Remanso . . .

[Wookii]

Definitely sand, fish looks to be in great shape. It’s not a fish I’ve kept but I’m sure it’s pretty common for them to bury themselves.

Thanks Conor, that's a relief.

Regular aphids and then whitefly I expect, I would brush off the aphids, some fish happily eat them. The fish has a great little grumpy face, maybe the stuck sand helps them to camouflage in nature, or maybe the slime coat thicker if the fish is irritated by something and the sand is then sticking to it.

Thank Liam - he's probably grumpy because the daphnia are too fast for him lol - I've not seen anything flying, so not sure on the White Fly ID?

I think they're Acyrthosiphon pisum or greenfly. I think the white things are their molted exoskeletons and the colour variation is the various instars of the aphids.
I've not tried it but apparently they're attracted to yellow so you can get yellow sticky traps or make a water trap. They plagued my peppers this year and despite using soapy water, neem oil or a combination I've not been able to get rid of them.

Thanks Nick - jees, that would be a lot of moults, there's literally hundreds of the little white things. Those are the ones I put in the water and the fish don't touch or spit out, makes sense if its just an exoskeleton.

So do we think sumberging the pots for 48 hours would get rid of them, or can the aphid survive underwater for that duration?

I would go out and try and collect some Ladybird larva, but I'm not sure there'll be many around now at this point in the year?

EDIT: I see you can by the larva online for putting on your plants - have you considered this for your peppers @ScareCrow

 

[shangman]

This happened to me in my big tank with emersed hydrocotyle too, one day greenfly came in and sucked everything dry, little vampire b*stards. There was no way to get rid of them, they are too many and too small and if you miss any they just breed again. The plants grow back and look great for a month or two, and then the cycle happens again. I only keep tough plants like ferns and aroids emersed now.

 

[ScareCrow]

EDIT: I see you can by the larva online for putting on your plants - have you considered this for your peppers @ScareCrow

I've heard of this but it doesn't seem right to me. If there's not enough aphids to sustain however many ladybirds there are they'll either starve or go elsewhere. Fine if they go elsewhere but I don't want to be responsible for the others that don't make it.
I saw a person on a gardening program years ago explain his belief that when plants are stressed or are not 'happy' pests can sense it and take advantage of their weakened state. I've taken the approach that I'll intervene in the short term but if they fail to establish or recover then it's not meant to be. Could also be described as being lazy.

So do we think sumberging the pots for 48 hours would get rid of them, or can the aphid survive underwater for that duration?

I have no idea how long they can last underwater. I resorted to blasting them off under the tap and crushing the ones that held on. They do have a survival instinct and throw themselves to the ground when they think they're about to be eaten so that might help if done over the tank.

literally hundreds of the little white things.

They're incredibly prolific but also quite short lived so not surprising there are a lot.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

You might have to zoom in, but they look like grains of sand stuck to them to me. I’m not sure if they habitually bury themselves in the sand or not.

Grains of sand and "yes" respectively*. *edit what @Conort2 said.

I think they're Acyrthosiphon pisum or greenfly. I think the white things are their molted exoskeletons and the colour variation is the various instars of the aphids.

That one. I'm not sure which species of aphid <"Identify the most commonly seen British aphids">.

I've heard of this but it doesn't seem right to me. If there's not enough aphids to sustain however many ladybirds there are they'll either starve or go elsewhere. Fine if they go elsewhere but I don't want to be responsible for the others that don't make it.

You can <"get parasitoid wasps">, they are pretty effective, but tend to be species specific. There is also a predatory midge that works <"Aphidoletes">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Wookii]

A bit of an update . . .

I now have quite a few baby shrimp about the tank which is good to see, and loads of other berried females still to hatch.

All the fish are gaining in confidence, with the male Reed tetra sparring often, and showing lovely flared finnage - I suspect some may be carrying eggs too, unless they're just some of the greedier ones when the food is out. The Kuhli loaches are out and about a fair bit too, burying their heads deep into the sand, presumably hunting for detritus worms.

The live food production is going well, with the ramp up in Grindal worm feeding and larger containers paying dividends with much larger numbers to feed. The whole tank goes mad when they are added. Similarly, in addition to the two 80 litre tubs I already had, I have added two cheap 165 litre plasterers baths to increase the outdoor daphnia production.

I have also moved most of my Chocolate Gourami juveniles over to the big tank, and they seem to be settling in well after the anticipated initial disorientation.

On the next planned stocking, I did have a couple of disappointing e-mails from Wildwoods that their suppliers hadn't been able to fulfil their orders. To their credit they persisted in placing new orders and they have finally managed to get stock of all the fish I am after. So on Friday I will be taking delivery of:

30 x Aspidoras pauciradiatus
15 x Iriatherina werneri
15 x Nannostomus marginatus
20 x Boraras brigittae

I have to make a point of highlighting the incredible level of service I have had from Keith at Wildwoods. Bearing in mind I initially contacted probably the top 8 or so online fish suppliers with my list - which represented a decent sized purchase. Most of them replied to say they would contact me if they got stock, but I haven't heard back from any of them since then.

