Elassoma Gilberti

Congrats!

*sighs* The tank dropped back down in ranking. Oh well.
http://www.ratemyfis...email.php/34771
http://www.ratemyfis...email.php/34824

Edited by EricaWieser, 20 January 2011 - 11:44 AM.

*sighs* The tank dropped back down in ranking. Oh well.
http://www.ratemyfis...email.php/34771
http://www.ratemyfis...email.php/34824

What a shame! People need to learn more about natives. I did my part today by having my school science fair project was about plant regeneration and I mentioned my natives during the project. Many people seemed very interested.

Here's a photo taken about five minutes ago of the male that got photoboxed the other day. He's fine.
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Here he is again:
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See, he's fine. He did really freak out during the photo box (he went all clear), but he's fine now. I still don't think I'm going to be photoboxing an Elassoma again anytime soon. I worry when their color blanches out.

Edited by EricaWieser, 20 January 2011 - 06:43 PM.

What a shame! People need to learn more about natives. I did my part today by having my school science fair project was about plant regeneration and I mentioned my natives during the project. Many people seemed very interested.

Have you thought about making an account on ratemyfishtank.com?
It's free, and you'd get to share photos that would show people how cool your native fish are.

Edited by EricaWieser, 20 January 2011 - 06:39 PM.

Current photo of tank:
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http://gallery.nanfa...resize.jpg.html

This is what it looks like from the side, where I sit:
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It's been staying about 65 degrees Fahrenheit this past week. The current temperature is 67 F.

Edited by EricaWieser, 20 January 2011 - 09:07 PM.

Current photo of tank...

Euck. That post made me realize I have too much ceratophyllum again. Time to split it and sell half. Again. *sighs*

I'm impressed with how your Myriophyllum keeps its leaves all the way down. Are those recently planted tops that haven't shed lower leaves yet, or does it really stay that way? Myrio's are often common in eastern NC plant beds where Elassoma spawn. And your Special Kitty Litter looks great. I like gray (I'd better, it's becoming my color).

I'm impressed with how your Myriophyllum keeps its leaves all the way down. Are those recently planted tops that haven't shed lower leaves yet, or does it really stay that way? Myrio's are often common in eastern NC plant beds where Elassoma spawn. And your Special Kitty Litter looks great. I like gray (I'd better, it's becoming my color).

Yes, the very first myriophyllum I received, this past summer, lost their lower four inches of leaves. At that point I cut their tops off, forcing them to have new growth. Each original stem spawned several more baby stems, which have not lost their lower leaves. I think that the thinner, younger stems keep their leaves more, and that my frequent (severe) trimmings coerce the plants into needing every leaf they've got. Just after this picture was taken, I went through and cut each of the myriophyllum at the point where they touched the water's surface.

I'm not a plant expert, though. Mine could all lose their bottom leaves tomorrow. I think my response would be to cut them in half and replant the top if they did. These plants seem to be very good at propagating from cuttings, so you can just remove the offensive part and the rest will still grow. You can't see it in the picture, but from the side view of the aquarium there is a vast root system visible that has grown at a really fast pace.

To tell the truth, I'm starting to think about getting rid of my ceratophyllum and getting cahoots caroliniana. That's my favorite plant. I've tried it twice in the past with only gravel substrate and both times it died. That's why I came up with the rectangular frame PVC idea; it was the closest I could come to emulating the rooted cabomba. But now I've got this kitty litter and I'm seeing how well rooted the myriophyllum is getting, and hmm. I might just buy some more. I really love how it looks.

Oh, that's another thing. When I bought this myriophyllum it was a pretty blue green color. Now it's red brown lime green. What happened? Is it my bright full spectrum lights? I've got some ceratophyllum that I can take a picture of when I get home that is pure blood red. It's creepy and I don't know if I like it...

Lol my iPod auto corrected the word cabomba to cahoots in the last post and there's no way for me to scroll down and fix it. Sorry, everyone.

Oh, that's another thing. When I bought this myriophyllum it was a pretty blue green color. Now it's red brown lime green. What happened? Is it my bright full spectrum lights? I've got some ceratophyllum that I can take a picture of when I get home that is pure blood red. It's creepy and I don't know if I like it...

