Did the last thread get 404’ed before limit??

>>5157078
bump limit is 310 posts

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Just in time for new thread, nice.
>7 day dry start progress
Second batch of Cuba I ordered to fill in the right side and center definitely wasn’t as healthy as the first. Hoping the roots just find their way down and fill in once that layer dies off in the areas that are brown. But all of the initial planting from the first batch is looking good so far. 24/7 ventilation, hygrometer to help me stay in 80-90% humidity range. 4 more weeks to go. Was really considering putting killis in here but with the filtration and CO2 I don’t think I’ll be able to get a lid that’s flush enough to stop them from jumping, and I’m not gonna have floating plants to discourage them either. Maybe I’ll do CPDs or green neons.
See you guys next week.

>>5157084
Dammit forgot to link to the original >>5155237

Tell me about your dream aquarium /aqg/.

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>>5157117
mangrove forest with automated ebb and flood system, with a group of mudskippers

>>5157119
Mudskippers are the plecos of the brackish world.

>>5157059
you can't grow a carpet with floating plants, but you can maintain one after it is grown.
>>5157084
that's gonna look real nice anon
>inb4 google
why tf would you dry start, aren't the plants going to stress out and melt once you submerge them?
and you're missing out on time spent building beneficial bacteria i.e. seasoning
>>5157117
I really really really really like the few tanks I've seen that just have a bunch of wood pillars covered in moss. I would love to do something like that and think regularly about using a tank just to grow moss on some vertical fake wood but i'd much rather find real. can I use bamboo? idk. they're super cool though
might go slight tannins, but definitely freshwater.
if it was taller and there could be a platform for more moss and pods that would also be cool

>>5157117
I want two 125 gallon tanks, one for Southeast Asia/Indonesia and one for South America. No really big fish just piles of schooling fish, catfish, etc. For the S. American one I'd love 15 corys, some Amblydoras, bloodfins, maybe Colombian tetras, hatchetfish and an acara as a centerpiece

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>>5157226
>why tf would you dry start
>melt
Melt happens in any new tank I’d rather my plants have an actual root system established when it happens instead of melting, dying, and floating to the top because they had no ability to pull any nutrients without strong roots. I also blended aqua soil mud with moss and put it on the rocks to get way better coverage, and used multiple mosses in the blend for a really natural spread. You can’t do that in a regular flooded start and tying moss with fishing line is an amateur’s game.
>missing out on time building beneficial bacteria
What am I in a rush for exactly? When I look at this tank in a year, fully matured and dense, I don’t want to see a bald spot and think “at least I got the fish in a month earlier”. That’s retarded. Impatience in this hobby disgusts me.

>3 weeks vacation
>come back home
>massive hairy mold growth cockblocking my shitass dispenser that sprays pellets all over
it's incredible how my fish survived that, but i've fucking had it with that junk.
any recs for good dispensers? are the openings standardized in pre-built aquariums or i have to buy one that fits it?

>>5157226
>and you're missing out on time spent building beneficial bacteria i.e. seasoning
Literally no one calls it seasoning aside from you.
Nearly any surface with freshwater moisture will develop the same exact nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria that is cultivated in our aquariums. Dry start methods will still develop the bacteria in the substrate and even on the plants' roots.
>>5157283
There is no standard between manufacturers. There are occasionally similarities.
Without knowing what the fuck tank setup you are talking about, it'd be pretty hard to give you recommendations.

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Going to start a reef tank and use a single subemrsible pump for the refugium to avoid any tank drilling. Is there any chance of either main tank or refugium overflowing? Planning to fill the refugium with Caulerpa and have a little 5 gallon Caulerpa forest for nitrate/phosphate export. No skimmer, no sump.

There is someone selling 40kg of live rock on fb marketplace with gsp, yuma mushrooms, xenia, bubble tipped anenomes still attached. This would probably mean i could avoid a cycle all together with the live sand and probably begin stocking it asap. The guy better fucking respond because its 100gbp which is super cheap for what it is but fb marketplace is a hellscape i hate it.

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>>5157084
hope you have some co2 and strong lights ready for when you submerge because HC cuba will not do that well otherwise.

Also heres my carpeting plant farm

>>5157059
yeah. Most carpeting plants really dont need that much light. You could probably have the whole of the aquarium covered in floating plants and still get a carpet. Things like co2 and ferts matter more. Lighting is rarely the limiting factor for plant growth.

