/aq/-Aquarium General

What's that?

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Is it too barren bros, or will adding more stuff make it look too cluttered?

I added the pot after Sir Wormsworth kept hiding behind the filter (The adjacent driftwood also provides another tunnel and hiding spots in conjunction with the pot!)

What should I add? I won't for a while, I don't want to stress him out. But what kind of stuff would be cool?

5g tank, heated, cycled, live plant, featuring Sir Charles Wormsworth.

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Post your crabs.

>>2409051
Tie or glue a piece of Anubias to the wood. Your betta will thank you.

>>2409055
I dont want to get banned, anon.

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Why are Cory catfish so perfect as tankmates

>Friendly
>Clean
>Won't eat each other
>Won't ruin stuff

Such good fishies

This is my Cory his name is Seath his partner is called crystal

Their amazing little fish, and they go nuts swimming around like crazy and are fun to watch.

Cory #1 fish

>>2409046
Cyanogaster noctivaga
Try reverse image searching it

>>2409096
I woke up to 4 dead cory cuz I suck at fishkeeping ;_;

Here we go guys.

>>2409135
Bro they aren't that hard. Are you just not doing water changes? We're here to help you.

What common fish are really hard to take care of?

>>2409175
I've heard ram cichlids are finicky but common in stores

>>2409169
I did a water change, ammonia was still high, so I added some ammonia reducer. When I woke up in the morning, 3 were dead. Did another water change yesterday because ammonia was still too high, went to bed and woke up to a 4th dead cory.
I went out and got some new bio-bag filters and some zeolite mix. I filled the bags and changed the filters. Should help, I hope. One of the cory had blood on him, I dont know if it was settling after death or if he was attacked in the night.

>>2409185
Yikes is it a new tank?

>>2409186
Yeah I'm dumb I've only had the tank for about 1 month now and didn't understand about cycling before I decided to get a big aquarium. I had a 10 gallon for a few months and didn't have any major problems with it.

>>2409195
Make sure the zeolite goes last is in the filter.

If you guys buy plants be careful, bought some duckweed, and some elodea for a small tank of mine


Went out for a week and had my brother check on my little fish.
His texts:
Day 2: cool snails man (I had 3 mystery snails)
Day 4: wow their breeding fast

Day 6: uh..I think your tank is infested

Day 7: all your plants died, not my fault sorry.

Came back, tank was normal from a distance. my camera flash makes it look worse than it is. And the decoration is supposed to be a green ruins of a castle, but I turned the tank so see behind it. It's not algae...

And then I saw pictured and I realized I had hundreds of times ramhorn snails, and my plants were nubs...

Not to mention the eggs literally everywhere. I scrubbed the tank out with bleach, two days later I refilled it and within a week there were snails again. Finally said fuck it and tossed it.

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>>2409253
Forgot my picture

>>2409253
>>2409258
>two days later I refilled it and within a week there were snails again
but anon ur timestamp is from today

>>2409258
>implying we believe you ramshorn snails grow that big in a week

Do you take us for fools?! Those snails are MONTHS old. And don't think I can't see that sickly green shade of the water. That's definitely not something that happens in just one week. Admit it, you were neglecting your tank for a very long period of time.

Also that shade of gravel is just nauseating. Revolting even. Aquarium keeping is clearly not for you.

Hey gents, I have a betta and maybe you can help me bring him back to a healthy state.

I guess the facts first:
-2.5 gallon tank
-Filter, heater
-cycle 1/4 to 1/3 per week, mostly depending on how much vacuuming I'm doing
-once per month change 80% or a little more water, clean all things in tank, and scrub stuff out
-every other month I clean substrate

So last time I cleaned the tank wasn't anything special except other people were in the house and active when I do it (mostly do it at nighttime or when I'm alone coincidentally). Afterwards he was fine for a bit but I noticed when I went to give him some food that night, he was chilling at the bottom but he normally knows when it's feeding time and comes to the top. He chases your finger, he bobs at the top for food at the proper time, he's very curious when things are outside the tank normally, but now he's gone into hiding at the bottom of the tank and not coming out. He came out about 2 times each the past two days to eat.

I've looked at a few sites and found one which had a little diagnosis chart and the only thing that lined up with his symptoms (lethargy, darting, not eating) but didn't have others was toxic water. I tested the water and it comes up all clean but there's a possibility someone got soap on it or on my scrubbing brush I use to clean.

If you had to give me some first aid and retard-tier instructions for how to recover and help him assuming his tank is toxic from soap what would it be?

The other thing I noticed was that yesterday and today he had these huge fucking things on the bottom of the tank that look like little fish organs. After looking at pictures and such it appears it's just huge poops, but perhaps that's related?

>>2409414
Could you be overcrowding him? You could try a Epsom salt bath of 1 tbsp per 1 gallon. Make sure it is pure Epsom salt with no oils. Put him in the water for no more than 15 minutes, then move him to a bowl of 1/4 Epsom salt water and 3/4 tank/clean water. If you see him starting to act drunk, remove him from the Epsom salt bath. This will help only if he is constipated.

>>2409421
Overfeeding not overcrowding

>>2409421
Is it similar to aquarium salt? The guy at the local pet store advised I get and use aquarium salt.

There's nothing else in the tank.

>>2409423
It might be overfeeding. In the "you're here forever" period I've been using this site I've had kids, and it's novel for them to feed him.

Since most of the flakes are lost to the bottom for me to vacuum up weekly it never seemed harmful.

I've tried the little betta pellets, since they seem an easier to be consistent amount, but he doesn't seem to be able to eat them before they sink, and I've tried soaking them first as well. he'll nibble and they'll sink.

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>>2409425
Epsom salt is what people use to soak sore feet or as a laxative drink, not the same as aquarium salt. Some types of Epsom salt have like peppermint oil and shit, so you gotta be careful to get the plain stuff.

>>2409430
Thanks, I'll go get that now and give'em a soak. So to verify:
15 min tops in salt bath of 1tbsp per gallon
then move him into another bowl with 1/4th of that water and other 3/4 of his tank water or treated water
Take him out when he's drunk?

I'm assuming he'll be a little stressed out after that, how long to keep lights off or filter off or lower feeding?

Also can you recommend a biological enhancer? The stuff that came with the tank is running out, and I need more. What I've been doing is that I have gallon jugs left over from distilled water and I fill them with tap, put water conditioner in and shake, let set 20 min, then biological enhancer, cap and put into closet until I need to change out water. Is this cool?

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I am trying to decide if this stone is going to be safe for the water chemistry in a tank I am setting up, I exposed it to vinegar and it didn't react at all, but the texture doesn't seem like slate, if it's shale is that alright?

>>2409432
If he is acting like he is drunk before the 15 minutes in the first bowl, move him to the second. Otherwise, move him after wtf minutes has passed. Don't feed him again til he starts swimming normally.
Not sure about a biological enhancer, I just use bacteria with my water changes. Not sure if a stress cost product would help or not.

>>2409442
Thanks.

>>2409436
Further research seems to indicate that very few stones pose any risk, aside from stuff super rich in calcium carbonate or that is carrying heavy metals, so I guess I am being paranoid over nothing here.

>>2409450
usually anything that's outside has been exposed to lots of water so there's not much in it that can wash out.

what you don't really want is rocks you broke apart because that exposes new surfaces which might leach stuff into the water. That said, the only stuff that's going to be a real problem is metal ore, which you're not likely to find and put in the tank. Even then copper is the most dangerous chemical you're likely to introduce, as most heavy metals aren't bioavailable, soluble, or they quickly oxidize and stop dissolving.

most rocks are fine unless you happen to be keeping a low pH tank.

