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Prof. Banks posted:I know people here order from buceplant, but I feel like something must be wrong. I loaded a cart with 10 shrimp and a single plant and the two types of shipping listed were both over $50. I'm in the US and not in any exotic, hard to get to location. What the hell. when you ship animals you’re automatically bumped up to overnight. If you ship plants by themselves the shipping is usually <$10 it’s worth it IMO for high quality livestock, but usually I try to buy a lot of poo poo/animals/etc to make it worthwhile It’s like when I order corals from CultivatedReef, etc. A lot of times it’s better to just buy $100+ of corals at once (or wait for a sale where $150 or $200 gets you free shipping) because $49 in overnight shipping is going to be more than the cost of 1-2 inexpensive frags trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Sep 13, 2023 |
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Sep 13, 2023 05:35
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| # ? May 26, 2024 23:49 |
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Ok Comboomer posted:when you ship animals you’re automatically bumped up to overnight. Ah, everywhere else I've looked at has a like $10 bump for two day instead of straight overnight shipping. I'd like to buy high quality stuff, but $30 of neocaridina and a plant don't make sense to tack on more in shipping than the cost of the critters. Rated PG-34 posted:Try aquahuna for livestock. They ship via usps. I did look there, but they have a frankly shocking number of reviews from the last year where shrimp orders are arriving underfilled. Like where a person orders their eight pack and gets five or six. And not because of them dying in transport, but that there were just not enough shrimp sent. After the like fourth of those in just a few minutes of looking and a couple of reviews ragging on the color quality of their orange shrimp, I decided to go elsewhere. If I can't find someplace else, I'll probably hit up one of the eBay sellers. There are several with good prices and thousands of positive reviews.
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Sep 13, 2023 06:48
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We managed to avoid the worst of the Texas heat. I just don't feel right about it, so I may just wait until more fall-ly weather.
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Sep 13, 2023 13:08
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Prof. Banks posted:Ah, everywhere else I've looked at has a like $10 bump for two day instead of straight overnight shipping. I'd like to buy high quality stuff, but $30 of neocaridina and a plant don't make sense to tack on more in shipping than the cost of the critters. Yeah, I've had that happen. Once, I got 7 shrimp and 1 guppy. They were good about refunds at least.
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Sep 13, 2023 17:40
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Heat keeps killing my rotifers. I feel dumb running the AC for them, but I think I need to
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Sep 13, 2023 20:55
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This is totally weird and not sure if I've somehow trained my serpent stars that they only get food when the regular light is on, but I've noticed lately if I flip on the blue actintic light, they all panic and hide.
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Sep 13, 2023 20:57
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Just sorta soliciting general feedback or advice here: The patio pond I have is too small to safely over-winter the couple koi I have in it, I plan to expand it next year, but for now, I plan to stash them in my (unheated but protected-from-the-elements) barn. I have one of those hard drop-in liner deals available, about 150-200 gallons. Smallish but should be sufficient for a winter of torpor. I’ve got it up on a pallet with fiberglass bats stuffed in, as well as some foam board on top of that. I figure I’ll also put bats around the outside, thus insulating everything but the top. To actually add some heat to the water, aiming to keep it around 40 (I think?), I have some heating pads to put under the tub, along with a temperature controller that’ll turn them on/off as needed. Maybe it sounds complicated but so far, this is all just stuff I had on hand and it’s all convenient enough. After that, I’ll put a pump and canister filter on it, along with some aeration. For getting it all launched, I plan to fill the tub, dose it with a good amount of water from the source pond, and maybe throw a few plants in just to get the ecosystem launched. Then run it empty of fish for the next month or three. Just want to be sure it has plenty of time to establish before I move the fish in, but also I want to be sure to transfer them before torpor sets in. Anything else I should be doing or considering? e: I may well also insulate the top, but not too aggressively. Thinking maybe some of those poly balls they use on reservoirs and such, something that’ll let the water shed gasses but also maybe transparent to let some light through. I dunno. I just put a sheet of foam over most of it. Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Sep 17, 2023 |
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Sep 17, 2023 19:58
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I'd definitely insulate the sides. As you're going to be losing a lot of natural insulation the ground provides. How cold will it likely be in your area?
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Sep 17, 2023 20:58
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Oh, sides are for sure getting insulated. It should be easy enough to keep it at temp this way: it won’t be exposed to the elements, and the barn interior swings a lot less than outside due to being insulated, just not heated. This effectively puts the entire tub above the frost line. Outside, it may hit 0 for a week, but the barn lags behind by several days, so by the time it’s thinking about dropping below 20 inside, the exterior is back up. It’s a fairly ample dampening effect. So with the insulation and some heat on the water, I figure at worst I’ll get a skin of ice on the water.
