Jump to content
Watch our video on the rules of this forum.

Chick-In-Of-TheSea

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    7,285

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    99

  • Feedback

    0%

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

  1. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    I came home from work and noticed that York has some hitchhikers on her shell. Any idea what these are? They are smaller than a grain of rice, and I cannot tell if they move or not. Yesterday I added some micro sword plants from Co Op to the tank, but I salt dipped them first (except for the roots). The Java moss didn’t get dipped.
  2. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Epic! 😍 I love that you didn't give up, even though you had setbacks. I think we all had setbacks in the hobby. I remember my first one. I was young and had a tank in my room, and I had one of those painted Indian glass fish. I doubt those are even around anymore, but as a kid I had a few and liked them. The fish started swimming in circles one day. His body became permanently curved in a semicircle shape. Then, you know... he didn't make it. I remember being so sad. To this day, I don't know what would cause the swimming in circles illness. But hey. I still love fish tanks and I have learned so much along the way through Aquarium Co Op and the magic of the internet. So, 11 tanks now! Incredible! I see you have 3 spare 10 gallon tanks. Why not make one of them a quarantine tank for new fish? You could observe them for a few to make sure they are healthy before adding them to the community tanks. That way something like ich won't wipe everybody out. Another idea for a 10-gallon tank is to do a Walstad method tank. Lots of videos on YouTube about that. Basically it's a tank that is as close to nature as possible. I've never tried to make one, but it's a goal of mine.
  3. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    I've had a more positive experience with biowheels. Mine has been going 16 years and I haven't had a stuck wheel, ever. I never even cleaned the thing until this year; I only changed out media (rarely) or rinsed it in tank water. My brother had one too, years ago, and it ran great. That being said, the newer models of biowheels are getting bad reviews. Seems like they don't make 'em like they used to. LOL. My friend made that for me. It's weird right? I made the bunny one by hand at a pottery place.
  4. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    @nabokovfan87 You’re a genius. 🏆Based on the diagrams you posted and @lefty o's removal tips, I got the impeller out easily. Found some calcification on there and cleaned it off, but I think the real issue was that the impeller wasn’t seated properly after the last cleaning. Reassembled and it runs again!
  5. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    It must be a common new snail breeder's issue. And I KNOW I was definitely over eager too! 💗🐌🥚
  6. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    This makes me think back to my original post where I wasn't sure whether the clutch was there for months or days. I just so happened to take the filter off THAT DAY to find it behind the outflow. And that filter had not been off the tank in several years. (I had been maintaining the filter media, but this was probably the first time I cleaned the gunk out of the filter box. Don't judge me, people! 😝) I think it was mere coincidence that I found that clutch and it was freshly laid, because that clutch, if I'm being honest, was pretty gooey. I'm sorry to say that some things squished when I took it off the wall. I ended up using a razor to prevent further damage during removal. I bet if I knew better to wait, I would have had less egg loss because it would have hardened up a bit. Live & learn. At least other people that find this thread on the forum can learn from my mistakes. 🙂
  7. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Exactly. I don't want to put them at risk by getting ahead of myself. I'm new to this, after all, so I have to pace myself! I'm wondering if the clutch, after freezing and crushing, could be fed to the fish? A nice organic diet? When I removed it from the wall, the fish were nibbling the stuff that came off. I noticed when I remove clutches, there is always a little bit of damage to it. I don't really know how to get around that. Also, yesterday another garden snail showed up at the back door! What is going on?! They know my house is snail central? Must've been a long journey because she went in her shell and started to dry when the full sun came out (that's when I noticed her). I moved her to a shady spot in the garden on a paper towel moistened with tank water to give her some recovery before she continues her journey of epic proportion!
  8. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    5/31 I found ANOTHER clutch when I woke up! This would be clutch 3! Utilizing some CARE forum advice, I will not attempt to raise more snails. I feel a bit sad and guilty, but I do not have an adequate base of operations here to accommodate more snail friends. Hence, I made the tough choice to freeze the clutch. I got this clutch right after it was laid and York was exiting the area (sorry, York. You’re a good snail and you worked hard to create this miracle) so rest assured, no snails inside. I froze the clutch in a ziplock and will crush (hammer) it later, then refreeze (just to be sure). 🥺 It’s tough making a decision like this. In other news, I snagged a 10 gallon on sale for $9.99 and a stand should be arriving in today’s mail. I got a co-op sponge filter running in my display tank. Gonna get that nice & seeded.
  9. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    OK. I will give it a shot.
  10. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    What are they eating? A pea pod? Boiled green bean?
  11. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    You need a more comfy chair!