>>5157354
I have a twinstar and I’m running CO2 sit down lil bro

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>>5157365
>running twinstar + co2
>has ugly ass rimmed walmart tank
seems a strange allocation of funds? why not get a nice rimless low iron glass tank tank?

>>5157365
also as someone who owns a twinstar 600ea, twinstar are quite overrated. They look nice but their performance isnt really much better than stuff thats half the price

>>5157367
I don’t think the rims are really a big deal, and they’re a fraction of the price.

>>5157371
a rimless tank along with a minimalist looking set up (suspended lights, lily pipes, in-line heater, tank looking barely touched by equipment) imo elevates an iwagumi aquascape to new levels. Its why all of the amano aquascapes in the ADA gallery look so good.

https://youtu.be/3xRA3OpfC-4?si=p1ZBxfKM_s7lndgZ

I also think shallow, wide tanks also make them look cinematic and are basically the optimal layout for both freshwater and saltwater aquariums for plants/macroalgae/coral.

>>5157373
Okay

>>5157373
>lily pipes
these always looked like some kind of urinal device to me
like one of those old glass piss bottles

>>5157329
i have this one
https://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/aquariums/rio-line-led/rio-125-led#Aquarium-Line

>>5157260
alright, makes sense. neato. i look forward to seeing how it turns out

>>5157117
I want an obnoxiously long shelf aquarium. Like one foot tall and wide and twenty feet long.

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Witnessed one of these fuckers killing one of my neo shrimp. Literally the second that neo died the rest of the colony ate him.
I really don't want to use chemical warfare agents and so I'm going the homeade planaria trap route but they never seem to take the bait. I've been using frozen bloodworms of different quantities but I'm afraid to leave it in my tank for longer than an hour because it might foul the water.
I have a small 1 gallon tank so I figure it should be rather simple to reduce the planaria population myself but I never thought they were this sly.

Should I try raw chicken bait instead?

I might glue a baby java fern to a nerite snail lol. Like an ancient mystic beast.

>>5157455
yes
>>5157431
there's literally planaria killing liquids that are safe for shrimp
you might lose your snails, but they're snails. pull some out in advance if you care and they'll repopulate

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>>5157431
fuck, I have those bastards in all my tanks, could they be the cause that my shrimp population is stalling?

pic unrelated, betta tank

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>>5157544
Made a trap with chicken meat as a bait
check out this haul

>>5157544
Yes but they tend to take shrimp out at very random times and it usually happens at night.

>>5157566
I should try raw chicken meat next. Frozen bloodworms just don't attract them at all in my tank. Probably something to do with the scents.

CPD vs Chili Rasbora, breeding for profit. Which should I choose?

>>5157619
I feel like CPDs would be easier in general to breed and go for a bit more money, but I may be biased because I have actually bred CPDs but not Chili. The optimal breeding parameters on the Chili Rasbora seem a bit more extreme, although it's kind of a moot point as I would personally start with RODI water anyway and manipulating that isn't difficult.
One issue that may crop up with CPDs though is that they don't color up for a LONG time and look pretty lame until they do, so window shoppers are less likely to bite.

>>5157643
Biggest issue is I don’t feel like pulling eggs

>>5157643
>they don't color up for a LONG time
i bought my chillis young last year and they've taken like 8 months to start to show color
as far as I know nobody breeds chillis, they're wild caught for only part of the year and usually in high demand. i paid 13$/ea for mine online from a seller that finally had them after me checking for months

How do I get rid of black algae on an Amazon sword?

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Fugg :DDDD I bought my first tank (60P), and right when I got home and was about to set it on the coffee table, I go retard mode and it slips from my hands large pane side down into the glass bowl. I thought it was over, but the bowl lost. I got 2 minor scratches on the wall and pic related on the corner. Looks structurally sound, time for a bathtub test.

>>5157431
That isn't a planaria, it's a rhabdocoela, which are harmless, but if you see one it means you are over feeding. You can tell from the rounded head. If you do go the trap route, stop feeding for a couple days. Planaria are lazy and will eat good scraps even if they are low on protein.

>>5157662
>i bought my chillis young last year and they've taken like 8 months to start to show color
Hmm, about the same for my CPDs too. That's fucking rough for a breeder to hold onto either that long.
Price-wise I've always seen Chilis be slightly cheaper than CPDs. Availability is kind of shit for both though, especially in the numbers I usually get for any type of nano fish.

