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Round indoor pond project queries.

The pictures are in my picture account so not sure why they're missing.

When I click Edit on the actual posts here there's no link to the pictures. Its blank where the picture should be, like the links are deleted. Even if I have access to amend the posts, I wouldn't know which picture I put in the first place :(
 
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I forgot to say in my initial posts after the holiday, and was too lazy at the time it was happening, that one of my Denison barbs went through a colour change again, same as last year around roughly at the same time of the year. Its colour started converting to some odd patchy colours. I thought I'd take a picture when I get back from holidays but by the time I got back, the fish was back to completely normal colour. It is difficult to take pictures with the net off...regret I didn't take at least one...As I mentioned before, I think some of the barbs have a "xanthic" gene and it is apparently normal for those to actually change colour temporarily.

Apart from that, the denison barbs are big and chunky, very colorful, and really lively. They're really great fish to have. I don't like schooling fish at all normally and I got these to distract the loaches. It's been working really great for me though, especially that they school with the SAEs so the entire combination of fish species has worked out great. And my small harlequins are no longer that small and not intimidated by the big fish as they line up for food with the rest with no fear. They've figured no one would attack them in that tank.
 
Hi. I've forgotten to update but being too lazy and nothing has changed much. I'd be repeating the same stuff all over. Fish seem happy as every and they're still the same numbers and groups. I hope it lasts like that for years to come.

My plants, however, are growing bigger and bigger and its looking like a jungle in there. They are a lot bigger than it looks on the picture as well.

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sciencefiction said:
I had a good look at the 2 hillstream loach tanks over the last few days.

One of the tanks, besides the tons of green hair algae, looks perfectly fine and I can't detect any fish losses. There were a few baby loaches among them and even they are still ticking so my guess is all are fine. There are no bones or dead loaches around. All the fish look plump and active and despite being a combination of a few species, they seem to be getting on really well. There a a lot of stones in this tank, the bottom is pretty much covered in them, all with algae. I think that has helped a lot. Plus I still saw some blackworms surviving which the fish like the dig for.

I am not so certain about the second tank. I only saw half the crew in there. They normally come out at the front to eat each time I feed but so far I've seen only half and they're a bit on the skinny side. This tank is mostly planted, so besides food I normally feed, the loaches wouldn't have had much to eat. There are some algae covered stones though. I hope I am wrong but I may have lost some. The tank is also smaller so that would play a role on the water quality too. It could also be that they're hiding out the back and not coming up to the front....if I am lucky.
Click to expand...

With some delay following up on this but I figured eventually that the hillstream loaches survived the 3 weeks just fine. It just took quite a while to see them all at the front together to count them. The tank is extremely overgrown. Since then they survived another 2 holidays without food...

And on the round pond, I took a very poor video but I'll post it anyway as I've been lazy again not updating...Nothing new there. I think the fish spent 3 Christmas's in pond already. I think they really like that pond.

 
Come January and I start paying more attention to my hobby.

Yesterday I bought a betta fish. I think out of boredom, and I was even telling the shop attendant that I don't like them at all while paying for it :p
It's just that I got the urge and my last platy died after years of trying to get rid of them...So I had the tank(plastic tote :rolleyes:) was sitting empty...

He managed to catch my eye not because of his pink appearance but because he seemed very interactive in the shop and was coming over to check out my finger...So home with me he came..

Betta 1.jpg


Coming to check me out while I was leaning over....
Betta 2.jpg


And a picture of the hydrophila growing emersed...First time ever in years of keeping it. Any leaf that tried to break the water before used to dry out but this stalk now is growing strong and is flowering....I am pretty certain I used to insist that the species of hydrophila I got doesn't grow emersed....:banghead:

Hydrophila.jpg


Hydrophila 2.jpg
 
The new betta fish seems to be doing well and already lines up for food. He is very curious. He doesn't seem to be afraid of me and swims up when he sees me.I think he also likes that there are plants and driftwood higher up in the water column as he's been seen using them as a sofa bed. Yesterday morning he was perched on the dritwood with his tail wrapped around it..He almost gave me a scare when I walked in at first but then I figured he uses the tail as an anchor. He seemed totally content.

The only worry is that one side of the tank is full of plant roots from the peace lily, and also the hydrophila, and I hope he doesn't venture into them much to get his big tail tangled but I'll have to keep an eye...He's turning out to be quite the beggar for food which makes it easier to see how he's getting on.
 
I took another video just now. The start of it features my larger loaches...then I spooked the fish a bit by moving my hands around...I don't know if anyone has paid attention enough to notice but the denison barbs, clown loaches and SAEs swim altogether where the harlequin rasboras have nearly half the tank to themselves at the further side....

 
The hydrophila in the betta tub is going crazy. I don't know how its not killed by the air and what caused it to get emersed this time after so many years always drying up when it gets outside the water. The emersed growth seems really healthy and adapted to being in the air. The hydrophila was in this same tub for 3 years prior to venturing out the water....The only difference is the tub has a flood light on top of it now since about last August, which it shares with the tub next to it.. I suspect the hydrophila likes this light better than the aquarium light previously....

I ran out of fish food as well. I normally keep it in the freezer and I hadn't noticed the jars were almost empty. So now I will have to feed bloodworms for a week at least. The fish are ecstatic:D

The betta was turning its nose to the pellets from time to time but is gobbling the bloodworms really happily... He better doesn't get used to it..
 
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I also have an orchid which my other half brought from his work place last year some time. I didn't give it much chance but its been hanging in the tank since and grown some leaves. It seems like a really slow grower but it only had 2 leaves initially which I since cut out. All the ones below have grown in the tank.

Orchid1.jpg
Orchid2.jpg
 
I'd like to also re-introduce my bristlenose pleco again. I thought yesterday that he is now over 8 years old or thereabouts. I bought him as a tiny little fish the year before I had the clown loaches and he made it through several tanks over the years. He's always been a grumpy fish and likes to hide in the funniest of places so I sometimes forget that I have him. He can really stand his own with the clown loaches when it comes to feeding time.

Pleco1.jpg
Pleco2.jpg
 
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