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Errant Gin Monks posted:So having never owned a betta before it’s fun how interactive they are. Finn knows what the tweezers are and will swim up to where they are then he will head to the top of the tank to where he gets fed and stare at me until I feed him. they really are. I’m honestly kind of shocked and surprised by how “internally complex” bettas seem to be.  pls excuse the dirty looking top glass, it really doesn’t look that way IRL and I wiped it down immediately after taking this pic
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Jan 18, 2021 17:53
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Errant Gin Monks posted:The tank is black water, but the camera can’t really show it. Kind of disappointing. Oh well. Absolutely beautiful, even if it doesn't look how it does IRL! Ok Comboomer posted:they really are. I’m honestly kind of shocked and surprised by how “internally complex” bettas seem to be. Love those rocks with the plants on top! Is that Java Fern? candystarlight fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jan 18, 2021 |
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Jan 18, 2021 18:56
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candystarlight posted:Absolutely beautiful, even if it doesn't look how it does IRL! Among other things, yep. Rocks are your basic dragon stone, Petco house brand. Originally bought ‘em for bonsai and then ended up using like 70% of the bag here in this one 10gal Here’s Lisa-Lisa making a random poggers face for reasons beyond me:  (both my bettas are GFP+ and they’re both super healthy and vigorous, maybe surprisingly so. probably helps that they’re both female, I imagine the males have the extra burden of already being super inbred)
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Jan 18, 2021 19:10
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Stoca Zola posted:Sorry to hear you're losing rainbows Schwack! Your water conditions sound fine to me, maybe too much nitrate but not anything I'd consider super dangerous, and all other parameters well within tolerance for pseudomugils assuming your tank is stable. I don't tend to pay much mind to the post mortem state of a dead fish if it's been dead for more than a couple of hours. The bulging eyes and rigidity make it sound like she's been gone a while by the time you found her so you can't really diagnose too much from it. They are a short lived fish according to Seriously Fish, Age could definitely be a factor. I usually ask how old my LFS thinks/knows the fish are, but I didn't with these. I was a bit too excited to finally find them. I know my furcatus have been spawning on their own, maybe I'll throw a couple of mops in there and see if I can't get some babies once I'm through the 100s of CPD eggs I've collected. My 5 gallon is currently reserved for those guys and I'm not sure rainbowfish would tolerate 72F water all that well.
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Jan 18, 2021 20:26
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De-lurking in this thread because a friend of mine who keeps a saltwater aquarium sent me a message on discord that I think this thread would appreciate.quote:my clownfish is officially the dumbest motherfucker I know
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Jan 19, 2021 20:55
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Cythereal posted:De-lurking in this thread because a friend of mine who keeps a saltwater aquarium sent me a message on discord that I think this thread would appreciate. maybe she had a falling-out with the anemone, that happens some times. And some times it means a formerly comfortable clownfish becomes anemone dinner
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Jan 19, 2021 21:05
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Ok Comboomer posted:maybe she had a falling-out with the anemone, that happens some times. And some times it means a formerly comfortable clownfish becomes anemone dinner No idea. She has since reported that she has banished the clownfish to the sump tank until she gets the hair algae under control.
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Jan 19, 2021 21:08
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Ok Comboomer posted:maybe she had a falling-out with the anemone, that happens some times. And some times it means a formerly comfortable clownfish becomes anemone dinner Saltwater tanks are wild. Out of curiosity why do you always see reef tanks but never kelp forests n stuff?
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Jan 19, 2021 21:14
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N17R4M posted:Saltwater tanks are wild. Probably because macroalgae is hard to keep looking tidy and clean without it growing on glass and over surfaces and poo poo. Plus a lot of the stuff that’s easily cultivated and available is meant for sumps/refugiums and not really intended for display. A lot of free-floating stuff like chaeto seems difficult to make look good (but probably very doable) there’s a small but growing and active scene of display macroalgae tank builders tho. I’ve seen a bunch on YouTube and they always generate a bunch of attention. If you Google “macroalgae display tank” you’ll see a bunch. They look rad, I’ll probably make one at some point, or at least try my hand at a display-refugium.
