I bought a 'dwarf' Spathiphyllum for my tank - it stayed 'dwarf' for a few months, and then must have thought "nah, I'm not staying small anymore" - now the leaves can get in excess of 40cm.
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Very first tank (planted, low tech)
- Thread starter megwattscreative
- Start date
OllieTY
Member
Maybe its a bit of a 'micropig' situation!
ElleDee
Member
Yeah, could be. Sometimes with plants "dwarf" just means slow growing (or, with shrubs and trees, tight internodes) rather than a truly smaller final size. Very misleading marketing imo, though probably less of a problem than owning a former micropig. I have no idea about peace lilies specifically, but it wouldn't be unprecedented.
A BREEDING UPDATE
Hi all, hope you're well 🙂 in a very fun and slightly disconcerting turn of events, I noticed I have an extra pygmy cory - they've only gone and bred without warning me first 🫠
I did notice quite a smart, smaller Cory a while back but didn't clock that it wasn't one of the original 6 (which then became 5 after the demise of raggedy man). Lo and behold, I fed them this morning and voila! 6 Corys shoaling at the front of the tank. I thought my eyes were failing me, and even checked the receipt from when I bought them, but theres definitely a new one. This renders the post I was going to make "bullying or breeding behaviour?" totally null and void.
I'm delighted - they've become my favourite little fish in the tank, and it's great to see them breeding. Although it's mindboggling that I never saw any fry or eggs, only for an extra adult Cory to just appear. I'm really happy my tank can support breeding conditions and that at least 1 of them has survived to adulthood with no intervention from me. I was thinking the rasboras and tetras would clear all the fry and bought a floating mesh breeder that I could hopefully transfer eggs into to increase survival rates, but there's clearly space to hide. Woo!
I had a dream (recurring nightmare) last night that Id massacred a tank of corys and Otto's that all had severe fin rot, so seeing an extra Cory this morning has thrown me for a bit of a loop. Now I don't know what to believe 😂
Hi all, hope you're well 🙂 in a very fun and slightly disconcerting turn of events, I noticed I have an extra pygmy cory - they've only gone and bred without warning me first 🫠
I did notice quite a smart, smaller Cory a while back but didn't clock that it wasn't one of the original 6 (which then became 5 after the demise of raggedy man). Lo and behold, I fed them this morning and voila! 6 Corys shoaling at the front of the tank. I thought my eyes were failing me, and even checked the receipt from when I bought them, but theres definitely a new one. This renders the post I was going to make "bullying or breeding behaviour?" totally null and void.
I'm delighted - they've become my favourite little fish in the tank, and it's great to see them breeding. Although it's mindboggling that I never saw any fry or eggs, only for an extra adult Cory to just appear. I'm really happy my tank can support breeding conditions and that at least 1 of them has survived to adulthood with no intervention from me. I was thinking the rasboras and tetras would clear all the fry and bought a floating mesh breeder that I could hopefully transfer eggs into to increase survival rates, but there's clearly space to hide. Woo!
I had a dream (recurring nightmare) last night that Id massacred a tank of corys and Otto's that all had severe fin rot, so seeing an extra Cory this morning has thrown me for a bit of a loop. Now I don't know what to believe 😂
ElleDee
Member
That's so wonderful! For all the stress these little guys you through you deserve a win!
I also have dreams about killing fish, usually because I have forgotten about them and discover that I am the owner of a whole tank of dead and dying fish. 😩
I also have dreams about killing fish, usually because I have forgotten about them and discover that I am the owner of a whole tank of dead and dying fish. 😩
Yup, think it's a pretty common stress dream for fish keepers from what I've read on Reddit etc... doesn't make it any less jarring. Thanks for the well wishes too!
Marcia
Member
Hi Meg, so happy to read about your new Cory after the loss of raggedy man. Just wondering if you’ve done anything else to help your tank’s health? I too lost an otocinclus and a Betta from infection. I treated them with Esha2000+Exit but with no avail. I’ve been doing like you suggested, water changes, botanicals, plants. But I’m still concerned about the rest of the fishes, otos are hiding most of the day now but with no visible illness. Seeing your beautiful tank back to health is inspiring!