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Sep 17, 2023 21:09
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I just killed 95% of my shrimp by leaving them in a trap too long. gently caress. Sometimes this hobby is too much.
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Sep 19, 2023 05:19
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We have a 20 gallon tank that currently has: -seven cherry barbs (we had six and found a baby when we came back from a trip  )-five panda cories (we were having some issues with them but I think things have settled and the current group is healthy and happy) -three jumbo Amano shrimp I'm thinking of adding another species and am wondering what would be a good option. I know 20 gallons isn't huge so I don't want anything that are large-ish but also need numbers. Maybe just some tetras? I was looking at rasboras but I guess they get pretty big. Was also considering otos because they're adorable but also we're getting some algae now that the tank is a bit more mature.
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Sep 20, 2023 20:59
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Espei and hengeli rasbora stay small and are top schoolers, but in my experience rasbora can jump when startled so your tank would need a decent lid to prevent fish jerky if there is regular noise or movement near the tank. I really like my espei though, they’ve been solid no nonsense fish that I would recommend anyone to try in a small peaceful tank. Neon green kubotai rasboras are small too but I’ve not kept them myself.
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Sep 20, 2023 21:56
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Anyone have a light recommendation? I have a 29 gal Topfin ( https://www.petsmart.com/fish/starter-kits/top-fin-essentials-aquarium-starter-kit-5262256.html ) and I’m going to start putting live plants in with my community fish. I’ve got a Java fern in there but it def needs better light and I plan to drop more in. I’m going to replace the top with some acrylic pieces so the normal extendable lights can just sit on that. Any recommendations?
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Sep 20, 2023 23:11
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I've got these nicrew guys on both my tanks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7391M2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Programmable, has a separate blue mode on its own timer, sits on the rim pretty well
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Sep 20, 2023 23:26
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z0331 posted:I'm thinking of adding another species and am wondering what would be a good option. I know 20 gallons isn't huge so Where in the water column do you want them? Ricefish are pretty active, school moderately and occupy the top half to third of the water column typically
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Sep 20, 2023 23:28
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Stoca Zola posted:Neon green kubotai rasboras are small too but I’ve not kept them myself. I've got a dozen or so in a 40 gal, they're ok. I love the color, but they're pretty boring until it's time to feed them and they turn into a pack of piranhas.
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Sep 21, 2023 13:45
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Stoca Zola posted:Espei and hengeli rasbora stay small and are top schoolers, but in my experience rasbora can jump when startled so your tank would need a decent lid to prevent fish jerky if there is regular noise or movement near the tank. I really like my espei though, they’ve been solid no nonsense fish that I would recommend anyone to try in a small peaceful tank. Neon green kubotai rasboras are small too but I’ve not kept them myself. Thanks. These seem like a good possible option. We have a full hood so I don't think that would be an issue. Hadlock posted:Where in the water column do you want them? Something that hangs out at the top would, I think, be ideal. The barbs stick mostly in the middle third. Are ricefish common? I'm not sure our local store has them.
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Sep 21, 2023 14:41
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I was going to try and sell platinum rice fish to my local store and then I went in there and he had a tank of like 50 was not expecting that medakafarm.com(?) usually has some in stock they're based out of I would say 80% of my ricefish hang out within the top 3" of the water column. They're designed mostly to eat bugs that land on the water, but they're omnivores that will eat copepods and roots
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Sep 21, 2023 19:45
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When trying to choose between medaka and Daisy’s rice fish I’ve come across conflicting info, firstly that oryzias woworae (daisy’s) must be kept at tropical temperatures (uncontested info) and then that oryzias latipes can handle a much wider range of temperatures but then, that oryzias latipes should be kept at subtropical 16-22 degrees to avoid shortening their lifespans. Any medaka keepers found that warmer temperatures are a problem? The person I know keeping them in outdoor ponds lives at a more southern (cooler) latitude to me, I know it gets fairly warm in summer and I’ve had my rosy barbs do just fine through heat waves but I’m worried about medaka getting a little boiled. And for an indoor tank, I keep most of mine at 24 so I don’t think that would be overly too warm for medaka (except where loaches are concerned, they get 28 to avoid illness).
