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Torrey

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Everything posted by Torrey

  1. Torrey
    Pictures of your snails, please?
  2. Torrey
    Otos are like shrimp, in that experienced keepers won't add otos (or shrimp) to a tank less than 6 months old, to ensure the otos don't starve. Their primary food really is biofilm. They can eat toher things, just like toddlers can eat lots of things (pencil eraser, pennies, tiny plastic toys, dog food, cat food, fish food), but the things aren't necessarily meeting their nutritional needs/aren't sufficiently bio-available. Sadly, there hasn't been a lot of research into the function of the gut biome in otocinclus until the last 5 years. Much of the conjecture, that the biome of the otocinclus is evolved to support an animal that is constantly eating seems to be holding up in the research. It is [apparently] possible to starve an oto to the point the gut biome of bacteria will crash, and without sufficient microbiofilm already being established in the tank for the oto to recolonize it's gut (and apparently it needs to be a wide variety of bacterial biofilms), the oto can eat and still starve to death. A tank that is established for over a year is going to have a wider variety of available biofilms, grown from multiple different bacterial cultures, in response to the foods that go into the tank (so the right bacteria to break down the food). As this is still an new area of study in humans (that fungi and bacteria in soil are transferred to the human gut to establish a biome to help the human gut digest and absorb foods that are grown locally), it is still considered cutting edge research and hard to find for specific, non-human, species. I stick to snails (now that I have learned they aren't pests) and amphopods for newer tanks, and branch into shrimp and other 'sensitive' bottom feeders in tanks that are a minimum of 6 months old.... (older and more seasoned is better)
  3. Torrey
    My spouse just called Taco Bell crunchy tacos a tease, lol. Our Indian tacos weigh almost a pound😁 I need to buy a scale, or we could just weigh before the meal and after, like breastfeeding babies are weighed?
  4. Torrey
    What are your water parameters straight out of the tap? Nano and pico tanks can be a bit frustrating when there's a problem, because it is easy to knock them out of balance and it takes forever to get them back in balance. The H2O2 method that Roy wrote eventually eliminated the cyanobacteria (BGA) in both my pico tank and my 4' tank. None of the other 11 tanks ever got it, and I'm not sure how it started (to prevent it in the future). It did follow a reduction of KH in my osurce water (tap water). I haven't gotten my pico tank completely back on track yet (~3 gallon tank) and plants aren't fully recovered (I underfed the plants, and snails and shrimp did their clean-up job), but the cyanobacteria has yet to come back. Lessons I learned: 1. Go slow 2. Don't let the H2O2 come in contact with fish or inverts (I learned to cup my hand around the area I was treating to keep animals out) 3. Sometimes it's worth it to take a plant out to clean. If I run into cyanobacteria again, I'll test the Reverse Respiration method on plants I remove from the tank to clean. Mostly, lots of patience and test my source water before every single water change because I suspect the change in source water amplified some other imbalance in the 2 tanks....
  5. Torrey
    Wait until next month so the bags can get delivered to you😁 Or (if you are going tomorrow), you can buy ziploc bags, I have delivered in ziplocks before🤷🏼‍♂️
  6. Torrey
    May I ask exactly how your filter is set up? Any activated carbon in there? As someone who has been keeping aquariums for decades, I second Biotope Biologist that 10 gallon and smaller are the hardest to establish and the easiest to disrupt. One seemingly minor fluctuation can take months to get back in balance, because the fluctuation will affct the entire tank pretty quickly. The sand substrate is fine, it's easy to get roots into and provides a fair amount of surface for beneficial bacteria. A cheat to increase surface area is bury bits of lava rock in the sand, with only a small portion of the lava rock showing above the surface (easy to glue plants to, also!) More plants will keep ammonia, nitrites and nitrates down. Floating plants with long roots (frogbit, floating some guppy grass or pearlweed, etc) give bettas a "protected hammock" to relax in, and keep their stress level down. The increased amount of plants will also stabilize water quality. Biggest thing I found to improve my learning curve with small tanks was to keep a spreadsheet. Here's the spreadsheet format most of the homeschoolers I work with copy, it's basically click on it, tell Google "Make a copy", and then fill in the data on your copy of the spreadsheet. You can insert images, so you have a place to compare data against images, and start to identify trends. Mine is color coded, and yells at me if I get readings outside of establish parameters, because my kiddo thought that would be funny.🧐
  7. Torrey
    I have not experienced any problems with plants and low dose aquarium salt (1 TBS/ 5 gallons)... except with red plants, which I am struggling with in all my tanks ever since our source water dropped KH. Pinky is lucky you are the family who brought him home, few other aquarists would have been as willing to learn new information and then make changes accordingly. Luna is adorable!!!
