Picked up a heavily gravid red swordtail female at a swap and she's in a clip-on trap now, pic below. Gravid spot is almost black and she's boxy. I know traps stress them, so I only want her in there until she drops. Is there a way to tell if it's hours or days? Don't want to leave her in too long.
Well, finandfry's tip was right on time. Female laid this evening about an hour after I wrote my last thread. Pic below of the eggs on the slate right now, pair is guarding. Do you leave the tank lights off through the night or keep a dim one on so they can see the eggs? First clutch for these two so I'm nervous they'll eat them.
Cleaned out my freezer drawer tonight and realized half of it is fish food and the other half is the stuff I actually eat. Pic below. I'm running mysis, brine, a cyclops pack and some chopped clam for the clowns and the torches. Curious what everyone rotates, I feel like I've been stuck on the same three cubes for a year.
The winner of my sword mothers messaged yesterday with a pic of the plant already planted in their 75, leaves a bit rough but the crown looks fine. Honestly makes my week. Do you ask buyers for follow-up pics, or just let them reach out if there's a problem? I never want to feel pushy.
Most of the tub is free swimming and picking at spirulina wafer now. I crushed some flake between two spoons and it looks like dust, but I'm never sure if I'm overfeeding the tub. Pic below of the fry room shelf with the labels so I don't lose track of the batches. How much do you offer per feeding?
Cut about 30 stems off the rescape tank this evening for the next bundle order. Last time a couple of buyers said the cut ends went mushy after 3 days in the box. I wrap in damp paper and a bag with a little air, no standing water. Anyone have a better method, or is it just luck with the shipping days?
Following the black lace talk, my young pair has been picking at the slate again today and the female's tube looks a bit more blunt than last week. Is the blunt ovipositor a reliable sign or can it still be weeks? I'd rather not move them or touch anything and jinx it, just want to know how long to wait before I put a camera on the tank.
Took the crushed coral advice from the guppy tub thread and put a mesh bag in the outdoor tub this morning. Pic below of the bag sitting by the floaters. Will test ph morning and evening for a few days and report back. Anyone leave theirs in all year or pull it in winter?
Watching finandfry's auction and it keeps climbing. I never see proven pairs go this high locally. What's the most you've paid for a pair that already had spawns on record, and was it worth it? My young pair still sulks so I'm tempted.
Switched my outdoor guppy tubs to a half RO half tap mix after the phosphate talk here. Fish look the same but I'm a bit nervous about pH swings with the lower buffering. Anyone running mixed water on livebearers and just adding a pinch of gh/kh booster? Pic below of the tub setup.
Moved the fry tub onto a gentle sponge filter yesterday after reading around here. Pic below of how it's set up, bubbles on low so the wigglers don't get blown around. Anyone else run them like this or do you prefer a bare tub with daily changes?
Packed the sword auction winner's box this morning before work. Wet newspaper around the roots, a bag over that, and the leaves wrapped loosely in dry paper so nothing gets crushed. Pic below of the water change hose setup I used to rinse the roots clean first. Do you rinse all the substrate off or leave a little on for the plant?
Auction on my swords ends this morning and I'm already thinking about how the winner will deal with a 120 worth of roots. Curious how you all handle runners when you get a big sword: split right away or let it settle a week first? I always wait but I'm never sure it's right.
Attached a few buce to a piece of spiderwood last week with thread and two of the rhizomes have gone soft and brown at one end. Leaves are still green on both. Water is clean and flow is moderate, no big algae. Pic below of the nano tank where they're sitting. Do I cut the soft part off now or leave it and see if it stops?
Lights on for about 5 hours and the stems are pearling hard, bubbles streaming off the rotala and some on the swords too. Pic below. Fish look fine, no gasping, but I'm running the drop checker lime green. Is this the sweet spot or am I pushing it?
