Sand Snags and Setbacks

Sand gets a lot of discussion in this house. You'd be amazed at the varying qualities different types of sand possess. When I was setting up the 150-gallon, when the issue of substrate came up, I knew I wanted to use sand, because I like it, but I also wanted to choose carefully, because though I had no particular catfish plans at the time, I knew that if I wanted to keep certain catfish and/or loaches I ought to have soft, beneficial sand for them to sift through. There are a lot of choices for sand in the aquarium, from Caribsea's Tahitian Moon sand to inexpensive pool filter sand.

I have tried keeping Corydoras cats for years with little success. I never knew why, until I realized that I was keeping them in coarse gravel tanks, where their little barbels suffer, and they are unable to do the sand sifting that they do in nature. I decided that it was easier to get appropriate sand at the beginning than it would be to change it out later, so the research began.

My dear friend, Deborah, is quite expert when it comes to catfish, and based on her research and discussion with other catfish hobbyists, regular old play sand from the hardware store (Quikrete makes it) is nontoxic, inert, and the granules are soft so they will not damage the delicate barbels of catfish. Burrowing fish and eartheater type fish will also do well with this sand.

I knew I put too much in the tank initially (it is cheap and I wanted to be sure I had enough) but as I was putting it in the cloudiness kept me from seeing how much sand was accumulating. After it was rinsed and rinsed and rinsed, and things settled, I saw that I had way more than I needed, but it looked pretty, and I figured with the rooted plants I had planned for the tank they'd need the depth, and the roots would keep the sand from compacting.

Fast forward 8-9 months, and we have some problems with this sand. It has many, many areas that are anaerobic, and bubbles are released when these areas are disturbed. These areas include those with dense root growth from Crypts, swords and other stem plants. Anytime I'd move a plant, or stir the sand in the open areas, I'd find black pockets that bubbled. Uh oh. Fortunately, there have been no problems with the fish associated with release of these bubbles, with the characteristic sulfur smell of anaerobic pockets. The death of the festivum noted earlier was not related to disturbance of the sand, and that fish death was solitary. I think more than one fish would die if toxic gas was a problem.

I have begun an ongoing project involving removing quantities of sand that are not required for plants, leaving a layer perhaps 0.75" deep- no more than that is necessary. In removing the sand, which I have done slowly over time, taking out perhaps a dishpan full at a time, the stench is profound! It smells just like low tide at the brackish bodies of water near me, which also have black anaerobic pockets in the sand. The sand coming out is black, and only the top layer has the whitish-tan color. I must lave a certain amount of sand in place for the plants, especially the Echinodorus, but I am trying to remove what I don't need.

The problem is that it has settled in places where, quite honestly, I cannot reach. I am short in stature and getting access to the back of the tank is a challenge. I need long tools to get there. There is no need for there to be 2" of sand or more under a pile of rocks or wood, so if I don't redo the aquascape completely I will continue to work on getting some of this excess out of the tank. Alternatively, I will leave things be and just remove it when I completely redesign the aquascape, since the sand beneath wood and rocks in the very back of the tank is not likely to be disturbed anyway.

Meanwhile, Deborah has provided me with a plethora of Malaysian Trumpet Snails of all sizes from her own tanks, hundreds of them, and they have all vanished beneath the surface of the sand to escape the light. She gave me some in the recent past, but we agreed that more MTS were my best hope for a compromise until I can resolve the issue of excess sand. I wonder if they will even venture into the blackened, anaerobic pockets? Will they avoid these areas? No matter - they will be helpful to whatever areas they DO occupy, and their nocturnal nature will mean they have some measure of safety from the M. festivum, Snail Slayer. I think their incredibly hard shells will protect them as well, and maybe the festivum will prey only on the ramshorns, with their softer shells.

We will see what happens. I must say that the coarser sands, inappropriate for catfish, do NOT compact, as I have used them for years in my other tanks, and do to this day. Various sands for the aquarium work great for planted and non-planted tanks, and I have no issue with them compacting or going anaerobic, though you can be sure that I am taking extra care to stir the sand in all my tanks after this experience in the 150.

Festivus vs Plants vs Snails?

I had heard that M. festivus were known to eat plants (there is too much info on the web sometimes, and here I am muddying the waters further...) but I have not found that to be the case in my very well-planted 150-gallon.

