TifNee837

I've been working at this small business mom-n-pop petshop , as a sort of 'aquatics go-to person' , since April. Well..the owners of the shop were unable to find someone that was wanting to take over ownership, and liquidation starts on Tuesday 😭 I have been coming to this petshop for the last 5 years, and was the happiest I've almost ever been when the shop owner hired me on the spot last spring. It's been my one escape from my ever present anxiety and depression. I tried and even applied for various grants and loans, trying to keep the shop around. It's already got a very well established customer base, plus there's a groomer with her own well established clientele..it's the only small business shop within almost 100miles. But.. unfortunately, I have yet to hear back, and the last interested party backed out yesterday. Show me some planted tanks to lighten this mood?? ☺️

@Guppysnailwith the parrots feather, I've found that having more nitrates than I usually do, more "open" space, and more and brighter light / sunlight has helped mine TREMENDOUSLY ☺️

I am curious to know -- What is everyones favorite plant(s)??? Even further / deeper, what is your favorite :: ✧ Root Feeder ✦ Stem Plant ✧ (small) Floating Plant ✦ (bigger) Floating Plant ✧ Pond Plant ✦ Rhizome Plant My OWN favorites are :: ✧ Swords (**specifically the Echinodorus Frans Stoffels, and Kleiner Bar**) ✦ {3-way-tie} Water Wisteria, Water Sprite, Cabomba ✧ Salvinia Minima ✦ Frogbit ✧ {3-way-tie} ~ Water Hyacinth, Anacharis, Parrots Feather ✦ Anubias Barteri

@DarthMollusk That is actually exactly what my best friend said lol i made her come over to my house just to look at it LMAO

This is one of my biggest anubias plants in all my tanks. It is not attached to anything, it just has a small plant weight around the rhizome. It was an extra plants that we had in one of the tanks at work, and my boss told me if I wanted it I could take it home with me, because it had started to die back a little bit, so of COURSE I said yes and took it home. I attached the weight, and just dropped it in a random tank. This is the first time ever having a plant flower for me! So I am so freaking happy about it!!!

But will this help with all 7 tanks? That's the issue - 7 tanks, in separate rooms 😢😔

Hello fellow #nerms 😊 Alright - here's the sort of "story" :: Last Tuesday (the 20th), all was fine and well at least at / around 9:30 that morning, in all 7 of the tanks. Looked in each tank, and watched the fish in each one for a moment or two -- and fes each tank as usual. Cut to 2:55pm (so just over *5 HOURS* later) - I was doing water changes on the small tanks that day and I got to this one particular tank. ((the tank I am referring to in this post is a 5 gallon Marineland Eclipse (hexagon) tank - so not one of the bigger ones)) Unplugged the things I needed to unplug before removing water, then reached in to begin removing the duckweed…….. But the water was warm. Way way way way too warm. ( and then I did a big "no-no" ) I tapped the side of the tank --- nothing moved. Tapped again - still nothing. So then (within the same 5 seconds) I looked at the thermometer… As you can see ----- yeah. It was ACTUALLY as correct of a reading as it could give me. The water in this tank, had reached OVER the 104°F 'cut-off'. There was actually steam coming off the top / surface of the water (circled) : So I started to look about the bottom of the tank, and yup. Sure enough. Dead. The few fish - which consisted of 4 (older ,virgin) juvenile female guppies, 2 young juvenile female platys, and 2 {left of originally 7} Pygmy Corys; and all of the snails (bladder/pond & ramshorn). Just…dead. And of course it was also a fully planted tank. So, after coming to terms with the fact that everything living in this tank was now dead - I turned my attention to the plants. I don't know how long the temp had been as high as it was, I don't even know when the absurd increase had even begun. I DO know it was NOT that warm at 9:30 though - because I reached a hand into this tank and pulled a few bladder snails out to feed to my assassin snails. Anyways. But I ended up doing was removing absolutely everything from this tank, the substrate, the filter media oh, the Sponge Filter, and obviously all of the plants as well. Because of the number of snails I knew were in this tank, and that nothing, and I mean nothing, had survived this malfunction, I was not willing to risk keeping the substrate, which I'm sure is for obvious reasons. And at this particular time, I did not find myself feeling too worried about the plants that were in the tank, because at that time none of them looked to have been damaged too horribly, although there were a few leaves on one of the crypts that had started to yellow and become almost see-through. So after I replaced everything (except the sponge filter - but this was very thoroughly cleaned) I replaced the plants back into the tank with some root tabs. They stayed green --- for about 3 days after this. And now, this is what they look like : So my question? How do I know if these plants are REALLY dead, and not just that their leaves have all melted away (I've had plants that started with DOZENS of leaves, and the melt back, so much so, that only the bit that goes in the substrate with its roots was left -- but then EVENTUALLY they'd come back). Sooooo ARE they just completely done-for!!? ***also to note - the crowns of the swords are NOT mushy / soft -- but all the leaves (as well as most of the roots) on the swords, crypts, and apongeton plants , all basically feel like mush when you touch them*** this is just a pic of what it used to look like - vs - now:

