[marple]

Shrimp are very vulnerable right after they molt.

I guess that's why my berried shrimp are hiding so much, because they molt just before that isn't it? Sometimes they hide so much that I'm worried they I've lost them, but the next day I suddenly see one or two of them in a little corner somewhere

 

[johnwesley0]

I made a big move this morning regarding my terrestrials. I decided the pothos was just getting too big and possibly competing with the submerged plants for nutrients. My fears increased once it became obvious the extent to which its roots had grown into the soil over the space of the past nine months:

I could have just trimmed the roots but decided to just transfer the whole thing to the porcelain bowl for now. I'll now have to monitor the ammonia level in the breeding tank just to make sure I haven't gone too far.

 

[marple]

How are the amano shrimp doing? Are they going well together with the apisto's?
And I was wondering: you kept the apisto's with danio's, were they bothered by their presence when they had eggs or fry?

 

[johnwesley0]

How are the amano shrimp doing? Are they going well together with the apisto's?

I'm beginning to wonder whether the LFS that sold me the amano shrimp misidentified them. The two survivors have been happy and heathy since their companions died off a day after purchase. But they don't look exactly like the photographs I've seen of them and they very often change colors, becoming just as clear as glass. I'm wondering whether they gave me ghost shrimp instead? The apistos rarely see them even when they are right next to them.

And I was wondering: you kept the apisto's with danio's, were they bothered by their presence when they had eggs or fry?

I always managed to swap the danios out of the breeder tank just in time for a new brood to arrive (they would almost certainly have been major predators, IMO.) One of my biggest regrets was not having any safe place to put the only danio fry I have ever seen. It co-existed with a brood of apistos, mostly off by itself near the surface of the breeder tank, somewhat hidden by red tiger lotus pads. But it disappeared after a couple of weeks. I did reintroduce them to the breeder tank when the present adult apistos were about three months old and at the juvenile stage. They completely ignored each other.

 

[marple]

I have no experience with amano or ghost shrimp, just cherries. Changing colors seems interesting an glad they are happy and healthy.

Yeah, those danio fry, they don't even try to hide themselves, just swimming openly on the surface. If you are a predator fish you need no effort at all to find them... When they are in a free swimmer fase they do have some avoiding moves, but that is clearly insufficient.

I'm thinking about getting a pair of A Borellii in my tank, but I'm not sure how they will cope in a community tank. There are broken lines of sight, caves and (in a while) a lot of plants. Can you estimate how big their territory is?

I already have whiteclouds and danio margaritatus and the other species I'm thinking about are oto's, rosy loaches and maybe some dario species or a very shy and small gourami species.

My whiteclouds (and maybe some others) will go outside when it gets warmer, so when it gets warmer they will have more space. And in the winter when the temperature of my tank will be between 65 and 68 so I don't think the apisto's will breed then?

Oh and I will replace my cherries to the other small tank if I put apisto's in the big one. I'm thinking about bigger shrimp (like amano) in the big tank.

 

[johnwesley0]

I'm thinking about getting a pair of A Borellii in my tank, but I'm not sure how they will cope in a community tank. There are broken lines of sight, caves and (in a while) a lot of plants. Can you estimate how big their territory is?

I have a 30 gallon long and even that I think is pushing the limit. One bully will chase another male all over the tank.

I already have whiteclouds and danio margaritatus and the other species I'm thinking about are oto's, rosy loaches and maybe some dario species or a very shy and small gourami species.

Community fish are another story entirely. My borelli are not bothered by danios nor I suspect any other fast moving, schooling species. I would be careful with gouramis, angelfish and any other slow-moving, solitary fish. Their motto seems to be "Keep moving, there's nothing going on here!"

 

[dwalstad]

I made a big move this morning regarding my terrestrials. I decided the pothos was just getting too big and possibly competing with the submerged plants for nutrients. My fears increased once it became obvious the extent to which its roots had grown into the soil over the space of the past nine months:

View attachment 76251

Could be a smart move! It will be interesting to see the results--the growth response of your aquarium plants.
Those fat houseplants may be holding back your aquarium plants.

 

[johnwesley0]

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my tank, the only tank I have that was designed from the start as a Walstad tank. Here's how it appeared a few days after water had been added:

Here it is as of today. Note, other than the transfer of the anubias from another tank, there really haven't been any additional plants. That's all new growth:

I'm particularly proud of the way the RTL has migrated from one end of the tank to the other. One of these days I might even get them to match up at the same time! That's my hardy lily on the far left.

 

[mistergreen]

I’m thinking about getting nerite snails to clean up my algae issues.

 

[johnwesley0]

I’m thinking about getting nerite snails to clean up my algae issues.

Oh, me too. My LFS just didn't have any last time I checked. Sailfin mollies would also look cool in this tank.

 

[mistergreen]

Mollies might eat your babies though

 

[johnwesley0]

Actually, I'm hoping the mollie babies act as cover for the apisto babies.