ScareCrow
Member
Congratulations on breeding pygmy corys. Warning it is very addictive. I've kept fish for about 20 yrs and never had any interest in corys until about 3 years ago. Even then it was just a case of that's a pretty fish I'd like some of those. This was quickly followed by almost obsessive searching of information about various species and that lead to trying to find some of these species. I've gone from 1 tank to 4, with 2 setup as species only tanks.
I often wonder if the person that first said fish are relaxing to watch ever actually kept fish 😂 The majority of my time watching fish is spent either trying to count that they're all present, checking for signs of poor health or ensuring that all equipment is operating correctly.
Hi all,
cheers Darrel
I think that is <"actually a good sign">, when they are happy and well fed they are mainly <"crepuscular / nocturnal">. When they swim around all day it just means that they aren't getting enough to eat and are desperately searching for food.
cheers Darrel
Marcia
Member
Oh really? Thanks Darrel, I didn’t know that. There was a big Oto who was kind of the leader, all the others followed him. Then he got ill (at same time as Meg’s Cory - so I was following this tread closely) and he quickly passed away and now the others started hiding more. I’m feeding them Repashy (after my initial concerns) and Hikari wafers. Doing regular water changes, but not been adding anymore medicines or anything. I don’t know if I should do more to keep the tank disease free…
Hi Marcia, I've basically been doing the same as you - I added more plants, fed more live food and improved filtration. I also removed the oak leaves I'd added that still had green patches (doh!) after reading Rosie's post on beautiful botanicals.
I've never kept Otto's myself but @dw1305 has (successfully!) for years, so I'd trust his advice!
I noticed with my tank that my repeated fussing whilst trying to improve filtration etc definitely spooked the fish - as did adding Esha 2000. After a 50% water change everyone usually calmed down a lot, so I might honestly suggest just leaving them for a bit and observing. Again, I would definitely listen to Darrel's advice over mine!
I've never kept Otto's myself but @dw1305 has (successfully!) for years, so I'd trust his advice!
I noticed with my tank that my repeated fussing whilst trying to improve filtration etc definitely spooked the fish - as did adding Esha 2000. After a 50% water change everyone usually calmed down a lot, so I might honestly suggest just leaving them for a bit and observing. Again, I would definitely listen to Darrel's advice over mine!
I can see this in my future! the Corys are quickly becoming my absolute favourite - they're so personable and silly to watch. I was worried about sand sticking to my Corys slime coats, however upon closer inspection & research - I think they're just incredibly messy eaters 😂
I feel you on this one - when it's all going well it's great, but it doesn't take much for the paranoia to creep in...
Marcia
Member
Thanks Meg, it’s good to know that your tank has recovered well to the point they are breeding! I’m definitely guilty for spooking the fishes while vacuuming the soil and lifting the logs in search of possible corpses. Then they all come out spooked and annoyed 🙈😬 I’ve read all Darren’s links now and just put in some courgette to entice the otos but Pleco jumped on it as fast as it landed 😅
richardcunliffe
Member
Get this all the time, though usually I have somehow acquired some huge tanks filled with all sorts. Totally genuinely, last night for some reason there were also several monkeys living in the emersed parts who I had neglected. They all escaped into the house and were quite bitey trying to get them back in. Fortunately, I managed to make contact with the previous owner and they turned out to be quite social around the kitchen table once I knew their names 😂
simon_the_plant_nerd
Member
My aquatic stress dream is that I neglected a tank for some period of time and, while everything is still alive, the tank is also now inhabited by a very large eel like creature that scares the hell out of me. I can’t get the eel out so the dream never resolves, just remains high anxiety until I wake up.
Less cheese before bed time.
Right, I think I'm making a thread of fishkeeping dreams 😂 didn't realise there were so many different flavours of nightmare fuel!
Edit: thread here 🙂
Edit: thread here 🙂
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