>>2409444
Keep us updated!

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>tfw one of your hermits grows enough to finally move into the big shell

>>2409253
>>2409258
Embrace the endless hoards Anon.

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Iv started doing some research on aquariums and fish keeping since I want to get into it, seems like itd be nice

Just looking into some easy to care for fish thatd be good for a beginner like me, Kuhli Loaches look cool

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I'm down to three cherry shrimp out of ten, I have investigated further and it seems like the problems root from impartial molt, sometimes the head doesn't detach from the entire carapace resulting in a soft, dead orange body and a somewhat constipated head.

I heard that it's possible for them to rebound and it's just the culling stage to acclimate within my parameters, but I don't think that's a good assumption, especially when the last three are female shrimp, with one of them I assume is a really female look a like male.

On a side note, I ironically keep crayfish better than shrimp. Hopefully things get better, and for those who are struggling with problems with their tanks right now.

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>>2409586
Kuhli loaches are a good pic. You should really get a 20 gallon tank for them, especially if you want other fish with them. If you live near a PetSmart you can get a kit for $45 this weekend with the coupon posted in the last thread.
My favorite "easy beginner fish" are harlequin rasboras and cherry barbs. A single or pair of Bolivian rams would make a good centerpiece fish.
Livebearers like platies and swordtails are usually pretty easy and come in a lot of colors, but they're also fairly inbred and can be subject to a lot of unpredictable conditions.

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>>2409096
my albino cory fry

>>2409587
your not putting enough good required minerals in your tank asshat

>>2409788
>good pic
*good pick
Also, for bottom dwellers like kuhlis or cories you should have a soft substrate. Aquarium sand is okay, but playground sand is many, many times cheaper and is actually better. The only downside is that you have to wash out all the dust, which takes a long time.
If you want a plant substrate, Fluval Stratum is soft and easy to deal with.

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I wish I still had my massive tank. Full of live plants, gravel and driftwood from the creek, and native species. I had a few madtoms, crawdads, minnows, and this pumpkinseed.

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Well it's came today. Time to test it out!

>>2410021
monitoring

>>2410021
STATUS REPORT
gravel blown everywhere...CHECK
hidden debris uncovered...CHECK
plants uprooted...CHECK
fish utterly confused...CHECK
duckweed annihilation...COMPLETE

Well at least it was under $10. Maybe I can find or make a variable switch or something. I don't think I will ever leave it on unattended!

>>2410040
powerful little fuckers.

>>2409063
Cuz that will be his bachelor pad then.

>>2409181
They just need acidic water.
Like tea.
Use wood.

A real finicky fish is dwarf puffers in freshwater (sometimes only eating live snails) lots of parasites affecting these.

For saltwater, probably Dragonets.
>>2409175
99% will be too big for your apartment.
99% will die Young in your care
Choosing something solely for the difficulty is stupid. >>2409258
Should have gotten three dwarf puffers.

>>2410053
I tried to put a nylon sock over the whole thing but it slowed down so much is wasn't really doing much. I guess I could just hold my fishnet in front of it and catch a bunch of debris.

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>>2410065
>For saltwater, probably Dragonets
saltwater has way worse stuff than that.
tangs are often a problem.
butterflies range from difficult to impossible, especially the obligate coral-eaters.
Angels have a handful of obligate sponge feeders.

Then we have things like the Moorish idol that is notorious for not eating anything in captivity. There's no real "MOST DIFFICULT" fish in saltwater because a lot of them are just impossible.

>>2409455
Thanks for the advice, although you raised a concern; I mostly grabbed larger rocks, with the intent of breaking them down into smaller pieces and then hot-glueing them together into a desirable hardscape. I may go back to the source and just get a bunch of smaller samples instead, now.

>>2410080
if they're inert it won't matter. There's very little chance your broken rocks are going to harm your tank.

>>2410082
Hmmm, I went back to start working out what I want to do with the rocks, and there appears to be rusting in a few spots. Or some really packed in soil that my brush isn't scrubbing off, I tasted a tiny bit and it didn't taste like anything but dirt.

>>2410137
Iron isn't a problem in the aquarium.

stuff that's actually a problem would be copper, arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, silver.

again most of those aren't bioavailable in natural forms, and all of them are pretty rare. Of the bunch, copper is the most likely and most bioavailable. But you'd probably know if you had copper ore.

Anyone here know much about Water Spangles(Salvinia Minima)?

I have a bunch but they're throwing off runners quickly and crowding out the surface area of all of my available tanks so I put the majority of it in its own container and set it outside in the sun

It's either turning brown and slowly rotting away or its slowly turning red from all the sun. Does Salvinia even change color? A few articles claim they do but google offers no images depicting it

>>2410140
Yeah, I don't think there are or have been any copper mines in this general region, and my conditioner should be rendering most anything harmless. Gonna build some hardscape and get my water tested tomorrow and hopefully get some fish in this tank soon.

If my 40g Breeder ever crashes and all my guppies die, what should I do as an alternative to my little colony?

>>2410065
That you Nicholas?

>>2410167
choose an african lake and learn you some ciclids

>>2410172
Funny thing is my tap water is 8.0 ph on average. A Cichlid tank wouldn't be too big of a stretch.

>>2410199
I dunno how much freedom you'd have in 40 gallons, though. Stick to the smaller fish I guess?

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>visiting LFS today because I'm out of brine eggs.
>Talking with one of the workers.
>Some tardo comes in with his spawn and demands a refund.
>"We did everything you guys told us to do and his goldfish died! We want a new one or a refund!"
>LFS Guy: "Is this water from your tank sir?"
>Tardo: "Yeah."
>LFS Guy tests water.
>LFS Guy: "Sir, you didn't dechlorinate the water. There's still chlorine in here."
>Tardo looks at tardo junior.
>"Did you put the drops in like I told you when you added water?"
>Tardo junior is like 5. "Nooooooooooooo"
>LFS guy hands him a voucher for a replacement goldfish (literally feeder fish) and tells him to cycle the tank again.

Tardos and their offspring, killing goldfish one at a time.

>>2409514
I've cooked some frozen peas, cooled them, cut them into tiny pieces and fed him.

I gave him an epsom salt bath for about 30 min and he honestly didn't give a fuck. He was very happy in there to explore and such, proving to me he was still curious, etc but he was also still very nervous and would dart about and hide in the corner when I walked by.

I think I didn't use enough epsom.

So I'll watch him for the night (he's in his half-full tank) and report back if he improves but I did all that this morning after running out and grabbing epsom salt as soon as the place opened.

Is it possible to have too much calcium in the water? My mystery snails' shells are becoming cracked and discolored even though I have a piece of cuttlebone inside the tank as well as I will scrape the soft part of the bone off into the tank as flakes a few times a week. Not sure if the shell is being dissolved despite this or if it's growing or something.

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>>2410147
Salvinia will turn a brownish red color under intense light. As long as the leaves are still plump and firm they're healthy.

>google offers no images depicting it
Not great, but here you go.

>>2410204
A 40 breeder as a Tanganyikan cichlid community would be bomb af.

>>2410355
Can you test the kh?

>>2410267
you don't really need to go through all the trouble of cooking and then splitting peas. just give him a tiny bit of sinking algae wafer.

fish can tolerate a shitton of salt. i use epsom salt. like 3 tablespoons per gallon. i've used that even with corycats who apparently can't stand it but their behavior does not change and they never seem bothered by it. epsom salt is the best cure-all i have ever used, along with coppersafe, despite /aq/ screeching about how terrible both are. i never trust actual medication or "natural" meds anymore, just those two. keeps even my supposedly sensitive delicate fish in top form.

