# What did you do in your aquarium today?



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

*What did you do in your aquarium today?*

There is an ongoing thread in another forum I use: what did you do in your foundry today? It's fun to know what other people are doing.

I will kick it off: today I placed an order for a new 48"x18" plastic trim for my 90g tank that broke in my recent move. I also planned out an emersed 2.5g tank.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I took a little time to enjoy a new colony of shrimp I established a few months ago. These are _Neocaridina hetropoda_ with dark red bodies, and a broad green stripe down their backs. They appeared in a mixed group of shrimp from other hobbyists in a 40 gal tank.

I've been selecting them, and moved the best into the water portion of a paludarium. There aren't any fish in there to harrass them, and they are doing very well.


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## K Randall (Nov 23, 2004)

I replaced the foreground in my Fluval Flora nano with C. Parva. Looks nice! I also tried an experiment. I have sme nice branchy wood in the tank, but because the tank is tall for its sive, I needed some more green higher up in the tank. So I attached M. p. 'Windelov' plantlets to the branches to make it a bit more "tree-like". We'll see how it looks as it grows in!


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Awesome! I'd love to see pictures Michael and K Randall.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

Yesterday I cleaned my rocks and the sand. I also received the results of a little contest I entered. Some liked the algae some didn't (very wide spread in scores). I hope my Sewellia aren't mad at me for taking their food

For a picture, see my journal!


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

I noticed Neon Tetra eggs in the spawning tank, so I removed the pair and covered the tank with a towel.

I have about a 4 month old batch of Diamond Tetras in a bare bottom 30G w/ a few Ancistrus. They've been dropping like flies with a puffy fungus that starts at the base of the tale then eventually covers the entire body. I'm not very experienced with fish meds, so I put the remaining 17 in a 20H and will be treating them with Binox. Does this sound like the right med for fungus?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Not sure but methylene blue is used to prevent fungus when hatching eggs away from the parents. So it could be used for external fungus issues. Malenchite green as well or formalin are also used if I remember right. Surprised you can actually see the tiny tetra eggs but congrats


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

I tore apart my 75G trying to catch 3 bushynose plecos (succeeded). since it was all a mess, i pulled the manzania branches out, and cleaned the bba off, and super glues some needle leaf java fern to the wood, before I re-organized. 

I have a lot of empty MTS shells in the tank from assassins. I need to remove these, but there seems to be a never ending supply.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I planted some Mimosa aquatica today.

Its a plant that moves when you touch it. Its also called the sensitive plant.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Cool! We have several native _Mimosa_ in Texas that are touch-sensitive also, but ours are all xeric plants. What kind of conditions does _M. aquatica_ need?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Neat. I didn't know it was native in Texas. What is a xeric plant?

Mimosa aquatica is a floating plant and so its requirements are similar to other floating plants like duckweed and hyacinth. It doesn't like very deep water, (a few inches deep is its ideal zone) though it will spread branches out over deeper water. It likes good lighting although its only labeled as a "partial sun" plant as far as growing in outdoors goes. 

Mine is still all closed up from being shipped but it looks in good condition and I got a lot of it so hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to poke it and enjoy it moving


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Xeric means adapted to dry environments. Related terms are mesic (medium moisture) and hydric (wet environments, although not as wet as aquatic).

I always look for these sensitive mimosas on field trips, it would be cool to have one growing in a pond or aquarium.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Maybe I can ship you some when the stuff I got has had a chance to recover. 

I bought it off ebay though so my guess is you could buy it off there too if you wanted to get it faster. I'll probably post a video of the plant at some point.


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## Luffy (Aug 23, 2012)

Touch sensitive floaters... that sounds fantastic! Maybe I'll try that one of these days too. I really enjoy floating plants. I'd love to see a video of them in action once they're recovered.

What did I do in my aquarium today? Well, mostly just took some time to sit back and enjoy it. Yesterday I caught some mosquito larva from a bucket I have outside and fed it to my sparkling gourami. They're such fun inquisitive little fish and still seem excited today about the live snack. They're poking around all of the plants trying to find any larva that escaped them.


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## Summo (Sep 5, 2012)

I'm trying to solve my problem, which is HIGH AMMONIA. Tried so many different ways, but is not working. ALLL STRESSED.


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## chrislewistx (Jun 8, 2012)

Sunday afternoons are my weekly water change, and tank maintenance day. It is always amazing to see what has changed in the tank. My 20L has been setup for 9 weeks, and it is starting to come together. I had a little brown algae in two or three spots, but as of the last week or two it has completely disappeared.

I have been thinking about trying an Iwagumi scape, and had been planning some layouts. While doing water changes I decided to go ahead and rework my 3 gallon JBJ Pico. I had the rocks I wanted to use, but not the right plants to pull off my Iwagumi. However, I did manage to put together something I am more happy with then how it was previously setup. Also, I did confirm first hand that it isn't as easy to lay out rock as it looks. #-o

*Zappins, I would love to hear details about your 2.5 gallon emersed setup, and see some pictures too. *

Summo, sorry to hear you are having issues with amonia. Did you have a filter break down?


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## Summo (Sep 5, 2012)

chrislewistx - sadly no, otherwise i would know what to do, but up until now, im still clueless.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

chrisle I'll probably post pictures in a week or two. So far I've only got the mimosa aquatica in the 2.5 gallon tank which virtually fills the tank. I didn't realize it was such a large plant. On wednesday or thursday of this week I'll be getting a new plastic trim for my 90g tank. After I fix the 90g I'll transfer the mimosa into there and then I can start ordering plants for my 2.5 g.