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Jan 19, 2021 21:29
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N17R4M posted:Saltwater tanks are wild. The kelp species that make up the forests are massive. Some giant aquariums (Like Pacific Aquairum) have them but they are huge enclosures.
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Jan 19, 2021 21:33
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While my partner and I have firmly said no more aquariums for the forseeable future, if we ever nuked one or got a bigger space, we would love to try a saltwater, based on the local (Maltese) biotope, and its mostly leafy plants here. There'd something neat about 'boring' brown n stripey fish.
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Jan 19, 2021 21:34
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Got my tank acidity under control and moved the goldyear blimps into the 75! The tank is situated so that they can see through the glass on the short end of the tank, toward the garage door. I swear that those fuckers know the sound of the garage door opening, because every time I come in the door they're pressed against the glass on that side, wiggling. Also when I came home today Gary had about an inch of val leaf poking out of his mouth while he was desperately trying to get it down. I got it out with my planting tweezers, out came another 1.5". Guess I should throw some duckweed in there, so he and Peek can actually eat the plants. Yes, I know goldfish like to do that, but I was hoping they'd leave at least some of it alone, and figured it would be good enrichment.
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Jan 20, 2021 00:17
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RobotCoupeDetat posted:Got my tank acidity under control and moved the goldyear blimps into the 75! The tank is situated so that they can see through the glass on the short end of the tank, toward the garage door. I swear that those fuckers know the sound of the garage door opening, because every time I come in the door they're pressed against the glass on that side, wiggling. Also when I came home today Gary had about an inch of val leaf poking out of his mouth while he was desperately trying to get it down. I got it out with my planting tweezers, out came another 1.5". Guess I should throw some duckweed in there, so he and Peek can actually eat the plants. Yes, I know goldfish like to do that, but I was hoping they'd leave at least some of it alone, and figured it would be good enrichment. Is your garage temp controlled or do you live in a region where it's not an issue? I was "gifted" a 30 year old 38g tank which has held water in my workshop for 2 weeks. It bows... a bit, but otherwise seems to be in good condition. I'm a bit nervous to have it in the house, just because of the age, but was thinking it might be neat to set it up in my garage with a couple of goldfish. It gets to ~65F in there in the winter and 85F in the summer, thought I might be able to get away without a heater. That, or I can just use the heater which came with the tank. It's old, and about as simple as they come, but it seems to work after all this time.
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Jan 20, 2021 01:18
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Schwack posted:Is your garage temp controlled or do you live in a region where it's not an issue? I was "gifted" a 30 year old 38g tank which has held water in my workshop for 2 weeks. It bows... a bit, but otherwise seems to be in good condition. I'm a bit nervous to have it in the house, just because of the age, but was thinking it might be neat to set it up in my garage with a couple of goldfish. It gets to ~65F in there in the winter and 85F in the summer, thought I might be able to get away without a heater. That, or I can just use the heater which came with the tank. It's old, and about as simple as they come, but it seems to work after all this time. Sorry for being unclear: the tank is in the house, they can just see through to where we come in to the house. I’m not sure about keeping a tank in a garage with that wild of a temperature swing. Goldfish could definitely tolerate the lower levels but the higher not so much. Maybe someone more experienced knows if there’s a species that could tolerate it?
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Jan 20, 2021 01:48
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RobotCoupeDetat posted:Sorry for being unclear: the tank is in the house, they can just see through to where we come in to the house. I’m not sure about keeping a tank in a garage with that wild of a temperature swing. Goldfish could definitely tolerate the lower levels but the higher not so much. Maybe someone more experienced knows if there’s a species that could tolerate it? Yeah, that was my concern. I figured they'd be alright all year long except for the couple of hot days we get in the summer. I know lots of folks around here (Pacific NW, Willamette Valley) keep fish in above-ground ponds year round, I'm guessing I'd need to look into whatever they keep for a semi-outdoor tank.