>>5157755
doesnt look too bad anon. If it does leak just coat the corner in shit load of aquarium safe silicone and you'll be alright. Once the tank is filled and stocked it wont even be noticeable.

>>5157084
Bottom left plants are starting to mold. Might just flood this bitch.

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>>5157825
ty for words of encouragement. 22h in looking good, water line is1mm lower prob just evaporation, all sides and towel underneath a dry

Alien betta isn't doing good lately. He alters between resting in the same spot all day and desperately jerking up to the water's surface for air. Tank has been the same as it's always been and I don't see any other signs of infection.

>>5157834
do a water change anyway

>>5157834
Lost my betta a couple weeks ago to similar. Went from the most energetic and curious betta I’ve had to a husk overnight. No visible signs of injury, parameters were perfect, no reason to believe something suddenly happened. Maintained clean water for 3-4 days with zero improvement. Then woke up the next day and he had fuzz all over his gills. Hospitalized immediately, dead within an hour. I’m done with bettas for a while they’re so inbred and compromised it’s bad.

>>5157829
what are you planning to stock it with anon?

>>5157841
Water tests don't show bacteria, fungi, heavy metals etc.
T. lost a betta to columnaris

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>>5157387
The point of a lily pipe is that its supposed to be as near as possible to invisible while giving good surface agitation and flow. Actually keeping them that way though is another story. I find that they become magnets for algae and calcium deposits and end up looking scuffed/scratched before long as you attempt to clean them (they are incredibly hard to clean due to the shape of them and the narrow bend in the pipe). But theres no denying look the least intrusive of almost all options in the tank when theyre spotless.

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I miss my tapwater reef. Its a shame i got depressed and let it evaporate away to nothing and killed everything. I think ill use a lid next time

>>5157858
I'm not blind
still looks like a portable urinal

>>5157755
is it tempered?
if not it's probably fine

Will a UNS delta v2 work on a rimmed tank?

>>5157908
I guess more specifically, would the NeoAquario lily pipe holders work on a rimmed tank?

>>5157828
hydrogen peroxide mist?
>>5157829
nice wood dumbass

>>5157919
They’re basically destroyed already it’s too late. Actually insane how they went to shit basically overnight.

>>5157920
you were so obnoxious about your methodology too
probably wouldn't have happened if they were submerged
:(

>>5157936
Lmao the other 95% of them are doing fine and the moss is doing amazing as well kys

Hey guys just thought I’d upload my 4th video in a month about what it’s like to run my fish store! Also I love breeding fish and wanna do it full time and make all of my videos about it but between each of those uploads I’m going to talk about how it’s too much work and taking away from my work at the store and I’ll upload an entire video about quitting both of these passions too. Don’t worry though in next week’s video where I tell you what it’s like to run my fish store again I’ll talk about the highly labor intensive fish I’m breeding at home while complaining about it the whole time. Make sure to subscribe for next week’s AI video about what it’s like running my fish store! Buy my fish food! The recipe only changes every other month you can trust it!

>>5157920
send pic. personally i wouldnt sweat it. Mold will die/float off when you flood the tank and isnt really that a big deal. You're probably over-misting. Try leaving a small gap for the air to escape in your lid/cling film/whatever because your relative humidity doesnt need to be 99%. This shit would have been easier with monte carlo.

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My dwarf hairgrass is looking a little shitty. I only have the lights set to 6 hours at the moment. Might try upping them to 7-8 and see if it improves.

>>5157993
Lights are out for the night I might post one tomorrow. Realistically the dry start hasn’t gone as long as I’d prefer but the other 95% of the Cuba is doing well enough that I’m certain it’s stable and ready to flood. If it wasn’t at least partially rooted and doing its thing it would all be keeled over like the front corner I’m mentioning. Headed to my LFS tomorrow to get the stuff I need for an inline CO2 injection, if they have any cuba tissue cultures I might just replant that corner and then flood the tank. The main concern at that point is whether or not the mosses have properly attached to the lava rock. I painted the moss on with aqua soil mud, it’s kind of hard to gauge if the moss has really taken root on the rock when there’s still a layer of mud on the rock. Would be really pissed to flood the tank and then see the moss slowly peeling away.

