Recently just added a freshwater red lobster into the small tank in the study room after all the fish in there died. :-)
Anyway, he (I think its a he) promptly helped me do some gardening by cleaning up ALL the DEAD and LIVE plants in there. Basically, he eats everything, from worms, flakes to plants.
Oh and BTW, his name is Mr. Sashimi ...
Recently added a photoset dedicated to our beloved Bino and Albi. Hope they are happy on the other side of the rainbow bridge!
(from left to right: Albi, Bino) General_
KooshLog: Angel Spawn #4
FYI, none of the angel fry made it. Not easy raising fry from eggs. Anyway, the angels had another batch of fry but they became food for the other fishes in the tank once they became free swimming. Fish_
Decided to setup a guppy tank for something to look at in the study room. Boy these fishes are really productive. 2 weeks after setting up the tank and I have 2 batches of frys... Fish_
Mom seems to be moving away from the nest quite frequently to chase Dad away and also look for food. Because of that, some of the fry were food for the Chocolate Gourami! Also, Mom didn't remove the white dead eggs which by now had some hair like algae/fungi which were growing and threatened to engulf the fry that were still alive! Fish_
Before all the fry were gone, decided to take things into my own hands to save them. Snipped the leaf and put it into a floating breeder at first. Unfortunately the slits on the breeder for water circulation were too big and they fry could slip through if they fall off the leaf.
Finally, decided on a makeshift setup with a seperate container within the floating breeder with its own air supply through a pump. Lowest setting of the pump created pretty large airflow so had to setup a simple waste valve to reduce the amount of bubbles.
Now most of the fry are on the leaf. Those that fall off will end up in the container so its quite safe. A toothpick can be used to put the fry back onto the leaf. Apparently their mouths secrete some sticky substance which will stick to the toothpick and eventually the leaf.
Water level is also just above the container so there is still some water circulation. Any fry that gets "bubbled" out of the container will still have a chance of being "rescued" in the floating breeder before being swept out into the open and become fish food.
Took a couple of nice macros of the fry using the Ricoh R3. Can see the eyes, tail and yolk sac...
Its been a few days since the eggs were laid and most of them have turned white (unfertilised). However, there are still quite a few that have stayed clear, and now they have turned into tiny little tadpole like fry. They are able to wriggle around but seems to know how to stay on the leaf. Any one that moves too close to the edge of the leaf will be promptly moved back to the centre by Mom using her mouth. Fish_
Finally after a couple of weeks they have spawned again. This time on the new plants that I have bought for them. I've decided not to remove the leaf and nature take its course (since I have removed my large Plec0 and passed it to Cactus). Let's hope most of the eggs hatch ... Fish_
Was cleaning the filter and found another survivor from a platy brood. Most likely fathered by the "horny" high fin platy ... Fish_
Other than my Angelfish, it seems that others are also very productive this year! I've been officially promoted to Uncle status. Congratulations to Baby Nikki (left) and Baby Randall (right). BTW, Baby Nikki's my niece and Baby Randall is my wife's good friend's son. General_
Have bought 6 of these fish from the Clementi LFS. Thought they were algae eaters but I was wrong. Yet to identify them. They like to hang around the plants perched on their fins, sometimes vertically. Any idea what species they are? Fish_
The 2 Angelfish are starting to show more aggressive courting/mating behaviour. My guess is that there will be another batch of eggs within this 1-2 weeks. The female stomach is getting bigger and the ovulating tube (ovipositor) can be seen quite clearly. Fish_
The 2 Angelfish were behaving strangely the past week or two, spending most of their time at one side of the tank, chasing other fish away and cleaning a large leaf. My guess of imminent spawning was confirmed when I went home yesterday and found a large batch of eggs layed on the leaf.
I left the eggs to be cared for by the parents (they were fanning them frequently with their fins). Unfortunately by the next day, they were all gone. I suspect they were either eaten up by predators (Pleco?) or by the parents themselves when they feel that the eggs are threatened.
Anyway, the aggressive courtship seems to have started again. Maybe another batch will be laid in the next few weeks... Fish_
KooshLog: Operation Fishtank
Finally managed to convert the video. Stripped the audio, replaced it with a soundtrack and uploaded it to YouTube!
It's a lot of fun when you get your mini R/C sub balanced to almost neutral buoyancy!
If you can't see the embedded video above (or want to watch a larger version), you can also catch it HERE!
Latest additions to the tank are 2 Honey Gouramis and 2 Chocolate Gouramis. The Chocolate Gouramis were quite small and unfortunately one of them got stuck in the filter inlet. Anyway, it was rescued but didn't survive. Perhaps I'll get another 2 tomorrow ... Fish_
Anyway, HERE's some trivia on why they are called "Labyrinth" Fishes!
Haven't posted much updates to my tank recently. Anyway I now have a total of 2 DIY CO2 supplies, one through a tulip shaped diffuser in the (middle) sump and another in the tank with a bubble tower. The CO2 indicator (picture, below left) seems to show a healthy level (Yellowish Green is Good!). Hopefully the plants would appreciate that and continue to grow. Another addition is a large cooling fan placed almost perpendicular to the surface of the water to aid cooling due to the hot weather. Not very good for keeping CO2 saturation high but the tradeoff is lower temperature which is good for the plants. The record low so far was 26.2 degrees Centigrade on April Fool's morning. I reckon it may have dropped to the 25s the night before ... Fish_
Recently acquired some mini R/C toys from the net. Favourites are the R/C Shark and the mini R/C Sub. The shark is a bit too big for the tank and it can't swim in reverse, so it can only be used in the pool. That can't be said for the mini R/C sub however, watch out for the video coming soon!Fish_
Up to the tip of my eyelashes in work for the past couple of weeks. With this short breather of a weekend, will try to update the ol' blog. Anyway, here are 2 "Mickey Mouse" platies I bought last week. Just tilt your head to the side and you'll know why they're called that! Fishes_
Frozen blood worms ran out and had to go to CCK Fish shop to replenish. Saw some interesting "Sunset Platies" (Xiphophorus variatus) for sale. These seem to be quite rare at local fish shops, so bought a pair for my tank. Fish_
Watch goldfish swim in formation. Wonder how he did this. Magnets? Robotic Aibo Fish? FISH_
