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I only had to buy like 10 different foods but the little luminatus seem to like (or at least be capable of mouthing) the Hikari Micro Pellets and the smallest Bug Bites. I haven't found anything they go bananas for but apparently they aren't aggressive feeders in general; going to try some frozen stuff this week. Edit: I take it back, they really like tiny bits of broken up mysis. Anyway, I did have a dumb algae question: I don't seem to have any noticeable algae growing in the tank in general (I assume the freeloader Bladder Snails are cleaning some poo poo up, they've laid some eggs so I assume they are finding plenty to eat). The one exception is some black stuff growing on part of a piece of wood that is right where the strongest flow from the filter return is. I have some christmas moss that is doing well (the Fissidens fontanus I had all seemed to be dying so I pulled it before it could muck things up), and I was thinking about trying to propagate some to that spot, but if I put moss there is that actually likely to slow the algae down or would I just be dooming that patch of moss to a life of sadness and algae goop? Wallet fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Dec 18, 2021 |
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Dec 18, 2021 14:53
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| # ? May 26, 2024 00:32 |
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Picked up some new zoas from a guy on FB this weekend in what I'm sure looked like a drug deal. Pulled up to his car at a gas station and we did the exchange through our windows lol. Got them added to my zoa tree today during a water change. So much easier to glue when they are above the water line!  Also grabbed a shot of my maxima clam before relocating the frogspawn behind it 
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Dec 20, 2021 05:37
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That tank looks amazing man.
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Dec 20, 2021 05:46
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Thanks! It's been quite the journey. I almost threw in the towel a few times battling green hair algae and bryopsis over the years, but thankfully has been pretty stable for a while now. *knocks furiously on wood*
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Dec 20, 2021 05:55
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Is that a favia behind the zoa tree? Also, that maze brain. 
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Dec 20, 2021 15:56
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Bulky Bartokomous posted:Is that a favia behind the zoa tree? Also, that maze brain. That's actually a big chunk of green trumpets behind the tree there, I started with one head like 5 years ago and things have kind of escalated since then:  Gonna have to start trading some of those for other coral, they do a great job of filling out the tank on the cheap for now though. Also a quick snap of the basement fish room. 55g on the left is a temp holding cell for one of my Oscars while he recuperates, and the 29g on the rack has some odessa barbs that were a bit too rowdy in my planted tank upstairs.  And some of the frontosa in their rubbermaid lagoon 
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Dec 20, 2021 18:42
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That's quite a setup! Any issues with moisture/humidity management? Also, I want an Oscar Lagoon now. Here’s a a full tank shot from yesterday. As you can see my monti is taking over the tank.  Bulky Bartokomous fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Dec 21, 2021 |
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Dec 21, 2021 14:04
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Last weekend I decided to add some cherry shrimp to my betta tank and, well...as of Tuesday morning my betta has had a very expensive snack and I feel like a murderer. I did a lot of research ahead of time that said it should work, but I guess my guy is especially territorial. Does this pretty much guarantee that I can't put anything else in the tank with him, or are there tips/tricks that might help?
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Dec 21, 2021 15:51
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Cherry shrimp are small enough to be prey items. Amano shrimp are bigger but there's nothing to say the betta won't just bite their legs off and give them a hard time when they're moulting. I've had fish that bite the eye stalks off of snails so a betta could definitely do that. Enough people claim that they have shrimp with their betta that it must actually work sometimes; you just can't tell what your individual fish is going to be like until you try it. I think the only mistake you made here was not having a plan B in place for if the shrimp/betta cohabitation experiment fell through; ie having a second tank to safely house the shrimp. I don't think you can change the nature of your fish, just accept him for who he is and maybe consider getting a second tank if you want to safely keep other fish/shrimp. Depending on tank size and fish choice it might be possible to house him with corydoras or kuhli loaches or other small non-similar fish, and I don't think he'll see those as competition or food - I don't think he killed the shrimp over territory issues so he might not be territorial. However tank size/filtration capacity must be factored in and it could just be easier to plan and set up that second tank.
