Welcome to the C.A.R.E Forum - Look here first.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/28/2022 at 3:41 PM, MostlyRock said:

the only place for me now is among my brethren... the Fish Nerds. 

There’s a special term here on the forum: “nerms” - came from a Cory livestream I believe where he was trying to say normal people by day, fish nerds by night, or something like that - and it came out NERMs. There are even annual contests here on the forum during “Nerm Week” for things like best scape, best breeding setup, best inverts tank, etc where other forum members vote - each reaction- love, like, heart, trophy etc has a certain number of points. And for the most part the prizes are bragging rights, or sometimes real prizes (usually stuff NERMs would like).

Anyway, my friend Erin has an axolotl. His name is Quex. She went with slate tiles for the bottom of his tank because if they consume even a little bit of substrate - easy to do with their big mouths - bad news (take to vet; digestive blockage). She tried bare bottom but it was hard for Quex because he couldn’t get a grip when walking around.

Since no substrate she uses water column feeding plants in the tank such as Java fern. She attaches them to rocks and puts the rocks in little terra cotta pots so it looks nice. She said that he cannot have any fertilizer in his tank. They absorb everything through their skin, I think.

She raises worms for him as he only eats live foods, with the exception of some kind of carnivore Repashy. When I saw Quex, I could not believe how BIG he was (9” and can get to be 1’). She tried big sponge filters at first but had to go to a canister filter and dampen flow quite a bit. Currently his nitrate production is a problem and results in extra tank maintenance. Here’s Quex and his worm farm thingy.

 

He’s chillin on some Indian Almond Leaves since axolotls cannot have any fish meds. The almond leaves are antifungal and antibacterial, and he benefits from the tannins.

The silver insulating material around his tank is helping to keep his tank temps down. Some people buy chillers; some locate their tank under an A/C vent. She uses a vented lid with fans that lay horizontally on top and blow air down into the surface of the water.

 

P.S. would not recommend a 10g for an axolotl, not even to start out (despite what people are doing on YouTube in their axolotl unboxing videos). Heavy bioload, worse than goldfish, very sensitive to parameters, and they grow FAST! 

Also fun fact, if their gills (frilly things) are curved forward, they are stressed.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
Added more content

[MostlyRock]

On 10/29/2022 at 7:15 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

There’s a special term here on the forum: “nerms” - came from a Cory livestream I believe where he was trying to say normal people by day, fish nerds by night, or something like that - and it came out NERMs. There are even annual contests here on the forum during “Nerm Week” for things like best scape, best breeding setup, best inverts tank, etc where other forum members vote - each reaction- love, like, heart, trophy etc has a certain number of points. And for the most part the prizes are bragging rights, or sometimes real prizes (usually stuff NERMs would like).

Anyway, my friend Erin has an axolotl. His name is Quex. She went with slate tiles for the bottom of his tank because if they consume even a little bit of substrate - easy to do with their big mouths - bad news (take to vet; digestive blockage). She tried bare bottom but it was hard for Quex because he couldn’t get a grip when walking around.

Since no substrate she uses water column feeding plants in the tank such as Java fern. She attaches them to rocks and puts the rocks in little terra cotta pots so it looks nice. She said that he cannot have any fertilizer in his tank. They absorb everything through their skin, I think.

She raises worms for him as he only eats live foods, with the exception of some kind of carnivore Repashy. When I saw Quex, I could not believe how BIG he was (9” and can get to be 1’). She tried big sponge filters at first but had to go to a canister filter and dampen flow quite a bit. Currently his nitrate production is a problem and results in extra tank maintenance. Here’s Quex and his worm farm thingy.

 

He’s chillin on some Indian Almond Leaves since axolotls cannot have any fish meds. The almond leaves are antifungal and antibacterial, and he benefits from the tannins.

The silver insulating material around his tank is helping to keep his tank temps down. Some people buy chillers; some locate their tank under an A/C vent. She uses a vented lid with fans that lay horizontally on top and blow air down into the surface of the water.

