MyTankMonday - Lindy Crawford Aiken

Name: Lindy Aiken

Age: 41yrs

Location: Stewarton 

Experience: 5yrs

So what attracted you to fish keeping? 

As a teenager I loved animals and fish, had a variety of pets and 3 tanks, one cold and 2 tropical. When I left home I didn't have fish, I moved around too much.

The Shrimp tank is home to Lindys Pure Red Line Shrimps

I got back into fish when I was due to give up my dog grooming business to become a full time mum. I thought I'd be bored stuck at home with a baby! I got a pair of dwarf puffers and 5 amano shrimp to clean up after them. This started the love affair with shrimp that has never ended. I've currently got prls in a shrimp only tank. 

How do you describe your current set up?

I have 3 tanks currently, a 50l shrimp, a 200l tank and my 550l community. The 550 is 5x2x2ft filtered and heated by an eheim 1700lph thermo filter. Lighting is 2 dsuny led panels. It has only been set up a couple of months so the plants have a lot of filling out to do. It is mainly crypts with some hygrophila pinnatifida, lotus, buces and anubias. 

Betta Simplex are right at home in Lindys 200l tank

So what are your current fish? 
The 550l is stocked with boraras brigittae and maculatas, pencil fish, corydoras habrosus, betta channoides, eel loach, 2 chocolate gourami and last but not least, my precious liquorice gourami- parosphromenus sp Dua.

The 200l is home to Betta Simplex. 

I saw liquorice gourami in a journal on a planted tank forum (UKAPS) and was smitten. I got 2 pairs from Colin Dunlop in Carluke. I have since bred them in good numbers, selling most and keeping 20 or so for myself.

Lindys PRL Shrimp (Pure Red Line) enjoying a munch

I got betta channoides from another ukaps member who was emigrating.  I have also bred many of them and enjoy keeping them. The Betta Simplex were given to me by Colin Dunlop and they've bred well, being another fascinating mouth brooder like the channoides. I cannot imagine ever not having them.

Any tips for members looking to keep any of the above fish?
Anyone thinking about keeping any of these fish needs to do their research. They have quite specific requirements regarding their water chemistry and will die if these are not met with the exception of Betta simplex who just need clean, well filtered water.

Whats on your fish list for the future?
My wish list topper would be more chocolate gourami but the seem impossible to get. 

Fish keeping has lots of great  moments, do you have any that stand out?

Paros Fry 

My most memorable thing is probably when I started breeding the paros and the first fry survived.

Any not so good times?
Biggest disaster is probably when one of my adult simplex females jumped through a tiny gap out of her tank. I had a little fish room then so didn't notice she was gone until the next day. Horrible way to lose a fish.

If I hadn't lost her then It would have been when my Betta Simplex male jumped out of a net and fell down the back of the tank but fortunately he survived and is still holding fry.

Why are you a member of Lothian Fishkeepers?
I am on a few Facebook pages but particularly like Lothian fishkeepers as it is a friendly, helpful group that seems quite good natured and bad behaviour/attitude is not tolerated by admin. There also seems to be a lot of people contributing with interesting photos and it is 
nice not to have things for sale clogging up your feed.

Thanks for taking the time to share with us Lindy. I hope everyone enjoyed reading the latest MyTankMonday and remember, If you would like to be included next week, get in touch.

Bye for now.