>>2408836
Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day for this coupon.

Can we put an end to this MOLLIES NEED BRACKISH and MOLLIES NEED FRESH meme

Which fucking is it?

>>2410561
The salinity of water that Mollies exist in does not affect health or longevity, unlike a lot of other brackish only and brackish capable freshwater species.

>>2410355
>>2410380
Not sure, but do snails need iodine like shrimp do? Also if the local places (petco, pet supply plus, and petsmart) all don't seem to stock iodine droplets, is there a drugstore or walmart solution for my shrimp?

>>2410565
*within reason

>>2410565
I figured as much from experience

That doesn't stop forum goons from crusading for one salinity or another though

>>2410573
Yeah, I've kept mollies for up to 4 years from fresh, all the way up to 1.010. They'll find anything to bitch about.

>>2410561
They can be in either. They do tend to get less such in brackish water, but that's simply because fewer diseases thrive in brackish water than do fresh or salt.

Guys, I want to clean the fishtank but I'm scared I might kill al the fishes If I chance the water. What's a good way of cleaning it?

>>2410610
You can use tapwater to clean but use nothing that has soap or has had soap on it unless you plan to do a power rinse.

Make sure you refill it with treated water, and I've always heard you should use some of the old tankwater to keep some of that bacteria.

To preserve the bacteria and make the cycle start again nicely I've been taught to:
Keep about 10-20% of the old water
Keep the filters wet in a small container of tank water so that the bacteria on them does not die.

It makes it easier to clean if you're regularly cycling. This is what I do:

I use a little siphon vacuum to suck up most crud out of the substrate. By the time I'm done vacuuming I've taken 20-30% of the water out. I take treated water, and I put it in the tank until full slowly, watching the thermometer to make sure it does not exceed acceptable thresholds for my fish. If it does I stop and wait a while before adding more to let the temp recover.

To make doing this weekly a breeze, I take old distilled water gallon jugs I've kept, fill them with tap water, then drop in the proper amount of water conditioner so it's safe for the fish. Then I add some biological enhancer. I've been told this stuff is optional if you're careful to keep the bacteria alive but I do it just to be safe since I use so little and it's inexpensive. Then I cap the jugs, and throw them in the closet until I need them. Then it's as simple as vacuuming into a bucket, adding water back in, and walking away.

>>2410659
Btw you only need to clean the tank once every month or every other month if you're cycling regularly. Cycling the tank is quick and easy, keeps the fish healthy, and makes cleaning the tank later easier because there is less buildup. I try to always keep my fish in the tank because it's best if you can and causes stress if you have to take them out.

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>>2409436
Got my rocks, just gotta decide how to arrange them now.

>>2410685
One of the two rocks you mentioned pretty easily dissolves sediment into the water because of it's multimineral composition. It'll have many layers and flake easily. That's the one you want to avoid, I think. I don't have experience, but I try.

>>2410691
Yeah it was shale. I think slate would be a better choice.

Can you go buy anything better? If I was doing this, it would be with PPL plastic, ceramic, PVC or compressed bricks of a safe material. I'm a stickler for safety though.

I'm sure if you run the filter on shale for three days, it'll clear the water up, but it's apparently just mud and clay so you can expect the whole rock to disappear eventually, even if it takes 10 years.

Natural material collection always fucks something up. You get bugs in your dirt, mold and disease from dead leaves, mites from rodent tank additions and all sorts of shit. I do this for plants and rodents but I'm very, very careful about it. Good luck.

>>2410685
One more thing, you have slate there mostly and I have seen tons of this in cichlid aquariums. You're on your own. Post it up later.

>>2410691
>>2410698
I live in Western PA, I believe the majority of the bedrock here is Shale, although my google adventure for a USGS survey that would give me useful information was short and troubled. The rock I intentionally broke down (the large piece to the bottom left, all the small shards, several of the mediums) had some flakes that I had to pick off, and some edges would crumble at a touch. The stone clearly has mica or quartz particles (if you turn it under a light you see the glints). The texture is pretty sandy. My intended tank inhabitants were amanos; zebra danios or a similar inexpensive, hardy, schooling minnow; and maybe a gourami or a few small catfish. I previously ran a 10G planted tank with amanos and some danios with wild rock, but that was in Arizona, where my concerns about the rocks were reduced by having lived there for two decades.

>>2410701
Yeah if you hit google it says it's mud and clay, so it's not a good idea. I live below you and these rocks dissolve in the rain. Try the slate you mentioned.

>>2410685
Just stack them in random piles. Looks good with minimal effort.

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Do you think they like the wavemaker?

Which fish looks the cutest?

>>2410712
I never found any slate, all the stone I took seems to be the same stuff (more or less). I may go back and find harder stones or give up and buy something.

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>>2410729
kissing gourami a cute

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>>2410726
look how much fun they're having!

>>2410730
Yeah just find harder stones.

Get a piece of quartz, which is 9 on moh I think, and try scratching stuff with it. The less damage from the scratch, the better, however note it will scratch everything. It's just a readily available gauge of hardness so you don't have to break or whack rocks to try them out.

Didn't think I could help with this little aquarium knowledge. Google the safest rocks to add to the tank, pH changes can surely occur and will require even more chemicals to subdue, and go hunt them. You can find almost anything where we're at. Hell, maybe even use the quartz itself, but big pieces are pretty damn hard to find.

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>>2410729
this one

>>2410735
I had access to some MASSIVE quartz or quartzite chunks in Arizona, but they had veins of various metals and minerals in them so I ultimately decided against it. I know quartz is hard, but is it resistant to pH and various chemicals? I saw a strong warning against using amethyst due to metals, which is moh 7. I already googled around a bit, which is why I was hoping I would find slate here, but no dice.

>>2410737
I don't know if it reacts with chemicals, I'm just moderately educated in minerals and wild found substrates or tank additions.

I can't tell you guys what rocks are safe in tank water or chemicals, or may harm your fish, you have to get a new guy. I never even cleaned a tank but I've been around some. Most people just use that disgusting multicolor gravel and store bought rocks.

Maybe a good option would be to go where the fish actually live and take those stream rocks? They can't be that bad if fish are already living around them. Just scrub the algae off and bake them.

>>2410737
And you can buy the slate, the reason you can't find any is exactly this, they're sold for tanks and useful for other things. They were just all taken. They are here, I can go get a bunch on the PA/WV border right now, there's actually plenty here because people care more about ginseng, morels and disgusting garlic plants (ramps) more than mineral hunting.

>>2410662
Thank you very much for this info!

>>2410726
Shakeycam has never been more appropriate.

>>2410730
If you end up trying to buy something go to Home Depot or Lowe's and ask if they have any slate/marble/granite tile that broke during shipment. Or you can look and maybe find some broken ones on the shelf for a discount/free.

>>2410729
Pea puffers and kuhli loaches are pretty cute, but my heart belongs to the gourami that have touchy feelies they wave out to you to say hello.

>>2410737
Amethyst would have metals distributed throughout the entire rock to give it color. White quartz is basically just a really big piece of sand, so it won't cause any issues on its own. Small veins of minerals are also very unlikely to cause any problems. You should scrub and rinse it off first regardless, though. No soap or anything, just vinegar if you feel like it, or muriatic acid if you're paranoid.
If you have pH, GH, and KH tests, you can put it in a covered bucket of water and monitor the parameters over the course of a month or two to see if it causes any shifts.

