|
SocketWrench posted:That's the way my tank at work started "Oh, you put shrimp in it? Shrimp are ugly" And after a couple weeks "Where are the shrimp? Oh, look at them so, they're so cute!" My husband still calls them "creepy little underwater bugs" lol
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2022 13:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 13:01 |
|
|
Bonster posted:So very envious. I recently had to separate mine, they'd been co-existing peacefully for the last 5 years. About 2 weeks ago they started fighting out of the blue and just never stopped. Once I saw fins getting torn up I didn't want to risk letting them work it out. I ordered an acrylic divider from Amazon, and it actually looks halfway decent. Much better than the flimsy dividers that were the norm back in the 90s, that's for sure. All I can think of is that the smaller one got big enough in size that the older female saw her as a threat and in the wild would've driven him away where he could develop into a female on a new territory. They are my oldest fish. The smaller one is 5 or 6 and the bigger one is 11 or 12.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2022 14:11
|
|
|
HelloIAmYourHeart posted:My husband still calls them "creepy little underwater bugs" lol Shrimp are long gone now, now it's just the big cray and everyone comes in to try and provoke it. I've yet to see one dare to put their fingers inside though
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2022 19:00
|
|
|
SocketWrench posted:Shrimp are long gone now, now it's just the big cray and everyone comes in to try and provoke it. I've yet to see one dare to put their fingers inside though Do you work with salespeople or MBA leadership folk? The only two groups I'd expect to be such dipshits as to provoke an animal for their own amusement. e: only two groups *that aren't literal children who haven't learned empathy yet
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 08:30
|
|
|
VelociBacon posted:Do you work with salespeople or MBA leadership folk? The only two groups I'd expect to be such dipshits as to provoke an animal for their own amusement. I don't like showing people my pufferfish because the FIRST question is always, "How can I make them puff up?" followed by motioning toward the glass. I feel like I shouldn't need to remind adults not to tap on the glass, but here we are.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 08:56
|
|
|
Tbh I think that's because even some adults still just see fish as toys or objects and not things that can stress out or require care or whatever. Which is why people get so indignant when you say "probably don't put that comet goldfish in a 1 gallon vase"
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 14:16
|
|
|
I mean if lots of people think of animals in general as things, the less cuddly and cute they are, the more thing they are. Debating on adding small hermit crabs or another snail to my seastar tank. I'd love to get another brittle star but I think 3 might be pushing it for a 29 gallon.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 15:50
|
|
|
Everyone always seems really excited the first time they spot a shrimp in my tank and realize they're all over the place and they just hadn't noticed  I've never had even actual children try tapping the glass.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 16:58
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:I mean if lots of people think of animals in general as things, the less cuddly and cute they are, the more thing they are. Yeah that's always been so weird to me too. We as humans with the incredible relative cognitive faculties we enjoy don't seem to be able (on a broad scale) to dissociate the worth of an animal from its aesthetic value.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 17:21
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:I mean if lots of people think of animals in general as things, the less cuddly and cute they are, the more thing they are. I wouldn't. Hermits are jerks and I wouldn't put snipping a brittle star leg past them VelociBacon posted:Yeah that's always been so weird to me too. We as humans with the incredible relative cognitive faculties we enjoy don't seem to be able (on a broad scale) to dissociate the worth of an animal from its aesthetic value. Especially aquatic animals, or non-mammals/birds in general.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2022 18:11
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6c9zglwiEo
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2022 20:49
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NotrXcAg71Q
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2022 20:49
|
|
|
VelociBacon posted:Do you work with salespeople or MBA leadership folk? The only two groups I'd expect to be such dipshits as to provoke an animal for their own amusement. Nope, stamping shop. One is a hilo driver, the others are press operators.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 13:12
|
|
|
Schwack posted:I don't like showing people my pufferfish because the FIRST question is always, "How can I make them puff up?" followed by motioning toward the glass. I feel like I shouldn't need to remind adults not to tap on the glass, but here we are. I've had to do this multiple times with one in particular. "What? They don't have ears" Alright fucker, let's run an experiment. I'm going to strap a subwoofer to your back and play bass maxed out and we'll see just how much you enjoy that
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 13:16
|
|
|
 This is our new friend. My daughter says his name is Shine Bright
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 16:43
|
|
|
Hello Aquarium People - Hopefully this is the right place to put this, I'm hoping to get some help with a project. I haven't kept an aquarium since I was a kid and I've forgotten everything I think. My goal is to keep a number of bait fish in a freshwater tank in my garage for fishing. The plan so far is to find a small chest freezer, add filtration, aeration, etc and then put the bait fish I catch in there for later use. It'll be a small one, so probably around 20 - 25 gallons. I'll use an inkbird to keep the temperature low, but not freezing. I'll build a bucket filter with lava rocks and polyfill, etc and a pump to run it all. I can handle all the building and fabrication and whatnot, but the chemistry is where I'm lost. I don't know how to prepare the water and keep it good for the fish as I go. I know my town uses chloramine and I have some tablets to mitigate that from brewing. I can add a plant or something to help out. I've done some reading but I'm kinda lost, I really just need a step by step instruction for a dummy so that I don't end up killing all my little buddies. Should I put a light inside? UV or regular?
