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Cyn Greythorne posted:I shall soon be setting up a new tank. I want a breeder tank because of their width and lower depth. The store sells many 40 gal breeders, but I can get a 50 gal breeder for about twice as much money. I wouldn't, unless you have a stand that will only fit a 50 wide somehow.
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Dec 9, 2013 23:12
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durrneez posted:How long will you be away for? I've heard bettas going ~2 weeks before starving to death and I typically only feed mine every few days. I'll be gone for 10 days. I've fed the tank before with a gel feeder and my old betta fed himself by nibbling on shrimp, but this guy I'm worried about due to his bad eyesight. He doesnt respond to food unless it's dropped within 2 inches of his head.
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Dec 10, 2013 01:34
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Sounds like my old guy.. he has trouble even when you drop it in front of him sometimes. His days are numbered.
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Dec 10, 2013 02:52
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Ugh. I'll keep handfeeding him til the day he goes completely blind and isnt able to see my hand and I'll have to make a decision then. I really should have stuck to my policy of no metallics. So many loving tumors or blind fish. 
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Dec 10, 2013 05:17
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Cowslips Warren posted:I wouldn't, unless you have a stand that will only fit a 50 wide somehow. They both fit. I was hesitating because they say 'the more water the better', but I want a planted tank and good light penetration.
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Dec 10, 2013 18:33
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I am going to be gone for about 10 days over Christmas, and am just going to drop a block feeder into my main tank like I always do. But I now also have a betta - I know he'll probably make it without food for that long but it feels mean. Topfin has betta specfic feeders, but does anyone know if I should have any issue leaving of the smaller feeders in his tank instead of buying a special betta feeder block? They have the same stuff in them, I imagine the betta one just has less food in it since it would be meant for one fish instead of many. And any thoughts on whether it's just not worth it in such a small tank (2 gallons) in terms of water quality?
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Dec 11, 2013 04:49
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Hm, is your betta into eating shrimp? You could get him some live ghost shrimp for him to eat while you're away instead!
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Dec 11, 2013 04:58
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Dec 11, 2013 07:42
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First of I'd like to thank everyone involved with this thread for all the indirect help. My girlfriend has been feeding me advice from this forum since starting my first aquarium. This is a slightly dated image of my most recent aquarium. 29 Gallon, Current residents are 3 red eye tetras, 3 barbs of unknown red and gold color 1 very docile GSP (moving to brackish tank after a year, then to full on saltwater a year after that.) a Trio of terminally pregnant orange sailfin mollies, 1 synododontus catfish that needs a new home very soon (bought a few months ago just bigger than a fry, now almost 4 inches nose to fluke. There's also a badass whisker shrimp that has managed to stay out of the puffer's stomach somehow. Many more have not been so lucky. The water sprite died really quick for some reason. Replaced it with some hair grass and a fern also have java moss and purple waffle if you can't tell. All tank accessories are Aqueon, which living in Wisconsin is a local company (I need to stop by and see if they sell defect products, or are hiring.) I will post updated pics tomorrow when I get home, just wanted to say thanks for the help you didn't know you were giving me. Background is custom made by yours truly. Just laminated printout of Banksy Street art. https://pic.twitter.com/aaLFY1djSf OOC does anyone have tips as to where to find/how to build a stick on fire escape deco? I think it would be a cool effect but don't know what to make it out of/paint it with.
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Dec 11, 2013 08:02
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:First of I'd like to thank everyone involved with this thread for all the indirect help. My girlfriend has been feeding me advice from this forum since starting my first aquarium. Nice tank, by fire escape do you mean an actual 3d model? I've never seen anything like that for sale but you could probably build one out of plastic tubing and maybe aquarium sealant but I'd be a bit leery of painting it.
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Dec 11, 2013 08:45
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:Nice tank, by fire escape do you mean an actual 3d model? That's my worry. I know acrylics are tank safe but they don't stick to plastic without acid based primer, which is a big no-no for fish. I'd build it out of sprues from my model kits but flat gray plastic would just be a distraction instead of an accent.
