Chick-In-Of-TheSea
-
Posts
7,299 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
99 -
Feedback
0%
Content Type
Forums
Downloads
Store
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Profiles
Posts posted by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
-
-
On 10/26/2023 at 4:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
They love hard water!?!? Just not crazy 8.0 PH.
? Care instructions I’ve seen always say cories like water on the softer side.
-
1
-
-
On 10/27/2023 at 11:58 AM, Allan said:
The leeches lay eggs, which survive the treatment. So you have to keep the treatment going while the eggs incubate, then you have to kill those leeches.
Oh boy.. doesn’t sound fun at all
-
On 10/27/2023 at 12:38 AM, Cinnebuns said:
I have had my blue dream colony for about a year and a half. At one point early on, I was down to 2 females. One of the 2 was low quality. She also happened to be the one who was berried most often and most heavily. Because of this, I have been struggling with culling the colony for quality. A few weeks ago I decided to cull more heavily. Tonight I realized I've now culled about 90% of the colony. They are still in the next door tank so I can put some back, but it was kind of an eye opener to me how many of them were not desirable. This leaves me needing to make a decision. The way I see it here are my options:
1. Stay the course but don't cull as ruthlessly. Pull out obviously really bad ones but don't be as picky for now. I would also need to make sure I have a decent amount of females so I don't bottle neck my genetics again.
2. Put some back from the cull tank. Maybe I can find the not-so-bad ones and put them back? Idk.
3. Rehome the colony and start new. I wouldn't mind switching to red anyway. I've recently kind of regretted my choice to go with blue.
What's your thoughts?
Similar thing happened to me. Life got busy and I stopped culling. Now the blue dreams have a black inkspot pattern and some have a striped pattern down their back. Also at one point I gave my friend 25 of the good genetic blue dreams. So my blue dream tank was looking kinda empty with a few of the inkspot shrimp which were never looking too active, unless they got something special, like spinach or shrimp lolly.
My wild tank is always super active and swimming all around. So I just combined the 2 colonies. My wild shrimp are actually my favorite shrimp because they are all different, and I’m very happy and content with the decision I made. The tank is full of energy and life.
I’ve come to realize I don’t care about cosmetic issues. If they are healthy and happy, so am I. And I am always delighted when I see a new pattern in the youngsters.
-
2
-
-
Hummingbird hobby update; yard animals
Hummingbirds are in migration to Honduras now and visits I get may be very temporary. I am grateful for and charmed by them.
-
4
-
-
It would be a good idea to add a heater so you can prevent those 10 degree temp swings which can be hard on the animals.
-
3
-
1
-
-
On 10/26/2023 at 1:14 PM, Natalie is new said:
I have the multi test strips and ammonia test stripes. Ive tested with the multi test strips. I also have a test kit for gh and kh. With my first gh test I found I have off the chart hardness. I will do that one again.
Mine is like 180
-
On 10/24/2023 at 10:13 PM, Natalie is new said:
@PaigeIs Does the weird wood decor slime form a whitish clear cloud around parts of the wood?
This is normal, and it's nutritious for snails and plecos, shrimp, fish, etc. Given you don't have any critters in there yet, you can use a (new) toothbrush to remove it, and suck the slime out with a turkey baster.
Here is a helpful article for new tank setup.
https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/fish-tank-cycling
Also a video about the nitrogen cycle, the most important part of setting up a new tank.
You are a step ahead since you added bacteria to your tank. Do you have a test kit yet? You'll need a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (there are other tests, but these are the main ones for now). You can get liquid test kit (such as the API master test kit) or test strips. Multi-test strips will not have ammonia test on them. The ammonia one is separate.
This cycle should be completed before adding fish (meaning you are reading nitrates, but zero ammonia and zero nitrite). You can feed the bacteria you added to the tank by adding a tiny pinch of fish food every now & then.
-
1
-
-
On 10/26/2023 at 12:37 PM, Arnam Anan said:
Hello,
I am having trouble keeping shrimps and snails in my aquariums.