What I have found to be the case, and something I did not expect, is that the festivus is an avid hunter of snails. The ramshorns are having a very difficult time of it in this tank lately. I noticed the sand to be somewhat littered with empty shells, and thought the tank conditions to be less than optimal, causing a die-off, but after watching the tank for sustained periods I now see what is happening - the festivus hunts them down and eats them, snatching them right out of their shells. He employs the same technique that is used by my figure-8 puffer, with a slow approach and windup, then SLAM! right into the aperture for a meaty bite.

So, at least for this festivus in this particular tank, plants are safe, snails, not so much.

150-Gallon Stable?

Things are doing well in the 150. I have removed all calciferous rocks/shells and the KH is coming down a bit. I took down and rinsed out both the monster filters and I believe I was drawing air from somewhere, because now the filters are almost silent and there are no free bubbles in the water column.

The fish are all happy as can be. I have added another species, M. festivus, to the mix, though I lost one of the two not long after adding them. I am not sure what happened there - the fish simply stopped eating and was less active, then turned up dead. I examined it carefully and could find no evidence of ailment of any kind. I would have liked three for the tank (I don't like singletons or even numbers!) but the LFS had only three, and one died in quarantine not too long after I got them home . The other two spent about 3 weeks in Q so they seemed fine, only to lose the second one shortly after being moved.

The one that remains is a fabulous fish, however! He blends in very well with the school of angels, and his behavior is comparable. He has a similar look to the leopoldi, as Mesonauta are a relative of angelfish, with a somewhat blunt head, and the telltale trailing ventral fins. This is a species very commonly found with angels, though I am told that the portion of the Rio Negro where the leopoldi are found does not generally have Mesonauta species. They get along great, however, and that is the main thing. I am very fond of festivus and I would not mind getting a few more, though I hope NOT to get a breeding pair, since that will complicate the social structure in this tank, and I do not wish to do that - everyone gets along fabulously now.

I am not as concerned with the pH in this tank as I have been in the past. The fish have tolerated a period of wild fluctuations in pH, while I had issues with CO2 leakage (fittings were not tightened properly) and what I thought was an issue with my regulator, so there was no CO2 running at all for a couple of weeks, followed by re-instituting its use, and once again dropping the pH. At no time did the wild-caught angels appear stressed or in any way bothered by these pH changes. It made me feel a little less urgency about keeping them in extremely acidic water.

I know I ought to be using RO water (as I have mentioned) and mixing it with my tap to try to recreate their natural conditions, but the fish are happy and so am I. If they don't need me to jump through hoops I'm not gonna. I still like to use CO2 because the plants grow better with it (I noticed the difference when I was not using it) so I will continue to do so, but I am not using as much, since the amount of gas I need to get the pH down to under 6 requires very frequent bottle refills and becomes a bit of a pain.

Right now I am very pleased with how this tank is doing, and am enjoying it very much. This is a rare time for me as an aquarist, since most of my tanks have something that needs to be done, or changes that need to be made, or some sort of goal in mind. I do have changes in mind for the 150, but I am going to wait until I become dissatisfied with the status of the tank. This won't take too long, likely as not! There is nothing static - plants overgrow their location, other plants fade, sands shift, etc.

The next phase will involve abandoning the aquascaping technique utilizing the open central area, and create a central branchy structure, since the Corydoras and angels all would feel more comfortable. I currently utilize almond leaf extract, and may go back to putting the leaves directly in the tank for leaf litter, as this is something the corys will like, as will any future Apistogramma species that I introduce. As for the plants, I will eliminate the Hygrophila species, and keep Anubias, Cryptocorine, Echinodoras, and "the javas" as I like to call them (fern and moss). That will be it for plants, though knowing myself I am sure there will continue to be plenty.

I am currently on the lookout for branchy driftwood, which I will probably collect myself. Most driftwood available commercially for the aquarium is blocky, and I have plenty of that already. I will be looking for pieces that have multiple thin, reaching, branches, and may even wind up collecting sticks and tying them together. The Mopani driftwood I have in the 150 now is very attractive, but it does not "go" with the SA theme at all, though I do plan to keep it. The Ancistrus enjoy scraping in and out of the nooks and crannies created by the curlicue shapes of the wood.

