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Desert Bus posted:Please don't release aquarium stock into any body of water. Even if the species is endemic to your area, you can still spread potentially harmful bacteria. You could try selling some, people with Assassin snails will buy them. You don't need to remove many to cut down on the population and then you just have to watch your feeding. And I can't imagine they'd be difficult to euthanize quickly and painlessly. Either way, try to remove the biggest you can find. This is a small raised brick formal pond that I keep my minnows in in the summer, it's completely isolated from local waterways.
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Mar 4, 2014 08:31
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:This is a small raised brick formal pond that I keep my minnows in in the summer, it's completely isolated from local waterways. Good to hear. What sort of minnows do you keep?
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Mar 4, 2014 08:35
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Desert Bus posted:Good to hear. What sort of minnows do you keep? A mix of normal and golden WMM, they do really well in the summer and keep the midge larvae population under control which is a nice bonus. There are even a few stragglers that I couldn't catch that seem to have overwintered just fine. When I move house I'm going to totally nuke the pond though, don't trust the next tenant not to just dump everything in the local stream.
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Mar 4, 2014 08:45
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:A mix of normal and golden WMM, they do really well in the summer and keep the midge larvae population under control which is a nice bonus. There are even a few stragglers that I couldn't catch that seem to have overwintered just fine. Any breeding? And by "nuke" I hope you mean "remove the livestock and sell it or give it away or trade it for store credit" and not "dump a bunch of clove oil and rubbing alcohol in."
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Mar 4, 2014 08:55
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Desert Bus posted:Any breeding? Oh, definitely the former, I'm a massive hippie. There was a lot of spawning but I didn't see any babies last year, they did spawn in my fishtank but I think the hydras got them all. The only things I will euthanise (if they're still there) are the sticklebacks my kid dumped in the pond as they can't go back in the stream and they really don't like tanks unless they're quite specialised.
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Mar 4, 2014 09:12
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Desert Bus posted:In a 120 with enough other fish to keep fry in check, you'd never end up with enough hybrid Apisto's to have any leak out into the aquarium trade. What's the rest of your stock? 3 Bolivian Rams, 9 cardinal tetras, 9 celestial pearl danios, 4 otos in the 120. Not enough to keep fry in check yet. I have peacock gudgeons I'll be adding once they are done breeding in another tank.
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Mar 4, 2014 15:31
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Desert Bus posted:Somehow, despite mentioning Assassin Snails, I didn't think to suggest getting some. That is the best solution. Assassin snail. Best snail. Only snail. Though, I noticed one going after one of my pumpkin shrimps. 
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Mar 4, 2014 22:36
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I got four rear end snails when pond snails were just starting to be a problem. I gave three back like a week later because 4 was hilarious overkill and they had eaten themselves out of a job.
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Mar 5, 2014 00:37
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My little chain loaches do a good job of keeping the snails in check. The snails are still able to do their jobs of scavenging debris and stirring the substrate, but their numbers get culled enough to stop them overrunning the tank. Unfortunately they have been picking off the shrimp population as well. It's a tough balancing act.
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Mar 5, 2014 00:42
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Those of you with Rimless tanks, what made you go for that? I'm going to get a 40G breeder sometime in the next few months and I'm currently pricing out between the regular breeder, a rimless tank, and an acrylic tank. I currently have an acrylic 55g tall that i'm going to get rid of, and the scratches are annoying, but the weight is a nice bonus. If i'm going to have a light resting on top of my tank anyway, will that diminish the look of the rimless if it's not hanging from a fixture?
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Mar 5, 2014 01:01
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:Oh, definitely the former, I'm a massive hippie. Ah! 3 spine sticklebacks?!?!?! I think they're so cool. Did you ever get the males to show their mating colorations?!
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Mar 5, 2014 06:04
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my friend has this in a fishless tank and is worried it should be greener. thoughts?
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Mar 5, 2014 07:34
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Spikes32 posted:Those of you with Rimless tanks, what made you go for that? I'm going to get a 40G breeder sometime in the next few months and I'm currently pricing out between the regular breeder, a rimless tank, and an acrylic tank. I currently have an acrylic 55g tall that i'm going to get rid of, and the scratches are annoying, but the weight is a nice bonus. If i'm going to have a light resting on top of my tank anyway, will that diminish the look of the rimless if it's not hanging from a fixture? My main reason for going rimless is because I liked the cleaner look over the black plastic support banding of regular tanks. I also have my light mounted to the tank and it doesn't ruin the look at all. There are multiple designs nowadays with the use of led light fixtures. You can have the standard bar look or even puck lights that are mounted by arm brackets (which you can mount to the back of the tank continuing the more airy feel). And as you mentioned, the hanging/pendant fixture. That said, look around on your lighting too. For example, ADA offers up a stand to mount their hanging solar fixtures instead of suspending from a ceiling. And I'm sure people have diy-ed things like that as well.
