DampHaggis
New Member
Hi Folks
It's been a while...! More than overdue in providing an update report to my respected teachers & trusted advisors!! @Byron @NickAu @Demeter32
I'm delighted to be able to share how much joy I'm getting from my fish, now that they're all in far, far better environments, and how much happier they all seem to be. Vibrant colours, observable natural behaviours that I wasn't seeing before... I'm proud now to be able to say that my scaly chums are no longer oppressed, and do very much appear now to be thriving, rather than barely surviving as they were before.
It's been about a month now since I completed the great migration. Sadly I wasn't fast enough off the mark to avoid any losses. I mentioned in an earlier post that a few of my guppies had taken a beating in the 60 litre biorb, either at the hands of the gourami or the lady bettas, before I could get them out into a safer place. I lost three from severe tail damage while they were still in the biorb, and another two which had also suffered tail damage within a couple of days of having moved them into the 46 litre fluval edge.
I also lost two danios within a week of the migration; one zebra and one rosie. Haven't been able to figure out what happened to them - I'm assuming stress-related as it was rough getting everyone out of the 46 litre. They both 'pineconed' within a couple of days of each other. Made my heart sink to have this happen after I'd moved them to nirvana. Netted them out and applied the swift thump of doom.
Despite the losses, I do still feel incredibly lucky not to have lost more than I did, now that I fully understand just how far I'd been going wrong. Perhaps if I'd managed to get the moves done a week earlier these could have been avoided, but hindsight is such a powerful thing, and I am where I am...
So, tank by tank status in order of scale (no pun intended) and quick pics!
The 15 litre biorb now just has Winston, the male betta, and 2 amano shrimp. His colours have deepened. He was mostly dark blue on his body with very pale blue pectoral fins (he's an elephant ear guy) and a slight purple hue in the right light. He's now sporting far more purple than he was, and has developed some emerald green tinges to his body. The pic doesn't do him justice. He is gorgeous... While he tended to hang around toward the top of the tank while he was sharing space with the CPD's, he's now all over the place! Sleeps in the midst of the limnophilia, takes food from my fingers, little piggie always zooms to the front of the tank to beg for a snack whenever I'm near, and will happily swim into and tickle the palm of my hand when I'm in there cleaning etc. I'm also at last getting some success with a floating plant that is more compatible with the biorb circulation - bacopa australis, floats just under the surface, and is putting down some decent roots. I think he's been having a go at making bubble nests too. I can't say for certain that it's him as it's possible it's just bubbles from the pump that aren't bursting at the surface and being pushed to the side by the current...
Here's a shot of Winston's crib.
Next up - the 46 litre fluval edge, now housing the remaining three guppies, and the 9 CPD's. I was amazed at how quickly the colours changed in the CPD's, and their behaviour is completely different in their new home! Compared to how they are now, it's screamingly obvious that these little critters were having an utterly horrible time in the 15 with the male betta. I feel genuinely blessed not to have lost any of them. Their bodies are now showing the petrol blue/green that they're supposed to, fins & tails vibrantly red and orange, and I'm now able to determine their sex. They're still hanging around together in little groups, but they're far more adventurous than before, darting round through the plants, and they're so adorably playful! The planting in this tank took a major beating from catching everyone to move them out, but I've backfilled some of the plants which were completely done for, and the others are bouncing back well and generating a lot of new growth after a good pruning. I've ordered some red ludwigea which should turn up tomorrow to add a bit of variation in colour to the planting and complement the CPDs' gorgeous colours.
Originally I had intended to set up a new 46 litre just for the guppies, such that I'd have species-specific tanks for the guppies and the CPD's, however now that I have significantly fewer guppies, and seeing how well the three guppies and the CPD's seem to be getting along together, I can see a new objective. I don't think I can now justify another 46 litre, and to be honest, the only place I could reasonably set it up is far from ideal due to a shard of direct afternoon sunlight for a few hours each day, so probably best to just not go there. I'm now thinking instead about increasing the number of CPD's in the existing 46 litre to 15 which I think would make for a really happy band, and just leaving the three guppies in there as feature fish. Research suggests that the footprint of the tank and capacity should comfortably be able to accommodate the uplift in the number of CPDs. But having made good now, I am determined not to cock up again!!