 

P.S. would not recommend a 10g for an axolotl, not even to start out (despite what people are doing on YouTube in their axolotl unboxing videos). Heavy bioload, worse than goldfish, very sensitive to parameters, and they grow FAST! 

Also fun fact, if their gills (frilly things) are curved forward, they are stressed.

Good info! Thank you! Yeah, we are in the discussion phase of this project, not settled on anything yet. I'm not going to pull the trigger on anything until I'm sure I will be able to provide a happy, healthy home for them, then I'll have to actually find the tanks and equipment. Hopefully it'll give us something to work on together for a long time.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/29/2022 at 4:26 PM, MostlyRock said:

Good info! Thank you! Yeah, we are in the discussion phase of this project, not settled on anything yet. I'm not going to pull the trigger on anything until I'm sure I will be able to provide a happy, healthy home for them, then I'll have to actually find the tanks and equipment. Hopefully it'll give us something to work on together for a long time.

It’s really awesome to have the family involved.

[PeaCe]

Hi everyone 👋 new to the group. I am from Maine just started getting into aquariums. I fell in Love with  live plants in aquariums. I got into aquariums when my daughter got deployed and I had to start taking care of her tank. That set in motion three tanks  😂 one for her betta, one for mine, and then I found planted tanks that lead to anther with different fish. I love bass fishing 🎣 (catch and release only fyi) and the weather being all over the place and winter coming my obsession became aquariums  I did and do a lot of research and came across this and the aquarium coop 🙏🏻 I am grateful to be here and looking forward to learning more and being apart of this forum ✌️

Edited November 1, 2022 by PeaCe

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Welcome to the forum @PeaCe nice tank!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 3:57 AM, PeaCe said:

Hi everyone 👋 new to the group. I am from Maine just started getting into aquariums. I fell in Love with  live plants in aquariums. I got into aquariums when my daughter got deployed and I had to start taking care of her tank. That set in motion three tanks  😂 one for her betta, one for mine, and then I found planted tanks that lead to anther with different fish. I love bass fishing 🎣 (catch and release only fyi) and the weather being all over the place and winter coming my obsession became aquariums  I did and do a lot of research and came across this and the aquarium coop 🙏🏻 I am grateful to be here and looking forward to learning more and being apart of this forum ✌️

Yes, welcome!

[CJhilljack]

Hi Everyone! I'm in Washington State in the foothills south of the Aquarium Coop shop, which I recently visited for the first time. My parents had a fish tank when I was a child and I had a Betta for awhile in my mid-20's, but I consider myself new to the hobby. I recently set up a couple of tiny, planted tanks - which I am actually struggling with - that currently have just snails in them. I'm watch some of you on YouTube & I'm looking forward to learning from you all! 

 

[Patrick_G]

Those planted jars look nice. I’m a big fan of pico tanks with just plants and inverts. Welcome!

On 11/5/2022 at 1:15 PM, CJhilljack said:

Hi Everyone! I'm in Washington State in the foothills south of the Aquarium Coop shop, which I recently visited for the first time. My parents had a fish tank when I was a child and I had a Betta for awhile in my mid-20's, but I consider myself new to the hobby.

 

[CJhilljack]

On 11/5/2022 at 2:28 PM, Patrick_G said:

Those planted jars look nice. I’m a big fan of pico tanks with just plants and inverts. Welcome!

 

Wow, This is beautiful! Thank you so much for the encouraging words.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/5/2022 at 9:15 PM, CJhilljack said:

Hi Everyone! I'm in Washington State in the foothills south of the Aquarium Coop shop, which I recently visited for the first time. My parents had a fish tank when I was a child and I had a Betta for awhile in my mid-20's, but I consider myself new to the hobby. I recently set up a couple of tiny, planted tanks - which I am actually struggling with - that currently have just snails in them. I'm watch some of you on YouTube & I'm looking forward to learning from you all! 

 

Welcome to the forum!

[CJhilljack]

On 11/5/2022 at 11:08 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you!

