[Plants mysteriously died super fast?!]

many plants are actually grown immersed, these plants maty have just melted back and will likely sprout back up

[I got me a question - what would u do?]

guys i recently discovered that my tanks weigh way less than i thought. about 20kg for the glass

[I got me a question - what would u do?]

@Ben P. My tanks weight quite a lot, (super scraper 45 and 90) . 1 litre is 1kg so around 130kg in just water. Then an extra 60 (around) for the glass. Plus whatever I put into the tank

[I got me a question - what would u do?]

The context:

So my desk is made up of 1 very sturdy desktop made from wood held up by 2 Alex drawers - which we all know are made from particle board. This desk is supporting my 20g and my 10g plus all its contents (around 290-330KG once i scape them with stones and everything - they aren't scaped rn) . its been a year but I'm worried the desk cant support this for too long securely - but I'm looking into it. (if u have any advice let me know please) . 
The question:

if you had to would you get rid of the 10g to keep the 20g OR sell the 20g to buy another 10g. (1 big environment or 2 small environments)

 

thanks in advance!

[Super fish scaper 90 stand enquiry]

 I have a super fish scaper 90 aquarium and I want to move it from my desk to a stand. But I don't know what stand to get and the company doesn't make one - from what I can tell - for this tank. The dimensions I need are 60x40cm on the top, but I have space for the stand to be 80cm long (as long as the stand is structurally sound that the tank won't bend the top in the middle), the tank also weighs around "+100kg" when filled with water. Not sure if this includes an average amount of decor or not so please keep this in mind. So does anyone know of a stand that can support it and look good in my bedroom still? Thanks in advanced for any help 🙂

[About breeding and selling..]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:04 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

The other option is cold tolerant species outside. Neocaridina shrimp can overwinter as can ricefish. I had a very successful tub with green jade shrimp and Miyuki ricefish. Many solutions. I agree with @Schuylergo with something you’re passionate about. Eventually your tastes will change but as you learn and move through the hobby the skills stay with you. 

the thing is i can definatley try to breed them, but like i said selling locally will be a mess as there isnt much buyer potential around me. - and shipping isnt really an option either as stated before- so i would end up being overun with fish that i dont have homes for.

[About breeding and selling..]

On 7/26/2023 at 2:53 AM, Schuyler said:

It sounds like everyone else has pretty well covered most stuff.

One thing I would add is that making a profit off of it can be difficult especially if you're just working out of your bedroom.

My recommendation would be to breed a fish you like because you like it and then if you end up making money then that's a bonus.

i could but i dont really have the money to buy another aquarium to breed and raise fish, especially i have no space in my room - well i think i do but my parents are rather strict - the only option i would have is my 5 gallon in the room next door to me - unless i can convince my parents to let me get another larger tank or let me use the room next to me for fish stuff (but i highly doubt they will let me for many reasons). i dont really have that option sadly. if i did you already know id be growing tons of plants to sell and personally use, attempting to breed otos and tetras. but its just not a thing i have space for sadly. im beginning to think doing anything related to this would be a waste. mostly because where i live this hobby isnt exactly big. so that means limited buyers (and shipping online is expensive and no one wants to pay a 16 year old 20 pounds+ of shipping for 3 fish/shrimp they cant guarantee will arrive alive) .
 

 

[About breeding and selling..]

@Cinnebuns

Thanks for the cautioning (don't know what to call it aha) but like I said I'm not here to make a lot of money, just something extra to my pocket money so I can buy and do just that bit more .

I will however take the advice and will most likely get 6 females and 2 males at minimum

[About breeding and selling..]

On 7/12/2023 at 11:02 PM, TOtrees said:

I haven't kept them, but they sure are cool. I've watched a lot of videos from foo the flowerhorn on youtube. he kept a small planted tank with sparkling gourami. I never saw any baby shrimps in his vids. I don't think the babies would be safe. 