Just curious if anyone could maybe help me ID this is a plant? The owner of my local mom-n-pop petshop ordered it a few weeks ago, and it came it in really rough shape, so she put it out in their outdoor pond / tubs - and it's started to turn around - except she has no idea what it is! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Any thoughts? 😊

@Danielin fact I am experiencing an outage, and came here to the forum to find some some advice / suggestions! so for this post, I want to say THANK YOU!!!!!!! 😊

My original post about an issue in my best friends tank And these two videos are just to be able to better see what we were dealing with :: Video #1 Video #2 So after having a major surgery, and having literal weeks to think about my friends tank...I got to thinking........ "What in heck could this BE!?" There was ZERO odor to this...stuff...it was all but black in color...PEELED off of the walls, sponge filters and everything else in the tank...and shows up seemingly out of nowhere... What changed from a time when this WASN'T happening, up to now? And then it hit me! The ONLY THING that has changed at ALL...was her substrate!!! It was a mixture of small rocks/pebbles, shells, and sand, that her MIL had collected from a beach somewhere in the northeast, MANY many years ago......and it's been sitting in buckets, in a shed, for YEARS. And my friend...oy...she confessed to me, that she NEVER. EVEN. RINSED. IT OFF!!! (her MIL *baked* it all when she first collected it...but then it just SAT THERE! 🤦🏻‍♀️) So I did the only thing I could think of to do... Broke it down, emptied all 45 gallons, scrubbed virtually every inch of the tank, cleaned out the filter, replaced her sponge filters with some cycled spares from my own tanks, and started all over again with new, CLEANED substrate... And then went plant-crazy!!! 😁 Here is just the "before".. And this was the final result.. And here is a before and after!!! Now.....fingers crossed!!! It's been 3 weeks and not a single sign of the strange film-like algae to be seen!

Hope this is okay to post!!! But i'm just curious and wondering how other #nerms go about "setting a price" , when it comes to selling your spare / "old" aquariums and equipment and such? Things like aquariums themselves, heaters, filters, lids, lights, substrate, thermometers, "fake" plants/decor, wood, etc. I have 3 or 4 spare tanks and lots of "extras" that I am looking to list, but there are sooooo many listings that I see, and think "you want how much? For THAT!? Are you NUTS!?" kinda stuff 🤣 I genuinely am just curious as to if any of you have a standard/guideline you choose to follow when it comes to such things 😊 HAPPY FRIDAY, Y'ALL!

@Eddie Dinglethe driftwood isn't *exactly* new - it was in a different tank previously, that had an almost year long battle with columnaris - it had been pulled from that tank, moss stripped off, and then was re-boiled a few times Has been sitting in a bucket since. And I think I may have found at least a small (very small?) ammonia source - looking into the tank this afternoon, and there was poop. Lots of poop. SNAIL poop! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Hey all 😊 I just set up my 29 gallon tank on the 9th (so 5 days ago) This is tank #8 lol I know all about the nitrogen cycle etc But..here is what I DONT get --- So my tap water pH is less than 6. I use crushed coral in my substrate and some on my hob(s) to keep my tanks pH at 7.4-7.8 (depending on the tank). THIS tank however, I used 3/4 cup of aragonite sand (which is mixed with an inert petco brand small grained gravel and 1cm river pebbles - I was out of the crushed coral and wanted to at least try this) It def worked lol (the 29 gallon pH is 7.8) BUT. HERE'S THE THING - Aside from some driftwood, small bits of moss, 2 amazon swords and 2 apongeton plants that I took from another tank - everything else in the tank is new. And I have YET to add an ammonia source.. But the ammonia is reading 0.50-1.0, and the nitrite is reading 0.25-0.50??? Did the aragonite cause this??? (Pic of the tank 😊)

