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Fingers McLongDong posted:Where do y'all like to buy your aquatic plants? The aquarium store here went out of business and Petsmart here is sometimes a bit iffy, I generally don't buy live animals from Petsmart but sometimes they have a few aquatic plant clippings. Buceplant Petcos near me also get decent selection of the basics and you can price match them down to $6.50
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Apr 18, 2023 17:04
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Petco and PetSmart in my current town have awful selection. Plants make such a big difference in an aquarium, I'm really surprised they don't sell a better selection of plants Most everything I've ordered was either on eBay, or Amazon. I ordered a couple of things from Aqualeaf Aquatics. I've heard good things about bruceplant but never ordered him them
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Apr 18, 2023 17:16
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Should I get plants and a snail at the same time or get plants first and wait for them to gunk up the tank a little for the snail?
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Apr 18, 2023 19:50
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Snails can survive pretty much anything, as can ghost shrimp. After they drop the bomb it's gonna be a three way fight between the snails, shrimp and cockroaches for supremacy Fish are pretty picky about living standards, invertebrates can survive anything short of battery acid
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Apr 18, 2023 19:59
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I would say snails and cheap shrimp are not picky, but once you start looking at the freshwater shrimp that cost over five bucks a piece, yeah they are as picky as discus if not worse.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:27
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In my experience Amanos are some of the least picky shrimp and reliably survive when even RCS died. They don't breed in fresh water so they also won't flood your tank with shrimp.
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Apr 18, 2023 20:35
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Hadlock posted:as can ghost shrimp. I had a ghost shrimp jump out of my tank I don't know how long he was sitting in a box on my floor but he's still running around inside the tank like crazy so yeah, pretty sure they're indestructible. Or they would be if they would eat the drat food I bought for them 
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Apr 18, 2023 20:40
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I was watching some video and this guy in like Michigan in January walks outside of his house over to done boxes piled up next to it and starts rooting around in a Tupperware box half full of river rocks and maybe an inch of water covering it and proceeds to root out like three blue cherry shrimp and a green one, there's a thin layer of ice and it's snowing out, like what Everything you buy today was probably raised in an aquarium but at their roots they're wild animals capable of surviving a pretty wide range of conditions at least for short periods of time Tropical fish live in basically bath water 24/7 so yeah they're gonna be a little more sensitive
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Apr 18, 2023 20:49
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Fingers McLongDong posted:Where do y'all like to buy your aquatic plants? The aquarium store here went out of business and Petsmart here is sometimes a bit iffy, I generally don't buy live animals from Petsmart but sometimes they have a few aquatic plant clippings. ive gotten lucky bamboo and amazon swords off Amazon and they were great. also check Etsy. I got chaeto for my saltwater refugium at a good price and came in good condition
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Apr 19, 2023 00:05
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Update: for some incomprehensible reason, there are no Nerite snails to be found anywhere in the Twin Cities for love or money.
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Apr 19, 2023 02:54
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I ordered mine from eBay I'll admit though, while snails are tough, mystery snails can't survive near freezing temperatures. I haven't seen my nerrite snails since Thanksgiving, but I've got more bladder snails than I can shake a stick at
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Apr 19, 2023 03:08
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Moon Slayer posted:Update: for some incomprehensible reason, there are no Nerite snails to be found anywhere in the Twin Cities for love or money. Pro tip: If you get plenty of aquarium plants (ideally the ones kept in a tank in the store, not the tissue cultures packed in plastic), you will inevitably get hitchhiker pest snails as a free bonus! Honestly the term "pest snail" is kind of a misnomer, they're good scavengers and detrivores that help break down uneaten food and fish poop and algae and stuff into more soluble nutrients that plants can take up.
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Apr 19, 2023 03:13
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Here's a silly little guide to setting up your planted tank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Y0cLec2xs Apparently, if you want plants, you need an "Asian Guy". Sorry Moon Slayer, if I can't legally send you dead and dried cannabis in the mail, I'm not going to attempt live plants and animals. ETA: like the second hand market, facebook seems to have captured the aquarium hobby group market. Unfortunately facebook local fishkeeping groups are probably the best bet for readily available aquatic plants. Also, pond supply stores, if there are any around, in the spring will have floating plants that might be ok for the aquarium. At the very least, any water hyacinth or water lettuce you get from one of those will have some duckweed and pond snails tagging along. B33rChiller fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Apr 19, 2023 |
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Apr 19, 2023 03:14
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That's good stuff, I'll take a watch when I get a chance! I'm finding that I'm actually getting a lot of enjoyment out of planning and making a little underwater diorama and the actual fish are going to be somewhat secondary to all of this. You know what I think would look cool? A model airplane, WWII era, lying on the bottom like it crashed and sunk in the ocean. I wonder if I can pull that off without poisoning the water.