>>5158001
>flooding the tank
isnt your dry start like a week old? Is this your first dry start? You need to give the HC cuba time to cook because it isnt going to have any kind of root structure at 1 week. At that point it will barely be established. I think youd just be best splitting one of your portions and replacing the perished cuba and re-planting. You should be giving it 5 weeks at least to spread to a full carpet. yyou'reending the dry start before it's even had a chance to begin. I say this as someone who has done multiple dry starts. Feels like you're jumping the gun a bit here anon, just have patience and you'll have a nice carpet. What is your lighting at? 12 hours? Is the cuba covered in mold even dying/dead? It is probably fine .

>>5158003
It’s nearly 2 weeks now which still isn’t ideal but I know 3 weeks is considered to be where rooting has occurred. Usually anything after that is growth. Not my first dry start but it’s my first one in a while and my first time using cuba. I think I’m just psyching myself out because of how sensitive cuba is. My thinking is that while most of it is fine right now and it might not be ideal to flood yet, if I fuck it up further I’m gonna be out multiple cultures worth of Cuba and several weeks of time. But it if I flood it now, most of it will probably be saved without much further issue. If my LFS wasn’t out of Cuba it would be an easier call.

>>5158008
yeah i think you're okay anon no need to panic. A bit of die off is fine and your carpet will grow straight over it as the dry start goes on. I dont think the whole batch is likely to die off. Cuba is only delicate once submersed in water. outside of water it should be growing like a weed within 3-4 weeks.

>>5158008
>>5158014
also anon i know i said 'at least' 5 weeks. But i think you'd be better served giving it 8 weeks for a thick carpet with a good root structure.

https://youtu.be/gYKIJNMFJbs?si=mQR4-Lz-t0it0TfD

look at this vid, at 5 weeks it still looks quite thin. id 100% go for longer if your patience can handle it. May as well leverage everything you can out of the dry start and get a dense healthy carpet.

>>5158017
I’m inclined to believe it would grow faster with CO2 and aquatic ferts. Idk we’ll see. The other part of the balancing act is making sure the tank is habitable by the time my LFS emails me that they have CPDs out of quarantine, which I’m thinking is about 3 weeks away.

>>5158021
you'll always get better growth emersed. Try using de-chlorinated water (or rain water) mixed with a small squirt of aquarium ferts to mist the cuba if you want to try and speed up growth. I find that a dry start for whatever reason cycles the tank. It kind of makes sense as the whole tank is moist so bacteria gets time to grow in there. Ive only ever really put shrimp/endlers in to my nano dry started tanks though, i can understand you being a bit more careful about CPDs which are kinda expensive.

>>5158024
I use dechlorinated water with cation exchange beads in the spray bottle, it’s like an ADA misting bottle some dumb shit. I’ve always been under the impression you shouldn’t use ferts in a dry start tho.

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>>5157843
3 honey gourami (alas they never sell them where I live so I need a substitute)
12 cardinal tetras
6 amano shrimp
Pretty basic but comfy
>>5157899
Idk its some ching chong optiwhite 60P :^)
>>5157919
Fug you and thanks. I'm the anon placing the tank on the work desk!

>>5158040
>honey gourami
very based. They have tonnes of personality and look great. How are you going to scape the tank? You using aquasoil? co2?

>>5158040
Order the honey gourami online, dont compromise your plan fren

>>5157990
you're talking about that Aussie guy right?

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i love these fat little chuds so much

>>5158285
Cool chuds, what the hell is that tentacled monster on the front glass tho

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>>5158286
pond snail going to town on a portion of freeze-dried tubifex stuck to the front glass

I love my tank but I've given up on the aesthetics of it, just keeping the glass scraped and pulling out as much hair algae as I can. It's all about watching the f i s h

>>5158070
Got some polish yokuchi aquasoil, name was japanese and im a sucker for it, but it seems good. Plant list pic related, the guy didnt have dwarf hairgrass (wanted 4 plugs) so I got 2 plugs of eleo. Acicularis and 12 plugs of pygmy chain sword for the same price. And he gave me some other red plant instead of ludwig cuz he said its cheaper and easier to grow. As you can see, I love pennyworts! Bought a shady looking light from a DIYer for 40$ (altho he has 97 poz reviews 0 neg), no CO2
>>5158147
Sadly the import laws where I live prevent me, not a single seller. The guy I bought the plants from has a friend that could maybe get them in some months

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>>5158337
Forgot pic

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>>5158337
>>5158338
I look forward to seeing it scaped anon. Can you not buy some Dwarf hairgrass on ebay? Hell if you're in the UK i'll send you some for free from my little farm. >>5157354

You should look in to bucephelandra for a low tech scape, probably my favourite genus of aquarium plant. The colours and variety are insane, they dont need aquasoil, they do well dry started, do great with no co2 and arent too expensive.