[jcrabbit]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the hobby but has been following Cory for about a year now. I started with a 5 gallon shrimp tank, but am recently dealing with an infestation of scuds. In the new few weeks, I'll be cleaning it out and restart a new tank. Hopefully keeping my shrimps and plants alive through the process. I'm planning on building a 40 gallon tank as my next project. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/14/2022 at 4:04 AM, jcrabbit said:

Hi everyone, I'm new to the hobby but has been following Cory for about a year now. I started with a 5 gallon shrimp tank, but am recently dealing with an infestation of scuds. In the new few weeks, I'll be cleaning it out and restart a new tank. Hopefully keeping my shrimps and plants alive through the process. I'm planning on building a 40 gallon tank as my next project. 

Welcome to the forum!!

[The endler guy]

Howdy from the great crab state of Maryland!

[Arodack]

Hello from Tucson, AZ. My better half and I are getting into fish keeping so I thought I’d join the form. We’re both pretty new to the hobby and have definitely got multi-tank syndrome. We started back in 2019, with a 5 gallon, some male guppies and shrimp. We now have the 5 gallon, a 6 gallon, two 10 gallons and a 13 gallon. We have a honey gourami, a dwarf gourami, a male betta, several guppies, strawberry rasboras, white clouds, rainbow shiners, Borneo sucker loaches, Norman lamp eye killis, Ottos, shrimp (ghost and cherry) and several different colors of kuhli loaches (normal, black, purple and hair band). We really love the kuhli loaches! They are awesome fish. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Arodack

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Arodack welcome to the forum! Lots of knowledgeable people here and a great place to document your journey if you so choose!

[Daydre]

Heya, I'm Daydre- new to the aquarium hobby and don't currently have any tanks set up. Just here to absorb any information I can before I actually get any fish!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 12/8/2022 at 3:47 AM, Daydre said:

Heya, I'm Daydre- new to the aquarium hobby and don't currently have any tanks set up. Just here to absorb any information I can before I actually get any fish!

Welcome to the forum!

[YYC Carrie]

Hello from Calgary, Alberta (YYC - it's a thing.. that's our airport designation lol). I am so excited to find an ACTIVE aquarist's/hobbyist's forum. I have signed up for several, only to realize that the last post on the forum was at least 2 years old. So disappointing.

Brief version of my introduction for those who are not into text walls:

      My name is Carrie and was gifted a 55 gallon aquarium for my birthday. Less than 2 months later I have that 55 with guppies, platies (fish in cycle because I didn't know there was a better way), super red bristle nose (purchased to keep algae down, these ones because they are super bright red, and only get to about 4 inches), Chinese algae eaters (because after the green algae was under control, some black beard started to grow on my driftwood), snails (because they came with all the Kijiji plants), super red neocaridina shrimp (because what's cooler in a home aquarium then shrimp?), and angelfish. I also have a 30 gallon with a single African red Jewel - and whatever snails survive his onslaughts when I toss some to him, the feeder minnow did not last long with him, and he enjoyed hunting it down, a 90 gallon with a breeding trio of convicts with their offspring of different sizes, some platinum parrot fish, some Sydontis petricola, a red tail shark - and two feeder minnows that have somehow escaped the notice of the big bad convicts, a 4.5 gallon with a male betta rescue and blue dream shrimp. Do you think I have been bitten by the multi tank bug? I also have an empty 30, 2 empty 10's and 2 empty 5's. My family is ready to revolt since we live in a smallish 2 bedroom basement suite lol.

 

Now that that's out of the way, here's the text wall - the "behind the scenes" version of the above information, along with some background info from when I tried fish keeping before.

 

Years ago - I refuse to tell anyone how many years ago - I had a 10 gallon tank with some guppies that just would not work. Despite regular maintenance and following all suggestions etc, I just could not keep fish alive to save, well, my life 😉. Suffice it to say that I gave up, tossed the tank - literally - tossed it into a BFI trash bin (BFI was the name of the waste management company for the city I lived in at the time). I was just plain disgusted and frustrated.