Just checked back to his vids: https://youtu.be/ptR7ngChDqs?t=217 Here's one where a 24 month old tank with cherry shrimp and a sparkler gets a piece of boiled carrot (link goes to the carrot feeding). See how many baby shrimps you can find/see? Nada. And that's in a very heavily planted tank with lots of cover. 

I'm not trying to rain on your plans, just want you to know what outcomes are likely. 

 

 

Ok well, I'll definitely have time to sort it all out. I won't start till after holiday anyways. I do appreciate all the help!

[About breeding and selling..]

On 7/12/2023 at 10:44 PM, TOtrees said:

I think you'd get more shrimp babies out of that 5 gallon without fish, than a tank with those fish. ALL of those fish will happily eat baby shrimps, and gouramis in particular are very good at it. That tank i mentioned that produced 600 shrimps? It has a pair of honey gourami, which are very "peaceful". 😐 But there were ZERO baby shrimps in that tank; all 600+ were made well before I added the two gouramis. In the end, it made counting and sorting a lot easier. And I learned that if you ever want to REMOVE a shrimp colony from a running tank, the way to do it is add a predator that will wipe out the babies for you, then just net all the adults. 

A shrimp only setup can be super easy. Gravel substrate, sponge filter, no heater, basic light enough to grow fast unanchored plants like guppy grass, hornwort, java moss, some lava rock for surface area, piles of pebbles or larger gravel for cover, done and dusted. Snails will be your friend, they seem to help the shrimps along. So this could be in a 5 gal tank, or a bucket or tub, or whatever.

A fish you CAN keep with breeding shrimps (in my experience) is bristlenose plecos. 

Just to mention it's a sparkling gourami

[About breeding and selling..]

On 7/12/2023 at 9:39 PM, TOtrees said:

I strongly recommend you start with at least a dozen shrimps, preferably 2 dozen. If you only start with 3, even if you're lucky enough to have all 3 survive, you'll spend your first 18 months or more growing your breeding population to the point that it can sustain harvesting. Buy from a breeder if you can, not a pet store. 

I suggest that you run your thought exercise backwards from how much you want to earn. But before that, plan on giving them at least 6 months just to learn how fast and well they grow in your tanks. You say "picked off" so I assume you have fish. This will go way better for you if you have a shrimp only tank, or shrimp-safe fish.

Let me use my own shrimp/numbers as an example... Let's say I want to make $30 monthly. And let's say I get $2 per shrimp. No one will pay good money for undersized shrimps, so I need 15 adults or near adults on top of the adults I want to keep as breeders, and on top of any still-growing juvies. Once I've sold those 15, if I don't have another 15 ready in another month, I'm behind on my projections. 

Currently, I can sell an average of 100 shrimps per month. I actually sell them in large batches to stores, anywhere from 100-500 at a time. Maybe every 3-6 months not monthly. And I sell them for a lot less than $2 each, because I'm moving higher volumes. I'd rather get $200 from one buyer than fight with dozens of online hagglers over the quality and price of my stock. 

Also, don't let the interwebs tell you how few shrimp you can have in a tank. I've pulled LITERALLY 600+ selling size cherry shrimps from a 20 gallon high. If you'd asked me how many I thought there were I would have said maybe 200. The unit price was low, but the buyer was happy with what they got (especially after they saw how well they survived in their tanks), and I pocketed $420 cash.  

Any fish store will buy from you if you have a quality product, in quantities they need, at a price that works for them. Find out who does the ordering for that location. Ask what they'd need or under what conditions they'd buy from you. Maybe you'll need a business license so they can pay you by cheque. Maybe you'll need to invoice them. Or maybe it's the other way and they'll only do store credit. But start by asking. 

So, spend a year breeding and growing them, before you start selling them. See how it goes. What foods work best? More or less water changes? Before you spend a year doing it, start with a month or two. If it goes well, split your colony into 2 tanks to double your returns. 

I also recommend paying more at the start for better quality shrimp, of types that are harder to find but easier to sell, for better unit price. I breed the bloody mary's and they've done really well for me. Super low rate of culls (less than 1%), and they keep their color from one generation to the next really well. 