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>>5158364
Oo im also a sucker for iridescent, especially the blue green kind. I think the guy sells those too but when I saw them i instantly noped didnt bother to actually check the difficulty. Anyway, is a dsm start supposed to look...dead?

>>5158364
Might fill out my 6ft tank with just epiphytes with the majority being nice nice. Would you say it would do well in a fast flowing river style tank?

>>5158394
looks fine to me. Maybe put a lid on if you arent already, tie the moss on to wood with black thread, maybe get more plants to fill it out and speed up the dry start.

>>5158403
dont see any reason why not. Would tie/glue them to anything you want them attached to though and maybe get some moss on there too to hide any thread.

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For the trio it's ZUCCHINI time!

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>>5158409
I just want the moss to propagate for now, I'll tie it before flooding. Also I put some plastic over the top, finally starting to see condensation! But I'm worried it might not be enough water, idk most people say mist until the top soil looks moist, and some say there needs to be a stagnant water soil that goes from the bottom of the substrate up to just under the lowest point of the surface. Any DSM ppl can tell me?

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>>5157074
>The elites don't want you to know this, but the minnows at the river are free, you can take as many as you want
>I have 11 blacknose dace

someone post the discord

>buy fancy goldfish
>regular water changes twice a week, perfect parameters, varied diet, lots of tank space
>abruptly stops eating
>develops dropsy, responding to zero medications, methylene blue + epsom salt baths doing absolutely nothing

this was spontaneous after 4 months of normalcy. are these guys all just genetic dice-rolls?

>>5158739
BASED

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Moss

>>5158749
The fancy ones? Yes. When you breed purely for aesthetics, the outcome is rarely good. This is true for all show quality animals of any species.

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>>5157835
>do a water change anyway

>breeding bn plecos
>decide to try repashy soilent green
>turn off lights
>drop in a couple cubes
>pair immediately goes to the cave to spawn and ignores the food
Well alright then I guess that works too

>been neglecting filter maintenance for a long time now, I think about 9 months
>not so worried because normally I leave it 3-6 months anyway and never have issues most people you speak to are pretty lax about it unless you're doing something super high tech
>have an engineer over to do some work on the house
>power and gas needs to go off for 30 mins, that's fine (people talk about filter bacteria die off in canisters with no water movement but I doubt that's a real concern if you're not running a huge system without plants for big cichlids or whatever)
>when I turn the pump back on it makes a weird sound and there's no movement for a while
>eventually chugs back into life but there's barely any flow at all
>then suddenly it's like a sewage pipe is expelling into the tank
>grab my bucket and start panic emptying water
>take 70% out before I realise I have no hot water because the gas is off and worried about temp shock (unsure what's riskier, the dirty water or 10c drop)
>leave it 30% full of filter backwash until the heat comes back on
>end up doing a 100% change
>6 hours later no deaths or anything
I don't know exactly how much risk this was but I feel fucking stupid for being lazy about maintenance it's only a 100L rated filter it takes like 30 mins to do. I guess a big air bubble disturbed a bunch of sediment somewhere in the media. I nearly killed all my fish for nothing.

>>5159223
You might be an overreacting retard but I’ve never had this happen so can’t say. But based on what you’re saying, filter gunk back flowed into the tank? You realize when the filter is working properly the water passes through all of that anyways right? The filter chamber is an extension of your tank. All of that gunk was already in your water and impacting the parameters. The only thing that changed is it got moved. You might be at risk of a cycle crash though so keep an eye on that, probably lost a decent bit of beneficial bacteria doing this.

>>5159263
It wasn't just a small bit of gunk the tank was completely clouded, I get that the water passes through it but given the time since the last clean I was concerned that maybe some deeper sediment was disturbed causing bacterial problems like when people stir up substrate. Not ideal for bacterial but it's well planted so not so concerned there.