>>2410742
>Maybe a good option would be to go where the fish actually live and take those stream rocks?
The rocks would likely be fine, but that logic is flawed. You're comparing a body of water many hundreds of thousands of gallons that is regularly replenished to a small glass box which gets maybe a 25% weekly change.

>>2410757
>go to Home Depot or Lowes

Damn you just blew me out of the water. Over thought the shit out of that, later guys.

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>>2410729
Corycats

especially pygmies

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So I moved to a new place and sold my old tank. My landlord is a little crazy about the central heat in the house, it gets pretty cold at night. Is a tropical tank still feasible? The coldest it's gotten in my room was this spring, it got down to like 58 degrees. I'm a little worried about establishing a tank this summer and then not being able to keep the fish warm enough in the winter. I might just move in November when my lease is up, but ya is it doable?

>>2410802
Just get a heater like a normal fishkeeper.

>>2410807
Well I was planning on using a heater of course, but I'm still concerned about keeping 40 gallons of water at 75 degrees in a 50 something degree room. Is it going to rape my electric bill? Is there going to be steam coming off it? Lol

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>>2410810
Get 2 150 watt heaters and put them at opposite sides of the tank. Depending on how much your electricity is per kilowatt hour, shouldn't be too much. This is an overestimate because the two heaters won't be heating 24/7.

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>>2410736

>>2409034
>buy new aquarium after not owning one for months bc my fish died
>stock 6x neon tetra, ~26 Rasboras
>not give a fuck about cycling tank knowing tetra are sensitive
>kubotai rasbora keep dying 1x a day
am i fucked? Is my tank gonna cycle and slaughter everything? Teststrips are trash and keep reading nitrate/nitrite at 0. tell me everything is gonna be alright, anons

>>2410726
stop this

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>>2410857

>>2410860
Not cool Anon, I said tell me everything is going to be ok

>>2410859
I want to do it again.

>>2410877
No. u sadist.... poor fish:(((

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>>2410726
hillstream loaches would love that

>>2410733
Kekked

>>2410892
Are you sure they don't like it? Can I at least blase those naughty angelfish again?

>>2410898
or blast them maybe...

>>2410898
>>>>LOW TO MODERATE

>>2410904
I thought 10x aquarium size was the minimum output recommendation for this like this.

>>2410907
things like this*

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What can live with turtles?
I already found out that regular goldfish and black telescopes cant.

>>2410934
Goldfish are disease ridden genetic abominations that arent even worth being fed to turtles.

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>>2410726
>All those fish go flying across the tank.
>Guppy tumbling across the tank.
>Everything is just being blown away.
Oh lawdy, I laughed hard, but that's pretty fucked.

>>2410934
Technically nothing as everything has a chance of being eaten. However if that's not much of a concern, fast moving, schooling fish can work as they can evade fairly well. Also livebearers are excellent, they can evade fairly well, much more nutritious than goldfish if eaten, and with some luck and some cover can breed readily enough to replenish themselves if eaten.

I have a school of danios and guppies with mine.

>>2410857
>stock 6x neon tetra, ~26 Rasboras
Lol
>not give a fuck about cycling tank knowing tetra are sensitive
Lol
>kubotai rasbora keep dying 1x a day
Lol
>Teststrips
>nitrate/nitrite
Lol

Make a stir fry for your cat or something. It'll be cute.

>>2411012
please stop bullying me i just want friendly wholesome reassurances that my fish will be fine.

>>2410857
Buy a bottle of Tetra Safe Start Plus.Get the big bottle. The one that treats 100g. Dump the entire fucker in your tank and pray.

Honestly, I started both my 29g and my 40g that way. Planted them, conditioned the water. let them run for 24 hours, then buy fish and Safe Start. Dump in Safe start while fish acclimate to temp, then dump in the fish.

I think API makes a 7-day treatment that a lot of Cichlid keepers use because how you have to stock a ton of cichlids at once. You add X amount on day one, then add Y amount every day for 7 days. It provides the bacteria to colonize your filter/substrate.

>>2411023
this is exactly what im doing but with a different brand of ammonia and nitrite detoxifier and a lot more praying, lol. I just want to know if anyone else has done the same thing.

>>2411028
I'm going through the same shit.

>>2411028
Safe Start isn't a detoxifier. It's a bacterial colonizer. Big difference.
I cycled a 40g tank once with just a bottle of Safe Start Plus. you have to condition the water with Prime or Aquasafe before you put in the safe start.

>>2410934
>>2411006
Maybe livebearers with a tank set up with two sections, one of which is inaccessible to the turtles due to the corridor between them being too narrow for them, giving the fish a place to hide and breed safely? Would be an interesting experiment to see how it balanced out.

>>2411023
Hm, I just dumped in my little 20gallon starter bottle today, into my 20H, my nitrate was testing high on the sample I brought to the store. I bought a bottle of Prime because I recognized it from a few places I've been reading (including here). I also bought some more plants and a small powerhead to circulate/aerate the water better (unsure if needed?). That petsmart coupon saved us 40 dollars after I threw in a bag of sand for building up my substrate and a bag of food for the dog.

>>2411028
&& also seeded water from a different established aquarium.
>>2411066
Yeah I read up on it after posting that. I actually went out and bought some because I'm so paranoid. Im afraid the detoxifier mightve been stopping bacteria from actually colonizing if it was changing the form of the ammonia LOL.

>>2411124
>Im afraid the detoxifier mightve been stopping bacteria from actually colonizing if it was changing the form of the ammonia LOL.
that's exactly what happens.

LOL

>>2411159
rip

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Hey guys I'm going to get some hermit crabs (land) soon like to see some tanks/hermits and some tips if you guys got any. I'm currently getting rid of my fish for them just because they can be abit of a hassle.

>>2411167
get out

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>>2411168
Hey I see you all love fish I do to I'm just mixing my life abit.

>>2411167
I've had hermit crabs before. Honestly they felt like a worse hassle then fish.
>Have to keep the tank moist, but not too moist.
>Have to provide progressively bigger shells.
>If you have multiples, they might eat anyone who is between shells.
>Has to be warm.
>Must use specific substrates or else they don't get enough calcium and die.

Honestly, they're shit pets, and not very interesting.

>>2411176
this, hermit crabs are much more work than fish
&& if you fuck up you can start growing mold and shit in their tank and have to dump it and start over
all they do is sit around. Moving them stresses them out

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>>2411176
Thats a shame it was hassle for you dude :/

>>2411173
I only keep the wet kind
>>2409531

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>>2411179
Define fuck up?

>Go to see Dad this morning, skip water change until I come home.
>Walk in the door.
>Dead Cory Cat.
>Test water.
>Nothing wrong with it, everything is reading fine.
I hate it when fish up and die and I can't figure out why. The damn thing ate just fine before I left. I was only like 3 hours different on the water change.
Oh well, better go pick up another 2 or 3 to bring the Corys back up to school size.

>>2411189
If you keep it too warm and too moist, mold grows on everything, kills your crabs and poses and serious health risk to you as well.
If it's too dry, they shrivel up and die. They can also have a bad molt, and get stuck inside their old exoskeleton and die. Honestly you can just add water to a tank, a couple of simple plants, and a sponge filter with a Betta for 90% less hassle.

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>>2411198
Just because I'm curious spray bottle or humidifier you used?

>>2411192
Unlikely to be the water change being missed, maybe it ate a rock or had a heart attack or something and fukken died. Get a pen knife and perform autopsy.

