Maggie
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Posts posted by Maggie
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I hacked these silicone straws into floating plant corrals. Airline tubing conveniently connects pieces together.
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"I used a command strip "jewelry hanger" as a knob/handle for my Aquatop aquarium"
That looks like a great idea for my Aqueon pine stand door which doesn't come with a knob!
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I just sold my old house a couple months ago. There was this same type of heat tape on the clothes washer water lines, which had been hooked up in the unheated garage. I had to replace the heat tape because it appeared old and was very brittle, and the plastic had cracked, exposing the wire in a few spots. I'd caution against using heat tape inside an aquarium, especially if you cannot see or feel the degradation of plastic that may happen. Also many heat tapes have a sensor that turns off the heat at temps above about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Hi xX, sorry to hear about your betta troubles. I'm still fretting over the loss of Cosmo. His tank still sits empty after a month as I have no plan for it right now and instead have been planning a new 20L. But...on the subject of CPDs, they are cousins to dwarf emerald danios (both originate from Inle Lake, and can apparently cross-breed) which I had before rehoming for my house sale/move. These guys are fascinating little fish and I hope you enjoy them and find babies - some are sure to survive with enough cover - I started with 11 and ended up with at least 20+ babies of various ages in 6 months. They're so adorable when they grow up in your tank and color up at a very young age.
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Sorry to hear about Vader and your shrimp, James!
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Finally my 5 gal is ready for shrimp, so I went out and bought six Blue Dreams about 2/3" in size, and acclimated them. They're now exploring their new digs. I have 2 pieces of cholla wood to add that are currently soaking, and gave the newbies some shrimp cuisine pellets so they know where the food bowl is. The LFS are all over an hour away so next time I'll hit the farthest one - when my guppy tank is ready (hoping by Thanksgiving- sponge is already seeding).
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I had one fail but it was actually the plug that failed - I grabbed an extra one from an old cell phone and the pump still worked fine. The quietness is worth the allegedly shorter lifespan to me.
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@Torreyit is new growth of water wisteria from the Coop. Pretty cool looking, isn't it? My first time with this plant.
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That's similar to my old 45 gallon which was also 36x12. I had harlequin rasboras, and they love horizontal swimming space at the middle and top, leaving room at the bottom for cory cats or your favorite bottom-dweller (I had otocats). I tried two sibling angelfish in with the rasboras but they were too aggressive (and they ended up being M/F and mating, so no wonder). But there'd be room in there for a larger "centerpiece" fish or another species of smaller schooling fish.
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I went to one of the LFS stores in the Boston area and probably won't go back to that one - it was not exclusively an aquarium shop and not worth the drive. There's another, larger LFS in the opposite direction and farther away that I'll hit next time.
On the way back I decided to stop at Pet Supplies Plus and grab a new 20L and Aqueon stand. The stands aren't super high quality, but they're sturdy, not too heavy, and come already assembled (the best part). And you can take pics of the bottom of your tank! I have never seen these stands at any other big box store. I need some motivation to continue and hope this new tank will help. Looking for stocking ideas! I think I'll put it in the "dining room" a few feet from where Cosmo's tank was set up, and move that tank to my bedroom or maybe the kitchen.
I'm getting really good plant/root growth in the 5 gallon shrimp tank. Another couple weeks or so and it'll be cycled and maybe ready for some shrimp.
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Not fish news, but turtle news...meet Mary Kate and Ashley!
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I tried design and it didn't work, due to no visual artistic talent. The tanks I didn't plan worked out much better for the fish and plants, too.
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I'm having this issue with the ammonia test strips I just received. Cycling my 5 gallon using fish food, API shows 2-4 ppm and the test strip only shows .25 ppm.
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Well, he died. I'm crushed. The last couple of hours were very painful to watch and probably for him too. I wrapped him in a paper towel and plastic bag and put him in the freezer for now. Cleaned and disinfected the minibow, etc., to avoid having to do it in the morning, there will be enough to do and I won't want to do any of it. Right now I just want to give up, but I know that won't last - really love having fish.
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No improvement today, so I put Cos in the minibow with clean bottled spring water, and took down his tank. He's laying on the silk plant near the surface, still taking in more air than normal. I added 1.25 TBSP salt to the tank which currently just has 3 gallons water in it, and turned up the heat to 81-82.
I think I found rhe culprit. When I pulled out this fake decoration I realized something was rotten inside as it stunk to high heaven when I drained the water from this tiny hole. The bottom is plugged with silicone where I attached it to the rock. I pulled off some of the smaller rocks (also siliconed) and am going to take everything off and find out what's in there and then ditch the whole thing. It's my fault for covering up the bottom.
