xXInkedPhoenixX

@Amy C welcome to the forum! Continue to post about your babies! So cool!!

@Guppysnail loving the rock formation there!

Anyone know- would using aquarium safe silicone work to help keep the crack from leaking/spreading? Wouldn't be pretty but it's something I've thought about before.

Very Zen @BigJ I like it.

Oh I would have had a little heart attack too! If he seems ok he'll probably be ok but I'd probably hover like mother goose if I were in your shoes so I get it.

@Torrey I appreciate all that you wrote and it is helpful as is everyone's words of encouragement and sympathy. Maybe it's why I come here to lament the loss because I know all of you have come across this in the hobby and you know how I feel- even the closest people I have in my personal life haven't a clue and don't really react when I tell them so I don't talk about it. My post maybe seemed dramatic when I said this event has killed my motivation but it's more about my motivation to go bigger which was the plan- getting more Tigers isn't at all on the horizon. I'm certainly not walking away from the hobby- just going to scale back what I was going towards. I still won't intentionally breed anything but if my Otos do again (no signs lately) then I will give them every opportunity to thrive. I think I'm looking forward to consolidating my Otos and seeing what comes of it. It might even give me more time with my individual tanks which will be nice. Want to talk about admiration @Beardedbillygoat1975 with breeding set ups and scale (let alone the poor sad bowl). It's nice to see people like you and others in this community who just keep trying. I don't know how the breeders here do it (even when it's just for fun)! Anyway, I think I take this loss so hard because there were so many of them and yes I realize there was probably nothing I could have done but you all know that you second guess and wonder what if I did this...what if I did that.... I have a big passion for these little catfish, that at least isn't changing.

@Beardedbillygoat1975 turned theirs into an African Frog tank

@AtitagainI love the keyhole effect on the Anubias!

Plants like poop that's for sure. At least you can keep Orchids alive- I've never been able to and I'm pretty good with plants! 😔 I really liked the idea of being able to do a water change (with the dispenser jar) that's super cool- but this one is definitely going to play to the "no water changes" side and the plants are pretty thirsty so I put water in it often to top off. I don't even know how I'm going to handle it if/when the "sponge filter" gets clogged. I can change the pump but to change that would have to be a full-on reset! Oh well. I'll love it like it is for now.

@Jawjagrrl loving the shrimp set up!! I thought about those dispenser jars too, one of my coworkers had one to give but I couldn't see one sitting in my living room- they have awesome potential though as you've proven! Yeah the Cholla wood....I was just there JUST for a container (this was in an indoor/air plant section) and it was there and the vase was there and the lightbulb went on sooooo it was purchased. I was not only wondering how the spider plant would stay at the top at first but how I would make and hide any filtration/aeration I would add. This was definitely the perfect solution.

@Odd Duck you are not wrong, however as you might remember this latest Oto project was to make up for my last huge Oto fail with the Patient. Now I'm headed towards 11 dead Tiger Otos- so it's a bit of a blow to the fish keeping ego. At least for now there are no "new" projects on the horizon other than my previous mention, if/when this Oto dies this tank will be broken down. I have plans to gradually move Otos from the Accidental Tank to the Parent tank which I could have started doing this week but again, zero motivation. I think it's time to just scale back and step away for a minute.

I appreciate very much everyone's support ( @Henry Li @Odd Duck @Hobbit @CT_ @Colu ) . I am down to 1 Oto. Other than Salt and IAL, I've ceased medicating. Honestly I've not seen any of them eat anything I've offered them- I suppose they can be subsisting on biofilm and algae but it would be very hard to say. I offered them zucchini, greenbeans, cucumber, spinach, repashy, wafers of all sorts, not a nibble. I just change out the food every day. Every one that has died has looked physically perfect with no outward signs of disease other than they're not fat but not totally wasted away. My clue to the "next death" is when they spend more time at the bottom of the tank. Today the last Oto was still hanging onto the side. Colu, I thought about the Naladin but it said 1 dose should do it and did not recommend another. I can't tell you how much this has pretty much crushed my motivation with the hobby for the moment, just makes me sick.

@Odd Duck thanks friend, yep, all scraps other than what I advised that I purchased. I always need a place to put yet another Spider Plant baby- it's really loving the Easy Green though I'm not sure the snails like it much (I might have to adjust how many drops I put in) as I usually find a few outside the vase on the 1 day a week I fertilize. I put in 6 drops but I might just put in 3 next time- I'm sure the soil has plenty nutrients for now.