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 17:28
|
|
|
What kind of bait fish, and what temperature do they need? Is a chest freezer needed or can you just get a heavy duty tote? For removing chlorine and chloramines from water, I use Seachem Prime.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 17:41
|
|
|
Ghostnuke posted:Hello Aquarium People - Hopefully this is the right place to put this, I'm hoping to get some help with a project. I haven't kept an aquarium since I was a kid and I've forgotten everything I think. How long are you keeping them, how many fish at once? Warbadger fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Jul 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 18:08
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:What kind of bait fish, and what temperature do they need? Is a chest freezer needed or can you just get a heavy duty tote? Unknown, unfortunately. I've got a bait trap coming this weekend, I'm just going to toss it in and see what I get. I'll only keep the little guys that would be a good bait size. I figured a chest freezer would be good because I can easily regulate temperature and it won't just be a random tub of water on my floor. From what I've read, you can keep the water just above freezing and it slows them down enough that they don't poop and eat as much. Warbadger posted:How long are you keeping them, how many fish at once? As long as possible until needed, I suppose. Can't imagine more than a dozen or two. As always, I'll preface all of this by saying I could be completely wrong about these things. Don't yell at me if I have dumb ideas.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 18:12
|
|
|
Fish don't need light, the light is for us so we can see the fish, more than anything. Or brighter lights are to keep plants alive, if that's your thing. A dark coloured tote could work well, because it helps the fish feel more secure which reduces stress, which increases chances of survival. I think brewers use ascorbic acid to neutralise chlorine and there's no real reason it wouldn't work with fish, but something like seachem safe does the same thing without needing to be food grade, and being much more concentrated, so it might be better value for money? There are lots of products to dechlorinate water so just make sure you're using the right dosage to treat chloramine as usually that needs more than for chlorine. From the point of view of other aspects of water chemistry, as long as you are doing regular water changes (with treated water), lost minerals and hardness should be replaced when you put new water in. You will want to change something like 25-50% of the water every 1-3 weeks, depending on fish load; especially to begin with as your filter initially won't have enough beneficial bacteria to handle the ammonia the fish will produce so you'll need to manually remove that yourself until the filtration catches up. I would say aeration via air bubbles is not necessary, if you are using an above-tank sump bucket style filter, letting the water splash down into the tank will aerate it pretty well. Fish that are used to cool flowing water might appreciate a powerhead aimed towards the surface of the water as this will also assist in oxygenation. Surface movement, not bubbles, is how oxygen is dissolved into water. Think about what kind of conditions the fish are naturally from, and try to copy it; if there are no plants and rocky outcrops, the fish might appreciate a plant pot on it's side as shelter to feel secure in. But if they are from a still, weedy area, a well lit planted tote filtered by an air driven sponge filter (so there's not so much flow) might be more appropriate. I feel like for temporary fish that are going to be used for other fish's food you want to keep it fairly simple; if you are going to be catching and using fish continuously you'll potentially be bringing in sick or diseased fish, the stress of being caught could kill them, and you want to be able to see and remove dead fish as soon as possible to prevent a stinky cascade of death that will overwhelm your filter and take out all the other fish. edit to add: Biggest mistakes to make - overpopulating your fish storage device (or undersizing the fish storage receptacle), adding too many fish too quickly, undersizing your filtration, overfeeding your fish, underchanging your water. Oh and not realising there's a water softener on your house water, which is likely to generate water unsuitable for fish. Stoca Zola fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Jul 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 18:15
|
|
|
Ghostnuke posted:Unknown, unfortunately. I've got a bait trap coming this weekend, I'm just going to toss it in and see what I get. I'll only keep the little guys that would be a good bait size. I figured a chest freezer would be good because I can easily regulate temperature and it won't just be a random tub of water on my floor. From what I've read, you can keep the water just above freezing and it slows them down enough that they don't poop and eat as much. Seachem Prime will take care of the chlorine/chloramine. Next you need to maintain the oxygen level in the water by disturbing the surface. I've used the Aquarium Co op USB Nano Air Pump for a while. Cheap, small, works well for a long time, and uses USB for power so if you need to move it you can use a mobile phone charger to keep the pump running. Finally, you need to consider the build up of ammonia/nitrite/nitrates, which will matter a lot if you keep a few fish in there for a long time or a lot of fish in there for a short time. A bunch of plants can eliminate this by eating