/aq/-aquarium general

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>>2347811
OK /aq/, I've intentionally introduced Aiptasia

leave it in or pull it out?

>>2347811
that's a big fish

>>2347813
>>2347813
>>2347813
>>2347813

>>2347527
I had a blind Betta forever ago. Fish do have a sense of smell which is how he'll find food
You're best bet is to keep him in a tank by himself and feed him in the same spot every time.
You should also tap the rim of the tank each time before doing it so he'll know food is coming.

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>>2347813
It's some kind of sunfish, may be a bluegill. They can get to pretty big sizes, sometimes 8" long, and behave kind of like cichlids that live in cold water. So not very good with tank mates that can't take a beating. Not sure why some one would keep that species though, there are better looking ones.

>>2347838
bluegills are the only thing i was able to catch in the local lakes. i always wanted to keep one but i doubt i could keep it in a 20 gallon tank, and i doubt i could put a pond deep enough in my yard to not freeze over entirely in winter.

>>2347236
I'd only recommend a betta or inverts. Small shrimp might not be seen very often in all the rocks though.

>>2347340
Most plants like a little water flow but anubias would probably be fine.

>>2347372
Green neon tetras come from water that naturally gets up to 92F in the summer.

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>>2347838
>Not sure why some one would keep that species though, there are better looking ones.
Longear sunfish are stunning when they're spawning.

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Tank

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every new fish i put in my tank dies

it's been running for about 2 months with a betta and some live plants in it. i can't tell if it's cycled or not because i never noticed a spike of ammonia or nitrites/trates and still don't. every single new fish i've put in seems to suffer 'columnaris' disease, which manifests as white patches near the mouth and the fins whitening and then shredding as if it's advanced fin rot, showing the bones of the fin. i have tried the put in the hardiest of fish. none survive more than a couple of days. i googled it extensively. i have tried bottled treatments for bacteria. i have tried increasing water changes. i have tried adding salt. i have tried salt dips. they only delay the death. i know columnaris exists in tanks normally, just like ich, and only takes stress to affect a fish. i don't understand why EVERY SINGLE FISH (around 15 casualties now) suffers from it.

except for the betta. the betta is apparently just fine. he has showed zero signs of the columnaris affecting him and acts normal. the plants are also growing fine. i don't understand what i am doing wrong or how to stop this. i've set up several smaller tanks just fine with no such issue ever arising. i used old gravel from a tank i got rid of in this new one. that gravel had not been stirred up ever, because i read it was bad for the tank to do so. i never experienced columnaris killing off fish in it. in fact that tank thrived very well

it's starting to depress me to have to euthanize so many fish or find them dead. i am considering just saying fuck it, moving my betta out of the tank into a smaller one and just using this 10 gal for something else because i don't know what to do anymore. has anyone experienced such a rough start with a new tank before like this?

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I'm upgrading my 2 lil baby musk turtles to a 40 gallon soon and I want to add a tank mate..
Is there a cichlid or armored catfish that could fare well with them? Maybe a crayfish?
I've seen you tubers keep them with all sorts of different fish but mine are quite destructive individuals. Maybe if I keep them with a ton of ghost shrimp they won't go after their tank mates... What do you suggest my buddies

>>2347858
when you say increasing water changes what are you increasing to?

>>2347858
I'd put the betta in a small temporary tank and drain the main tank to start over completely.

Or just keep one betta.

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I saw this guy today. I've been doing a lot of exploring lately trying to get inspiration for a native tank. Central Texas. I know a place to catch some fantastic looking orangebelly darters and I'm really considering them to be the main fish in there.

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ok /an/ons' I've been tasked with writing a research report about fish, Im thinking of writing about navigation of blind Mexican cave tetras.
Any stuff you want to see 'researched'?

I've got only a 20 gallon atm so nothing too big

>buy 4 cherry shrimp
>leave them in a temporary tank (which had amano and ghost shrimp molt and live)
>wake up at 5:37 AM
>2/4 of the shrimp are laying on the ground
>one of them molted
>net them all except for the really "dead" one and place them in water with prime
>place the really dead one in the main tank for hope that it lives
>in my hand belly up for about 15 minutes
>it stood up by itself
>slightly minimal work saved a life

god praise kek.

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>>2347963
the durability of killifish eggs. how long can they survive/what temperatures are the breaking point

>>2347963
why do mexicans have blind and skinny fish
why are fish usually albino in mexico

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My partner wanted to use cute fabric as the background for my tank.

>>2347963
You don't use your own tank and do experiments to write research reports... pretty sure you need to research previously published articles for those. Unless I'm just mistaken by your terminology.

>>2347975
Yeah it is actually a experimental report sorry

>>2347968
Shrimp are funny but I love them. Had a similar thing the other day

>show friend tank
>hey those shrimp are cool
>why is that one upside-down
>lightly touch him with tongs I used for planting
>immediately moves but continues to lay on back
>oh no
>he's one of my most vivid red too
>sad
>do massive water change while friend is there (doesn't mind as he thinks it's interesting to learm about it)
>shrimp still laying on back with minimal movement
>next morning
>he is walking normally again

funny little things

>>2347973
it's actually adorable

>>2347973
very cute

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My tank after cleaning out months of overgrowth and moss. Bubbles from water change

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from when it was a wee lad starting out ~ a year ago

Hello, /aq/. I have four goldfish in what is my first ever aquarium. I've had them for less than a year, and they seemed pretty well so far.

But about one or two days ago, three of them started chasing the other one, quite aggressively. I googled and it all seems to point towards mating behavior (abdomen poking and fattening of the female, although males won't stop moving so I can't see if there's white spots on the gills).

Is there any chance I'm wrong and they are fighting? If they are mating, how long until the female lays the eggs? Should I be worried about the big amount of males hurting her?

>>2347839
I believe highly active, predatory fish like even a bluegill will need at least a 55 gallon tank to himself to live long and healthily life. They say you should have 40 gallons for those big goldfish, and 40 for an Oscar. Those are slow fish that don't need to eat a lot. I guess if you do a sump, or have several external canister filters, you can have 40 Long tank for some big fish. But you will still have to do frequent water changes. I would love to have an aquarium with native fish too. Brook trout are beautiful to my eye. So are bass, bluegill, channel cats, etc.

>>2348050
Never had goldfish. There's a chick on youtube named SolidGold or something, she's super pretty, sexy voice, worth watching a bunch of videos to find out about care for your fish.
I know with guppies, they say try to have 2-3 females for each male. Some say have 5+ females for each male but then you have hundreds of fish in no time.

