Chris
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Everything posted by Chris
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I'm old school, I guess - I use two of the simple floating thermometers. I don't keep one in each tank, but I move them around to tanks as I maintenance them once every week or so. It takes 2-3 minutes of floating for it to get an accurate reading, at which point I glance at it, make sure it's within a few degrees of whatever I'm shooting for, and move on. These two thermometers were $5 a piece at Petsmart and are accurate to each other - I'm not sure if they read true, but who the heck cares? As far as I'm concerned, no fish needs a certain temperature within a degree to be happy or even to breed. Just gotta get it close enough. I've found the digital ones to be extremely innacurate, at least the cheap ones. I'm also the kind of person to just dip a finger in a tank while I'm walking by. I worked in a pet store for a couple years with hands in tanks every day, so I have a pretty good idea of what a tropical fish tank should feel like - 78-ish feels distinct from 72 and 84 by quite a bit to me, enough that I can verify that a tank isn't way off by finger alone. Not necessarily what I'd recommend, but hey, it works for me.
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Lookin' mighty purdy, there, friend!
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This one is similar to one I used over a 20 gallon long years back: https://www.amazon.com/Wattshine-Aquarium-Spectrum-Dimmable-Channels/dp/B097R62YH2/ref=sr_1_31?keywords=165w+led+aquarium+light&qid=1666379436&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjIwIiwicXNhIjoiMi40MiIsInFzcCI6IjEuMzgifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=165w+led+%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-31 This one is the same brand as I had, but slightly lower wattage. Still plenty for a 29. You'll likely have to hang it at least 18" above your tank, and you'll probably still have to turn it down a little, too. I removed the lenses off of mine to get a cleaner look to the light, and preferred that - but that was my preference.
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I thiink a Black Box hung above your tank would do well. You'd have to turn it down quite a bit, but you'll get a massive bang for your buck. Alternatively a couple AI Primes should do that tank, I'd imagine. More $$$, though.
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How big is your tank? I had great luck out of the 165W LED Black Box lights off Amazon for larger tanks, and for nanos (10 gallons) I used the Hipargero Aquaknight. Both were cheap and worked well for softies and LPS.
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FWIW, I've got a 48" finnex stingray over my 55 gallon green spotted puffer tank and am growing some Caulerpa and some "pest" corals with it - Yellow button polyps, mainly. Spectrum does matter, but corals will grow with daylight (6500K) spectrums too. They'll probably be brown and not super colorful, but I think you could get away with using that light for some soft corals and polyps. There are way better budget reef options out there, though, so unless you already had a light on hand (which you don't, Co-op light isn't out yet) I'd spend that money on a LED black box or maybe even something as simple as a T5 fixture retrofitted with LEDs.
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Between your betta thread and this one, I'm really having a hard time waiting to keep expanding my fishroom! I'm trying to give my wallet (and my back!) a break, SHEESH! 😂 It seems I may be setting up an Otto-only tank in the near future... thanks a lot, @xXInkedPhoenixX! I need another tank like I need a hole in the head 🙄
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I think that may work! I'd do a smaller barb/cyprinid that doesn't nip but is fast enough to get out of the way if the puffer comes for them. Maybe a species of danio would be even better than barbs? A baby puffer might be intimidated by all the activity, but an adult may just ignore it/chase them on occasion. I'd also imagine that if you wanted to keep more than one Avocado having an active schooling fish in with them would keep them from going after each other as much - puffers like to look at things, so a school of danios would probably hold their attention most of the time.
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Not so worried about the silicone - this tank has black silicone, so I doubt staining would be noticeable. I know Ich-X is safe, and I'm definitely not afraid to medicate when necessary, but I prefer natural methods when possible. Salt has worked well for me in the past, and I usually QT most of my freshwater fish in at least a little salt, and livebearers will usually get a brackish QT to avoid issues like this. I just got a bit ahead of myself with these guppies and am paying the price... I'll pull the trigger on some Ich-X if this higher dosage of salt doesn't work.
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Yeah, I've used it before and had good luck. I just prefer salt if possible - not a big fan of medications if I can keep from them. In this case I may have to order some, since I'm sure the bottle I've had for years is probably separated and nasty by now.
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Ever considered the Avocado puffer? Stays under 4", is full freshwater, and run $40-60 depending on where you live/order. Unfortunately, they have the same attitude as GSPs (99% of them are jerks and don't play nice) and they do have the same beak care as GSPs and other puffers. That being said, attitude does vary by individual, and I've never had to trim a puffer beak by hand except for one I bought with an already overgrown beak.
