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Brandy

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Posts posted by Brandy

  1. I have 2 trios, and when I first got them they were each all over their respective tanks. Now the older larger trio just hangs out in a corner all the time, on some lotus leaves. I was looking at them like "hey guys, what's wrong? you depressed? sick? what?" but they are visibly larger than they were, clearly thriving...Maybe they are just sneaky?

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  2. So, there is something called an aquatic earthworm. Also given where you found it, I would think it was unlikely a parasite. I do not think camallanus get anywhere near that big, nor do I think they hang out outside of fish for a long time. If they are leeches they typically will move in a weird way, sort of undulating to swim, like a snake might.

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  3. On 6/13/2021 at 5:36 PM, CorydorasEthan said:

    Here's a few suggestions: guppies, endlers, corydoras (try different species than you already have to make things more interesting), neon tetras, honey gouramis, otocinclus to name a few of my favorites for a peaceful tank.

    This, with the addition of platys, was going to be my exact list. Guppies are just HAPPY. And so are corys, which look like Dr. Seuss fish, and move around like wiggly little roombas, something I had not appreciated until I had them.

    I will also second the sponge filter reccomendation. They really really are the easiest and safest and least problematic. HOB are convenient, but a sponge is really cheap peace of mind insurance, and if a fish gets sick you can move it to a quarentine tank with no effort, so I would suggest at least having one!

     

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  4. @Steph’s Fish and PlantsI can second that. There also used to be a readers digest (of all things) book of home repair that was basically the "for dummies" version. As a young woman I often had trouble getting older male hardware salesmen to take me seriously. Knowing the right words and terminology for things went a long way towards remedying that. 

    https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/complete-do-it-yourself-manual_readers-digest-association/265084/item/2088396/?gclid=CjwKCAjw2ZaGBhBoEiwA8pfP_sU1SWVS9bPn211mH5l-3MxxV_YoTrt-vQmP_S6-rAyOIwZj8Pm6AxoC4_YQAvD_BwE#idiq=2088396&edition=1671858

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  5. And I just had mine. I quietly overflowed a tank, it ran down into a lower apartment, and the manager knocked on our door. If that was not bad enough, the trickle managed to also kill an $80 300w titanium heater. I literally have no idea what I am going to do.

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  6. Ok. Here's what I would do. I would put the drained gravel in a foil pan in a cold oven. Cover with foil. Then I would set the temp at 350 degrees. At the end of the preheat cycle I would shut it off and leave the door closed. Let it cool. Repeat in batches if necessary. The snails will die in under 10 min, and any rocks that pop should be fairly contained, and you have enough to do. This is a bit easier. Could be a little smelly.

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  7. Well, boiling would do it. It would be near instant. An outdoor pond is a very bad idea as the snails are not native and dependent on weather could become invasive. Scattering it in a driveway would likely work and get picked over by birds... Know anyone with chickens? If the gravel is a Crayola color that might not be attractive outdoors... Bleach will likely kill most, but mts are tough. Heat is your best bet. Oven?

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  8. On 6/11/2021 at 10:04 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

    And do tell, how does one know if said worms are "well prepared"?

    I suppose that has to do with knowing your vendor. Much like choosing to drink raw unpasteurized milk. It is not inherently dangerous, but it requires a degree of trust in your local dairyman's expertise and accountablity that is lacking in the typical pooled milk supply.

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  9. On 6/11/2021 at 6:41 PM, tonyjuliano said:

    That means definitely too much light intensity.  Electrical tape is your friend.

    This is actually a great direction. Alternatively, floating plants that block light, if you like that sort of thing.

    The deal is, you just moved your plants from part shade to blaring full sun...at the equator...at noon...in the dry season... Not having feet, plants are not adapted to such rapid changes. Algae, being more mobile, are adapted to more rapidly take advantage of a broader range of conditions. If you gradually increase your light intensity and your fertilizer only WHEN YOU SEE YOUR PLANTS RESPOND with new growth, you will eventually have very happy plants. They just need to catch up. In the meantime a tiny bit of manufactured shade will help.

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  10. It could be trapped air. It really could. But the enthusiasm is literally irresistible. 🙂 

    I am sure it will take time to prove anything, but there is no reason not to celebrate each positive development--as long as we don't get so wedded to an outcome that we can't accept negative results when they inevitably come, as they must if we do science long enough.

    Take the joy when you can @tonyjuliano, science is full of enough disappointments. I want to hear all the happy with the sad.

  11. On 6/11/2021 at 6:43 PM, eatyourpeas said:

    Thanks so much for that information! I lost mine and they were eating but not gaining weight, so still can't figure out what happened. I may not try again if they are that fragile. 🙁

     

    On 6/11/2021 at 1:19 PM, BenA said:

    I used to have 6 Otos, lost 2 few months ago, during the last 6 weeks I have lost the rest, one day that have just stopped eating. Water parameters are very good and I change water on a regular basis.

    I think that I am done with this fish.

    It is not something you are doing...But they are usually wild caught. If they eat and don't thrive, then die slowly and sporadically, I would suspect parasites. We can treat for that proactively...Not that it is always easy.

    Mine have been solid little guys. But I also have excessively acidic soft water, which is basically their happy place. My little guys are basically living the good life and so they are ok, but if they came a long way, had a rough trip, your water is not to their liking, they have trouble finding their prefered food, AND they have a parasite load...well... sometimes it is just one thing too many. This is one of the species I hope to breed locally in the future. 

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  12. I have some in a dirted sand-capped tank with lots of light. It is nice and bright and colorful for me IF I fertilize heavily and don't skimp on iron and potassium (my water is essentially RO water--zero minerals at the tap). However, it is still easily shaded by faster growing plants, so if you have a jungle you will need to free it with your scissors often. Due to its diminuitve stature it won't stretch to reach the light, and that puts it at a competitive disadvantage.

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  13. Long term, I like plants out of pots unless I have a very agressive digging fish in my tank. Personally, I don't like the look of the pots. I think the plants coming in are at their healthiest and should be situated where they are going to be to begin acclimating to your tank. Plants, as a rule, don't like moving, and will go into shock each time they do. So I plant them however I want them to grow going forward...

    I do make ONE major exception. Anubias have a mysterious disease known only as "rot" that is not totally well understood, but in my experience it is totally contangious between Anubias plants. I have had issues with them before, and so I QUARENTINE them. Seriously. I un-pot them and put them in a jar on a window sill in tank water with a little fertilizer. They have to make it a week or two with no squishy softness before I will let them near my tanks.

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  14. On 6/11/2021 at 5:35 PM, Georgiapeach88 said:

    I’m in love with a red root floater so I think I’m gonna go with that thank you everyone for all your great info definitely keeping the frogbit as a back up plan if I can’t find any good Red root floater 

    It is a great plant, and you have enough light for it. In my tanks it likes a bit of heat as well as light, and it likes fertilizer--like most red plants it likes kinda a lot of all of it.

    • Like 1
  15. On 6/11/2021 at 3:26 PM, quirkylemon103 said:

    any indoor ponds planned? I can't wait to see what you do!

    I mean, I don't think I need ponds...but I admit I might have priced the totes out. Not sure what I need to put in them, but I am going to go with "if I build it, they will come". 

    But will they fit down the stairs?!😨

    • Haha 1
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