Karen B.

Yup! My big one broke so I made babies 😄

Thanks for the insight. I have started a couple of weeks ago a 5 gallons buckets where I throw all the pest snails I find in my other aquarium. Soooo disgusting but it seems to work so far.

Greetings! I have been an aquarist for 2 years now but still consider myself rather new in the hobby… and terribly bad. Not willingly but I seem to be unlucky (I had agressive white cloud minnows when I didn’t even think it was possible, my mexicain orange crayfish ended up killing each other, my guppies had flukes and camallanus, my green neon tetras had an unknown disease I could never identify and cure and lost 3/10, my first betta died within 2 weeks as he choked on a snail, whenever I tried hatching/raising my baby corydoras they would all die but if I leave them alone in the tank they make it - only fish I can reproduce are clown killies and even then, I lose some fry I have yet to understand why-, took me forever to stop losing all my shrimps - now they do not die but the population isn’t growing even if I see berried females…, I have 5 otocinclus I never ever see…-). Yet, it’s not because I don’t try to be good. I buy the best food I can (even imported extreme food from the US at an astronomical cost, yet none of my fish will eat it), granted I am not the most frequent tester but I do WC weekly or twice a month depending on the tanks (I have 6, some more stocked then other), all live plants, double filter (1 HOB and 1 sponge filter), I use fertilizer, tabs and excel… One of my dream fish is a pea puffer (the other is an apistogramma). I can have only 1 last tank and it’ a 10 gallons. Considering I am not very good, have the worst of luck with disease, am anxious and easily stressed and don’t lime agression, could I still be able to have few pea puffers? I read they are not for beginners and are a bit more difficult. My idea would be to buy 6 for the 10 gallons so I can all quarantine them together and eventually end up with a good ratio m/f when I can sex them and rehome the others. Thank you!

Greetings! When I do WC, I always use a thermometer to try and match the temperature of the tank as closely as possible. Still, I was wondering what is considered a « safe » zone? 1f of difference? 2? 5? Thank you

Greetings My betta is usually in a very well planted aquarium. I lost control of the hair algae in it and decided to soak the plant in a double dose of excel (in a bucket. Trick I picked up on the internet) The problem is that now that the tank is pretty empty (and will be for 3 days) and I don’t want to stress my betta too much. Should I turn off the light? Or not worry too much about it? Before Now

Ok, will try that. What quantity? would I have better result with an egg tumbler? Do they work even if you add new eggs every day? It’s so weird. Over the past two weeks, I added over 100 eggs in the container yet very few are visible… what happens with the others?

They eggs are all similar in color and shape.

Greetings! I am not too sure what is happening. The first time I ever hatched Clown Killifish eggs, I had no clue what I was doing yet still had over 30 that hatched. The 2nd time, about 50. They were in a floating container in a heated tub, with catappa leaf water that I would sift to only keep the water. Now since january, every day I collect between 10 and 15 eggs yet only 7 hatched. I tried again the filtered catappa water - the eggs got all fongussy and very few made it. I tried with a drop of methylene blue, the eggs still had fongus, and the water started having some kind of particles floating. I am a bit at loss at what I may be doing wrong? Here is my settings Would I have better results with an egg tumbler? Does it still works even if you add eggs everyday? Thank you!

I have been boiling my eucalyptus roots for a couple of hours. It’s still releasing tanin but my betta will just be happier. Can I put the root straight into my aquarium during a WC or should I let it soak a day or two in dechlorinated water first? Thank you!

I would like to stay away from snail. Already have tons of nerita and hate their eggs! I was hoping for khuli loaches but I think that would overstock the tank… maybe the dwarf cory? But again, 10 gallons seems small…

Greetings! The title says it all. Is it possible/should I get a cleaning crew for my 10 gallons that will have 4-5 pea puffers? It will be planted, with sand as substrate. Thank you!

Greetings! I collect Clown killifish eggs and I put them in a mix of dechlorinated water, parents aquarium water and parents aquarium water with soaked catappa leaves. I sift the water so no debris gets in the little bowl. Here is my settings (top left) which is a round glass bowl, a air tube and it’s placed in a container that’s heater (so the water is around 77f) I collect about 10-15 eggs a day and I used to hatch a lot (about 30-50 fry) but my last batch, only about 10 hatched and 2 survived. Here is what my eggs look like after 2 days. Is it mold or just some kind of debris from the catappa leaves? (Same eggs, different lighting) What can I do to improve my hatching rates?