the bad stuff the fish will poop out, but you'd need natural light or an appropriate grow light shining on them to keep that going. If you go with that option surface plants are the most efficient because they can grab stuff like CO2 right out of the air, which means more photosynthesis and more fish poop eaten, faster. Plus they spread like weeds while giving the fish some cover, though coating the surface with plants creates its own problems. You could also go with something like a sponge filter + gravel substrate as many people do in aquariums if you have the time to get a beneficial bacteria colony going (this will take 2+ weeks minimum, even when adding starter bacteria) and that bacteria colony will eat the bad stuff out of the water. Or you can use chemical filtration media in a filter to absorb the ammonia, plus frequent water changes.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 18:28
|
|
|
I am 100% cool with sticking a plant in there, and I had planned to build a filter just like you said. Maybe I can put an LED light on the underside of the lid on a timer. How do I go about figuring out if the water needs changing aside from just visually? Would it be beneficial to put some lava rock on the bottom of the tank as well as in the filter? Ghostnuke fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Jul 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 20:11
|
|
|
Ghostnuke posted:I am 100% cool with sticking a plant in there, and I had planned to build a filter just like you said. Maybe I can put an LED light on the underside of the lid on a timer. How do I go about figuring out if the water needs changing aside from just visually? I use water test strips. I also get those from aquarium co op, one set for ammonia and one for nitrites/nitrates/PH/GH/chlorine. They give you a lot of test strips, you'll be using lots of them early on before the bacteria colony is fully established and things stabilize.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 20:17
|
|
|
Warbadger posted:I use water test strips. I also get those from aquarium co op, one set for ammonia and one for nitrites/nitrates/PH/GH/chlorine. They give you a lot of test strips, you'll be using lots of them early on before the bacteria colony is fully established and things stabilize. I saw a tip to cut test strips in half lengthwise then you get twice as many
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 20:26
|
|
|
All right, so I've had my new 10 gallon for a week. I have four plants, my friend brought me from the clearance section of Petco because they were basically dead. (I had covid so I couldn't go myself. I grabbed this because it was the cheapest plant fertilizer and put in a double dose. I also did a bunch of math So I could water it down with distilled water and put it in a squirt bottle so that one squirt is one week's treatment for 10 gallon.  The water got super cloudy after a day and has cleared up to crystal clear over the past few days. I have test strips but they don't test for ammonia but everything else looks good. Now that I am no longer covidy, I'm going to run to Petco and get a large Java fern or Amazon sword to give it some actual plant cover. I'm going to be leaving for 2 weeks, so I was going to give it two squirts, then put fish in when I get back. Am I doing everything right?
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 20:42
|
|
|
RodShaft posted:I'm going to be leaving for 2 weeks, so I was going to give it two squirts, then put fish in when I get back. If there’s no ammonia source in the tank the filter won’t be ready for fish (or you’ll be doing a fish-in cycle). You can try adding bottled bacteria but the only thing that will get you a filter full of established bacteria is ammonia and time. I’d recommend postponing adding fish until you’ve had time after you’ve returned from your trip to work out which method you want to use to get ammonia into your tank for the nitrogen cycle to get started. Things can go wrong fast in a smaller tank so it’s better if you’re present and observing things. Edit to add: you seem to have a micronutrient fertiliser not macro (N,P,K) which plants need. Usually your nitrogen comes from fish waste, phosphorus should be present in fish food, and potassium might be lacking. So I think your fert squirt (good way to dose it by the way) isn’t going to help your filter get started. Stoca Zola fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Jul 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 20:56
|
|
|
RodShaft posted:All right, so I've had my new 10 gallon for a week. I have four plants, my friend brought me from the clearance section of Petco because they were basically dead. (I had covid so I couldn't go myself. Amazon Sword will get WAY WAY too big, but there are smaller sword plants that can work.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 21:21
|
|
|
Stoca Zola posted:If there’s no ammonia source in the tank the filter won’t be ready for fish (or you’ll be doing a fish-in cycle). You can try adding bottled bacteria but the only thing that will get you a filter full of established bacteria is ammonia and time. So... Pee in the tank? Gross. I put some fish food in to rot to get the bacteria going. Some YouTube video told me to. I forgot to mention that. I didn't put a lot, about how much I would feed the hypothetical fish in the tank, because it didn't say how much. I assumed the tank going cloudy then clear was it doing something. Should I hold off on the bigger plant or just yolo it in? Desert Bus posted:Amazon Sword will get WAY WAY too big, but there are smaller sword plants that can work. But Java fern should be fine?