What are your thoughts on this?
I'd also like to introduce some shrimp to this tank, if I can, to help with the housekeeping. Whilst the CPD's are getting frozen cyclops and daphnia every other day, their staple is still dried food and the stuff is like dust, which isn't really a winning combination with the tank's circulation. Even with the flow turned down to minimum at feeding times, a proportion of the food is immediately swept down to the bottom. I've been doing the 'little and often' thing, and doing a gravel vac thrice weekly alongside a 10 litre water change, but it's still resulting in more food waste gathering than I'm comfortable with, and despite my best efforts I can't seem to get the nitrate below 35ppm (although delighted that ammonia and nitrite are staying at zero!), hence the shrimp thoughts. I've only had amano shrimp so far, but I'd like to try something different, something with a bit of colour, but I don't want anything that may be at risk of being eaten by the guppies, or may terrorise the CPD's. Any suggestions?
Shot of the 46 litre...
Next up, the 60 litre lady betta biorb, currently still with bonus gourami...
This has had a full rescape. The salt and meds I'd added to the tank to try to treat the sick gourami had killed off some of the plants, and from seeing pics of @NickAu 's betta setups, I had a far better idea of their needs. I've got more leaves attached toward the top of the tank to help break up the depth for them, and this also provides for hiding places at the top which, so far at least, has helped with breaking line of sight which seems to have made the gourami a lot happier. Loads and loads more planting in there now, and the fast growers are doing just that. Another couple of months I reckon and some of the plants will have grown the full depth of the tank. Some lovely micranthemum monte-carlo creeping its way across the bottom. Did have some success initially with some brazilian pennywort, but apparently it's delicious and the gourami scoffed it! I've finally found somewhere that is willing to take the gourami from me. Highest rated aquatic shop in central England, and I'm thus far very impressed. Annoying thing is that they're not that local to me, a couple of hours drive away, and commitments mean it'll be another week and change before I'm able to take the gourami to them, but it's a plan, and he's OK in the interim.
But!! This means I will now be able to build a proper betta sorority in the 60 litre, which I'm really excited about! Aforementioned aquatic shop has huge range of females, some real stunners, so I will be utterly spoiled for choice when I'm ready. Obviously the rescape messed up territories, and there was some mild fisticuffs between Rose and Betty Blue resulting in Blue suffering a bit of mild dorsal fin damage, but they've sorted out their pecking order now and Blue is healing well. I'm absolutely fascinated with how the bettas interact with each other, now that they've got the space and the inclination to do so, and I'm seeing much more of their individual characters coming out. Amazes me how just how big the personalities are...
@NickAu - I know betta sororities are your area of expertise, so I'd be really grateful for your advice on building it up. If I can, I'd like to bring a few home with me at the same time as I'm taking the gourami away to be rehomed, so I'd like to be ready... I have four ladies currently, and I'm thinking that a total of 7 would be the most I could have in the tank without overdoing it, and I do think @Byron has a point about odd numbers making for a better aesthetic. Your thoughts on numbers? Am I better adding one at a time, or all additional three at once? Maybe better to resolve the pecking order in one go, rather than putting them through it three times?
Pic of the 60 litre betta house (in case you're wondering, the brown scraps on the bottom are offcuts of polyfilter soaking up the tannin that the rosewood is still leeching despite having had a damned good boiling...)
