Brine shrimp hatchery hack
Two liter bottle, rigid airline, a lamp, done. Stop buying the fancy dishes. My hatch rate has been identical for three years.
Feed
Fish room electricity audit results
Metered everything for a month. Heaters are 70 percent of the draw. Insulating the room dropped the bill by a third. Happy to share numbers if anyone wants them.
The LFS guy talked me OUT of a purchase today
Went in for a rainbow shark for my 20 gallon. He said no and explained why. That store gets my money forever now.
First time shipping fish, nervous
Sold my first pair on here and the box is packed like it is going to the moon. Breather bags, 96 hour heat pack, double insulation. Tracking says out for delivery and I cannot focus at work.
Apisto fry everywhere
The cacatuoides pair spawned behind the coconut hut again. The female is herding a cloud of maybe sixty fry around the tank like a tiny sheepdog. Microworms started today.
Lost a colony to a heater failure
Reminder to put your heaters on a controller. $18 of prevention would have saved me a two-year breeding project. Gutted.
Shipping heat packs, 40hr vs 72hr
Testing both this month with temp loggers in the boxes. Early data says the 72s hold above 60°F for a full extra day. Will post the graphs.
Local club auction haul
Four bags of plants, a proven pair of kribs and a bumblebee goby I absolutely did not need. Total damage 38 dollars. Clubs are the best kept secret in this hobby.
Why local pickup is underrated
Sold a breeding pair for pickup today, buyer saw the parents, the rack, the water. Ten minute conversation beat fifty messages.
Backyard tub season begins
Tubs are filled, plants are floating, the daphnia culture is rolling. White clouds and medaka go out next week. Best part of summer, fight me.
Green water saved my fry
Everyone panics about green water. Meanwhile my ranchu fry in the pea soup tub are growing twice as fast as their siblings inside. Nature knows what it is doing.
Hardscape day: rate my rocks
Spent four hours arranging and rearranging seiryu. My wife says it looks the same as attempt one. She is wrong and I will die on this hill. Planting next weekend.
Show me your rehomes
Took in a twelve year old clown loach group from someone moving overseas. They own the 125 now. Anyone else running a retirement home?
Water change day across the fish room
Nine tanks, two hours, one wet floor. Worth it every single week. How often is everyone else changing water on stock tanks?
Heaters are the most dangerous thing you own
A stuck relay took out a friend's whole discus tank last winter. A temperature controller costs 35 bucks. Cheapest insurance in the hobby.