 

[PlentyCoup]

Hopefully you have better luck then i have getting sailfin mollies lol. I think they would be a great addition.
I have my fingers crossed that Brain manages to get some when he is in Florida because i dont think my LFS is going to have any success ordering them in.

 

[marple]

After this thread totally confirmed me that A. Borelli is cool I got my first couple. I never saw them in any LFS, but last week I stumbled upon them and couldn't resist te chance. I hope it's a couple indeed, not sure yet how to tell which one is male and which one is female. They are still small (I estimate 1 inch and about 1,5 inch) and a bit shy, hiding quite often. But they are eating and do seem allright and I like them, very different behaviour then the other fish. And indeed, the Apisto's completely ignore the other fish, so that's nice.

 

[johnwesley0]

If they're eating, you have come a long way towards having success with them. I think at that size you should also start seeing some signs of sexual dimorphism. The male will eventually grow bigger and more colorful than the female.

 

[johnwesley0]

Now that all the young ones have reached maturity, the tank looks more like an aquarium, especially at feeding time. Every fish in this picture is a year old or less:

 

[jibbajab14]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread and have learned a ton. Makes me hopeful about breeding my A. agassizii. I’m especially glad it pointed me to @dwalstad ’s article on hatching brine shrimp. I’m currently using a hatching dish but it pains me to dump the brine solution after each batch. I’m working on a water recycling project at a treatment plant where the salt content is relatively high, and now the thought of dumping saltwater down the drain gives me the heebie jeebies.

 

[johnwesley0]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread and have learned a ton. Makes me hopeful about breeding my A. agassizii. I’m especially glad it pointed me to @dwalstad ’s article on hatching brine shrimp. I’m currently using a hatching dish but it pains me to dump the brine solution after each batch. I’m working on a water recycling project at a treatment plant where the salt content is relatively high, and now the thought of dumping saltwater down the drain gives me the heebie jeebies.

I don't dump the old water. I use two cereal bowls of salt water and simply alternate which one is being used for hatching (the other one simply "rests" for 24 hours.) You may have to add an extra splash of water from the tap - not enough to even be noticeable - just to make up for any evaporation that may occur over time.

 

[dwalstad]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread and have learned a ton. Makes me hopeful about breeding my A. agassizii. I’m especially glad it pointed me to @dwalstad ’s article on hatching brine shrimp. I’m currently using a hatching dish but it pains me to dump the brine solution after each batch. I’m working on a water recycling project at a treatment plant where the salt content is relatively high, and now the thought of dumping saltwater down the drain gives me the heebie jeebies.

Good point. I've reused my saltwater 3 times now in my BS hatchery dish and still getting decent hatches. Trick is to discourage bacterial growth.
Use eggs judiciously. I hatch out only 1/8 tsp BS eggs every 2-3 days for a batch of guppy fry. After egg hatch is finished at 24-48 hr, depending on temp, I immediately strain out the remaining eggs/shrimp and save the water. Water should be relatively clear. Clean the dish to remove bacterial biofilms. If egg hatches go way down, sterilize hatchery dish with a little chlorox.
The BS hatchery dish is wonderful, because you can remove shrimp as they hatch. That means, the early hatchers (at 18 hr) are fed to the fish not allowed to die and pollute the saltwater for the late hatchers (36 hr). Also, at the last and final recovery for refrigeration storage, I siphon out the shrimp that collect around the little harvest cup. Quite often there are many more BS outside the cup; you don't want to lose them.
I store extra nauplii in refrigerator for 1-2 days. That way, I don't have to hatch BS every day.

 

[jibbajab14]

Good point. I've reused my saltwater 3 times now in my BS hatchery dish and still getting decent hatches. Trick is to discourage bacterial growth.
Use eggs judiciously. I hatch out only 1/8 tsp BS eggs every 2-3 days for a batch of guppy fry. After egg hatch is finished at 24-48 hr, depending on temp, I immediately strain out the remaining eggs/shrimp and save the water. Water should be relatively clear. Clean the dish to remove bacterial biofilms. If egg hatches go way down, sterilize hatchery dish with a little chlorox.
The BS hatchery dish is wonderful, because you can remove shrimp as they hatch. That means, the early hatchers (at 18 hr) are fed to the fish not allowed to die and pollute the saltwater for the late hatchers (36 hr). Also, at the last and final recovery for refrigeration storage, I siphon out the shrimp that collect around the little harvest cup. Quite often there are many more BS outside the cup; you don't want to lose them.
I store extra nauplii in refrigerator for 1-2 days. That way, I don't have to hatch BS every day.

Thank you for the advice. I'll strain out the shrimp and eggs and reuse the brine and see how that goes. I was thinking about placing a germination heat mat under the dish to see if that would increase the hatch rate. Hopefully disinfecting the dish between uses will be enough to keep this from also inducing more bacterial biofilm.