Torrey

Mmiller will have much better information on the CO2 and ferts. Snails & neocaridina shrimp don't do as well in acidic water because it erodes their shells, albeit slowly. Reptical (calcium supplement I use for my turtle, and now inverts) can be added to Repashy. Also, try offering dark green veggies, lightly blanched (I literally pour boiling water over them, and then let them cool) and change the veggies out every day so they don't foul your water, and your snail will show you serious love. Carrots are another favorite, and act as a color booster. Stones (like seiryu) will leach minerals into acidic water until homeostasis is found, typically around 7.2 pH to 8.4 pH (depending on the stone). Since I have liquid rock, I mix it with ZeroWater to keep my TDS where my livebearers and inverts are happy... which also means learning about which iron is bioavailable (calcium inhibits iron absorption in people and plants). Seattle_Aquarist & Mmiller gave me this link which has been very helpful: https://www.nutriag.com/mulderschart/ (I actually have Mulder's Chart as my screensaver now) To understand more about RO, this article is helpful: https://shrimpnation.co.za/understanding-rowater-shrimpminerals-and-tds/ Since I live in the desert, I can't use RO in good conscience. The ZeroWater doesn't have any waste effluent, and the company supports recycling by giving you a credit worth one filter cartridge for each 2 used filters you return to the company. Remember to test the water for TDS! ZeroWater is fabulous, and, as soon as the filter is "full" it loses whatever electromagnetic charge that helps it work so efficiently. We used 38 gallons, and TDS was at 4... at 41 gallons, TDS moved up to 6. 42 gallons TDS hit 30. Refilled one more time and tested, TDS jumped up to 463.😲 Anything bigger than the 20 cup model, they include a free TDS monitor that is pretty accurate!

Everyone else already answered, lol! I prefer the less smelly potato flake option, plus it gives me something to do with potato flakes since we make mashed potatoes out of sweet potatoes. Great haul from the fish club auction!

My test strips from the Co-op work great, once I realized just how long 30 seconds is (the ammonia strips). I actually run a timer for both the swirl part and the wait and read (multi-test). When our humidity dropped to single digits, it did take a little longer to get a nitrate reading. Whereas everything else matched my API tests at the 60 second mark, the nitrates didn't match until the 75 second mark. My chemist friend who works at the Sandia Labs is playing with some strips to see if they can figure out why. So far, all my bottles have been closer than government work. I also work very hard to keep the bottles stored in a dry place, with temps between 50 F and 80 F. (Our apartment keeps a steady 68 F)

This is the BEST advice one can get. Also, @FishyJames I strongly recommend once you get it set up, let it run with you home so you can make adjustments *before* you come home to overfed fish. The Hikari micropellets you already have will work great. Tape the opening at the right size or smaller, and generally too little is better than too much... Especially if you are going to be gone for 10 days. Floating a bowl under the dispenser is a great way to check the amount without spending the next 2 hours doing water changes.😅 My fish can go 2 weeks of me on vacation without needing to be fed, because they will hunt down the scuds, blackworms, and any snail caviar they can find. My Endlers didn't even snack on any fry....🙄 Remember to feed lightly for the first week you are back, gradually increasing the food, so the beneficial bacteria catch up. May your vacation be uneventful and everything you need!!!!

You are dedicated, and thank you!!! If you have to miss a few days because you are traveling, I'm sure the rest of us can get in to post challenges for you. Wordle guessed in 4/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=scipd ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle Wordle guessed in 6/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=bwcwpv ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟩⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle Wordle 352 4/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜ 🟨⬜🟨🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Here's one for this 6th of June: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=bzlnp And these two will make the most sense if first this one is figured out: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=iwbuzkacgklkqg And then this one: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=nodlcivw Hopefully @Dorkula is doing well!

What? Refunds on everything *except* live animals? That's.... oof. That's also not how it used to be.....

ORD 😍🥰😍 This will be fabulous to follow!!!

