Second-Hand Fish

Thanks to finishing my stand, setting up a tank for my cories, and a guy in Everett who was giving away plants, I redecorated a bit.

First, the big tank. I got a bunch of dwarf sag (I think is what he said. It's all grass to me.) to put in my foreground. I also opted to move some things out of this tank. One is the java moss. I removed all of the free floating moss, leaving only what was carpeting a rock and attached to logs, and put the rest in my cory grow-out tank for the fry. I also removed my java fern to the nano, with better substrate and light. Incoming was all the guppy grass from the nano--it had completely taken over and the betta was not happy about it. (The cories were delighted.) I moved the pennywort from the back to the front next to my couch, so I can more easily sit and look for eggs. I put a sponge on my intake to keep my new 60 gallon filter from sucking up all the guppy grass.



Next, the 10g I setup for a grow out. I hope to get something larger, like a 20 long, eventually. For now if I need more space I can setup a second 10g. I put light play sand from Bobbie in here so I can see the fry better when they are tiny. Wouldn't you know that as I was removing eggs from the 29 today, they started hatching? I had put them in a specimen jar, so I got to see a couple fry hatch. For right now the eggs and newborns are hanging in the jar on the side of the tank. Since they don't have much occassion to swim up, I don't think the fry will get out. I may look into getting a breeder box just so I can watch the eggs more closely. There wasn't much sand left, so its very thin. I put all my java moss in here, and one of the new plants I haven't identified yet.



Finally, in my nano I removed all the guppy grass. My betta, who has been sulking for the past week or so, and had me rather concerned, is much happier already. I realized today that because it has such high watt per gallon, the guppy grass was going nuts. I decided to give up the space for something that could use the light and richer substrate (it has a bit of soil mixed in). So I put my java fern and a new, as yet unidentified, plant in it's place. There are at least two new fry in this tank (or were), and I think they are from my pygmy cories, since the other sterbai are only a couple months old.



Also, I found this snail in the plants. I dunno what kind it is yet.



I still want a riparium, but I think it might be a ways off, since I want something taller than a 10 to do it in. I might just setup a 10g to start collecting the plants for it.

See you all Thursday.

I currently have two setups.

First, is a nano betta tank (3.5 gallons) It is supposed to have my betta and some pygmy cories. Right now, it is also serving as my cory grow out tank, so there are additionally 5 juvenile Sterbai cories. And, one guppy that was interesting looking and was an impulse buy the last time I went to pet smart to buy dog food (its always the dog's fault when I get a new fish.)





















I have plans prepared to make a 3 x 10gallon stand, and the materials. I just havent had the time on a nice day to do it. But within the next two weeks it should be done. Then I'll have a 10 gallon riparium, a cory spawning tank, and a cold tank, probably with guppies now that I have a male.

My other current setup is a 29 gallon tropical community tank. I have a pair of dwarf gourami, 10 rasbora hets (a smaller morph of harlequin rasboras), 6 otos, 3 adult sterbai cory, and two crack fish--I mean zebra danios. The most recent addition is the girl for my dwarf gourami. She's adorable, and they seem to have hit it off quickly. Right now my nano is where all the excitement is, though.