Tap Water parameter: ( using co op test strips)
ph: 6.8-7
kh: 0 ppm
gh: ~0 ppm
nitrite: ~0 ppm
nitrate: ~0 ppm
water parameter after adding crushed coral and equilibrium:
ph: 7.2-7.4
kh: ~ 80-120
gh: 150-300
nitrite: 0 ppm
nitrate: 20-40 ppm ( after dosing easy green)
I have added 4 different neo types, 2 separate order of amano shrimps, dwarf Mexican crayfish, and ghost shrimps over the year. I have also added quite a few different snails including mystery snails, nerite snails, Malaysian Trumpet snails (3-4 times), BLACK DEVIL SPIKE SNAIL (FAUNUS ATER) snails, bladder snails and ramshorn snails. Other than ramshorn snails and bladder snail, no other snails survived. Bladder snail population is in the decline. Only ramshorn snails seems to be thriving. All amanos died within a week or so. No neo survived more than a month. only 2 blue dream survived about a month.
I would understand if it was my fish attacking or anything like that but I usually see them just clinging to the root of floating plants and mosses and just fall from there.
I have two quite moderately planted tanks. one 10 gallons and other is 55 gallons.I usually kept the shrimps in the 10 gallon tank but I have seen the thing happen if I put them in the bigger tank too.
When adding the neo shrimps, I drip acclimated them for 6 hours or so for first two times and then plop and drop for the other two times for neos. Both resulted in the same way. Same goes for ghost shrimps and crayfish. Snails kinda become lethargic and die. I would see the alive and laying in the same spot for several days.
This is my 10 gallon tank.
This is my 55 gallon tank.
Here's a snails pic for reference. I don't think they are having calcium issues.
Your thoughts, comments and everything else is welcome
Your parameters are very similar to mine. My pH is a little higher, but my understanding is that a pH above 7 is ok for shrimp and snails.
Where do you buy your shrimp? If you buy them locally they should be ok with your tap water. If you buy them online, they may have been raised in RO water which is very different.
What is the feeding regime. Snails eat a lot and have to be fed more than you think. They also need more nutrients than algae alone can provide - they need a combo of protein, calcium, and vegetable matter. Shrimps should have vegetable-based protein food, as animal-based protein can result in molting problems.
What is the temperature?
-
1
-
-
What kind of snails are they? The bladder snails put air in their shells on purpose, but I don't think other snails do that. Unless it's a ridiculous mystery snail playing on an airstone...
Sidenote: do I spot a glass catfish? 😍
-
On 10/26/2023 at 12:25 PM, Guppysnail said:
Entirely normal. It means they feel safe enough to have fun and be happy.
ORD I need some pygmy cories. I don't think any cories are in the cards for me. I have really hard water. 😭
-
2
-
-
On 10/26/2023 at 12:17 PM, Sherry said:
I want to use your experience… the behavior of the Pygmy Corydoras in this video is new to me. Are they just goofing around or is there something significant going on, like mating?
Maybe @TeeJay or @Guppysnail knows.
-
1
-
-
On 10/25/2023 at 2:03 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:
Has anyone got a good solution for snails in mind? My WCMM eggs have been munched, and I suspect that all my other eggs have met the same end 😖. Not fun.
Put them in your shrimp jar thingy. They will help keep the sides free of algae.
-
1
-
-
On 10/26/2023 at 9:59 AM, Allan said:
I used Panacur C to get rid of leeches in my tank. I put 1 packet into a jar with 100ml of water. Then dosed 10ml on the following schedule. This did kill my pest snails as well.
Shake the jar and use a syphon/syringe to get 10ml out. A pharmacy can give you a child dosing syringe.
- Initial dose
- 24 hours later
- 48 hrs later
- 7 days after initial dose
- 7 days
- 7 days
- 1 month after last dose
- 1 month
- 1 month
I didn't do any water changes along the way, to keep the medicine in there. Hope this helps.
That's a long treatment. When did you see the leech die-off?
-
I read a comment somewhere that suction cups can be revived by placing them in boiling water for a few seconds. Has anyone ever tried it? Wouldn't the suction cup melt?
-
1
-
-
-
Ah yes, this sounds like you are at risk for MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome) and having no water in those tanks is triggering for you. We are a great support group for this issue (meaning we support MTS, not recovery from it)... 🤪
-
1
-
5
-
-
On 10/26/2023 at 2:28 AM, whomeverwiz said:
I hav co-op regulators, and the diffusers they sell, have always worked fine in my first couple of tanks. The third one, however, keeps popping the airline off of the diffuser. I come home, and the line is loose in the tank. I put it back on, and it seems fine, but then it's not attached again. What gives? This tank is bigger and deeper, but I can't come up with any other meaningful differences.
