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Post by gabor129 on Mar 14, 2016 21:31:26 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about the loach! It did look good here swimming with the rest... The videos are great!
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Post by Xander on Mar 15, 2016 4:34:24 GMT -5
I hope he pulled through! Hopefully you got them in time so they can both reach a full recovery. Bringing new fish in is always a mess of risks and unknowns...
The four remaining are still doing well as of this morning, zipping back and fourth in the 10g.
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Mar 15, 2016 7:15:04 GMT -5
The new guys: The kuhlis are certainly the smallest I've ever seen, varying between 1-2 inches in length. The smallest little guy can't be more than 2mm in width. Unfortunately, the largest one of the batch did not make it through the night in quarantine; I'm assuming stress was the factor, as nothing appeared to be wrong with him otherwise. The remaining four have been swimming around very active and healthy-like all day, and have taken to their first feeding with gusto. The shrimp have been actively devouring every shred of algae on every strand of moss they can get their silly mitts on. I can never seem to fin more than two at once, so I'm not sure if the third is well (two of the five were sent off to my sister for her tank) or just very good at hiding. In any event, they've been entertaining. Nice video , I think shrimp are so neat to watch . Could sit and watch them for hours .
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Post by Xander on Mar 18, 2016 17:43:13 GMT -5
These guys have definitely been a pleasure to watch - their little tap dance brings me lots of glee.
WHEW - feeling exhausted! Just finished up changing out my gravel substrate for sand. It was a daunting project, even in just a 20 gallon tank... I will post a couple pictures of the process once I've gone through and found the better shots. Handling a camera with somewhat wet hands isn't a particularly smart idea.
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Post by gabor129 on Mar 18, 2016 18:05:11 GMT -5
These guys have definitely been a pleasure to watch - their little tap dance brings me lots of glee. WHEW - feeling exhausted! Just finished up changing out my gravel substrate for sand. It was a daunting project, even in just a 20 gallon tank... I will post a couple pictures of the process once I've gone through and found the better shots. Handling a camera with somewhat wet hands isn't a particularly smart idea. Well think of it as a labour of love..... Can't wait for the new pictures!!!
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Post by Xander on Mar 18, 2016 18:41:53 GMT -5
SO, I guess I didn't think to get a wide shot of the whole tank before the changeover. Still, here's a shot of the gravel I chose to move away from. It's a decent gravel, National Geographic brand, but in the time since I upgraded from the 10g (this substrate was put in brand new at that time), I've noticed a lot of the coating chipping away and I've seen some interesting colours pop up: I had two options for this process: either set up a temporary holding tank and completely drain the entirety of it, or make the switch with everybody still in the tank. I chose the latter, because I had the sponge filter to keep running with the HOB turned off, and I could also keep my heater running. I also feel it meant the least amount of stress on the fish. And have you ever tried to catch a kuhli?? They don't make it easy, let me tell you. The shrimp were placed in the breeder so they wouldn't get buried, and everyone else neatly stayed out of my way. I used my fish net to scoop up the gravel: I slowly placed the pre-rinsed sand in using a tupperware container, lowering it to the bottom before dumping it to minimize clouding: After placing all the ornaments back in, I decided I would finish with a large water change. I changed somewhere between 65-75%. Goodbye, all my gorgeous tannens! We'll get you all leeched back in before too long: And, we rest! Still a small amount of cloudiness, but largely due to air bubbles more than sand pollution. I expect it to be settled by morning: The cherry barbs have been especially active in the past hour. It's incredible. And the kuhlis are out doing the dance that they usually save for the early morning. At this point, I watch my parameters closely for ammonia spikes due to all that BB I must have removed with the gravel. I'll treat with Seachem Stability for a week to keep things from going haywire. I sprinkled a layer of the old gravel overtop of the sand to reintroduce some BB and to give the substrate a bit of texture. I also have to keep an eye on the pH, as I noticed it made a change in the tapwater while I was rinsing it in a bucket (the bag does warn that it may alter pH, so this is no surprise). As of now, it's measuring exactly how it ought to, no difference from the tapwater. I'll continue to monitor daily to be safe.