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Jan 20, 2021 01:53
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One thing that just crossed my mind, too, is it there’s a big day-night temp swing that might cause thermal stress on the tank. I am not a materials scientist, tho. But maybe a pond, with larger volume, wouldn’t swing quite as much.
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Jan 20, 2021 01:58
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N17R4M posted:Saltwater tanks are wild. quote:hair algae problem solved shortly after I bitched about it online
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Jan 20, 2021 20:00
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Cythereal posted:you stupid loving fish New thread title imo
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Jan 20, 2021 20:15
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Kelp in aquaria got me thinking. In 2017, when our daughter was just a baby, my wife and I planned a road trip down the West Coast of the US, then a swing over to Vegas, and then looping through a bunch of national parks like Arches, Zion, etc on our way back North. We were planning out where we wanted to stop, and Mrs. Chiller suggested we head East from San Fransisco. Whoa, hold on honey, can we make it as far as Moneterey? Her: "Why, what's there that you want to see?" Me:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSbABWGgRh0I heard a little grumbling about the ticket price, but in my opinion, well worth the admission.
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Jan 20, 2021 21:03
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Edit: Deleted for details of saltwater critter death.
Cythereal fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Jan 21, 2021 |
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Jan 20, 2021 21:11
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Lost another pseudomugil gertrudae this morning. Last night I noticed he wasn't eating, was hanging near the surface, looking pale and just generally lethargic. I moved him into a heated qt tank with 1tsp salt per gallon. When I moved him, I noticed he seemed to have some trouble swimming upright. Initially he was swimming almost vertically. After a few hours in the salt, he appeared to be swimming normally although he was still lethargic. I was hopeful that this would mean a recovery, but this morning he was at the bottom of the tank. Doing research online yields a ton of possibilities. The symptoms I noticed this time around seem to be semi-common. Lots of people suggesting age as the culprit. They were also some people suggesting that fish TB could be the culprit. Down to a single female now, she's acting normally and looks fine but it feels like whatever took your others will eventually get her. I'm keeping a close eye on her, but I'm guessing by the time she shows symptoms it'll be too late. I think I'm going to encourage my forktails to spawn and bolster their numbers instead of picking up more gertrudae. Tank parameters are 0/0/20 78.4F 8°KH 125ppm GH.
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Jan 21, 2021 20:36
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Just got into the hobby again on a whim after 2 decades off. Got a top fin 10 gallon starter kit and a betta + some african dwarf frogs from a lady at my work. I plan on getting a larger tank at some point just want to start slow. I was wondering if anybody had any advice on lighting upgrades. The kit comes with some LEDs in the lid that are nice for viewing but I feel like they might be harsh on the animals. It would be cool if there was an inexpensive upgrade that would be a little less bright or be able to dim in and out on a timer to simulate sunrise/sunset or something.
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Jan 22, 2021 12:48
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Amarcarts posted:Just got into the hobby again on a whim after 2 decades off. Got a top fin 10 gallon starter kit and a betta + some african dwarf frogs from a lady at my work. I plan on getting a larger tank at some point just want to start slow. I was wondering if anybody had any advice on lighting upgrades. The kit comes with some LEDs in the lid that are nice for viewing but I feel like they might be harsh on the animals. It would be cool if there was an inexpensive upgrade that would be a little less bright or be able to dim in and out on a timer to simulate sunrise/sunset or something. Amazon will happily sell you a compatible aftermarket LED light fixture for $15-$35, depending on features. There are a few Hygger branded ones that I’ve used and would recommend. You’ll get more even light spread and illumination across the tank while also being able to keep each LED much dimmer. Just make sure you get the right size for the shape of your tank. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Jan 22, 2021 |
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Jan 22, 2021 14:15
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Another option is to try some floating plants, like frogbit, Indian water fern, red root floater, ludwigia sedoides (also known as mosaic plant) which will provide shade/cover and help consume nitrogen wastes - just check what's legal in your area as some floating plants are invasive. I'd steer clear of duckweed since it just clogs everything but the bigger leaved plants are easier to manage. You can get a timer to use on the power plug of any light so don't limit yourself to super expensive fancy lights with built in timers.
