New Tank Build: 29 Gallon GSP Adventure

[Pizentios]

Very cool fish and glad to see that you researched them proper before jumping in. It amazes me how many BW fish are at my LFS's in FW. Probably the reason i order most of my stuff on the net.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Don't you think they'll go after the RCS too? I was thinking the younger ones would be the best feeders and leave the big ones to breed more food. I agree that a proper home is best for them, but I don't want a bigger setup for food than the fish their destined to be a meal for lol. Gut loading any feeder is the big thing from what I read, since what ever you feed them, the puffers will get.

Not a bad price for everything.

I read that they won't. Yea, the young ones will be good, just want to establish a good amount of them before letting him have them. I always gut load my feeders first. But right now he just eats, snails, frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, and raw shrimp. I'm waiting for the store i usually go to, to open back up cause they moved. They sell ghost shrimp and i wanted to get a few for Sweet P.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I read that they won't. Yea, the young ones will be good, just want to establish a good amount of them before letting him have them. I always gut load my feeders first. But right now he just eats, snails, frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, and raw shrimp. I'm waiting for the store i usually go to, to open back up cause they moved. They sell ghost shrimp and i wanted to get a few for Sweet P.

My boys aren't eating the ghosties that I can tell anyways. I watch them look at each other and the GSP just swim on. I have 12 in a small tank gut loading and we'll see what happens later today lol. The AES can stand their ground pretty good and are doing a great job of keeping things clean.

The boys are good hunters, since I'm seeing fresh snail shells laying around. I guess they have a better view than me though, since I thought every snails had been eaten 2 days ago lol.

I have some MTS I want to put in, but I'm afraid the GSP will get them before they can get under the sand. What do you think, should I give it a go? I was thinking of putting 2 in just after I feed them, so they're distracted from the MTS.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Very cool fish and glad to see that you researched them proper before jumping in. It amazes me how many BW fish are at my LFS's in FW. Probably the reason i order most of my stuff on the net.

Thanks Pizentios!

Yeah, lots of research and the right LFS for stock were at the top of my list. My LFS wouldn't sell them to me until I was properly setup , which is what I call a store that keeps fish, rather than just selling them.

Lots of people think that because places like Walmart keep them in FW, it's OK for them too and I hate that as much as putting 3 goldfish in a 10g tank because the picture on the box makes it OK.

 

[BfishLpond78]

They will hunt them out. If they are like mine, once you give them one snail. They will continue to search for more for a good amount of time, then eventually give up. I'm guessing they will literally keep eating till they can't physically eat anymore. If they can catch they will eat it pretty much. If he is having trouble catching ghosties, your tank might be too open. Puffers hunt by breaking line of sight. Almost as if they jump out of a closet and snatch the food. So alot of pants and things to hide behind are beneficial to them in there hunting.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

First PWC with the brothers in the tank and a bit of rescaping. added 3 ghosties and it seems the puffers aren't to interested in them and give the vicious way the went after the snails, I figured the gut-loaded ghosties would be gone in no time

The banana plant needed to be moved because of the two, 2ft long lily pads, so I went to pull it up and to my surprise the roots were over 6" long . Took a while to dig it up and had a bit of peat make its way into the tank, but ended up cutting 1/2 the roots off so I could replant it. Hope it makes it .

 

[BfishLpond78]

Hello again. I have a question for you, do you use a python connected to a faucet to clean up the snail shells they dont eat? Cause i just have a regular gravel vac and i have black moon sand in my tank, the siphon isn't strong enough to pick up the broken shells, any ideas?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Hello again. I have a question for you, do you use a python connected to a faucet to clean up the snail shells they dont eat? Cause i just have a regular gravel vac and i have black moon sand in my tank, the siphon isn't strong enough to pick up the broken shells, any ideas?

I use a gravel vac and buckets for all my PWC's. The few shells I've seen I leave, figuring they'll use them to crunch on and trim their beaks. They're not rotting (per se) so I don't consider them detrimental, or causing any water quality issues. But to pick up junk I want out (dead leafs, shrimp casings, etc.), I have a pair of foot long tweezers from my planting tool kit that work great.

Cool Tools: Share Your Aquatic/Non-Aquatic finds with AA - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

Here's what I use to stir the PFS and kick up detritus and vacuum it up easily. Works like a champ and I use it on all my sand based tanks, since they're also planted (med load) and I want to minimize disturbing the roots/root tabs.

Cool Tools: Share Your Aquatic/Non-Aquatic finds with AA - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

 

[BfishLpond78]

Hey, I upgraded from a hydrometer to a refrac. I'm a little confused on how to calibrate this. I have the 35ppt fluid. How do i go about calibrating this for sweet P's water?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Mine has a small screw driver and I adjust to 0 using distilled water, you want to adjust to 1.035 with the fluid.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Hey I got the crays today, here is one of the little guys. they are about and inch and a half long and pretty active for being in there new home. So far they haven't caught any CRS but have tried.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Hey I got the crays today, here is one of the little guys. they are about and inch and a half long and pretty active for being in there new home. So far they haven't caught any CRS but have tried.

WooHoo!

They look cool and that small huh? I figured closer to 2" but maybe they're young ones. Any eggs?

I got some uncooked shrimp at the store, gonna give a couple small chucks to them and see how they do lol. I got defrosted one with shells and tails from the meat lady, because a bag of frozen was huge and pricey.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Yea they are young. I read at full maturity they can be 5inches. No babies or anything yet. I figured it would take awhile for that to start. You will be surprised how far a few pieces of shrimp will go for these guys. But its a nice mix up in there diet for quality food with great proteins.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Any idea how long before they're mature enough to start breeding?

Guess I better back track to that link you posted and get mine ordered ASAP!

They had a bag of shrimp, clams, etc for soup at the store, but it was precooked so I passed. Next time I'm at the wharf, I'm gonna get some fresh caught scraps and treat them to that .

 

[BfishLpond78]

I'm not exactly sure how long till they breed, but read that after a few months they should begin to breed in small amounts as they get older they breed in greater numbers. Good for me though because I want to establish a nice colony.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'm not exactly sure how long till they breed, but read that after a few months they should begin to breed in small amounts as they get older they breed in greater numbers. Good for me though because I want to establish a nice colony.

Yep, sounds like a long term program, but hey you can sell extras down the road .

Question: I put a chunk of shrimp in, left the shell, feet, everything on it. Is that OK, or do I need to remove the shell? They tore into it and the BBG's wanted in on the action too lol.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Nah leave everything on there, the shell and all the hard stuff to help with keeping the beak down. You can always clean up the bits later that they leave behind. Ya I'm excited for the long term project it will be fun to watch.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Given the extended photoperiod, I was expecting and got BA started in the tank. Decided to try and see if I can forgo the 2 month infestation by adding in an intank UV unit. We'll see how it goes over the next few days (weeks ).

On another note, the transplanted banana plant doesn't seem to have minded me cutting off half the roots when I moved it. I did give it a treat with it's very own root stick, so maybe it'll stay happy/keep growing and even send up a third lily pad .

 

[andresdeo]

Nice tank! Just came across the thread, great scaping.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Nice tank! Just came across the thread, great scaping.

Thanks!

My GF directed the scaping since it's her GSP tank. Now if I could just get her to do the PWC lol (JK ).