Several years after that I decided to try again. Guppies again. I had been enraptured with the idea of breeding my very own guppies. I had a 20 gallon tall tank and set it up. I experienced moderate success this time. I was able to keep my fish healthy, and they bred readily for me - however no matter what I did, the parents would eat them. All of them. No matter how carefully I provided hidey spots for the fry, the adults would inevitably find them and eat them. So, I again got rid of the tank - this time I gifted the whole kit and kaboodle to a local youth from the neighborhood.

Throughout the following years up till now I always dreamed of having a large tank - some day I will have an 800 gallon tank. I swear it! Cue the middle of November 2022 when my step son gifted me my 55 gallon start up set. It was on sale at my LFS - Pisces Exotica Pet Emporium. Great store, awesome products, etc. I digress.....

The tank came with the basics, very basics - a HOB filter, a heater, lids with lights - that's it.

I purchased a BOAT LOAD of planted tank substrates, mixing and matching - please don't ask what specific ones I put in, but I spent a metric butt ton of money!! (Wish I had known about your YouTube vids then Cory!) Then I went on a shopping spree on Kijiji for plants, driftwood, décor items, and surprising me the most - FISH!!!! I had NO idea you could purchase fish on Kijiji!! This has become both the best, and the worst thing ever for me! (LOL) 

A lot of the tanks and décor items I have obtained have been tanks that are listed super cheap and have items already with them. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are both good (bad?) for this. I have obtained the 4.5 gallon to house the betta I rescued. The Betta was offered as an after thought when I purchased a 90 gallon with stand and substrate. The day after getting my 90 home, the guy messaged me and was like "you want a betta?". 🤭Do I want a free betta... DO I WANT A FREE BETTA???? My life will now not be complete until I have THAT BETTA!!! 🤪🤪 - enter the 4.5 gallon "undersea adventure" tank that was listed on - you guessed it - Facebook Marketplace. Everything that that kit comes with was inside it. Used, but cleaned up and repacked back into it's original packaging for ONLY 20$$😁. So I go pick up the 4.5 gallon, then make the 45 minute drive for my free Betta. The thought that occurred to me in that moment, only to be immediately dismissed, was "is it really a free betta if I'm spending money on gas to get there and back?" I think so. Of course it is... it's free!

My partner and I were looking over some ideas for stocking the 90, when what should appear on Kijiji you may ask? I'll tell you; 3 fully grown convict's and 25 of their fry ranging from about 1/4 to 1 inch for free. There are even some of the fry that are albino's. SCORE!!! Problem though, someone has already spoken for them and would be getting picked up the following Sunday. 😪I was sad panda for sure. What makes a person feel better more than another awesome fish for cheap? I had found some platinum parrotfish. After researching what I could about them - there's surprisingly not much information about them, at least where I was looking, because the searches almost always returned info about the Blood Parrot fish. I did find out that the platinum parrot's would only get to be about 4-5 inches. I was able to get 10 of them, with the thought that as they grew I could pick and choose my favorites and rehome them as they grew out. They were about the size of a dime. I pick up my awesome parrot fish - and who should message me but the convict guy. He messaged me to let me know that the person had not shown up to get them - did I still want them. Based on this story, what do you suppose I did? I looked up housing these two fish together, pro's/con's, how to do it safely, etc. then I got my handy dandy 5 gallon bucket and went for a drive, that's what I did!!! 😁 By this time, there was some algae growth on the 90's walls, and some hair algae that was on the very large lava rock I had purchased for 20$. I had soaked it and scrubbed it with vinegar, but I guess I missed some. I don't like using chemicals if possible so I looked up what kind of algae eating fish would work in this tank with these species and the Sydontis petricola catfish seemed like a good choice. I liked the look of them as well, which is always a bonus. Plus, my step son LOVES catfish. Sydontis cat's are (apparently) most comfortable in small schools of at least 3; enter the 6 Sydontis petricola catfish for 50$ (10$ each, buy 5 get the 6th one - yep, you guessed it - FREE). The day before we went to pick up the convicts, a lady on Kijiji had an African Jewel Cichlid offered for "free to a good home" as this guy was chasing and stressing all her other fish out. I'm not sure of the circumstances he was kept in, but I quickly set the 30 up for him with media from the 55 that had been running for almost 8 weeks. Other than one ammonia spike, quickly handled, he has been happy there and living life large on frozen blood worms, frozen mysis shrimp, Cichlid pellets, and the odd handful of snails (which seem to be his favorite?).