It's your good lighting. Lots of plants develop red pigments when they receive lots of light. (Or, probably more appropriately, many plants lose their red pigment when they don't get enough light.)

It's your good lighting. Lots of plants develop red pigments when they receive lots of light. (Or, probably more appropriately, many plants lose their red pigment when they don't get enough light.)

Ah. I see.
Well, here's the photo I promised. The blue-green myriophyllum that normally has is prettier than the pink it shows now, I think. And this ceratophyllum is not green by any stretch of the imagination.
http://gallery.nanfa...resize.jpg.html
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Edited by EricaWieser, 21 January 2011 - 06:28 PM.

I'm worried about this male. Does it look like he's clamping his back fin? Is it a dominance thing (there was a bigger male off to the left, not shown on camera) or is he sick?

Update:
Yay! Fry spotted in the 55 gallon tank this morning.

I am adding microworms frequently because now I know there are fry in the 55 gallon tank.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised; all they seem to do is spawn. I caught some video earlier today of one of the newly-decided males who was born in my tanks luring a female into his plant clump.



I'm a little concerned about how he choose the spot right next to the intake valve as his spawning site. I hope his eggs don't get sucked up into the filter. Oh, I know, I'll modify the filter so that it sucks water from higher up the tank instead of close to the ground. The intake tube has two parts, so I can easily remove one. *nods* *goes and does it*

Edited by EricaWieser, 23 January 2011 - 09:29 PM.

I'm a little concerned about how he choose the spot right next to the intake valve as his spawning site. I hope his eggs don't get sucked up into the filter. Oh, I know, I'll modify the filter so that it sucks water from higher up the tank instead of close to the ground. The intake tube has two parts, so I can easily remove one. *nods* *goes and does it*

Ah! No! bad idea! That made the filter super powered and it started churning a waterfall. I put it back like it was before.
Maybe I'll stick an extra sponge on the end, on top of the screen mesh.

Update:
Done. New photos:
http://img.photobuck...imiru/022-3.jpg
http://img.photobuck...imiru/030-4.jpg
And in case any of you ever wondered how cloudy the water gets with a kitty litter substrate after cleaning the filter out, that's a good demonstration. I removed one of my sea sponges from the filter box (there was extra space, so I crammed them in there, why not) and put it on the end. It happened to already have a middle channel cut in the center of it, so I just popped it on the end. The tank's already halfway to clear again already, less than 10 minutes later.

Edited by EricaWieser, 23 January 2011 - 09:55 PM.

Update photo of tank:
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I am still waiting for the rotifer eggs to arrive in the mail.

Edit: It's kind of funny how you can never see the Elassoma in the zoomed out photos of the tank. It looks kind of empty. But there are two dozen fish in there. You can see them when you get closer; it's just that they're so small they don't show up in the zoom out. For example, that tiny little fish silhouette on the glass on the left side of the tank is a male.

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Edited by EricaWieser, 26 January 2011 - 12:00 AM.

I'm worried about this male. Does it look like he's clamping his back fin? Is it a dominance thing (there was a bigger male off to the left, not shown on camera) or is he sick?

He appears way too intent and energetic to me for it to be a sickness of any kind. The only fish I ever seen where what looked sick to me was normal was with fancy obese goldfish. It seems almost mean just to breed fish to be like that. Otherwise I've always been able to spot sick fish well before they die, even when I didn't know the fish or the disease. When sick fish tend to act funny independent of surroundings. This fish is obviously just reacting to something very specific. Almost certainly a dominance or defensive posture. I was thinking the males of this species defend their young this way.

He appears way too intent and energetic to me for it to be a sickness of any kind.

I think you're right. He might have been communicating with the male that was to his left, just off camera. It was just weird to see one display with all his fins except his tail. Usually when they're courting a female their tail is spread, too. Maybe this is just how males dance at one another to gain or defend territory.

Update photo of tank:

Of course immediately after I posted this photo I went and trimmed the ceratophyllum. XD Fail