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>>2410730
New tank idiot here. Put in the sand and plants that I got with the load of junk we bought with the $40 off $100 at petsmart. Before and after.

>>2411225
What kind of grass is that? Should those clumps be broken up more?

>>2411228
It's Cyperus Helferi, I kept something similar in my previous (see also, first) planted tank and it spread like crazy and I literally had to cut out clusters and discard them. A few of the larger clumps are still multiple plants, but I haven't got any hardscape in and will probably break them down when I am uprooting and installing rocks.

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Guys, wtf kinda algae is this. I cant find it anywhere on the webs. idk if u can see it but it flows in the filter current. Advice on removal would be much appreciated. Its a saltwater aquarium btw

>>2410863
>tell me everything is going to be ok
An oil exec is in charge of the EPA, cane sugar is made through slave labor, and Madagascar's biodiversity is fucked. Of course not everything is okay.
But you'll continue to wake up in the morning with working utilities, food in your fridge, and 32 tiny dead fish in your living room.

So... yeah, perspective.

>>2411264
thank u

>>2411159
Nah.
It binds the free ammonia into ammonium. 90% or more of your "ammonia" reading is already ammonium, so if that were the kind of thing to have an effect on bacteria growth they'd never colonize to begin with.

>>2409063
this 1000x over

>>2411262
looks like some kind of ayy lmao

>>2411271
cont. especially if its an inch or two away from the top of the water. my betta loves being able to lay there and take a breath easily

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Bought some corydoras the other day, this little boy Is pretty timid, the other ones are getting along.
I bought two albino and two panda ones but one panda Is missing and I guess that's why he's so timid, the albino ones are ok.
I have two bronze cory on the tank too, Is this little boy gonna be ok?

>>2411281
my only reaction is something along the lines of "reee stock more matching individuals" rather than going for the variety-pak approach to stocking.

How many neon tetras in a 20 gallon tall, planted, with a betta?

>>2411316
18

>>2411322
Hmm...I was thinking like 12

Would 18 be like the max?

>>2411326
Depends what kind of filter you have and what kind of plants and how much, whether u have any snails or inverts. 18 is a low high estimate. If you have a really nice filter system and an established aquarium and a fuck ton of plants and your filter has a really strong bio filter, u could probably overstock to ~25, but the general recommendation is 1" per fish.

I wouldnt house tetra with a betta tho lol

>>2411327
Why no tetras with bettas?

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>>2411329
Not him but neons have teeth and they can bite if they feel so inclined.

>>2411334
lol meanest most threatening looking neon ive ever seen xD

>>2409034
What kind of goldfish should I get? I have a 20 gallon long to toss the little guy in and a canister filter from china.

I'm thinking of ordering a big fat ranchu.

>>2411334
meme tier response/10 made me lol
>>2411338
Listen, gold fish are a genetic abomination, a frankenstein confuckled across 1000 years, disease ridden, shit eating garbage fish. The only pool of water you should relocate a goldfish to is a toilet, when you flush them down the drain into a sealed septic tank, never to see them again.

>>2411262
that's cyanobacteria

>>2411269
"ammonium" isn't some single compound, it exists as both toxic and non-toxic salts, because it exists in bioavailable and non-bioavailable forms.

fish don't release ammonia, they release ammonium hydroxide. This is the only form (aside from gaseous ammonia) that's available for Nitrosomonas bacteria to use. They can't convert any other form. It is also the only form (again aside from gas) that's toxic to fish and occurring naturally in the tank.

converting ammonium to a form that's not toxic to fish renders it unavailable to nitrifying bacteria.

>>2411341
Jesus christ, chemistry nerds out!

>>2411341
It's not going to remain as ammonium hydroxide in solution, though, is it? It's going to disassociate into aqueous ammonium and hydroxide ions.

>>2411347
>>2411345
>>2411341
nerd fight!???

>>2411347
ammonium hydroxide and aqueous ammonium are the same thing.

>>2411339
You sound like a fag.

>>2411341
am i fucked bc of this cyanobacteria?!

>>2411353
They're an invasive species that eat anything they can fit in their mouth, spawn at an extremely fast rate, and require a huge amount of water to not stunt their growth. Theyre disgusting aquatic frankensteins and should all be culled.

>>2411356
It's pretty bad but it's also a normal step in establishing a saltwater tank.

the solution is good quality live rock that has lots of pods that eat cyano. You also need to keep ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at or near 0.

wet skimming and reducing light and heat will help. But ultimately you need pods that eat it.

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Thinking of getting me a Sunsun canister filter for my snapping turtle's tank. Are these good filters?

>>2411358
Practically all aquarium hobby fish are invasive as almost all are foreign. You're an idiot. Goldfish like orandas and ranchu are not going to take over a lake. They barely survive in a tank system. You're acting like they are invasive silver and big head carp.

You're an obvious dumb fuck.

I don't see wild goldfish all over florida. It's invasive cichlids, snakehead, pacu, and various catfish.

>>2411359
u mean like the copepods and the amphipods? So i started my tank about 3 weeks ago and for some reason my nitrates were so high when i first started. the RO saltwater i use is at 0 nitrate. there was a time where i was doing big water changes (about 50%) daily but my nitrates were still at >50 ppm. could it be that im using the filter tht i used for my fw tank for a year and a half and its spewing nitrates into the water? i obviously cleaned it out prior to putting it into my sw tank. Also i picked up algone hoping that it will make a difference. any and all advice would be much much appreciated friends.

>>2411351
Ammonia reacts with water to create aqueous ammonium ions and hydroxide ions, but they're still disassociated and it's independent of the existence of the ammonium ions themselves. Dissolving ammonium nitrate in water will similarly result in aqueous ammonium ions and nitrate ions without hydroxides.

>>2411380
>u mean like the copepods and the amphipods?
yes. There are several species that eat cyanobacteria. They're found in live rock.
>could it be that im using the filter tht i used for my fw tank for a year and a half and its spewing nitrates into the water?
it's possible.
other possibilities are your rock or your substrate.
>i obviously cleaned it out prior to putting it into my sw tank.
you need to change all media.
>Also i picked up algone hoping that it will make a difference.
it can't hurt
>any and all advice would be much much appreciated friends.
there aren't many saltwater aquarists here.

my biggest advice aside from figuring out where your nitrate is coming from would be to just take your time and let things happen naturally. If you get some good live rock (and lower your nitrates) it will fix this problem.

>>2411383
>Ammonia reacts with water to create aqueous ammonium ions and hydroxide ions
this doesn't matter since ammonia doesn't normally exist in either fish or fish tanks.

fish produce ammonium, not ammonia.

the process you're speaking of happens inside the fish.

>>2411390
thank you so much for the help i greatly appreciate it. its just nerve racking bc i really want to put coral in there but im very far from tht as u can see.

>>2411378
Just got to this thread and have not read any other posts, however you are very wrong about goldfish.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/science/discarded-goldfish-invasive-species.html

>>2411401
yep.

find the source of the nitrates.
AFTER THAT'S DONE, buy good quality live rock.

do those things and you'll be ready for coral in just a few weeks.

>>2411404
what the best way to find the source?

>>2411408
If it was me I'd skip looking for it and just replace everything. New aragonite (no crushed coral if you have that). New basement and display rock, all of it live and in good shape.
new filter media entirely.

the alternative is to start removing suspects one at a time until the problem is fixed- replace filter media, then substrate, then rock. But it's possible it's coming from several sources.

also, have you had anything die in the tank? that will produce nitrate....

