Philip

I miss Michael.

OK, I'm following now. Thanks for clearing that up. That makes a whole lot more sense! Please excuse me, sometimes I'm a tad slow.

You may have just made Cory's day by comparing him to Mr. Bezos.

All true. That leaves the question, why? Why would you want to put them there? Believe me, there is no love lost between me an Mr. Snail, I could care less about their fate, but can you imagine being one of them and someone telling you, "hey, I got a new home for you"? Hold your breath.

As a practical matter, the two things that resulted in receiving a dead plant are the two things that the seller has no control over, the weather and the shipper. They could use another shipper if too many orders are delayed, but none are going to be 100% Overall I'd bet their success rate is very good. The actual percentage is what matters. If it's low and are striving for zero, then they are doing a good job. How they handle problems is also a good sign of well managed company. Looks like you did not get the run around which is typical. Finally, you can't just go by anecdotal cases. I happened to have the same plant included with my Co-Op order on the same week as yours. I live in one of the coldest parts of the country. My plant arrived safe and sound, no problems at all. I was actually surprised there were no causalities.

There won't be enough oxygen in that environment. The "bugs" that live there are anaerobic bacteria. They don't want any oxygen. Snails on the other hand do.

Welcome Mr. Bennett, When you say "very old test kit" I'm wondering what you mean. Not 20 years also? If it's more than two years old I wouldn't trust it at all. Even the color comparators fade over time. Brace yourself for some brown algae. Good luck. You'll have that in tip-top shape in no time.

Let us know how you like them. I have a homebrew system that works pretty good, but always looking for a better way of doing things.

Camper is correct that CO2 absorption will drop the pH. I doubt it will be almost a whole pH unit over a short period of time like you have, but the surface area might play a factor. As a water chemist, I can tell you that while pH is very important, in and of itself it's sort of meaningless. Only taking it into account as a whole with your other parameters can it tell you something. For example; orange juice has a pH around 2 and so does Sulfuric Acid. One I enjoy with a bagel in the morning, the other would ruin my day if I drank it. Get rid of any chlorine, see where your hardness is at. Watch ammonia, nitrate and nitrites. I also like to check conductivity and don't let the tank cycle up. You'll be fine. Don't mess with what you have too much or it will swing all over and you won't be able to control it.

Not silly at all. Be sure to post photographs.

Well done, Aubrey. I will keep you in my rolodex should I have an ichithyological mystery.

There comes a tipping point where you no longer keep fish, but they keep you. I am their maid, chef, maintenance manager and concierge. Love to chat, but somebody wants their breakfast.

I agree with this totally. I can't ever remember not having some type of hurdle to get over when starting a new aquarium. I always give myself plenty of time for everything to settle in nicely before I start messing with it. Remember, patience is a virtue.

110 High. Perfect size to sit in front of. It's like you're at the movie theater.

I thought those were temporary tattoos. . .Huh!

I wouldn't put anything past those buggers. You get one and think it's cool, next thing you know you're pickin' 'em out by the handful for the next year and a half until you never want to see another one in your life.

Glad to have you. Not that I'm an Ambassador or anything, just a relatively new member like you.

It is very hard for me to see what you have pictured. It's my old eyes, not your photography skills. My first thought is it might be hydra. You can look it up and compare.

If you can keep some green water going Rotifers are excellent. I'm anxious to try out the Co-Op Easy Fry. Anyone have experience with it yet? https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/fish-food/products/easy-fry-and-small-fish-food

I'm a big fan of low and slow. Just like Barbeque. Start out with only one or two species, the number of each depends on how comfortable they are. So not just putting one Cory Cat in for example, rather 5 or 6. Then live with it for awhile. If everyone is happy and you are keeping up on the water quality, then maybe add something else. Don't go overboard, just a little. Keep doing this until you and everyone in the tank is happy. I think people usually can tell when the balance is right.

Probably not a popular opinion on this thread, but not a big fan of naming fish. They are wonderful, don't get me wrong but with few exceptions not exactly the type of animal that should get a moniker. I would not be able to bring myself to flushing a creature that has a name. That being said, I don't limit this mindset to aquatic charges. I also don't like when other animals (cats and dogs for example) get "human" names. Gone are the days when the dog was Spot or Rover and the children were Jimmy and Sally. Now it's almost the other way around. Not picking on anyone, just making a point.

Will do.

You are the MacGyver of Commodes.

Row 4 would be photos of me. That is a very nice fish. Looks like you've done a great job.

Making you own is as easy is finding the right sized hard plastic tubing and the correct tygon to fit. We are only talking about a siphon here. I'm sure you can make one for about two bucks. Best part is you can customize all the sizes and lengths perfect for you.