KatFish

I have never heard of this game! But oh my gosh- it's going on my wish list right now! 😍

Jan 20th, 2022 I'm not going to lie; fish, aquariums, and marine biology in general are my special interests in life. I don't have a college education, but I was born and raised in the swampy marshes of Florida- so catching fish with my bare hands and putting lizards on my earlobes is in my blood, and the swamp is in my bones. (Hence my name- Swampbones. Makes sense now, huh?) But moving across the country to the driest and most boring place on this Earth has shown me just how much I go buck wild for fish, and research. If I could- I'd tell Toto that I don't want to be in Kansas anymore (Especially since the only major fish co-op is 4 hours away from me by car!) I suppose that's my rambling and shenanigans for this journal posting for the day, as I continue researching for the 6.5 tank. So, as I go down the rabbit-hole of writing down water parameters for the Livebearers (Because I like to check multiple places) I'm noticing some consistent information, but also not a complete list of the parameters. And I am personally the type to have a complete list of information. Here's the information I gathered, and if anyone has Endlers- please let me know how accurate it is! Any input is always appreciated! ACO: Temp: Room Temperature without a heater. pH: 6.5-8.5 gH: Any water hardness Aquarium Source: Temp: 64-84 pH: 5.5-8.0 (Aim Neutral) kH- 10-30 Fishlore: pH: Neutral Water: Soft/moderately hard Temp: 75- 85 FishTank Advisor: Temp: 76-84 pH: 6.5-8.0 Ammoina: 0ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: <20ppm Aquarium Breeder: Temp: 72-82 pH: 7.0-8.0 gH: 12-20 nitrate: <40 Live Aquaria: Temp: 64-82 pH: 5.5-8.0 kH: 10-30 I know the next question to answer is "Well- what else do you plan to put in the tank?" and luckily for you, I have an answer for that! Since it's my 6.5 gallon tank, I was thinking of keeping it simple with a snail or two (Nerites and Mystery's are mainly available at my LFS- but truthfully I'm not picky, they all look cool!) I would also like to try some shrimp, but those aren't available at my LFS- and so I would definitely have to wait on ordering them online until after winter (and a possible cold spring) As for the kind of shrimp, it's the same as the snails- I'm not picky! They all look neat. If I don't need the heater, then that opens up a lot more room in the tank for plants- which I have to be honest, that's what I'm really excited for. I can't wait for winter to be over! Anyway- I suppose that's my daily musings, shenanigans and questions for you all! Have a good day/night/whatever time it is. Kat / Swampy

Welcome to the forum!

I've never gone snowboarding, but as someone who has sensory issues with fabrics (and my brother has sensitive skin) we both highly approve of this beanie! I might have to buy a second one, because he's been eyeing it the second I let him try it on! 😅

So- I won't lie to you- I wanted to make this forum post to absolutely fangirl about my first ACO purchase that came in the mail. (and yes- I wrote a review for the beanie.) I can tell you that getting this in the mail after what happened with Ponyo yesterday made me feel a million times better, and it helped strengthen what resolve that was already there to strive to do better, and to keep going. Plus- it's 24*F and the winds are at about 50MPH here in my little town of Kansas, and so the beanie is working wonders for keeping my ears warm! I'm researching now about the Almond Leaves, and wondering if it's a good idea to put them in the tank while it is in the process of cycling- or to wait, As I am learning that the leaves affect the pH. I guess it also depends on what fish I plan on getting in the future too- to fill the 6.5 gallon tank. Anyhow- onto more Ponyo related business. Or rather, the hospital tank I placed him in. (No- I am not shaming anyone, or the tank- this is me asking the universe how this could've been possible) I was cleaning it out today (special thanks to my mom for holding it up in the pictures) when I noticed these spots at the bottom of the tank- which, I never noticed when I had first started trying to use it ( I was using it to revive some water spangles that froze in the mail- it didn't work) I touch it- and I realize it's like melting plastic! The tank is acrylic, yes- but I have never seen this happen before! My first thought is that it could have been the heater- but it never touched the bottom of the tank, nor was it ever higher than 74*F. Plus- I feel like at that point, if it was the heater, it would melt the sides- not the bottom. I then guessed it could have been the medicine, but that honestly baffles me- because that seems silly, I mean- there have been tons of people who treat their fish in hospital tanks that are plastic tupperwares/containers, so why not a 2 gallon fish tank? Has anyone else ever seen or experienced this? Obviously- I don't plan on using this tank again- For a wet pet or even plant propagation. My plan now is to make it my sticker holder for all the stickers I'm going to get from Aquarium Co-op! Also, had to take a selfie in the beanie- it's practically mandatory 😉 That is all for today's shenanigans (so far, anyway) I hope you all have an awesome day!

Welcome to the forum!