  12. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Well, you guys are coming along for the ride, because I have no idea who York got busy with before I got her. 🤣 We will find out the colors together!
  13. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Haha. Wow! I just peeked at your journal! Those plecos are beautiful! 😍 The magenta is pretty too. Do you think I will get various color shells if mine hatch?
  14. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Thanks @Guppysnail, but I can't take credit for it. I got the idea from a YouTube snail breeder's vid (Link). The pushpins were my own personal touch though. That's because my styrofoam wasn't big enough to take up the horizontal space. I got the styrofoam out of a little box that holds my ceramic salt & pepper shakers. I like the video that you sent me to about making an incubator. I had already made this incubator before I saw that video, but the 2 videos are similar: one has the sytrofoam and one doesn't. Are your magentas mystery snails or bladder snails? I think we need a pic! 🙂
  15. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    You got me thinkin, @nabokovfan87. When I get home I will have to take a closer look at parts 3 & 4. It looked like they fused with the box, but maybe the housing for 3 is just meant to make it look that way. The instruction manual does not instruct to attach those, so they must already be installed in the unit when purchased. I bet I can lift #3 out with a pair of pliers.
  16. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Here is the incubator, layer by layer.
  17. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    @nabokovfan87 The impeller and motor are encased in the hard plastic of the filter box. There’s no way to get them out to apply grease. Some filters you can unscrew the motor, but not this one. It’s integrated.
  18. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    5/30 Yawn, stretch… ⛅ Brew coffee.. ☕ Good morning, fishies! Good morning, snails! Wait, what?!! Another clutch?! A lot bigger this time. Tinge of fear & panic hits right between the shoulder blades. And then this little voice in my head whispers softly, “Greater success rate.” At least this time it is on the front glass of the tank. Welp, let’s do it. 👍 This is happening. Since the first clutch so small, I will incubate this one too. Also here is a pic of York carrying her carrot. 🙂 I told you she’s a character!
  19. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    5/29 Two garden snails are on the screen of my sliding glass door when I wake up. This is a sign. I’m meant to raise these mystery snails, and I officially have a fan club. 🐌🐌 Kids, cover your eyes. I’m not sure what they are doing! 🙈
  20. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    I’m sorry that you lost your snail @anewbie. I feel like my mystery snail is huge too. Definitely the size of a half dollar if not larger. My incubator setup is a Tupperware with 3 holes punched at each corner for ventilation. The bottom layer is a paper towel soaked with tank water and wrung out. The middle layer is styrofoam. The top is a dry paper towel, and that’s what the eggs sit on. The idea is to keep the eggs on a dry surface, yet in a humid environment, and that is why the styrofoam is in the middle. So the top paper towel doesn’t wick the moisture from the bottom one. The Tupperware just floats on top of the water. I have some fish in a tote right now and there was plenty of space in there between the water and the lid, so that’s where I put ‘em.
  21. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    5/27/22 : Well well well… what do we have here? I removed my HOB from the tank temporarily to do maintenance and found a clutch of mystery snail eggs! I don’t know too much about this other than recalling some videos I watched a month or so ago. What do I do?! Hmm… #1. Freak out (done) #2. Watch those YouTube vids again (done) #3. Create snail incubator (done) #4. Hit the CARE forum. (Hi!) A bit of background: My mystery snail is undoubtedly my favorite character in the tank. She (?) is full of personality and loves to parasnail down from the glass or driftwood when I drop in some Snello. So this was an easy decision. Raise the snails! But wait a sec… I only have 1 mystery snail. How did this happen? Are these eggs even viable? How long were they behind the filter? Months or days? Folks, we are going to find out! (er, somehow.. mainly we wait.) Fortunately I keep a little fish journal with measured parameters and what I do to the tank. @Guppysnail suggested I start a little snail breeding journal on here too. Great idea! So here we are. The mystery snail (York) was added on 3/5/22. One Nerite (Hampshire) was added on the same day. However, I’ve never seen them interact. Eggs were discovered on 5/27/22. A fellow forum member said a mystery snail can hold onto sperm/fertilized eggs for “quite some time”… to be continued… previous thread with egg discovery here!
  22. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    What creeps me out is they look like they have eyes.
  23. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    Ew! Those things are gross! 😝
  24. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    @nabokovfan87 Thanks for sharing those! Very interesting!
  25. Chick-In-Of-TheSea
    I use a bucket in the sink, a pond pump in the bucket, and attached to the pond pump is the Python hose running to the tank. I remember having to figure out faucet flow rate and the distance I was going with the Python hose in order to select the proper pond pump. But it works great. No spill water changes. Also I use one of those digital meat thermometers at the faucet to make sure the temp is the same as the tank. Prior to doing any water replacement, I add the dechlorinator right to the tank; the dosage that matches the amount of water I'm replacing.
×
×
  • Create New...