Domaine name changed

Well the economic crysis hits everyone in one way or another, although in the economic way mostly. We had to give up all our domine names and hosting provider, so sadly all the images on this site are lost. They will be replaced over time, as this blog works as a reference site and knoledge sharing all the content is continualy visited and reviewed.
My apologies for the trouble this may cause.
Actually we are keeping just one tanke, the 55 galon. It has become very stable, the fish on it has been alive since more than a year including the Scalare couple and the 4 blue Gouramies.
The bottom of the aquarium keeps clean with a school of diferent species of corydoras, and the inside glass is on charge of a single Plecostomus.
Well the task now is to replaces the missing images. So until the next time, good luck.

Update

Just a little update. The crayfish died about a moth ago. I guess it was it time becasue the water was always cleana nd there was plenty of food.

The angelfish are doign fine and we just introduce a small plecostomus.

In the big acuarium the plecostomus died so it was replaced.

We went to Chile for two months and when we came back I was amazed to see that the tanks where looking clean yet. Either way I clean them and changed water. Having bigger filters that what the tank really needs is very good idean.

It is summer here and is getting very hot. we have AC btu even though the water is about 78 in the day. I guess I can put some ice cubes sometimes uh?

Crayfish catching some fish

Aquariums are a piece of nature, a chunk of the habitat its dwellers lived. As it is, some creatures eat meat and others are vegan, and we have the responsibility to feed these creatures with the food they are used to, because that will ensure they are healthy and happy.

We are keeping a crayfish in a 20 gallon tank, and the only things that was doing was trying to escape, as you saw in the last video.

Just before we are leaving to Chile, we decided that would be much healthy to left the crayfish with some other fish, because just seen movement around and other fish will help to dis-stress the crayfish for a while.

So now is very busy trying to catch those fish. The following video was taken right after we drop the fish there so she was very hectic, but after a while, Calipso, as we named it, catch a fish (not shown in the video) and consumed it in few seconds.

I’m glad that was quick, and didn’t left half fish dying slowly.

So this is the nature way.

Crayfish escaping by the filter

This is the last video for the Crayfish, we are leaving in 2 days to Chile for two monts.

Bye Crayfish

Leaving for 2 months

All the fish we introduce last time died, except for the 4 gouramies and on plecostomus. The rest are gone as the water was poisonous. The problem is that I had to put the fish right away in the tanks as the quarantine tank is been used by the crayfish.

Next Wednesday Im leaving in a two months trip and there are an infestation affecting the platies in the big tank. Most of them had died and the survivors are whit fungus. I made a 90% water change and clean the bottom, so I hope they recovered and resist for the 2 months.

I put the 4 neons I had with the crayfish in the 20 gallon tank, along with the scalars. There are many plants in that tank so they may be ok. There is no fish to clean the plants, so when I am back I may find the sword with black leafs.

Crayfish grows

Today when I saw the crayfish looks some weird to me. It’s bigger now as it moult last night. The exoskeleton was lying looking like a dead crayfish. It is amazing how this animals grows.

If I turn the light on it blinks the eyes. For today it will be better with the light off.

Crayfish attack angelfish

The blue crayfish seems to contaminate the water a lot. The water in the 20 gallon tank was unclear and smells. One factor that may be important is that we removed from that tank a plecostomus and 3 corydoras, which help to clean.

We thought days ago to separate it due it violent behavior. We got gravel (white) and some stones to suit the crayfish in the small 10 gallon tank. I was thinking to do that tomorrow but this night I heard a splash and when I look at the 20 gallon tank the crayfish had a angel fish grabbed from the dorsal fin (upside down), as the fish tried to escape the lobster tear all it fin, the fish swim away dizzy, staying in a odd position for a while. It probably was half sleep as the crayfish try to get it. I turn on the light and feed them to make them go to the surface.

I set up the small aquarium right away and now I’m finishing of clean the 20 gallon tank. Tomorrow pictures.

