KatFish

You should! come join the Fuzzy Adventure! These are amazing!! Thank you so much for the images! Now I'm really excited to see these bad boys grow up!

You know you've reached a new level of NERM when you're excited to compare fuzzes 🤣 Green onion... oh! You mean Jerry? It's possible! But he originated from the UTP rock wool, and has the same root pattern and coloration as the UTP- So would that mean the UTP is a big green onion? ... as a culinary graduate- I have the morbid curiosity of asking "Can you eat it?" Oh boy- It's 4am, I need more coffee before I start doing weird things like eating fish plants...

Just kidding, (Take that 5-in-1 test strip) API Mastertest Register the regular pH test at 7.6, but the high range at 7.4. our Ammonia is 1.0ppm Nitrites are at 0ppm and with the nitrate we are a little darker than the shade of yellow for 0ppm, but nowhere near as orange for the 5.0ppm color. So I think there are some- just not enough for me to see how much. So woohoo! The plants are working hard! And the pH is perfect! I am thrilled!

This just proves my love for snails even more 🥰

February 2nd, 2022 Turns out when the family and I went to the LFS they bought me some "Betta Bulbs" as a surprise! I have.... No idea what plant they will turn into. But I followed the instructions- as best as I could, I need to get more lava rock into my tank for all the plants to have space for the roots. And now we are about 4 days later- and they have some... fuzzy stuff? They were fuzzy out of the package- but brown and fuzzy, like coconut fiber. But now it is a white and fuzzy look. I am looking into the Algae Identification Guide but, it's not giving me much information. Any advice is appreciated. I'll obviously keep up my research as I look into this more. Should I move them into a separate tank? I was already thinking of water change, since my pH is still reading at 6.2 🤔 I'm worried that doing to much will stress the plants- I never had a green thumb with non-aquatic plants, so my lack of green thumb and lack of knowledge of aquatic plants is really putting me into the penalty box. Also- from the images, you can see I removed the Hydrocotyle tripartita from the rock wool! It's doing great so far, it's moving up to the light and not at droopy as when I first took the picture. The "Unknown Tall Plant" (Or UTP) seems to be the same. It wasn't in the perfect condition when I got it, but the once translucent bit of broken leaf is now brown-ish. That is either a good or bad thing. I don't know. The tiny bulb from the UTP has a new growth! If you remember, this is how it looked on Day 1: And here's how it looks now! I am so proud of the little guy 😍 I can't wait to see him grow up some more. In some totally not foreseen turn of events, my HOB kit filter has stopped working. Thank goodness I had already bought a sponge filter! It's not the ACO one, but trust me- that's on my list of thing's to buy for my new tank. This sponge filter is alright, but the sponge is too fine of a filter medium. But hey, it's working in a pinch, and that's what I needed it for! so, down the rabbit hole I go (with the faded sighs of my family) looking for a new tank and equipment- since they learned the hard way that the cheap kit tank they bought me has to have retrofitted parts. (And I get to have the internal monologues of "I told you so!") Lot's of googling for me today! Algae, tanks, filters, and more!

January 30th, 2022 As the always amazing @H.K.Luterman suggested, I went off on an adventure today go get some live plants for my tank. So with my ACO beanie on, I hiked my way through the miles and miles of pet aisles- swallowing all the temptation and impulse buying- to the live plant section. and I'll be honest... Only one plant had a label. And those were the Marimo moss balls. Which I bought, by the way- I've been wanting them since 2010, and it is high time that I have them in my life! I didn't take pictures in the store- since that would be rude- but here is my loot from my quest (note, my pictures are in the middle of me taking them apart to put in the tank, because I remembered then to take them) Here is what I am labeling for now the "unknown tall plant" I think it could be Vallisneria. This also came off the "Unknown Tall Plant"- it was embedded in the rock wool! Just one tiny little bulb, all on it's own. I have my highest hopes that this one survives the best. I won't lie- I might've already named it. This one I don't remember the name of either- but all I know is that it reminds me Parsley, and that's all I really care about. It's staying in the planter, since there wasn't as much root growth as the other one, so I want to wait to let it develop before I mess with it. The moss balls... Are rather sad. For the ones I had found to be the best of the bunch- they do not "feel" as internet articles describe it to be. You know- squishy. I think I got a rock wrapped in moss... and for the price I paid, I am a little disappointed in myself for hyping myself up for 12 years 🤣 Oh well! Live and learn! Either way, if they grow- fantastic! If not, hey! I get more rocks! Neat! And now, I sit here and wait to watch the aquatic grass (melt and then) grow.

