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Nataku

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Everything posted by Nataku

  1. Scape-it.io You need to be on a computer to use it, it doesn't play nice on a phone. But, tis free, it exists. Doesn't have all the plants in it, and also only has natural items like rocks and driftwood. No castles or bridges, sorry.
  2. Always impressed with the speed of shipping for the co-op! Ordered Monday, and recieved Thursday. From Washington to Florida, that's good time! By comparison, I placed an order that's coming from Michigan that is supposed to be USPS express and.... well they think it'll be here Saturday (tomorrow). But tracking says it still hasn't left Michigan... so I'm doubtful. Cory do you bribe USPS with Reeses to get them to be so fast? My order came in two boxes, the moss bridges and stickers in one smaller package with lots of padding, which was great, as it ensured the bridges arrived unbroken. The moss bridges arrived in nicely sealed ziploc bags wrapped in damp paper towels, resulting in the moss still being wet and green and happy. They went right into two of my tanks, where the inhabitants quickly took to them. They're a big hit! The larger box contained a myriad of other supplies, including new foods for me to try with my fish. We'll see what they do and don't like. All of it arrived nicely packed and secured. Nothing crushed or damaged.
  3. Eden, Tony is a wonderful pleco! Good color! If you'd like me to take a shot at sexing them via pictures please get clear shots of their underside when they are up on the glass. Both full body and as close as you can zoom to his ventral area. Underside shots like this and the circled area is the ventral area:
  4. I wish you luck in your plant endeavors! But I do suspect your tropheus may find your plants too tasty to resist. An LFS that keeps many lake Tang fish has several set ups in his store that contain duckweed, crypts, moss (I think christmas) and java ferns. In those tanks he keeps various shellies, juliis and brichardi. Those fish seems to do just fine with those plants and let them be. And he breeds those fish in his store in those set ups. I asked him how he got that to work, and he said these smaller species really aren't all that plant destructive. Its the large lake Tang species and the Lake Malawi species (mbuna) that will raze your plants. He said he just made sure the plants were in first and established - particular the crypts because they take a bit to establish good roots, and then he just let them go. He figures if they do eat plants, they go after the duckweed first because its bite size.
  5. I have been told before that it is not uncommon to loose female kuhli loaches the first or second time they become full of eggs in home aquaria because they don't spawn in home aquaria. Because whatever conditions they require for breeding are not met, they never release the eggs, become egg bound and eventually develop sepsis and die because of this. If they would release the eggs, even unfertilized, they would be alright. Which seems to be what happens in the females who do live a long time in home aquaria - they learn to release their eggs even unfertilized. Now I found this to be a rather strange thing. Why would a female hold onto eggs until it literally killed her? I still don't have a good answer as to whether or not that is true, or just some wives tale. But, of all the kuhlis I have lost within the first couple months from the LFS that weren't already clearly starved or diseased to a point I couldn't save them, have all been females. Egg heavy females. Necropsy every time has found them to be full of green eggs.
  6. Look at the dorsal fin of the gourami when you are at your LFS. The males have typically slightly longer dorsals that come to a distinct point. The females will have dorsals that are more rounded at the tip and shorter. Likewise, the anal fin in males will be pointed, the females will have rounded anal fins. Its best to compare between the same species because while this holds true for pretty much all gourami, the level of length and point varies between species. Also, the males are typically brighter in species like dwarfs or honey, but in species like three spots, paradise or sparkling I haven't noticed any appreciable color differences. Now most LFS almost never stock female dwarf gourami because they are not really colorful pretty fish like the males. But you can usually find males and females of other gourami species at LFS. ~~~ My order from Aquariuam CoOp came in today! I ordered a couple moss bridges amongst other things, and one went into my spiny eel/weird tank. It was quickly the hottest new piece of real estate in the tank. The eels took no time in checking it out. But then this group of eels has been extremely inquisitive as soon as they got over their initial 'ah we're being moved!' freakout. Butch the whisker shrimp also decided that he wanted this to be his new homestead claim. He's long since lost the fight to Cassidy (the other whisker shrimp) who has claimed the bottom of the pre filter sponge as her own. The eels and the whisker shrimp rarely pay each other any mind. They frequently sit on each other when there's food to pile around. Who's on top doesn't matter. I also picked up a 30 gallon tank with filter/lid/light/air pump/heater/food/a whole bag of plastic plants for $20 yesterday. Gotta figure out what I'm gonna do with that now.