This is the story of MOST of my current aquatic room mates - all are mentioned but not all have all the details. 😉 The angels were a long time dream fish of my partners and I was able to get a group of 4 young black lace angels (the breeder said they were about a year to a year and a half old) for 20$ and a second group of 3 Philippine blue/pinnoy angels. They get to snack on the guppy/platy fry and keep my populations somewhat under control, and today I was able to get another of my partner's dream fish - the red tail shark (his(?) name is Sir Chum).

 

As of this moment, everyone is thriving. Absolutely zero fin nipping, for now. I am getting ready to start a daphnia culture, likely in one, or both of my 5 gallon tanks. I also will be trying my hand at hatching brine shrimp since I learned that these two live foods are the easiest to provide, and pack the largest protein punch for the fry and smaller fish.

 

Wish me luck with convincing my partner that the 3 55 gallon tanks for 30 dollars each, as well as the 55 gallon with stand for 50$, and the 90 gallon with stand for 100 that are all currently listed will fit in the bedroom on the back wall.

 

Also, please help! I'm addicted and don't know how to stop! LMAO

 

Nice to meet everyone and I look forward to learning, growing, and really creating some tranquil, relaxing views for myself. Also, sorry for the ramble. I'm just super stoked that I can finally get some of this out with people who may understand why I am so excited about my fish lol.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 1/15/2023 at 9:04 AM, YYC Carrie said:

Nice to meet everyone and I look forward to learning, growing, and really creating some tranquil, relaxing views for myself. Also, sorry for the ramble. I'm just super stoked that I can finally get some of this out with people who may understand why I am so excited about my fish lol.

Welcome to the forum! Looks like you’re a fellow fish bargain hunter 😂…

[YYC Carrie]

On 1/15/2023 at 3:17 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Welcome to the forum! Looks like you’re a fellow fish bargain hunter 😂…

I think maybe so! I picked up the little red tail shark today for 4.99, everywhere I have looked for the last 2 months has them at 14.99 minimum. He's happy with the convicts and parrot's right now. I plan to post a picture thread of all my little friends later on today. It's 3:20 am here right now lol

[TheSwissAquarist]

 

On 1/15/2023 at 11:20 AM, YYC Carrie said:

I think maybe so! I picked up the little red tail shark today for 4.99, everywhere I have looked for the last 2 months has them at 14.99 minimum. He's happy with the convicts and parrot's right now. I plan to post a picture thread of all my little friends later on today. It's 3:20 am here right now lol

I’ve had one for a year and never regretted it!

[YYC Carrie]

hhmm.. my shark has dark dorsal and pectoral fins - only it's tail is red. Plus it's dorsal fin looks almost like a double fin. I wonder if I got a different fish. o.O.

not a very good picture and I will try to get a better one later but here is Sir Chum

[TheSwissAquarist]

In that case it’s a red tail shark. @nabokovfan87 has one.

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:37 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

In that case it’s a red tail shark. @nabokovfan87 has one.

Oh yeah! Slightly different temperament but a very similar fish. It's a "sharkminnow" species and it's normally sold as either a Red-Tailed Black shark or they do have a much harder to find all black one as well.  Color on all the fins is called a rainbow shark. 

They like cover, like to hide under wood and they are generally going to be making lots of splashing at night and hanging out with their corydorad bros.  They like to swim through crevices and swim throughs and they definitely patrol the tank like a shark.

Let me know if you need anything.

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by nabokovfan87