Hello everyone, This is going to be the final update for this thread. I want to thank everyone for the amazing advice they gave me throughout Ponyo and mine struggle during this endeavor, and I will be taking this information with me as I continue researching and learning what I did wrong- so I can correct these mistakes in the future. Here is the sad and unfortunate news. I came home from work, and have found Ponyo dead. so again, thank you all for the advice. I have mourned, and have been severely humbled by this experience. But now I will use this time to research and learn. Have a great day, Kat (Swampy / Swampbones)

Welcome! I love your plants, and the image of your betta peaking out is adorable! 😍

Morning. We are on day 3 of the Fritz Maracyn treatment, and I am starting on cycling the main tank. I did as @Beardedbillygoat1975 suggested and added some food, and I have the lights on. By watching the videos- obviously this isn't going to be an overnight process. The Swim Bladder is definitely being affected now, and the fin rot is worsening- I woke up and saw some small chunks at the bottom of the tank- which I removed and threw away. I saw Colu's post on how to treat Swim Bladder here: The post says to wait if it's caused by an injury, but I will ask all of you for your opinion- since at this point I am completely out of my depth on this one. Also, I was googling more- and (please, correct me if I'm wrong on all of this- links will be provided) I was reading something about a vertical death hang? Which is what Ponyo is doing a lot more this morning- if he's not resting against the filter, or the thermometer. He breaks out of it within a few seconds ( I would estimate within 5 seconds ) but I read that this is also possibly because of swim bladder too? Link- https://www.bettacarefishguide.com/5-causes-of-vertical-death-hang-in-bettas/ https://bettafishkeeper.com/why-is-my-betta-fish-swimming-vertically/#:~:text=The most common reason a,will struggle to swim normally. Edit (7:40am): I was just scrolling through the forums- as one does- and I am now terrified at the idea that I have wasted three days of treatment, because I forgot to remove the filter cartridge, that comes preloaded with carbon in it??

Hi thank you all so much! Here are the parameters for the hospital tank! PH: 6.4 Nitrite: 0ppm Ammonia: 0ppm Nirate: 0ppm As for cycling the tanks- I will absolutely look into these videos and see what I can do to fix the main tank. I was using "Tetra's Aquasafe for Betta's" as well as API's QuickStart So I'm not sure what was going wrong. It is a 6.5 gallon tank- but I am upgrading to a 10 gallon in April (Birthday). But I will look into these videos for sure and use them for advice- again, thank you all so much!

possible emergency- seeking advice! I went with my mom to get her booster shot at 12:30pm, and came home at 1:15pm. I came back to check on Ponyo and he was floating in the hospital tank with the current, upsidedown/sideways/etc just not swimming with his gills flared. IT was obviously clear he was dead- and I wasn't sure for how long, because he was fine throughout the entire day I have been here. He is in my bedroom, and the temperature of the tank has never changed. I started to open the lid to the hospital tank when his gills started to move again- and he wiggled back to life and started moving around! He's alive and will swim if the lid moves. I'm waiting the 5 minutes now on the API test, but I don't know how skewed the results will be since it's the hospital tank. Any further advice to help keep Ponyo alive would be so helpful. Thank you all so much!

I am using the API's freshwater master test. And on 1/2/22 my parameters were like this before a water change: ph- 7.2 ammonia- 1.0ppm nitrite- 0.25 ppm nitrate- 0ppm on 1/8/22 I had changed my filter (still using tetra's whisper S cartridge's as that fits the tank "kit" filter. I don't know the name brand of the filter, but I still have the boxes so I can give you any specifics if you want them) the ammonia was at 0.25 nitrite- 0ppm nitrate- 0ppm What should I be doing differently to be getting a higher nitrate, if I don't have access to a planted tank yet?

Alright! Thank you so much!

Good morning everyone, I finally got the Maracyn yesterday in the mail, and I'm following the directions for treatment. I've already got Poyno in the hospital tank, and I started treatment yesterday (we are on day two of five, according to the directions on the bottle) But here's my question: It doesn't say anything about fasting Ponyo, so should I just go ahead and feed him as normal?

Good to know! I went ahead and did the survey. I am really excited to see the results, thank you so much for all the effort!

I hope your survey gets enough views! I am very excited to read the results. I've never bred fish before (either on accident or on purpose) so I do not think I'd be much help here, but I'm definitely going to share this forum post with some IRL friends of mine who have! Best of luck!

A true hero to us planted tank newbies ❤️

Welcome to the forum! You have such a beautiful tank and fish, and I can't wait to hear an update about the 300 (if you feel like talking about it!)

Peg game is the best game, and nothing can ever change my mind. The day I see a circle or square shaped one though- I'll be gone for hours! You'll never see me again on the internet, I'll be to focused playing.

Also- gonna throw this question out here since it is meme related- If I post a meme about an axolotl, is that allowed?

Awesome! I already own the salt, so that's a bonus- but I'll go ahead and get the leaves. Thank you so much!