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Dec 11, 2013 09:12
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:Thanks, It might be too much of an effort, but I saw some company showing how to make your own live rock using their products. It involved an epoxy resin with some filler. And then after making the shape, you would then paint it with some other product of theirs that was aquarium safe. However, that whole process for you wouldn't be free form as they did, you would be trying to make a mold to pour it into. Perhaps too much effort for a simple ladder. I dunno after that though, I've never dealt with diy work around an aquarium.
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Dec 11, 2013 12:31
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durrneez posted:Hm, is your betta into eating shrimp? You could get him some live ghost shrimp for him to eat while you're away instead! If you can find scuds, they will eat the gently caress out of those. Better option that the bigger shrimp because of cost and they can choke on a larger shrimp and die. Seen it happen too to someone I know, not fun. In my 20L shrimp tank I introduced scuds unwillingly and now I have a pretty healthy colony of those in there that I supplement to the diet of my other fish. They go batshit crazy when I drop in the scuds in the morning..
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Dec 11, 2013 15:07
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[img] https://pic.twitter.com/DZwQ5QN1ul [/img] [img] https://pic.twitter.com/qKr6nMKcdw [/img] [img] https://pic.twitter.com/wkd7MpXC1S [/img] [img] https://pic.twitter.com/1JV8U7IMom [/img] [img] https://pic.twitter.com/EH8fvudmhR [/img] As promised, current pictures of my tank and it's inhabitants. They all seem happy, especially since I introduced beef heart to their diet. I know I am. Also I wanted to warn people, every time I put anything that was in PetSmart water into my tanks I have had supercharged ich breakouts. It's so bad of a problem that I don't even get free snails for the puffer from there anymore. Has anyone else had this problem with them or is it a local thing? A Pleco from there killed off my 10 gal overnight a couple of years ago, fortunately I caught it quick the second time around. Should I bring this up to their manager? Their dead/live fish ratio always seems pretty off. SkaAndScreenplays fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Dec 11, 2013 |
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Dec 11, 2013 17:07
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Never everevereverever put fish store water into your water. You don't know what's in their water. Net out your new acquisition from the bag and put it into your tank. Here's an article on how to acclimate a fish. http://www.wikihow.com/Acclimate-a-Fish Here's another one with pictures: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Pic/article.cfm?c=3578&aid=841 I don't like their floating method because they float the open bag IN the tank. I prefer to set the open bag in a container in which the bag can sit upright, like a bowl or tupperware because I am clumsy and spacey when it comes to really important things.
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Dec 11, 2013 18:13
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durrneez posted:Never everevereverever put fish store water into your water. You don't know what's in their water. Net out your new acquisition from the bag and put it into your tank. Here's an article on how to acclimate a fish. I always float/net out. I think the Pleco may have already had stage 1, and the little bit of water that was on the snails was enough to carry a bit of ich into my tank. It's mind boggling because I even went so far as to rinse the snails before dropping them in
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Dec 11, 2013 18:37
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vegemitesandwhich posted:I am going to be gone for about 10 days over Christmas, and am just going to drop a block feeder into my main tank like I always do. Not directly on point, but I have kept a betta alive by allowing a plants roots to grow into the water. The betta will nip at the roots and get food that way.
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Dec 11, 2013 18:58
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If you're talking about a lily vase with a betta in it no. No you did not.
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Dec 11, 2013 23:46
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xxEightxx posted:Not directly on point, but I have kept a betta alive by allowing a plants roots to grow into the water. The betta will nip at the roots and get food that way. That's really not how it works. SkaAndScreenplays posted:I always float/net out. I think the Pleco may have already had stage 1, and the little bit of water that was on the snails was enough to carry a bit of ich into my tank. It's mind boggling because I even went so far as to rinse the snails before dropping them in Oh, woopsies! I misread your post. If you've got a spare tupperware and you still want to buy fish from PetSmart maybe dumping your new acquisitions into a quarantine tank would help impede a full on ich infestation. durrneez fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Dec 12, 2013 |
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Dec 11, 2013 23:55
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Bought one of those Current USA LED fixtures like I mentioned last page, a 24 inch unit. Got sent two of them, but I only paid for one. Woohoo! Playing with the remote right now, this is kinda fun.
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Dec 12, 2013 00:53
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durrneez posted:That's really not how it works. It isn't worth it, my local independent has better prices and better livestock.