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Sep 22, 2023 10:41
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I had a heat wave last summer where the pond temp got into the low 80s (overnight) for about five days they (oryzias latipes - i.e. japanese ricefish/medaka) were fine I have a "mercy box" large tupperware storage container where I put a bunch of my overgrown pond plants with about 9" of water on the off chance there were any eggs or fry attached to the plants as I took them out. Turns out there were over a dozen. The fry have been doing just fine with the big temperature swings (55-80F daily) and there's not much mass to the water to buffer the temp. I will squirt a gallon or two of hose water in there once a week or so to keep them swimming I have a second pond/pot of about 20 gal near my front porch it gets warm (80+F) in the summer with direct sun those fish did fine My stock pond this summer was in the high 70s/low 80s for most of july they were fine They definitely do just fine down to freezing, and seem to handle highish temps for a week or two no problem. Do you plan on keeping them in a tank? I have a bunch of juveniles the air temp next to the tank says 77F (25c) (this room has a western exposure) they seem super happy I've only been keeping medaka for a little over a year now so can't speak to their lifespan being effected. The breed so readily you'll have more than you know what to do with
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Sep 22, 2023 23:58
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Mercy box: I’m gonna steal that idea. Was wondering what to do with my masses of water hyacinth.
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Sep 23, 2023 00:40
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I have a medium sized box of air/sun dried water hyacinth I plan on using as fire starter this winter Of course the WH and WL outgrew the mercy box, I had to pull more than half of it out of the mercy box, dunked it in a third container to try and wash out any fry, before putting it on the ground. Fry are growing pretty nicely despite only have fed them some flake food maybe 10 times. I guess they are specifically designed for that kind of semi seasonal pond
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Sep 24, 2023 00:58
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If I was getting medaka I’d like to try them in a pond but it gets closer to 100 F and higher during heatwaves here so I’m worried about how a smaller pond would hold up. My big pond should withstand that heat just fine, but I’m a little concerned about the skimmer eating smaller fish like medaka. So far it hasn’t eaten my rosy barb fry (well it might have eaten some but I keep seeing the same 3 well away from the skimmer) but adult fish still end up in there and need to be rescued every now and then - they could leave but I think the shape of the inlet is a little confusing like a big wide rectangular fish trap. They hide under the inlet instead of just leaving. I’ve got a couple of tanks I want to restart with better substrate and plants so I might hold off on getting any rice fish until I get that done and then have them in a planted tank just to be sure, then once they are established I can try any overflowing population in the pond.
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Sep 25, 2023 06:04
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Got a handful of Endlers yesterday Woo, cool, very pretty Today one of them appeared to have died of whirling disease Not very cool, not about that. Hopefully it's isolated to just him and it doesn't spread to the others
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Sep 25, 2023 19:52
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I’ve got a betta in quarantine that’s had this weird scale spot since I got her. Hasn’t changed in the 12 days since. Any thoughts on what it is or if it’s a concern? Fish seems healthy and fine otherwise.   
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Sep 25, 2023 22:13
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Sockser posted:Got a handful of Endlers yesterday Just make sure your hardness is good, whirling is neurological and that can also be from electrolyte imbalance which can affect livebearers. If it’s from actual real whirling disease it’s not contagious as far as I know since it’s damage that has happened as the fish has experienced degenerative effects from a parasite it has carried since it was a fry. Another option is the endler tried to jump and knocked itself silly, a blow to the head could also cause neurological whirling. I’d actually suspect the last option more than the other two, guppies and endlers are REALLY good at jumping and just jump because they like it.
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Sep 25, 2023 22:22
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I’ve got a betta in quarantine that’s had this weird scale spot since I got her. Hasn’t changed in the 12 days since. Any thoughts on what it is or if it’s a concern? Fish seems healthy and fine otherwise. I think that might mean it's a dragon in disguise. Don't touch that scale, or your betta will become enraged and destroy you.
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Sep 26, 2023 00:53
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Keep a close eye on any treasure piles
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Sep 26, 2023 04:35
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After almost 2 years, my betta, Jeb, is still alive. The tank developed a leak 2 nights ago and luckily I was home and able to fish him out and replace the tank last night. He no longer has any fake plastic junk, it's now a totally natural tank with sponge filter, heater, black gravel (all from old tank), 2 new seiryu stones, and Christmas moss. I have more of the Christmas moss that is greener that I will add soon. The levels seem okay, but I had no spare tank so I figured it would be better to do a fish-in cycle then try to have him live in a cup for a week. Hopefully all the live plants will help, there is also a Wandering Jew plant whose roots feed from this tank. I'm using seachem and will probably be doing alot of partial changes while this cycles.