Hey, thanks for all the info. Seriously it helps ALOT . Personally I don't know if I'll start with that many, maybe I'll get 9 in the same ratio. I have an insane fear of being over run. I will however try to locate other fish stores near me that will be interested in buying shrimp from me. 

I also only have a spare 5 gallon to my name, however I have a 10 gallon that I COULD use for growing some of the shrimp, but chances are they will be greatly picked off in there as I have some platies in that tank.

 

The 20g is a tall so maybe it works out like u said, I have neon tetras, a weird duo of guppies (both from friends who didn't want them.) a gourami I got for free at my lfs and a small group of ottos.  So many of the babies- possibly over half will be munched on.

[About breeding and selling..]

So recently i came to the conclusion i want to start earning money in this hobby as - for a teenager who is still in school - being able to have a job at home which i will enjoy is going to be super important, but i have no idea what im doing.
 

My thoughts are:

I go to my lfs and buy 2 female and 1 male cherry shrimp for my 20g aquarium (which has fish in) and i will just let them breed casually (after doing some research i found they usually breed every 4 or so months and have around 35 shrimplets per batch, so i would end up with around 70 babies) then leave them to grow and get picked off in the tank, and which ever ones live to be big enough i will sell. - only because I'm not doing this as a job, its just a hustle for some extra cash. 

i also plan on propogating and selling stem plants, and maybe trying to grow java ferns and crypts for profit as well.

 

What i need to know:

When it comes to breeding, what can i do to stimulate the breeding process and what do i feed the baby shrimp so they grow fast and healthy? - i have shrimp pellets and algae wafers?

 

When i sell them, what size bags do i need? - and if anyone has a UK link to the bags you use for selling please let me know.

 

Also how much would i sell each baby for? 

 

and - for now - the last thing is , how do i advertise them and where do i sell them? - UK websites (i dont think my lfs will take them as my lfs is one or even THE largest fish store chain in the UK)

 

thanks for any help in advance 🙂

 

 

 

[Is my table strong enough?]

On 5/29/2023 at 8:06 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Best of luck with it. I just went through moving a bunch of tanks too. 🙂

i would just have to convince my mother aha

[Is my table strong enough?]

On 5/29/2023 at 7:38 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

 

I was referring to move the desk (relocate it) so you have room for a rack or dual stand on the wall.

yeah i wouldnt have space in my room to do this lol. unless i moved the desk in the room next to mine and kept my tanks in here - or vice versa

not ctually a bad idea

[Is my table strong enough?]

On 5/29/2023 at 12:49 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

It's particle board, the main thing being to keep it dry.

The forces mentioned are basically:
A.  Weight of the water crushing the material, lateral (tangential) stress on the attachment hardware and shear strength of those hardware pieces.  The cheap ones are cast aluminum, the strong ones are cast steel.  Either way, being cast material gives it a lower strength profile.  The outside is harder and more dense, while the inside of the metal is softer.  If the outside cracks or deflects, then it's very easy for the hardware to shear off.

B.  Torsion across the desk from movement.  Every time you touch the desk to play games, it moves.  Those vibrations lead to stress on the fish, but it also leads to damage over time.  Think of it like chipping away at a rock or steel rod with sandpaper.  You seemingly don't do damage, but after years you might be down to nothing and that causes the failure.  Cross braces would help with that type of a load, but given that you're going into particle board it's not going to be strong. 

I would take a look at Corvus Oscen's channel and his stands.  He does them really well and they definitely are built strong.  He also did all the ones in the Co-Op and the warehouse with videos on all of those.

Literally the weight of my steel case has warped a few "cheaper tables" that were steel tubed and rated for a lot more wieght than what you're currently using.  They sell butcher block and desk legs, what might be a better route to go when building a stand, but ultimately I think you're looking for a 2-3 shelf rack to get your stand and your aquariums in close proximity to the desk.  Slide the desk to the right, then put the shelves against the wall there.  Much safer, a bit further from the electronics, and less of a risk of shock or fire hazards due to splashing.

