Expectorating_Aubergine

I like them. Great way to get a lot of hard to get plant material for a reasonable price. I've never had issues with tissue cultured stuff...

I for one, really like all in one aquariums. What I like most about them is how the filter is seamlessly built into it. I also like hot rodding the filter so that it works better. I like putting plant cuttings in the back filter compartment. The tops of the plants hang out the top and, at least to me, look great. That whole back area can fill with roots. I always remove the pump that they come with and put in an air lift tube. I like to do this Because it's not going to clog or get jammed by roots like a pump will. Also (just a gut feeling), I think less electricity is being used for a single air pump that can run air to multiple things. I like that they come with built in lights too.

..... pretty sure zebra and quagga mussels attach themselves to hard surfaces. They're freshwater bivalves too.

I thought mussels attached themselves to hard surfaces...

Just a bit of an update. I added 5 shrimp last week. Turns out clams are just not that active 🤷‍♂️.

A few snails can make. I didn't clean this at all. It was all them. I don't really have any fish in this tank. It's kinda the clam tank. Lots of little critters too though ( cyclops and the like). Those rando fern leaves are what the snails eat. The clams get spirulina tablets. The filter is an ugf, and I don't have a floss filter on it. I just toss the tablets in the pump housing and let the pump distribute them out as they dissolve...

Nope, I never put them in there. Also, I really don't have anything that will eat them 😞

Looks like my 300 gal tub outside is in daphnia mode. This is the first time I've seen any in there. For the most part I've only seen scuds, cyclops and some fairy shrimp I introduced there a while ago. Too bad I don't have anything that will eat them 🤔

Ceratopteris thalictroides

This is what it should be. People that have beef with GMO's need to take it up with the business practices of the corporations that make and market these organisms. In many cases genetically modifying a crop can actually lead to less/no fertilizers or pesticides being used. Now, the wisdom in expecting the genes of a wind pollinated plant, to stay within the confines of a farm..... I'm gonna go ahead and guess that was a decision made by someone who either A) doesn't know jack squat about said plant B) was all part of their scheme to sue, then push out private farms C) both A and B

I'm not overly concerned about the whole "illegal to reproduce" issue. Unless you're making serious coin off breeding and selling patented organisms, you won't really be on their radar. Sure, a handful of people get made examples of (remember napster?), but for the most part they aren't going to care if Joe(ann) Random's fish breed and (s)he sells/gives them away. You see it in plants a lot. You'd be pretty hard pressed to think of a case of a non farmer plant person getting sued by a grower for propagating and giving away plants. Not saying that case doesn't exist, just that they are rare and an exception.

I've been ambivalent about golfish. Now that I know they have glofish cories..... I think I'm going to get some (thanks for the heads up!). They honestly sound awesome, and I'd be super curious to see if they can be bred. Yeah, I know they are technically sterile...... but I think most reading this have seen jurassic park, so......

If you're going to have aragonite and reef rocks, then you might as well make it an African cichlid tank. You could also do livebearers, as they like hard water too. Plants don't mind hard water. Especially plants like vallisneria. Many true aquatic plants (most aquarium plants are amphibious) actually get their CO2 from calcium carbonate in the water.

Aquarium salt. I camouflage it as kosher salt. Well, the grocery store I buy it from does, anyways.

If your house has heating, and is comfortable for you, you can have almost any kind of fish. Many fish will be less aggressive and live longer when kept at lower temps than what is typically recommended.

Mostly because they are much stronger than what you want to use for an aquarium. Also the nitrogen source is ammonia, so there's that. I personally use dry ferts made for house plants and veggies on my planted tanks. I have yet to have a problem with them. What i have figured is small amounts for dry ferts. I use osmocote pellets too and have the same philosophy as well. I even use dry ferts on my pond. And if anyone reading this was wondering: -yes I do add the ferts directly into the tank -yes the fish are in there while I do it -no, I haven't had fish die from using dry ferts I think having drift wood in the aquarium helps when doing this. From gardening, I know that dead wood absorbs nitrogen out of the soil and holds on to it. One of many reason why many gardeners will tell you not to add saw dust or wood chips to your soil mix. Whatever you choose to do, do it carefully 👍

I cut off as much of the roots as I can stand, then I plop it in. Easy peasy. Cut the top of the plant back too. That way the transition is easier for the plant...

Are you sure that they are actually marimo moss balls? Because every petco I've been to (I've been to A LOT), have what they are calling "moss balls". What they really are is a ball of java moss. Not at all the cladophora algae that a real marimo moss ball is made up of.

It has been my experience that shrimp will eat Utricularia gramminifolia. So I would avoid it.

That depends. If you have live plants a water change could be a good way to bring in depleted minerals. However if you're fertilizing with a complete fertilizer, I guess not. Like I said, it depends.

Fill it with branches and have a big school of green neon tetras. Get some apistos to hang out near the bottom. Add leaf litter and have a big pothos with its roots in there.

I'd get a musk turtle. They stay small (4") and are SUPER interactive. You can keep them with fish as well....

Looks like mold. I wouldint worry too much about it. Just wipe off what you don't like and you should be good 👍

Pretty sure a pea puffer would kill and eat an Amano shrimp. As far as the scuds go, the only thing they do to shrimp is compete for resources.

I haven't seen or had any evidence that they come to the surface for air. I've always heard tell on other fish and reptile forums of people finding worms in the gravel long after having fed them out. Aquarium gravel, specifically the kind of coarse stuff we're talking about (oil-dri, in this case), is much more open and less prone to going anerobic than wet soil. Plus, they talked about it in the Wild Kratts episode about earthworms. Why would the Kratt bros lie about that! 😆