Short update, away from the fish & new links

This has been awhile, the main reason is that I am currently away from my fish and don't really know what is going on, apart from that they are doing well.

The only fish close to me now are my precious Ancistrus sp., plenty of tetras and a two pairs of Angelfish. Both the Angels and the Ancistrus are spawning but in a community setup I fear that  that very few fry will survive.

I have also added two new links to the site, these are two excellent sites that I have used many times for information so I highly recommend having a look!

Aquafarmen - very interesting Norwegian breeding projects


wildguppies.com - anything you need to know about wild guppies


Melander

Ancistrus sp. first spawn

I have had these fish since they were juveniles, for a good few years now and was lucky enough to get one male and two females.

I am delighted that they now have spawned and am looking forward to the little ones hatching, the male has so far been an excellent first time dad:)

The fish has been kept in pH7.5 and dH of around 3, there was no trigger noticed.

The fry will be left to fend for themselves in this community tank, I will keep you posted on their development.

Solution to Easier Waterchanges

We all know the backbreaking and time consuming way of doing waterchanges the traditional way. We still do it as it's part of the hobby and we love our fishes.

There are alternatives though, some people use automated pumps, and even automated water change systems. It's also possible to run many tanks connected to each other and hence only having to change the water in one spot. Another method that I have used my self is to have a spare tank above the rest filled with matured water, in a rack this can quite easily be transfered to lower tanks when doing waterchanges.

Our Danish inventor friend Rene Bannerskjold has come up with a brilliant yet simple DIY solution and was kind enough to send over these pictures.

This is probably what most of us do, it involves alot of carrying and is also time consuming:

To start of, Rene has modified the hose using a fine net so that no fry or smaller fish will be sucked out:

The water container is here replaced by a drain:

The drain is running out trough the back door, this is a very effectiv eand simple solution that most people can use and modify to their needs, fair play Rene!

I would also like to add that this "fish water" is a really good fertilizer for most plants. I always try to use it up either in the garden or for pots and am convinced that I have seen a difference in plant growth.

Aquarium Rack, Danish Improvements:)

I have been in contact with Rene Bannerskjold from Denmark who has built an aquarium rack and got some inspiration from my post here: Aquarium Rack

I think this is so good, I got help building my rack from Bart of Rainbow Aquatics and now Rene has improved the design even further, maybe someone will take inspiration from Rene's version now (I know I will:)). 

This version features higher openings above each tank to allow easier access, led lights and also air lines running in tubes to each tank. I might “steal” the idea with the air lines in the tubes to improve my own rack if I ever dismantle mine. The filtration system in general looks really neat.

Well done Rene and many thanks for sharing the photographs and letting me post them here!

The end result looks really good, have a look for yourselves below:

Detail of Air line tubes:

And finally some smashing looking tanks:

Hypancistrus zebra, L046 t-shirt

I have started to design my own t-shirts, this is the first one and it is now available HERE (www.happypleco.tictail.com).

First out is the stunning Zebra Pleco, L046.

Thoughts on Quarantine tanks

First of all, always buy strong and healthy looking fish, but remember that even the healthiest looking fish could carry nasty parasites and illnesses. Therefor a quarantine tanks are hugely beneficial for fish-keepers and fish alike and any serious aquarist should have one available.

These setups allow the aquarist to monitor new arrivals for signs of any decease without the risk of an illness spreading in the main system. Should sick be present a quarantine tank allows the hobbyist to treat the individual fish or fishes instead of the whole system. A positive side that seems often be overlooked is the peace and quite a quarantine tank can offer new arrivals that might be stressed after travelling. The same goes for wild fish getting used to new foods and water parameters. For this reason I personally don’t stick to the bare minimum quarantine tanks but rather try to set up an environment that the particular species can feel comfortable in long term. I also try to keep the quarantine tank in a quite spot to minimize stress.

The most common villain I see is flukes, especially in wild fish. There are plenty of remedies for these and the fish usually recovers unless it’s a particularly bad infestation. I try not to treat the fish straight away and leave them to recover for a weak or two before starting any treatments, just to let the fishes settle in and gain strength.

As for quarantine period, 2-4 weeks seems to be a common recommendation. There is no need to rush and I personally prefer to leave the fish for around a month. This decision depends on the fish and where it comes from.

What you need is a suitable sized tank, a heater and a seeded filter as well as suitable decor for the particular species. Light are not important and if you have them they should not be too strong as this might put additional stress on already weak fish.

As my main interest lies in small sized catfish the tank in the photograph above is set up for these types of fish. The tank is 72 litre, 60x40x30cm which allows enough bottom space for small sized plecos. The abundance of caves and wood lets the fish pick and choose hiding spots. The lights are particularly strong in the photo, but I don’t use them at all for the first week or so and then slowly introduce the light.

This tank is permanently stocked with a group of wild guppies which keeps the system alive and healthy; it also features several spare sponge filters in case they are needed to set up a second tank. If needed, the tank can easily be re-arranged to cater for many different types of species used to similar water parameters. With tetras and otos I would usually add a number of plants for instance.

This is how I do it but there are many ways to skin a cat(fish)

Nice find in "random" pet shop

I was out driving across the country with work today and made a stop a pet shop in one of the neighboring towns.

The stock was pretty much what to expect from most non specialist shops but I did find one tank with mixed cories. In this tank there was only one individual of each species, some of them quite uncommon. 

This is obviously a very strange way of selling Corydoras, I presume the mixed colours might appeal to new fish-keepers. Anyway I was delighted to see this young concolor as It will be a nice addition to my group and was resonably priced. Perhaps I should not encourage shops to sell cories this way but I felt sorry for the little guy.

This just shows that it’s always worth checking out the more standard pet shops as you never know what could lurk in the tanks. 

Always be careful and quarantine your new fish though. This little lad will be in quarantine for a good few weeks.