-2022)

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## Albert Clark

What a amazing community you have amassed. Was that a custom made aquarium or can someone buy that particular brand right off the shelf?

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_Snagrio_ (03-28-2022)

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## Snagrio

> What a amazing community you have amassed. Was that a custom made aquarium or can someone buy that particular brand right off the shelf?


I got the initial setup from Craigslist so I have no clue on the branding. But it's a standard size and build which you can find in any store that sells larger aquariums, it's not a special custom build or anything.

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## Bogertophis

> I got the initial setup from Craigslist so I have no clue on the branding. But it's a standard size and build which you can find in any store that sells larger aquariums, it's not a special custom build or anything.


Well your skills in furnishing it have made it appear to be custom, so that's saying something.   :Good Job:

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_Snagrio_ (03-28-2022)

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## Snagrio

The candy stripe is still digging in the front corner, but not as frequently and vigorously as before. 'Tis but a minor inconvenience to just sweep the sand back periodically.

I think the cories appreciate the new caves the most out of anybody though, given that I'm seeing them even _less_ nowadays (outside of feeding time of course) which means they must be utilizing them. Whatever makes them happy though.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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*Bogertophis* (04-04-2022)

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## Snagrio

Some fresh pics.













This is one of the "baby" bristlenoses. They've gotten so big.


Also forgot to mention them when it happened, but a little while ago I picked up a couple what I believe are salt and pepper cories from the store. They had been sitting alone in a tank at the end of the displays for ages and had no barbels and their fins were all but nubs. As seen here they've been recovering quite well. I have so many different cory species at this point I've genuinely lost count.  :ROFL:

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AutumnVanilla (05-13-2022),*Bogertophis* (05-13-2022),_Homebody_ (05-13-2022)

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## Snagrio

So, this is an unexpected surprise. Two of my angelfish paired up.


One of the wild types and the black veil. They both guarding the clutch and keeping everyone else away. So that's TWO species that have procreated in my system. I clearly must be doing something right.  :W00t:

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*Bogertophis* (07-14-2022),_Homebody_ (07-14-2022)

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## Bogertophis

That's AWESOME!  Great job!   :Cool:

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## Snagrio

So, today has been a total disaster... Had a couple of extra rough weeks of work, so I decided to treat myself for a little cheering up and went to the fish store. But when I came back and started putting the bags in the quarantine tank downstairs, one of them knocked over the rock that was keeping the sponge filter in place, and it cracked the bottom glass...

10 gallons worth of water all over the place... My dad and I managed to salvage most of the items (the shelf was full of stuff) and use a shop vac, fans and a dehumidifier to soak up all the water, but I had no other tank so I was forced to put the new fish in the main tank immediately and treat the whole thing with Ich X on the spot.

It's extra awful that this happened because what I got was extra special (and expensive).


A trio of _Apistogramma borelii opal_ (another species of dwarf cichlids), and by far my most ambitious species attempt, two turquoise discus. The latter are locally bred, raised from tap water and have already taken interest in pellets so they're the best possible stock I could've gone with to try this most esteemed of freshwater fish.

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*Bogertophis* (09-07-2022),_GoingPostal_ (09-12-2022)

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## Bogertophis

Sorry for your awful day- I hope that's the last of the rotten luck for a long while & that your new acquisitions do well with you now.

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## Snagrio

For some good news, I offered the discus some bloodworms and they eagerly ate some.


Also caught a glimpse of the dwarf cichlids, they're all hiding in a back cave (the ones all the way in the back, bottom center).

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*Bogertophis* (09-08-2022),_Homebody_ (09-09-2022)

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## Snagrio

Some pics around a day after a hefty cleaning.

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*Bogertophis* (09-12-2022),_Homebody_ (09-12-2022),_Spicey_ (09-13-2022)

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## Snagrio

So the unthinkable happened.

_My discus produced a clutch of eggs._


What's more, two of the angels were in the middle of laying their own batch at the same time.


Unfortunately by this following morning they were all gone (in fact the angels were eating their own eggs as fast as they laid them  :No: ), but I'm just amazed that three species now reproduced in my system, including freaking DISCUS. The conditions I provided must just be that good.