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Apr 19, 2023 03:26
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Moon Slayer posted:That's good stuff, I'll take a watch when I get a chance! I'm sure there's aquarium decor like that. Like so: https://www.amazon.com/Pssopp-Aquar...587971893&psc=1
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Apr 19, 2023 03:53
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I've gotten a bit behind on my water changes. The water is still "fine" but the nitrates are getting really kind of high to the point where I can't tell since the nitrate liquid test has high levels be minor differences in shades of red. I'm also finding a few dead shrimp. Given how many I have, I don't really care that much but I don't want it to be a trend. One looked like it had the white ring of death so at least with that one I can say was probably a failed molt.
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Apr 19, 2023 06:34
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Ok Comboomer posted:Buceplant I got quite a few plants from Buce when I set up my tank and I ended up with at least four different kinds of snails from them (including trumpets and a lonely ramshorn). I've had 0 problems with the plants they sent me, and I actually got my Amanos from them as well. Moon Slayer posted:Update: for some incomprehensible reason, there are no Nerite snails to be found anywhere in the Twin Cities for love or money. Aquatic Arts ain't cheap but they usually have lots of neat nerites available.
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Apr 19, 2023 17:49
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If anyone hasn't heard yet, imgur announced they will be deleting a TON of old images that aren't linked to user accounts. I know I and others have a ton of photos in this thread, so if you don't have them backed up elsewhere this is a good time to look through your post history and save what you want. Jeffrey and Astral are working on a forums wide solution, but with the clock ticking it's probably best to be proactive.
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Apr 20, 2023 16:54
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Stoca Zola posted:Could just be shy barb syndrome, they like being in big groups and 5 is not a big group. If you add more fish over time that solo fish might come good, or it might be ill or stressed. Try turning the lights out and seeing if it behaves in a more relaxed way? Small update to this is I think it's just stress from the new home. One of them seems kind of independent and will chill on its own while the rest stay nearby each other, but they've overall been exploring a bit more the past couple days. I did a water change today and afterward they all have been moving around the tank, sticking together as a close group for safety. 
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Apr 20, 2023 18:39
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Stage 3 of preparations are complete:  His name is Dr. Snailbert. I'll run through some test strips tomorrow and Saturday but I think it might be getting time to actually put some fish in this fish tank!
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Apr 20, 2023 22:30
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 Java Fern is a solid choice, the only way those things will die is if all the water evaporates out of the tank and even then you've got a couple days grace period The snail and plants will also seed the tank with a wider variety beneficial bacteria from an established tank that's not already present in your house By Monday you should be more than ready for your first batch of fish Moon Slayer posted:His name is Dr. Snailbert.
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Apr 20, 2023 23:11
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my LFS convinced me to try pogostemon stellatus as the main background plant for one of my 20 longs and this poo poo rules, hearty recommend. It looks great and the rasboras love it. also help I can’t stop adding tanks, in four months I’ve gone from considering getting a second tank to having three in various stages of completion and two empty ones I haven’t decided what to do with yet Mister Bates fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Apr 21, 2023 |
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Apr 21, 2023 02:04
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I found a hexagon aquarium down the street from my house with water stains and stuff all over the inside. I took it home and cleaned it with vinegar and a hose, wiped it all down and didn't see any bubbles in it or anything indicating soap. I got it all set up and put a sponge filter on the hob which I had on another established tank, and put some glofish tetras in it (it's for my kid). The next morning they're all dead! What's going on??? Is it normal for them to die like that so quickly and en masse? There's a nerite snail in there too and he seems fine for now. Is this tank cursed? Also if I can't use it for an aquarium maybe it could be a terrarium, anybody got ideas on that? It's about 38 gallons.
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Apr 21, 2023 02:12
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 Moss orb acquired Edit: any recommendations on what to keep in this 10g? The 3yo kid wants some black fish so I’m thinking Moscow guppies Rated PG-34 fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Apr 21, 2023 |
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Apr 21, 2023 02:33
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Long shot, but has anyone ever redone a metal framed aquarium? I'm halfway through one and I can't figure out what chemical cuts the tar that's left over
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Apr 21, 2023 04:27
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I would start with brake cleaner and then escalate to muriatic acid wear a respirator
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Apr 21, 2023 05:54
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Long shot, but has anyone ever redone a metal framed aquarium? I'm halfway through one and I can't figure out what chemical cuts the tar that's left over Acetone maybe? Also if you're going to wear a respirator it would have to be like gas filtering which I'm guessing you aren't going to do so just do this with a lot of ventilation and a fan on you.
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Apr 21, 2023 06:28
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VelociBacon posted:Acetone maybe? Also if you're going to wear a respirator it would have to be like gas filtering which I'm guessing you aren't going to do so just do this with a lot of ventilation and a fan on you. Maybe. I've got this guy, it looks like it filters some gasses:  Maybe this plus outside? I hate doing this kind of stuff. Not sure where to look for a professional though. I got the glass out with a heat gun and a putty knife but there's a lot of residual stuff.
