30 GALLON AQUARIUM WITH NATIVE FISH AND DIM MAK THEME: EVOLUTION

UBER SIMPLISTIC HARMONY:

I wanted to get back to the basics. After 2 years of tending aquarium plants, I had finally reached my boiling point. The maintenance became like Chinese water torture. Make no mistake, live plants are fantabulous, but it was something I could finally live without.

I tried various techniques to simplify and reduce maintenance, but my latest technique failed. When I did a massive plant reduction, my plants started to suffer. The dwarf plecos made quick work of them. When I had a full tank of plants, it was no big deal. I had enough plants to sustain the pleco assault. I never really noticed the plant consumption until I finally made the reduction.

Oh sure, I tried removing a pleco here and there, but I eventually lost interest. What finally ensued was complete and utter tank neglect.

What you see now is a resurgence in my aquarium. This is my last attempt of making a native aquarium that is UBER SIMPLISTIC to maintain.

THIS IS MY FINAL STAND...

MAINTENANCE:

I spend 10 minutes per week cleaning my tank. Hell, sometimes I dont maintenance it for weeks.

All I do is water changes and clean my filter. Filter cleanings are every 3 months and take about 15 minutes. Water changes of 10 gallons, take about 10 minutes.

OLD SCHOOL TERRA COTTA:

This is how it all started for me when I was a kid with my first pet bluegill. I had a 10 gallon aquarium with one of my moms terra cotta planters in the aquarium.

Well, as you can see, I am back with the terra cotta theme. I stole the planters from my wife. The rest is history. I love the contrast of the planters with the black gravel.

THE NATIVE FISH COMMUNITY TANK:

I have a baby bluegill, 6 central mudminnows, and 2 crayfish. The bluegill is my showcase. The central mudminnows are my ancillary theme. They mesh well with the bluegill. I plan on replacing the bluegill for a northern longear or an orangespotted sunfish since these later two-forms of sunfish only obtain sizes of 3-5 inches.

All the fish get along well with no fighting, chasing, or nipping.

FEEDING TIME:

This is my favorite time. I dont consider this maintenance. The pygmy pike, bluegill, and crayfish are really fun to watch when they feed.

See ya in 6 months or so for another update.

bitter

(NO DOMESTICATED CRAYFISH SHOULD EVER HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR...WTF!!!)

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• DOMINATION
• INTIMIDATION
• ELIMINATION
• MUDMINNOW

[stanislavo1]

What do you feed the crayfish?

[bitterangst]

shrimp and algae pellets



[zrgjcf2213]

What do you feed the baby blue gill?

[bitterangst]

frozen blood worms. they will destroy them in due time.

[garrette94]

what kind of fish is that at:10 i got millons of them in my bayou

[bitterangst]

it is a baby bluegill. the fish following the baby bluegill is a central mudminnow. you have baby bluegill and eastern mudminnows in your neck of the woods.

[curlinburch]

careful with the crayfish. they will destroy plants and eat your fish if they get hungry enough. i had a 6" pike in my tank and lost it to a 3" crayfish

[visualkeirockstar]

@pznerd yup, thats what i do, i don't even feed the fish in my pond anymore, only worms or bugs i can find, i kept it natural as possible, except my baby carp, the little bugs are not always there so they have to eat flakes

[TheKooKooKlan]

please please please help....my local pet store cannot even tell me...do u have to have salt for fish that live in a brackish water ecosystem???

[MyNativeFish]

if u like the bluegill, then youd enjoy some pumpkinseed :) i had a warmouth but he wasnt doing good so i put him back after 30 mins of having him

[pznerd]

Guys, feed them what they would eat in the wild, insects, worms, bugs, even if you train them to feed on fish flakes, fish flakes are not even close to being as nutritious as bugs, crickets, worms, etc. When they get big enough you can feed them minnows along with the diet I just talked about above.