Keith at Wildwoods on the other hand has been the only one who has actively contacted his suppliers, tracked down stock, and placed specific orders with them to get the fish in that I wanted - then reserved the fish I wanted in their tanks unit they were all in, held them for a couple of weeks to ensure they were acclimatised and healthy from the import shipping, so they could then be shipped in one go.

He kept me updated throughout, gave me good prices on the fish, an additional 10% bulk order discount and free shipping. Service like this seems to be a rarity these days, so I can't recommend Wildwoods enough, and they will now be my only port of call for all future fish orders.

 

[Tankless]

Do you have pictures of your chocolate gouramis?

 

[Wookii]

Do you have pictures of your chocolate gouramis?

Not yet, I'll dig the camera out and try and get some over the weekend - they are beautifully coloured at the moment (probably due to the live food), with some of them showing some red to their fins 👍

 

[Wookii]

Buckets out again, and drip acclimation in progress!

Fish arrived fine and in good condition as far as I can tell (obviously their colours are all washed out in the bags!)

Superb service from Wildwoods again. Also worth mentioning that with every shipment they include this laminated sheet:

My experience has been that they do go above and beyond the level of service I’ve had from any other shop!

 

[_Maq_]

they do go above and beyond the level of service I’ve had from any other shop!

It definitely looks like that.
Will you perform any "deworming"? What medicines are you using for that purpose?

 

[Conort2]

Superb service from Wildwoods again. Also worth mentioning that with every shipment they include this laminated sheet:

I’ve never seen that before from a retailer, going above and beyond there.

 

[castle]

Hey, can you see any noticeable bowing with your tank?

I’m now in the process of ordering one, 180x70x60 but I think I’m going to get a one piece euro brace? Just not sure I can trust 15mm seals enough 😬

One piece euro brace adds on a lot of money, and safety 😅

 

[Wookii]

It definitely looks like that.
Will you perform any "deworming"? What medicines are you using for that purpose?

I do intend to add a dewormer, my plan was to wait until all fish were in situ and treat the whole tank. I’ll use eSHa NDX.

 

[LFNfan]

Scrolling slowly down from the top of the FTS I'm expecting to see three people getting intravenous infusions of your tank water. Professional-looking drip acclimation kit!

 

[Wookii]

Hey, can you see any noticeable bowing with your tank?

I’m now in the process of ordering one, 180x70x60 but I think I’m going to get a one piece euro brace? Just not sure I can trust 15mm seals enough 😬

One piece euro brace adds on a lot of money, and safety 😅

Kinda wish you hadn’t asked, and then I hadn’t then put a spirit level on it 😅 but yeah there is a slight bow to it - a couple of millimetres at most.

I’ve got no concerns to be honest, my tank was on the edge of needing to step up to 15mm glass from 12mm, and I think it would take a lot more pressure to have any effect on the seams.

Your proposed tank is 50% more volume though, so worth you considering the brace if it’s a concern.

 

[Wookii]

Scrolling slowly down from the top of the FTS I'm expecting to see three people getting intravenous infusions of your tank water. Professional-looking drip acclimation kit!

Maybe you’re on to something there! I could run a side hustle as a new-age spa - Amazon water blood infusions, water change colonics and and plant trimmings fascial masks! Not sure what they’d think of the spa pools though!

 

[Conort2]

I do intend to add a dewormer, my plan was to wait until all fish were in situ and treat the whole tank. I’ll use eSHa NDX.

Remember that will only treat roundworms like camallanus worms. You’ll need to use GDEX for tapeworms and flukes.

 

[castle]

Ah, yeah it’s actually a very safe build you have and it’s actually got a really low deflection score, so yeah you shouldn’t worry.

For me, I’m always on the side of worry and like you this aquarium is a “forever” aquarium.

 

[LFNfan]

Amazon water blood infusions, water change colonics and and plant trimmings fascial masks!

I'm liking where you are going with this. Massive health benefits. If you take all three treatments and finish with a marinade in the spa pools, under carefully controlled scientific conditions the sort of results you can anticipate are:

Sorry, I am spoiling your journal. I will desist.

 

[Wookii]

Remember that will only treat roundworms like camallanus worms. You’ll need to use GDEX for tapeworms and flukes.

Thanks Conor, yes I meant GDEX - I couldn’t remember which one it was that you recommended before 👍🏻

 

[Wookii]

Sorry, I am spoiling your journal.

Not at all - this is my kind of digression! 😂