I can add something: So, spouse's T4' tank is a pseudo natural tank. Way overplanted, way overpopulated after a year of endlers (even with what I took to my LFS and donated to our NMAS auction)... sand on the left that evolves into gravel, that evolves into (giant to the tanks) river rocks on top of the UGF. The endler girls have been setting up house in the little caves created by the river rocks. Once I get a fry catcher built, it will be very easy to collect fry in the tank, as the fry already take multiple trips through the UGF, but I digress. Whale has always been our favorite, but for weeks she's been very reclusive. Today I got video which was completely worth waiting for. ... and then she kept following me... and spouse called me back because it was like Whale was waiting for me to come back. Whale was having a conversation with spouse and myself. Apparently, some of the females I had moved to the T4' for their genetics, and the two males with the gorgeous, single bottom endler "sword" (looks more like a rapier), had told the T4' about the Walstad tank they had come out of, and Whale wanted to check out the Walstad. Sounds crazy, I know.... so I decided to test our communication skills. "Whale, do you want out of this tank? The only other place I can put you is the Walstad tank." Whale followed me. So, I got the specimen container, which Whale has never come near. She lets her babies go for great adventures (Patient Spouse™ makes up stories about the specimen container and fish adventures all the time), but Whale has always retired to her cave when I open the lid and start doing work in the tank. This time she followed me. I put the specimen container in the tank.... and she was the first one in, followed by a swarm of babies and 4 of her daughters with their momma's big, beautiful eyes.... and a half dozen boys. So, the specimen container went to my room and hung out on the side of the Walstad. "Whale, do you understand how much smaller this tank is? Are you sure you want in it? Do you want to go back to your tank?" I put my hands in the Walstad, and got them wet. Put my left hand in the specimen container, and Whale swam into my cupped fingers, and plunkered down in my hand. I had just tested parameters, and everything was closer than government work, so I opened my fingers to give Whale a chance to swim away. She stayed in my fingers. Her daughters came and joined her. The Walstad is a different line than the T4'.... so I picked up my cupped hand slowly and 5 fish refused to get out. Put my hand in the Walstad, and 5 fish hung out in my hand and did the equivalent of a "fish sniff" A quorum commenced, and I kept my hand cupped. One fish swam out, did a lap, and returned to my hand. A second quorum commenced, and I really wanted my hand back. I said anyone who wanted back to the T4', stay in my hand. Five fish swam out. Whale chased a couple of scuds, then swam to the back and hid under a breeder box full of virgin females. An hour later, there are now a dozen big-eyed fry in the Walstad. We shall see what the tails look like, lol. I literally just finished culling all but 3 males with the double tail phenotype😆 But I *love* being able to listen to my animals and give them what they need. Totally worth all the work, all the sorting, all the training to swim into the net so I don't have to dismantle the tank.... And now I am fairly confident my fish know when it is time for them to go to a new tank. This is the behavior I am committed to waiting for....

My shrimp don't even react when I put it in, a few of my snails have crawled up to the top of the tank which may be 100% coincidental. However, to alleviate my stress and worry, I broke the Easy Green weekly dose into 7 mini daily doses, and my plants showed so much appreciation for consistency I switched all my tanks over to daily microdosing.

ORD 😍

ROFLMAO Wait til I fill in the Patient Spouse™ 😆

My friends in Australia and New Zealand all use the SeaChem line... they are actually the ones who introduced me to SeaChem

In no particular order... all the ones I missed😅 while I was dealing with... issues. And I had not tissues, lol Wordle guessed in 3/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=liwipv ⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle I LOVED this one!!! Wordle guessed in 4/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=bcixx ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle Wordle guessed in 2/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=ovzqpv ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle I got to 5, restarted, and got this. So 9/6? Excellent challenge!!! I don't remember who did this one🧐 I still wouldn't have gotten, except I just watched a video, lol Wordle guessed in 4/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=hcilnenwr ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟨⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle ::facepalm:: Might be time for bed, lol Wordle guessed in 6/6! Can you do better? Try this wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=iccoj ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #mywordle Leave everyone with a brainteaser of the swimming variety https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=wbxhwjegy

I would recommend reading Dr Diana Walstad's book for some of the best information (as far as being easier to read and understand) for information on dirt in tanks. If you are like me, and enjoy experimenting, my recommendations would be: 1. Sift. Otherwise, as the ice cube melts you will have sedimant floating at the top of the tank. 2. The 2 places I read about it justified freezing as a means to kill pathogens/parasites. If you get the dirt from an established water way, freezing won't kill cysts. If you are using garden dirt, there won't be in parasites that survive the water. 3. I think a more effective method to try, and would be a cool experiment if you want to try both and see what does better, would be soak the dirt until it is well and truly waterlogged. I have found that the organic Miracle Grow (specifically, as that is what I used in my Walstad) takes about 2 weeks to get truly waterlogged, and requires a lot of stirring... here in the desert. Once it is dry, it is very hydrophobic, worse than a lot of bark products. So, once it's water logged, I would put half in 00 gelatin capsules, and freeze the other half. Gelatin capsule would be more labor intensive. See if there's a difference in how the plants grow. But that's me... I like to science.

I was thinking of you the entire time I was reading this! I'm betting @Fish Folk would like to get a culture going too. Almost sounds like they live in pretty close relationship to each other, maybe worth growing them together in a tank with aged water and see if you can find a homeostasis mark? Would definitely be interesting to see if getting an aged, established, well seasoned and planted tank supporting a good colony of these, and then introducing a few breeders. I wonder if a growing population of ceriodaphnia might be one of the "missing links" in triggering spawns? Like, in the wild, what are the chances that fish fry who did really well with these... their parents spawn when the population starts increasing, knowing that when it starts to shrink the larger daphnia population will begin to grow?

And its not in a display tank!!!!

OMG, I thought it was just me this weekend! Such a massive frustration. Going to try again tomorrow, and upload another unboxing. Cooler water at the bottom, and they appreciate cooler water. Might see them more with morning coffee if you get out there before the sun tops the horizon. I'm gonna half to come back and watch with sound!

My Walstad redo looked like that for 4 days.... It's looking much better now! Can't wait to see yours! Most of my family is in the Triangle area, I will be sure to DM you when I head out.