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Apr 21, 2023 07:01
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Maybe. I've got this guy, it looks like it filters some gasses: Honestly are you just cleaning off L bent steel? You can almost just buy new stuff for nothing so I don't get why you'd do this I guess. I don't think it's that risky to scrape some poo poo off some metal with acetone, it's not like you're doing this every day.
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Apr 21, 2023 07:41
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VelociBacon posted:Honestly are you just cleaning off L bent steel? You can almost just buy new stuff for nothing so I don't get why you'd do this I guess. Because I think they're cool
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Apr 21, 2023 07:48
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i must compose posted:I found a hexagon aquarium down the street from my house with water stains and stuff all over the inside. I took it home and cleaned it with vinegar and a hose, wiped it all down and didn't see any bubbles in it or anything indicating soap. Okay nerite is dead now too and I'm paranoid to use this tank.
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Apr 21, 2023 13:36
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i must compose posted:Okay nerite is dead now too and I'm paranoid to use this tank. Something left over in the tank chemical wise? I would toss it. or bleach it over the course of a few weeks, rinse and repeat and dry until you want to try again?
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Apr 21, 2023 14:45
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I was feeding the fish this morning and saw something small and tiny shoot out from the pygmy cory lair. It took me a few minutes of looking to try and find it, but I think my corys spawned! It was the tiniest little thing that had black vertical stripes on it. Hopefully there are more and they make it, the only other tank mates are some cardinal tetras, gold tetras, and some rasboras.
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Apr 21, 2023 15:04
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On the hex tank of death, I wonder if it was repaired with bad (mould resistant) silicone at some point in it's history? That stuff is poisonous and you can't really wash it off, you'd have to strip and reseal the tank and at that point I can understand why someone would toss a perfectly fine looking tank rather than redoing all the work. Congrats on the babies Tenchrono! My cloudy tank was almost completely clear by the following morning so I didn't bother doing an extra water change like I did last time.
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Apr 21, 2023 16:00
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I think I'm going to just toss it. I got it for my 4-year-old son kind of (that's just an excuse). Might buy one off of Facebook marketplace because there are some pretty good deals on used ones. Has anybody had any experience buying a used aquarium like that? Or anywhere else I could look for some good deals on a smaller tank for my son?
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Apr 21, 2023 17:09
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My tank came off Craigslist. 30gal with a stand for $100 Dude was keeping a reef tank in it for 20 years so it ended up being a lot of work cleaning it up, refinishing the stand, and then I had to strip and re-silicone it But it was still a hell of a deal for a few hours of work
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Apr 21, 2023 17:14
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my first tank was purchased used off Facebook, the guy was offering a '40 gallon breeder' and then I came to pick it up and it was actually a 29 it was still cheaper than a new 29 would have been and I've been using it for almost two years now with no issues, so I'm not too annoyed about it
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Apr 21, 2023 20:32
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i must compose posted:I think I'm going to just toss it. I got it for my 4-year-old son kind of (that's just an excuse). Might buy one off of Facebook marketplace because there are some pretty good deals on used ones. Has anybody had any experience buying a used aquarium like that? Or anywhere else I could look for some good deals on a smaller tank for my son? Craigslist is decent. I also had good luck posting in a local Facebook group for fish nerds saying "I'm looking for a 55 gallon tank, does anyone have one?". Some guy had two that he gave me for free, and one of them was a super thick one with no center brace
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Apr 21, 2023 20:53
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Craigslist is decent. Dang that's the dream.
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Apr 21, 2023 20:57
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So been panicking about moving the fish cross country and then "instant cycling" a tank to dump them in without killing them all. This is my current plan: 1) pack fish in bags, pack bags in some kind of sturdy box, carry on fish to plane 2) pack up all the plants in sealed plastic bags/ziplock, double bag in trash bags 3) I actually have some plastic and ceramic bio balls that have been sitting on the bottom of the pond for the last year, pack those in ziplock bags and double bag them in trash bags too. I think these will be the primary seed bacteria 3) found a sponge/bubble filter in the closet late last night, I've had that running since then. Won't be fully cycled but should have 4 days of run time to get started which is better than nothing 4) bought a bottle of the instant tank start stuff, fritz-zyme 7 it's en route to the new house 5) bought a bottle of dechlorinator also en route to new house 6) bought a pair of bubble foam sponge filters 7) called tractor supply co near my house and they have the Rubbermaid 150 gallon stock pond in stock: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rubbermaid-structural-foam-stock-tanks-150-gal-capacity-2229919 8) put bio balls, half- cycled/seeded sponge filter, aquatic plants, water lillies in checked luggage 9) fly cross country 10) don't let the fish bags leak 11) buy tank, fill with water, dechlorinate 12) wait an hour for things to settle down 13) add instant tank start stuff, plants, sponge filters 14) wait an hour for everything to kind of settle down 15) add fish and pray
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Apr 21, 2023 22:10
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