Anita

And this is how the addiction begins. There is always a gateway tank! 😈 Yes, quite likely for tannins and also for biofilm. People use all sorts of woody materials to add these two components to their tank. Alder cones and Catappa leaves are popular with the shrimp crowd. I use spruce cones, after soaking them in water for a couple weeks. Word of caution. 😮 Be careful when adding plant materials to your tank, especially novel ones. All plant tissues contain resin/sap, many of which contain quite toxic substances (specifically, plant alkaloids) that could poison your aquarium residents. Make sure any plant material you use is well-seasoned, i.e., completely brown and dried out. Brown plant matter 🍂 has a different chemical composition than green plant matter 🍃 (you composters know what I mean). Brown plant matter is high in carbon and low in nitrogen, and thus, fairly inert. Green plant matter has a higher percentage of nitrogen, the stuff that could send your ammonia/nitrates soaring or cause a bacterial/algal bloom. Also, green plant matter is "fresher" and thus, more likely to have toxic resins/sap still hanging around in the tissues. I have not read about anyone else using spruce cones. However, I know they are relatively low in resins, compared to other coniferous cones, such as pine or fir. If you pick one up, you will notice a spruce cone is papery and light. I only use windfallen cones, meaning they are long dead. And I soak them in water for a couple of weeks. And, most importantly, I am wiling to risk my fishes/shrimps/snails lives with my experiment. That said, these spruce cones have been sitting around in all of my tanks for about 10 months. So far, so good!

I guess some particulars would be useful: Tank: Awaken Half-Moon, 10 gallons empty, approx. 7-8 gallons with substrate, plants, and decorations. Temperature: heated to a constant 78°F (i.e., not room temperature). Tap water treated with activated carbon (filter on bathroom faucet) and Seachem Prime, my municipality has hard water. Water Additives: calcium carbonate (food-grade powder), approximately ¼ tsp/month. Water Changes: monthly, gravel vacuum with 33% water change. Filtration: Modified under-gravel filter (UGF) powered by two Ziss Never-Clog Air Stones (adjusted for medium bubbles). Water Current: minimal water flow, no powerhead or wave generator. Air Current: two small USB fans circulate air around the tanks. Lighting: no natural/ambient lighting, tank is surrounded by mylar curtains (which also help reflect artificial lighting into the tank). Lighting: one 8-inch red/blue LED grow light strip, 9a-12p lights on. Lighting: one 30W LED floodlight, split schedule, 8a-1p/6p-11p lights on, 1p-6p/11p-8a lights off. Plants: Java Fern, Anubias nana “petite”, Vallisneria, Water Sprite (free-floating). Fertilizer: SeaChem Flourish, SeaChem Iron, SeaChem Trace, Easy Green All-in-One, liquid kelp (diluted). Substrate: approximately 1 inch deep, pea gravel (Home Depot), crushed coral. Decorations: the vendor suggests avoiding decorations with crevices, holes, or branches that might be a death trap for these snails and their bulky, spiny shells. Tank Mates: Blonde Cobra guppies (1 male, 3 females), bladder snails, Neocaridina shrimp. Community Macro-Foods: everyone shares meals—Repashy Super Green, Drosophila hydei (larvae/flies, see milk bottle next to tank), Omega One Veggie Kelp Flakes, Omega One Pacific Plankton (dried), Omega One Super Color Flakes, Aquatic Arts sinking pellets, bee pollen, dried leaves (mulberry, grape), butternut squash, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, Omega One Super Carnivore (frozen), San Francisco Bay Emerald Entrée (frozen), Glasgarten Mineral Junkie Bites. Community Micro-Foods: everyone shares meals—Fritz Zyme 7 Live Bacteria, baker’s yeast, MiKrobs Soil Microbes, Glasgarten Bacter AE, Glasgarten Shrimp Baby Food, spruce cones (biofilm, wood). Whew, I think that covers it. Let me know if I missed a parameter you are interested in. 🤓

My tank water is always a light shade of green, so perhaps the snails will appreciate the extra organics floating around in the water. At least this water is somewhat closer to what they had in Thailand. I've been to Thailand and those rivers were m-u-r-k-y. And I still ate the fish!!! My boyfriend was appalled. 🤪

I blame @Cory and his experience with the Hillstream Loach for deciding to take the leap. Haha! 😜 Yes, I will use this journal for that purpose, so we all can learn from my successes, or my mistakes! 🤓 First goal → have them survive for 3 months!