Blue Crayfish in 20 gallon tank

After putting the crayfish in the 20 gallon (80 Lt) tank the crayfish was behaving for few days. They angelfish laid eggs on a leaf. Sadly I wasn’t prepared to breed those so I let them go. 80% of the eggs spawn and a little tale could be seen moving on each eggs.

The crayfish then start removing some plants, the ones I just put last week, that have weak roots. And making holes everywhere. The water also is getting dirtier that with the other fish. The absence of the Plecostomus has all the plants growing algae on it.

The Blue Crayfish don’t attack the angelfish at all. But I will have to remove it because is damaging the tank.

In a 10 gallon (40 Lt) with just stones it will be better. I may consider to add some cichlids. I have read that they do well. (Anglefish are cichlids too)

Crayfish eating algae wafer

The Blue Crayfish eating a algae disk in the quarantine tank.

Thanksgiving acquisitions

The tanks need some new plants so last Friday we went to Decatur, Al to visit some stores. Sadly we didn’t find any real aquarium plant. In PetCo and PetSmat they only sells mondo grass and other NON aquarium plants. We will have to get them online. I would like some long vallisnerias and some more swords that grow so well in our tanks.

Michelle liked a Blue crayfish (Procambarus alleni) so we got it for $21.60. We pick 4 Blue Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus) and 2 Three-Lined Cory (Corydoras trilineatus), this last listed as “spoted corys” in PetCo.

We put the new fish and crayfish in a small 10 gallon tank for quarantine for some days. The crayfish seems to attack when other fish come closer, so we separated the 2 corydoras and we add them already to the 55 gallon tank. They seems to be in very good shape.

We moved the plecostomus and the 3 corydoras in the 2o gallon tank and we add them to the 55 gallon tank as well, so the crayfish can be alone with the two anglefish in the 22 gallon aquarium. But if we see that the crayfish damage any gourami we will conceder to keep it alone in the 10 gallon tank.

Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)

 

Also: Three Spot Gourami, Opaline Gourami.

Family: Osphronemidae

Characteristic: 5 inches (12 cm),females smaller with rounded fins.

Tank and water: 42 Gallons (160 Liters), Ph 5.5 - 9.5, 72 - 81°F (22 - 27°C)

Care:  In aquariums filled with many structures. They like floating plants, loose plantings along the sides and roots. Feed flaked foods, especially green flakes. They like various live and frozen foods. Place only one pair in 3.5 ft (1-m) tanks.

Habits: Often found in standing, many times cloudy waters in Indonesia and Malaysia. They can be found in rice fields as well.

Compatibility:  With Asian bottom fish (loaches, catfish) and calm barbs, danios, and rasboras.

Personal note: The males can chase each other. They are peaceful and like to touch each other with their fins which look like downward pointing "antennas".

Three-Lined Cory (Corydoras trilineatus)

Also: Corydoras julii

Family: Callichthyid armored catfish. Callichthyidae.

Characteristic: 2.4 inches (6 cm),females are plumper.

Tank and water: 15 Gallons (56.8 Liters), Ph 5.5 - 8.5, 77 - 83°F (25 - 28°C)

Care: Keep in groups in your aquarium. They like sandy substrates in parts and loose plantings. They appreciate structures for resting areas. Feed with live, frozen and dry food or you can use Corydoras food.

Habits: Sociable fish with their kind and from the soft-bottomed expanses of water in the Peruvian Amazon region.

Compatibility:  Ideal companion fish for South American fish of the middle and upper regions. In small tanks but do not keep with cichlids.

Personal note: These fish are active cleaners and enjoy spending time together in groups with others of the corydora family. They are quite entertaining to watch.

Blue crayfish (Procambarus alleni)

Also: Florida crayfish

Family: Cambaridae.

Characteristic: Male has two extra short appendages at the rear of the back legs. Female has none. In the aquarium can grow up 5 inch (13 cm).

