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@drewzero1 As previously stated I've not had a Honey and I'm not sure how big Endler offspring are but I'd imagine small. My Oto babies can very easily, I mean very easily be eaten by my Harlequin Rasboras which I feel like they are a similar size as Honey Gouramis. Now Oto babies are egg hatched so I guess they might be smaller than a live bearer baby but since I've never had live bearers I dunno! I would not be an iota surprised if they get eaten.

@Patrick_G the principal behind wok cooking is super hot and super fast, cast iron is slow in comparison to a super thin easy to handle/pan flip carbon fiber wok. You would need a lid too to do the veggie steaming. New Lodge is pretty rough so would be harder to do tradtional Chinese cooking HOWEVER they do make them because there is a market for them- to each their own of course.

@Beardedbillygoat1975 carbon steel woks if you do wok cooking are the best, IMO

@drewzero1 Honey Gouramis are so pretty. I'd like to have one someday but I'm afraid to get attached to solo fish anymore. Which is why I got a herd of Endlers

@Beardedbillygoat1975 ...tis the season...fa la la la looove the chili!

I do lots of recipes that do both stovetop and oven....the pizza in my original post here is cooked on the stovetop first then finished in the oven. I also do a German Apple Pancake that you cook the same way, saute the apples with cinnamon and sugar, pour the batter over the apples bake for a little while on the stovetop then finish in the oven. It get flipped over onto a plate- if you do it right, the cinnamon apples are in a pretty pattern.

@JettsPapa @OnlyGenusCaps @KaitieG I haven't fainted at any of the supposed "misuse" tales here so far. One of the reasons I love cast iron so much is it's pretty much indestructable- I mean come on some of my pans are literally 121 years old and you would never know it. Even if you "mess up" a cast iron pan there are ways to bring it back to life. The no rust thing-- that's why I use Crisco. After cooking (no soap but yes you can use soap) scrape off any bits (that fall off like butter was still in the pan) rinse it really good with hot water and "dry" it off with a papertowel and a bit of Crisco. Anti-aging cream for your pans. 😄 They need their beauty sleep too!!

@Streetwise lids can be handy, most of the time you might see "self basting" with Lodge there could be spikes in the lid which makes it that way. Vintage and antique lids get INSANE. I'm looking at one on a watchlist that's nearly 400. It's just a wish, I don't think I'll ever go there and I don't really need it (it's just rare). I invested in a lid years ago that was a bit over 100 (more expensive than the pan). You should pick one up from Lodge when you can- they aren't absolutely necessary but come in handy from time to time.

@Streetwise Definitely Chili! I make a spicey Turkey Pumpkin Chili that is AMAZING and only gets better as the days go by. A bit of cheddar, bit of sour cream, cilantro on top- maybe some CORNBREAD with honey and butter. Nom nom!

For me it's ENDLERS! Specifically I have male Endlers (I do NOT want a breeding project thank you). If they could talk they would NEVER shut up- literally never a dull moment with them in the tank. I admire their enthusiasm and energy. If only I had 1/10th of it.

Been cooking for myself for, well I decline to give you that information- however I personally enjoy it and I happen to LOVE leftovers!!

@KaitieG that's a vintage or antique pan. They're the only ones I use. As you said they're lighter, smoother and the best nonstick money could buy.

Hi welcome to the forum very sorry about your fish, our medicine guru @Colu might have an idea when they see this but have you considered Streptococcal? Apparently White Clouds are susceptible to this (I learn something new every day) It is a GRAM POSITIVE bacterial infection- have you treated them with a gram positive antibiotic yet? What meds have you used? Here is a helpful link to what I found: THE LINK IS A PDF FYI https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/FA/FA05700.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiD3KfDp8f0AhUSHDQIHeasBSQQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0_tqhP4aMZamgu8MRr6ZuV

@lindabee53 you are right (your Dad is definitely right), there are lots of oils you can use so our friend streetwise will find lots of advice/opinions online. Crisco has been used for a very, very long time to season pans, even Lodge at one point had the process on their product sleeve (not sure about now but I haven't looked). It's time tested and I find it's one of the easier ways for cast iron newbies to break into it, they can get fancy later. I keep circling back to Crisco myself though. It's like a lovely moisturizing cream for your precious metal. 🙂 Plus it puts one hellava crust on things. Ha! 🙂

Ah I love me some cast iron. I was in kitchen retail for several years. I own Le Crueset, used to have some Lodge but it's heavy! So I've "upgraded" to 80-100 year old cast iron pans. I just bought a muffin pan that's from the late 1800s. They are a joy to have. Though they say "pre seasoned" it's debatable so get yourself some Crisco and bake that sucker in the oven (lots of youtube and information pages on how to). Then I'd recommend making some greasy stuff in that pan for a bit!

😔 I'm sorry. Hope this little one makes it.