  8. Torrey
    I went to my NANF shrimp tank to get you some pictures. 3 different kinds of biofilm/bacterial growths (and a little fungus above the water line, snails seem to appreciate it) on this wood. When I first set this tank up for breeding the shrimp, I had a massive bacterial bloom. Extra oxygen cleared the water overnight, and also eliminated the growth on the wood. Notice there's only bacterial growth on the wood and dwarf lilies below the oxygen stone. See the cute little shrimplettes! The two purple arrows are NANF Palaemonetes paludosus shrimplettes born last night😁 They appear to be zeroing in on the bacteria on the wood.
  9. Torrey
    @Froggirl it really does look like normal wood immersed in water kind of growth. This growth is why I regularly put new wood into tanks with fry, snails, or shrimp. It's an available food source for when they are ready... and it doesn't foul the water😁
  10. Torrey
    I have been there, try not to beat yourself up. It's a learning experience. Do you have any floating plants available? This is my favorite use of duckweed. I cover the surface of the turtle pond with duckweed, and it can drop nitrates almost overnight. Then throw the duckweed in my compost. May all your fry and your cories pull through with no long term issues!
  11. Torrey
    I would wait until next month, if possible. These are good bags, package one snail/bag, and throw in some sponge or hornwort. I keep sponge in my tanks, specifically to grow beneficial bacteria for fish, shrimp, or snails to be packed and shipped with. I learned the idea from one of Cory's videos on international shippers. Breather bags work great for fish and snails that *don't* surface breathe. They do require being wrapped in paper for packaging, so the bag can breathe. They can't touch each other during transport. We have many NMAS members who travel 2+ hours to come to meetings in 110 F weather. A cooler in the car keeps temps more consistent. If a piece of seeded sponge in the fish bag will give the snail something to crawl on, and will process any waste into nitrates. I have brought home snails, shrimp and fish from our auctions, where the animals have been bagged for up to 24 hours, and zero ammonia ot nitrites in the bags where the animals had plants/sponge in with them. No sponge or plant? You can smell the waste in the water, even after only 4 hours.
  12. Torrey
    I am still finding the perfect balance of nutrients for my plants. Some, I have gotten it spot on and my snails and shrimp are removing old leaf growth from before I got the plants healthy. Red plants? I'm not there yet😅 This video helped me a lot:
  13. Torrey
    No such thing as too simple! Pick an aquarium product, any product, and rewrite directions to your heart's content!