>>2347973
where did your friend buy this fabric

>>2347900
i was doing about 20-30% a day for awhile but then i stopped to try to give the beneficial bacteria a rest. i started changing maybe 20% when i noticed the columnaris infecting my fish but then i decided to try to let it run its course without water changing. it made no difference

>>2347901
what is the best way to start a tank over? i have never used cleaning products on my tanks. i am assuming the gravel from the old tank is to blame somehow but i don't really know a thing about it and info on columnaris is scarce.

>>2348050

if the male:female ratio is really 3:1 then you will want to keep an eye on things, and be ready to separate her if necessary. the males will relentlessly harass her. she won't get a break. they can definitely stress her to death. how old are the fish? goldfish can take a while to reach sexual maturity.

also, what size tank? what kind of goldfish? goldfish can get pretty aggressive in cramped conditions. so it could also be that maybe they've outgrown the tank a bit and are now showing abnormal behavior. they would most likely all gang up on the weakest one if that's the case, which could also account for what you're seeing.

>>2348061
>what is the best way to start a tank over?
Vinegar and hot water are the best safe cleaners, or you can let everything dry out completely (sun dry or in the oven) before reusing it.

You can use a dilute bleach solution on anything non-porous, just use a lot of water conditioner afterward (don't use it on the tank, it'll soak into the silicone).

>>2348051
No one says 40 for an Oscar. 75 minimum or 55 if you care but don't really care.

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>>2347839
I can trap these all day.

>>2348081
Hydrogen peroxide will sterilize a tank pretty well.

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Snail won't stop. Even getting his stalks snib snabbed he took the food.

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>>2348092

>>2348084
The most common min size I see for an oscar is 55, in which case a 40 isn't much worse.

Either way, 55 for a full grown oscar is shit. I agree with 75 min.

>>2348097
Because everyone doesn't realize oscars easily get 12 inches no problem. The 75 will at least ensure they can turn much easier.

I'm trying to find a light for my Fluval Spec iii. The stock one just isn't doing justice for my plants. At least I think? I'm looking at the "Fluval Mini Power Compact Lamp - 13W" and the "Tom Perch Light". I've linked them at the end here. I'm trying to make sure they won't light the tank too much for my betta and shrimp and that they're not too overpowering for my plants. I've got wisteria, anubias, anacharis and a sword.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Mini-Power-Compact-Lamp/dp/B004QSV8XK

https://www.amazon.com/KollerCraft-Perch-Light-Compact-Fluorescent-Aquarium/dp/B001XD6B24/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1491166063&sr=1-1&keywords=tom+perch+light

>>2348081
>>2348087
ok. thanks. i'll try this.

i'll move the betta temporarily to his old 5-gallon which i fortunately didn't get rid of. i also ordered some pure ammonia for cycling to make sure i do it right this time. i hope this works. it has been my dream to have a 10 gallon for a long time, i planned to put lots of nanofish in it (which i have done before but in 5 gallons.)

>>2348102
Go for the koller. 13 watts is overkill in my opinion for such a small tank with those plants. The only problem is those bulbs aren't standard screw in bulbs.

Why do people mess around with such small tanks? I feel like a 20 gallon long should be the smallest box to make for even tiny fish and shrimp. I loooove my 26 gallon. Threw away my 10g.

>>2348113
Lack of space

I was able to maintain a lot of nano-fish in heavily planted 5 gallon. It's nice to be able to enjoy an aquarium and an ecosystem even if you don't have space for a bigger tank or your landlord forbids 10g+.

Hello fellow Australians,

Where do you buy your fish/plants if you want to buy online? QLDAF and all the LFS around here are either overpriced or just aren't nice/clean.

how do i go about getting good bacteria from a filter into a new tank's filter? just scrape it off and physically put it on the new filter?

>>2348187
Take out the Biomass and put it in the new filter.

You do have a 3 stage filter.. right anon?

>>2348195
i don't know what you mean by biomass. like i said, do you just scrape it off and put it on the new filter?

>>2348195
>3 stage
My canister has 5 stages. Get out of here meme boy.

>>2348196
No. The good bacteria is on the surface of pretty much anything inside your tank. The point of the bio balls or ceramic rings or what have you is its porous nature allowing it to have heaps of that good bacteria growing on it. Don't scrape any of it, just take it out and dump it into your new filter and make sure it stays damp while moving it otherwise the good bacteria will die off.

>>2348204
mechanical, biological, chemical ???

>>2348113
i personally like planting/decorating small tanks as well but at that point, the plants are the main point of the tank with fish being an afterthought.

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Well one of my black mollies spawned unexpectedly. I saved about 10 fry in this bucket but there's 6 more cowering under the rock back in the tank

What do

>>2348314
survival of the smartest, not the fittest

>>2348016
Shrimp are weird.

>walk through display room at work to check that everything is okay
>customers admiring 200 gallon reef
>Hey there's a shrimp in the corner lying upside down
>oh no
>it's a huge 3 inch cleaner shrimp
>shrimp still kind of moving his legs a bit so I make a note to check in later
>check back in an hour and he's up and walking around like nothing happened

>>2348349
Yes yes but it does means there's something wrong.

Would it be fine fine I spot treated a large area of bba and then did a water change? It's gonna be a lot of bba. Black outs and water changes didn't work or did manual removal of leaves. Fuck me. Can't dose excel either because I have Val I'm trying to let go crazy.

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Guys, Sinbads been constipated (I hope) going on three days now. His tummy looks like he ate too much, but I haven't fed him these past three days save for two meals of cooked pea the size of his eye ball.

I can't tell if the swelling has gone down, but it hasn't gotten bigger thankfully.

I do bi-weekly water changes of about a gallon/gallon and a half and always vaccuum up any gunk on the floor. His behaviour hasn't changed either...I don't know if I have vacuumed up any of his poop these last two days, I'll try to look for it now.

I'm scared :(

>>2348338
but can't I trade survivors back to the lfs for credit on some shrimp or plants or something

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>>2348374
Its really hard to get him to hold still, but here's a top view.

I'm going to look in the pet shop today for some antibacterial or antibiotic food. I was going to get some anyway as a back up so...

>>2348376
good luck, not all LFS give credit

>>2348362
Yeah I told my coworker who was working the next day to keep an eye out. Hopefully the big guy makes it. Really like those guys.

>>2348102
Finnex

>>2348365
I read hydrogen peroxide works

>>2348047
>oh wow looks like a minimalist tank.. FUCKING HUGE POWER HEAD

>>2348424
what about that tank is minimalist

So I've got a nice low tech planted tank going and it's almost perfect aside from some plants needing to grow in.

I've got a bunch of neons and a few dwarf corydoras along with my cherry shrimp which are my favourite. I've been wondering what other relatively easy and hardy (for shrimp) shrimp I could have in there with them without crossbreeding? Even if they aren't as pretty, I just think it would be awesome to have some other little guys running around in there. Price isn't a huge issue as long as they aren't like $40 each or something.

