Fully Loaded Aquarium

I was sick all weekend so this is the first chance I've had to write up a mega post on my mostly finished aquarium. I say mostly, because I still need to dunk a plant in bleach and dry-heave over the worms I saw in the bag. FUN TIMES YOU GUYS.

Anyway. Two weeks ago, I changed the halogen lights out for LEDs, which required me to find the mounts for MR11 LEDs because the MR11 mounts that came with the aquarium don't fit LEDs despite the fact that they're supposed to be 4 millimeters in size, I don't know, I just work here. But now I am qualified to be an electrician. Well. No. But I now know how to strip wire and make them go crunch and not electrocute myself.

Then last week I bought fish. I figured I would need small fish, and preferably hardy and or cheap ones that could survive potentially bad water conditions. I ran the tests and the aquarium appeared cycled, but you never know how a brand new aquarium would turn out. I had all sorts of plans on eventually stocking the aquarium with new! exciting! fish and... I ended up with dirt common fish and being ridiculously pleased with them anyway.

I stalked up and down the rows of these huge outdoor ponds looking at the stock, and my eyes were always drawn to the zippy little flashes of color that were guppies. Cheap, abundant guppies.

I ended up with four males, a green cobra, a tequila sunrise, and two red fires (I think?). While at the fish farm, I saw blue fish called "blue kerris." I asked, wtf are those blue fish? This being freshwater, I am rarely confronted with fish I can't guess the identity of. Granted things are harder when you're looking down on fish. Turned out they were 1) tetras, and 2) according to the guy working there, they're mellow and would be totally awesome in my tank. I hemmed and hawed because I've never heard of them, but eventually he gave me six.

They lasted 26 hours in my aquarium. I watched them chase each other and the guppies and thought, maybe they just need to settle in, they sure are pretty. I lost my shit when I found the guppies cowering in a corner and the big red fantail had his tail torn in half. I have never seen guppies cowering in my life, and I've kept lots of them with all sorts of tankmates. Their tails were wilty and they huddled in the dip in the gravel, hoping to be unnoticed, and my vision went red to see them beaten so low. Frenzied, I ripped all the decor and plants out and ruthlessly hunted the tetras down, removing them from the tank-- no mean feat because I'm afraid of touching fish. Yeah, yuk it up you guys. I own fish and I'm afraid of touching them. I raced to the local fish farm and returned them, and ended up with a credit slip that said "mean kerri tetras =(" from the girl working there-- everyone was shocked, shocked! that tetras would ever be mean.

I put the aquarium back together and the quartet of guppy boys took to roaming about bravely, but in a pack of four together like the platoon in a Vietnam movie crossing a battle-scarred minefield.

Friday I went back to the fish farm and procured two platies (one of which is/was pregnant, I am not sure what I was thinking there) and three oto cats. I also got a cabomba plant, and I asked for a broad-leafed plant since the tank is heavily stocked and I want more plant magic, and was recommended a purple waffle. I saw it in a pond and thought, they have it growing in water, sure I've never heard of it but it should be a fine plant!

...Purple waffle is not an aquatic plant. I went to petsmart on my way to home depot to get some potassium permanganate-- which they do not sell, hence why I am doing a bleach dip for the plants-- and bought a ludwigia, which has worms and I know this is an aquarium thing but oh God that is not what I need, especially not while sick. But it was only $2.39, so if the bleach kills it, at least it dies and not my cabomba, which is actually flowering.

Anyway! I learned an important lesson-- that I should always trust my learnings because when I don't, I end up with barbarian fish and terrarium plants-- and the tank is pretty now, but I suspect the switch to LEDs means the lighting is insufficient so I'm gonna buy a 10 watt CFL and ziptie it to the housing. Then I'll play with a co2 injector.

I've given serious thought to buying a 55 gallon freshwater instead of salt, because I actually like freshwater fish and walking around seeing all these fish I wanted but could not keep in my tiny aquarium gave me a sad. You can also put more fish in fresh than in salt, and the fish don't cost $40 a pop (at minimum) and you can stock an entire tank with captive-bred fish while the best you get with captive marine fish are a bit boring. But the pond smell of this aquarium is making me rethink things. Man. Fishwater smell. I forgot how intense it could be, especially with live plants.

( here are some pictures )

Final stock:

Fish: 4x fancy guppies, 2x plumetail platies, 3x otocinclus cats.
Plants: Java fern (var. windelov), rotala (var. $2 average boring), red ludwigia, cabomba.

And an update on Angryfish: he continues to be the most aggressive betta I have ever kept, exhibiting behaviors I have never seen. I don't know if this is because he is an extraordinarily furious fish, or if this is the difference between well-bred bettas vs. pet store ones. He often bobs his head at me in challenge, thrusting his chin out as if to say "fuck yeah, I'm awesome, don't forget your place, punk. Which is out there, beyond the Angrydome Palace of Awesome." He has also bitten me every time I put my hand in the tank. He's the size of my thumb, but he's not afraid to take me down. I gotta hand it to him, he's got swagger.