All of these plans must, I'm afraid, involve taking down the tank to bare bones. I am loath to do this currently, but at some point I'm going to get annoyed with the tank, unable to create a visual balance, and in my frustration be ready to do things over. The fish will all have to be collected and placed in tubs. I have had the angels long enough now, and they have handled themselves very well in the past when I have disrupted their environs, that I think they will tolerate being moved out in this way. When I first got them they seemed to be incredibly delicate and sensitive, but I don't think they really are - they are like any P. scalare - one of the hardier SA cichlids.

This is a big tank and for me, at 5' tall, it is a chore to 'scape. I need to be ready and have a plan in mind before I redo things. I am torn between my desire for aesthetics and a comfortable, healthy environment for my fish. Currently the tank is attractive, but it has a Willy Wonka or Dr. Seuss feel to me than what a SA setup should be, with overly bright light, too bright green in the plants, and wood that is almost a caricature of itself.

As I've said before, an attractive planted tank is pretty far from anything a fish would encounter in the wild, and I'm trying to have it both ways. The effort continues....

It has been a while since I have had time for updates! Everything is moving along quite well. The fry of Agnes & Frank are just about ready to go, and we had a bumper crop, as far as I'm concerned. There got to be too many (100+) for the breeding tank so I set up my 37-gallon and put the majority of them in there via soda bottle trap, which worked well, or too well. I was busy doing other things and every 10 minutes or so the trap would have a good number of babies in it, so I'd move them over ("hey, this is easy!") and did not realize that I had moved over almost all of the babies to the 37-gallon, which was not my intent. I wanted to split them up somewhat, so there would be adequate space for them to grow in each tank. I had 6 left in with Ma & Pa, it turns out, and I honestly wanted to leave at least 25. The tank is so heavily planted, though, and it was hard to see all of the babies at any one time, so I did not realize how many I'd moved. I then was worried that if I put some of them back in the breeding tank that the adults would reject them, so I decided to go with what I had, though I think it would have been fine. After they were moved, the parent fish would literally stare over at the fry tank (next to the breeding tank) through the glass, apparently pining for their babies. It seems far-fetched, but I am not making it up.

I lost one of the babies in the tank with the adults, as it somehow jumped out and I found it on the floor, but otherwise the remaining 5 are robust and healthy, with excellent finnage. They seem to be larger than the largest ones in the fry tank, which I am sure is due to the overcrowded status of the 37-gallon. In that tank there is a wide disparity between the smallest and the biggest fry, so I will sell off the bigger ones and gradually make more room so the smaller ones can catch up. Next time, assuming there is a next time, I will divide the fry more evenly between the two tanks. Agnes & Frank do extremely well with their babies and even now that the fry are juvies they are tolerated and not harassed in any way by the parent fish. It is a remarkable pair! Just about all of the fry are silvers, with markings similar to wilds (I am very happy about this, though I know these days the more elaborate morphs are much more popular) and there are about 10% solid golds. I have interest from several LFS in these fry, as well as several individuals, so I don't think I'll have difficulty selling them. It will be hard to part with all of them! There are a couple of them that have caught my eye as having particularly nice fins and markings, even down to the slightly reddish tinge in the dorsal - again resembling wild scalares.

Minor Improvement, Elevated KH

There seems to be a minor improvement in the "carbonated" look the 150-gallon has had. The bubbles are still present but not so many. I also tested my KH and found it to be 8, which is much higher than typical (4) and the tap is higher than usual as well at 6, though not as high as the 150.

I don't particularly mind higher KH, as it lends stability to pH, but I think it is time to remove the calciferous rock I placed in the tank a few months ago to deal with an almost unmeasurable KH - it took only one drop to turn the solution yellow/orange, and it seemed like it was turning even before the full drop was dissipated, which I would call a value of <1 degree KH. I did not like that and am not sure at all why it was the case. Tap, at that time, measured solid 4 dKH. I think perhaps the tap KH may rise in the summer versus winter, but I will have to measure this over a period of years to see if there is a pattern.

When I talk to the water treatment people they deny that there is any fluctuations and they seem to read from a script when answering questions. I don't think they understand the purpose behind my questions, but rather are automatically defensive when discussing the quality of water with their customers. Nobody I have spoken to can relate to an aquarist manipulating pH and trying to have an understanding of the chemical makeup of tap water.

I recognize, too, that I ought to be using RO water and treating it ahead of time, getting the values I desire before it goes into my tank. However, I am just not interested in keeping 30-gallon tubs of water in m living room. It is not practical. I don't keep a fish room, but instead my aquariums are living art that are part of how I decorate my living space. If I had a basement I might consider setting up a mini water treatment plant, but I don't, and my home is spacious but lacks any kind of utility space or storage space.