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Mar 5, 2014 08:20
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durrneez posted:Ah! 3 spine sticklebacks?!?!?! I think they're so cool. Did you ever get the males to show their mating colorations?! They've only been in the pond since last summer, although the local streams are heaving with them (also young eels sometimes!). They're really pretty fish when you see them up close, and the nest building behaviour is really interesting. 
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Mar 5, 2014 08:30
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Nichol posted:my friend has this in a fishless tank and is worried it should be greener. thoughts? Umm, what the heck is it? Did he/she buy some garden plant at Lowe's and stick it in the tank?
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Mar 5, 2014 17:10
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Aerofallosov posted:Assassin snail. Best snail. The assassin snail in my 10 gallon is the only thing that survived the 100+ degree temperatures I induced after a round of ich killed all of my fish. The ich died and so did the plants (they were crypts so they grew back), but a week later the snail was back somehow (I thought he'd already died). They're hardy little things.
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Mar 5, 2014 17:45
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JuffoWup posted:My main reason for going rimless is because I liked the cleaner look over the black plastic support banding of regular tanks. I also have my light mounted to the tank and it doesn't ruin the look at all. There are multiple designs nowadays with the use of led light fixtures. You can have the standard bar look or even puck lights that are mounted by arm brackets (which you can mount to the back of the tank continuing the more airy feel). And as you mentioned, the hanging/pendant fixture. Thanks for the perspective, I'm leaning towards rimless for that reason. And I have a Finray II so it would be on arm brackets to the sides of the tank. Now I just need to figure out if I need two light fixtures for a 40G breeder given the width of the tank or not.
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Mar 5, 2014 19:07
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demonR6 posted:Umm, what the heck is it? Did he/she buy some garden plant at Lowe's and stick it in the tank? from LFS!
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Mar 5, 2014 21:32
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Nichol posted:from LFS! Looks like some kind of ornamental grass to me. In other news, I just saw some quite interesting tadpole snail behaviour - the snail was moving along a leaf, got to the end and instead of turning round it let go of the leaf, floated up about 2 inches then floated gently back down and landed back on the leaf facing the other way, I thought it might be a fluke but then it did it again a minute later. I never realised tadpole snails had such good control of their buoyancy, they're really pretty up close, too.
Extra Smooth Balls fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Mar 5, 2014 |
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Mar 5, 2014 22:48
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:Looks like some kind of ornamental grass to me. Yep. And it won't be the first LFS that sells semi or even non aquatic plants to people as aquatic.
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Mar 6, 2014 00:05
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The tendency towards red almost makes me think Japanese blood grass, but it's been so long since I've had a patch of it that I can't remember the exact shape of the blades.
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Mar 6, 2014 01:19
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So I just got one if those elive led pod track lights and holy crap does good lighting make the difference. Personally I think this is a better lighting system than the Super expensive coralife LED systems. You have more control over wavelength and can move pods around which comes on great if one side of the tank is more plant/coral heavy. I'm going to use these for all my future tanks. I'm beyond happy with them. Picture for proof https://twitter.com/Rddesjardin/status/442077735817445376
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Mar 8, 2014 00:45
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I'm looking for some opinions on filters, mainly how many I should use. I've got a 50g running right now with two HOB filters, which was recommended by my LFS. No live plants yet, and only a few fish so far, since the tank is still fairly new and not completely cycled yet. I'm interested in getting a canister filter, looking at the Fluval 306. The guys at my LFS are saying I should keep one of the other filters running in addition to the canister if I get one. I've just gotten back into having a tank running after about 5 years off, and have only dealt with these guys once, so I don't really know their reputation. From what I've read, there are a few reasons to run more than one filter: -Backup filter in case one of them dies, and to alternate cleanings -Additional filtration for the tank -Extra surfaces for beneficial bacteria, and could be used in a quarantine/hospital tank if needed What is the general consensus on the number of filters, and am I missing any obvious (or not so obvious) reasons to run two filters? Is it just overkill, or a good habit to get in to? Is my LFS giving me good advice, or just trying to sell me more equipment.
