Jump to content
Watch our video on the rules of this forum.

H.K.Luterman

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,555

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    9

  • Feedback

    0%

 Content Type 

Everything posted by H.K.Luterman

  1. H.K.Luterman
    My vote is platies. Gorgeous colors and for me they've always been super hardy. Easy to breed too, if someone is interested in that.
  2. H.K.Luterman
    I thought of Hugo when I discovered they would chase it. :3
  3. H.K.Luterman
    There was a green tribble growing on the stem of one of the lily pads. I don't mind the fuzzy algae, I think its cute, but I want to keep it just on the wood. So I removed the affected stem. Before: After: Also, the eyes of the baby shrimp are now visible. Can't be too much longer now.
  4. H.K.Luterman
  5. H.K.Luterman
    Yeah hydra are just the little palm tree guys. I'm not sure what that other stuff is. What are you feeding? And yeah, how old is the tank?
  6. H.K.Luterman
    My answers 😄 1. It depends. Usually I don't gravel vac unless the substrate is looking really dirty. A little mulm ain't bad, especially in a planted tank. 2. Clean water to me means optimal water conditions - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 20 nitrate. 3. Just for regular water testing? I use both the Co-Op test strips and the API Master Test Kit. 4. I have a hard time reading the Ph on the test strips and just use the Master Kit for that. 5. A fish can most definitely hurt themselves if they run into the glass hard enough. 6. I have never kept otos. 7. I've had problems with java ferns as well! But I am having some success with the windelov variety, and making sure to dose with Easy Green every week. They need a lot of potassium is what I've read.
  7. H.K.Luterman
    If there was a small, natural split in the end of the fin, as the fin grows, the split ends just grow longer. That's what happened with my guy's notched tail. Here's some pics of what I'm talking about. When I first got him, the split was tiny and I figured it would just heal up. As he grew and his fins developed, they grew longer, and the split became bigger and bigger. And you can see in the first pic, his ventrals were a bit tattery as well, and they stayed like that his whole life. As long as he's in a good environment, is acting healthy and the fins don't look inflamed, I think there's no need to medicate. It's probably just how he is.
  8. H.K.Luterman
    How long has the tank been set up? It might not have been totally done cycling when you added the snails. But luckily, snails are pretty hardy and can even help cycle the tank. I agree with @Struggle's suggestions. The pea puffer's not in the tank yet, right?
  9. H.K.Luterman
    Rofl I do the same, I think they're neat. Honestly, I'm not convinced hydra are really that big of a problem. I only notice them in my tanks when I feed a lot of frozen brine shrimp. When I cut back on it, they go away on their own.
  10. H.K.Luterman
    Those dangley ventral fins, I've noticed, can just be kind of tattery. Bettas can have natural imperfections in their finnage; I had one years ago who had a notch in his tail, and it was there the entire 2 years I had him. As long as it doesn't look red, or discolored, and doesn't seem to get worse, I'd say it's just the way his fins are. Keep his environment clean and observe for a few days for any changes.
  11. H.K.Luterman
    I had a young female bichir just drop dead for no apparent reason. Fine the night before and then dead the next morning. The one female I had before her hardly ever grew any (she was tiny compared to the male, I bought both at the same time from the same source). She ate EVERYTHING, even dug up root tabs, and always acted like she was starving. Her stomach was always bloated up too, which I tried everything to try to fix. She eventually passed away. I gave up trying to give my male a girlfriend. He has a boyfriend instead (who he tries to flirt with).
  12. H.K.Luterman
    Scruffy let me take some pics tonight!
  13. H.K.Luterman
    I'm so sorry for your loss. You gave him a good year.
  14. H.K.Luterman
    It's always a good idea just to keep extra media/sponges tucked away in your main tanks. That way whenever you need an instant cycle, you have a ready to go filter on hand. Anyways here's my QT. I break it down when not in use. The sponges for the filter are kept seeded in my 75 gal, tucked away out of sight.
  15. H.K.Luterman
    2017-2018 is when my Aquarium hobby itch came back, and I found the Co-Op pretty quickly while I was looking up info.
  16. H.K.Luterman
    It looks a lot like a seed shrimp to me in the video. Your tetras will most likely gobble it up.
  17. H.K.Luterman
    I have not kept endlers, but I have kept a few types of live bearers, and I can tell you that for the most part you don't have to sweat their parameters TOO much. They do need minerals, so somewhat harder water - over 7ph is better than under. But don't chase any specific number. Stability is more important, and each generation born in your tank will be more and more adjusted to your water. Most fish are very adaptable. For temperature, they don't need to be too warm. Room temp is fine for most, though I do recommend a heater with an Inkbird thermostat so you can be assured the temp stays where it should be. I'm also a control freak so I like the peace of mind. As for snails, both nerites and mysteries are great. Nerite, you'll want to make sure your tank has a good build up of algae for them or else they'll go hungry. Mysteries are my favorite, but you'll want to make sure to feed them a calcium suppliment (I feed mine Hikari Crab Cuisine). Also, something to keep in mind about nerite is that if they're female they lay little white eggs everywhere that never hatch (they need brackish water to hatch), and are annoying to try to remove. Some people don't mind them, but some do. Just something to consider. You can see the white eggs on the rock behind Igor. I'm excited to see your journey into live bearers unfold!
