Great questions/observations. I'll run the tests again tomorrow. These are new meters, so part of the experiment is testing them as well as the water.
-Shane

Picked up a new pH meter and a new TDS meter and ran some tests. Pure rain water from rain barrel pH 7.0 2ppm GH Blackwater (rain water/ oak leaves 5 days) pH 7.0 7ppm GH. Straight tap water pH 7.14 162ppm GH 50/50 tap/blackwater pH 6.94 110ppm GH Some thoughts... I now see how the tetra fry lived i...

I have had males develop strong odontode growth at 4.5-5 inches standard length. I would suspect they were 3 or more years in age.
-Shane

The link below is to a great interactive map of the US that provides average water hardness for your zip code. For my area it lists 127 ppm and my tap water is currently 140 ppm. That said, in spring as the Potomac takes on rain and snow melt my hardness will drop to 115 ppm, so 127 ppm is likely a ...

In 2003 I was putting together an expedition from Bogota to Leticia to collect fish. I recruited two Navy SEALS from the Embassy (as I knew they would not be afraid of the water) and my sister Amber who was 21 and staying with us in Bogota (she had no choice). A guy I worked with in the Embassy aske...

Upgraded from a 10 to a 20 long blackwater maker. The look of that amber water makes me happy. The fibers on the left are palm fibers from a tree in my backyard in Nigeria. I saved a bag of them to bring back.
-Shane

On the tetras, shared siphon tube, net or bucket when cleaning out Per Occam's Razor, this would be the most likely answer. Sites say a big black skirt female can lay 1,000 eggs. My small females may be each laying several dozen that end up in the bottom of the bucket and are transferred when I use...

Last night I discovered another two tetra fry in the (what I thought was empty) 10 gallon I spawned the C. sterbai in. They are larger and are clearly black skirt fry. Your thoughts on black skirts handling low temps makes sense given their origins in the far south. Now how in the heck did I spread ...

Keep the info coming Eric. I am betting you now have the largest collection of this genus outside the wild!
-Shane

Fantastic write up and documentation! Well done.
-Shane

About two weeks ago I went to check on my C. sterbai fry. They are in a 10 gallon tank and were placed there as eggs. As the lights were out, I used a flashlight and immediately noticed three tetra fry swimming about! Strange, but maybe I transferred some Java moss with tetra eggs to the grow out ta...

@Jools jinx!
-Shane

Ancistrus triradiatus
-Shane

@Jools look at the Aquarium Rack thread. Some photos sideways, some upside down, but when you click on them to make them larger they are correct.
-Shane

Cleo, This is two 72" x 36" x 18" commercial metal stands. Each shelving unit is well under $100. Your cost would be slightly more as your tanks are larger. I like the clean look and they maximize space for tanks and storage. I removed the panel over the three 10s so you can see "...

I am not a fan. Check out this link http://help.bioworldusa.com/kb/algae-treatment/is-copper-sulfate-toxic-to-fish Additionally a sudden massive die off of snails can pollute a tank very quickly (even if the fish survive the treatment, which is known to be particularly hard on scaleless fishes). Hav...

Also great for Repashy are icemaking trays designed to make small ice cubes. You can freeze several months worth over a couple days and zip lock bag the cubes in the freezer.
-Shane

I have cured this before, but it is not fun. You will need meth blue and a QTip. Soak one end of the QTip with meth blue. Capture the fish and dab each infected area directly with meth blue. Direct treatment in this manner is far more effective than medicating the tank itself. Provided the hospital ...

Congrats. I am also spawning sterbai now and wish I could get that kind of egg production. My reverse trio seems to be happy laying a handful of eggs every 3-4 days. Unfortunately this has me raising several small batches of fry of different ages.
-Shane

Take a look at some of the available heavy duty shelving. Home Depot has Gladiator brand shelves 60" x 72" x 18" 2,000 lbs per shelf units for $199 (can't link it for some reason). Not to dissuade you from building your own, but it will probably cost more than $200 in materials. Anoth...