The Nymph's Spring (EA900)

[shangman]

Much as I love them, I wont get them again for this very reason. They are amazingly cute, but like the x-files, I have to believe they are out there in my tank as I only catch glimpses of them. There are 10 or so in my 50l tank but I actually believed them dead for a long time, until for some reason the whole group came out of the foliage a month or so ago and to my surprise all were still present. They all looked happy enough, not skinny, so I'm guessing they are just happy where they are, but for me it means I'll get fish a bit less shy next time, because this is somewhat extreme I see one or 2 occasionally resting here and there but thats it

This has been my experience with them in my 45L where I originally had 11, they swam as a little school quite often for a few months and then stopped and hardly ever moved, and it seems at some point 4 of them died. I felt like they really needed more space, in the 45L a big bit of wood dominates so there wasn't as much free swimming space as I'd like. I've seen videos on youtube where they were in big groups and wondered whether that would make a difference too, I like the idea of big schools of tiny fish. And also keeping them with tetras, as I've noticed a significant increase in confidence in my other fish with the tetras around acting as dither fish, and making sure there's lots of shady areas and leaves (they used to love hiding in the leaf litter)

This group of 26 in my bigger tank is a test to see if they will still become lazy, or if more space, larger numbers and a scape designed to make the fish feel safe actually will make a difference long term. I'm hoping it does, but I know they might just end up being rather shy anyway. I'm used to it though, I'm lucky if I see a kuhli a few times a week! They are super active in the tank today, still all over in varying sizes of groups, they are really using the whole tank top to bottom front to back, very funny though Ms Apisto is not pleased that she keeps having to shoo them away from her babies.

 

[Wookii]

This has been my experience with them in my 45L where I originally had 11, they swam as a little school quite often for a few months and then stopped and hardly ever moved, and it seems at some point 4 of them died. I felt like they really needed more space, in the 45L a big bit of wood dominates so there wasn't as much free swimming space as I'd like. I've seen videos on youtube where they were in big groups and wondered whether that would make a difference too, I like the idea of big schools of tiny fish. And also keeping them with tetras, as I've noticed a significant increase in confidence in my other fish with the tetras around acting as dither fish, and making sure there's lots of shady areas and leaves (they used to love hiding in the leaf litter)

This group of 26 in my bigger tank is a test to see if they will still become lazy, or if more space, larger numbers and a scape designed to make the fish feel safe actually will make a difference long term. I'm hoping it does, but I know they might just end up being rather shy anyway. I'm used to it though, I'm lucky if I see a kuhli a few times a week! They are super active in the tank today, still all over in varying sizes of groups, they are really using the whole tank top to bottom front to back, very funny though Ms Apisto is not pleased that she keeps having to shoo them away from her babies.

It will be interesting to see how you get on with such a large group of them. My experience with 14 of them is similar to @Wolf6's - they find a nice dark place to bed down at the back of the tank, and rarely come out unless there's some food in the offing.

I also bought them originally as a bottom feeding Cory, so I was a bit miffed when I first got them that they clearly hadn't read the Cory instruction manual and instead preferred to play at being a mid-water tetra most of the time. They are very cute though, so I forgave them . . eventually.

 

[shangman]

I also bought them originally as a bottom feeding Cory, so I was a bit miffed when I first got them that they clearly hadn't read the Cory instruction manual and instead preferred to play at being a mid-water tetra most of the time. They are very cute though, so I forgave them . . eventually.

Whoops! 😂 I used to think the pygmies weren't very good because they weren't like normal cories (which were my favourite fish as a young kid), and if the apistos didn't hate normal cories I would've definitely got some corydoras habrosus, but I really love the pygmies now for their special hybrid behaviour. They make even better tetras than tetras sometimes, the way they play with eachother is so sweet, completely forgiveable! They just seem to shake with excitement, there's something extra charming about them.

They're very interesting so far, they're spending most of their time in midwater and exploring the tank in two groups. There's usually one or two off on their own too. Every now and again a group lies on the bottom, and then one twitches and they all swim up into a school again to do some more swimming. They don't mind the flow much either! They really make the tank feel fully stocked and brimming with life.