Greetings I usually run my aquariums with 1 HOB and 1 sponge filter. But I have this small 5 gallons for my halfmoon betta running with only a sponge filter. It has sole salvinia and frogbit and duckweed as floating plants. I’ve noticed some kind of oily film forming on top of the water - I guess from the lack of water movement? Any tips on fixing it without creating too much flow for my betta? Thank you!

Greetings! I plan on getting some pea puffers for my 10 gallons in maybe a month’ish. I am planning ahead regarding the food as I can’t seem to find any black worms culture in Canada. So I guess it will have to be blood worms and snails mainly? And the occasional BBS. If you have other suggestions, they are welcomes. So regarding the snails, I have started collecting them from my aquariums (makes a change of me systematically squishing them!). I also always use a net at the end of my syphon when I do a WC so I can pick up any fry and now snails. I also will take out my floating plants in a container and shake them as many snails are hidden there. I put the collected snails in a 5 gallons bucket with algea pellets few times a week, calcium food for shrimp, catappa leaves and some floating plants. It’s heated (what temperature would you recommend?) but no light (but it’s in the kitchen so it gets some light). I have a sponge filter too. I will do weekly WC of about 30% I think. Anything else I should be doing? Will it be able to sustain my pea puffer colony? I should have around 3-4. How many snails should I feed them and how often? Can snail transfer disease to fish? My quarantine tank is full of snail, my betta has been in it (with trio meds) for two weeks now, would it be safe to harvest them? Thank you!

Thanks for your answer! My fish are about a year and half I’d say. I did a little bit of both - watched them and the female would only produce one egg at a time. But I no longer am watching as closely as I used to.

Bump! Hoping for an answer. 🙂

Greetings! I often see/read people that are having their cory lay a huge amount of eggs, all in the same place. I have a 20 gallons with 6 adults false julii cory and my females will only lay 1-2 eggs at a time, she will scatter them all around the aquarium, go back to the male for 1-2 more, etc… and never more then 10ish per laying period. Is it normal? Thanks!

@Fish Folk @Patrick_G I don’t feed them exclusively on BBS. I feed my fish twice a day, usually once or twice with a mix of dry food (bunch of different kind of pellets and flakes all mixed together). About every 2 days, they get 1 feeding of BBS, and once or twice a week, 1 dry feeding is replaced with bloodworms. And on Sunday, I don’t feed them at all. My mom keeps saying I am cruel to do that, hehe.

Greetings Nerms! I was wondering - can you give too much BBS to your fish? I am always afraid to always feed too much (I probably do, with all food), but my fish don’t seem constipated or have long stringy poo (knock on wood), and there is no left over food ever at the bottom (my cory are pigs!) And when it comes to BBS, including for my betta, I like to give them a lot. Keeps them hunting for a while. Do neocaradina shrimp like BBS? What is the longest safe hatching time in a zist hatchery? I have the worst ever hatching rate even after 48 hours. I wouldn’t mind too much if it wasn’t for the hassle of then separating the unhatched eggs from the BBS (unhatched eggs sink or float like the shrimps so the light trick doesn’t help that much). Thank you!

Hehe. You are not the Fish’ whisperer?! 😝

@Zenzo Can I bug you to actually adress the 2nd part of my question : @Zenzo Thanks! But from the fish’s point of view, what would be the ideal situation in a 10 gallons?! Are they social?

Thank you so much for your answer So if I understand, you bought 6 for your 10 gallons, raised them and rehomed the one causing problem. I think that’s what I will be doing. I like that idea - also allows to study their personality and see which one gets along best together. Sadly I live in Canada, so no Aquauna for me but I think my LFS will take them back. You mentioned having 4 in your 10 gallons? Could I see a picture? What do you mainly feed them? I started collecting my snails in my other aquarium. I will of course feed frozen bloodworm. Do they eat frozen daphnia and other? I was hoping to culture some black worm but so far, can’t find anywhere that would sell it in Canada.

I have this 2 liters container I am soaking catappa leaves in. Usually I add on a regular basis some water but I kinda neglected it for 2-3 weeks now. I did put a little de chlorinated water in it once or twice. And I would toss in it my trimming from other aquarium (before either throwing them away or using them in another tank) Result, there seems to be some microfauna in it. And my Clown killifish just hatched so I tought it would be a nice source of supplements/food for them. Is it safe to use it? Thank you!

Greetings! I got a new betta yesterday - he is a bit skittish. Was in his quarantine tank for 5 minutes I found him folded in 2 stuck behind a rock. Ah, bettas! I was wondering if it’s a raised scale on the side of its head? Just want to make sure it’s not a worm or something

@Zenzo Thanks! But from the fish’s point of view, what would be the ideal situation in a 10 gallons?! Are they social?