  18. H.K.Luterman
    Looks like poop to me. I wouldn't be concerned.
  19. H.K.Luterman
    Checking on the quarantine kids this morning. My one complaint about using a clear tote as a Q-tank is that it's a bit hard to see through the plastic. So I took a top down pic with flash as well as just photographing through the plastic. Zooming in, I don't see any trace of the mysterious white patches. And there was one male who was showing symptoms of swim bladder problems who seems better today. So heat (78-79 F) and salt (1 cup per 10 gallons) seems to be doing the trick for whatever infection this is. Here's what the illness looks like. This was after anti-fungal, erythromycin and the first round of heat and salt (each treatment done one at a time, not all at once) - they looked better so I took them out of quarantine, but it all came back within a few days. The white patches would start as a cloudy film and slowly get bigger and more opaque as it developed over their backs and sides. Here's the pics I took today (also just a full tank shot of my quarantine set up). It's kept in a spare room. I don't see any more white patches, but I'm keeping them in there until maybe mid Feb just to be sure. My theory on the cause so far is that perhaps their tank was too cold - it's been really cold this winter. I bumped the tanks heat up to 75-76 via the Inkbird thermostat for their eventual return. But yay, I'm glad it seems to be under control.
  20. H.K.Luterman
    I can't tell what exactly it is by the photo, but if it looks like a little round white thing and swims around looking like a drunken bumble bee, its a seed shrimp and is completely harmless. They usually show up in planted tanks and are good fish snacks.
  21. H.K.Luterman
    Oooo I love madtoms! I have never kept any, but if/when you get some please post a journal about it!
  22. H.K.Luterman
    I started by covering my water bottle with them, but they're starting to spill over onto water change buckets.
  23. H.K.Luterman
    Looks like a combination of brown diatoms and hair algae. The brown diatoms are a result of excess silicates and are part of the "settling in" process of a new tank. They should eventually go away in a few months. You can brush them off the plants with your fingers to make sure the leaves don't get covered. The hair algae seems to explode in my tanks whenever I have too much light. Either decrease the intensity of lighting or the duration of how long you have the tank lit per day.
  24. H.K.Luterman
    I took advantage of the recent plant sale at the Co-Op and ordered a few: pogostemon stellatus octopus, mayaca fluviatilis (looks neat, never tried before) and some more windelov java fern, since it seems to be doing well in the 75. They all arrived last night, so they were plopped in tanks in their cups until I could get to planting. Igor immediately started trying to arrange the java fern. Pooka got to baby sit the other two. She knocked one over during the night. She's not a very good plant baby sitter. Obligatory photo of the Pooks I took before working on the tanks. What a face. Java fern! I love the windelov kind. I glued most of it to a rock but kept two little plants for the 29. After adding it to the 75, I also took the opportunity to place some more rocks in the tank, because I like rocks. I added some more around Igor's vase and she was very angry about it; my hand took a beating. She then stared angrily at the new additions for a few minutes. As I've mentioned, the 29 is a mess. The limia have come down with some mystery illness, which I've been trying different things to try to cure. It's these flat, white patches that slowly grow over their backs over time, and does not respond to either anti-fungal meds or erythromycin. It IS, however, responding to heat and salt (1 cup per 10 gal). They are all back in quarantine and will be there until its resolved - I'm happy to say I have not lost any over the course of the month I've been trying to cure them. So anyways, I felt like it was time to replant the 29, since it all got destroyed from removing the limia (twice). The stellatus octopus had really nice roots and were ready for planting right out of the cup. I decided to let the mayaca float for a while since it seems a bit unhappy. I also made Tesla a cave, which he immediately swam through. I also added the two java fern glued to a rock. It's going to be a work in progress for a while, but it'll be fun getting stuff growing again. Took a nice pic of Tesla too. Looks like he bonked his head. He did get scared when I look the limia out, it must have happened then.
  25. H.K.Luterman
    Favorite fish right now just because it's adorable and amazing: Small Spine Spookfish Favorite fish I've ever owned: Featherfin Catfish Here's my Pooka ❤️
×
×
  • Create New...