 

[shangman]

Another question for this morning... my amanos are quite shy and sedentary in the 180. When they were in the smaller tank with just cherries and snails if I put food in BANG they were there in a flash pushing everything else out of the way and squqabble with eachother, but here they sit in one place in a group (about 8-10) on the wood and hardly do anything during the day. They are rather large too, it's not like Mr Apisto could get any of them, they're the same size! They have been successfully molting, and none have died in the tank. I guess it could be the co2, but other people's amanos swim about a lot right and aren't shy? I have had 2 jump out in the past 2 weeks, but luckily right in front of me so they survived fine, I've had a dodgy regulator which made the CO2 fluctuate a lot (sometimes very high) which I think did that.

I have a few options I think (let me know if you think there are other good ones) - 1. do nothing and wait, 2. add more to see if that makes them more confident, 3. put them in my 45L (which tbh has a lot of algae and now is tapwater) and don't bother with them in the 180L. I miss their funny rude behaviour!

 

[ScareCrow]

This could be total rubbish but I found with cherries they were more active when they'd not been fed for a couple of days. I'm sure I've read hungry shrimp = active shrimp. I wonder if they're grazing on the film that normally forms on wood in the early stages or diatoms etc. Whereas in your more mature tank, background levels of food were less plentiful and so they were more reliant on inputs of food.

 

[Wookii]

Amanos that I've had in the past have been pretty lazy too, spending most of their time hanging around upside down on pieces of wood - my Cherries are much more industrious.

 

[shangman]

This could be total rubbish but I found with cherries they were more active when they'd not been fed for a couple of days. I'm sure I've read hungry shrimp = active shrimp. I wonder if they're grazing on the film that normally forms on wood in the early stages or diatoms etc. Whereas in your more mature tank, background levels of food were less plentiful and so they were more reliant on inputs of food.

Ahh this is very possible, they do live exclusively on the wood, maybe the biofilm and diatoms are plentiful enough. And before they were all in a 23L while I was setting up the 180, so there probably wasn't much spare going around, they did used to eat my hydrocotyle which I think is a sign they wanted more nosh. Maybe this is a good excuse to get some more then... I'm currently very into adding more of the creatures I have and seeing how that changes their behaviour.

Amanos that I've had in the past have been pretty lazy too, spending most of their time hanging around upside down on pieces of wood - my Cherries are much more industrious.

Yours sound just like mine, maybe it's not a problem for me to try to fix. They seem to really love the big bit of wood, I've seen them on the sand only twice this whole time. Sadly my cherries might have once been industrious, but they get gobbled when they come out during the day. I have found a few more black shrimps that seem to have managed to stay away from Mr. Daffodil, annoyingly they're wiley enough that I can't seem to catch them to go in their own tank either!

 

[aec34]

they did used to eat my hydrocotyle which I think is a sign they wanted more nosh

Glad it’s not just mine that do this! I wonder that feeding them nettles has given them a liking for leaves. Slightly comically occasionally I see shrimps gripping onto little floating plants, and then sinking slowly still gripping before panicking and letting go.

 

[shangman]

Glad it’s not just mine that do this! I wonder that feeding them nettles has given them a liking for leaves. Slightly comically occasionally I see shrimps gripping onto little floating plants, and then sinking slowly still gripping before panicking and letting go.

I think they just know that leaves are tasty, though I do feed them a steamed leaf every now and again so maybe they got a taste of it from that. Mine ate all my red root floaters too, doing exactly what you said - grabbing them from the surface, pulling them down and them nomming on them, very funny if a little annoying, luckily they didn't do it to all the floaters! The difficulty with feeding them is that any algae or sinking wafers/pellets would have the big ones would come along and nab them, and then the smaller ones would be left without, so I guess they just went for the tastier leaves.