This is the cross bracing that would help with the stress above under note B.

the desk does not move when i play games, its very sturdy. 

Also what do you mean move it to the right? a shelf wont support the weight of a 20 gallon if the desk doesnt

i also hear that some people are able to stand and jump on these drawers and they where fine? (one post saying they weighed about 150lbs)

also keeping it dry, that means if i keep it dry its fine?

[Is my table strong enough?]

On 5/29/2023 at 12:29 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Material

Main parts/ Front:

Particleboard, Acrylic paint, Paper foil, Plastic edging

 

From another forum:

For Graeme's Ikea Kallax:
 

 

Ikea's specs say ~40-50 lbs
https://www.ikea.com/jp/en/customer-service/knowledge/articles/593e127e-b984-4489-b1d7-8b2g806gdcd7.html

10G - 110 lbs
20G - 225 lbs

I wouldn't have the tanks there, especially near a PC.  That is just generally how I would approach things.

Uhh, interesting aha, I mean before this arrangement I had the 10 on a Alex drawer for almost 2 years and it was fine?

Is there a way I could strengthen them?

[Is my table strong enough?]

I have 2 Alex drawers holding up a 180cm long tabletop.  

I have never really thought of this being an issue but my mother has made it apparent to me when I was talking about getting another 20 gallon.

Currently I have 1 20 gallon (filled around 17 to 18 usually) and 1 10 gallon. But I want the 10 to be another 20. 

The tank models are super fish scaper 90 and 45, I couldn't find their weight anywhere. 

I couldn't find the Alex drawer weight cap either. 

 

What do you think? Can I replace the 10 with a 20 safely?

(Currently the desk has been like this for 9 to 10 months)

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

On 5/23/2023 at 10:49 PM, Lennie said:

whats your ph?

Last time I checked I think about 7.5 in the 10 gallon and 7.4 in the 20 they where not that different 

 

With test strips

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:27 PM, TOtrees said:

One problem down (ammonia is 0), on to the next one: do you need to add fertilizer to keep plants healthy? Do you have plants? If you do, low-zero nitrates will be a problem over the long term (and short term, but you won't see it right away).

On the plus side, you're obviously doing something right (or a lot of somethings). I get the sense from your original question you're at least a bit new at this. To get these readings, you have to be changing enough water, and not over-feeding. So put check marks or happy faces or gold stars or whatever next to those items. 🙂

And no I don't think you're overstocked. With clean parameters like yours, the issue of stocking will come down to compatibility. Aggression, predation and things like that. If you don't have or see those, you're good. 

Hey just wondering. R u sure ammonia is 0 cos it looks in the pic that it's more.browny like 0.2 ? Idk I got weird eye sight but at the same time.its also very yellowy

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

On 5/23/2023 at 6:43 PM, Lennie said:

Endlers and guppies may breed and have hybrid babies. So I personally keep mine in seperate tanks

 

That's interesting. All males, or potentially too many males for a few females? I personally like 1m:3f the most, but sometimes I can only get 1m:2f which works fine

Both the endler and the guppy are male

On 5/23/2023 at 6:43 PM, Lennie said:

Endlers and guppies may breed and have hybrid babies. So I personally keep mine in seperate tanks

 

That's interesting. All males, or potentially too many males for a few females? I personally like 1m:3f the most, but sometimes I can only get 1m:2f which works fine

Yeah they where all makes . I hate breeding - I know I should let them but it gets out of control and I have no where to put babies

Also guys. If my ammonia is fine what could be causing so much hair algae?

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

On 5/23/2023 at 6:09 PM, Lennie said:

I don't think it is overstocked. I would even increase the size of singles to groups myself. 

I don't believe livebearers like to live alone and they enjoy their own species, so does sparkling gouramis. So I would keep at least 3 of each personally

Tbh the guppy had a group but there where 2 that killed or the other 2 so I removed the aggressors and haven't yet added more. 