How quickly should a nano (<5G) cycle? It's been a week. I haven't noticed a spike yet, but for about 36 hours the water clouded constantly and then suddenly went crystal clear again and parameters are stable.

Am I safe to start adding shrimp or should I just chill for another few weeks?

North Carolina here. Just bought a walmart fish trap, gonna see what I catch and throw it in my planted 75 with nothing important in it. What's the worst that could happen?

>>2347973
I actually love it. Great idea.

>>2348085
Gimme pls

>>2348464
Amano shrimp are excellent tank mates imo.

>>2348414
That's what I'm going to use. It's starting to grow on the green spot algae on my glass.

>>2348546
Not much. What's in the tank? Just don't use channel cats. You probably already know but they get big and will eat anything and everything. I use a cast net and caught an aquatic raccoon. Didn't move really unless it got too close to the power head.

>>2347973
>partner
Don't have to be afraid to be gay here m80. My girlfriend had some black clothe she used for mine.

>>2348571
Just 3 upside down catfish and a few amanos.

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Is this a good deal for my planted 75 gallon?

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/for/6036290135.html

>>2348573
I loke the clouded effect of wax paper

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Why is it that everyone wants these but don't want to buy them?

>>2348616
You could probably get a new LED light off of amazon for the same price

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Uhh

>>2348664
>>2348672

I want to buy them. I DONT want to pay $40 for overnight shipping

Neon tetras got ich when temperature dropped using a heater and changing water everyday should work?

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>>2348675
I wish my phone would post them the right way around.

Is it really $40?

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>>2348676
Why did ypu not have a heater for tetras? What size tank are you using for them?

>>2348681
depends on who you use but it's typically $35-50 for shipping though ive seen it for up to $100

and while i'd love some shrimp, that's a LOT for a handful of them

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>>2348684
Is that with a flat box rate? I haven't tried to ship anything yet.

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Still posting upside down.

>>2348693
>Is that with a flat box rate?

no idea

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>>2348704
You were about right. Depending on where at. Thats lame they have to be such jews about it.

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What kind of crayfish is this? I found it in a local pet store's goldfish tank and they said I could just have it for free since it came in with the feeders.

I put it in my 10 gallon just now which currently has nothing in it

>>2348708
Take a better picture of it in the tank. Its too difficult to tell from this.

>>2348698
>Still posting upside down.

4chan strips the exif data off of images. This also strips orientation data so all of your pics are going to do that if you post it from your phone

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>>2348711
Better?

It's only about 2 inches long

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>>2348719
Maybe a very stressed young vanilla lobster? They are a freshwater crayfish.

>>2348728
How can I help its stress? It has some white patches over it but I thought maybe it was just molting or something.

>>2348733
Lots of oxygen and optimal heat. Then a hide or two you can see into. If you can get it eating thats important. But DON'T let it sit in the water for more than a few minutes if it isn't eating right away.

>>2348736
I think it's eating? I can't really tell. Its little pincers under its face are moving around fast. But then it stops for a bit.

Also one of its legs is twisted sideways and twitching, and some other legs will twitch a bit too.

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Why is the world si cruel?

>>2348684
Bro wtf fuck I ship them priority mail with heat depending on weather for $15

>>2348742
If you do a small crop your photos won't post upside down

>>2348742
Where'd you get your fire reds from?

>>2348611
If you get sunfish your other fish will be eaten.

>>2348374
You've only fed a carnivore a vegetable for the past three days?

>>2348776
It helps with constipation and bloat

>>2348777
I've heard it can. Did you overfeed three days ago?

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>>2348784
Sorry not that anon.

Hotdog and friend

>>2348758
shipping to California? You have a store page?

I kind of want Kuhlis. Anyone know if Floramax is too sharp to keep them on?

>>2348802
No. Aquabid. Most people on Aquabid and eBay offer both expedited or priority. I do priority with shrimp and snails and they always make it fine. I don't chance it with fish but people do it done. Imperial Tropicals is you spend $45 and get free shipping.

>>2348784
No, I'm really careful with how much I feed him. AND I soak his food before feeding...

Anyone in Phoenix, AZ know where to get aquarium shit that isn't Ocean floor?

>>2348683
i live in the south so summer just ended i use a 1mx35x30 long tank, ant its alright to use a big heater for a small tank?

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Here is the mystery cray again. I have no idea what species it is after googling. Anyone have any idea?

I thought it was dead last night as I went to bed since it curled up and didn't move for like an hour. But I awoke to it wandering around eating my live plants. Hopefully it's okay.

>>2348374
the best cure for bloat is not feeding at all.

you can try feeding some pea or algae wafer but only once. stop feeding it all together. a betta can survive a month without any food. feed it only once a week until the bloat goes away and it swims normally again.

however with your betta his stomach looks normal to me. i don't know if constipation is a thing we can witness bettas experiencing. what symptoms does sinbad have?

>>2349017
Alright, I'll stop feeding. He's so dam dark it's hard to get a picture, but his stomach is just above slighty rounded, or as if he ate just a few too many pellets/flakes.

No other symptoms besides that, but I haven't had a chance to check on him today yet.

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>>2349089
there is nothing wrong with a rounded belly. my bettas get a round belly after eating a lot, but it tends to go away the next day. you should only be concerned if the betta is swimming abnormally, floating etc along with the bloat.

severe bloat like pic related should always be avoided. but if the betta have a full belly and is acting normal, do not be concerned. simply skip feeding.

i only feed my bettas once every other day or so to avoid overfeeding. feeding too much causes more problems than feeding too little. fish are designed to survive on scraps of food, being opportunistic animals.

>>2349090
Alright...I'll try fasting him for a few days and just give him, what, a single flake once a day? Or nothing?

I guess it just scares me because his stomach hasn't ever been this big before, and its always gone down by the morning....

I'm trying not to worry T_T

>>2349093
i would not feed betta pellets or flakes. personal preference. i believe the bettas benefit far more from frozen blood worms and mysis shrimp. they always refused the pellets after i brought them home and fed some of the frozen stuff so it is all i feed, alternating so they don't get the same thing every time.

people say blood worms are a treat only. so long as you feed mysis shrimp in conjunction with the worms it's fine. it mimics their natural diet much more than the pellets or flakes, which often cause bloat due to soaking up water and expanding.

>>2349093
Maybe stop feeding him tendies!

>>2349096
I've been giving him that high quality food...omega one? And blood worms. Usually a flake or two in the morning and a bloodworm later. Sometimes a bloodworm in the middle of the cay if his stomach isn't rounded.
>>2349097
Heh...the tendies are irresistible anon.

