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Ben_RF

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Posts posted by Ben_RF

  1. Does anyone know if the casing for the heater can be removed to remove dead snails?  It appears very similar to what NICREW and a few others have produced.  The only problem I found with those is that snails (e.g., ramshorn and mts) eventually would die off enough in the unit to cause it to short circuit.  I would love to get some more this style of unit if there is a way to open it up to clean.  

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  2. I have seen various videos online of shrimp that appear to graze on it. So it might help?

    Using the same thought, banquet blocks that you can get through the Co Op dissolve quicker and provide food for them. Wondershell also should help with the water quality.

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  3. Bless my heart, I am not even sure in regards to the bookshelf.  Its an old bookshelf I inherited from my great grandmother.  The thing is large and sturdy made out of oak.  I am pretty sure its over 100 years old. 

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  4. I receive done in the mail broken at the neck a while back. Candy was sweet as be and replaced it after showing documentation. My replacement and the other than I have bought have had no issues.  The one that cracked in shipment seemed to have a fracture in it that made me wonder if it came about during production. 

  5. I have purchased the emerald x1 and the pygmy x3.  In my experience, all were packaged well and all fish arrived alive well. No evidence of any disease, though I did quarantine. I had to let the pygmy get a bit bigger in my QT tank before I put them in my betta tank, as I was concerned the betta would eat them due to the size.  All fish took readily to nearly all foods that I introduced.  

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  6. So currently I am running 3 coop nano sponge filters in seperate 5 gallon tanks off one of the new airpumps (which is amazing btw and super quiet).  The airflow seems a bit to low so I am going to switch it out tonight to just be on 2. My tanks are stacked vertically on a bookshelf. I hope this helps you out.   

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  7. So bettas are always a gamble in community setup. It is a gamble in my experience that is more favorable than not.  

    Two thoughts and a tip

    #1 Typically I like to add the betta last to avoid territory issues.

    #2 Neon tetras may fin nip your betta.

    TIP:  I personally like to use a clear breeder box for 1 to 2 weeks with the betta to give time for the betta to check out the other fish and to allow the other fish to check out them.  I think it helps, but not 100% certain

     

     

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  8. Perhaps consider assassin snails.  Get a few and yes for a while their population may boom while they eat your other snails, but after they have decimated your other snails their own population will rapidly decline.  If you do wish to continue to keep them long term, consider adding meaty food like xtreme kreel flakes or even frozen foods for them to munch on.  

    https://aquahuna.com/products/assassin-snail?_pos=1&_sid=a2fbf9672&_ss=r

    Here are some videos highlighting assassin snails:
     

     

     

     

     

     

  9. Also remember the african dwarf frog you most likely picked up from the store is a baby and will grow to be about 2" to 2 1/2".  

    One of the hardest things that I had to teach myself with adf is not to overfeed.  I honestly believe overfeeding is the number one cause of death.  I typically only feed 3 to 4 days out of week.  I feed every other day. Which works out if I keep an ADF in with a betta, because typically I find I do better with bettas if I feed them every other day too. 

  10. Here are some helpful suggestions:

    1.  ADF will often rest on things.  ADF also come from areas that often have exposed roots and wood in the water.  Consider getting some wood like manzinta that will help to make resting and hiding places for them.

    2.  Attaching plants to the driftwood mentioned in point 1. will also help provide them places to lay.  It is not uncommon for me to find my ADF resting on the leaves or by the roots of my anubias.

    3.  You may also use rock to help provide different levels of access for your african dwarf frog.  Many will welcome smooth rocks, however I have had no issue ever with rocks such as dragonstone.

    4.  African dwarf frog in my experience seem really to benefit from floating plants.  They will often rest themselves in the roots of the floating plants which will bring them closer to the surface.  Also sometimes they may even prop themselves up slightly on the edges of the floating plants.  I particularly like frogbit and dwarf water lettuce for african dwarf frogs.

     

    If I was going to do a planted tank with African Dwarf Frogs, I would consider doing low light plants such as crypts. Based on my own personal experience, you see significant behavior out of ADF in subdued lighting.  I also believe that you will see significant more activity out of African Dwarf Frogs when your lights have a morning/evening ramping period.  Based on this, if I was to recommend a light for a 20 gallon, my go to light recommendation would be the Fluval Aquasky since that light is easy to program, has a ramping period, its light distribution is great, and seems to promote excellent growth in lowlight plants.

    If you do decide to go the route of aquasky for your tank and do low light plants like crypts, then check out Bentley Pascoe's channel.  He has a fantastic guide on the Fluval Aquasky series.  

  11. Well water and city water can very greatly.

    Consider testing both to know what you are working with. However, also realize you should be able to temperature control the city water in your setup.  Adding water that is particularly cold during a water change may shock your fish.  

  12. Over the last few years, every guppy I have bought from Petsmart has passed.  Typically I find they are coming in with a type of parasite or infection.

    I personally have had great experience with breeders off Aquabid

    At my LFS.  It has been hit or miss depending on the guppies.  Some of the guppies they have received from their vendors have not done so well for me.  However, the guppies that are locally breed by the owners/staff seem to do absolutely great (never had a lost). 

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  13. Depends on the setup, if it has a lid, and current.

    Out of my few 5 gallons, the one I enjoy the most is the on my desk with 3 african dwarf frogs and 2 mystery snails.  Fairly easy setup, Water lettuce on the top, covering about 2/3.  On the bottom, a mixture of dwarf sagiterias, crypt wendtii, and anubias nanji.  Hardscape, I have a few pieces of broken dragon stones to make caves.  Filtration a nano co-op sponge filter.   Each week I remove about 1/2 of the water lettuce which grows back by the next time.  I do a water change maybe every 3 months as the nitrates plummet to zero unless adding fertilizer.  I add one squirt of easy green each week.  Feeding schedule is fairly simple.  I feed the frogs on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I feed the mystery snails shrimp food on the same day too.  I have a small nicrew heater that I have set to kick on at 74'f.  This setup does require a lid.  This setup because of the frogs needs low flow.  I do use a fluval aquasky light on it, and keep it pretty much cycling between coming on when I get to the office at 6 am with a sunrise cycle to a sunset cycle when I leave at 6 pm. I have the light peak for two hours during the day at 70% white/60% green & red/10% blue.  The frogs are active during the first part of the day as the light is ramping up and in the last part of the day as the lights are ramping down.  

     

      

  14. If you could tell your fishkeeping self something in the past, what would it be?

    What I would start off with is skip over the cheapest lights and buy something medium grade like a Fluval Aquasky or Plant 3.0 or Finnex Stingray.  Light will play such an important part of the enjoyment of the tank.  Also you will find yourself more easily combating algae when not having to deal with the excessive blue in cheaper lights.

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  15. Honestly, for a cheap heater I am liking the Nicrew one with a remote or external means to adjust.  They display the numbers nice and large, so I don't have to get my readers out to check the temperature.  And fairly inexpensive on Amazon.  Only downside is that heaters have a good chance to take a hit in shipping and not work.  

    I am not sure what temp you keep your room and what temp you want to keep your tank, but you should be somewhere inbetween a 50watt and a 100watt heater.

    https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-Submersible-Temperature-Adjustable-Controller/dp/B08GXBGW65/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=nicrew%2Bheater&qid=1634150174&sr=8-3&th=1

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