Jump to content

Biotope Biologist

Members
  • Posts

    1,526
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3
  • Feedback

    0%

Biotope Biologist last won the day on February 29

Biotope Biologist had the most liked content!

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

Biotope Biologist's Achievements

Grand Master

Grand Master (14/14)

  • Dedicated
  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Posting Machine
  • Reacting Well

Recent Badges

2.6k

Reputation

  1. All tetra have adipose fins. It is a distinguishing feature used in the field for marine and freshwater fish alike. Although we still don’t know what it was used for, as it appears to be vestigial in most fish.
  2. Really depends on your budget. Doing some cost analysis the fluval equipment listed prices out to $750 so your question now is, is a 88g tank and stand worth $1k to you? I would imagine fluval used low-iron glass and looking at prices online of other reputable high clarity glass manufacturers, fluval is being quite competitive here. Also it looks like it comes with a magnetic scrubby and some sample products. Fluval gets a bad rep for being overpriced with little to show for it. But one thing you know is that it is going to be quality. I do wish it came with maybe some glass lily pipes or some acrylic baffles to show its meant to be a high-end aquascape showcase but I can’t fault them on that too much. I like it!
  3. Geos are pretty docile but once they get older and start nesting your aquarium will be subject to… their design choices. You can probably add a couple pairs of EBA without any hassle. I might add some more sight breaks and caves though. And be aware that geos are messy so filter maintenance regime will have to be more frequent.
  4. Quit using it. As said above test your water parameters. It’s basically a buffer that adds iron, magnesium, and potassium back into the water. Many plant fertilizer and water buffers also accomplishes this so if you do have a low gh from the tap look at gh up or one of the several other water buffers not directly marketed to shrimp keepers. It will be cheaper in the long run. Not to say that this aqueon product is a gimmick but it is very niche. It is meant as a supplement on nano aquaria where dosing water buffers may be rather difficult to measure
  5. I know some municipalities and wells have water thats non-potable, but using water bottles will become very expensive. Check if there is a local spring you may fill up at or worst comes to worst go to your LFS and ask to fill up 5 gallon water totes from their tap, they will usually be amenable. As someone who worked with farmers that had non-potable well water this seems to be the most cost efficient way of doing water changes. I was more than happy to give them tap water. Bottled water adds up quick even if you buy the big costco packs. Not to mention the plastic waste 😬
  6. I have the rootball of the fern it did die back after the move. I assumed from shock but it could be the wort stage seeing as the roots are still very much alive and growing
  7. You might be right it does look like that! I didn’t plant half the plants I have haha so it could really be anything. This duckweed spawned out of nowhere.
  8. It’s been about a month so here is a review! The nyos Viper is a dream no more sitting there after a water change playing with the ball valve. It’s quiet and best part is the shrimp don’t like the frequency of this pump so they no longer hang out in the pump chamber. And the wiper function on the intake is actually useful it clears duckweed and dead leaves even while it’s on! I also found this clear eggcrate on amazon that locks into eachother and it is so much better then the netting from BRS and best part is this product is made with aquariums in mind so it fits snuggly 2x wide across my 50g breeder. The netting had no structure so it would get waterlogged and grow algae like crazy Its sunny this morning so I managed to capture the 6 new WCMM added to the school. We are now at 14 total and I am hoping this will lead to more fry in the spring. Don’t mind the debris in the water this was 10 minutes after a WC. Also have this wort type thing growing on the log as well as the moss really starting to stretch out
  9. Sounds like you have rhabdocoela, planaria, and some sort of detritus worms. They are harmless and make good fish fry food or cleanup crew. I have heard of planaria attacking and killing shrimplets but I’ve never seen it. But my snail population suffered some heavy casualties
  10. There are definitely some cool roaches and beetles! I kept turkish roaches and hissing roach cultures for my bearded dragon. One thing roaches are escape artists you need to make sure everything is secure. There are also some fun harvestmen “spider” species that have made their way and are super easy to take care of. Despite their rather drunken walk they are pretty good ambush hunters and fun to watch.
  11. Seed shrimp are ostracods they will eat any decaying matter and detritus. They are usually a sign post of a healthy aquarium ecology
  12. I 2nd seed shrimp. Harmless little tank cleaners. Evidence suggests they pass through fish intestines completely unharmed so they will persist
  13. No not really I am setting up a river/creek biotope and unfortunately it’s still pretty unpopular. Especially the use of algae as the main display plant. In the spring I can post pics of the algae when it’s in full production. Beautiful and it pearlesces(?) a ton. Here is a pic of water willow all grown up. It forms these woody rafts in high flow environments. And I also have white top sedge and some random riparian things I didn’t plant like some sort of violet and a deer fern that really take a while to take hold. It tests my patience sometimes but it’ll be worth it in the end and the gobies really enjoy tunneling into the island edit I found a pic from last summer, still doesn’t do it justice but:
×
×
  • Create New...