>>2411411
the problem is i currently have 2 clowns in there with a sand sifting starfish, a hermit crab and two Mexican turbo snails. i used to have two hermits but i removed it immediately including its shell.

>>2411414
It'll be ok. If they've survived this long they'll probably live through you changing your rock and sand.

is the tank cycled? How long have you been running that filter?

>>2411419
the tank is cycled. and about 3 weeks, almost 4. i used red sea mature kit to push the cycle but stopped once all present ammonia and nitrite were gone. the hermit only died bc the other one ripped him apart and stole his shell lol

>>2411422
ok, what kinds of media are in the filter?

and how quickly after a water change is nitrate climbing back up? What's your nitrate at now?

because a spike of nitrate is normal at the end of the cycle. Just trying to see if you have an actual problem or if everything's ok. It sounds like you might be fine if the tank just finished cycling.

>>2411378
>joins thread asking for advice
>gets told advice
>gets upset someone disagrees with his opinions
lol u mad bro?

>>2411396
Then ammonium undergoes reduction and converts into dissolved ammonia (as a dissolved gas just like oxygen or CO2) after it's released into the water. The ratio is going to be about 90-99% ammonium to 10-1% ammonia in most aquariums, depending on pH and temperature.

>>2411403
Common goldfish, yes. Fancy goldfish, no.
Either way, it's a complete nonissue if you simply don't release your goldfish into the wild.

>>2411424
>"""""""advice"""""""
Your "advice" is that no one should keep goldfish because they're invasive in certain places? Do you think Anon's goldfish is going to jump out of its tank and flush itself down the toilet so it can invade the local waterways?

>>2411428
My advice is that goldfish are ugly, stupid,shit eating pieces of shit. Fuck goldfish. I dont give a shit that theyre invasive, I just think no one should keep them because theyre shit fish. But if you hate yourself so much you think you deserve a shit fish, go right the fuck ahead! Buy all the goldfish you want.

>>2411429
>stoplikingwhatidontlike.jpg
Has this general always been this terrible?


... Yeah, it has....

>>2411423
carbon filter that was brand new when tank first started. also a protein skimmer thts rated for a 50 gallon tank and i have a 30g. but i change the water and literally 10 mins later i check and it still reads >50 ppm

>>2411338
20 long is a bit cramped for a full-grown goldfish, and they do better with company. I'd suggest waiting until you could put together something at least 36" x 18" (eg. 40 breeder, 65 gallon) and get two of them, or, if your climate allows it, make a small pond outside and use the 20 to hold them when the weather isn't good.

There are other fish that would work well in your tank. King bettas are pretty big and very interactive. Bolivian rams, kribensis cichlids, and small-medium gourami (pearl, thick-lip, honey) would also be good. If you want a coldwater fish you can look into paradise gourami.

>>2411339
>meme tier response/10 made me lol
It's very unlikely but it's happened to people before. That's the only reason I could think of that you wouldn't want to keep them together.
Unless he was talking about the very slight differences in ideal water temperature, but that's hardly an issue.

>>2411434
>i change the water and literally 10 mins later i check and it still reads >50 ppm
ok, assuming you tested your RO that leaves 2 possibilities:
1. nitrates are pushing 100 and doing a water change leaves them high
2. your test is not working or you don't know how to use it.

I would change 100% of the water, test the new water before it goes in the tank, and then test every day or two so you know how fast nitrate is coming back.

if you're still under 10 in a week or two you're ready for live rock.

>>2411403
Goldfish like ranchu and orandas are VERY OBVIOUSLY not the goldfish comets you posted a link about. It's amazing how stupid people like you are. Carp are much worse. Even comets are a joke when talking about how invasive and "damaging" they are compared to carp species

Truly stupid.

>>2411429
You sound like the kind of person to buy a pleco and let it go in a local river because it's a "cool" fish.

Kill yourself.

>>2411439
brought a water sample to a lfs and they get the same results (>50ppm). i have tested the ro saltwater combo water and its 0ppm for nitrates. i buy it from the lfs.

>if you're still under 10 in a week or two you're ready for live rock.
do u mean replacing current liverock in the aquarium with new?

also will a 100% water change include literally every single oz. of water? would tht affect the current state of the life bacteria? also how would my fish and inverts currently in the aquarium react?

>>2411431
>>2411440
>>2411442
Listen my dude. Read about goldfish.
Goldfish have no stomachs. They just eat and shit nonstop. Then they eat their own shit and shit it again!
Whats to like about this fat, bloated, ugly fish?
Ranchu gold fish look like they elephantiasis
Ranchu gold fish look like they're babies from Agent Orange.
Ranchu goldfish look like goldfish left in the lakes at chernobyl. Fuck goldfish.

>>2411445
>stoplikingwhatidontlike-2.jpg

>>2411444
>do u mean replacing current liverock in the aquarium with new?
I would just add more if the current rock isn't the source of the nitrate.

your current rock is dead. Almost nothing on live rock survives a cycle. And if it was still alive you wouldn't have cyanobacteria.
>also will a 100% water change include literally every single oz. of water?
that's the goal. Obviously you're not going to get all the water out of the sand and rock though.

>would tht affect the current state of the life bacteria?
It should have no effect so long as your filter isn't off for more than 20 minutes or so.

>also how would my fish and inverts currently in the aquarium react?
As long as the temperature is good and the salinity/pH is the same they will react by throwing a party. Because 0 nitrate is much nicer than 50.

>>2411444
>literally every single oz. of water?
also don't worry about changing the water in the filter. You don't want to dry your filter out. That will kill it.

>>2411453
thank you for all your help it means a lot to get all this help from a stranger

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how to breed corys? pandas to be exactly. any tipps?

>>2411461
you're welcome. you've got this.

>>2409034
Whats tbat blue thing there? It looks magic, if you eat it do you gain immortality?

>>2409034
I got a couple of questions. Why is it that when fish poop, they have turds hanging out their ass fot over an hour? I feel like taking the fish out and yanking the turds out of their ass for them.

Also why do guppies eat their children? My guppies had kids, they ate em,, and croaked a year later. If they left the kids alone I wouldn't have had to pop the money to replace them. How the nell did them fuckers not go extinct.

>>2411491
fishes don't have anuses

in nature there's lots of hiding places for fry, so they don't get eaten. Eating the babbies is a way of avoiding overcrowding. Because if there's so many fucking guppies in the pond that they can't hide, they need to be eaten.

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>>2411497
>fishes don't have anuses
uh

uuuuhhhh


uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh

>>2411445
>goldfish have no stomachs

Wew lad

>>2411464
This. In a community tank

>>2411497
What the fuck do they poop out of then?

>>2411364
They're a bitch to get primed with the lower water levels of turtle tanks but otherwise they work good

>>2411497
>>2411522
How fucking stupid are the newfags?

>>2411585
How do you normally prime a canister filter? On my FX6 I just filled the canister with water, screed everything together, and plugged it in.

>>2411588
>>2411522
http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/aquaculture/documents/5864154-7201fs.pdf
"Goldfish and common carp lack
true stomachs..."
??????????????
>how stupid are the new fags
>is wrong && stupid
Fuck goldfish

new tanker here, i have a 4.5 gal which is cube
shaped what kinda fish do you guys recommend
i buy?
i prefer having a group of small schooling fish not
one in the tank like a betta or some such

>>2411748
neon tetra
minnows or danios
4.5 gallons though? that means your cube is less than 1ft on all sides.

>>2411760
no more than 5 total fish

>>2411748
Guppies. You can't have a proper school in such a small tank, but guppies interact with each other and are colorful. They shoal, not school.