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Post by phish on Mar 18, 2016 18:55:02 GMT -5
Nice, I like the new substrate. Also, mentioning the lowering of the sand in the tupperware should really help out those wanting to do this with their setup. Why did you decide to switch to sand?
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Mar 18, 2016 19:13:21 GMT -5
Love the new sand substrate , I also think your loaches will really enjoy it . You have really done a nice job with this and that's for doing a pictorial of it . One of the best looking tanks I've seen .
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Post by Xander on Mar 18, 2016 19:21:00 GMT -5
Nice, I like the new substrate. Also, mentioning the lowering of the sand in the tupperware should really help out those wanting to do this with their setup. Why did you decide to switch to sand? There were several reasons, the biggest factor being the Kuhlis. When I started this tank, I didn't have a clear idea of the fish I wanted to keep in it, so I didn't put much thought into the substrate at all. Kuhlis are similar to Corydoras, in that they love to sift sand through their gills to catch any particles of food that might be left behind. Sand is easier on their barbels than gravel, which has the potential to catch them and do damage. They also like to burrow in it pretty rambunctiously, and being scaleless, they tend to get scratched by sharp edges. Another reason is because when I started my first tank about 10 years ago, I used pool filter sand from the very start and never had gravel at any point. This was my first experience with it, and I wasn't impressed in the differences of keeping it. I find it holds a lot more filth and deeper down, where sand keeps most of the fish waste on top where it's simple enough to vacuum it away at water changes. Finally, I'm looking to delve into some low tech plants. While I'm aware that the sand I've chosen is completely inert, I know that there are still several plants I can choose from that will still take root. They may not thrive, but they will survive. Or that is the hope, lol.
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Post by Xander on Mar 18, 2016 19:21:48 GMT -5
Love the new sand substrate , I also think your loaches will really enjoy it . You have really done a nice job with this and that's for doing a pictorial of it . One of the best looking tanks I've seen . I really appreciate that you think so! Thank you, Les
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Post by gabor129 on Mar 18, 2016 19:54:44 GMT -5
The tank looks really good! The loaches will appreciate the new sand to play in..... There are several plant species that feed from the water body, and do not require substrate at all. Anubias sp., Bolbitis, Microsorum sp. As well as, several floating plants that send long roots into the water such as Pistia stratioes, Amazon frog bit, Salvinia natans. And of course there are all the available mosses that you can utilize to cover all the caves!
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Post by phish on Mar 18, 2016 19:55:32 GMT -5
btw, did you find all 3 shrimp?
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Post by Xander on Mar 18, 2016 20:06:12 GMT -5
WELLLLLL, I found two shrimp... and I found half a shrimp, a couple days ago. I'm not certain what happened - I had just come home from work and noticed a few of the kuhlis and a barb swarmed together over it for a snack.
Thanks for all the suggestions, Gabe! I'll look each of them up and see what will work for me. I'd love to have another moss in her for sure.
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Post by Xander on Mar 25, 2016 13:42:50 GMT -5
I brought the babies out of QT today. A smidge earlier than I should have; I admit I got impatient. Two are still on the underweight side, but it seems less extreme than when they came in. I was as generous as I could be with their food without polluting the tank, lol. Man, catching the original kuhlis during the tank upgrade was tough, but these tiny guys were waaaay faster and harder to corner. I actually had to walk away for a bit before trying again. And they mingle. The big guys were very quick to check out the new fellas, barbel tickles all around. Also, a hint of the Java ferns, staurogyne repens, and green wendtii crypts that made it in yesterday.
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Mar 25, 2016 19:03:11 GMT -5
Man , who would have thought a tank of Kuhlis loaches would be so interesting . Simply love this tank .
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