>>5159223
any time I turn my filter on/off I get this to varying degrees
it's gross but filters back through in short order
obviously the dirtier the filter and pipes the worse it'll be
I keep some UPS battery backups around, usually on my PC/router
they have a decent enough battery to run my PC and monitors for 15m so could easily run pump a few hours
just a hindsight thought

>>5159273
Filter gunk = mulm. Mulm has no nutrients to foul anything with. At most if it sat there undisturbed you had bacteria living on it. And if it sat in your tank having water pass through it 24/7 for 9 months it’s almost certainly processed down fully to dust. Not saying you shouldn’t have water changed or anything but I don’t think you set off an ammonia bomb or anything. You just had the same water that’s always been in the tank mixed with the same mulm that’s been beaten and processed a million times over now. It’s completely inert.

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bogs

Ordering a 6ft tank soon and I'm very torn with how to scape it and what to put in it. I'm fortunate enough to have worked in the trade and can rely on friends and ex colleagues to order virtually any fish I want (keeping it strictly freshwater) and that amount of choice has really stumped me. I'd ideally love a low maintenance tank as I do have some long travels planned and I know family will not want to clean out a couple of FX6s while I'm gone, so I'm hesitant to put Altums or Discus in a tank, or Lake victoria, Tangs or Malawis in - also I like plants. Love puffers, pike cichlids, gar, bichirs, oscars, pretty much everything floats my boat except marine.

If you guys had a 6ft tank and access to any fish(s) you can legally get in the trade, what would you fill your tank with? What is your dream 6ft set up? Would love some ideas

I definitely wouldn’t get a bunch of monster fish but I have taste so

Whelp. Just nuked my school of habrosus corys with repashy. Fully on me and I’m retarded. Feels bad. They weren’t fucking breeding anyways and Aquatic Arts fucked me on the order by lying and saying they were tank bred & raised. There goes 9 months of endless conditioning and effort. One mistake. Fuck my life.

>>5159958
im sorry, anon

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Reef tank is up boys. I got a deal from a guy who was selling 1x clownfish, 1x lemon damsel, 1x tominie tang as well as the rock with the zoas, fuzzy mushroom frag.

I managed to kill : the clownfish, the lemon damsel, the fuzzy mushroom and it turns out that ""apparently"" the tomonie tang is going to be too big for my 120L tank at full size, i have heard mixed things regarding smaller tangs and space.

lets see what else i can kill.

>>5159977
tomini tang*
me retarded

tell me you're atleast eating all those dead fisgh

>>5159977
How did you manage to kill that much in such a short period of time?
And yes, the Tomini isn't going to do too well in such a tank, at least not with tank mates.

>>5159958
Wow. There’s one survivor. Female. Idk what to even do with her. Poor thing lost her entire school.

>>5159958
how does repashy kill a whole school of corys'???

>>5159605
my dream was >>5157248 which I want to make into a reality
i want a non-blackwater setup tho, they're nice but I feel like any time someone does a SA 'nature' aquarium they go straight to blackwater

Would you consider a pile of the mild-mannered Central and South American cichlids like eartheaters and keyholes instead of Africans?

>>5159999
Checked. I added more than they could eat, apparently. Wasn’t particularly more or less than I usually feed and the shrimps always clean up what they can’t eat. But I used a heavier ratio of the repashy mix than usual. It was just too many nutrients in the water. The ammonia burns speak for themselves. It was gruesome and I never wanna see that again.

>>5159992
Most likely an ammonia spike/stress from moving/my temp not being high enough.So there arent any places for saltwater near me so i have to kind of rely on hobbyists to get my shit. I got 15kg of live rock, all the tank is live sand (some of it is ocean direct because i wanted actual ocean sand in there). I got nitrifying bacteria, dosed that. Thought that the fish would be alright as damsels and clowns (which are also damsels) are quite hardy. I thought the live rock/sand/dosed bacteria would do enough to stop any massive ammonia spike in the tank but obviously not. I have placed some nori outside the tang's cave and ive seen him swimming about the rockwork when im away from the tank so i think hes fine. I should have been checking for ammonia i know but again there arent really any stores near me that stock actual useful kits like salifert so im relying on amazon/ebay. Either that or the guy sold me fish with velvet which would also explain it but idk. Zoas seem to be fine and i'd have thought theyd be dying off and closing before any fish would. Also have an emerald crab in there and he seems fine. I dont really know what to do with the tang now desu. Im a tard but the guy had him in a 100L aquarium so assumed he'd be fine. He does have his adult colouration though and must only be around 4 inches so fuck knows maybe hes some kind of super dwarf tomini tang

>>5157117
A native species saltwater setup. I can't decide if it should be more on the side of coastal salt marshes (Gulf killifish, native Sailfin mollies, small flatfish) or surfside fishes like locally-caught Sergeant majors

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Any fish species with these colors?