Lastly, the big boy - the new 240 litre. Blown away with this! I have topped up my bosemani rainbows and now have seven; 3 male, 4 female, and they're looking so beautiful, especially in the mornings. The orange in the males is stunning, some emerald green flashes on their flanks... Gorgeous creatures, and it's a joy watching them school together, now that they can! My two remaining female danios have been joining in too, and they're definitely enjoying the space. The cherry barbs, whilst still fairly shy, have come out of their shells a bit and are a lot more playful, and the colour on the males is so much brighter. The only fish that didn't immediately take to and start enjoying the space was Lionel, my male leopard danio. This was my very first fish who arrived in a bag along with the filthy 60 litre biorb which was gifted to me by my boyfriend. Lionel was behaving like an agoraphobe, hiding behind a java fern, nipping out for a snack and promptly disappearing again, and looking pretty anaemic. This little guy is knocking on in years - the boyfriend reckons he must be about 6 or 7 years old by now, and god knows he's been through a helluva lot in his short life to date; being kept in ever deteriorating conditions as my boyfriend's ability to keep on top of his maintenance subsided before he even came to me, and then there's what I put him through with a series of inappropriate homes and tankmates. Clearly he's a survivor, part tardigrade I reckon in terms of his ability to cope with extreme or harsh environments! It took a couple of weeks, but he has now ventured out into the great yonder and he's coloured up nicely again, but he is still showing solitary behaviour and really not interacting with his tankmates at all. I imagine that he's thinking "bloody kids", and just wants some peace and quiet. But he's staying where he is!
So. I have space in the 240 litre for something new! I'm happy, nay delighted with the boesmani's as my primary school, happy with the flashes of colour from the cherry barbs, but I'm no longer feeling the need to rebuild the number of danios, as Lionel doesn't seem to care for the company, and the other two happily school along with the rainbows...
I've looked into corydoras as I was keen - I was thinking about pandas, however most species I've researched appear to have at least some inclination toward aggression and probably less than ideal for a community tank, so I'm leaning away from these, and now looking into plecos instead. I've seen some beautiful rams and thought perhaps a pair of these, but again, there does seem to be a suggestion of aggression in a community, and my objective is very much one of peace and harmony, as best nature will allow! Any thoughts or suggestions?
Pic of the 240...
So, that's you all up to speed with my progress! Just want to close by expressing once more my sincere thanks for the frankness and the slapped wrists, and helping me understand the error of my ways. Whilst I'm sad for the loss of life along the way, it could easily have been so much worse, and it feels fantastic to see my fish looking so beautiful and happy by compared to how they were.
Happy weekend y'all!
It's been a while...! More than overdue in providing an update report to my respected teachers & trusted advisors!! @Byron @NickAu @Demeter32
I'm delighted to be able to share how much joy I'm getting from my fish, now that they're all in far, far better environments, and how much happier they all seem to be. Vibrant colours, observable natural behaviours that I wasn't seeing before... I'm proud now to be able to say that my scaly chums are no longer oppressed, and do very much appear now to be thriving, rather than barely surviving as they were before.
It's been about a month now since I completed the great migration. Sadly I wasn't fast enough off the mark to avoid any losses. I mentioned in an earlier post that a few of my guppies had taken a beating in the 60 litre biorb, either at the hands of the gourami or the lady bettas, before I could get them out into a safer place. I lost three from severe tail damage while they were still in the biorb, and another two which had also suffered tail damage within a couple of days of having moved them into the 46 litre fluval edge.
I also lost two danios within a week of the migration; one zebra and one rosie. Haven't been able to figure out what happened to them - I'm assuming stress-related as it was rough getting everyone out of the 46 litre. They both 'pineconed' within a couple of days of each other. Made my heart sink to have this happen after I'd moved them to nirvana. Netted them out and applied the swift thump of doom.
Despite the losses, I do still feel incredibly lucky not to have lost more than I did, now that I fully understand just how far I'd been going wrong. Perhaps if I'd managed to get the moves done a week earlier these could have been avoided, but hindsight is such a powerful thing, and I am where I am...
So, tank by tank status in order of scale (no pun intended) and quick pics!