This manufacturer shows how to separate neodymium super magnets. They suggest twisting or sliding rather than prying. (Bravo @Trish!) For medium magnets, try using the edge of a sturdy table to shear the magnets apart. For the large ones you cannot wrestle apart by hand or table, they recommend a tool that shears them apart. They post videos for each technique, https://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=separating-magnets, and a link to instructions for a DIY tool for separating large super magnets. Be careful! 🏥

I splurged and purchased Pagoda Snails even though it was difficult finding reliable information about their care. One of the few sources I found, recommended a large tank with a fast water flow, high oxygen levels, and low light levels. This simulates their native habitat, the Thoungyin River in Thailand. That said, I cannot tell if this source has successfully raised the snails or simply posted information gleaned from research. E.g., the photos look like they were taken from different tanks. E.g., the group shot looks like the snails were placed together or even perhaps Photoshop-added. Since my tanks are small, a powerhead or current generator seemed like it would cause more problems than solutions. So, I opted for highly oxygenated conditions and put them in the tank with an under-gravel filter (UGF). The UGF flow is powered by 2 air stones running at full volume. I run a split lighting schedule—8a-1p/6p-11p lights on, 1p-6p/11p-8a lights off. The UGF tank is lit by one 30W LED floodlight and one 8-inch red/blue LED grow light strip (that’s very small). It also contains floating water sprite a few inches thick, making for low-light conditions. I have had these horned beauties for a week. They are said to be shy and indeed, they usually spend the lighted periods lounging on the substrate. I am building a couple of terra cotta hides so they can hang out in the shade. Occasionally I have seen them moving around on the substrate and glass. I have seen each of them eating at some point. Every morning I find objects—Anubias on lava rock, spruce cones, spring-clip leaf holder—have been pushed around. Check out this adorable face!

Pagoda Snails! Please excuse the dirty glass. 🤭

Hmm, isn't this just, Repashy? 😉

I like this shape. Tall and long, with a short front-to-back distance. How many gallons of water does it hold?

Haha, mine aren't in the poll! I like Water Sprite and American Frogbit. The two plants provide different levels of shading,

@Cory posted a video explaining the background of this problem that has affected aquarium supply stores nationwide, as well as the Aquarium Co-Op refund policy for customers:

I am another customer who is happy to know that my purchases support an employer who builds the feeling of co-ownership 🏪and co-operation 🤲 with employees. Just what I hope for in a company with "co-op" in the name. 😎

Plus, the kit, "Includes a 45 minute detailed instructional DVD featuring world famous fish trainer Dr Dean Pomerleau." Um, Dr. Who? 😆

So how does a goldfish pull a hammy? 🤣

I have used a couple brands of hang-on-back (HOB) filters, Fluval and Top Fin (Petsmart), modified with coarse foam. Both models needed priming if they sat turned off for more than a few minutes. At first, I only had to pour one cup full (6-8 oz) of water to get them going. Over time, it took multiple cups of water to get them going. Like your Penguin HOB, with the first cup the filter reservoir fills up but doesn't overflow into the tank. The reservoir would only overflow from pouring in multiple cups of water. I could see the water level surging up and down slightly, as the pump tried to achieve sufficient vacuum to get the flow going. Eventually, after more cups of water, the motor sound changed and the filter reservoir would overflow and start flowing into the tank. The Top Fin was particularly fiddly. Sometimes I had better luck with the flow rate turned down halfway so the impeller was turning more slowly. (I have no idea why this worked. 🤔) Then once the filter was flowing, I turned the flow rate back to full. Sometimes I removed all the foam inserts to maximize water flow and then poured in multiple cups of water. Once the filter was flowing again, I put the foam back in. What a pain in the you-know-what! 🙄 I wonder if this priming issue has something to do with dirt/mineral build-up gradually clogging up and impeding pump efficiency? You mentioned the Penguin filter is old, so I wonder if something similar has happened? Good luck!

I know what you mean! You ate ALL the pellets already? What happened to all the mulberry leaves I left last night? 😲

🤣

@Hobbit I would be surprised if BT competes with other bacteria in the yard. ☺️ I seem to recall the toxin is very specific to certain insects, and only if they eat it. According to the NPIC web page, it is just one specific strain of BT that is toxic to honeybees. According to EPA.gov, BT is safe for honeybees. At any rate, the brand I use, "Mosquito Dunks," contains the israelensis strain, so I feel pretty safe using it. For your peace of mind, I suggest reading through both web pages. 🤓

What fun! Love your thinking-outside-the-box solutions‼️ Looking forward to seeing how it facilitates your fish-breeding goals. 🐟

I find guppies do a good job keeping mosquito populations down. During those those early months before the nights warm up enough to put the guppies out, mosquito dunks containing Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) work quite well. In my experience, BT does not seem to affect guppies, snails, shrimp, ostracods, or amphipods living in my plastic-kiddie-pool pond. The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) states BT is safe for non-target insects (insects that do not ingest the bacteria), birds, fish, shrimp, and most invertebrates. BT may be toxic to water fleas (I guess they mean daphnia) and honeybees (I wonder if they are drinking the water?)😎