So, I can't keep delicate species but am trying to compromise when it comes to the P. leopoldi. I don't think my chances of them breeding are very high in this setup, but I am okay with that right now. I would like to be able to drop the pH and raise the CO2 concentration, as this has helped immeasurably in keeping algae at bay, and I have been able to do that for years in this and other tanks, so my current issues with pH and CO2 are puzzling. Mainly, I find the bubbles annoying!

Agnes & Frank 'n Fry

Here are pics of the breeding angels in the 40-gallon.

The plants in this tank have grown markedly in the past few weeks, I am assuming from the extra nutrients provided by the fry and the frequent feedings. The fry are numerous and all look like miniature angels, with ventral fins and all. Most appear to be marble, but they may wind up being silver if the striations consolidate into stripes.



Here is one of Agnes, and though the fry do not show up very well they are literally everywhere in this pic if you look closely.

They have turned out to be most excellent parents, and will bite you if they can when you put a hand in the tank. They attack the glass when you approach, and I am very pleased with how well they are handling their job.

I do believe I will pull the next batch of eggs and give them a break. They have spent so much time tending eggs and looking after fry, most of that time spent with lights on 24/7, that I feel they need a break. It must be a strain on them physically. I do try to keep their diet varied and high quality. I do daily PWCs on this tank.

Carbonation!

So the latest news is that the female Ancistrus has not expired, and I have seen her recently. She does not look that different but maybe perhaps a little less rotund. Not so much like a Weebil anymore....

Also, the 150-gallon tank appears to be full of carbonated water. There are tiny bubbles everywhere. This is not a case of excess waste that can contribute to a collection of filmy bubbles at the top of the tank on the surface, but this is in the water column. I did a big PWC after I found the dead cory (see below) and moved the CO2 diffuser into a less visible location, which was next to the intake for the Fluval XF5. It could be nothing more than the bubbles collecting in the filter and being dispersed, though the quantity of bubbles seems excessive.

I am, at the same time, having trouble getting my pH to drop with CO2. It would typically run for a while and then shut off, and turn back on only when the pH crept up past 6.4, but now it has to run all the time, and I can scarcely get it below 6.9. Not sure about that, other than that my tap water is moderately hard and alkaline (buffered) and this recent PWC sent the KH and GH up (possibly, did not test), making it difficult to manipulate pH with acid. That seems like a stretch but my chemistry is rusty. I have added more Indian almond leaves, which ought to contribute to lowering pH but no dice. Incidentally, I did calibrate my pH sensor and it was not off at all - it was exactly correct.

So, the tank looks cloudy with the tiny bubbles. The fish are acting normally. The tank used to be rather clear prior to this episode.

I have also fixed my old Rena Filstar XP4 that I had running on the 55 prior to getting the 150, and got some new tubing for it, and have started that running on the 150 as well in case that will assist with resolving the bubbles issue. It mainly has mechanical filtration to remove fine particles and we will see if that helps. There is right much water movement in this tank, which is not necessarily what the leopoldi would prefer, but it seemed like I was not getting adequate turnover with the FX5. This is likely my imagination, since the thing is the size of a large Shop Vac and must be blasting water in and out. I thought there was too much debris not getting filtered out.

Updates and Additions

I added 8 more C. trilineatus to my group of what I think must be 6-7 in the 150-gallon tank. The school hides so effectively and often that I go for days or a week at a time without seeing them. I am hoping these new guys will coax the rest out. The new ones are very small - almost half the size of the adults I have in residence. Almost a day later it does not appear to be working, but we shall see....

Also, I am dismayed to see that my female Ancistrus has some sort of bloat. Her belly is distended and she is on the sand, poised atop the belly so that her mouth does not quite reach the sand when resting so. I have been feeding zucchini and romaine, along with veggie wafers, but the bristlenoses do not seem terribly interested in them. I have put bell pepper in there from time to time as well with minimal attention by the catfish. The snails enjoy these offerings, however.

I am assuming she is not going to pull through but I have been unable to catch her, even to put her in another tank on her own to observe her. She will be out in the front and as soon as I approach she zips into the depths. I would have to dismantle the tank completely to be able to catch her and I am not willing to do that. More PWCs and hoping for the best.