Not entirely sure what this is - so wasn't too sure which thing to post this in, to be completely honest! These are pics from my best friends tank (her and I have grown together in this hobby - literally from the start of *my* obsession 4 years ago to now - and I'm at a total loss here) First pic was from 7 weeks ago - a green algae can clearly be seen beginning to grow on the substrate and rock (rock = bottom right front corner). Before the next pics - here is tank info & parameters and whatnot :: ~ 45 gallon tank ~ has been running and cycled over a year now ~ •temp 76°F •pH 7.6 •ammonia 0 •nitrite 0 •nitrate about 40 •phosphate btwn 0 - 0.25 •dGH 19° Tank inhabitants : •10 or 13 Neon Tetras •1 Molly •3 Guppies •1 Platy Tank is fed every other day (sometimes 2 days in btwn) 15 - 25% weekly water changes (more if necessary) Had started planting the tank before this mess, and had a few aponogeton plants, small piece of spider wood with java moss and anubias coffeefolia, and a bunch of small windelov java ferns, some small val plants and one or two other "root feeders" - so started to do less "deep" gravel vac'ing so the plants roots could expand and settle. Well..here's the mess! There was 2 weeks in the time between when the first pic was taken and now, when grav vac was not done at all but water changes still were done. And the sponge filters were both/all taken out and cleaned a week after the first pic. So, my fellow #nerms - what the HECK is going on!? Help! PLEASE!!?

To state for the record, this is about a platy (or possibly swordtail) that actually belongs to one of my good friends, and who, although has many many more years than I do of experience in fishkeeping, has been like the luckiest hobbyist I know, for the fact that she has really not ever had to deal with any sort of illnesses in her tanks! Tank size- 30g Cycled approx 5 weeks (used filter media, plants and substrate from long established 55g tank) Temp- 75-77°F pH- 8 Ammonia- 0 Nitrite- 0 Nitrate- 20-40 Also using crushed coral as kh/buffer And there are only 2 other fish (both are swordtails) in the tank with the one I'm posting about (so 3 fish total) I have on hand (and am giving her) Maracyn 2 for the medication aspect of treatment - however, of the 3 levels of aquarium salt treatment, I am unsure as to which to recommend?? The platys/swordtails tail, over the course of 2 weeks, is now gone. Dorsal fin seems to be now also deteriorating, from what I could see in the video she sent me. Pics aren't the greatest - apologies - the last 3 are screenshots taken from the video. Thanks in advance!

It may also depend where you place the crushed coral - I did not have as much success with raising my pH when I simply mixed in my substrate, as I did and do now when I have placed in media bags inside of my HOB filters. It dispenses it throughout the tank quicker and gives the desired result sooner than just when i had it in my substrate.

And I have to mention this because I found it hilarious - When I showed my daughter my previous conment a little bit ago, she then had to be sure and send her science teacher a message ((who is also a fellow nerm! Woo-hoo!)) to inform her, that she now will be considering herself a #nermit 😂🤣 GOSH I love that kid hahaha

@Fish Folk THANK YOU!!! I was absolutely thought I was going to end up sitting here watching each and every single stream so I could find it! LOL so you just saved the next few hours for me. 😁

@Saltinthedesert that's so cool! I don't think that I would have been able to see that myself LOL LOL I've definitely never seen the name of a fish ON a fish! *semi-related ~ during the Aquarium Co-Op Shopping Spree - Holiday Gift Ideas video , Bob (from Steenfot Aquatics) , found his own name on Murphy's back!

@Fish Folk I know I was totally watching this particular stream but I don't remember which one it was! Do you??? (or anyone else?) I love this term/word so much, {and apparently have said it enough times}, that my 11 year old daughter has used it. Last Friday in science class, she described me (and my aquarium/fish obsession) to her classmates, and in the description called me a "Super NERM"! 😂🤣 *my 11 yr old is a fellow NERM in training! 😱😱!! She's a NERMiT!