I got sold on breather bags, because a friend who breeds shrimp and guppies (like $120/ trio guppies) had one of his packages get lost for 11 days. Fell off the radar (literally, there was a shipping label malfunction) for 11 whole days. Took 13 days (instead of two) for the entire journey from his place to the purchaser... He sent replacements that arrived before the original shipment did. The buyer contacted him 2 weeks after they were shipped to find out if they should return the shipment. He asked them to open the box and photograph the whole thing so he could make the claim... and all dozen shrimp were alive (10 + 2 in case of losses) plus a berried female had shrimplettes. 5 of 6 guppies made it, and one of the guppies also had fry. Breather bags and packing for the weather are key. You should be fine, @FrozenFins

I have a similar approach: As my body allows, I catch everyone I can by baiting my large aquarium co-op net (now that I have the net, this is SOOOOOO much easier). Everyone goes to 5 gallon bucket with sponge filter in it, except the end stragglers get sorted immediately by going into the specimen container. I can see them more easily in the specimen container, and I use my hand (watch some of the Clapsaddle videos on sorting) to get the males I like and am going to keep for breeding: They go in a gallon jug with the top front area cut out, and half full of water. Only an airstone, until I finish sorting. Confirmed virgin females go in a net breeder box in original tank. Culled males go in 5 gallon bucket with sponge filter Pregnant females either go back in original tank, or go in my cull 5 gallon with a sponge filter YTBD fish (too small/too young) go in a grow out, homemade floating box Young males that need to color up more go in the bachelor tank Once I finish sorting, I count how many pregnant females I have, and what phenotype most of their young have been, select the appropriate number of males from a gallon "keeper jug" from a parallel tank with the genetics I am aiming for, and the remainder of the males go in the bachelor tank. Males from my bachelor tank either get sold with a proven female and a virgin female from a parallel tank, or get matched up with a few of my virgin females later when I retire some breeders. Why this works: I train my fish to eat out of my hand, and handle them in the tank semi-regularly. My hand is "safe" to them. The Co-op net doesn't catch scales like regular nets do, so putting a cube of frozen brine in the net, and then holding the cube in the net so they smell it but can't take off with it, allows me to catch over 100 endlers at once. I move them to the bucket, and sit down with the specimen container and scoop up however many swim in at a time. Generally I can put my hand in the specimen container to separate the one I am going after, and that fish will swim into my curved fingers and let me move it. The females are the most chill about it, especially the breeder females because if they came out of the tank they've already done this a number of times and gotten back to their original tank pretty quickly, so it's a mild inconvenience that is well rewarded with brine shrimp. The juveniles are sometimes mellow about it. My best show males? They jump and fight getting in my hand and are absolute buttheads. It's almost become easier to sex sort younger fish based on how mellow they are... or are not... when I put my hand in the specimen container, lol Oh, and my endlers and guppies both eat duckweed....

Algae. 85 F water will give you a wide range of algae, just like what covers most of the rocks and logs in Peru. Some even looks like moss. Amazon swords, and several ferns from the Amazonia region, as long as you give them space to grow out of the water. I need to see if my ex still has any of the pics from our trips down there, to identify more plants... most of which are becoming invasive in the US and getting harder to find because invasive. Three decades ago, our winters killed the plants... now? Not so much. Seriously though, I have posted some resources on the forum for identifying plants indigenous to Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala and Mexico. I think I also posted the link to the Belize plant identification site... can't remember. Most of the countries are getting plant infrmation and molusc/invert information online, trying to slow the natural results of forest being burned for farmland, and the impact on the environment down there. UNM and NMSU have both collaborated with Mexico and Guatemala on captive breeding and propagation programs to reintroduce "lost" species. It's a lot easier now, to identify native species and get environmental information... just be prepared to pay some hefty prices for some of the plants.

Wait, @WhitecloudDynasty is in NC? When I finally make it back East, we're going to need to plan a pig-picking so I can meet up with everyone!

@Seattle_Aquarist is the guru on identifying plant deficiencies. I simply use this chart to help me identify by only looking at *new growth* to indicate if I am correcting a problem as aquatic plants will steal nutrients from old leaves to fuel the growth of new leaves. Taking information from the above chart, and cross-referencing with this link I've been improving my plant success. Side effect of daily dosing a microdose, along with the light siestas (I don't run CO2, so lights go off after 4 hours, and come back on 4 hours later) is there is exactly the right balance of light, CO2, and nutrients for the plants, and none to spare for the algae. Even got rid of the cyanobacteria with a bit of diligence... just currently identifying what our water treatment facility has changed, because kH has suddenly gone to non-existent.🤷🏼‍♂️ If you aren't running CO2, shorter light periods really help keep the algae under control. If you are running CO2, Seattle Aquarist and Mmiller are going to be a lot more help. I think gjcarew, too.

@Mmiller2001 the most important thing is, are you still having fun with the Dutch tank? If you're having fun, you're doing it right. If not? It will burn you out. So I hope you are having fun, and I think the tank is delightful.

I just fell out of my chair, laughing!!! 🤣🤣🤣