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Possibly. Not a bad idea - I don't see males pestering her, but I may separate her out if she doesn't improve over the next 48 hours. The other four fish are showing some signs of illness, but not to the extent that she is. I added another 5 tbsps of salt last night, for a total of 25 tbsps in the tank. I should mention I'm using marine salt, so the tank is now at 1.0025 SG, give or take .0005. In the past, I've found 1.001-1.002 (which is roughly 1 tbsp of salt per 2 gallons) to be plenty for treating ich, so maybe I've got a salt-resistant strain or this isn't ich at all? It looks like ich, but it has been years since I've dealt with freshwater ich. I'll have to get some pics when I get a second tonight. If I don't see any improvement in the next couple of days I'll probably raise the entire tank to 1.004, or roughly 1 tbsp of salt per gallon. I've never heard of any freshwater ich surviving that, although that can have a pretty strong negative impact on the biofilter. With 5 guppies in a 37 gallon, though, I think I'll be able to keep a mini-cycle at bay if it comes to that.
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Alrighty, pic dump and ich update: The colors on the one remaining Krib are getting better every day: Some of the Emperor Tetras are getting pretty, too: And here's the swords enjoying their bloodworms last night: The guppies with ich are showing some improvement, but one particular female has more spots than she did the other day - she seems to be getting worse. I think I may add another 5 tbsps of salt to the tank to see if that helps. It's odd I'm seeing improvements in all but that fish. Any thoughts?
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It takes time to absorb something through the skin. Maybe not long - but I'm not sitting with my hands in medicated water for longer than a few minutes at a time, if that. I'd imagine that the amount of medications I've absorbed over the years is tiny, if any. Also keep in mind that the medications are dissolved into a relatively large amount of water, so the concentration we're exposed to is relatively low when compared to a topical cream or ointment. That said, if you know you're sensitive to a medication, I don't blame you for avoiding using it in your aquarium. Or, if you do use it, using the proper PPE isn't a bad idea. With all the things we're exposed to in our daily lives (chemicals, medications, air pollutants, preservatives in our food, etc.) I truly think that fish tank medications should be one of the last health worry on 99.9% of people's minds. If someone is particularly worried about it, or has a known issue with medications, it's easy enough to use PPE or have someone else dose the aquarium.
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Just a chill night in the fishroom. Fed lots of food to all the tanks - kinda bored and wanted to watch the fish eat! Feed the Krib and tetras some bloodworms. The Krib is coloring up really nicely now that he's settled in, and so are some of the larger tetras. They're actually a nice pair - the purple/pink of the krib's belly and the blue sheen of the emperor tetras go nicely together. Can't wait to get a female krib in there! The swordtails got a cube of bloodworms, too, and all 10 of them swarmed it. Lots of nice, round bellies. Guppies got some Emerald Cuisine, for the veggie content. They seemed to like it, even though 3 of the 5 still have pretty bad ich. Two of them don't show any symptoms, one of them has one or two specks, and the others are covered. Still active, though! The clownfish got Emerald Cuisine, too. Doing well in QT! GSP got some Emerald Cuisine, too. I'm thinking he might be a little wormy - I might deworm him again soon. Puffers are so bad for parasites! Flowerhorn got some pellets. Still got tons of greenwater in his tank. Ginga Sulphereous Guppies got some crumbled up Krill Extreme flakes, since they're too small for the Emerald Cuisine and bloodworms. Finally, the Musk turtle (and his friends, the white clouds and mollies) got bloodworms. I actually grabbed a bunch of pics but don't feel like getting them all off the camera right this second...
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I agree! I hope that as things continue to move forward we'll see recirculating systems become more common. I do wonder if we'll see animal care improve as prices continue to rise - Just five years ago, the most expensive betta at a local petsmart was under $15. Now, that same betta is $19.99, and they offer some varieties for $29.99. I'm sure the store's cost hasn't risen nearly as dramatically per fish, but even still, the average consumer's view on a "product" (animal) does shift pretty significantly as prices rise, and they expect premium quality and care because they're paying a premium price.- 269 replies
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Have any pics of your Marigolds? I like the Wagtail Red Whites. My great grandmother kept a 55 full of red wag swordtails, and that was my main experience with them up until I got these. I've had a few Pineapple swords when I was a teenager (13? 14?), and I loved those guys - I'd actually buy some if I ever have a free tank suitable. No problem! Hermit crabs have been a go-to tankmate for me with GSPs. They get nipped at, but never seem to be able to do any damage to the crab. Keeps their beak filed, gives them something to hunt, and keeps algae down. More traditional crabs and shrimp are definitely on the menu, though - I even had a GSP eat macros, once. This current guy will eat cichlid pellets 😂 They aren't picky a bit! After all the work (and spending) of setting up this rack, dealing with a bit of ich with the guppies (yes, confirmed ich), an algae bloom in the flowerhorn tank, and keeping an eye on a bunch of new fish, I'm planning on waiting at least a month before I add any more tanks. But, that won't stop me from planning, right? Next project will likely be the rack that'll replace the 20 long the Krib and tetras are in. I plan to keep that 20 long there on top, but want to build a cinderblock stand with room for a handful of 5.5's on the bottom lengthwise. I think those 5.5's will be mainly for small-scale projects to keep costs down - I'd like to do a high-tech planted tank, and I think a 5.5 will keep me from going too crazy with it. Same thing with a reef - I've kept small reefs before, so I know it's a bit easier to spread the costs of such a thing out with a tiny tank. I'd also like to keep some interesting species-only stuff - I've never kept Scarlet Badis, so that's on the list. So are Pygmy sunfish and clown killis, among others. Y'all need to help me plan out the high-tech tank... it's a bit out of my wheelhouse. I'm definitely wanting it to be plant-oriented, and probably no fish. Maybe some shrimp and snails for algae control. I have one of the Fluval Nano pendants, and I think that'd work well enough for a crisp high-light setup, right? No idea what a good CO2 setup for such a small tank would be, but I'd like to do it right without completely breaking the bank, if possible.
