[Emersed plants for nitrate control]

Has anyone tried Umbrella Grass (Cyperus Papyrus or other species) in their tanks/ponds? 

It's listed as "slightly toxic" for pets, but since it has to be planted inside the tank, it's potentially harder for land animals to reach than vines like pothos...maybe. 

[Newly hatched BBS]

On 12/7/2021 at 7:20 AM, Karen B. said:

it’s possible to put BBS in the fridge? If so, for how long? In salted water or normal water?

I regularly keep half of hatched BBS in the fridge, usually for one day, occasionally for 2 days. In brine (~12g salt per 200ml or so), in a flat container with large water surface and plenty of air. 

If kept in fresh water, BBS survive for several hours at least (I never tried to keep them longer, only for a second feeding in the same day).

The freshly hatched BBS are the most nutritious, but even slightly grown ones after a day or two at cool temperatures are devoured by fish with much joy and vigor. 

Photo below is BBS after two days in the fridge.

[Do you use bleach when hatching baby brine shrimp?]

I've seen "scummy" and "clumping together" eggs when

1) eggs were stored at room temperature for several months (open container, i.e. used for daily hatching)

2) amount of eggs per water volume was more than twice of the recommended amount (inevitably resulted in nasty looking brine and decreased hatching rate)

3) the hatchery wasn't cleaned properly.

No harm to fish though, rinsing the baby shrimp got rid of any dirt/bacteria. 

[Freezing Brine Shrimp Eggs and Hatching Frequency]

On 12/8/2021 at 11:32 PM, Doug_E said:

What is your take on freezing BBS eggs? Any experience with hatch rate of frozen vs refrigerated? (assuming you let them both come to RT.

I keep my BBS eggs (not from Aquarium Coop) in a "mild freezer", -4 to-7C (because it's the roomiest part of my freezer, not because of the specific temperature range). 

I have no experience with "refrigerated versus frozen", only with "room temperature storage versus mildly frozen", in an open container, i.e. used for daily hatching. When kept at room temperature for several months, I saw a considerable decrease in hatching rate. The eggs also took hours to hydrate. When kept "mildly" frozen, the hatching rate remains constant and the eggs hydrate and sink in minutes. I never bother to let them come to room temperature, straight from the freezer works fine for me.

I suspect (but have no evidence myself) that for a sealed, unopened container storage conditions don't matter as much, as long as they are not extreme. 

I also never re-use the hatching water because it contains noticeable amounts of gunk after a single hatch. 

[Do you use bleach when hatching baby brine shrimp?]

No. I use water straight from the tap, salt and baking soda. 

[Congo Tetras, hard or soft water?]

I watched the video and when Cory said that congo tetras do well in hard water, I finally decided to get some. My water is ~12dGh, ~7.8 pH, and for over a year now my congoes are doing fine. They grew a lot, got their fancy finnage, and developed their rainbow colors, which are joy to behold, especially when sun rays hit the tank. 

[Enjoy Nature Daily]

Great weather yesterday, ~13C/56F, sunny and calm...

[Greatest Movies]

Some of my favorites:

drama: Fight Club

horror: Candyman (1992), Angel Heart (1987)

fantasy: Tale of Tales (2015)

comedy: Kung-Fu Hustle 

Sci-Fi/action: Alien, Aliens

Crime: The Usual Suspects (1995)

Musical: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Christmas: Die Hard  

 

 

[A bottom of the tank Matten filter?]

On 11/25/2021 at 12:48 AM, gardenman said:

Java fern, and anubias might just root into the foam and not need a planter of any type. They grab onto rock and wood, so a porous foam should support them also.

The patch of anubias nana petite below is rooted on a piece of 1" thick sponge.  Hope you can see it on the second photo more clearly.  There is also some moss self-attaching to the sponge (unlike the anubias, I didn't put the moss there). So yes, no need for planters with these plants. 

 

[I’ve been bit twice in 4 days!]

On 11/24/2021 at 12:13 PM, Atitagain said:

It’s crazy the temperament of some fish. To jump out of the tank after you is insane in any way I can think about it. How could she be so furious to think lunging out of the water would ever have good results?

She just tried to repeat her first success in a more challenging situation, when my more cautious hands were higher up and to the side of  the tank rather than above it. Parrots are smart, but she miscalculated and didn't have the element of surprise anymore.

To be fair, she doesn't only go for me, she attacks anything that comes into her tank...but I still love her 😇 😃.