So here's my offering. I'll try and make this brief with words and full of pictures ('cause who reads long posts- though I'm VERY guilty of posting them). I had a small QT that was full of snails and I just left it there- other than just throwing a pellet in and topping off water from time to time I did no maintenance and felt bad for them. When this "contest" came up it gave me a perfect excuse to do something for them. I will admit to buying 3 things for the project: I got a vase (because the only ones I had I actually use for flowers), I got a piece of Cholla wood- which was purchased at the same place I got the vase (a plant nursery) and you'll see I HAD to do it (it was exactly what I needed), and I got a Hiro Aquatics light- because I had nowhere to put said vase that wasn't DARK (you'll see) so the plants would have died if I didn't. Anyway: Enjoy my entry! There are 2 parts the build documentation then the finished product. ______________________________THE BUILD_______________________________ _____________________________THE FINAL PRODUCT_________________________ A short Google video https://photos.app.goo.gl/u5fpRk5CCkYG8TFG7 ___________________________HOW IT HAS MATURED______________________________ __________________MARCH 31ST_________________ Short Google video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/A8rZsjVEyDUB65GGA TA DA!! Can't wait to see what everyone else came up with! Happy St Nermy's Day Everyone!

Awesome!!

@AndreaW Breeder boxes aren't the worst idea if you put it to work now and put her or him in there later they'll have the biofilm tho they make short work of it depending on size and would have to be cleaned often as MysterySnails are piggies.. You generally have to supplement their food anyway. Just means the breeder is always in operation. I've kept I'll Snails in breeders with success as far as being able to get them to eat and monitoring them. Tank dividers aren't a bad idea either and wouldn't be expensive generally as @Guppysnailpoints out.

You are right @AndreaW they do need a break. Mine did have shell damage from it and I had 3 females and 1 male. Separating them is fine too, just know every time they are moved the shells react to water parameter changes. Kind of like the rings of a tree. Not always a bad thing just something to look for.

Clarification please 🙃. Says post only 5 pics but also document document document (which I did in pics)....soooooo?

Looks like you got lots of great advice @BAT. I agree with all of it. I tend to do water changes every week but my Nitrates are consistently 40 and up so it seems warranted though my fish do good. They seem to really appreciate it.

@AndreaW even when you have that sometimes there is still a gap in front of the HOB which I think is what they are referring to right now. I could be wrong. 🙃 Could also be a stock hood light, which when you pop out the cut out for it leaves a crazy big gap. Sometimes people just cut the strip in half or cut a piece off to fit the HOB, as you probably know it's not easy to cut smaller spaces like you have and once you've done it there's no going back!

@FaintingGoats and @Katie B. those sheets can be easily cut to size and are also great for blocking vents small denizens get into, difusing light, making plant or moss walls and all sorts of other crazy stuff. It's pretty flexible.

Snails are awesome, and yes sadly they will go for walkabouts in the people desert and die from them unless you're lucky enough to find them before that happens. I haven't seen a perfect solution yet. But I have done exactly as you did by taping mesh material. You could also buy some plastic needle point sheets from a craft store (some are heavier than others) these are easily cut to size, and could be super glued to the lid and extra space left for around the hob/rim I would have tried that needlepoint plastic sheet trick if I still used an HOB for my snail tanks but I don't any longer. It was just something I thought of after the fact because I got the mesh for another project The sheets are usually only a couple of dollars and come in a bunch of colors

Such a bummer friend but I guess there are always bright spots somewhere. I think you are right on holding off stocking the empty tanks until you know your future. Nothing worse than having to move/give up stock tanks. I've also taken my losses for an opportunity to downsize. I agree it's going to be fun to see everyone's Scapes (the 1st we're posting right??)

@samanthacoffey yea you would think that'd been your sand but I would hope the filtration would have taken care of it. I mean it is possible that it's still floating if there's a LOT of flow if so maybe baffle or turn it down to see (if that's the case). Other than that though- I'd leave it with no water changes and see if it sorts itself out. You could add the plants now, they'll be fine, in fact they might even help.

Hi there welcome to the forum, if it is a bacterial bloom, which is what it looks like to me, just leave it. NO water changes- just makes it worse or continues for longer. Since you don't have any fish yet you have time to let it settle.