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Mar 8, 2014 01:36
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Sentinel82 posted:I'm looking for some opinions on filters, mainly how many I should use. I've got a 50g running right now with two HOB filters, which was recommended by my LFS. No live plants yet, and only a few fish so far, since the tank is still fairly new and not completely cycled yet. I'm interested in getting a canister filter, looking at the Fluval 306. The guys at my LFS are saying I should keep one of the other filters running in addition to the canister if I get one. I've just gotten back into having a tank running after about 5 years off, and have only dealt with these guys once, so I don't really know their reputation. There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to filtration.
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Mar 8, 2014 01:46
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Sentinel82 posted:I'm looking for some opinions on filters, mainly how many I should use. I've got a 50g running right now with two HOB filters, which was recommended by my LFS. No live plants yet, and only a few fish so far, since the tank is still fairly new and not completely cycled yet. I'm interested in getting a canister filter, looking at the Fluval 306. The guys at my LFS are saying I should keep one of the other filters running in addition to the canister if I get one. I've just gotten back into having a tank running after about 5 years off, and have only dealt with these guys once, so I don't really know their reputation. I have the fluval 306 and love the thing. It's easy to set up and clean. The staged filtration setup seems to work very well, and there are a multitude of options for filter media. You won't have any regrets if you use it.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:52
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I finally have the money to upgrade my 37 gallon's lighting. The tank is currently housing goldfish, but once I get a stand and light for my empty 55 gallon, I will be converting it into a planted tank and moving the goldfish into the 55. For the 37 gallon I'm torn between the Finnex Ray 2, and the Finnex Fugeray +. I really like plants, but I've never had a high maintenance setup before. I really would like to dabble in really heavily planted tanks complete with carpeting, so I'm leaning toward the Ray 2. I might build a DIY CO2 setup for it, and I use Flourish weekly for ferts. I have a timer set for 2 hours in the morning and 6 hours at night with a siesta period of 4 hours in-between. That's 8 hours per day total. I'll eventually get a Finnex light for the 55 gallon as well. Goldfish tend to destroy plants, so my thought was get a Fugeray+ for low light goldfish resistant plants for the 55 gallon, and get a Ray 2 for the 37 gallon planted tropical. Thoughts?
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Mar 8, 2014 03:46
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Should I be at all concerned my fish are not "behaving" as they should when it comes to where they're supposed to be swimming? I've got Platys and zebra danios swimming at the bottom, a rainbow shark that likes to swim near the top...my tank seems like bizarro land. They don't stay there, I guess what I'm trying to say is everyone just swims wherever in the tank. It's a large tank, so I don't think a lack of room is the issue. Just seemed strange to me since I tried to balance out my tank and no one seems to want to hang out where they're supposed to, hah.
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Mar 8, 2014 15:24
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Git Mah Belt Son posted:Should I be at all concerned my fish are not "behaving" as they should when it comes to where they're supposed to be swimming? I've got Platys and zebra danios swimming at the bottom, a rainbow shark that likes to swim near the top...my tank seems like bizarro land. White mountain minnows are supposed to be top level swimmers and surface feeders but I have a couple that will industriously scavenge the bottom too, fish are just weird.
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Mar 8, 2014 15:37
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Git Mah Belt Son posted:Should I be at all concerned my fish are not "behaving" as they should when it comes to where they're supposed to be swimming? I've got Platys and zebra danios swimming at the bottom, a rainbow shark that likes to swim near the top...my tank seems like bizarro land. I tried the same thing and got the same results. Tetras and rasboras at every level and bolivian rams that hang out near the floating plants half the time. They seem happy, so I just gave up worrying about planning.
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Mar 8, 2014 17:38
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Well it looks like the drip method worked out great for acclimating the new fish. Everyone is alive, active and happy. Other than adding more live plants and something to eat the algae, i think were in good shape.
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Mar 8, 2014 18:56
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I'm having some trouble with my pearl gouramis. I have a male and a female. They both are very skittish, hiding whenever I approach the aquarium. Whenever they do venture out, they seem almost aggressive to eachother. They sometimes do a sort of sparring circle dance with some body pecking. I've never kept them before so I wasn't sure if this was normal behavior or not. It looks like the long, whispy pelvic fin in the female might be damaged near the tips. When they aren't doing that, they stay apart. The male ususally refuses to leave the shadow of the HOB filter, while the female will hang out under the floating plants. Is this normal behavior? Should I get another female? The nitrite levels have been higher than I'd like, but I've gotten them down through daily water changes (.25ish ppm now). Ammonia is at 0. The tank is relatively new. The only other tank mates are a school of Rummy-nose tetras.
