My Oldest Aquarium 4 years update
This is my oldest aquarium as it was back in Summer 2016.
That is when I started breeding my dwarf guppies in this aquarium and first attempted to grow succulents in water, among other things.
Okay, let’s skip what was already shown in previous videos.
I retired the oldest male from this aquarium on September 25th, 2018.
He is going to stay in a larger aquarium with another old male.
Here you can see a dwarf lily grows again.
I love this plant!
It grows year after year in all my aquariums.
This Marimo ball has been growing toward light in a column shape until it bent down under its own weight.
Seed shrimp seem to be at ease in the aquarium without fish.
It’s time to clean the walls of the aquarium from algae.
Usually I do it once a season or so.
Avoid disturbing the dirt on the bottom.
I did not change water for many years.
There is up to 2 cm waste accumulated since 2016.
Seed shrimp, pond snails, algae and plants thrive on this waste.
Here is a close up view of the waste.
The waste plays a fundamental role in creating and maintaining the healthy balance of all ecosystems.
Yeah, the waste is waste…it does not look nice, and yet…
Here we can see deposits of waste accumulated in layers year after year.
The less I disturb, it the better it looks ;)
On September 29th, 2018 I add a young couple of guppies.
This couple is in the same first breeding line of my dwarf guppies.
Previously, I have used inline selective breeding.
I want to try a different approach — more about it in future videos.
I’ve been feeding my guppies with homemade fish food flakes every other day since the last update.
November 11th, 2018
The guppies are under 2.5 cm each.
The population of seed shrimp has increased noticeably.
Which is great, because my guppies have babies.
And guppy babies eat seed shrimp.
So far things go very well :)
On March 2nd 2019, I made a cover-planter for this nursery.
It serves to reduce evaporation and as a base for the garden to grow plants with roots in water and to prepare land plants for growing underwater.
Yes, I run multiple projects in this aquarium :)
It makes this aquarium very unique in many regards.
Here is another case of my studies involving this aquarium.
I use all spare plants and snails that grow in this aquarium to make fish food flakes.
And then I feed it back to the fish.
And the newly growing cuttings go back into the aquarium.
Put the planter back and keep it covered always to reduce evaporation.
This type of aquarium garden setup works remarkably well to grow many types of land plants with roots into water.
April 2019.
Aquatic hairgrass grows noticeably thicker, benefiting from accumulated waste.
It grows along all walls of the aquarium.
I removed it on the front side of the tank for a better view.
Starting from July 2019 I feed my dwarf guppies twice a week with homemade food flakes.
August 2019
There are more babies.
I do not remove spare plants from this aquarium anymore.
More about it in future videos.
January 2020.
The old guppies are up to 2.5 cm long.
The younger generation seem to grow slower.
Interestingly, the accumulated waste is under 2 cm, as it was the last year.
Algae grew significantly on the walls of the aquarium in the past 4 months.
It’s time to clean it up.
Guppies are always curious about everything.
Cleaner walls allow for better viewing.
And that is the only reason to clean the walls.
Algae stays in the aquarium for fish and critters to feed on.
I keep the temperature in my apartment 72–76 F all year round.
I move two fish from the original aquariums to set up a new breeding couple.
More about it in future videos.
Add dechlorinated water to the level as necessary.
My aquariums get only indirect sunlight coming from the window.
Everything looks great and beautiful.
Have fun and happy aquariums :)