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Sep 26, 2023 13:44
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If the gravel never dried out it should still have beneficial bacteria on it, and the moss probably has some living on it too. Definitely think its kinder/less stressful to keep the fish in a tank so hopefully you are smoothly back to having a cycled tank soon. I think you shouldn't have too much trouble, a single betta isn't a huge bioload.
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Sep 26, 2023 17:19
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Not exactly an aquarium but I got so many lil fishes in the pond, they're really doing great: https://i.imgur.com/KytY5IV.gifv And some bigger ones, too. They've definitely all learned that the sound of someone stepping onto the dock means it's feeding time, which we all very much enjoy. https://i.imgur.com/vuklhOY.gifv That is all.
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Sep 26, 2023 18:22
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Bad Munki posted:Not exactly an aquarium but I got so many lil fishes in the pond, they're really doing great: I would like to see and read more please.
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Sep 26, 2023 18:45
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It's a little under half an acre. Not much but pretty nice to have. Had it for 7 years but it's always been completely swamped under duckweed. Fortunately, the duckweed kept the algae down? Before:  Duckweed so thick the kids could barely paddle through, it really was a struggle. Anyhow, this year I threw some stupidly expensive chemicals in there to kill that stuff off, and by god it actually worked. So, I stocked it with some fish. Lots of red ear sunfish, some bluegill hybrid, minnows for feedstock, a couple catfish, and a handful of other things to kickstart the ecosystem. After:  Plus one floating dock that we can detach from the shore and paddle around like a huge 10x10 raft I then pretty much ignored the thing all summer long. Never really saw much in the way of fish, until I started seeing the occasional school of fry swimming around. Once or twice a flash of something larger deeper down. Fast forward to fall, tried throwing a little floating koi food in (I have a few koi in a patio pond) and by gosh they started showing up. Only took a couple days for them to learn that people on dock == feeding time. The kids like to dangle their fingers in and get nibbled, the fish are happy to oblige. The catfish entered the pond about 6" long, one of them is easily over 12" now. High hopes for those. I don't actually know what the fry are in that first clip. Not sure if they're 2nd/3rd generation minnow feeders, or if the bigger fish are reproducing, or what. Either way, I got a lot of 'em, more than I started with. I was going to let this crowd establish over the summer and then introduce some bigger predators like bass in the fall, but I forgot to check in on my supplier's schedule and missed their fish drives. No worries, this'll give the existing population another six months to further settle in. Only issue right now is that huge mud bank you can see: it's been super dry lately, zero water entering or leaving the pond because of it. It's down like 18". Hoping we get a refill before winter. The thing is plenty deep, like 10' in the middle, but still. I keep an aerator running in the middle so that's keeping everyone alive, but at some point, we'll need some water changeover. There's also a resident kaiju, been there for a few years, although I haven't seen it all summer since clearing the duckweed. Here it is earlier in the spring: https://i.imgur.com/VPFgcNH.mp4 About 2' from tip to tip We also get lots of deer and such. There's a 3-legged coyote I often see on the camera I keep down there. Anyhow, that's the story of the outside fish, may they be fruitful and multiply.
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Sep 26, 2023 19:39
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Very interesting to see a prequel that makes sense to lake placid. No seriously, that is freaking awesome!
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Sep 26, 2023 19:45
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Bad Munki, that is great! Does the kaiju have a name?
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Sep 26, 2023 23:11
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It seems obvious that it's Gamera, unless I'm missing something 
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Sep 26, 2023 23:22
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXkMfyjo7PU
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Sep 26, 2023 23:23
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Sometimes it’s Godzilla, sometimes it’s Bowser, sometimes it’s various other things. Depends on the weather. Obviously Godzilla is a misfire but the kids don’t really know those movies, and everyone knows Godzilla. Plus, I’ve never seen this one spinning 360 around a bar.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:55
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Kappa, Blastoise, Mitch, all good names for chelonians in your life
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Sep 27, 2023 00:04
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So I think one tank of blue shrimp has Vorticella. Several blue shrimp with cloudy white around their bodies and heads like little mold clouds. Bristlenose plecos are the only other animals in the tank. I am debating about moving the plecos out and just breaking down the tank. I've been treating with prazipro and metroplex the past few weeks, managed to catch a few shrimp for salt baths, but I still find a few peeking out with the cloudy fungus mess. I have not seen this in any other tank.
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Sep 30, 2023 01:54
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