On 5/23/2023 at 6:09 PM, Lennie said:

I don't think it is overstocked. I would even increase the size of singles to groups myself. 

I don't believe livebearers like to live alone and they enjoy their own species, so does sparkling gouramis. So I would keep at least 3 of each personally

I have a random endler in a 5 gallon rn that I'm treating  just incase of illness . Am I ok to add the endler in with the other guppy?

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

This is the reading for ammonia @Tommy Vercetti

@Lennie

@Pepere

This is for the 10 gallon

 

20 gallon:

 

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:34 AM, Lennie said:

Hey SC,

Nitrites indeed should read 0. However, nitrates reading 0 in a heavily planted tank, especially with an understock is not a rare occasion to come by. Even in my stocked tanks, since I have lots of plants, I barely read 10 nitrates before weekly water changes, and even my tap reads 20 nitrates.

So you reading 0 nitrates would not directly mean your cycle is crushed. 

Do you ever test your tap water? Does it read any ammonia and nitrites? Maybe you introduce some directly to your tank during water changes and read it directly.

Do you use dechlorinator during water changes?

Have you recently used any medicine, especially antibiotics which may have affected the cycle by any chance?

Do you observe any signs of ammonia burn or nitrite poisioning on your fish? Have you lost any fish recently?

 

Ammonia test would definitely help to answer some of the questions on your mind for sure.

In a cycled tank, with lots of plants but understock, you reading 0/0/0 would not be uncommon, and I don't believe it would mean your cycle is crashed. It just mean your bacteria and plants use the stuff and does their job.

i have never tested my tap water , i do use dechlorinator, i have used medecine but not on the 10g , and not from what i can tell.
im doing the test rn

 

my stocking is 

for the 20 gallon:
1 sparkling gourami (i had 2 but one latley just passed)
3 platies (but one is behing rehomed in a couple days)
1 fancy guppy
7 neon tetras
5 otos
5 amano shrimp

10 gallon: - soon to be 20
5 platies

5 baby platies (also behing rehomed)
5 minnows mountain

On 5/23/2023 at 2:06 PM, Tommy Vercetti said:

0 nitrites is one of the goals when cycling a tank. There are beneficial bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate.

0 nitrates in a planted tank, that does not get dosed with fertilizers, is expected in a cycled tank and does not indicate a crashed cycle. If your tank has a light stocking of fish then the plants will consume all of the available nitrate.

Let us know what the ammonia test say when you get your tests. But I am pretty sure it will read 0, this means your tank is doing fine and that if you want more plant growth, then consider dosing a fertilizer.

 

 

im starting to think my tanks may be a bit overstocked..

but ive always been told it was fine

 

for the 20 gallon:
1 sparkling gourami (i had 2 but one latley just passed)
3 platies (but one is behing rehomed in a couple days)
1 fancy guppy
7 neon tetras
5 otos
5 amano shrimp

10 gallon: - soon to be 20
5 platies

5 baby platies (also behing rehomed)
5 minnows mountain

[I think my tanks cycles have crashed...]

Both my 10g (12US)and my 20g(24US) I've been told have crashed by some people. This was because I shared an image of test strips showing that nitrates and nitrites where almost at 0. I'm getting an ammonia test soon but can this be confirmed?

I have no idea what I'm meant to do so anything will help

[moving fish around (bullying)]

On 5/7/2023 at 7:36 PM, PineSong said:

I have found that sometimes removing a bully from the tank for a few days and then putting him back in results in the bullying stopping. I'm not talking about actual biting kinds of aggression, just territorial bullying (my swordtails) and general harassment (some of my male guppies toward other male guppies in a male-only tank). So if he's just chasing them and not actually biting them, you may want to put him back in after a few days in time out to see if he's reformed.

would seperating him ina  breeder box work? i dont want to put him in the 5g risking him to catch a disease (not sure if the endler in the 5g is infected with something or if its just age) and putting him back to infect the rest of the tank