  7. I would only suggest one more. As much as they are young and small now, they will get considerably bigger. Its important for us as their caretakers to bear in mind their adult sizes and whether they will still have enough space in a given tank at that size. Four plecos allows them to each roughly claim a corner (although 'even' is not a concept most fish understand) and will hopefully provide them all space to get away from each other if they decide to be territorial boys. If you do get a second bristlenose, see if Robert has any in stock that are large enough to sex, and get a girl if you can. Least chance of territorial sparring that way regardless of what gender your other bristlenose ends up being. Okay so probable stocking list after this next trip is looking like 16 cardinal tetra 9-12 rummynose tetra 12 rasboras 4 plecos 4 snails 6 sterbai corydoras - its usually best to stick to the same species of corydoras so they can all school together. Albino corydoras are c. Aeneus, the bronze corydoras. You'd want at least 6 of them so they could have their own school. But be aware that floor space may be at a premium in your tank because you already have sterbai and multiple plecos. Personally I'd just take the sterbai school up to 10. Likewise, kuhli loaches are another bottom dweller, and out of plecos and corydoras they will be the absolute bottom of the pecking order because they are totally non combative. Unless you have a very large number of them, you will likely never see them as they can be extremely reclusive. Your tank also doesn't have enough low cover for them to feel safe enough to really venture out. Kuhlis exist in this weird conundrum where the more places to hide they have, the more they venture out to be seen. With the pleco caves around your tank, but not much in the way of low plant cover, they would dart into a pleco cave and you'd never see them again. I figure you and your students want to have fish you can actually see. I would consider that a pretty fully stocked 40 breeder. Perhaps others will weigh in with opinions. Also, picture shows a betta, is there still a betta in this tank? Because depending upon the individual betta's personality, you may or may not run into issues with him and your small schoolers (tetras and rasbora). Also, while you're in the store, see if they have any floating plants in stock. Your water wisteria/water sprite will fill in more, but one reason your schooling fish probably aren't up near the top right now is because they don't feel they have cover (the other reason would be the betta claiming the top of the tank as his). If they have something in stock like red root floaters, dwarf salvinia, frogbit or maybe even dwarf water lettuce, I'd consider picking that up and adding it to the tank. A little bit of surface cover often encourage fish to school closer to the surface when they feel they have protection.
  8. Pretty sure this one (top cory in the second pic) is corydoras similis, the smudge spot corydoras. A beautiful cory in its own right! But not a julii. The smudge around the base of the tail will get a purple-ish sheen in the right light.
  9. Do you and/or your children want weird and wacky oddball fish? Some may come with extra care requirements. African butterfly fish will stay at the top of the tank. These oddballs are insectivores, and while some people have had luck getting them onto floating pellets, most find that they want live crickets and mealworms and any other insect that happens to touch or get close to the surface. They are excellent jumpers, so a well fitting lid is a must, as well as a willingness to feed live bugs for however long it takes to get them switched to pellets - some never do. I have had two over the years, one switched within three months, the other lived her four years with me never touching a pellet. Farlowella catfish - a type of specialized pleco, these are also commonly called twig catfish. Depending upon species, they are 6-8" as adults, but quite skinny (like a twig) and much like most other plecos, not super active. They are also algae grazing omnivores. Less crazy suggestions: Flash pleco (5"), Snowball pleco (6"), Blue phantom pleco(7") or Green phantom pleco(7"). I'd only suggest one more pleco. You already have three and while a 40 breeder is a good floor space, my concern is how many of your plecos are males. Are they at an age/size that you can tell which genders you have? Male plecos tend to get territorial when mature, and while it seems statistically unlikely, having three (or even two of the same species) male plecos in a tank this size could lead to some sparring. I'd personally want to know the genders of your current plecos before considering adding more to the mix.
  10. Ah I love seeing retired racers in their new lives! Sleeps in proper greyhound fashion I see.
  11. Oh man, Kuhlis!!! One of my favorite fish! Gonna have to get this sticker. And I just placed an order a couple days ago and didn't see that one. Ah well, I was thinking about ordering again in a couple weeks anyhow. ...maybe that snail will be on the website by then as well. 😃
  12. If its planted? Not at all. I've run very similar stocking in a 20 long before. Just make sure you got plenty of fast growing stem plants.