The 15 litre biorb now just has Winston, the male betta, and 2 amano shrimp. His colours have deepened. He was mostly dark blue on his body with very pale blue pectoral fins (he's an elephant ear guy) and a slight purple hue in the right light. He's now sporting far more purple than he was, and has developed some emerald green tinges to his body. The pic doesn't do him justice. He is gorgeous... While he tended to hang around toward the top of the tank while he was sharing space with the CPD's, he's now all over the place! Sleeps in the midst of the limnophilia, takes food from my fingers, little piggie always zooms to the front of the tank to beg for a snack whenever I'm near, and will happily swim into and tickle the palm of my hand when I'm in there cleaning etc. I'm also at last getting some success with a floating plant that is more compatible with the biorb circulation - bacopa australis, floats just under the surface, and is putting down some decent roots. I think he's been having a go at making bubble nests too. I can't say for certain that it's him as it's possible it's just bubbles from the pump that aren't bursting at the surface and being pushed to the side by the current...
Here's a shot of Winston's crib.
Next up - the 46 litre fluval edge, now housing the remaining three guppies, and the 9 CPD's. I was amazed at how quickly the colours changed in the CPD's, and their behaviour is completely different in their new home! Compared to how they are now, it's screamingly obvious that these little critters were having an utterly horrible time in the 15 with the male betta. I feel genuinely blessed not to have lost any of them. Their bodies are now showing the petrol blue/green that they're supposed to, fins & tails vibrantly red and orange, and I'm now able to determine their sex. They're still hanging around together in little groups, but they're far more adventurous than before, darting round through the plants, and they're so adorably playful! The planting in this tank took a major beating from catching everyone to move them out, but I've backfilled some of the plants which were completely done for, and the others are bouncing back well and generating a lot of new growth after a good pruning. I've ordered some red ludwigea which should turn up tomorrow to add a bit of variation in colour to the planting and complement the CPDs' gorgeous colours.
Originally I had intended to set up a new 46 litre just for the guppies, such that I'd have species-specific tanks for the guppies and the CPD's, however now that I have significantly fewer guppies, and seeing how well the three guppies and the CPD's seem to be getting along together, I can see a new objective. I don't think I can now justify another 46 litre, and to be honest, the only place I could reasonably set it up is far from ideal due to a shard of direct afternoon sunlight for a few hours each day, so probably best to just not go there. I'm now thinking instead about increasing the number of CPD's in the existing 46 litre to 15 which I think would make for a really happy band, and just leaving the three guppies in there as feature fish. Research suggests that the footprint of the tank and capacity should comfortably be able to accommodate the uplift in the number of CPDs. But having made good now, I am determined not to cock up again!!
What are your thoughts on this?
I'd also like to introduce some shrimp to this tank, if I can, to help with the housekeeping. Whilst the CPD's are getting frozen cyclops and daphnia every other day, their staple is still dried food and the stuff is like dust, which isn't really a winning combination with the tank's circulation. Even with the flow turned down to minimum at feeding times, a proportion of the food is immediately swept down to the bottom. I've been doing the 'little and often' thing, and doing a gravel vac thrice weekly alongside a 10 litre water change, but it's still resulting in more food waste gathering than I'm comfortable with, and despite my best efforts I can't seem to get the nitrate below 35ppm (although delighted that ammonia and nitrite are staying at zero!), hence the shrimp thoughts. I've only had amano shrimp so far, but I'd like to try something different, something with a bit of colour, but I don't want anything that may be at risk of being eaten by the guppies, or may terrorise the CPD's. Any suggestions?
Shot of the 46 litre...
Next up, the 60 litre lady betta biorb, currently still with bonus gourami...
This has had a full rescape. The salt and meds I'd added to the tank to try to treat the sick gourami had killed off some of the plants, and from seeing pics of @NickAu 's betta setups, I had a far better idea of their needs. I've got more leaves attached toward the top of the tank to help break up the depth for them, and this also provides for hiding places at the top which, so far at least, has helped with breaking line of sight which seems to have made the gourami a lot happier. Loads and loads more planting in there now, and the fast growers are doing just that. Another couple of months I reckon and some of the plants will have grown the full depth of the tank. Some lovely micranthemum monte-carlo creeping its way across the bottom. Did have some success initially with some brazilian pennywort, but apparently it's delicious and the gourami scoffed it! I've finally found somewhere that is willing to take the gourami from me. Highest rated aquatic shop in central England, and I'm thus far very impressed. Annoying thing is that they're not that local to me, a couple of hours drive away, and commitments mean it'll be another week and change before I'm able to take the gourami to them, but it's a plan, and he's OK in the interim.