Tank and water: 20 Gallons (75.7 Liters), Ph 7 -7.5, 65 - 75°F (18.3 - 23.9°C)

Care: They like to burrow and hide in caves. They can live in the aquarium, as long as there are not other bottom dwellers or expensive fish. These creatures are scavengers as well as hunters. They clean up the bottom the tank, but will also grab at a passing fish too. They too can be eaten by fish. A large oscar, for example, would consider it for lunch. When they molt their protective shell they are vulnerable to smaller fish also.
Crayfish are great escape artists and will try to climb out of the tank, so any holes in the hood should be covered.
Feed food which is high in Iodine as this helps it moult. Kelp tablets are one source.

Illness: It can be affected by a leach worm kind called Branchiobdellida. This is not dangerous for the crayfish and can be removed rinsing and scrubbing with a soft toothbrush under tank temperature water.

Compatibility: With any medium size fish.

Personal note:

Tennessee Aquarium

This is the aquarium in Chattanooga Tn. we visited few weeks ago. It is a beautiful place surrounding by a lot of nice restaurant and stores. The aquarium is separated in three buildings, one for salt water, fresh water and the Imax 3D Theater. This last it's amazing, whit a screen the size of a football field and real 3D it's amazing. I'm looking to come back next month to watch Beowulf. There is a special store call Candyland that Michelle loved, and she remembered from a visit some years ago. They have a lot of different kind of candies and they charge by pound. We spend $30 in candy here, but it last all the way back home and more.

Georgia Aquarium

This Wednesday we had to travel to Atlanta for other business and we toke the chance to visit the aquarium during a weekday where is not too crowed.

This aquarium claim to be one of the biggest in the world. It have 4 different sections including a gigantic tank of 6,300,000 gallon (23.848.090 liters).

It well worth a trip to exclusively visit it.

New video of the Betta Splendens

This fish is very shy, so was difficult to record it today. What we got for now is just this 10 seconds video. We will try to get something better in the future.

New fish and plant

Today we put in the big tank the new Betta and the three Otocinclus we got last week.
The 55 gallon tank is plenty of Platy fry and the plants are growing very well. I am removing all Mondo Grass from the aquariums as it is not a real underwater plant. It doesn’t grow well there.

The 10 Gallon tank is empty now, so we will left it for fry or hospital.

Today we made the profile for the Betta Splendens and a new plant we got; Baby Tears. Tomorrow we will post some original pictures of the aquarium with its new inhabitants.

Baby Tears (Hemianthus micranthemoides)

 
Source Fishprofiles.com

Water: 66-82 °F (18-28 °C), pH 5-8, 1-18 dCH 

Size: 4-12 inch (10-30 cm) Height, 2-12 inch (5-10 cm) Width.

Light: Moderate to Strong Light

Characteristics:

This is a nice stem plant from Central America. It is fast growing and requires therefore relatively high light and a nutrient rich substrate. It is also a valuable plant in terrariums where it forms a beautiful carpet at the land water border. The plant is easily reproduced by cutting off the apex which is replanted in the substrate

Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens)

Family: Fighting fish, Osphoronemidae

Characteristic: 2.4 in (6 cm), male more colorful and longer-finned.

Tank and water: 12 Gal (45 Lt), pH 5.5-9.5, 76-83 F (24-28 C)

Care: Keep in pairs in densely planted tank furnished with floating plants. Males, especially cultivated forms, very aggresive toward each other. Keeping males singly in glasses, as was once custom, is animal cruelty!

Habits: Surface fish found in weed-filled waters in Thailand, where probably eats chiefty insects larvae.

Compatibility: With small barbs and bottom fish.

Personal note: This fish should be peaceful along other community fish, like guppies and platies.

Where fish eats

The position of the mouth in the fish, tells us where it eats and lives.

Fish like guppies have the mouth aiming up, so they will eat from the surface. Platies have the mouth aiming forward, so we can tell they will live in the middle of the aquarium. And other fish like otocinclus and corydoras eats from the bottom, as their mouth are aiming down.

It is important to feed this last ones with algae wafers so they have the chance to eat well also.

This video explains this very well.