IRRESISTIBLE!

Hey i had a old berried shrimp that never really got berried like other females and when it did it had 2 egg batches i knew this because one was in ther belly sack and one was outside the shrimp but connected with some mucus and it seemed that she was stressed and then dropped the eggs, their tank was very neglected but when i started making more water changes she got berried and this happened

>>2348758
Where at and where to? Thats for lile normal ground mail, not overnight. Even 2day cost about $25 - $35.

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>>2348759
When i do that, they become more than 4mb since they are high res.

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>>2348762
I bred them from 5 individual lowgrades from my local petco that were only 1/4". I did this In roughly 6-8 months.

I have a few painted females in there too, just the fire red seem to be the stronger genetics. You can only tell the difference under a macro lense any way. Even my upgrades seem to barely reproduce in this colony.

>>2349166
From Florida to Michigan it's $15. From Florida to California it would be the same. Priority mail flat rate boxes. So far none have arrived dead.

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>>2349173
*lowgrades don't seem to reproduce.

Phones are retarded.

>>2349173
My shrimp aren't breeding at all. They're molting but no berries. My dwarf cray was berried then dropped all her eggs within a day.

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>>2349186
How often are you doing water changes? What size of water changes? I had a fee tries before i got ot right.

What species of critters do you have in the tank? Do you have pictures? Also parameters would help a bit.

>>2349182
Well, can you enlighten me on this subject. Im trying to start up an online shrimp business here in the near future. This would really help get the ball rolling.

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>>2349190
It's a 5 gallon with the shrimps. I do a Dixie cup change everyday. I don't know about the parmaseans. Lots of guppy grass, xmas moss, susswasertang, and a big chunk of driftwood.

>>2347861
Open a turtle general, there was one some time ago and it was full of turtle related advices and pictures.
I have a yellow eared slider and he eats and destroys whatever I put in his tank, so I gave up on the idea of putting fishes in it.

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>>2349215
What's the temp and basic amonia, nitrate, nitrite levels? Do you have any tester strips? Filter?

Its hard to do small tanks, im trying to specifically design easy aquascapes for nano/peco tanks right now actually.

I just recently found a bunch of shrimp breeding in my canister so i tried a 3.5 peco colony, i lost track of it for a couple days and it crashed. So its something that needs alot more maintenance than a larger tank.

What are you using when topping the tank off distilled or tap?

Its all dependent on area and water source. People with well water have usually have it easier to control parameters. RO is the most expensive way but most precisely controlled because you have to remineralize it yourself.

I personally use tap, and have city water. So i get lots of alge but thats just a small amount of work compared to dealing with tons of water.

How do you guys handle going on vacation or whatever when you're not around for a few days. Do you get someone to come over and check on your fish?

I'd like to get into aquariums but i have to go out of town for about 4 days every month and don't really know anyone close to where i live to feed and check on an aquarium for me.

>>2349235
Get a timer switch plug for your lights, get a timed feeder, then just expect a bit of algae growth. Do a 10% (just add this if it lands on normal scheduled ones) water change before leaving then do a small vacuum when you get back if you need too. Or just test the water and you should be good. The light is the most important. Fish can go a few day without food, especially if you have plants and algae they will scavenge. If you are gone for over a couple weeks or so id have someone you trust stop in and check if the fish are dead or if the feeder is empty. Thats it.

>>2349230
I'm running a sponge filter. I don't top it off because I do a small water change daily. I remove a cup and add a cup. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 20 long soon though. It's heavily planted though.

This bba is pissing me off. I've taken almost every tip and nothing. Bout to take out 20 crypts, vals, Madagascar lace, boivianus, alterna reineckii, cyperus helefri, and I think that's about it. Gonna blast it all with peroxide. Removing plants bad? I've never had a problem with crypts melting with constant moving them.

Anyone have any experience breeding convict cichlids? I just recently got a pair for my lfs and the female is a little bigger than the male and just beating up on him. He is a beautiful fish and I would hate to lose him. Any advice on how to get them to accept one another? I have plenty of hiding spots for them but they just keep fighting all the time.

How do I culture zooplankton?

I'm not looking to build an aquarium, I just have some samples of pond water and I like looking at them. How do I keep them alive?

>>2349263
Guppies of cichlids. No ones gonna want to buy the babies

>>2349266
Im not worried about selling them, if I have to im gonna give them away or sell them in bulk for like 10cents a piece, or grow them out and use them as feeders

>>2349249
Are you at least doing a 10% change weekly in a 5 gal which is 1/2 gal. Do you think you change more or less than that a week?

>>2348374
>>2348378
He doesn't even look bloated. Just normal betta shaped.

>>2348464
Amano or ghost for hardy shrimp.
You could also try some tiger shrimp (the regular ones), but they're a bit more sensitive. Not as much as crystal or be shrimp, but moreso than cherries.

>>2349284
It's about half a gallon maybe more all together. I like doing them slow instead letting things build up.

>>2349291
What are you replacing it with? Tap, distilled, or RO water?

>>2348708
>>2348719
It's just a local wild crayfish. They get into the farm troughs where the goldfish are bred sometimes.

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Why are shops so retarded not to buy these beauties? They sell better than any other shrimp in the states.

>>2349294
Tap with dechlorinator

>>2349299
Try to use prime. Its worth it.

>>2349296
Depends on the area. Where I'm from they're in demand but people can't find them locally.

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>>2349301
Thats what they tell me, but the past dispensary put a sour taste in their mouth about buying them. So its really hard to get in with shops. I almost got in with petco, but they still are dragging their toes.

>>2349300
I'm using prime

>>2349313
Only other thing it could be is temp. Or you picked a bad line of genetics from the shop.

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I have tons of these things. I also have a huge pearlweed carpet. It started as a dead bundle i almost removed.

>>2349295
But what species specifically, do you think?

I'm also posting in the invert thread, the fish it came with are from Arkansas.

>>2349321
Have a contest and let me win. I cannot find them anywhere. Everyone's always sold out. Fire reds are top tier aesthetic.

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>>2349338
Yeah, alot of my males grow up to high grade sakura theyvare just very shy and seem not to live all too long. The females are everywhere.

>>2349340
Hand em over

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>>2349286
It's hard to get a picture of him. His stomach is just slightly bigger than this pic.

I'm going to try fasting and just giving one meal once a week and keep an eye on him.

>>2349317
I bought them online

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>>2349341
How much would you pay for them? Not including the shipping.

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>>2349367
Not that great. Get a cast net. I've made simple traps to catch juvenille fish out of two liters that work the same as any other fish trap. Pic related are cheap and work great. I caught many sunfish and crayfish using them.

>>2349359
At least 4 bucks a piece.