  13. I usually recommend only one dwarf gourami per tank unless its a really big one, as they tend to be pretty agressive to their own species. At least the males anyhow. The males are surprisingly similar to bettas in that sense. Can't stand each other. But I see you have pearl gourami listed. Pearl gourami are much more peaceful to their own kind, so I'd suggest just keeping a group of them instead of mixing gourami species. Theyre quite beautiful all on their own and charming to watch glide about the tank. Corydoras are great bottom dwellers, but up their numbers to at least 6 but preferably more like 8-10. A 40 breeder has pretty good footprint for them. Just get all the same species. There are many great options out there, just a matter of picking a pattern or color you like. Tetra options are likewise diverse, just stay away from the smallest of tetras (like embers) as adult pearl gourami are capable of eating them. Just comes down to picking a color/pattern you like.
  14. I have a similar desire for symmetry in tanks, hence the two tanks in my living room are the same distance from the TV in the center of the wall, and are the same size (stocking is different though). As a side note, there was another symmetrical HOB filter for a while, but is no longer in production to my knowledge. They were the National Geographic PF30 and PF50. Similar design to this Dymax slim flo, just more boxy and made of a solid black plastic. They were likewise quiet and ran well, and I liked the ability to customize them easily with plenty of sponge or other media in the spacious filter box. I thought they had potential to be a decent HOB that hung around for a while.
  15. Don't mind the snake. That's just Judas taking a swim, its a regular occurrence in this house. But its the only pics I readily had on hand to show how the feet of the light sit nicely on the edge of the black triangles. The light itself is the 30" long version, so the one you usually find for sale as labeled for 30-36" long tanks. The power cord just runs off the left end of the light bar down to a power strip I mounted in the stand, so all of the tubing and cabling is hidden on the 'back sides' of the tank. When I do the next incarnation of this tank, I believe I'll put black poster board up on the two back sides (on the outside of the tank) to hide the tubes and cables even more. Though its not like you could really see them through all of the plant growth in this tank anyhow. In this pic I'm pointed right at the heater, the power line for the light bar, the intake for the cannister filter, and a sponge filter. But you can't really see any of it can you?
  16. I have a 54 gallon corner tank. I found a Nicrew light bar will sit with its feet on the two little black triangle areas on the front corners of the tank just fine. I don't remember exactly which size I have on it. Will have to check when I get home. I run a cannister filter on the 54, which allows me to keep the corner tank, you know, in the corner. A HOB would just cause the tank to have to sit further away from the wall. I've seen people run sumps on them too, and I'm sure you could run sponge filters as well. I also ran spare sponge filters in that tank just to keep aeration up as I kept it pretty warm in there for rams and angelfish. I also would then pull a sponge filter out any time I needed to set up and run a quarantine tank. Plant wise I had amazon swords, four leaf stargrass, guppy grass, hornwort, jungle valisneria, couple java fern, water lettuce and my never ending battle with duckweed in the 54. I was running a dirted tank mind you, which I wouldnt necessarily recommend for a beginner. I'd go with an inert substrate (ie sand or smooth gravel) and liquid ferts (and root tabs if you want heavy root feedsrs like amazon swords because they are hungry hungry plants!). But the nicrew light was plenty strong enough to grow all that.
  17. I wouldn't add kuhlis and corydoras to the same tank personally. They tend to end up out competing each other for food resources. Instead, I'd up the kuhli count to 12, and then up the red eye tetras and the blue king tetras to 8-10 each. And then you'd be pretty well stocked.
  18. You now most bettas bred nowadays can tolerate a really wide range of pH. Unless you're ordering one in from SE asia, they probably weren't bred in soft water anyhow. I wouldn't do a molly in a 10 as they are a much more active fish than a betta, and also get up to 5 inches long - that's quite a bit bigger than a betta. They just would appreciate a lot more room than a 10 gallon. If you're interested in selling fish, you could get multies. They're a tiny shell dweller from Lake Tanganyika, which has very similar parameters to your water. They're colony spawners, fascinating behavoirs to watch. Eventually as the population grows you can pull the young out and sell em. But if you only want a single fish, these won't work, and I don't know of another lake Tang fish that would work as a solo in a 10. You could keep a single paradise fish. They're pretty personable like bettas. Flare like em too. Much more temp tolerant. I kept them in my tap water which is 8.2 without issue. Could keep a couple male guppies. They like hard water and would be fine in that pH. No breeding with just males.
