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Daniel

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Posts posted by Daniel

    NEED HELP WITH PH LEVEL

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/27/2021 at 2:40 PM, Bettakeeper86 said:

    I’m having trouble determining the high range PH. To me it appears to be 7.4, but could also be 7.8. Can someone please help?

    Post a photo of your test results and it will generate lots of replies!

    • Thanks 1

    Jungle Val

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    My most recent Vallisneria planting was in my 1930s aquarium. It didn't doing anything at all for months and months, and then boom it took off suddenly! It went from doing nothing in the corners to suddenly spreading over the entire back of the tank.

    Many other forum members have reported a similar experience.

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 1

    Amazon Sword growing out of water column.

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    On 6/25/2021 at 12:55 PM, JettsPapa said:

    Thank you for the confirmation, but I have a related question if you don't mind.  I've seen other references stating that Amazon swords have small inconspicuous flowers.  I have an Ozelot sword plant, which as I understand is a hybrid of two Echinodorus species.  It's flowered a number of times, but the flowers are well over 1" across (see the photo below; you can get scale from the tank rim beside the flower).  Is this not typical for other Amazon sword varieties?

    Or maybe my plant was mislabeled in the store?  I've googled photos of Ozelot sword, but those show mostly green leaves with small reddish spots.  The leaves on mine are considerably darker, with darker red spots.  I don't have a photo of the parent plant, but here's a picture of one I propagated from it a while ago.  It's appearance is very similar to the parent.

     

     

     

    One inch flowers are bigger than I have ever seen on various types of Amazons swords I have kept. It is always possible that you have particularly healthy plants! I think the plant names we see on labels are just a best guess. I have worked at a plant nursery and seen not everyone uses the same name for same plant. Sometimes hybrids are more vigorous than either parent, so it is definitely possible that your plant is a hybrid. Whatever it is, your plant is really nice!

    • Like 1

    Amazon Sword growing out of water column.

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    On 6/25/2021 at 12:15 PM, JettsPapa said:

    I believe you've been misinformed. While their leaf shapes are similar, Amazon sword is Echinodorus amazonicus or Echinodorus bleheri.  Pickerel weed is Pontederia cordata.  Their flowers look nothing alike.

    Just agreeing with @JettsPapa, Pickerel weed (a native plant common in ditches where I live) doesn't really look like Amazon sword. As you can see in the photo above. Amazon swords flowers are small and white and Pickerel weed has purple inflorescences.

    I'm having trouble breeding angelfish

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    I always find it useful to have plenty of infusoria in the aquarium with angelfish fry. It gives them the ability to feed as soon as they ready. After the yolk sac is absorbed they don't have much in the way of resources. Interestingly, I have seen angelfish fry peck at the slime coats of their parents much like discus fry do with their parents.

    This isn't obligatory like with discus, but it is cool to see:

    image.png.3c37646d2f1e8206bd9c877983898780.png

    • Love 1

    The GloFish “Controversy”

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/23/2021 at 5:37 PM, Brandy said:

    Like a gun or a hammer or an airplane this is a tool like any other, and neither intrinsically good or evil.

    One of my next neighbors working on using RNA interference to suppress Colorado potato beetles. This beetle causes much damage to food crops worldwide.

    And as @Brandy indicates, using these new tools to understand how biological processes work might be where the real long term value is.

    The GloFish “Controversy”

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/23/2021 at 4:19 PM, tonyjuliano said:

    I hope that’s not true but, unfortunately, incidents such as this are not limited to GloFish varieties, there many examples of irresponsible breeding practices in the production of any “trade” organism. 

    And if eventually hobbyists are able to make non-GMO type edits, then there may not be patent issues. And if the edits improve fitness, say resistance to parasites then the ethical landscape changes.

    • Like 3

    The GloFish “Controversy”

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    We are probably not too far away from new era in changing the genes in pets and pet fish that is different from the old school type of GMO that you see in GloFish. Moving genes between organisms using restriction enzymes, or other older technologies is giving way to the more modern CRISPR technology to make edits to the genome.

    I can mail order synthetic single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for $95 and get it in less than a week. Someone like our own @Brandy or even a clever biology student could knock in or knock out whatever gene they thought might be interesting. It reminds me of the computer revolution from the 1970s when computers went from being expensive and rare to something a hobbyist could build from a kit.

    And counter-intuitively since the definition of a genetically modified organism includes the insertion of foreign DNA. and since CRISPR allows for precise genetic deletions or replacements, without inserting any foreign DNA, the end product is not a genetically modified organism, or GMO. Maybe the new fish should be called a genetically edited organism, but it won't be GMO if foreign genes aren't inserted.

    • Like 3

    What do you feed your fry?

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    If young fry are too small to eat baby brine shrimp, fry like baby bettas or gouramis for example, I will feed these fry green water/infusoria until they can handle baby brine shrimp.

    I am sure hydra can occasionally eat baby fish, but it is rare. Hydra have long arms, but they can't go anywhere and do very insignificant damage as predators. Some people dislike the way they look, and dislike the thought of them in an aquarium. Fortunately, there are ways to get rid of them. Some fish will eat them, and cutting back on free floating food causes their population to crash.

    • Thanks 1

    Vinegar as a non-bleach disinfectant to clean QT tanks?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    image.png.1791bca35dd73b4eb939f640f813d780.png

    Hitting the quote button or just typing in the reply box is a good start.

    Vinegar and salt (separately) are good for scrubbing out aquariums. I don't use them personally because typically I would like the bacteria clinging to the inside of the aquarium to survive and help repopulate the next I use the aquarium (it is however very difficult to kill bacteria). Opinions vary widely on this but I don't disinfect equipment like nets or heaters either.

    • Like 1
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