Cut the end off the airline and reattach the airline to the diffuser. Sounds like the end has lost its elasticity.
-
On 10/25/2023 at 3:15 PM, campingdude84 said:
is Baxter AE good?
Bacter AE is a very good product to feed shrimp. Although many have reported that the dosing instructions are WAAAAY off on the package instructions (!), and I agree. You'll want to go with a very minute dose. Ignore the spoon that comes with the product. In a 10 gallon, use the tip of a toothpick to scoop out the product. Whatever little pile is on your toothpick is what you feed. You can double this for a 20 gallon tank, etc... It is best to mix it with a bit of tank water in a container (my friend uses a water test kit vial and shakes it up; I use a condiment cup from a takeout meal) and then pour it in so it doesn't just sit on the top of the water. I'd only do the bacter AE once a week. It does create a film on surfaces for the shrimp to eat but also adds microorganisms to your tank, which are great for keeping your tank clean. Overdose it though, and it could foul the water and/or result in detritus worms (not harmful, but unsightly in large numbers). Read some Amazon reviews to gain some insight on the product effects. Bacter AE is great for shrimplets and increases their survival rate.
Other things I feed my shrimp are:
Soilent green Repashy powder (small pinch, dilute w/ tank water & pour in)
Prepared Repashy with calcium carbonate mixed in
Shrimp lollies (see Etsy) - these are really fun.
Shrimp Cuisine
Boiled vegetables. Spinach is their favorite. I also give mine green beans, zucchini, squash.. These are fun too because the shrimp frenzy on the vegetables. I weigh the veggies down with a plant weight.
On 10/25/2023 at 11:34 PM, campingdude84 said:Why did you ask if it was as an existing community tank? Is that bad or good?
If you are looking to have a large colony of shrimp, a community tank can hinder that because fish will eat shrimplets.
-
Just a heads up - the dewormers are harmful to any snail friends you may have. You'll want to remove your snails, if you have any.
-
1
-
-
You are on the right track with Easy Green and a plant light. It is normal for new plants to go through melt, even if you have all the right things to start. They usually spring back. One nice thing about stem plants such as moneywort is that, if the bottom of the plant is doing poorly, you can cut the plant in half and replant the top in your sand and it will become a new plant (you may need to wrap a plant weight around it for it to stay down since it will not have roots at first).
@nabokovfan87 is right regarding taking the java fern out of the sand. Here's one way to "plant" it.
Cory uses rocks, but driftwood is another nice choice, and your baby snails will enjoy eating the slimy stuff (biofilm) that initially forms on the driftwood. It is a good source of fiber and protein for them.
Check out Crayfish Empire for free samples of snail foods, too! They will even send you a package of calcium carbonate for free. (Just pay shipping) Their snail foods are nutritionally balanced with the calcium, protein, and vegetable matter that mystery snails need.
-
1
-
-
On 10/24/2023 at 10:17 AM, Teacups said:
Not sure why my photos are posting upside down.
You can crop them a tiny bit and it should fix it
-
ORD they are snuggling
-
1
-
1
-
-
On 10/23/2023 at 8:14 PM, Guppysnail said:
That is a piano snail. Unfortunately I had Apisto babies that needed a grow out so the hardness and ph got a touch low so his tip eroded a touch. I turned it to a melini cory grow out CPD breeding tank and fixed it.
I like how his foot is speckled.
When Gup first got the GBRs they were in a top tank. She was cleaning the bottom tank and then looked up and she said all the GBRs had their snoots pointed down looking at her. 😂
-
2
-
1
-
-
On 10/23/2023 at 9:36 PM, Colu said:
Does look like columnaris
Agreed. I have used Colu’s treatment and it works. Sometimes it needs to be repeated if the illness is stubborn. Do not share nets, equipment, siphons between tanks or you could infect the other tanks. You can disinfect your equipment in a mild bleach/water solution in a bucket. Then rinse well with tap water. I also dip the stuff in dechlorinated water just in case some bleach (aka chlorine) didn’t rinse off.
-
1
-
How much to actually feed a Betta?
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
I give my dude 4-5 pellets twice a day or a very small piece of Repashy once a day. Or Frozen bloodworms, 4 or 5. Same qty with frozen brine shrimp: 4 or 5.