You literally made me LOL when i read this! When I read the title this was my very first thought exactly! 😂🤣

@Colu Temp: 76°F Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 40 Established / cycled about 9 months ago *just a sidenote - this tank is (plant-wise) THE HEALTHIEST out of all my tanks* I treated with Epsom salt baths back when I first noticed it in July last year and it actually didn't change at all

Hey there everyone. So this question is about a juvenile (male) Marble Molly of mine. (he is about 9.5 months old right now).. So - backstory and what I am 99.999% sure was the cause of this (if indeed it is prolapse) - He was born the end of March / beginning of April last year. At about 1 to 1.5 months old, I was netting out my then molly fry (there were 7 in total), from the floating breeder box their were hanging out in, because the box had so much algae growth, I literally couldn't see into it..AT ALL.. Anyway, this is when/how this happened/started to the best of my knowledge - during all the commotion while removing the moss and then the fry, one of the fry got 'pinned'/pinched btwn the net and the inside of the box. Now..I have 6 tanks, have kept mostly only livebearing fish, and the temporary removal or transferring of fry is absolutely not a new thing for me. And I honestly didn't notice anything to be wrong during all of this, and I ended up just putting all 7 molly fry into the fry tank (with a TON of moss both floating and on wood), that already had about 20-30 platy and guppy fry growing out. Again, I REALLY wasn't aware anything had happened / was wrong. Cut to July, and I had taken out the platy and guppy fry, so the Molly fry were then in there on their own. During a water change, I noticed that one of the little guys, had a bump/lump on it's belly. This particular one was removed from that tank, and then placed into my then just finished cycling 5 gallon tank, on it's own {{the first two pics were taken August 10th}} This was now his home. And tbh, I didn't actually think it would live as terrible as that sounds..but, if it DID live, and if it ended up being female, I absolutely did not want to take the chance of it becoming pregnant, and even still - I did not want it to be bullied to death! So. A bit before Christmas, it finally matured and lo-and-behold, NOT female! (lol) Anyhow - he has been doing GREAT! Eats like a champ, gets water changes in the (same planted tank I initially isolated him in - but has 3 (1m 2f) H. Formosa in with him (and obviously fry -- third and fourth pics are him today) Sooo IS this an intestinal prolapse? Or is this instead a tumor? Have I done the right thing in NOT euthanizing? (last pic is his tank/home!)

I have a slight list myself! I do not quarantine. I have got a massive amount of filtration in my 60 gallon tank - like, enough to filter an almost 200+ gallon tank --- and I only keep small fish (livebearers) Have only done a fishless cycle one time (and that was only to prove to myself it could be done...by ME lol) I hardly ever do more than 15-25% water changes on the 60 gallon (one of the HoBs I have is a Danner EZ Clean - just Google it and look at the water chang option it comes with/has - yeah.) ***EXCEPT I don't use the gravel vac "option" - as I'd have to remove all my media and whatnot to fit the bag into it for that....*** Which leads to the next one - I don't even know when the last time I gravel vac'd was! #1 bc of the way I remove the water for changes but also - plants. And some spots in the tank (esp around the edges of the glass) look SUPER gross! I have 6 tanks currently - buuuut my hubby only knows about 5 of them so far! 🤫🤫🤫 {it's been unseen almost a whole month now! 😁😁😁) I do have more for this 'list' , but my brain is getting too sleepy to remember the rest I'd thought of originally when starting this reply! 😂🤣 so I'm sure I will be back to add more!

Help please? I was feeding my community tank earlier this evening, and noticed something thrashing around on the back left of my tank --- it was my cory! He was actually stuck in between the side/wall and the sponge filter! Like, in the divot/cut-out part (first pic - I circled where I found him 'stuck' in regards to the filter) Now he just looks TERRIBLE!! Typically I'd put in one of my buckets or bins and start treating with aquarium salt (majority of my stock are livebearers so this usually does the trick) --- but I am VERY hesitant on using salt with the cats (for presumably obvious reasons?) So...CAN I treat with salt? Even if it's a half or quarter dose or something?? Is that safe? Or is there a better way!!?