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Dec 12, 2013 02:11
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demonR6 posted:If you can find scuds, they will eat the gently caress out of those. Better option that the bigger shrimp because of cost and they can choke on a larger shrimp and die. Seen it happen too to someone I know, not fun. In my 20L shrimp tank I introduced scuds unwillingly and now I have a pretty healthy colony of those in there that I supplement to the diet of my other fish. They go batshit crazy when I drop in the scuds in the morning.. I'll look into these and/or maybe a couple shrimp. Not the plant roots though. Mr Finswiggles is a strict carnivore. Thanks guys!
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Dec 12, 2013 05:08
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My Betta enjoy all my culls (Cherry shrimp), they start by tearing all the legs off them and breaking the bodies apart.
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Dec 12, 2013 13:12
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Whelp, my led light on my tank burned out already, since I am moving to a new place I may as well by one that doesn't promote algae growth. What was the name of the cool fake lightning storm cloud light and is it good in the fight against algae?
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Dec 12, 2013 16:00
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dirtycajun posted:Whelp, my led light on my tank burned out already, since I am moving to a new place I may as well by one that doesn't promote algae growth. What was the name of the cool fake lightning storm cloud light and is it good in the fight against algae? Just stand over holding the switch and flicker it manually.
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Dec 12, 2013 20:11
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dirtycajun posted:Whelp, my led light on my tank burned out already, since I am moving to a new place I may as well by one that doesn't promote algae growth. What was the name of the cool fake lightning storm cloud light and is it good in the fight against algae? It's this. It doesn't have high PAR values, though so depending on your tank you'll probably have to only grow low light plants.
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Dec 13, 2013 00:52
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I picked up a PAR meter a couple of years ago from Hoppy on The Planted Tank.. it was a DIY, very ingenious and quite accurate too. Best investment because in my situation I was not getting nearly the amount of light I thought at the distance I had my lights hanging overhead and my set up was way down on the scale of low light where nothing below the midline of the tank was getting usable light. I chose to grow easy, low light plants but had a couple that were more suited to low-mid and they would have not worked out. Anyone with a planted tank should try to get their hands on one to see what is going on with their lights.
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Dec 13, 2013 14:00
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My fiancee recently bought a decent DSLR so she started practicing on the many subjects at her disposal so it's photo time! I've not posted here for ages and my tank has undergone a few changes since I last posted. I had to totally rebuild the tank after the algae got out of control so I reduced the time the lights are on and it's been great ever since. The full display now looks like this:  With some detail:   I've got quite keen on Gouramis as they're colourful and placid. Golden Gourami:   Oplaline Gourami:  Pearl Gourami:  Three Spot Gourami:  Indian Gourami:  Golden Honey Gourami and a few Cories:  The resident Rainbow Shark:   A feeding frenzy ensues after the addition of some bloodworm..  Got a couple of Keyhole Cichlids:  Apistogramma Cacatuoides (Cuckoo Cichlid) - this is the female, I did have a (fantastic) Male, but he swam into my cyphon during a clean and got badly injured so I had to put him down    And the Granite Mollys sadly halved in number, but I still have two of these guys:  I'm also really pleased that my school of Blue Neon Tetras is doing really well:   And despite the advice against it, I've had two of these guys for the best part of a year and they've been very well behaved:  And I got a few of these guys last week:  And a few Metallic Platys:  The cichlid Rams keep to themselves:  I've got a pair of Mountain Shrimps but they've gone into hiding and I've only seen them once. I get a lot of algae and guff in the top (coarse) part of my filter so I rinse it every few days once the current from the pump starts to drop off. It's a little tedious, but it shows the filter is working!
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Dec 14, 2013 17:44
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What type of fish are those in the picture where you said "Got a couple of these guys last week?" Your tank and fish look fantastic by the way.
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Dec 14, 2013 22:47
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Sonic H posted:*cool pictures* My girlfriend really loves the look of your substrate and wants to replicate it when we have another tank going. The little bits of blue mixed with the pebbles looks really nice.
