Mudskipper paludarium- an alternative solution

[hx]

Sooooo, back from a six week work assignment in Normandie to find out the observational qualities of the live-in animalsitter have consentrated on something else than the mudskipperarium.
Both pumps of the tank were pretty much clogged. The filter was circulating very little, the pump taking water up to the pools was stuck.

The result:

All emersed Crypts gone, a lot of the mosses history.

One casualty fish, the male Anableps. Not dead for long, since I found the remains...
Bummer. I blame myself for this, naturally. Next time there will be more training.

On the brighter side, the Samolus did not mind the drought:


Vals and Lotus are showing very promising growth, still minding the water is 1.003:

The MTS population is exploding.


I dropped by at a summer cottage on the Baltic shore and collected a couple of plants:

Any idea of what they are...?

Despite the cons, there is still hope for this setup, maybe:


All skippers are doing great. Bumblebees are doing great. The two remaining Anableps were a bit shabby, but seem to recover well.
Thanks for looking.

[cider]

Hi ,
I was on vacation as well and just returned to work.

the plants (and snails are doing great ) and so glad your mudders made it but I do agree , you will need to better train the next skipper sitter better ,,, good you came back in time !

can we see more pics of the mudskippers ? please?

many thanks
G

[hx]

Hi, there.

I know, I'm still blaming myself for not showing the sitter the proper maintenance of the tank.
I must say that she did excellent job with all the other tanks and the rest of the zoo.

I don't have much new presentable shots for now. I'll get back in line a bit later.

[cider]

awwww, so cute ! thanks for the mudskippers pic! still love um, trying to talk hubby into a tank for these guys , but he has no interest, and for this I would need some help...I currently have 2 other tanks , and seems just able to take care of them myself..but I am still working on him --he has seen them in the aquatics store , not sure he was as excited as me

thanks agian, G

[cider]

awwww, so cute ! thanks for the mudskippers pic! still love um, trying to talk hubby into a tank for these guys , but he has no interest, and for this I would need some help...I currently have 2 other tanks , and seems just able to take care of them myself..but I am still working on him --he has seen them in the aquatics store , not sure he was as excited as me

thanks agian, G

[hx]

My pleasure.

A couple of quick shots of the fish.

Anableps


An especially nice reflection from the macro...


Skippies




All and all, not too badly discolored from the new Valoya led fixture.

[hx]

A short story of how sometimes you don't want to trash plants that look bad.

Here are my Samolus valeradis when I bought them:


Here's what they looked like a few weeks after planting:


Initially, they went worse and lost all leafs. At that time I buried the roots onto a pool.

In a month, this happened:


Kept going:


...and going


Made a gazillion pups from seeds:



And now we're here:


I think I might need to harvest some of that...

[palaeodave]

That's incredible!

[cider]

oh,they are terribly cute, love your pics of them and the tank...nice job , and thanks for the mudders fix !!!!

keep posting them when ya can . thanks G

[ClownLoachSharky]

Very cool background

[hx]

Thx, everyone.

A little update:

The lazy pruner I am, samolus took over a bit


Still blooming nicely


Magnificent plant! But I rolled up my sleeves and took some of it out


Ended up with an airier skipperscape



Thanks for looking.

[glenna]

this is one of my favorite threads. I show it to people all the time when I want to show them something really cool, and about what I might try someday.
The combination of above water life and underwater life in the same set up is really, really beautiful.
Those plants are BEAUTIFUl, but I like the thinned out version the best. Give those skippies some room to roam..

Please keep posting updates!!

[hx]

Thank you so much for your words, glenna.
I love finding inspiration from other hobbyists' projects. Nothing makes me happier than to hear someone is inspired by mine.

[wasserscheu]

have always found those skippers as one of the most interesting and fascinating fish, seeing them kept in a breathtaking setup like yours - just perfect. Thanks for this top-thread.

[starsplitter7]

Absolutely fantastic. Please keep posting pictures. I love these critters, but can't keep them in the proper setup I like to look at yours. Thank you.