A while back a member posted a picture of his friend's carnivorous plant tank. I've been admiring it for ages now and so the other day I did some research into what the species in his picture are and what they need to grow. I plan on ordering many of the plants seen in this picture for my 2.5 g tank.

Here is the plan:









From:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...-aquatic-plants-carnivorous-plant-layout.html

Hey Summo, usually ammonia is from something decaying. Probably a fish or excess rich food (like beef heart or bloodworms). Best way to reduce it is by several large water changes. 50% per day for as many days as it takes to get the ammonia down. Chemicals and whatnot aren't nearly as effective as water changes for fixing high nutrient problems.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I trimmed the greenhouse and some of the overgrown tanks and used them to pack some grab bags. Then I hauled a 10g tank outside to be cleaned and re-set up for a herd of newborn mollies. 

Also I fed the fish. That happens pretty frequently, actually...

The Mimosa needs a lot of space. It'll take over even the biggest tank easily once it's established


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## chrislewistx (Jun 8, 2012)

That is an awesome tank Zappins, thanks for sharing the link. It has an almost alien landscape feel to it. The colors of the plants almost seemed painted on.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

I didn't even get to see the tanks with the lights on today. Left in the dark and got home in the dark. I was supposed to change out a couple of 20 lb CO2 cylinders. That will have to wait til tomorrow. Hope the algae doesn't get too bad with the extra day without.


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## xenxes (Aug 1, 2012)

Absolutely nothing!


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

Photographed my new Nannacara anomala (probably 'yiyi') which are in there since saturday and are already showing spawning behaviour. Really nice! But at the same time I found out what probably killed my Apistogramma nijsseni males, 'camalanus' I saw the worms sticking out the anus of the female as well and the dead male had them as well Only the cichlids are affected but don't want my other fish to become affected as well...


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Camalanus! I hate those things! The only treatment that will get rid of them is Levamisole. Here is a link to a great article about its use: http://www.loaches.com/disease-treatment/levamisole-hydrochloride-1


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks Michael!


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

Absolutely nothing too except feeding the fishes


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Thanks For the link Michael. I hate those things too and the LFSes are always full of fish with it.


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## K Randall (Nov 23, 2004)

Zapins said:


> chrisle I'll probably post pictures in a week or two. So far I've only got the mimosa aquatica in the 2.5 gallon tank which virtually fills the tank.


You should see it in the wild in the Amazon. There can be yards and yards of surface area covered by it, and you pick it up to find that it is all one big piece! I don't know that I have any digital photos of it, (slides, but those are a PITA to scan) but when I get home I'll see if I can dig up some wild photos.


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## reybie (Jul 18, 2007)

I finally got off my butt and removed the remaining bolbitis that is hogging almost half of my 16 gal tank. Now the fishes can swim around again.


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## pandamonium (Sep 19, 2012)

I have been thinning out my floaters!


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

A few days ago I hooked up my automatic water change system again. The boiler was replaced in our basement and the system had been off for a few months. Its good to not do water changes again!

But today I cleaned my 90g tank in my apartment since it has some algae growing here and there. I noticed my angel fish spawned and have wrigglers now. I'm still feeding and raising their first batch of fry which are now dime size.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I cleaned up my poor dead angel fish babies after my heater malfunctioned and had the water at 100F.

I also placed an order for a new 90g tank since my current one cracked down the entire glass pane while full :O Since when are tanks so expensive!?! 219$ before tax just for the glass. Is this normal or are they trying to screw me?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

A few days ago I overdosed my 90g high tech tank with ferts so I could go back home for Easter and the plants would have enough nutrients.










Then I mucked out my completely overgrown 90g low tech soil tank. I have 1000s of Endlers and Assassin snails. Ugh, I don't know what I will do with them all?? Pet stores only need so many! I need to shut down the tank and sell it off to make some space and cash.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

Huge trim in the hex, transfering the plants to my barrel. 

Sent from my SGH-T599N using Tapatalk


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## Chaoslord (Oct 3, 2011)

I observed my skiffia lermae fry today. They are two weeks old without a single loss.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Woah whats a skiffia lermae? I've never heard of that before.

Barrel?


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## misant777 (Mar 21, 2014)

Zapins: IDK about your area, but here in Portland, OR, aquariums are dirt cheap on Craigslist. There's a guy right now giving away a 120G with stand in great condition. I'd totally take it if I had the space. Another guy just gave me all his fish and a couple others gave me shrimp and some new plants. It's like there's a shut down trend going on.

I just excavated a 20Lb CO2 bottle that's been kicking around for a few years and still has something of a charge in it. I need to fashion a quick bubble counter here in a minute and pipe it into the air supply line. 

I see a couple of my fish scratching on things. I'm thinking it might be time to try out the metricide.


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## Chaoslord (Oct 3, 2011)

Hey Zappins,

This is my video, Skiffia lermae: 




I took that about a year ago it was the last time they had fry for me. Under C.A.R.E.S. http://www.carespreservation.com/priority_list.html there listed as endangered for extinction in the wild.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Yep, I'm closing down a few tanks I've had running at my parent's place for the last few years. I haven't really been around enough to maintain them properly and they are just wasting electricity at this point. Looking to see how much I can get for them from craigslist. Probably not too much, but enough to help pay the rent and fund a few more plant deficiency tests.


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## sewoeno (Apr 10, 2014)




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## Rusty (Apr 18, 2014)

I went to a lfs and got live blackworms so fed them and did a wc


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## zadratus (Feb 25, 2014)

Trimmed and sold some plants, making room for some tonina
fluviatilis.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I shut down my 90g tank the other day and went to sleep. I woke up and the tank was full again. I forgot to disconnect the automatic water change system I installed -.-


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