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Dec 14, 2013 22:53
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Bait and Swatch posted:What type of fish are those in the picture where you said "Got a couple of these guys last week?" Thanks. It's about a year in now and I think I've got the hang of it. The little fish are Kribensis juveniles I *think*. I'll check next time I'm at my LFS. Chichevache posted:My girlfriend really loves the look of your substrate and wants to replicate it when we have another tank going. The little bits of blue mixed with the pebbles looks really nice. Cheers - it's actually a sort of hangover from my very first tank. The gravel in that was entirely the blue stuff, but it was a much smaller tank (20l hexagonal). My fiancee actually came up with the idea to scatter it over the top of the brown gravel just to give it a bit of colour. Over time with the cyphon cleaning the blue has been well mixed with the brown. Sonic H fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Dec 14, 2013 |
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Dec 14, 2013 23:27
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Kribs are awesome. I wish I could add more to my 55 else I would get a couple of those too. I need a tank upgrade.
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Dec 15, 2013 04:56
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kribs are assholes but beautiful. still can't get rid of my fry because they MAKE SO MANY BABIES! No fighting with the gouramis?
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Dec 15, 2013 06:57
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I thought my java ferns had died, but after I removed all the dead leaves i realized the bottom parts (whatever you call them), had tiny leaves coming out, and also the whole mass was mostly thread. I removed the nasty thread and got 3-4 green pieces, two of them with leaves. i just left them on top of the gravel, hopefully they'll all sprout more leaves.
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Dec 15, 2013 07:05
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Malalol posted:kribs are assholes but beautiful. still can't get rid of my fry because they MAKE SO MANY BABIES! They seem to be ok at the moment, but they are only juveniles. Most of the Gouramis are more than 10 times their size so they'd be hard pressed to really hassle them. They seem to keep to themselves most of the time and mooch about in the grass in their little group. demonR6 posted:Kribs are awesome. I wish I could add more to my 55 else I would get a couple of those too. I need a tank upgrade. Yeah, I'm quite liking them. They seem very curious and explore a lot of the tank with little bother. My Rasboras are similar, but they hang about near the top minding their own business. Great fish to have. Sonic H fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Dec 15, 2013 |
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Dec 15, 2013 10:30
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Malalol posted:kribs are assholes but beautiful. still can't get rid of my fry because they MAKE SO MANY BABIES! This is the authentic krib experience right here. Everything is happy > pair up > dig up something > EVERYTHING IS THE ENEMY > EVERYTHING BUT BABY IS THE ENEMY. Watching my two absolutely run roughshod over my 55 was certainly a learning experience. The pearl gouramis are the only thing in that tank that have been able to knock them down but they didn't even try. Slowly but surely trying to get them all out. Rather than chase them all down with nets in a planted tank like a sucker, I just feed 'em tubifex worm cubes pressed to the glass so that the greedy little things swim straight into my hand.
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Dec 15, 2013 17:08
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Been reading this thread for the past few months. Used some tips in it to upgrade from a 9 gallon tank to a 20 gallon. It's been going really well and I added some new plants. One month later...saw the first baby snail sneaking out from the bunch of java fern. The thread title came true!
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Dec 16, 2013 03:37
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Can anyone provide an inexpensive, yet effective substrate they've had success with? I am planning out a 120 gallon tank, but would like to avoid using the amazonia aqua-soil I have in my 30 gallon. It worked well, but the expense of filling the 120 with it is somewhat daunting. I'm aiming for a PH of 7.0.
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Dec 16, 2013 06:56
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Small river pebbles?
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Dec 16, 2013 14:13
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Bait and Swatch posted:Can anyone provide an inexpensive, yet effective substrate they've had success with? I am planning out a 120 gallon tank, but would like to avoid using the amazonia aqua-soil I have in my 30 gallon. It worked well, but the expense of filling the 120 with it is somewhat daunting. I'm aiming for a PH of 7.0. I used 50lbs of flourite and 50 lbs of plain old gravel of a similar color in my 90 for years, worked great. Really depends what you want to do, though...you don't really need any of the fancy substrates to grow good plants, just an awareness of where and how to fertilize. Use root tabs under your root-feeding plants, make sure you've got plenty of nutrients in the water column, and whatever the plants stick into doesn't really matter.
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Dec 16, 2013 15:45
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