overwintering a lily

[b considine]

So, I took my tubs apart a few weeks ago to pull the fish out and then I filled them back up and put the plants back.

That's my plan.

Blaise

 

[FishEggs]

I lost fish this summer. The rest werent as nice looking as I expected from the results last year. Not sure if it was just so much rain that the water was way to soft or they didnt get as much sun or if it was the frogs or I waited too long and it was too cold.

 

[zendog]

My adults seem to do okay, but I know I lost some fry this year. I had one small tub with a group of flagfish and I saw a bunch of fry at one point, but then I think they washed over with all the rain. I actually added a table spoon of baking soda to their tub and a tub of Aphanius Mento killifish a few times to keep the water from getting too soft, since both prefer harder water.

I think I also lost some least killifish from washing over as well. It is hard to plan for 3" of rain when the weather is just saying .5" ... lesson learned.

 

[chriscoli]

Actually, some of my cichlids did really well in the tubs. For those that have seen my setup, the "upstairs" tubs did not have fish while the "downstairs" tubs did. So in those tubs I had:

150 gal tub - Thorichthys pasionis possible pair and Incan Stone Fish (juvies to grow out)
- the pasionis looked fantastic at the end of the year, but didn't breed. I'm not even convinced they're a pair. I've moved those on to someone who may have more luck with them.
- the Incan Stone Fish grew a lot and I found a few "extras" in the tub that were about an inch in size, so clearly they had started to breed.

150 gal tub - Odessa barbs and emperor tetras
- the barbs punked the tetras (not surprising) and now I have a gajillion barbs. The original adults are enormous and look amazing.

100 gal tub - Thorichthys maculipinnis (juvies to grow out)
- these grew a ton and started spawning. I removed quite a few .5 to 1" juvies as well as the adults.

50 gal tub - Ptychochromis oligacanthus breeding pair
- These breed regularly in my fishroom but have not successfully raised a brood themselves (I suspect the male is eating the fry as he tries to parent them). This tub got most of the heat of the day and stayed warmer than the other tubs which the oligacanthus love from past fishroom experiences. I have a bazillion .5" juvies now as well as the adults. When I first put them in the tub, the frogs had been spawning and there were small to medium tadpoles everywhere. After a few days in the tub, I looked into it to check on the pair and from the top I could see that they were bulging hugely at the belly and the tadpole population was quite reduced. I wasn't able to see what magic happened in the tub that allowed the fry to survive this time vs others so your guess is as good as mine. Was it the abundance of microfauna? Better hiding places to keep the parents from snacking on them? More cover and darkness for the parents so they're less stressed?

 

[chriscoli]

I lost fish this summer. The rest werent as nice looking as I expected from the results last year. Not sure if it was just so much rain that the water was way to soft or they didnt get as much sun or if it was the frogs or I waited too long and it was too cold.

I was worried about the soft water with some of my cichlids, too so I tossed a handful of crushed coral in the bottom.

 

[Becca]

I also lost fish this summer. Rain washed out some Copeina I was trying to work with, as well as some live-bearers Viktor added to my big pond. The little rasboras I got at BFD got nice and round and blue, but no fry. My white clouds spawned a lot in the very early spring, but stopped (or fry were washed out) later on. Nada from the Hyalobagrus, but at least they didn't die. The Crenicara punctulatum made it through the summer, but the male of the trio I put out died a few days after bringing him in. Copella nigralineata didn't do anything (but at least survived), I've got 1 chela danio and 1 meteor minnow left...

This summer was the pits.

Everything I brought back inside is being thoroughly dewormed with fenbendazole, praziquantel, and metronidazole.

 

[chriscoli]

Oh, yeah, I also put my splash tetras out....they jumped out immediately.

And I put out some Danio kyathit - nada from them and I lost about half of the adults to jumping.

 

[FishEggs]

Any interesting developments fish-wise from breaking down the tubs?

Way to derail a thread el president

 

[b considine]

Christine--you're where I was last year, with the Odessa barbs. Started with 12, ended up with close to 100. My Odessa barbs this year, which were tiny fry last year, also now look great. However, I only saw two fry all summer. I will note that I did not have any floating plants this summer, as I went with the lily (which bloomed regularly and looked great).

Blaise

 

[chriscoli]

Christine--you're where I was last year, with the Odessa barbs. Started with 12, ended up with close to 100. My Odessa barbs this year, which were tiny fry last year, also now look great. However, I only saw two fry all summer. I will note that I did not have any floating plants this summer, as I went with the lily (which bloomed regularly and looked great).

Blaise

These Odessa barbs are from a group I picked up at an auction last summer/fall so they're probably yours!

Here's just a small section of the tank they're in:

 

[mchambers]

Hmmm. I was thinking of putting Odessa barbs in my pond next year, but it sounds like there are plenty in the area.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Way to derail a thread el president

Eh, the lily talk had run its course.

Christine - bringing Odessa barbs to Catcon?

 

[chriscoli]

Eh, the lily talk had run its course.

Christine - bringing Odessa barbs to Catcon?

perhaps...

 

[b considine]

So, if I came over and dumped my 2+ dozen in with yours, no one would be the wiser...

Blaise

 

[FishEggs]

If y'all are sellin, I'm a buyin. I wont be at the convention but I'll be at the Oct meeting.