  19. Frozen baby brine is a good option to help put weight and size on fast if you dont want to set up a baby brine shrimo hatchery of your own. Crush up the food you have currently into smaller pieces is the next easy fix. I use an electric coffee grinder (not the same one my husband uses for coffee!) To grind up aquarium related stuff. They're maybe 20 bucks at Walmart. Probably cheaper online. But a few seconds in that and your flakes or pellets will be a powder. Which will be much more bite size for the little cardinals. I've played this game before myself with cardinals. They do have tiny mouths.
  20. I love the big driftwood pieces! Its a beautiful composition. With all that driftwood, my suggestion would be to get yourself some sort of pleco in there, though maybe not one of the super xylophoric types. Ever thought about farlowella aka whiptail catfish? Some species stay pretty small and other get rather suzable, but they love to perch and hang out on driftwood and chill. Your driftwood is set up in such a way I could certainly see some of them hanging out on the flatter/lower angle parts. My personal favorite is the red lizard whiptails L10A. And they're shrimp safe, primarily algae and aufwachs feeders. I could only see maybe the very smallest of cherry shrimp fry wandering into their mouths to be eaten. Your amanos would be totally safe from them. As for midwater schoolers, I'm a fan of one really big school of a single species. Although I've also seen two schools of starkly contrasting color species pulled off well in other tanks (red v. green, blue v orange, yellow v black etc). Now I also usually pair a single large midwater schooling group with a bottom dwelling group, either corydoras or loaches. I usually don't mix the two as I've found one bottom feeder often outcompetes the other species for food over time and they wither away. In my case, the corydoras outcompeted the kuhlis. The kuhlis weren't as quick to come out for food, so it was being devoured before they were getting enough. Of your choices I'd personally pick chili rasboras or galaxy rasboras, as they are very bright. Which is important to pick your nano school out from the scape from any distance. Another suggestion for a schooler group - threadfin rainbowfish. You probably like long fins if you had an angel, and threadfins certainly have those in spades. Unlike angels, they're very peaceable and have tiny mouths, so no eating other fish.
  21. Neon tetras would be my first choice for bright and colorful small schoolers that will be easily affordable and like the space and temp. Other considerations could be green neon tetras, dwarf emerald rasboras (celestichtys erythromi), lampchop rasboras, ember tetras, chili rasbora (boraras briggitae), zebra danios and even cherry barbs or pentazona barbs. Although, cherry and pentazona barbs aren't great schoolers. More like loose shoalers. But pretty fish all the same The dwarf emeralds, embers and chilis are particularly small fish, so if they were to be the only midwater fish in the tank you could probably go with a much larger school (60-70) if you wanted.
  22. Anyone familiar with 'egg crate' - the plastic grid stuff usually used as a light diffuser in office buildings? Well it also makes a great lid for tanks that need that air exchange but you don't want jumpers or other escapees (like my paludarium). Well the husband was working on cutting some egg crate this evening and he dropped the sheet. Did I mentioned it has sharp edges when cut? Maybe he'll remember to wear a shirt next time.
  23. I will disagree, we don't need any kind of ethics. Any time ethics get involved, someone will attempt to impose some 'rule' that someone else doesn't agree with. Humans are selfish, Daniel is right about that. We will agree to disagree. It is in our nature. I'm not in this hobby to have more rules placed upon my life. I can get plenty of that having a job, owning a home, paying taxes, etc.
  24. Lovely close ups of Pooka and Dragon! Really clear shots. Love it. Wish mine would come pose for the camera. The baby bichir is such a cutie! I hope they grow up nice and healthy. Do you plan to eventually put her in the same tank as Dragon, or is she destined for a different tank?
  25. You're so right! It can get tiresome after a while to answer the same 'how do I ~insert same twenty beginner questions here~ ?' Over and over. Google is a thing. All of these things have been answered already. I rarely ask questions myself anymore unless I've googled and can't find a conclusive answer, or its an opinion based question to begin with. I guess people just don't think to google? Which, just seems like an odd thought nowadays. Hah, yeah its is an interesting name to be sure. But its just a chat platform that also allows photos and voice chat and screen sharing. So, basically it could be a youtube stream, but all the time, where multiple people could speak or type. Its useful to get responses in real time - providing of course, others are online. Yes you can't search conversations on discord via Google. You can search for things inside discord via their own search feature. But its not something with clearly defined threads and topics like a forum, and it isn't something someone who wasn't on the discord server could just google and find a response that occurred on that discord about 'what are hydra' or what have you. Its why I think they could run concurrently and not get in the way of each other. Some people prefer the slower pace of forums, and I think more info can be conveyed more clearly here. But some folks like to chat and can find quick answers to simple questions on a platform discord.
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