Lotic Design

AquariumLife 2010 Aquascaping Competition Results

Zoe — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:30:42 +0000

The results are in! The winner of the 2010 AquariumLife Aquascaping competition (pictured above) is this truly amazing 4ft tank by Kojiro.

View the winners and check out the rest of the entries on the AquariumLife forum.

Snail Cookie Recipe

Zoe — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:25:39 +0000

This a recipe I’ve worked with for several years to keep my Apple Snails (better known as Mystery Snails in Australia) happy and healthy. All measurements are approximate and vegetables can be substituted (I try to use up whatever I have in the fridge).

Snail Cookies, ready to feed to Apple Snails, Bristlenose catfish and other herbivores.

You’ll need:

1 small jar of vegetarian baby food
(Apple Snails are predominately herbivours, so a meatless mix is desirable, and will keep your tank cleaner.)
1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables, such as but not limited to: carrots; peas; beans; broccoli; cauliflower; zucchini. Fresh, frozen or canned will all do fine.
2 tsp calcium powder (Available from most pet shops, sold as a dietary supplement for turtles and frogs)
1 tbsp plain gelatin powder

Combine baby food, calcium and gelatin powders in a small bowl. Finely chop vegetables. You may want to microwave any hard vegetables, such as carrots, with a bit of water until they’re soft. Add vegetables to baby food mixture and mash with a fork until well combined.

Poor in mixture into a small tray or plastic container and freeze until set. Remove the frozen mixture from the container, cut into squares and store in a resealable bag in the freezer.

A new arrival

Zoe — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:30:31 +0000

This beautiful baby is one of 15 Betta Channoides that I’ve just received.

Native to Indonesia and related to the common Splendens, unlike their long-finned brotheren famous (and often exploited) for it’s ability to survive in small pools of still water, the Channoides’ habitat is the Mahakam River in Kalimantan Timur, where bubblenests are unworkable and mouth-brooding is the alternative method of raising fry.

These critters are far removed from their tropical habitat – their birthplace being cold suburban Melbourne. Hopefully some of these fry will grow up to be strong spawners.