Yes it is! Sorry, I forgot to add in the ppm afterwards. Thank you so much for the advice.

I am ghost feeding. I am using the sample package of flake food I got, and alternating with some betta pellets. I do have some freeze dried brine shrimp- but I wasn't sure on if that would work (advice would be great on that!) I would love to get some live plants- maybe I can convince the family to swing by the LFS to let me pick some up. I do have some gift cards from Christmas that need some attention 😎 I did have one IAL in there, but when I added two- it brought the pH way to far down. So I am now experimenting with hanging them to dry via clothes pins to see if I can re-use them at a later date. (edit, tried to remove the random hyperlink that popped up)

January 29th, 2022 We're still in the process of cycling the tank- that's for sure. I did a water parameter check with both the 5-n-1 test strips (Because money's just a bit tight to buy other testing things with I still have stuff on hand) and the API master testkit. Here's the results from today (If anyone is curious): MasterTest- pH: 6.0 Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: 0ppm Ammonia: .50ppm 5-n-1: pH: 6.2-6.8 Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: 0ppm gH: 25-75 kH: 40 I will admit for the tests, I have some slight issues with seeing colors- especially on the 5n1 test strips- so if you'd like, I can do the test again and provide an image result for you guys to give some input as well. As someone who only has plastic plants in there, and a sponge filter I bought off of amazon (as well as the HOB filter that came with the kit aquarium) I'm still surprised by the lack nitrites or nitrates. Because the tank is getting some algae development, whenever I end up shuffling things about the tank, it's a big old cloud of algae and decaying food matter. Plus all the decor and the heater have the slimy coating- so at this point, is it just the waiting game? Or is it something else? (Also- for the specific model of the HOB filter- I literally do not know. It is not listed on any of the product boxes, or information packets, etc. The lack of knowledge hurts my soul.)

Welcome to the forum! I can't wait to see your journal and it's progress!

Thank you so much to you both for chiming in on this thread! And please- by all means, give me the details! Even if we have to talk in personal messages. I have always been interested in marine biology, and biology as a whole- and it'd be a dream to have a career in it one day. I do not find any of it boring at all, and frankly- you've only piqued my curiosity more! Especially at the idea of more reading material!

welcome to the forum!

I ended up down a rabbit hole yesterday, and it's been itching my brain ever since. How many hobbyists (here) keep rare/endangered fish in their tank, and help scientists with their work on breeding and keeping off the natural issue of the population dying? Now I know this is a curveball question, because how do you even do something like that? Frankly, I have no idea, I just stumbled across the idea from watching a video on various livebearer illnesses. Obviously, I won't be providing a link to the site where I ended up going down this rabbit hole- since it'd go against guidelines, but I can message it to anyone who is curious. I just thought that from this website, it was a neat discussion topic. Because, well- How many of us do it? Do you work with local schools/colleges/biologists on the studies of these animals? Do you sell these fish? Or donate them to those places above if you work with them? Do you find it harder than keeping a "regular" fish in the hobby? Do you find it easier? Do you feel a sense of purpose when working with these animals? What's the most challenging part of caring for these rare/endangered animals in general? for you? for anyone who doesn't have any rare fish: Would you be interested in doing so? Why or why not? Do you think it would be a good/fun "challenge" for yourself/family? (if you're fish hobby includes your family) Would you try to contact your local schools/biologists/colleges about your fish, and see if they'd be interested in having some (should they breed and produce fry)? What do you think would be the hardest part about working with these rare/endangered would be in general? for you? Anyway, those are my questions for the forum! Have a great day, and thanks for taking the time to read!

I feel like the most important piece of information is, is that Igor has my entire heart! 😍 The coloration is just absolutely amazing and just pops out with the greens and stony greys of the background! and of course, you have given me so much helpful advice! Thank you so much! Knowing this definitely eases some anxiety I have, and I am super excited to start this adventure!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum! I like the name idea of Azul or Dean.

Welcome to the forum! I love the look of the tanks!

I don't have a Ziss air stone, but just some ones off of amazon, and I found that taking a chip clip or a bread tie (I didn't use the twist tie, but the plastic clip thing- but I think the tie could work too) , or sometimes even my hair ties- and would just loop the airline tubing and cinching it to make the bubbles go to the flow I want. It definitely helps for the days I'm overstimulated with noise.

This might sound as a silly idea, but what about a silicone baking mat? They're super easy to clean, and very adjustable. Plus it's silicone, so to it should be safe for both the kitty paws and the fish tanks! (I say should- this is only in theory- not in practice.)

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

I moved to Newton Kansas about 2 years ago, but I was born in Florida.

Welcome to the forum!