Little fish import.

[Sonnycbr]

I've added a couple of new plants to my Red Cherry set up recently and have just seen a little fish swimming about the bottom of the tank. It's only about 6mm long, spotted head and what looks like a pointy tail. The only way possible for it to have got in is either on the leaves of the plants or in the growing media. The plants are Subwassertang and a pot of grasses. It seems to be lurking about in or near the Subwassertang so I think that's the likely culprit. I'm not bothered about it, in fact it's pretty cool. Anyone else had this, or anyone guess at what it could be. Sorry, no chance of a photo, it's too small and quick.

[Crabby]

Maybe a newborn corydoras? That ticks all the boxes. They're an egg scattering species, so maybe there was an egg on the Subwassertang? It's super cool either way. I remember getting excited to see eggs on a crypt, when I first started fishkeeping. I thought they were fish eggs.... :( I coulda prevented my snail problems so easily then.

[Sonnycbr]

I hope that’s what it is. I got a good look at it last night and it definitely could be. I’m amazed at it hatching after coming through the post. I’ll try and get a photo if it comes to the front of the tank. Thanks for the reply. 

[sdlTBfanUK]

Will be interesting to see what it turns out to be?

Simon

[Sonnycbr]

10 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Will be interesting to see what it turns out to be?

Simon

Its obviously found itself a little hideaway as I didn't see it for a while, but it popped out today when I fed the shrimp. Nothing in there to bother it and the water must suit it so  hopefully it'll grow to maturity.

[Sonnycbr]

Well, here's the fish in question. Sorry about the picture quality, I have a tremor and it's very hard for me to hold a camera steady. It certainly looks like a Corydora to me. It's out in the open a bit now. It's still only about an inch long but looks as though it's thriving among the shrimp. I'm assuming it'll be a safe tank mate for them. Just got to grow it on a bit now.

[Crabby]

Aww it’s very cute. 100% looking like a corydoras, so it should be a pretty safe tank mate for the shrimp. And the picture quality is fine, no worries. 

[sdlTBfanUK]

You were lucky, that is a  corydora and they are shrimp safe, not sure how big it will get but it is fine for the near future anyway! It's growing well and looks very healthy!

Hope everything else is going well? Are you still using the Zerowater filter jug and remineraliser?

Simon

[Sonnycbr]

Thanks Simon, I now use RO water and mineraliser. I’ve got absolutely loads of babies so it’s working well. I’ve kept Corys before and they’ve all been small so I don’t think he’ll be a threat to young shrimp apart from sharing a bit of their food. 

10 hours ago, Crabby said:

Aww it’s very cute. 100% looking like a corydoras, so it should be a pretty safe tank mate for the shrimp. And the picture quality is fine, no worries. 

Honestly, I’m delighted that he survived as a little egg and he’s now safe. He should have a good life with his little shrimp mates. 

[jayc]

23 minutes ago, Sonnycbr said:

I’m delighted that he survived as a little egg and he’s now safe. He should have a good life with his little shrimp mates. 

Well done. It survived because you are a good fish keeper.

Now to find it some friends of it's own kind.

[Sonnycbr]

I started emptying my nano tank today, I've been transferring my shrimp to the new set up for a few weeks now. I took out a large clump of Christmas moss that I had in there and placed it in a dish of aquarium water to see if anything was still in it. I was amazed at the number of baby shrimp that were in it. I put them in their new home and thought that was that. I went back a short while later and looked under the moss and there was another lot of babies. I've just checked for the third time and found the two smallest shrimp that I've seen in my life. I expected them to start small, but these are miniscule. I didn't want to put the moss directly into the new tank as it's also hiding a lot of snails.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Many people don't realise how tiny the shrimplets are when born, and usually clear! They grow fairly quickly early on and usually they are probably nearly two weeks to a month old when the are first seen in the aquarium.

I would consider getting a few assassin snails to keep the tank free from other snails, as they are readily available in the UK, and don't breed as quickly as other snails. I only have to remove some to keep numbers down about once a year! I have them in all my tanks! They are quite pretty as well.

Simon

[Sonnycbr]

10 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Many people don't realise how tiny the shrimplets are when born, and usually clear! They grow fairly quickly early on and usually they are probably nearly two weeks to a month old when the are first seen in the aquarium.

I would consider getting a few assassin snails to keep the tank free from other snails, as they are readily available in the UK, and don't breed as quickly as other snails. I only have to remove some to keep numbers down about once a year! I have them in all my tanks! They are quite pretty as well.

Simon

Thanks for the advice Simon. I'll certainly order some of the assassin snails, would they be ok with Malawi Cichlids? I tend to overfeed my Cichlids slightly to keep them in breeding colours and the snails are everywhere.

Sonny

[sdlTBfanUK]

They will be fine with anything, aside from other snails of coarse. I'm sure they will help with algae and  excess food as well. If I want to get some out I put an algae wafer in the tank and they are on it like a rugby scrum!

I have given some to a friend in the past, and he just bought some fancy snails, I said to him,  I hope all those assassins I gave you have died then? The next morning he had two empty fancy snail shells in the tank......

Simon 

[Sonnycbr]

5 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

They will be fine with anything, aside from other snails of coarse. I'm sure they will help with algae and  excess food as well. If I want to get some out I put an algae wafer in the tank and they are on it like a rugby scrum!

I have given some to a friend in the past, and he just bought some fancy snails, I said to him,  I hope all those assassins I gave you have died then? The next morning he had two empty fancy snail shells in the tank......

Simon 

Cheers Simon. Do the assassins breed like  the live bearing  ones I’ve got? I’ve seen them on eBay but if they breed quickly I’ll just buy 5 or 10. 

[sdlTBfanUK]

5 or 10 will be plenty. They do breed but nowhere near as rapidly as the malaysian trumpets etc. I have a clear out once a year and just put an algae wafer in the tank which brings them out. As they are easy to see, and therefore/also catch they have never been a problem in my tanks in the 5+ years I have had them! I only had to buy the one lot as well as they breed in freshwater, so have never had to restock either.

Just had an email from my friend and they got another of his fancy snails.......... even though the fancy snails are ten times the size!

Simon