But!! This means I will now be able to build a proper betta sorority in the 60 litre, which I'm really excited about! Aforementioned aquatic shop has huge range of females, some real stunners, so I will be utterly spoiled for choice when I'm ready. Obviously the rescape messed up territories, and there was some mild fisticuffs between Rose and Betty Blue resulting in Blue suffering a bit of mild dorsal fin damage, but they've sorted out their pecking order now and Blue is healing well. I'm absolutely fascinated with how the bettas interact with each other, now that they've got the space and the inclination to do so, and I'm seeing much more of their individual characters coming out. Amazes me how just how big the personalities are...
@NickAu - I know betta sororities are your area of expertise, so I'd be really grateful for your advice on building it up. If I can, I'd like to bring a few home with me at the same time as I'm taking the gourami away to be rehomed, so I'd like to be ready... I have four ladies currently, and I'm thinking that a total of 7 would be the most I could have in the tank without overdoing it, and I do think @Byron has a point about odd numbers making for a better aesthetic. Your thoughts on numbers? Am I better adding one at a time, or all additional three at once? Maybe better to resolve the pecking order in one go, rather than putting them through it three times?
Pic of the 60 litre betta house (in case you're wondering, the brown scraps on the bottom are offcuts of polyfilter soaking up the tannin that the rosewood is still leeching despite having had a damned good boiling...)
Lastly, the big boy - the new 240 litre. Blown away with this! I have topped up my bosemani rainbows and now have seven; 3 male, 4 female, and they're looking so beautiful, especially in the mornings. The orange in the males is stunning, some emerald green flashes on their flanks... Gorgeous creatures, and it's a joy watching them school together, now that they can! My two remaining female danios have been joining in too, and they're definitely enjoying the space. The cherry barbs, whilst still fairly shy, have come out of their shells a bit and are a lot more playful, and the colour on the males is so much brighter. The only fish that didn't immediately take to and start enjoying the space was Lionel, my male leopard danio. This was my very first fish who arrived in a bag along with the filthy 60 litre biorb which was gifted to me by my boyfriend. Lionel was behaving like an agoraphobe, hiding behind a java fern, nipping out for a snack and promptly disappearing again, and looking pretty anaemic. This little guy is knocking on in years - the boyfriend reckons he must be about 6 or 7 years old by now, and god knows he's been through a helluva lot in his short life to date; being kept in ever deteriorating conditions as my boyfriend's ability to keep on top of his maintenance subsided before he even came to me, and then there's what I put him through with a series of inappropriate homes and tankmates. Clearly he's a survivor, part tardigrade I reckon in terms of his ability to cope with extreme or harsh environments! It took a couple of weeks, but he has now ventured out into the great yonder and he's coloured up nicely again, but he is still showing solitary behaviour and really not interacting with his tankmates at all. I imagine that he's thinking "bloody kids", and just wants some peace and quiet. But he's staying where he is!
So. I have space in the 240 litre for something new! I'm happy, nay delighted with the boesmani's as my primary school, happy with the flashes of colour from the cherry barbs, but I'm no longer feeling the need to rebuild the number of danios, as Lionel doesn't seem to care for the company, and the other two happily school along with the rainbows...
I've looked into corydoras as I was keen - I was thinking about pandas, however most species I've researched appear to have at least some inclination toward aggression and probably less than ideal for a community tank, so I'm leaning away from these, and now looking into plecos instead. I've seen some beautiful rams and thought perhaps a pair of these, but again, there does seem to be a suggestion of aggression in a community, and my objective is very much one of peace and harmony, as best nature will allow! Any thoughts or suggestions?
Pic of the 240...
So, that's you all up to speed with my progress! Just want to close by expressing once more my sincere thanks for the frankness and the slapped wrists, and helping me understand the error of my ways. Whilst I'm sad for the loss of life along the way, it could easily have been so much worse, and it feels fantastic to see my fish looking so beautiful and happy by compared to how they were.
Happy weekend y'all!
