marionmaymay

my platys and honey gouramis seem pretty playful, moreso the platys

yes it is indeed a female, but I didn't think it looked pregnant,...hmm...when I get home I'll take another look.

hiyo, I noticed one of my platies laying down on one of the anubias leaves this morning, I thought it was already dead so I went to pick it up but it started to swim once I touched it. it then it swam a teeny bit a way from the leaf then it circled back around to it and it went to lay back down on it. I checked my parameters, they're all fine and the other platies and the honey gouramis are acting perfectly normal, so I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with this one particular platy. when it swam away from the leave it was laying on, it did look like it kept gasping for air at the top of the water...but the other ones aren't doing that so I don't understand how it can be a lack of oxygen if they're not all acting the same way. I'm afraid I have no idea what could be wrong, any advice or suggestions...?

hmm...perhaps the meds are too...potent?

go on youtube and look up guided meditation videos for deep sleep, (Kelly Howell in particular is really good) and then have them play on any device you might have available just loud enough for you to hear them in the background. this helps me a lot when I can’t sleep!

late thirties here lol

you know I did test the tap water itself out of curiosity once, but it was so long ago I don’t remember a thing about it, I think I’ll try that again, now I’m rather curious lol

I do a lot of water changes lol they seem to be okay. my nitrates always seem to be that range, I don't know what the deal is, I wonder if it's the plants?

I did a fish-in cycle and it took about...I think 3 weeks tops to cycle if I remember correctly...but I changed out about 20 percent of the water about every 3 days and I used seachem stability everyday.

well, according to cory's test strips, (which I just got and they're great) GH is 300, KH is 80, PH is 7.2, nitrates are 50, nitrite is 0, chlorine is 0, ammonia is 0. I don't know anything about GH and KH, are those good numbers to be at? (for the record I have 5 platies and 2 honey gouramis in a 10 gallon if that information is needed)

I love these!! can you send me a link to your etsy page or wherever you're selling them from?

man, this place is just phenomenal. ❤️ that is a brilliant idea.

where are you getting the fish from? perhaps you should try buying a new batch from a different store? could there be a possibility that the store you originally bought the fish that died from might not be on top of taking care of them..? I mean, if it's a cycled tank and your parameters are fine, then that doesn't make sense why you're having so many fish die. (course I'm a fairly new fish owner myself so I probably don't know what I'm talking about, I started the aquarium hobby last summer during quarantine lol)

so are these posts of new fish that you're selling in the coop store? don't mean for this to be a dumb question, but I'm just curious and I don't know lol

@H.K.Luterman your work is stunning, thank you for sharing! I loved seeing those samples!

@KBOzzie59 I’ve painted a few mermaids in my time, not too many fish, but I’d love to try, certain fish would be really lovely to paint with the kind of colors they have!

@DaveSamsell thank you very much! no, I don't name my pieces unless they were to go in a gallery, which never happens lol 😅

how many snails do you feed your puffer every week? (or do you feed him snails everyday? if so, how many?) I also don't know how often you're supposed to feed them, once a day? twice a day? (thank you for the info!)

lol what does ORD mean?

what is the difference between "shoaling" and "schooling"?

I've given some consideration of getting a 5 gallon for a single pea puffer. I just adore them and been wanting now for a while. I do have a 10 gallon community tank but I'm not risking putting one of those in with the honey gouramis and the platies. anyway, I now seem to be finding conflicting information online regarding good pea puffer care. what I was finding initially when I first looked into getting a pea puffer was that one in a 5 gallon would be fine, but now I'm noticing some sources of information state that they should be in groups of minimum of 3-5(?) I also initially read that they only eat frozen and live foods, especially snails and bloodworms. while the snails is very consistent and a given, I recently read that bloodworms can actually be rather unhealthy for them and make them sick? can anybody provide solid information as to the best possible type of care they should receive as far as diet and tank environment? anything is much appreciated! thank you!

thank you! it’s a top fin 10 gallon ✌️

very true!

I’ve seen it said so many places they they’re the “easiest fish to take care of” and from my own experience when I started getting into the aquarium hobby, I’ve found them to be quite the opposite. as beautiful as they can be to look at, I don’t think I’m ever getting another betta fish again. it’s been my experience they’re too sensitive to water changes, too picky about their food and choice of tankmates is way too limited, definitely way too temperamental. just curious if anyone else had a hard time trying to raise bettas too. after the last betta I had died, I’ve had PB dwarf gouramis, platys, white skirt tetras, neon tetras and honey gouramis and they’ve ALL been WAY easier to take care of!