dwalstad

I'll try to post some "6 week" photos later this week.

Everything seems fine right now. I don't have any adult fish in the tank-- just the babies.

That's interesting about the shrimp not breeding in a setup with soil. Sounds reasonable that wood products might be the problem. Babies, juvenile fish, and eggs are almost always more sensitive to inhibitors/toxins than adult fish.

mommyeireanne

Looking forward to the follow up photos.
When I set that tank up, I didn't screen the soil and it had plenty of wood bits. I only took out a few large pieces. I topped it with the Eco complete because that's what I had available. It's light so I ended up with wood bits on top . I didn't care about the look, and my soil was sticking together, not making the water turbid, so I didn't worry about it. The plants were ok. Adult shrimp were ok, but no fry or fertilized eggs (berried females), even though I saw (saddled) females with unfertilized eggs in their bodies. Same shrimp and UV filter (which I thought was the culprit) were moved into the 20g- with fish- when I gave up on the Cherry Shrimp Breeding, and viola: there were twelve fry that I could see. Though the Dwarf Gouramis have noticed them also. So I won't have to worry about them over running the tank, I guess.
I have, reluctantly, come to terms with the fact that I won't figure out everything in the tanks. Too much I don't know, personally. Maybe every nuances isn't even understood by science yet... It's life. Life in a little bottle maybe, but still complex.

dwalstad

Well said!

Here are photos of the 50 gal tank at 6 weeks. I included a shot of the fish while eating brine shrimp. Also, a photo of tank at 4 weeks for easier comparison.

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plantblr

Nice tank Diana...& good progress ,

I think those huge Swords will take over your tank very soon whic is a sign of good growth.
Are those sticks at the bottom on the 3rd pic(from the side)?If yes I think you can siphon them out,which makes the tank look better,coz I dont like that stuff on that beautiful sand.

Ravi

mommyeireanne

Thanks. The tank I moved the spawning shrimp to was also soil. The fry seem to be doing very well. Their bellies are full and I see them actively picking all the time.

Your tank looks great, very dramatic difference between first & 6 week photos! Do you generally hatch babies in soil based tanks or move them there later?

dwalstad

Glad your shrimp are doing so well. One tank can be so different from another!

I raise all my fish in soil-based tanks. The soil is either in pots or part of the substrate.

I put a pair of Red Rainbowfish in the 50 gal for 10 days before I tore it down. As soon as fry started appearing, I collected the fry (used a soup spoon) and moved them into a 5 gal (newly set up with soil/plants in order to raise these babies).

After I got enough fry, I removed the parents, tore the 50 gal tank down, and set it up as you see.

Funny thing was that the plants I added to the 5 gal apparently had Rainbowfish eggs attached (the plants were from another tank). Thus, many of the babies are "unplanned", but I won't complain. It looks like they're Neon Rainbowfish, which are very cute.

mommyeireanne

Good to know. I'm wasn't going to try to breed my fish, but I will remove them to another tank if they come along.

SpeedEuphoria

So hows the "seista" working out for your tank?

dwalstad

I am very pleased with results from the "seista schedule". My other two tanks have been on the siesta schedule for a few months now. Plants in these tanks are doing well (if not better) than when they were on a 12 hr constant lighting schedule.

essabee

Please don't take this otherwise. You don't actually have a siesta period for your tank. You get the sun direct/indirect after 12 noon and switch back to lights at 4pm.

You actually have a 14 Hrs. light period.