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Jan 22, 2021 15:31
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Stoca Zola posted:Another option is to try some floating plants, I'll second this. Live plants are great and the betta will definitely appreciate the cover.
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Jan 22, 2021 17:37
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Both my betta go nuts for hornwort. I've weighted some bits to the bottom to help it fill the entire water column and it's basically where they live. Provides plenty of shade from the lighting and it's sturdy enough that they can rest on it near the surface. I bought it to spawn cpds and now it's in all my tanks.
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Jan 22, 2021 20:47
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https://www.civilbeat.org/beat/court-ruling-halts-all-existing-hawaii-commercial-aquarium-fishing-licenses/ I'm curious what folks think of this. I do think aquarium fisheries can be done in a sustainable way, so I'm sad to see what looks like an indefinite ban going into place. Hopefully it'll reopen sustainably after review. I doubt it though.
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Jan 22, 2021 21:24
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DeadlyMuffin posted:https://www.civilbeat.org/beat/court-ruling-halts-all-existing-hawaii-commercial-aquarium-fishing-licenses/ I worry that without commensurate action elsewhere this will put more pressure on other pacific fisheries, like Indonesia, Oceania, etc. Like, the US will probably be pretty good about enforcing and policing its waters, other places not so much. So if demand goes up for South Pacific reef fish or whatever to fill the hole left by the Hawaiian trade then you can imagine the fisheries in those areas being depleted much faster and potentially in more brazen, destructive ways. What’s extremely good for reefs in Hawaiian waters may lead to reef collapse or catastrophic overharvesting elsewhere without more comprehensive policy. I do also think that the future is aquaculture, but we need a lot more investment and infrastructure. I honestly wish governments were more actively committed to helping businesses succeed through these types of necessary environmental protections by providing things like grants to fund this level of growth and development. They already bend over backwards to hand businesses money and tax refunds in other ways, but it’s very hard to do experimental aquaculture and keep making money.
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Jan 22, 2021 21:57
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I agree that the future is aquaculture, but I think there will always need to be some wild fishery to suppliment bloodlines, if nothing else, but maybe also to allow aquaculture development. I'd like to see it highly regulated, but existent. I also bristle a little bit at the focus on collection for aquaria when fishing for food is so comparatively unrestricted. I've looked a little bit into collecting for an aquarium here in CA and it's *really* hard to do legally, but if I wanted to catch and kill the same animals it's much easier. DeadlyMuffin fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Jan 23, 2021 |
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Jan 23, 2021 00:19
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Anyone have tips on getting spawning mops to sink? I used acrylic yarn (it was all I could find in green) and I've seen other folks say it works just fine, but mine just want to float on the surface. The demos people post on youtube have the cork floating on the surface, while the yarn dangles down nicely. I can't get them to dangle like that, and I'm guessing it will affect spawning activity.
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Jan 25, 2021 03:37
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Schwack posted:Anyone have tips on getting spawning mops to sink? I used acrylic yarn (it was all I could find in green) and I've seen other folks say it works just fine, but mine just want to float on the surface. The demos people post on youtube have the cork floating on the surface, while the yarn dangles down nicely. I can't get them to dangle like that, and I'm guessing it will affect spawning activity. I use acrylic yarn. Squeeze the bubbles out and it sinks just fine
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Jan 25, 2021 03:56
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Mine sunk a lot better after I boiled them - that's also recommended to try and get any residual dye out of the yarn. It made the strands go a bit curly but in the end that mop seemed to be a favourite from all the other ones I tried. I think as long as the strands are in the water it doesn't matter too much, for a buoyant yarn you could weight the middle instead of floating it, then it doesn't matter if it stands straight up in the water column the fish will still use it. They preferred a wad of Java moss over any of the mops I used but finding and removing eggs from that was a lot harder.
