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GameCzar

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    New 3 gallon Nano (pico) tank

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Kind of a continuation of my nano tank recommendation thread, here's what we have going on Day 1:

    Fluval Shrimp and Plant Substrate

    Dwarf Lily Bulb 

    Java Moss patch we stitched to a plastic mesh on the back wall.

    Water has been added gently (its still rather filthy).

    I have a couple of questions for the vets:

    1)  I put a root tab in the substrate under the bulb, should I also give it EZ-green?

    2)  Is there a particular food that is useful for "Ghost Feeding" to get the tank cycling, or should I just use what I have that is the cheapest?

    3)  We plan on stocking shrimp (Caridina variety, not cherries), but we would like some nano fish ideas.   We don't really want to go with another betta, we were originally going with Zebra Danios (to go with Tangerine Tiger shrimp for a Safari theme) but my fear is they need more room to swim.   We've considered Celestial Pearl Danios so far, but I'm open to any suggestions.

    Thanks for all the help, and I'll update the thread as this tank comes together.
     

    3gallon.jpg

    • Like 3

    Covid hobbies?

    in Off Topic General

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, Tanked said:

    Watching really bad old movies, mostly sci-fi.

    For those of you in cicada country, listen to the synchronized pulsing of the brood in the evening or after cutting the grass, and then watch an old movie involving a flying saucer...  the invasion has begun.

    Now you're talking!  Just re-watched Day of the Triffids again the other day.   

    • Like 1

    Hello from Westchester County

    in Introductions & Greetings

    Posted

    Welcome!  I love the Opus avatar.

    Personally we decided not to use hang on back filters or anything that has replaceable filters and stick with sponge filters.   You can use the sponge pretty much infinitely and it can just be cleaned now again if needed.   It also seems to really do well harboring the good bacteria you need. 

    I'm told that the sponge filters don't get the waters as visibly clear as a hang on back can, but I haven't had a problem with that so far.

    Good luck!

    Covid hobbies?

    in Off Topic General

    Posted

    4 hours ago, sudofish said:

    I'm a pretty big MMORPG nerd. Actually at the moment deciding whether to stick with World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV as MMORPG's are my jam. I also play Warframe some.

    I play some older MMOs:  DDO and STO from time to time.   Play a lot of Mechwarrior Online too.

    Marimo Moss Balls

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    These seem to be one of the most popular beginner forms of aquarium vegetation, so I'm a bit curious as to why Aquarium Co-op doesn't sell them online (that I could find.)

    Are there things to be aware of with marimo moss balls?   Has anyone had experience ordering them?

    Apologies if this has been asked before!

    5 gallon ideas

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    13 hours ago, Mahi27 said:

    I don't have a lot of space for large tanks at my residence so I am familiar with some of what goes into stocking a 5gal. As others have mentioned, it is a bit of a catch-22 because most teeny fish show better behavior in large groups, which kind of defeats the purpose because then you need a bigger tank anyway. Fwiw, I'll share what I have and what I make of the stability of each tank:

    5.3gal cube #1: This tank started with 6 white cloud mountain minnows and caridina shrimp. Like OP, I prefer no-heater tanks and am OK with the limitations of that. The tank did well in terms of bioload and maintenance, but I felt like the minnows were cramped in there, and the shrimp just never came out. One day I looked over from my desk and saw a minnow madly chase a juvenile shrimp until it scurried under the driftwood. I moved the minnows to my outdoor mini pond same day. They are doing great in there and have started reproducing successfully; meanwhile, now the shrimp are out all the time and generally appear much less stressed than they were.

    5.3gal cube #2: This one is a bit overstocked but it's doing OK for now. Wild-type betta, 5 exclamation point rasboras, a snail, and 6 rosy loaches. Oh and some shrimp that never ever come out. The rasboras are a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier: they'd do better in a group of twice as many or more, but then the tank would be really cramped. Amazingly, the betta leaves all his tankmates alone -- he is more interested in trying to kill me, I think. (Flares whenever he sees my finger.)

    5.5gal long: Three Asian stone catfish, 30+ zebra caridina babaulti shrimp breeding colony that has absolutely taken off in recent months, and a mystery snail. In many ways this is my most easygoing tank. It's got an algae problem, but the livestock have been really happy and healthy, so that's great.

    2.5gal cube: Mixed orange and orange rili neocaridina shrimp. They're doing OK. It's really hard to keep this small a volume of water stable, and I definitely had some ammonia problems in the beginning. Almost lost the whole colony before it even started because of that. 

    So...my general opinion on stocking a 5-gallon tank is that you can go ahead & try whatever sounds reasonable to you, but please do be prepared with a backup plan in case it's not working out in the livestock's favor. 

    Wow, Asian Stone Cats look super cool, how big do they get?

    Those without a LFS UNITE!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Well it turns out that the Petco in a town 45 minutes away is actually very well maintained with healthy fish and a nice selection. 

    Of course I would always prefer to keep my business with the small business owner, but this will help  us out a lot during the summer when ordering fish online might be dangerous.

    • Like 1

    How do you personally acclimate shipped fish?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, gardenman said:

    If the seller provides details on how they want the fish acclimated, I follow their rules. That way if there is an issue later, I can say I did everything as they suggested. I also document it each step of the way with video.  If there is no required way to acclimate, I tend to temperature acclimate then plop and drop.

    Like the OP we watched a lot of videos on the topic, and decided that as far as getting them shipped that we'll generally do what you said and get the temp right and get them out of that bag ASAP.     

    • Like 1
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