Socqua

Ha ha ha! Thanks for the info, I've used salt with my other fish I guess no harm in adding a bit before I add the tannins. He seems good today and the white hanging thing seems a little better. I'm so tempted to try to wipe it off, but I'll leave it be for now. Unfortunately I'm not sure where he came from. And regarding the humidity, interestingly his smaller tank was mostly open (lower humidity) but now it's almost fully closed all the time so close to 100%. Fish can be weird sometimes. And I obviously don't have any experience with betta so I'm still trying to figure out what's normal. His fins are so large it looks like he's always struggling, but I don't expect him to win any races against the tetras anytime soon!

He was just moved to the main tank so I agree he was certainly stressed. There are plenty of hiding spots and dark corners for him to rest, and he's seemed to have settled in really nicely. I just wanted to mention that the video was taken the same day he was moved in there, so that issue was already present just not as visible or noticeable to me until I moved him. I just want to reiterate, he seems much happier in the main tank now that he has settled in more; more plants to rest on near the surface, driftwood and shade from the lights to help, etc. And much happier/normal than the quarantine tank (even though that also has driftwood, good filtration, and live plants). I also agree on the tannins; I know all the fish would benefit! My plan is to add leaf litter in the near future. I used to have more driftwood and tannins in there, but that was moving to a 50 gallon (until I sprung a leak that I haven't repaired yet). Once I get the 50gal setup he will be even happier yet, I believe!

Thanks for the response @Colu. I don't have any experience with Betta's, but how long would you wait before you'd be concerned that it could be something else?

Oh I just assumed everyone is always already signed in 😁. Just uploaded the video below, I think YouTube works here?

Does the link not work? And it's a video.

I'm concerned about a white growth you can hopefully see in the below video. It seems to be attached to the fish, but maybe it's just damaged scales? I recently moved it from a quarantine tank (to see how he interacted with some guppies), but I didn't treat it for anything. The quarantine tank did have a sharp rock, or it could have been damaged during the move; I didn't notice it prior to the move, but the lighting was different in the quarantine tank. It doesn't look like ich. Maybe velvet? Hopefully just temporary damage? I welcome any help, thanks! https://photos.app.goo.gl/5a4HaXQcBe6JNZDC9

This might help you: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/apps/store-locator There is one in Syracuse, but I don't know how active they are post-COVID: http://cnyas.org/wp/ Also, try asking around at the local fish stores?

That's a great idea. Right now I just have a coarse sponge on the intake and some driftwood from my inside tanks. Adding something in line with the waterfalls would definitely help with nitrates!

Great suggestions thanks for the response. I have a splitter and a ball valve to adjust flow. I think it's more than enough but we'll see when the time comes Definitely plan to get a net to remove debris regularly. I'm in New York. I'm not worried about the summer and I'll sell them off at the end. I'm more nervous about wildlife, bad pond conditions, etc. The plan is to hard wire it in with my electrician brother. Right now it's just plugged into an outdoor GFI outlet. I'm really excited about getting rocks and plants this weekend. It should look awesome in a few weeks, and then like you said even better next summer! The two fish so far are looking healthy. I'll update this post probably this weekend. Thanks!

FYI for anyone interested, I've started posting my journal here:

And a video for fun, can I post it this way? https://photos.app.goo.gl/RHn8U9wNU2qy8twbA