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I know they will! They're awful young, so maybe the color needs to finish coming in. From what I've heard, most coloration differences fish pick up from being outside wear off after they've been inside for a while, but I don't know if it'll make a big difference in their long-term development as fry.
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Right? They look even better in person - the colors on these are crazy bright, even from across the room! Much more intense than the red wag colors I'm used to. The GSP tank is full marine (around 1.022 or so), and the urchin is in with him. Puffers typically don't go after echinoderms IME, although it's always a bit of a risk. Urchins are safer than starfish - I think the spikes are a pretty good deterrent. The snail shell was an old mystery snail shell I had. Urchins will pick up different objects as they wander the tank, and he's had ahold of that shell for the past couple days, wearing it like a snail would. I think it's funny! I do too! It's one of my favorite sizes. It's a 33 gallon - 48"x12"13". Basically a 55 minus 8" of height. It's the only tank that made sense, being that the top of this tank is 7 feet off the floor, meaning a 55 would have been nearly 8 feet!
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Here are some halfway decent shots of the swordtails. They're fast little buggers in a dim tank, so getting clear pics is difficult even with a DSLR.
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I'm the same way! I spend fairly little time just sitting and watching fish - I spend at least 30 minutes in the fishroom every day (usually an hour or two), but I'm usually doing something. Feeding fish, cleaning messes, removing nerm glitter (duckweed), etc. I like doing it to keep my mind occupied.
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I'm one of those boring people like @Katherinethat just used their name!
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ORD! I'm jealous! Of lots of things, but specifically the fact that you have places on the wall to hang your nets... I just kinda throw it in a bucket and then get mad when I can't find it. Welcome to the forum!
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It certainly does! If nothing else, having a place to share opinions in an open setting where the conversation can be open and fluid is a nice change from the disease forum (where people need help with important issues, like, yesterday) or other forums (where I was once berated by a mod for for mentioning I was enjoying a cup off coffee while doing tank maintenance since it wasn't strictly related to fish). We're nerms - fish freaks, yes, but we also like normal people things! Sometimes.
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Well, not to de-rail @xXInkedPhoenixX's thread, but... The biggest issue I had was expecting people to care as much as I did. My most frequent customers were tired parents buying fish for their kids, and they just wanted something quick and easy, and often they didn't want "just" a betta. Some are easily convinced into a 10 gallon tank with a group of guppies or something similar, and others barely want to shell out the money and space for a fishbowl. Other customers were people who'd kept fish "forever", and favored "outdated" methods - fish will grow to the size of the tank, plecos only need waste to eat, etc... Generally, these people had their minds made up and the only way I could ever get through to them was to make the sale on the fish and have little concessions. Sell them their common pleco for their 55 gallon, but then try and get them to buy a good food for it so that it doesn't starve in 6 months. Sure, the tank is too small, but being stunted is better than starving. I'm not necessarily of the opinion that all the old methods were bad, I just think they've been applied in situations they weren't intended for, and that we often have better methods now with modern tech. My favorite customers were those who didn't know much but were open to learning. Nothing made me happier than selling a 5 or 10 gallon tank to someone for a betta or a trio of guppies/endlers and seeing them walk out with Prime, Stablility/Safe start, an Aquaclear filter sponge instead of replacement filter pads, live plants, and a heater if needed. They'd come back in a few days or a week for fish (it's hard to convince people to wait longer - hence the bacteria starters), and I'd be able to help them out again by starting them with a few fish and making plans to add more down the road if they wanted. Over time, those are the customers you forge relationships with and they really do pay off, IMO. I also had some terrible experiences... I once had a guy bring a few fish in and demanded that we take them. Company policy was that we didn't take in fish - when I told him that, he told me I'd take them or he'd dump them down a storm drain. So, I took them... and then he asked me to buy more fish. Basically, the entire encounter was us yelling each other until I gave him what he wanted. It was awful - and that wasn't even the worst of it. There were certain interactions I had that got so bad I don't even feel right about sharing them on a family-friendly forum. Basically, you'll get a huge range of customers, and each day will be different from the last. Just don't let anything get you down too much, stand by what you think is right, and pick your battles. You can't change everything over night - pick something you want to change, and slowly start working towards a goal. You don't want to be dismissed as an overeager idealist - if you can show you can make a positive change financially viable and then try get policy changed, that'll get you farther than anything else in my experience.
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