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Mar 9, 2014 02:44
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Well I was planning on getting some rather pretty apistos from my LFS yesterday. I reserved them on Wednesday and they were gorgeous. Went Saturday around 4 and everything in their tank was dead, the fish store didn't even notice. Judging by the state of the fish, some looked dead for a couple days and some for a few hours, it was an ammonia spike that probably killed them. They're getting some more in on Wednesday and I'm racing to set up a quarantine tank. I don't trust them to hold onto the fish anymore. Any tips for preventative treatment?
Eifert Posting fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Mar 9, 2014 |
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Mar 9, 2014 03:34
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Eifert Posting posted:Well I was planning on getting some rather pretty apistos from my LFS yesterday. I reserved them on Wednesday and they were gorgeous. Went Saturday around 4 and everything in their tank was dead, the fish store didn't even notice. Judging by the state of the fish, some looked dead for a couple days and some for a few hours, it was an ammonia spike that probably killed them. They're getting some more in on Wednesday and I'm racing to set up a quarantine tank. I don't trust them to hold onto the fish anymore. Any tips for preventative treatment? I usually use melafix because the LFS in my area seem to have issues with harmful bacteria causing bloat and swim bladder issues. Has anyone experienced Bolivian Rams being incredibly sensitive to CO2? Even at only one bubble a second in my 120, they turn darker and seem stressed. If I turn the CO2 off, they return to normal within minutes. I even increased surface agitation to no effect. Is this common with Rams, or just something peculiar to mine?
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Mar 9, 2014 05:38
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I need some recommendations for decent filters for a 20 gallon tank. I had a biowheel filter, but it was terrible and I hated it and it broke a few days ago. The wheel never ever spun and the intake suction was really weak no matter what I did. Currently, I have several tiny filters (for 3-5 gal tanks) in there because I haven't had time to go pick up a new filter and I'm not really sure what to get. I have a 10 gallon tank that has a top fin filter on it and it's amazing (even when it's completely gunked up with snail eggs bleghhh) so I've been thinking about getting that brand but I'm open to any better suggestions. There's a petco and a petsmart nearby as well as a small LFS that has the worst business hours ever.
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Mar 9, 2014 08:17
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candywife posted:I need some recommendations for decent filters for a 20 gallon tank. What's your price range?
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Mar 9, 2014 09:08
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I've had my 50G up and running for 2 months now and I've just finished stocking it today. Ended up with 10 Cardinal tetras 10 Rummynose tetras 3 Golden honey gourami 2 GBRs 8 reticulatus corys 1 Albino Bristlenose 1 mystery fish that I got with the Rummynose, some sort of Danio I think Up until now the Cardinals were always hiding up the back along with the corys. As soon as I put the Rummynose in they all stick around together at the front of the tank and definitely don't scare as easily. I was a bit worried that I'd have a tank full of fish I'd never see because the only fish that came out in the light were the GBRs and BN. I've only had the Rummynose for a day but I already love them, they're always active which is great for a tank in the middle of the living room. At the moment I've also got 3 L066 King Tiger plecos in there, they're probably only about 2 months old at this point and are still tiny. I'm in the process of selling my 20G and everything attached to a friend, neons and Julli corys included to give him a head start, once that's gone I'll be getting something a bit bigger for the plecos and I'll try and get them to breed. They're still very shy but one of them is starting to come out with the lights on whenever I put food in even if I'm standing next to the tank.
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Mar 9, 2014 12:31
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candywife posted:I need some recommendations for decent filters for a 20 gallon tank. AquaClear 20. 3 stage filtration that you can alter to your liking. I run my AquaClears with the sponge, some filter floss (polyfill bought in bulk for about 3 bucks) and the bio media. The sponge and the bio media last for years, and the 3 dollar bag of polyfill will be enough to last for years on an ac20 even if you swap it every water change.
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Mar 9, 2014 14:52
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 Quarantine tank. Sponges are currently in my tank. Anything I missed?
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Mar 9, 2014 15:08
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Eifert Posting posted:
Does that say gesundheit macht frei? 
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Mar 9, 2014 15:17
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Yup, wrote it backwards on the outside in dry erase so it's legible from the inside. Quarantine tanks always seemed kinda unsavory to me.
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Mar 9, 2014 15:20
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