I've never been a skilled photographer, and I've unfortunately fallen in love with fish that are incredibly fast, and difficult to photograph! But I'm doing my best and want to capture how the tank looks right now (it's looked better!) and how it improves over time, hopefully!
This was actually my first ever tank of my own! Not counting the tank I inherited from my dad. Hence the whiteish gravel - beginner mistake! When I got my first pygmy cory since she was alone in the tank at the store, I removed a bunch of gravel and added a Unipac aquarium silver sand beach at the front. At the time it housed my otocinclus and the remaining male guppies I had left after breeding livebearers. Here is how the tank looked in August 2021, probably the best it's ever looked.
I ended up keeping the gravel because once I finally managed to get some more pygmy cories and had a group of seven, they began breeding, and I found two tiny pygmy fry in the tank! I was over the moon, completely unexpected. They've been breeding really well ever since, so I haven't wanted to do a full tear down to switch completely to sand. It's working for them the way it is, so I don't want to risk ruining it! I have an hypothesis that the gravel may actually be helping with that, that the micro-critters like seed shrimp that I get in this tank as a result of mulm in the gravel, and breaking down almond leaves etc is largely what the pygmy fry feed on in between the meals I give, and that's why they're able to raise themselves in there so well.
I started with seven pygmies, and they easily reached somewhere between 30-40 in there before I began selling some small groups of juveniles, just to prevent the tank bursting at the seams. Have never been able to get an accurate headcount due to so many plants and tiny fry, I'd have to tear down the tank to catch them all and count, and no need to do that.
Tank is a bit of a mess at the moment, some plants doing well, others struggling a bit. I've been forgetting to add ferts and root tabs lately, and I've let the algae grow everywhere but the front glass, for the otos. Will try to remember to add ferts tomorrow, I gave the tank a bit of a tidy up today during the W/C and filter clean, but forgot ferts again... no wonder my vallis is struggling!
Got four Psuedomugli luminatus recently in trade with another hobbyist, love them! They're in here for now because I'm switching out my other tank, once that's done I hope to have a school of these and possibly a school of celebes rainbows in the 63g. I'd like to spawn these as well, fingers crossed!
This was actually my first ever tank of my own! Not counting the tank I inherited from my dad. Hence the whiteish gravel - beginner mistake! When I got my first pygmy cory since she was alone in the tank at the store, I removed a bunch of gravel and added a Unipac aquarium silver sand beach at the front. At the time it housed my otocinclus and the remaining male guppies I had left after breeding livebearers. Here is how the tank looked in August 2021, probably the best it's ever looked.
I ended up keeping the gravel because once I finally managed to get some more pygmy cories and had a group of seven, they began breeding, and I found two tiny pygmy fry in the tank! I was over the moon, completely unexpected. They've been breeding really well ever since, so I haven't wanted to do a full tear down to switch completely to sand. It's working for them the way it is, so I don't want to risk ruining it! I have an hypothesis that the gravel may actually be helping with that, that the micro-critters like seed shrimp that I get in this tank as a result of mulm in the gravel, and breaking down almond leaves etc is largely what the pygmy fry feed on in between the meals I give, and that's why they're able to raise themselves in there so well.
I started with seven pygmies, and they easily reached somewhere between 30-40 in there before I began selling some small groups of juveniles, just to prevent the tank bursting at the seams. Have never been able to get an accurate headcount due to so many plants and tiny fry, I'd have to tear down the tank to catch them all and count, and no need to do that.
Tank is a bit of a mess at the moment, some plants doing well, others struggling a bit. I've been forgetting to add ferts and root tabs lately, and I've let the algae grow everywhere but the front glass, for the otos. Will try to remember to add ferts tomorrow, I gave the tank a bit of a tidy up today during the W/C and filter clean, but forgot ferts again... no wonder my vallis is struggling!
Got four Psuedomugli luminatus recently in trade with another hobbyist, love them! They're in here for now because I'm switching out my other tank, once that's done I hope to have a school of these and possibly a school of celebes rainbows in the 63g. I'd like to spawn these as well, fingers crossed!