I had been wanting a small pond with some form of waterfall, even before I saw the below forum post. I've made some progress so I figured I'd document what I've done so far, and what my plans are. I'm far from an expert on this, so feel free to give me suggestions or tell me I'm doing things all wrong. And if anyone has any questions I can certainly answer anything that I've learned with my vast experience of building half of a 100gallon pond 🙂. I definitely did take some inspiration from here: I have a deck that I wanted to incorporate, so I built the pond just off the end. I'll probably have to add in some rails or safety (I'm sure it's not to code shhhhh). My plan was to just build something quick and cheap as a little experiment, with maybe a larger one in the future (I want to incorporate a raised design to incorporate in with my raised garden beds). So to do it cheap I used the following materials so far: Pond Master 950 Pump - $115 (probably too late now, but I welcome your thoughts on this model or alternatives). Diverter valve - $15 (not sure I'll even use, mostly as a reducer/flow back into the pond) Misc adapters and ball valve - $10 (still need to get more today) 1-1/2" flexible tubing, 20ft - $35 (gosh I hope 1-1/2" is good) Misc paint - $15 Pond Liner, 45mil 10'x12' - $140 ( I thinkkk, I can't find what exactly I ordered) Flower pots - free! Manually shoveling a 100gal hole - free! So, not that cheap. But I didn't go with the most luxurious pump, and I'm not sure where else I could have shaved some money. For the waterfall, I decided to use some old busted fiberglass pots I had: I was roughly thinking something like the layout above to waterfall into each pot, and then the pond. I painted them black, and painted the inside with the water sealing black spray paint. I still have to cut up the liner and silicone some holes in the pots. Might just try to line the majority with the liner if I can for added protection. But they look a lot better painted!: I then dug the hole, and dug some more, and then removed rocks, and dug some more. I'm not horribly concerned with the shape. I also decided to have it overflow into a boggy type area where there will be rocks and plants throughout. I'll also incorporate a step down and stepping stones through the wet bog so you can kind of walk through the pond itself! Oh here's the hole: Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea. A few different levels, and the pump will sit on a bucket near the bottom. I had some old carpet we just replaced, so I cut that up and laid it in to protect the liner: I then laid the liner in, and filled up 5 gallon buckets to pour into the pond so I could measure how big it actually is. It will be just shy of 100 gallons once i edge out the lawn a bit more and raise up the low side a bit so the pond will all be a little higher. So that's where I'm at right now! Already a girl from my neighborhood was over and just stared at the pond and bubbling water 😄. It's already enjoyable as is! Things I'm concerned with: Will the pump provide enough pressure? It's 950gph, 15' travel and 5' vertical. I don't want it gushing, really just a trickle so fingers crossed. Will the tree just constantly shed into water? Will the fish/shrimp survive (more on that below)? Will the pots hold up? I'm okay if they just last a few years.. Safety How will it look?? Everything that you smart forum members will point out I messed up 😬 Anything that can go wrong with my next steps... Next steps! Go to the store today and pick up fittings for the pump to the tube. The pump has a .5" outlet and I have 1.5" tubing. Also have to get silicone and more paint. ADD THE FISH! So I have about a million guppies and a decent amount of blue rili shrimp in my 20 gallon. Like way too many guppies for the 20gal. WAY WAY TOO MANY. So I'm going to add a couple at a time here soon to see how they do. I welcome all suggestions here. But I hope to throw a ton in there and watch them multiple, and then sell them at the end of the summer. Line, silicone, and paint the pots Edge the grass out some. Raise the low end under the liner and fill it up more. Get a nice stepping rock for the main step down Trim the liner Incorporate rocks around the edges and in the bog Setup the waterfall pots Run the tubing to the waterfall. Possibly cut a hole in a pot Plug it all in and adjust as necessary. Hope for the best... Buy/gather some plants for the bog and the pond itself Sit back, relax and enjoy! What am I forgetting?! Thanks for reading so far, I'll update in the next few days!!

Bummer. As always too many projects too little time. Any advice on pumps? I've searched the forums and have some brands but always appreciate more thoughts!

@Fish Folk curious if you've made any progress on this project. I've been mia from the forums for a bit, but now that it's warming up I'm planning to setup a similar cascading waterfall pond. I'd love your advice or anyone's on what kind of pump to get. My five minutes of research says a waterfall style pond pump and because it's so small almost any size should work. Not looking to break the bank but want it to last several summers at least.

Nice, you made quick work of that. I still need to document what little progress I've made on my stand, one of these days. It's certainly up to you but I think distressed a little with some very simple white hardware might look nice.