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Dec 21, 2021 16:51
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Mikey Purp posted:Last weekend I decided to add some cherry shrimp to my betta tank and, well...as of Tuesday morning my betta has had a very expensive snack and I feel like a murderer. Where did you read that this wasn't going to be the likely outcome? Betta are like the most common territorial fish, they're as big as they are in the hobby specifically because they are so territorial they have evolved to have a threat display. There are fish that are more known as assholes/will eat anything you put in front of them but Betta are pretty commonly aggressive to other fauna. VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Dec 21, 2021 |
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Dec 21, 2021 16:58
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Stoca Zola posted:Cherry shrimp are small enough to be prey items. Amano shrimp are bigger but there's nothing to say the betta won't just bite their legs off and give them a hard time when they're moulting. I've had fish that bite the eye stalks off of snails so a betta could definitely do that. Enough people claim that they have shrimp with their betta that it must actually work sometimes; you just can't tell what your individual fish is going to be like until you try it. I think the only mistake you made here was not having a plan B in place for if the shrimp/betta cohabitation experiment fell through; ie having a second tank to safely house the shrimp. I don't think you can change the nature of your fish, just accept him for who he is and maybe consider getting a second tank if you want to safely keep other fish/shrimp. Depending on tank size and fish choice it might be possible to house him with corydoras or kuhli loaches or other small non-similar fish, and I don't think he'll see those as competition or food - I don't think he killed the shrimp over territory issues so he might not be territorial. However tank size/filtration capacity must be factored in and it could just be easier to plan and set up that second tank. Yeah, it's a bummer but like you said, my mind has already started turning towards where in my house a second tank might go. The betta tank is a 9 gallon Fluval Flex which I worry might be small for corys or loaches, although maybe some pygmy corys could work? VelociBacon posted:Where did you read that this wasn't going to be the likely outcome? Betta are like the most common territorial fish, they're as big as they are in the hobby specifically because they are so territorial they have evolved to have a threat display. There are fish that are more known as assholes/will eat anything you put in front of them but Betta are pretty commonly aggressive to other fauna. Believe it or not, there are pages and pages of articles and forums about setting up a betta community tank, and several touch on different shrimp that can be introduced, including cherries. The smarter route probably would have been for me to spend 10% of what i spent on the cherries to try ghost shrimp first.
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Dec 21, 2021 20:44
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The problem with bettas and anything is you just don't know for sure until you try it because there is a lot of variation between them as individuals. I've had one that ignored anything at all on the sides/bottom and another that spent 100% of its time attacking a clown pleco until I separated them. Corys probably will be okay, but you never know. In terms of whether the tank is big enough, most hex tanks have bad surface area for bottom dwellers, but I think a small school of pygmy corydoras would be fine space wise.
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Dec 21, 2021 21:19
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Yup, even schooling fish can do that too. I hear people talk of serpai tetras being a fine community fish. But experience from 20 years ago is not really. Maybe the school was too small, but boy are they fin nippers. Never again.
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Dec 21, 2021 22:45
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Speaking of which, got the American Flagfish and it was a fin nipper. He went back to the LFS. Now I've got an itty bitty Siamese Algae Eater and everyone is happy again.
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Dec 22, 2021 02:40
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LFS here is having a meltdown. The owner chatted up one of my friends, raging that he can't find any reliable employees that know about fish. Marine, freshwater, all kinds of illnesses, breeding, tank setup. And someone who can clean tanks and do maintenance and catch fish, answer customer questions, stock shelves, run the register. OH, and take care of the reptile room as well. His last good employee went off to college. I mean, for $12 an hour, what kind of fish expert you want?
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Dec 22, 2021 14:07
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Maybe this is why my Aquaclear is so loud. Guess which driveshaft is the old one!
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Dec 23, 2021 00:49
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Bulky Bartokomous posted:Maybe this is why my Aquaclear is so loud. Could be worse. I dropped the ceramic shaft + impeller for one of my fluval canisters and the shaft hit the ground just wrong and snapped in half. Ended up having to rig up the quarantine tank for a few days to keep the bio media alive - definitely a moment I was glad to be running two filters.
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Dec 23, 2021 01:49
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https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXzn0jhJQIF/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXzf-H5pZlT/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/pepperchomp/reel/CXze3r5Jw5K/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXzdvo5J0Z6/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/pepperchomp/reel/CWb-P_GLEtT/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWb57Chj4lO/?utm_medium=copy_link Been a while since I posted figured I show my fish buddies and how they been doin.
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Dec 23, 2021 04:52
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Very nice! I am jealous of your flowerhorn, that is one gorgeous dude.
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Dec 23, 2021 05:02
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Enos Cabell posted:Very nice! I am jealous of your flowerhorn, that is one gorgeous dude. Thank you!!! Ganesh is my homie. He used to bite me like crazy but now he just rams me and wants to be pet. If I go near his pots though our little truce goes out the window. https://www.instagram.com/pepperchomp/reel/CXUs_sXpNhe/?utm_medium=copy_link
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Dec 23, 2021 06:52
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Warbadger posted:Could be worse. I dropped the ceramic shaft + impeller for one of my fluval canisters and the shaft hit the ground just wrong and snapped in half. Ended up having to rig up the quarantine tank for a few days to keep the bio media alive - definitely a moment I was glad to be running two filters. Thankfully I've been in the game long enough to have a backup for just about everything, or at least one I can cobble together out of spare parts. I guess there's at least one benefit to my packrat-ism.