>>2411760
Neon tetras prefer groups of 10+ or they get very stressed. Danios need lots of horizontal space to swim as they are highly active and mainly hang out at the top of the tank.

>>2411678
I was responding to the person who thought the "no stomach" statement was wrong.

So thanks for proving my point, retard.

>>2411760
Betta, pea puffer, scarlet badis, gardneri killifish, or sparkling gourami. I wouldn't suggest any schooling fish for a tank that's only 10 inches long.

>>2410810
Keep you're aquarium at the lowest recommended temperature for the fish you plan on keeping and get a tight fitting to keep the humidity in. Check the window stills and ceiling for moisture too. I've gotten mold from keeping a heated ten gallon aquarium in a unheated room.

Who here /insane/?
Just added a small 30$ canister filter to my 5 gallon fluval spec betta tank.

>>2411782
wow

>>2411523
nigga what

>>2411776
Oh I misread it, my bad.

>>2411748
buy a new tank
other than that u could probably have a small school of Microrasbora or maybe ember tetra.
Try Chili or Strawberry Rasbora, or exclamation point Rasbora

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well, apparently african dwarf frogs shed their skin. and then they eat it.

>>2411813
Not as disgusting as goldfish tho.

>>2411815
goldfish are fucking lame unless you are 5.
i also saw some of my shrimp eating molt.

>>2411818

true

stop taking the bait holy shit /aq/ get it together

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You will never convince me that a ranchu goldfish is not adorable.

>>2411862
>You will never convince me that I'm not retarded
got me there

>>2411677
I think it is more that when you first start it it will need to fill the tubing and pipes with water, so the intake needs to be deep enough that it doesn't become above water from that process.

>>2411818
Don't many insects and certain reptiles also do this? It is not uncommon and some of the resources are valuable to them.

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>>2411863
Why are you so angry over such a stupidly cute thing.

>>2411869
Another faggot here. I think you can like whatever fish you want. Personally I have zero desire for goldfish because I want smaller tanks and also their size to waste ratio is terrible compared to stuff I keep like tetras or danios. I ran a 10 gallon filter on a 20 gallon tank because it was understocked with small clean fish for a while.

>>2411863
>>2411869
>>2411862
Thats not me. Your opinion is terrible and you should feel terrible.
IGNORE GOLDFISH POSTERS
SAGE GOLDFISH POSTERS
DO NOT REPLY TO GOLDFISH POSTERS

>>2411862
>a traumatized old man who has been turned into an orange egg

Uh... you do you, senpai.

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>>2411877

>>2409414
Had the exact same thing. It's constipation. Now I give my betta peas(a weak betta laxative) periodically.

Well my dropsy'd betta is still alive after 2/3 treatments of kanaplex. She's moving around more but is still a goddamn balloon

I can't really tell if she's getting better or not. I've noted that she's lost her sense of balance somewhat. She'll swim up to get air but instead of swimming back down, she'll simply let herself float to the bottom, land on her tail and gradually fall onto her back or side. Really don't know what to make of it

>>2412133
Isn't dropsy terminal?

>>2412134
Not always. If you catch it early, you can usually cure it. Sometimes it goes away on it's own. It really depends since dropsy is a symptom for other problems

I got mine from Walmart so there's really no telling what heinous conditions she was kept in before I got her

If this one survives, i'll be sure to report it since I definitely did NOT catch it early

Welp guy with constipated betta from before here.

I did the saline bath, and he's been unfed for 2 days now. I also gave him a pea and he ate 2-3 good little pieces of it. Today he came out of hiding, explored a bit, was a little social with me, and then went back to his place.

Obviously I take this as a sign that things aren't as bad, but how long till he recovers and should I try another bath or pea just to help him if he doesn't resume?

Thanks for your advice so far. This guy doesn't deserve to suffer, especially if it's because I overfed him, misinterpreting play or explore as hunger.

Also any advice for getting him to take/chase pellets? Once it's in the lower half of the aquarium it's invisible to him.

>>2412252
>any advice for getting him to take/chase pellets?
feed 2 pellets, once per week.

he'll figure it out.

>>2412299
Soak'em or not?
Thanks, that's a really good idea. I feel it'll be harder to overfeed with those.

>>2412252
>Also any advice for getting him to take/chase pellets?
I've noticed that if I drop the pellets from height over 1 foot my betta immediately notices it. Im not sure but it seems to be instinctual.
In the wild bettas eat stuff from the surface like bugs that fell in water. Bettas their mouths are sorta pointed up. So based on my betta i have the impression that bettas hear/sense things plopping in water above them.

>>2412314
That makes sense, my betta usually knows when I'm going to feed him not by my presence itself by because I unplug the filter so his food remains undisturbed for the ~5 min he eats. When I unplug it he rushes the surface.

>>2412326
For mine, I tap on the glass with a little spoon and he notices immediately. I thought ht was lonely so I got him a companion female betta, but I read he might kill her.

>>2412333
A lot of people infer emotions from fish being fish.

>>2412343
Before, he was just sitting around the bottom of his tank, only coming up for air and food.. Been feeding him daphnia for like a week now. After I added her, at least he moves around now. Sure, he is just chasing her but its like they are flirting :3

Back. Dropsy'd Walmart betta girl didnt make it. Maybe if i'd gotten to it earlier but .. ah well. Kanaplex only goes so far

RIP Hime

>>2412377
Sorry to hear that. You probably shouldn't get your next fish from Walmart.

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So my pleco is getting up to some unusual behaviour today.
>had my pleco for many years
>he's a big guy now (maybe a foot long)
>he's in a very large tank so pretty chill
>he's sharing it with bachelor male platys that I don't want to breed
>one of these platys is kinda old and a bit deformed, been lying about on the substrate for a couple of weeks now (dat inbreeding)
>he has a bent shape but generally healthy, swims about to eat and socialise
>Pleco ignores all other tank mates so pretty chill
>Look in today, disabled platy still lying about but swimming a bit as normal
>check on them again after breakfast
>Pleco is eating said disabled platy alive. Mouth obviously not designed for this so not actually swallowing it
>just sucks the skin and muscles off the back of the fish and then the front

Fug
Pic related, it's the pleco eating the platy

One of my goldfish died yesterday, and I'm baffled as to why. Any suggestions /aq/?

>Eating and swimming fine the day before
>Water quality good, did a water change a few days before
>No spots, growths, rot etc
>Other fish completely fine

The body looked fairly bloated, but it was floating upright (not on its side like with swim bladder problems). Any ideas?

is there an upper limit to keeping bettas?

so i have a 30 gallon tank and i'm thinking about getting a single betta for it. the tank is 31.5 inch wide and 15 tall. there would also be about 10 panda corys and a buch of shrimp alongside.

>>2412433
No. Not really. There are some things to consider like rest perches closer to the top but people have kept Bettas in hundreds of gallons. Some even multiple males in 100+ gallon tanks successfully by basically being planted heavily enough and big enough that each Betta had it's own territory

>>2411445
"They eat their own shit." No they don't.

how do you even cause yourself to be this mad over a fish

>>2412377
I've never bought anything from walmart that lived.

I bought someone's fish out from under them at a yard sale once and it is 3 years old (betta).

>>2412465
Have u ever kept a goldfish? bc yeah the fuck they do,

>>2412416
That is weird! I caught my little pleco, about 2.5 inches, sucking on the back of one of my African Dwarf Frogs yesterday. He was only on there briefly, so I couldn't get a pic. However, I did read that plecos will eat any fish that can fit in their mouth, especially ones with long fins.