 

[I’ve been bit twice in 4 days!]

Blood parrots in my house live up to their name. I mean, they want my blood... real bad, especially one feisty female.  She succeeded once by jumping 6" out of the water and biting my unsuspecting fingers holding the siphon. She launched herself out of the tank on the floor trying again a week later. I learned my lessons and these days all she can do is release her fury upon the innocent vacuum that keeps her nasty butt alive. 😃

[What non- traditional foods do you feed your fish.]

Blanched (microwaved, really) carrots and zucchinis, fresh broccoli and cauliflower leaves, hard-boiled eggs (yolks for fish, whites for shrimp), small pieces of raw chicken breast and fish filet.

[Share your angelfish pictures]

My only current angel and some I don't have anymore...

[Decapsulated BBS]

On 10/31/2021 at 5:30 PM, Guppysnail said:

My fish ate them like they were regular fish food not crazy happy eating like live bbs of course. Worked fine for me. 

Same experience. I recently started to give DBS to my guppies, cardinals, and other small fishes and it worked fine, like a normal, good quality fish food. 

[Algae eater fans]

I only have otos and snails now but hope to be able to keep plecos at some point. I love the way they look, especially the long-finned ones... just amazing looking fish.

 

 

 

[What was the last movie you watched?]

"Boss level".  Was unimpressed by the beginning, but the further I watched, the more I liked it. 

[Calm Livebearer?]

My female variatus platies are definitely the most peaceful bunch among other livebearers (endlers, guppies, and mollies). They busy themselves with grazing algae all the time and never bother each other or other fishes. Maybe because I keep then separated from males that are sometimes a bit too amorous, even to other species.

[Fish pumpkin painting]

That's some out of the box thinking! Love the idea and the execution!

Now I wish I had access to some big pumpkins...to paint them as fish bowls and present to fellow aquariumists 😄.

[What's your favourite tetra?]

#1 Congo tetras, because who could resist these colors and fins

#2 Glo tetras, because again, colors! And they are very hardy, surprisingly. 

#3 Silvertip tetras and golden tetras. Love the looks and the schooling behavior.

#4 Cardinal tetras, the living jewels that look amazing among dense vegetation.

#5 Ember tetras, because they are small and their reddish-orange color is awesome.

 

[Detritus Worm Capture to feed other fish?]

Back in the days when my tanks had detritus worms, some of them were unintentionally collected in the dirty water bucket as a result of the routine gravel vacuuming.  Not too many, because when stirred up into the water column, the worms were very quick to get back into the substrate.  The bucket usually had a number of shrimp in it too and they were always fine with the trip. I never bothered to get the worms out of the mucky water, but fishing out the shrimp was  (and still is) time-consuming and unpleasant, since the shrimp, like the detritus worms, tend to stick to the bottom. So yes, siphoning kinda works, but not very effective, I think. 

[Favorite snails discussion?]

My top favorites are "pest" snails, pond and bladder ones. I just love my cleaning crew, they are useful, cute and have no issues like some other species. No gigantic poops, no unsightly eggs, no damaged plants - perfect for me... They don't look bad either.

[Just in time for Halloween: Favorite Retro Candy Thread!]

I used to love these chocolate-filled mints. They've only appeared in my country for a short while, long time ago, and I didn't even remember the name after all these years. Googled and found what they were, and now I'm on a mission to find them, with the perfect excuse of the incoming Halloween 😄

[What snails are these?]

On 10/17/2021 at 11:01 AM, Jawjagrrl said:

 I did think that some of my fish or shrimp would eat the eggs, but no takers.

I am pretty sure my angel eats baby snails. I drop big pond and bladder snails into his tank, and they lay huge clutches everywhere. I watch the eggs developing  and hatching, but no baby snails survive. The tank is an algae farm, the adult snails are fine, but no babies. I don't know whether it's common for angelfish, as I only have a single one, but mine is (unfortunately) a very effective snail exterminator. 

[Getting food to your snails]

I give my rabbit and other snails slices of blanched carrots and zucchinis. Fishes nibble the veggies a little bit but don't seem to like them too much, so the lion share goes to the snails. 

[Blood Parrot and Electric Blue Acara Lip Locking]

@xXInkedPhoenixX It wasn't the parrot's fault, really... impulse purchase and ignorance about the species were the real cause of the trouble. Now when she has the tank to herself, she is a very good wet pet for her owner. Big, smart, interactive, robust and super-low maintenance.