I briefly entertained the idea of making a new setup just for the discus pair, but they weren't the most expensive type out there ($90 each, when higher end ones go for multiple hundreds) and by the time I went through all the hassle I probably wouldn't break even. Still though, can't believe I've gotten what's widely considered the coupe de grace of freshwater fish to breed, without even actively trying.

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*Bogertophis* (11-23-2022)

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## Zincubus

> So the unthinkable happened.
> 
> _My discus produced a clutch of eggs._
> 
> 
> What's more, two of the angels were in the middle of laying their own batch at the same time.
> 
> 
> Unfortunately by this following morning they were all gone (in fact the angels were eating their own eggs as fast as they laid them ), but I'm just amazed that three species now reproduced in my system, including freaking DISCUS. The conditions I provided must just be that good.
> ...


Without wanting to pizz on your chips ( uk saying ) ..  I had a Discus tank years ago and for whatever reason  .. I think life got difficult.  Anyways I stopped cleaning the tank out , stopped the water changes .. the glass was thick with algae  I just fed them 

Anyways one day I happened to look in and there were little babies feeding off their parents skin / slime .. 

All through complete neglect !

The photo below is nicked off the internet 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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*Bogertophis* (11-23-2022),_Snagrio_ (11-23-2022)

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## Snagrio

> Without wanting to pizz on your chips ( uk saying ) ..  I had a Discus tank years ago and for whatever reason  .. I think life got difficult.  Anyways I stopped cleaning the tank out , stopped the water changes .. the glass was thick with algae  I just fed them 
> 
> Anyways one day I happened to look in and there were little babies feeding off their parents skin / slime .. 
> 
> All through complete neglect !
> 
> The photo below is nicked off the internet 
> 
> 
> ...


You know what, fair. For the longest time I'd constantly hear back and forth that discus are either just fine to keep or the hardest things ever to keep alive. Now that I've kept a couple for myself for a while I think it's far more the former at this point and the latter sentiment is a hangover from when they were all WC.

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*Bogertophis* (11-23-2022)

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## Zincubus

> You know what, fair. For the longest time I'd constantly hear back and forth that discus are either just fine to keep or the hardest things ever to keep alive. Now that I've kept a couple for myself for a while I think it's far more the former at this point and the latter sentiment is a hangover from when they were all WC.


Yes .. I hadnt really thought about it but your theory makes perfect sense !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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## Zincubus

Interestingly I have a predicament at the moment 

I had a tank full of young ,  mixed Barbs ( about 20) then I added a pair of dwarf Platinum Parrot fish ( hybrid cichlids) - they are 3 long , extremely intelligent and inquisitive max have tiny mouths like Rams .

I read up on the Parrot fish and 99% of males are infertile of course this one FERTILE 

Within a few weeks they had spawned and then eggs hatched and there were about 20 tiny , tiny little fry on the cleared out glass bottom of the tank in the corner .

The problem was then that the parents were ultra protective and spent the day chasing away the Tiger barbs who dont appear to be very bright at all as they just swam back into the danger area seconds later . 

I decided to remove the Tigers and put them in my little spare quarantine tank ..

A month later and there seems to be about 6 or 7 ( maybe more as the tank is jam packed with rocks and hiding places .)the little ones are just less than  1cm long and are all very territorial.. chasing each other out of their little patch .

The problem is that mum and dad are getting jiggy again and now mum darts and chases the babies every time she sees one ..


I have decided to put the Tiger Barbs back in this afternoon just to give the mum and dad something else to think about ..

I only have one decent sized tank and the little quarantine one

Thoughts ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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## Zincubus

> Interestingly I have a predicament at the moment 
> 
> I had a tank full of young ,  mixed Barbs ( about 20) then I added a pair of dwarf Platinum Parrot fish ( hybrid cichlids) - they are 3 long , extremely intelligent and inquisitive max have tiny mouths like Rams .
> 
> I read up on the Parrot fish and 99% of males are infertile of course this one FERTILE 
> 
> Within a few weeks they had spawned and then eggs hatched and there were about 20 tiny , tiny little fry on the cleared out glass bottom of the tank in the corner .
> 
> The problem was then that the parents were ultra protective and spent the day chasing away the Tiger barbs who dont appear to be very bright at all as they just swam back into the danger area seconds later . 
> ...


Two day update .. all went very well with the reintroduction of the shoal of Tiger Barbs !

Phew !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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_Spicey_ (11-26-2022)

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