That's a good point. I think most experienced fishkeepers understand that adding a bristle nose pleco doesn't make for a cleaner tank, if by clean you mean healthy (I mean even that name isn't "attractive"... Bristle.. 👃... Pleco, I like em though). But, for those less experienced, something that cleans up gross algae (even if it turns it into poop) might seem like it makes a healthier tank, maybe needing fewer water changes.

I agree. Certainly this isn't a "don't buy shrimp because they aren't actually beneficial" post... I love my shrimp and my nerites. Very good points. On the point of algae-eating benefits: if you add a snail to get rid of algae, but then you have to do water changes more or feed more to make up for it, is it worth it? (That's supposed to be thought-provoking, not combative). Sure they get the nooks and crannies and plants, but maybe solve algae with less light/food/etc. and just occasionally manually clean the glass. I don't know, maybe getting off my initial point and just thinking out loud now lol.

Thanks for the response Cory! Obviously I too do not know 😆. I'll definitely do more research. I think the question boils down to: does adding a shrimp to scavenge food lower your nitrates after a week (or decrease the need for water changes)? And I think the answer is that even with a low bioload critter like a shrimp, they're going to be adding more ammonia than if they weren't there.

I've been thinking about this a lot and would love either anecdotal feedback or scientific evidence, the latter being preferred of course... Everyone is always talking about a cleanup crew, be it corydoras, plecos, snails, shrimp, etc. The idea being that when you feed your "main" fish, the leftovers that they don't get will be picked by the scavengers, leading to a cleaner tank. Of course some critters clean up better than others, and some also leave waste better than others, but in as general terms as possible are cleanup crews really worth it? Another way of asking this: Is the ammonia (and other byproducts) from fish poop/waste less than the ammonia from the food needed to feed those scavengers? Or, if you didn't have snails/shrimp (that you often have to feed extra to anyway, but I digress), would the tank really be dirtier than if you just fed a little less/had a little leftover food buildup? (By dirtier I mean needing more frequent water changes due to nitrate buildup etc.) I think this not a simple question with a simple answer and I know I didn't cover all the nuances here, but hopefully we can have a little discussion!

Following this or hopefully I'll find your journal if you decide to go into more detail. I have the same idea, or very similar, to try this spring. I too am still working out the logistics. I'm thinking some combination of four old, large plant pots I have, tilted/leaning just right or with bricks/blocks supporting them to naturally waterfall into the next. Then one very large tub/tank or two that it falls into. Then a pump that brings it back up to the first. Probably have guppies and/or shrimp in the final tank, and maybe some shrimp/snails in the large pots, or just plants. I also have a similar idea for an indoor waterfalling multi-tank setup similar, but really nothing like, the one @CorydorasEthanposted. But that's a few years down the road I think.

A lot of people use airline tubing or straws inserted end to end to float around the floating plants to keep them segregated. I've never done it myself, but that may be an idea..

I don't think that's how debates work 🤔

It's the 40 v 80 that's impossible for me to discern. And 80 is certainly not great..

Easiest is to put it in place and then set a large rock/dragon stone, whatever will look decent in your tank on it. Eventually it will stay down. You can also leave the rock in there permanently if you can make it look aesthetically pleasing to you. Alternatively, you could try wedging it in your tank under stuff or against the glass, drill it and add in some weights, partially bury it under some substrate, or glue/silicone some rocks/weights to the bottom/back of the wood where it will be unseen. Just some ideas, hopefully one will work!

"Fish TB" or Mycobacterium Marinum: 1. 2. 3. 4. vs. "covid" or Novel Coronavirus 5. 6. 7. One of these things is not like the other. I could find no reported deaths of fish TB in humans. I had a lot more posted until I hit ctrl-Z and it deleted a whole ton, but you get the idea. References 1. https://www.thesprucepets.com/tuberculosis-in-aquarium-fish-4844011 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441883/ 3. https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/should-you-be-worried-about-fish-tb/ 4. https://fishlab.com/fish-tuberculosis/ 5. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality 6. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6944e1.htm 7. https://covid19.who.int/