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How do i get tank like this?

>>2412591
>Hey. Helped out with the tank here's what we did. We used Dennis Wong's irrigation cells and plain old crushed lava rock from Lowe's. Topped with a layer of Aquasoil then on top of that pool filter sand from Ace Hardware. Holds quite well.
maybe read the thread you got it from, dumb redditor

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>>2412596
How do you know it's from reddit?

>>2412597
the filename

>>2412598
spent a lot of time there, eh?

>>2412600
reported

>>2412600
I spent a lot of time seeing faggots like you invade 4chan

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Last night I saw one of my ghost shrimp eating a crane fly!

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>>2412604

>>2412604
>>2412606
>ghost shrimp
LOW TEST

>>2412613
I DONT SEE YOU CATCHING AND EATING YOUR OWN FOOD

>>2409034
AQ, Im pretty sure the fucking store I ordered Rasbora thru shipped me Exclamation Rasbora instead of fucking Chili/Strawberry Rasbora. Im upsetti

>>2412654
post pics

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>>2412667

>>2412670
those are not chili or strawberry
sorry anon

>>2412671
I know that. Wtf should I do with them tho. I dont want to flush them but I dont want to stock very much higher.

>>2412673
got me thinking about setting up my other currently empty tank.............. all I need for it is a lil 6 dollar sponge filter to attach my airpump to.

>>2412693
go get one anon! i dunno if you can return them, but if you complain enough, just maybe...

>>2412706
Nah I ordered them online, definitely setting up my second tank though. Still have good substrate for planting in it.

Anyone recommend quality high par lights for a 10 gal? I think its ~20"

>>2412751
I went to Home Depot and got a pretty cheap (less than $20) 4ft shop light for my 50 gallon. I bet you could get a smaller one for about the same price, probably two feet.

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I'm having a hard time stocking my tank so I guess I'll just get more and more minnows.

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>>2409034
My little sister killed all of my fish by trying to clean the tank by pouring bleach into it... For years I took care of those fish, they were my entire life, and now they're all dead. Kill me now.

>>2412591
You can get a custom rimless starfire tank like that for about $4,000. About $8,000 with the stand.

>>2412799
it just means you can start over fresh anon ^_^

>>2412799
I am trying to figure out the age range where a person is A: going to have access to bleach B: want to clean something C: not realise bleach is toxic and also D: try to... clean a tank by just pouring bleach into it? Like did she take everything out, bleach the tank, then put everything back in and it killed them? In that case I think she would have killed them with or without bleach by some other mistake.

>>2412808
The other day I went to my local LFS, and overheard one of the clerks scolding an old lady who tried to clean her goldfish tank with bleach to kill algae. It's definitely something that can happen to anyone

>>2409034
hey guys, what are some suitable tankmates for african cichlids? I'm looking for some upper/mid level fish as well as bottom feeders. I bought some corys but they were dead in about 3 days. I was thinking of buying some clown loaches but after the corys, I'm not so sure. The only other fish I have is a silver dollar and he seems to be fine.

>>2412867
I suppose. Meanwhile I just feel like an idiot right now trying to figure out how my water that was neutral just a couple days ago is now testing at about 7.8. I hope I just fucked up and contaminated the test.

>>2412877
pH doesn't matter except in saltwater or breeding tanks

>>2412880
Won't it (very slowly) harm fish if it is too far from their ideal? Obviously fish wouldn't survive in the wild if they really needed the conditions we are told to try and maintain, but I also have plants, which I dunno how much it matters for them and good growth.

>>2412885
>Won't it (very slowly) harm fish if it is too far from their ideal?
no. Not in any range you'd find normally in an aquarium.

it does play a role in ammonia toxicity but that again shouldn't be a problem in an aquarium.

>>2412888
Yeah despite some decomposing leaves from the plants that I intentionally left in for a day or two to provide food to the cycle I just tested ammonia at zero. Testing Nitrite now.

>>2412876
>what are some suitable tankmates for african cichlids
I hear cichlids are pretty good tankmates.

>>2412891
keep in mind plants consume ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

so with a planted tank it's possible to have 0 ammonia and nitrite and very low nitrate even when the tank hasn't cycled. In fact it's possible to never cycle the tank and still have good parameters with enough plants and sufficient flow around the roots.

>>2412893
Nope, nitrite test came up 5.0ppm or higher. Gonna wait and test again tomorrow.

>>2412894
good. sounds like it's working.

>>2412896
My biological filter sure isn't. Not yet. :(

>>2412901
Plants don't turn ammonia into nitrite, that's your biofilter.

you still need the second step, nitrite to nitrate. But what you're doing is working.

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>>2412903
I knew that, I meant that I am missing the second step of the biofilter. I guess the safestart product I used either wasn't enough, or I managed to cause problems for the cycle starting with my conditioners or something else. Set the tank up last Wednesday, and didn't add safestart product until later. Tap water here is probably abysmal for aquariums, between old city pipes and copper plumbing in the house.

>>2412908
I forgot to also mention I'm not entirely sure how much faster safestart products are for actually establishing the filter, although the advertised ALLOWS IMMEDIATE ADDITION OF FISH leads me to believe "real fast." Maybe it's because when I rinsed my filter media and the first round of plants I used straight tap water rather than conditioning a bucket or something? I feel stupid whenever I rinse anything that's going to be in the tank at all with tap water.

>>2412908
safestart doesn't do anything.

it can't provide the bacteria for the second step because they require nitrite to survive and nitrite doesn't exist in the tank until several days after the first step bacteria are established.

>>2412911
I thought the bacteria in safestart were in some sort of fluid that kept them in suspension, does it have the second stage bacteria but they just usually all die before there is anything for them to eat? Even then I wouldn't say it does "nothing" if it lets you skip waiting on stage 1.

>>2412917
>does it have the second stage bacteria but they just usually all die before there is anything for them to eat?
yes
>Even then I wouldn't say it does "nothing" if it lets you skip waiting on stage 1.
it depends on the conditions in the tank. Most of the first stage bacteria die also.

in particular they need a constant ammonia source in the tank producing ammonia days before they're added. Most people don't have that.

even then the only ones that survive are those that find dark areas with high flow to settle on. Most of them will die in the water column or on various lit surfaces in the tank.

>>2412921
Huh, didn't realise they would die in the light. I'm a little worried about my flow since all I have is the hanging filter on one corner. The ceramic media in the filter also isn't fully submerged because there just isn't enough room in the media compartment. I think I will trim the foam block at the bottom of the compartment after the cycle kicks in so I can get it all below the water level. Thanks for all the info.

>>2412928
you're welcome.

they only die in the light before they get settled and established though. What happens is they multiply and form mats thick enough that the outside layers block the light from the inner ones. So once they're established in your filter you don't have to worry about light killing them.

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>>2412956
>>2412956
>>2412956
>>2412956

>>2412876
What lake are yours from? You should look into what else lives in the lakes with them and then check to see what is compatible (won't be murdered like the Cory Cats).

>>2412928
Do you have an aquaclear? Remove the tray. Gives you a bit more room to fit everything in.

The sponge also has some bacteria on it, btw.

>>2412808
She's around 20 years old, but she's autistic, so she didn't know any better. It's the only reason why I'm not that mad at her, she was only trying to help, but man! It still burns.

>>2412876
>African cichlids
That's pretty vague. Do you actually know what fish you have? Peacock cichlids are mid level.

kool dude hahaha. im newhow didoo bud