  14. Torrey
    I QT my blackworms in the fridge, in a container with a lid that has a vent for good oxygen exchange. I rinse my blackworms daily with dechlorinated water I keep in the fridge specifically for rinsing and water changes for them. After 2 weeks QT I have identified and removed anything other than blackworms (decades of getting blackworms I have found exactly 3 leeches and 2 dragonfly larvae... more likely to see planaria but even those have been rare in the cultures I bought). Just like buying worms for reptiles, the key is to gutload the black worms while they are in the fridge and getting cleaned every day, because we have no idea what they were in before they come to us. Blanched dark leafy greens, cucmber, squash, carrots, etc are great, nutrient dense worm foods. Change the food out daily, and slice paper thin to encourage eating. Once QT has been completed, allow them to *slowly* acclimate to tank temperature. Slowly is key, as blackworms are very sensitive to temperature changes. Strain the blackworms once they are acclimated and put them in the tanks. Conversely, you can keep the culture in the fridge indefinitely, as long as you rinse them and give them fresh water every other day, and fresh food. Just feed as many as your fish will eat. I like to seed new tanks with black worms a good month before I add fish, so the fish have a live in buffet to graze off of. If they bite a worm in half and at least part gets away, you generally end up with a replacement worm. So, win-win
  15. Torrey
    I spent 3 hours washing nerm glitter out of plants to add more hornwort to my Palaemonetes paludosus tank as I now have 2 females that are berried. I think I have blue dream shrimplettes, but I can't see them on the black gravel substrate.🤷🏼‍♂️ The ghost shrimp/grass shrimp should be finished with quarantine about the time the big tank is ready for them. I'll encourage breeding, and then get the NANF this fall when it's safer to ship. My LFS in walking distance has had yet another turnover in management, so I'm re-evaluating long term breeding projects. I finished up the water changes/topping offs I started yesterday, pulled more males out of my breeding tanks & transitioned them to the bachelor tank, and moved the longfin zebra danios fro the guppy tank to the endler tank in spouse's room. Researching a good form of population control for spouse's T4' tank, as I counted over 120 fry in there today.😲 Drank my coffee on the patio this morning, and watched the endler females eat the mosquitoes that risked proximity to the water. It's monsoon season, so mosquitoes are aplenty... resulting in very fat, very ready to breed, endler females that match the phenotype I saw in the wild, so pretty excited to see how the summer tub goes this year, especially as at least 3 of the females in there survived our winter😍 I'm guessing they were fry I missed? When I was cleaning out debris and getting ready to refill the pond, I saw something dart. Since endlers are the only thing I've had in the outdoor ponds, and the single sword endlers at that, I know what they have to be... just a heckuva lot sturdier than I expected, since I didn't get serious about the tubs and proper (read regular) maintencance as I thought I had caught all the fish and brought them in.... Anyway, 13 tanks happy, healthy and running. Plants recuperating from underffedding fish/shrimp/snails. Will need to replace my red plants, only a few survived my covid relapse and underfeeding. Java moss is growing for the first time I've had it, and thriving. Stem plants told me today how unhappy they are with my post stroke memory, however the pogostemon, apogenoton, anubia nano petite, anubia golden coin, windelov, and 3 plants I forgot their names are thriving! Pearlweed might carpet for me, java fern is taking off, and the turtle has managed not to eat the entire amount of plants I added to the turtle pond, leaving nitrates under 20 ppm for a change.
  16. Torrey
    I have been using saran wrap as a cheap lid. Best part? The cleaning involves getting a new piece of saran wrap instead of tryng to scrub. Some tanks have egg crate light diffuser on top, to give the saran wrap a "frame". Bamboo skewers also work to hold the saran wrap out of the water, and leave an opening for me to feed. Tank maintenance stays pretty easy. I'm needing at least partial lids to keep shrimp from exploring to far out, and reduce evaporation. (Reducing evaporation has helped keep water parameters more stable.)
  17. Torrey
    Is it bad that I snortled in response to you feeling murderous?
  18. Torrey
    I ended up with wolffia in with Lemna minuta😭 Our home has now officially been nerm glittered, because no matter how careful I am they get everywhere. Trying to make sure none go down the sink?🤣 If only I could make it profitable, lol https://www.1mg.com/otc/sbl-lemna-minor-dilution-30-ch-otc348168
  19. Torrey
    Whoot!!!! Is Merlin a blue swordtail???🧐 Isn't blue sword the fish Cory has been looking for? Glad you enjoyed your birthday, and no drama on the return!
  20. Torrey
    I hope everything is okay, you'll be missed! @Hobbit thank you for keeping it going/taking up the mantle!
  21. Torrey
    Welcome to the Forum @AK Aquatics! Yes, Cory does a wonderful job helping introverts and ambiverts *want* to join in conversations. I really like the culture he and the Co-op crew have fostered in the forum. Great mods, too. Your guppies are gorgeous! Team live-bearer here, currently have 5 inside tanks of endlers, plus a patio pond (and turtle pond of endler and guppy culls), and a tank of guppy endler hybrids with a lovely tiger pattern. I also have tanks dedicated to scuds (amphipods) and snails, and 2 different shrimp tanks. In the process of putting together a 4' NANF tank that *was* purchased to be a scape tank, but @Fish Folk shared some videos of NANF and now my Patient Spouse™ is hooked. So, the dining room tank will still be beautiful... with breathtaking breeding colors of NANF, lol! You joined just in time to take part in Nerm Week 2022, so come join the party!