I would say the answer to the "beneficial enzymes" part of your question is not quite as simple as myth vs truth (says the animal science major 🐮 and former biology lab tech 🥼) . Enzymes and enzymatic activity certainly could be present in the mulm/waste. However, as pointed out by @darkG, most enzymes are synthesized internally by the organism. There are a few exceptions, of course. Stable enzymes exist, usually from microbes or plants, that when orally ingested help digest certain macronutrients. E.g., papain (from papaya) and bromelain (from pineapple) break down proteins into peptides/amino acids. Amylase and lactase (from Aspergillus sp. fungi, commercially sold as LACTAID®), break down carbohydrates into sugars and lactose into lactate, respectively.🥛 Enteric microbes living in the GI tract also produce various digestive enzymes and other substances via fermentation. E.g., Lactobacillus sp. bacteria also break down lactose. E.g., the reason cows, sheep, and goats can survive on hay and non-cereal plant matter is their digestive systems house huge populations of enteric microbes. These microbes secrete digestive enzymes that specifically work on certain, non-starch carbohydrates (aka, fiber).🦠 Despite a handful of exceptions, most external enzymes—in microbes, plants, or other foods—that are ingested by shrimp (or snails) get digested into amino acids and other organic substances. So while they may provide energy, nutrients, and building blocks for internal enzyme synthesis, most of the ingested enzymes are broken down and thus rendered inert. 🔬 It is likely that any animal with a GI tract has enteric microbes living in their gut. Rather than enzymes, it seems more likely the shrimp benefit from ingesting enteric microbes that produce digestive enzymes and other beneficial substances after taking up residence in their guts. There you go. Much more than you ever wanted to know about animal nutrition, enzymes, and microbes, haha!🤓

I hear you! What is a doggie-safe vine that grows with indoor lighting and aquarium water as the grow medium? Hmm, that would send me looking at hydroponics or aquaponics sites for potential candidates. As an added bonus, most hydroponically grown plants provide food or medicinals, and thus, are non-toxic to people. As you know, some of these will be bad for dogs, but "hydroponic" certainly filters out a lot of dangerous ones. 🍅 There are many vining plants, but unfortunately, most I can think of are poisonous: honeysuckle, clematis, jasmine (vining type), hoya, moonflower, morning glory, datura, cypress vine, and many others. 🤢 Non-toxic vines that come to mind are native/tropical passionflowers. The native vine is Passiflora incarnata, sometimes called maypop. Tropical Passiflora come in a huge variety of bloom colors/sizes/shapes. The good news: Many passiflora varieties can be grown indoors. The bad news: And this will be the stumbling point for most indoor vines, I don't think you will find much information on growing them hydroponically. Perhaps you could glean information from the cultivation of other vines, such as melons, squash, beans, or tomatoes? I look forward to reading what your research uncovers! Good luck! 🐾

Hi @GardenStateGoldfish! I rely heavily on the internet for research, and apply thoughtful caution to what I find. 🧐 One site I usually check first is Davesgarden.com, see Pothos species, which has been around a very long time. Another site is Garden.org, see Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), founded by the National Gardening Association. Both sites indicate that Pothos can survive at temps lower than 50 °F. Garden.org suggests down to -3.9 °C (25 °F) and Davesgarden.com down to -1.1 °C (30 °F). Another variable to consider is these recommendations are for outdoor environments, with it's sudden and variable conditions, meaning the temperature ranges will err on the conservative side, i.e., warm for winter/cool for summer. Since your living-plant wall will be staying safe and sound indoors — constantly well-lit, sheltered from wind, and kept well-watered — it is less likely to experience sudden trauma caused by a cold snap or hard freeze. And as you noted, the water will certainly help insulate the roots. For example, a shrub planted outside often can survive unusually severe cold weather, even if the top growth is killed to the ground, as long as the roots are well protected. Winter kill happens if the shrub's roots are stripped of the insulating soil, exposed to air through frost heave, and dried out by winds. Or it may happen when a shrub is subjected to unusually low and extended low temps that freeze the roots beyond recovery. FWIW, those are my thoughts. Disclaimer: I do not have firsthand experience with Pothos; I tend to avoid plants that could potentially poison my doggies. (Say, what's this? I don't know. Let's eat it! 🐶) However, I am a terrestrial gardener living in climate zones 6a-7a, i.e., we get hard freezes every winter. Having killed plenty of plants, as well as raised many successfully, I have observed that plants frequently disobey the rules, haha! 🌿 At any rate, I am sure there are people here with more experience than yours truly who can offer their wisdom. 🧠 Whatever type of wall you choose to grow, be sure to post pics!

@H.K.Luterman I love your tank dedicated to snails! What type are the conical shaped snails?

Anubias 'Petite Nana', Neocaridina, and guppy. Taken using my phone! 🤓