OTOCINCLUS COCAMA: The Accidental Oto Tank I am super defeated today, very sad. My Oto tank tested well but for continuing high Nitates, which potentially could be a problem. I will speak of conditions of the tank more. What I did find was one of my beautiful Tiger Otos has gotten Popeye. This is a strange thing to hope but I'm HOPING that it's due to an injury and not a problem with the tank as a whole. This started off a chain reaction. This never happens on a day you have time. It's my "monday" and I was even due to go to work early. I thought I was doing well with time until this. SO decisions had to be made. Treat the tank or treat the fish? Fish. My logic here: This is a tank of 40 or so fish- with 7 small fry- I thought about moving them for a second but decided if nobody else is showing symptoms (that I can see) it's best just to pull the 1 fish. But if we (meaning me there is no we) treat the fish where is the Oto going--- the QTs are full (4 Endlers 16 days into QT and 9 spiked Nerites 1 day into QT). We have to pull the Endlers and put them into the Ember House aka Flex. The reason I was holding off on that was because the Flex just ended a round of heavy antibiotics and I was going to wait a couple of weeks with no signs until I added the new Endlers. They ALL seem ok (the inhabitants of the Flex and the new Endlers) but I wanted to be cautious. Unfortunately now I had no choice. Thankfully that tank tested wonderfully (with low nitrate) and I added a bigger sponge filter. Now. Catch the sick fish before I lose my chance. Thankfully they made it very easy for me. I grabbed two small shrimp nets and caught the little one on either side off the wood they sat on. Placed them in a floating breeder in the Oto tank until I got the rest sorted. The Endlers got moved 1 at a time to the Flex. I tried best I could to monitor interactions because the two residents are a bit much, constantly chasing each other- I'm hoping the new ones don't get overwhelmed and stressed, and hence sick. I'm feeling like I can't win here, but I'm really crossing my fingers. They seemed ok as much as I could check on them. I'm bummed about this because I love releasing new fish and watching how they explore their new tank. This was robbed from me today. That done I left the QT tank as is (some water was changed out just because of the fish move- it gets cleaned every day so it was really clean the Endlers were very polite house guests). I put my poor Tiger Oto in there. It's the only "damage" I can see so far on them. Again, not having a lot of time I did a quick search on the forum here to confirm with posts from @Colu my first instinct to use Maracyn. That confirmed (and I'm trying salt too, yes I know Otos, but I've treated them with salt before to no negative effects) I put the medication in and some salt. Put in some food for them. Otos are so calm and cooperative and I feel so bad about this poor Oto being ill. Like I said I really hope this is from an injury (Otos can be spazy at times) and he/she can be helped and I'm hoping this because only one eye seems afflicted. I had, like every day, changed out water, spot cleaned The Accidental Oto tank and given them new food. Today I added Prime and some Aquarium Salt in the HOB in case some bacterial is lurking in the tank. I had even just yesterday changed out their HOB filter and cleaned the pre-filter sponge. Water test was: Temp:78.5 pH: 7.4 (color looked closer to 7.4 than 7.6 as it tested last week but similar) Ammonia: 0** Nitrite: 0** Nitrate: 80 (darker than 40 maybe but those reds are really close, but possible issue?) Kh: 5/89.5 (this has gone up 2 degrees since last test- is this an issue?) Gh: 179 (same) If you have any ideas that can help me and my Otos out that would be appreciated. The little one seemed ok before I left for a 12 hour shift. We could both use a win right now. Pics of the poor thing below.

Hi, welcome to the forum. Sorry you're fish is having troubls. Unfortunately you're going to need an antibiotic. Herbal remedies rarely help anything. Maracyn is probably best to start with.

I agree with @Fish Folk but you are obviously on a budget. Next time you go to the store with allowance in hand I highly recommend a hardy plant you can propagate easily- like Java Fern. I love Windelov and Narrow Leaf. Several of my tanks have baby plants from other parent plants. There are also easy to propagate stem plants like Bacopa and Needle Leaf. Most big box pet store tho will have the Java I mentioned. If you get some glue it to a rock or wood (even decorations like your cute stacked rock tower).

I agree. Wait. There are many reasons but the most important: Sometimes you have an unexpected crash, sometimes your friends fail (certainly not on purpose). You also want to be around to have the joy of seeing your new fish friends in the tank. I say plant some new plants in the meantime! Welcome to the forum!

@Torrey now THAT'S a possibility for me.

Oh @Sapere_Ceta I am so very heartbroken for you. Gandr had the best possible crayfish mom he could have EVER found. He was obviously so very happy with you and to be around you. I'd never heard of a crayfish being so interactive and while yours isn't the only one, I'm convinced Gandr was very special. Sometimes people use the words "Soul Mate" to describe other people, but I know that animals can be that for us too if such a thing even exists- so I completly understand why you haven't been here- let alone your other worrisome troubles. Please take care of yourself. 💙

I've got them in one of my tanks and I've had them die off entirely so I've pulled bulbs before had one start to regrow a leaf but it got knocked off in a QT tank so I'm trying again. I've had one put out a long bloom, but I remember someone maybe even ACP mention in a video it's best to trim those so it doesn't go dormant. I've also heard there's a way to simulate a dormant period if you have one die off (had to do with sand and temperature, was too much of a faff for me to bother with since the bulbs are rather cheap at the big box stores. I don't fertilize so mine don't grow super fast but they sure are pretty. Three right now in the pic below:

Hi there Emily! It sounds though your access is limited you've used your resources well! Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to ask questions and learn from many people with all levels of experience. 🙂

@Odd Duck lol yea I know there are chronic overfeeders everywhere. So I get that. I don't use ferts at all. It's a mystery to me too. For example my "Angry Man" tank, 20g tall only 10 Black Neons and 3 Nerites. Weekly 3 gallon water change. They're pigs but they only get 1 pinch of food so I don't encourage the bladder snail population which is low. Sometimes it tests at 80ppm Nitrate. It's not super planted but its population is very low and not so planted I wouldn't see rotted plants. If it were my source water 2 of my tanks which last tested at 5 and 20 would likely be in that range too. Anyway. It was the only reason I could think I couldn't keep shrimp which was the point of the mention and some sites say it's not tolerable levels for them. (I've tried ghost and cherry shrimp) everything else is good in the tanks and my fish don't seem to have any issue with it so I actually don't worry about it too much. I just think it weird. I will at some point test the source water just out of curiosity.