I kept this in the plant container with the sponge filter during the move but I guess the water inside was bad and maybe there's a dead ramshorn in there that got stuck.
I'm going to disinfect everything but need advice on disinfecting (or not) the plants. I have three gorgeous healthy anubias plants plus a few crypts in a bucket right now, along with the other piece of fake decoration that one anubias is attached to (not for long). How long can they stay in a bucket and should I add an airstone? I presume they'll be fine with temps in the 68-70 range.
Should I stick with salt for now or re-dose the erythromycin and general cure as well? I'm sick over this.
I am not setting up his 10-gallon again unless he shows improvement, as I'm not sure what I'll do with it if he dies. He looks so ragged.
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On 10/5/2021 at 4:28 AM, Guppysnail said:
I have had 7 reconstructive surgeries on my wrist on my dominant side. 2/3 plates did not hold leaving a non union. This makes anything requiring hand and wrist dexterity... 🤮🤢.
Wow GS, how in the world do you work on your aquariums??!? I broke my non-dominant wrist in 2019 very badly (plate, screws and 7 pins), and could never have maintained an aquarium during that time (tho I did still have to work, which involved a train commute and a lot of computer use, no fun at all one-handed). I feel so darn lucky that I've gotten back about 80% range of motion and haven't had any issues. I definitely feel for you. Dominant hand - yikes.
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I set up the 5 gal last week and it's currently fishless cycling using fish food. This is a strange cycle compared to my other tanks.
PH out of the tap is 8.4. But after one week in the tank, it's fallen to 7.2 while ammonia and nitrites have skyrocketed, and nitrates have started rising too - this took much longer in my 45 gallon. I attribute it to the high pH of the tap water.
Tap water pH.
Current readings on the tank water. I'm going to have to add wonder shell and some aragonite to help buffer the water since this tank will be for neocaridina shrimp.
Biological film/goo in two spots that only lasted one day and then disappeared.
A little snail that appeared and came up for air today. These guys are tough little cookies.
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I decided to medicate Cosmo as he was not getting better. I used erythromycin and general cure. He's on day 4 of this treatment in addition to the low level salt. He is still hanging near the top and taking in a lot of air which is concerning as to what's going on with his gills (hence the general cure treatment). I've been feeding very sparingly and he's been eating, so I know he has the will to survive. I've been struggling with what I'll do as far as this hobby goes if he doesn't. But having been through serious illnesses a few times with myself and family members, I know that if you want to eat, that's a good sign. Cos has pretty much been my only connection to the fishkeeping world since June.
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I just moved 450 miles with one fish and that was an ordeal. He's not doing well now since the move. I rehomed all my other fish and tanks as I didn't have the space in my car for them nor anyone to help me with any part of the move. I'd definitely suggest getting a few nano air pumps and a charger for such a long move. I also kept a digital thermometer in his travel jar and a heat pack close by. Be careful with too much water as it finds its way out when sloshed around (my plant container popped open and spilled water all over the back seat and my dog - what a mess). I'd look for tall containers rather than wide ones for your plants. Good luck!
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends 23 species be officially declared extinct. Included are two species of fish - the San Marcos gambusia (Poecillidae family) from Texas and the Scioto madtom (Siluriforme family) from Ohio.
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@Streetwise "The footage is just spectacular!"
It is but it gave me vertigo and I couldn't watch it!
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Cosmo seems to be feeling a little better today, but I saw something on his gill area that's very concerning and I'm not sure what it is and if I should up the salt. Photos not good bc I have the light off and a mediocre phone cam.
See the fuzzy spot center-bottom:
Here's what it looks like underneath:
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There are many different opinions and practices on water changes on here. Some do it weekly and some never do it, and everywhere in between. Some like the process and do WC regardless of need, some to get rid of nitrates, some to prevent pH crashes, some are meticulous about regular vacuuming/cleaning, some just top off. Several with fish rooms have auto-water changers. I think there are some spirited past discussions about this subject on the forum. I do a WC every other week for the process and also to prevent pH crashes (soft water) but there are times where I tested and let it go an extra week or so.
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Hi James! I'm going to be starting a 5 gal shrimp breeding tank and plan on getting 10. That's what I started with when I had yellow shrimp. A few didn't make it, and it took a few months to really see population growth - I'd have to search with a magnifying glass sometimes to find a single shrimp. Then suddenly it seemed everywhere you looked in the tank you could see shrimp of every age and size.
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What did you get done today?
in Photos, Videos & Journals
Posted
I bought a nerite snail today and it looks gigantic in the 5 gallon. The shrimp have cleaned off most of the biofilm on the airline, and they are now venturing into the bubbles.