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>>2349371
They sell in the shops near me for like 6.00 each. I don't see why they wont buy them from me. Are they not pretty enough?

>>2349385
They're pretty. Not as pretty as you though.

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>>2349347
Good news!

His belly has gone down! Not very much, but it definitely has gone down.

I'm so relieved, I was seriously going to call my vet up today and ask them if anyone there works on fish.

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>>2349387
I want to get some blue tigers to breed along side of these guys, but they are hard to get ahold of here for no good reason.

>>2349393
Next time you feed use brine shrimp because they are like fish laxatives.

>>2349393
My betta had like afoot long shit

>>2349399
Like the frozen cubes?
>>2349401
Holy hell O.o

>>2349404
I'm using omega one freeze dried brine shrimp cubes. They're fish crack.

>>2349404
Not the whole cube just a very small bit. But yeah. They help alot.

>>2348818
>Aquabid

There is your problem. That site is full of ripoffs and people dumping crap. They make up names of genetic lines but in reality its like petco tier stuff.

>LIVE BEARER ASSOCIATION GRAND CHAMPION!
>Vampire Guppy $60 for 3

It just a regular red guppy....

>>2349473
If you look more into the ad those are mostly Asians or retards importing the fish and selling them as the same thing with a higher markup.

Besides that it's pretty good and find some good deals. Though earlier some dude posted a shrimp for $300. Said he was willing to part with one male. Called it a red death shrimp. Couldn't find shit on it and the pic was shit.

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Is there a way to get hornwort not to shed so damn much? I love the look of it and I had it before but eventually got rid of it because I was tired of the carpet of dead needles.

>>2348094
I like ur shramps

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>>2348374
ooooooo i hope its fuckin dropsy m8 can't wait to see this fuck gone from our threads

>>2348787
what is the eal by hotdog?

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>>2349552
His tummy went down and he is as healthy as ever! Thank you for your concern anon! Sinbad sends good wishes and many tail-swishes your way :)

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>>2349552
>our threads

>>2348553
>>2349290
I'll check out what the store has, amano or tigers look awesome!

If tigers aren't too expensive I might give a couple of them a test run but otherwise I'll go for some amanos.

Thanks :)

>>2349567
I'm glad he turned out okay!

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>>2349602
So am I, I was so worried! But all is well with the cosmose once more.

>>2349015
I'm an aquatic specialist at petco and I get to decide who gets the free mystery Crays teehee

Ours r from Florida

Does all liquid carbon melt Val or just excel
I should've been paying attention lol sorry

>>2349399
>>2349404
If you're after the fiber content daphnia are also good.

>>2349633
I believe all liquid carbon supplements use glutaraldehyde as their active ingredient, which is what melts vals. You can email the company of the brand you're considering and ask them what their ingredients are. No guarantee they'll be forthcoming, though.

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My two betta that I've had for around a year
Top ones name is Lobster and the bottom ones name is Lawyer

>>2349641
Can I get by with iron, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and decent lighting to make dwarf hair grass carpet? Would I have to do something extra to prevent algae?

>>2349555
Just a zigzag eel.

>>2349550
Not really. There's other plants that look like it though.

>>2349551
Thanks friend

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It's so hard to get decent pics of these guys.

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>>2349550
If there is I haven't found it. Limnophila heterophylla (or "ambulia," apparently) has a kind of similar look and doesn't have needles.

PetSmart sells it in tissue culture as "purple mudwort," but it usually looks pretty bad if it's been sitting more than a couple days.

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>>2349744
this shit grows out of control, once it stops upwards it then goes outwards, shading all your other plants. wouldnt recommend unless you have a massive tank. pic related after intense trimming

>>2349753
Are you talking about Limnophila or Cabomba?

>>2349670
Pretty babies

>wake up
>red cherry shrimp is laying sideways
>shit
>suddenly see the white corpses of RCS children
>SHIT
>scooped them all up and the surviving kids into crayfish water
just ran out of ammonia test liquid too
i swear im in an ocean of inconveniences

>>2349812
rip

>>2349264
Let me Google that for you

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bioponica.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/locally-produced-fish-food-grow-your-own-plankton-and-zooplankton/amp/

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The giant vase for Sinbad came!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IuSqKyhEWW0

>>2350106
Aaaand theres bubbles in the glass....FUCK

Anybody know if it can hold water at all, or should I send it back now?

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>>2350118
Forgot the picture

>>2350119
Fine

>>2350119
Poor child gonna have to travel 30 inches to get one breath of air

>>2350128
I don't think I'm going to fill it all the way, but I was actually thinking about creating a sort of 'cave' some where on the middle level, and have it hold a pocket of air. Maybe use a bubbler to keep the air fresh.

Going to test all this without him in it first of course, but even if it can't hold a whole lot of water, even five gallons would be an improvement from his shitty 2.5

I did it an. I killed all the bba. It's all pinkish red now. It's dead. I drained shelf the tank and poured peroxide all over the affected areas instead of a syringe. It worked great. This battle may be done but war is never over.

>>2350139
/aq/ and half not shelf.

>>2350139
Nice!

>>2347811
So I ended up acquiring like 8 2-gallon goldfish bowls.

What can I do with them other than grow plants in them? I know they're far too small for most fish.

>>2350157
Shrimp; snails; quarantine area...no, maybe not the last one...

Probably make perfect praying mantis enclosures.

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Even the Angel fish think hotdog is weird.

>>2350168
don't snails have made high waste though

he would have to do a lot of water changes

get an air pump and gang valve so you can aerate all the bowls and use them to culture daphnia or start a java fern farm or something

>>2350179
Snails don't have a large bioload. If they did my tank would be a mess but every weekly test 0/0/10

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>>2350175
Oh my god, that is amazing

Jeez.

How long does it take you fellas to soak driftwood to leach tannins?

I've been soaking my current pieces for weeks with daily water changes...still producing,

>>2349613
He will die, eventually and then I shall reign

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>>2350202
John, you are already some kind of sick miracle bred some mad scientist in a fish room.

Being a goddamn zombie fish should be enough for you.

>>2350184
o

>>2350198
Just put it in your toilet tank and forget about it for a while

does this place have any good memes?

>apartment hunting
>$300 deposit for fish
>$30 monthly fee for fish
>for fish

explain this

>>2350261
what if your fish break out and they have to clean up all the water damage?

>>2350261
That's alright.

I'm renting a house that had previously been the home of crazy fucking drugdealers. When I first toured it, it had been fucking trashed. There was literal shit on the floors. Garbage strewn about. Used condoms. Burns on the wall and floor. The works. I drew up an agreement with the property management that I'd rent it but only if they cleaned it to my liking.

Then they made me put down a $500 deposit for my 35 lb dog.