 

[Wolf6]

I had 4 amanos left after quite a few years, rarely saw those, recently got 6 new ones from someone moving house, and all of a sudden I see them lots again (new ones and old ones). I suspect it is largely a numbers thing, but they havent been in my tank for very long so maybe its just the settling phase and these too will start hiding more. I also regularly put out courgette pieces, mostly for my otto's but its often full of amano's as well since the new ones were added.

 

[shangman]

JESUS CHRIST 😨😨😨 I was just looking in the tank admiring the pygmies and wishing the amanos would come out more and an amano jumped out and hit me on the head!!!! Made me shriek!

On the upside at least I was able to put it back in again. I am rather worried about them jumping when I'm not around and dying, so far they've had very good timing. Will have to lower the water a bit more and add more plants at the top. I am still adjusting the CO2 with this new regulator, maybe it's a bit too high! They literally NEVER jumped out of the 23L, even though it was small and topped up almost to the very top. Another vote for moving this lot to the lowtech 45L perhaps. Could it be that these big ones aren't happy cos they're old and don't like the new co2, and younger ones might get used to it easier? Everyone seems to keep them so tehy can't all be jumping out.

I had 4 amanos left after quite a few years, rarely saw those, recently got 6 new ones from someone moving house, and all of a sudden I see them lots again (new ones and old ones). I suspect it is largely a numbers thing, but they havent been in my tank for very long so maybe its just the settling phase and these too will start hiding more. I also regularly put out courgette pieces, mostly for my otto's but its often full of amano's as well since the new ones were added.

I will try some courgette, we have loads atm and the otos did used to love them. I do wonder whether some young ones to get the old ones going is the answer, though I don't want to buy them just to see them all jump out! When they were in the 23L they never became very shy and quiet, hopefully yours stay interested for a long time.

 

[Wookii]

JESUS CHRIST 😨😨😨 I was just looking in the tank admiring the pygmies and wishing the amanos would come out more and an amano jumped out and hit me on the head!!!! Made me shriek!

Oh Rosie, I wish I'd been a fly on the wall for that one!! 🤣

On the upside at least I was able to put it back in again. I am rather worried about them jumping when I'm not around and dying, so far they've had very good timing. Will have to lower the water a bit more and add more plants at the top. I am still adjusting the CO2 with this new regulator, maybe it's a bit too high! They literally NEVER jumped out of the 23L, even though it was small and topped up almost to the very top. Another vote for moving this lot to the lowtech 45L perhaps. Could it be that these big ones aren't happy cos they're old and don't like the new co2, and younger ones might get used to it easier? Everyone seems to keep them so tehy can't all be jumping out.


I will try some courgette, we have loads atm and the otos did used to love them. I do wonder whether some young ones to get the old ones going is the answer, though I don't want to buy them just to see them all jump out! When they were in the 23L they never became very shy and quiet, hopefully yours stay interested for a long time.

I think amano's just suddenly take it in their tiny minds, that the grass might be greener elsewhere sometimes. By sheer coincidence, I had a case this week - we were putting the kids to bed, and my eldest shouted "Daddy there's a shrimp on the floor". This amano had crawled 8ft from the low tech tank in his brothers room, another 10 feet down the landing, and another 6 feet across his bedroom floor. How it didn't get stood on with three crazy kids stampeding up and down the landing, I have no idea! I put the shrimp back in the tank, so hopefully she'll have realised she's already reached the promised land!

 

[bazz]

JESUS CHRIST 😨😨😨 I was just looking in the tank admiring the pygmies and wishing the amanos would come out more and an amano jumped out and hit me on the head!!!! Made me shriek!

🤣🤣🤣

 

[Courtneybst]

Classic shrimp mischievousness! 😂

 

[shangman]

Oh Rosie, I wish I'd been a fly on the wall for that one!! 🤣

Honestly it was quite a moment... I didn't expect to interact with nature in the aquarium... outside the aquarium quite like that!!

I decided to take it as a hint and have moved all my amanos over to my 45L for now. I would like to add some more again in the future, but I'll wait until the tank is more thickly and fully planted... in case that helps somehow idk. Your amano is a real adventurer 😂 They definitely have a can-do attitude.