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 21:33
|
|
|
Windelov Java fern stays fairly small (and is pretty), I’ve got some standard Java fern that got to be about a foot by a foot before it died back and dropped a ton of babies. In a smaller tank, small leaved plants help maintain a sense of scale.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2022 21:48
|
|
|
RodShaft posted:So... Pee in the tank? Gross. that feels very goon appropriate, BUT if there's an Ace Hardware near you they sell a jug of pure 10% ammonia that I've used to cycle 2 tanks with from scratch and its like $10
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2022 00:39
|
|
|
The Nastier Nate posted:that feels very goon appropriate, BUT There's a specific ammonia you can get from amazon with next day shipping that is for aquariums. Dale's or something.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2022 01:25
|
|
|
Alternatively, if you know somebody with an aquarium or have a good local fish shop - get yourself some seasoned filter media. When I set up my 10G I just transferred a small bag of filter media from my 75G tank filters over and ta-da! No more ammonia.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2022 01:42
|
|
|
Some idiot on a local Facebook page with their full legal name and where they live and work, posted pics of illegal animals they have. When I pointed it out, people were quick to claim that "freshwater lobster" are legal. Despite those animals not existing. Crayfish/crawdads/water bugs/loving Cherax do. And our local game and fish dept has, in the past, fined people for this poo poo. And, you know, gone to their homes and nuked their tanks. But no biggie. It's like the people who post pics of their drug stash online.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2022 18:08
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:Some idiot on a local Facebook page with their full legal name and where they live and work, posted pics of illegal animals they have. When I pointed it out, people were quick to claim that "freshwater lobster" are legal. Despite those animals not existing. Crayfish/crawdads/water bugs/loving Cherax do. And our local game and fish dept has, in the past, fined people for this poo poo. And, you know, gone to their homes and nuked their tanks. Well, to be fair, it's possible the guy didn't know they were illegal. I didn't know red swamp crayfish were banned in MI till long after I had a few....hundred.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 00:48
|
|
|
My mollies had babies and I went against my better judgement and threw a half dozen of them into my shrimp tank so they won't get eaten and will maybe grow up someday. https://i.imgur.com/V2fxNCl.mp4
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 04:30
|
|
|
Call Your Grandma posted:My mollies had babies and I went against my better judgement and threw a half dozen of them into my shrimp tank so they won't get eaten and will maybe grow up someday. They're so cute 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 04:50
|
|
|
Call Your Grandma posted:My mollies had babies and I went against my better judgement and threw a half dozen of them into my shrimp tank so they won't get eaten and will maybe grow up someday. Enjoy your new molly tank
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 05:13
|
|
|
Stoca Zola posted:Windelov Java fern stays fairly small (and is pretty), I’ve got some standard Java fern that got to be about a foot by a foot before it died back and dropped a ton of babies. In a smaller tank, small leaved plants help maintain a sense of scale. I took this advice and got a coconut tunnel with four of these guys with a crap ton of babies with lots of roots on them.  I read I can tie these to rocks with fishing line and they'll be fine? Can I tie them to suction cups to stick them to the side so the betta has some cover up top? And speaking of babies this little guy was in there. And I've seen like 3 more.  Edit. Here's the right picture. RodShaft fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Jul 18, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 06:00
|
|
|
Looks nice! I bet a curious betta would explore under that tunnel too. Hopefully a happy java fern will drop lots of baby ferns for you (they just bud off at the leaf tips). You can tie the rhizome (the bit that grows sideways with leaves above and roots below) to pretty much anything, a piece of vertical driftwood might work but nothing wrong with a suction cup or even that leaf hammock. I had java moss growing all over my leaf hammock at one point, it was like a palm frond or something. The closer a leaf is to the light the more chance it has of growing algae on it, which isn't ideal for the plant underneath the algae but it's not the end of the world and shrimp/snails will graze on stuff like that. So that's just something to watch when you move plants higher in the water column in your tank. With java fern, the roots grow as black tough threads and it's worth making sure to keep those in check as they can tangle up fish if they get too long. In the second pic, are you looking at the wormy looking dudes on the glass? I can't tell if those are detritus worms (barrel shaped) or the bodies of hydra (one end will have 4 little tentacles), or even planaria (arrow shaped head), none of which are too much to worry about and most likely got into your tank by hitchhiking on the plants. You're going to end up with a microscopic clean up crew in your tank and you can usually tell you're overfeeding if you start seeing lots of worms on the glass.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 09:30
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 13:01 |
|
|
Stoca Zola posted:I had java moss growing all over my leaf hammock at one point, it was like a palm frond or something. I had that Christmas moss in mine and hoo boy. It started on the cholla wood I had in there and spread to the uplift tubes, then grew up to the top of the tank and took over the spray bar where it stayed half submerged but fully green from all the water.. Before long it turned the corner by the filter into a bush that the fish would fan out little hidy spots in
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2022 10:59
|
|