Also, I have been a tenant with these people for 5 years and have a completely clean record.

>>2350261
you better be allowed to have tanks +10g otherwise that's bullshit

>>2350262
The deposit makes sense, but the monthly fee is bullshit.

>>2349404
>0.o

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>>2350318
>mf

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I set up my DIY breeder too late. I took the heater away from the fry tank because the thermostat wasn't cutting it off quickly enough and the temperature plummeted in my apartment overnight

There was one survivor

>>2349898
They're fine now, except for the children, they're all dead. I'm assuming it was because they were kept under terrible LFS water, then when I transferred they suffered from shock? The adults molt completely fine aside from laying sideways.

>see adult shrimp on it's back
>FUCK
>poke at it, turns out it was just hanging on some moss
it's so dumb, i check on them every hour to see what stupid shit they're doing

Anyone got a super detailed guide to cycling? I understand the nitrogen cycle just fine, but i'm properly cycling my first tank and I'm unsure if i'm doing everything like I should be. I don't do too well without obnoxiously detailed and specific instructions.

>>2350261
The monthly fee is bullshit
When I moved into the place i'm in, I asked about their fish policy and they didn't have One so they said I could have anything I could fit through the door

>the fools

>>2347812
Kill it with fire! Or kalk

So I tested 2 brands of test strips compared to API liquid master kit. Aqueons were fucking trash and tetras were spot on.

>>2350341
at least he'll be strong? ; ;

>>2347811
I like how the background looks like a horizon sunrise or set and the plants make it look like trees.

I almost forgot I had a stripe Raphael catfish till I completely turned all lights out then used the bathroom. He got big. I always throw him some pellets every night and never see him. I only get to see his head barely poking out of the cave.

I'm trying to choose between 5 neon tetras and a betta for my Aquarium. I have a 20L but I have a bunch of stuff in it so it's around 12-14 gallons. Is, worst case scenario, 12 gallons enough for neon tetras for their entire life, or am I better off going for a betta?

>>2350381
Gallons is important but the foot print is more important. 20 long is fine.

>>2350383
True. Do you happen to know around how much stress it'll put on the tank? I used to have a goldfish in there but he recently passed away. Is the amount of shit equal to one goldfish is basically what I'm asking, lol.

>>2350363
I've noticed that the Tetra strip tests for nitrate and nitrite come out very nearly the same as the API liquid test, but the Tetra ammonia test is completely inaccurate.

>>2350385
Are you the anon with the 15 year old goldfish?

One goldfish wotth of shit is approximately equal to 100,000 neon tetras.

>>2350390
No, sadly this one was only 10 months. I learned a lot through him though. That number seems, large? Whatever I'll take it. I had to clean a lot out for my goldfish so hopefully taking care of these guys won't be too difficult.

>>2350395
Goldfish are filthy and neons are very clean as far as fish go.
You could easily have a dozen or more neon in a 20 along with the betta, but it's good to do things gradually.

>>2350396
Are they? The tetras I mean. Huh! Neato! Yeah I've been keeping fish off and on for over a year but they were goldfish. I'm trying to smooth myself into this, making a lot of hopefully small mistakes.

>>2350385
not much, rough estimate think about the total volume(LxWxH) of the goldfish vs the tetras

>>2350398
Fair enough I guess. Thanks for the tip!

Anyone know a site that ships plants/fish in plain, unmarked boxes?

Tanks arent allowed in my apartment and I dont want to risk my landlord seeing a box outside my door that says something like AQUARIUM PLANTS on it.

>>2350514
Your best bet is to contact places you already know of and see if they could do discreet shipping for you.

>>2348085
it looks like its holding its breath

>>2350568
Story time. He was trapped in a fish trap along with a massive crayfish for over a year. The owner left the trap and forgot about it till I came over. Fish was too big to go through the hole.

>>2350514
>>2350557
Legally they have to write it on the box.

Got my vals all huge and taken over my tank like I wanted and dreamed of. H202 killer them.

>>2350604
It's taken months.

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Cray update. Someone IDed it as a marbled cray and I'm guessing that's correct. The color is starting to fill in as she seems less stressed.

She's doing fine and eating anything I put in the tank for her, algae wafers and bloodworms and mysis shrimp. I plan to give a cucumber or watermelon sometime.

>>2350629
If it is then it's also known as the cloning crayfish

>>2350514
They probably have to mark that there are live plants and fish, it also signals the post office that they need to handle the boxes accordingly. Probably best to see if the post office can either hold your package or have it sent to a friend's.

>>2350739
They legally have to make the packages

>>2350740
Mark*

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Hey guys I've had this problem with my aquarium for a long time and I wanted to know what it is and more importantly how to fix it

>>2350767
Looks like your typical buildup of minerals and proteins and stuff from the water surface. Not really any way to stop it unless you stop giving your fish food. Just wipe it off.

>>2350629
>that's a marbled cray
That's... peculiar. It doesn't look like mine, despite having a brownish color at a small age. Her children are whitish to completely blue, so I suppose you may be right.
They can survive in the most inane conditions, even the most retarded thing you can do, they will shrug it off. Don't pour bleach on purpose though.

>>2350778
Yeah, I "recused" it from a feeder goldfish tank. The employees said they were just going to put it in the freezer since they can't sell them but since I'm a regular they let me have it.

>>2350785
*rescued

But yah I assume it's discolored because of stress.

How do I save my quickly melting vals? I waited so long for them to get going.

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>>2347811

Hey guys, I'm back.

Been doing fairly well so far with this tank, however my Danio decided to eat the Betta as assumed. That really ticked me off, however he was quite old and I wasn't expecting much more from him as he was beginning to show signs that his life was coming to an end (4+ yrs old, slowly eating, and moving around despite having a nice set of scales, clean gils, and eyes).
I decided in last attempt to get a small school of guppies, since they're quick, and in larger numbers than the Danio. So far, a week in and the Danio haven't even bothered the guppies.

The friend who also help me set this all up gave me a clipping of Hornwort, and a Cory. The hornwort has been really taking over the tank (which I want since I want to get rid of the horrendous fake plants as you all advised).


Thanks again /an/

Here's an update photo.
Tank is scaped very poorly right now because after adding all the new guys and hornwort, I didn't want to stress them more by rearranging things. Waiting for the hornwort to explode so I can just take out all the fake plants.

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

>>2350629
It doesn't look like a marbled cray, and those shouldn't be just hanging out in the wild. If it gets pregnant on its own I guess you'll know.

>El Niño fern
How's that working for you?

>>2350857
Never heard of that common name. Petco sold as Asian water fern and grow great.

>>2350857
Are you the same person who has said this before? That the El Niño fern is not aquatic and dies easily?