  22. Torrey
    No, this is a whole new shebang that was born out of my writing directions for someone who kept getting 0 nitrates with their API Master Kit. I shared my chem professor's directions from college: "1. Fill clean test tube with 5 ml aquarium water 2. Shake reagent #1 until arm is sore, have lab partner start aggressively shaking reagent #2 (minimum of 30 seconds, or until partner's arm falls off) 3. Add 10 drops of reagent #1 to test tube, ensuring the reagent bottle is completely vertical 4. Cap test tube and invert repeatedly until reagent and water are mixed in solution 5. Take reagent #2 from partner, add 10 drops of reagent #2 to test tube, making sure reagent bottle is completely vertical 6. Cap test tube and shake vigorously, until you wish your arm would fall off, for one minute 7. Set test tube in rack and 8. Start timer for 5 minutes No, you don't actually have to shake reagent #1, but if I tell you to shake both, you won't forget to shake reagent #2 Yes, I do mean you need to shake until your arm is ready to fall off, which is generally 30 seconds before the one minute is up." Link to the contest:
  23. Torrey
    Hello Fellow Nerms! EDIT: ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED AS IT IS NOON PACIFIC ON SATURDAY! <ANY ENTRIES AFTER THE "CLOSED" SIGN WILL BE PURELY FOR NERM ENJOYMENT> ***Upcoming for Nerm Week 2022 (July 10-16)*** Re-Written Directions Competition New to the hobby, or old timers of multiple decades, here's your opportunity to rewrite the directions to replace your most vexing "How to" manual! Guidelines: 1. Use an easy to read font/font size, that will engage the reader. (10 points) 2. You can include photos of the original directions if you would like, for a comparison (not required, but appreciated) 3. Header (product name) (20 points) Body (directions, step-by-step so a brand new person can successfully use the product) (20 points) Humor is appreciated, but not required Clear and easy to read font Accompanying diagrams or photographs if they improve user experience 4. At the bottom, a brief bio (how long in the hobby, special interests, why you chose to rewrite these directions, or 3 other sentences of information you would like to share) 5. Potential for extra points: Include the biggest mistake you have made trying to follow the original set of directions, leading to your insights on why it should be re-written There will be 3 Certificates to the highest point earners! Reaction Points System: "Thanks" = 4 points "Love" = 3 points "Laugh" = 2 points "Like" = 1 points Reaction points will be calculated noon Pacific on Saturday 16th June, and the winner (plus 2 runner ups) will be posted @ 4 pm Pacific. I will write up an example for in here, obviously I am not competing as that would not be ethical.😁 Essentially, look at the directions that irk you the most in the hobby, that you feel leave the most room for errors by the user, and give your communication skills a tune-up by writing a more user friendly model! Mostly, Have fun! How to Vote Please see the guidelines! If an entry has an easy for you to read font, included the name of the product in a defined header, and the body (directions) are easy for you to follow, give that entry a 😍 react (3 points) If 2 of the 3 criteria are met, give the entry a hearty Nerm laugh! (2 points) If all criteria are met, and you think it's Blue Ribbon Worthy, give them the trophy react! (4 points) I will be in at noon Pacific on Saturday to tally the points, based on reactions. The earlier directions are posted, the more time they have for reactions, so the early Nerms get the [black] worms.
  24. Torrey
    The Xtreme krill flkes, Xtreme Nano, most of the Bug Bite line (where soldier fly is first ingredient), and BBS result in cleaner water and better growth for me. Only fish that perform better are the fish outside eating mosquitoes and other live bugs. Their water parameters are always good, despite the debris that ends up in the patio ponds... @Guppysnail has some of the most innovative approaches for preparing (and storing) Repashy. When I can afford to buy some more, it's a hit with snails, shrimp, fish and Karma the turtle.
  25. Torrey
    @modified lungthank you!!
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