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Jan 25, 2021 04:48
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DeadlyMuffin posted:I use acrylic yarn. Squeeze the bubbles out and it sinks just fine I'll give that a go in the morning! I did a water change this evening and didn't want to dick around in there too much afterward. Stoca Zola posted:Mine sunk a lot better after I boiled them - that's also recommended to try and get any residual dye out of the yarn. It made the strands go a bit curly but in the end that mop seemed to be a favourite from all the other ones I tried. I think as long as the strands are in the water it doesn't matter too much, for a buoyant yarn you could weight the middle instead of floating it, then it doesn't matter if it stands straight up in the water column the fish will still use it. Yeah, I'm currently removing eggs from hornwort. It's not too bad, but they're also a bit picky about how it's laid in the container. If it's too loose they seem to avoid spawning. I'll give boiling em a go tonight. I did a ton of rinsing/soaking but didn't boil.
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Jan 25, 2021 05:47
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Any mystery snail experts kickin' around? One of our two snails hasn't moved in three days. I don't think it's dead; the operculum is open about 1/8th of an inch but retracts when lightly tapped with a long skewer. And it doesnt seem to stink. I'm not seeing any movement otherwise, the snail is lying on the side of its shell and sometimes on its back. I changed some water on saturday afternoon but it was properly treated and sat out for a day first. Our other snail is still loving life and racing around like crazy, and the fish and shrimp are fine as can be. Is it sleeping? Dead? Hibernating? Partied out? Everything ive read basically says its alive. Unless its not alive. No help at all.
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Jan 26, 2021 16:22
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Tall Tale Teller posted:Any mystery snail experts kickin' around? One of our two snails hasn't moved in three days. I don't think it's dead; the operculum is open about 1/8th of an inch but retracts when lightly tapped with a long skewer. And it doesnt seem to stink. My wife's mystery snail does this constantly. Every morning it looks dead. Laying on its back, operculum half open/foot hanging out and it won't move for hours. No idea what causes it, but it's definitely alive and bouncing around the tank in spite of appearing dead every day.
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Jan 26, 2021 19:37
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Yeah guess what? As soon as i hit "submit reply" this morning that yellow fucker was body-out, eyes flapping going lightspeed across the glass like he never decided to take a three day disco nap in the first place. Both snails have napped for a few hours before, but never this long.
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Jan 27, 2021 00:07
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Tall Tale Teller posted:Yeah guess what? As soon as i hit "submit reply" this morning that yellow fucker was body-out, eyes flapping going lightspeed across the glass like he never decided to take a three day disco nap in the first place. He had executive dysfunction okay don't shame him his generation has things very hard
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Jan 27, 2021 00:32
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My big goldfish was being a dick about food aggression toward the smaller one, so I put him in a net time out. I sort of clamped the net handle under the lid to keep him there; it took him five solid minutes to figure out he could just turn around and swim out. 
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Jan 27, 2021 01:24
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Anyone have tips on dealing with hydra around fish fry? I noticed 3 hydra in my breeder box this evening, almost certainly because I've been feeding my CPD fry Hikari First Bites over the last week or two. I know the general advice is to cut back feeding, but I'm not sure how to do that without killing the little guys.
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Jan 27, 2021 06:53
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Schwack posted:Anyone have tips on dealing with hydra around fish fry? I noticed 3 hydra in my breeder box this evening, almost certainly because I've been feeding my CPD fry Hikari First Bites over the last week or two. I know the general advice is to cut back feeding, but I'm not sure how to do that without killing the little guys. I thought that you can pretty easily kill hydra with a lot of products that kill planaria also and are safe for fish. I'm sure other people in here will be able to comment on it with more precision.
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Jan 27, 2021 06:59
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