Like anon above said it's sold at Petco as an "Asian waterfern" and they do grow great. It's the only thing I put in the tank who's leaves didn't drop off immediately and start to regrow, it just stayed the same.

I have one in another tank that has been growing steadily for about a year.

/AQG/
I GOT BAMBOO SHRIMP
THESE THINGS ARE FUCKIN AWESOME
>walk into fish store just because I was on that side of town and had time to kill
>didnt really expect to see anything interesting
>BAMBOO
>MOTHERFUCKING
>SHRIMP
>10 dollars a pop but I dont care
>purchase 3, all they had
YEEEEAAA BUDDY

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>>2350857
>>2350778
Here's another pic. She is starting to turn brownish.

If you have any other ideas on species I would like to hear. Really curious.

>>2350884
>BAMBOO SHRIMP
>$10
I'm jealous

>>2350890
feels good to live in murica :^)

On the subject of Bamboo Shrimp, I'm planning on attempting to breed them, and keeping a huge amounts of notes on them. Where should I post my findings and research? Any recommendations?

>>2350788
>discolored because of stress
I don't really doubt that, but it seems like a natural discoloration, have you fed it anything? My marbled cray is brown with blue claws, though I've seen other crayfish with completely blue carapaces.

>>2350888
I would like to second guess dwarf crayfish, but with the size of those claws I for sure, guarantee that it's a marbled cray. Should wait until it's shell pattern develops so that we could identify it more clearly, also- give us a note if it has eggs, they can carry eggs at such a young age, approx. 6~ months.

>>2350802
This is a mess. I actually liked your fake plants, the positioning was great, hopefully you'll have intricate ideas on which plant to use!

>>2350906
So far I have fed her the Hikari algae wafers, some frozen bloodworms, and frozen mysis shrimp. She ate all of them with gusto and I think was nibbling on some of my live plants.

I will take more pics if she changes colors again/molts.

>>2350906
Dwarf crays don't get that big.

Anyone good with cycling wanna help me out here?

I have a betta in a 20 gallon. I don't think this 20 gallon is cycling even though I'm trying to put excess food in it (the betta won't touch fish flakes so he doesn't eat them). Over the span of 3 months I have tested the water and everything reads 0. The water smells a bit odd. Not bacteria-y and stinky like with a usual cycle, but not 'clean' like with a cycled tank.

Is it going to cycle itself or should I add ammonia? Is that dangerous to the betta? I wanted to do a fishless cycle but I got the betta before knowing about fishless. And I don't really have anything to keep the betta in for a month as I add ammonia myself. TLDR will it ever cycle itself, what should I do?

>>2350916
>implying
only a banana for scale can settle this dispute

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>>2350921
>everything reads 0
literally fucking battery acid

>>2350921
Try some of that API Quick Start.

Honestly not trying to shill, I've just had prettygood luck with it. Saved my cherry shrimps a few times before I knew what the hell I was doing.

>>2349370
/herp/ here. thinking about using these for amphibians. have you caught any with them?

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Rate my aquarium /an/

This dude is the coolest fish ever though. I would've never thought a gar of all things would make such a good captive fish, but here we are.

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One of my beta fish's fins has shrunk smaller than the other. What do

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Hey /an/ I have a 40 gal tank just laying around and wanted to turn it into a salt water tank. Now I went to a small petstore and found out about cowfish. They look pretty cool but they get fucking huge, I've heard camel cowfish stay small and they look cute so should I try for that instead? Also anyone own/owned a cowfish, ehat was your experience with it?

>>2350957
Just fish and crayfish. Leave em out and check em in the morning.

>>2350928
My dwarfs only get to be about 1.5 inches. They are native though.

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>>2350629

>>2348187
It would be good to know what your setup is, what you are colonizing, and other structures in the tank. I am assuming fresh water in which case a use filter cartridge/filter floss can be added to the new setup, use the old water to full the new system, use the decorations in the old system in the new system, etc etc etc...

Whatchu got mang?

>>2348378
Peas and garlic can help bloat.

>>2349263
It's just establishing the pecking order my man. In most breeding colonies you want more at least 2 females to 1 male at the most 4-5 females to 1 male. The 1 on 1 relationship is going to create a hyper alpha fish that will destroy the current and future tank mates.

>>2350930
Okay, I'll get some of that. I used it before but I think I did too many water changes or something and now it's all gone.

I don't know how many are too many, and how few are too few, when everything is zero.

>>2351022
My dad had a cowfish. I don't know what specific one it was but it was in his like 75-ish tank and it lived many years. It was definitely not anywhere near 20 inches or even 10 inches in length.

just noticed my snail died. Nothing left but an empty shell

RIP Solaire. You were a great little fucker

>>2351022
camel cows grow to about a foot and need a minimum of 200 gallons. Longhorns are slightly larger.

both types are poisonous and when they're stressed will poison the entire tank killing everything including themselves. They're extremely aggressive, particularly towards other cowfish, boxfish, or puffers. Other than that they're not particularly difficult to keep.

>>2351022
their food costs a lot more than yours does.

>>2351115
I'm the anon who's dad had a cow fish. He had a puffer too. I don't remember them ever bothering each other, the cowfish just kind of hung out and the puffer was more concerned with following anyone who approached the tank hoping for food.

Like obviously that anon should do their research but as someone who saw this thing in action it's not quite as bad a second you're making it sound.

>>2351117
It's not unusual for some individual fish not to act like most do. It also depends a lot on the size of the fish and the size of the tank. But usually they don't get along.

I've never tried a cowfish but I've had puffers kill each other before. It's a risk any time you're keeping large predators.

>>2351119
Like the retard on YouTube who kept a smaller silver Arowana with a vampire tetra and it got gobbled up and he thought it was funny.

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>>2351117
As another example I had an undulated trigger in a community tank for 8 years. He never killed anyone. They're supposedly the most aggressive marine fish you can buy, there's tons of horror stories about them decimating entire tanks full of fish.

each fish is an individual. Some are weird. But I would never tell someone else to stick an undulated trigger in a tank full of other fish just because I found one that would put up with it.

>>2350921
Definitely do not add ammonia to a tank with fish in it. Ammonia is very toxic to fish, the point of a fishless cycle is to avoid exposing fish to ammonia.
fish food will break down into ammonia and fish will produce ammonia, so the cycle will start itself
A cycled tank should read 0 ammonia and nitrite, but you should have some nitrates.
after 3 months it should be cycled, if you cant read any nitrates either then either your test kit is bad, or you aren't doing the test correctly.

>>2351121
You see that a lot with young predator keepers. I used to be like that with a RBP that I live fed.

I still keep predatory fish but I don't feed live unless I'm weaning a wild fish onto a captive diet. And I try to make sure my animals don't eat each other. Usually I'm successful.