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Dec 23, 2021 13:55
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 Apparently Seachem sends these to aquarium stores.
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Dec 24, 2021 03:38
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That's amazing.
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Dec 24, 2021 03:43
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That is amazing, and I also want one.
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Dec 24, 2021 04:33
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 my christmas tree this year, in the process of being decorated
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Dec 24, 2021 17:16
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HelloIAmYourHeart posted:
They could make a killing selling those to the public
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Dec 24, 2021 17:40
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Call Your Grandma posted:
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Dec 24, 2021 18:00
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I desperately want a Christmas Tree Worm rock for my reef tank. I should really start hunting for them.
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Dec 24, 2021 18:32
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Dec 26, 2021 07:33
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I don't think anything is going to not laugh at him. You can almost hear the giggling under the water.
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Dec 28, 2021 00:24
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Is there any particular reason not to just use rocks and driftwood I found on the ground outside as hardscape, instead of buying it? Is there anything special I should do to prepare them, beyond rinsing them off?
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Dec 28, 2021 08:48
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Mister Bates posted:Is there any particular reason not to just use rocks and driftwood I found on the ground outside as hardscape, instead of buying it? Is there anything special I should do to prepare them, beyond rinsing them off? The only thing I'd be concerned about is pesticides/herbicides. I ended up poisoning a bunch of fish about a year ago when I used rocks from my garden. I was pretty sure they hadn't been sprayed, and I soaked/scrubbed the hell out of them, but something nasty was on 'em. I've since used wood I gathered from the beach to great success. My understanding is saltwater driftwood is preferable since most critters from salt water won't do so hot in fresh. I've also used rocks from landscape stores rather than paying a premium from a fish store.
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Dec 28, 2021 09:08
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Mister Bates posted:Is there any particular reason not to just use rocks and driftwood I found on the ground outside as hardscape, instead of buying it? Is there anything special I should do to prepare them, beyond rinsing them off? Rocks can sometimes do weird things to water hardness, depending on the minerals. Drip some vinegar on it and see it fizzes. If it's inert, it's probably okay. Wood can contain weird organisms and funguses and stuff. Either boil it or put in the oven on a low non-fire-starting setting for a bit to sterilize it. In either case, yeah give 'em a good rinse to get rid of any residual pesticides or whatever.
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Dec 28, 2021 14:12
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Pretty much already covered, but yes, you can generally use rocks and driftwood you find yourself. The rocks need to be tested to make sure they won't mess with your PH or add iron or something else you don't want to the chemistry. Driftwood should also come from reasonably clean sources so you don't introduce a bunch of chemicals like oil or pesticide runoff to your tank. Rocks and driftwood should be treated to sanitize them before adding them to the tank. Boil or bake them to be certain they aren't carry any nasty pathogens or critters, but be careful boiling rocks as it can cause them to explode if they rapidly cool.
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Dec 28, 2021 14:54
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Boil wood and/or bake at super low temps. It's OK if wood breaks down or gets eaten. Rocks? Toss some vinegar on them. Bubbles? Bad! No bubbles? Aquarium safe.
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Dec 28, 2021 15:56
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Desert Bus posted:Boil wood and/or bake at super low temps. It's OK if wood breaks down or gets eaten. Just to be a bit of a jackass, this aragonite substrate and the oyster shells I've been putting in my tank would certainly fizz. But that's what they're in the tank for
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Dec 28, 2021 23:55
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Kind of going crazy here. There’s an oily, white film on the surface of my aquarium that builds up every day. I do my best to skim it off and I’ve been trying to eliminate potential sources but I just can’t seem to figure out what’s causing it. Best I can figure my params aren’t going crazy or anything. No ammonia, low to no nitrates/nitrates etc. I would guess there’s something breaking down in there but there’s no obvious candidates and it’s clearly not extreme enough to throw off the nitrogen cycle. There were a couple things I figured could have been a one time source but it consistently builds up so there’s clearly an active source. Any ideas here?
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Dec 29, 2021 15:42
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Do you have any surface agitation? If films are forming it's usually from a lack of movement on the surface. What filtration are you running? Any airstones?
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Dec 29, 2021 15:58
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The surface is agitated, I’ve got a fluval spec V so I’m using the built in filter. The outtake is close to the surface and ripples the water. Nevertheless, the film forms over the ripples.
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Dec 29, 2021 16:28
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Stupid question but freshwater, right? What's the stock?
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Dec 30, 2021 02:06
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