Classic shrimp mischievousness! 😂

That's why we love them!! 😂

 

[shangman]

I've been doing all sorts of tank stuff recently, and today I moved the smaller bit of wood on the right about a bit and kicked up loads of aquasoil dust at the same time. After getting a load out & cleaning the filter, I realised it actually looks quite cool to photograph. So after taking a few pics with the phone (the first one), I got out my boyfriend's cameras and lenses and tried a few things out (all the rest). All are blurry, but it was really fun and I'll definitely keep trying!

 

[aec34]

Ooooo @shangman this makes me want some tiny fish so much!

 

[shangman]

Ooooo @shangman this makes me want some tiny fish so much!

Yes!! Tiny fish are GREAT (especially pygmy corydoras which are right up there on the best fish list for me). If/when the cardinals get moved to the future blackwater tank, I'm definitely getting a nice big group of mosquito rasboras or hummingbird tetras, something tiny. In a tank like mine that's medium-large, it makes it look everything so much bigger, and the fish really appreciate the space and have loads of fun!! They make the apistos look enormous too which I really like, cos really the apistos aren't that big at all, despite their big fish energy.

The pygmies get the otos excited so they school together, and the otos eat much more enthusiastically with the pygmies around which is another bonus. I never used to see the smaller group of pygmies eat much in the nano, they were very quiet and still most of the time. In this tank they eat all the time, snuffling in the sand and on every surface in the tank, often in big groups.

Also currently loving the baby khuli loaches which are the size of matchsticks (you cna just about see one in the bottom right of the big Mr Daffodil photo above). For comparison my adult ones are the size of a chunky IKEA pencil. The babies are much bolder than the adults and come out during the day to eat sinking pellets and wiggle as much as possible. I hope they keep this boldness when the grow up!

 

[shangman]

Hooray, I totally screwed up! Insert much swearing here!

Last Thursday I went out with my dad and my aquarium friend for a very fun fish extravanganza and at the end of the day we got to our last fish shop. I mentioned wanting otos and the guy was like HOW MANY? and I was tired and excited so I said 5 but only looked in the tank for 30 seconds, I didn't really do my due diligence but this is known as a good shop I thought. I got them home and just acclimated them and put them in. I noticed one had a white patch on it's head, but I googled it and forums (not this one) with v similar patches said that otos get grazed by hardscape and will be fine so I didn't worry and put them in (in the 2 threads I found the otos were fine and recovered). It was a flat patch, not raised or fluffy or looking too bad.

Well obvious, that was a VERY STUPID THING TO DO.

Today I found one oto dead amoungst the plants, the body was patchy white all over (not sure how long it has been there for tho, could be from last night which made it whiter). Then I noticed the original oto with the white mark still has it and it seems much deeper. This is where the swearing began. I've put this oto in my quarantine tank which some shrimp and snails currently live in, I don't expect it to live though. I can try to take a picture but it is hard to get the angle right. It is still active but idk if I had what it has I wouldn't be feeling very optimistic about my options.

I suspect columnaris and I'm very worried. Tonight I've done a big mulm siphon and cleaned the filter, and tomorrow I will do another 50% water change (don't have the rainwater at home to do it today). I was thinking of doing it all rainwater to get the tank acidity down. The rest of the otos that came with this group all have no blemishes and are acting fine, and all of my other fish are appearing very active, healthy, shiny, fat, etc. But obviously I'm bracing for things to go t*ts up very suddenly. I've also turned the temp down to 23. I can't dose salt cos of the otos and kuhlis.

Is there anything else I can do to try to weather the storm? Will 100% always quarantine from now on goodness, I especially don't want to lose my Apisto pair but losing any of them will be very upsetting. It was just being careless cos I was tired at the end of the day

 

[ScareCrow]

My personal take and one that's easier said than done is I'd try to avoid panicking and making sudden changes. If you change several parameters in quick succession It'll likely stress the fish, lower their immune system and make them more susceptible to infection. I'd hold off on the water change, add some alder cones, oak leaves or anything that will release tannins gradually and monitor the situation.