>>2351125
You're right but I think the dude had too much money and didn't give a shit

>>2351126
ah. I didn't catch that angle. Neither of those fish is particularly expensive compared to a lot of marine predators.

It's always the cheap fish killing the more expensive one, it seems. I had a $30 puffer that killed and ate about $400 worth of angels. And angels are notorious for eating the eyes out of sharks.

So my koi tore my anubias apart. One in particular only has one leaf left. Moved the poor things into my spare 10 gallon to eventually recover

These were young, nana version anubia. Are there any tougher plants that koi wouldn't eat through? How do Amazon swords compare?

>>2351145
Buy them moss stones

Thanks for the responses guys

>>2351091
Was it a camel cowfish or maybe a helmet head? Those I heard stay relativity small.
>>2351115
I wasn't planning on getting anything else to be honest
>>2351116
I'm guessing they have a strict live diet?

>>2351202
that's genius

I was thinking of setting up a low maintenance tank at home while I'm away at school for a few months of the year. Something easy for someone else to deal with. I was thinking a planted tank with red cherry shrimp and a few otos. What I am concerned with is the supplementing of the otos and shrimp due to them all eating algae. Any better ideas or ways I can make this work? I was thinking a 10-15 gallon tank.

>>2351321
If you want your ottos to have a better chance get something like a 20 long. I never see mine eat. They won't eat green spot algae by the way. Mine have been thriving on biofilm and soft algaes. Will not touch wafers. I was scared at first but they all have fat tummies. You'll need your tank well established before you leave.

>>2351324
I think I'll have a good 2-3 months to get everything going. I have anything tank that I use water and bio material from to get the other one started. How many do you have in a 20 long? What else do you have in there?

>>2351327
I have 6 and haven't had one die in 2 years which is good. I have some black neons with them. Petco is having dollar per gallon sale so you can get a 20 long for $20.

>>2348365
Hydrogen peroxide works wonders. Blackouts did nothing for me, so I just applied the peroxide with a syringe and the stuff was gone like a week later. Plus it's cool how it'll start to fizz right after.

>>2351336
I already treated with peroxide And it killed months worth of Val growth.

>>2351330
Do you think that doing shrimp with them would be too much? Too many algae eaters in a tank? Say 20 red cherry shrimp and 5 otos.

>>2351354
Not in a 20 long. Especially if you're supplementing the shrimp with actual shrimp food.

>>2351355
What do you use as lighting in your tank? I see some relatively cheap led lights like the longer beamsworks. Or would a usual hood T8 be fine. I don't plan on supplementing CO2 so I don't want something too powerful.

>>2351439
T8 is fine for low maintence plants

>>2350962


You going to give him a filter and some substrate at least so everytime he moves he isn't inhaling his own shit?

>>2351450
He's going in my 40 long

>>2350862
>>2350876
I'm just getting testimonials. A lot of folks online say Bolbitis heteroclita won't grow submersed, so if people on here are having good luck with it I want to be able to take that into account in the future, and I might be interested in getting some myself.

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Ok guys, so I gave my cories away, and now I have a basically (save for a few cherry shrimp) empty ten gallon sitting at 72 F. I would like to turn it into a cherry shrimp breeding tank.
.
Where is a good place to buy cherry shrimp for relatively cheap and have them shipped properly?

Also, any good videos or sites to read up on breeding would be appreciated, but I'll be doing my own research on that as well.

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>new Platy mom dropping fry
>fry lay still for awhile then suddenly swim up
>and get sucked right into the filter

should I save them? It keeps happening

>>2350884
>10 dollars a pop but I dont care
>purchase 3, all they had

*sigh* I wish the fish I wanted were still that affordable...

>>2350921
>>2351124
>>2350930
Ya'll are retarded. if the guys tank has been setup for 3 months, there's no way in fuck its not cycled. Period. So stop overfeeding your fish dumbass. Do some water changes and clean out the gravel for your poor betta. The bacterial colonies that convert ammonia to nitrates start colonizing almost immediately. Never had a tank take longer then two weeks to cycle, and that was a clients 240 gallon saltwater that he insisted on starting with dry sand and dry rock.

>>2351022
If you really want a cowfish, get it. Just do some basic research into saltwater FOWLR tanks and run a good refugium on your system. A 40g will be fine for most any cowfish that is in a store (usually they get imported pretty small, I wouldn't buy one bigger then 3 inches) and it will do fine in that system for a year or so depending on how much you feed it. They really aren't difficult to keep healthy if they eat well. Some of mine have been pigs, some are picky as fuck and only eat live food. I've found enriched PE mysis works well, with a generous amount of garlic. Important note is to make sure their food is below the surface. Cowfish have a hard time expelling air that they swallow, and it really fucks with them after awhile

Anyone here have experience with pygmy chain sword? I only have a plain sandy substrate(tahitian moon sand) so am i correct in thinking they need root tabs like other swords do or are the different?

But i'm also wondering if i can use diy root tabs with malaysian trumpet snails

>>2351676
Average price for bamboo shrimp

Does anyone have any experience getting 'contaminant' fish from fish stores, including 'big box' stores like petsmart?

By contaminant fish, I mean the extra ones they don't order intentionally.

>>2351679
I don't get how that is possible if I get 0 readings across the board for ammonia and nitri/ates.

The liquid kit isn't expired. I shake all the bottles before using. I do the correct drop amount. I re-test. I even used the shitty strips, which actually gave me completely different readings and said everything was too high. So I don't know what to believe.

>>2351676
>*sigh*
you have to go back

>>2351807
if your tank is cycled you will have readings of 0 for ammonia and nitrite, but you should be able to read nitrate.
if after 3 months you cant read any nitrate your test kit is bad, get a new one or have someone else test your water. fish stores will usually test it for free.

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LOOK AT WHAT I HAVE CREATED!

>>2351846
That's pretty cool, although a bit tall.

>>2351848
It's ok anon, I worked around it:

>>2351839
>>2351841
>>2351843

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Soon my salvinia minima will take over the entire surface

>>2350381
>>2350381
do NOT put neon tetras in with a betta, they will nip the fuck out of its fins constantly.

>>2351588
Dude put a net on your filter or isolate the mom before she births

>>2351883
Mine went from palm sized to covering 80% of my 125's surface in about six weeks.

>>2351889
Not usually, but it does happen sometimes. You just need to have a backup plan "just in case." There are some more lax tetras and rasboras he could do instead, thougb

>>2351883
>dwarf hair grass
>under that much shade
have fun with zero growth and probably all of it dying famalam

>>2352119
Yea your right, the light is very strong and I hope the Dhg will get enough light, but I may need to clear some out.