>>5160007
Yeah I wouldn't have expected an ammonia spike to kill those two fish. I've kept two clowns in a 100L that was just started no problem. Still have them actually, they're over seven years old now (although in a much larger system these days).
The big issue with tangs often isn't direct physical issues with a smaller tank, it's behavioral. In smaller spaces they get crazy and super territorial with other fish, which in turn stresses the tang as well, and tangs are well-known for being very susceptible to stress-induced illness. I suspect the Tomini will be fine if it is the only fish in the tank, or at least the only active swimmer in the tank. You might be able to get away with a goby + shrimp pair or something to that effect where the other fish is basically unnoticeable to the tang.
Still, I would trade it away with another hobbyist because having it as a solo fish is kind of boring, although it would keep your algae in check, which would be an issue in the near future otherwise with your tank being right up next to a window.

>>5160057
They all killed themselves

>>5160057
Yes, the despairadus fagginuicide

>>5160085
annndddd i woke up this morning and the tang is dead. I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Although, my heater controller is showing 25 degrees celsius in the tank but i put a thermometer in there last night and its only showing 22 so im not sure if my controller is busted. But surely that wouldnt be enough to kill 3 fish so quickly, jesus? I am genuinely thinking the fish had velvet or something

>>5160002
I'm really leaning towards just a tank full of scissortails, odessa barbs, rainbowfish and then filling the bottom with hillstreams and gobies when it's all auwfuchs'd and has loads of biofilm and green on the rocks for them. maybe a gymnogeophagus or something that will stand out amongst the shoal but enjoys the temperature around 20-24.

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>>5157074
Tree frog tadpoles developed some front arms pretty fucking rapidly over the past 2 or 3 days. Opened the tank this morning and one hopped right out at me off the surface plants. They’ve still got pretty long tails so a ways to go before an arboreal enclosure but it’s cute and charming every day.

>>5160085
Ammonia does in fact kill clownfish.

>>5160130
>I have no idea what the fuck is going on.

AKA I don’t own test kits, I don’t own known good thermometers (properly calibrated)

>>5160130
I am 100 percent certain your tank was not cycled. I saw your previous post - You used “live sand” which is fine, but it’s not literally sand with active nitrifying bacteria colonies - it’s dormant and needs to be fed before it can cycle your tank. Caribsea live sand is not like going to get sand or rock from somebody else’s tank or the ocean… it’s basically like buying bottled bacteria, it is not going to be able to consume large amounts of ammonia on day 1.

>>5160316
>>5160315
I have an inkwell heater controller, 15kg of live rock in the sand, carab sea ocean direct (which is not just sand + bacteria in a bottle but genuine sea sand). Either way, its my fault for being too hasty. We live and learn anons. Crazy that the zoas + emerald crab survived though. Those things are tough.

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>>5160321
>>5160316
>>5160315
also we getting detectable nitrates bois. There is definently something going on at least. If tank was completely uncycled they would be showing as zero. What would you say here? Between 5-10ppm?

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>>5160057
Betta fish

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>>5158441
Update: Week 2 of DSM started. After a big die-back where I thought everything will fail, the plants have made new growth and there's even some runners!

>>5160323
Not exactly. Most hobbyist test kits perform a reduction on Nitrate to form Nitrite, then uses a dye, so even if you had exactly zero Nitrate, you may still detect Nitrate due to existing Nitrite.

>>5160816
surely if what you were talking about were true, the tube would be turning pink before the zinc powder was added though (this is what converts the nitrate to nitrite). Which didnt happen.

>>5160810
good work anon. Are you misting it every day?

>upgrade to inline CO2 for the first time
>indicator is green within an hour
Yeah I’m never using a regular diffuser again. You’re never beating this dispersion with one. I should have done this so long ago.

>>5160842
>surely if what you were talking about were true
It is true. It's well known. Look it up.
>the tube would be turning pink before the zinc powder was added though
Why would it turn pink before the powder? The azo compounds are synthesized when the amine (in the NO3-2 reagent powder) reacts with both the acid (NO3-1 reagent) and Nitrite. Azo doesn't magically appear without the fucking powder, dude.
This is an extremely well-known and discussed topic in every popular reef forum. Even Hanna checkers use a reduction method (although certain models use Cadmium). If Salifert didn't use a Griess reaction, which will ALWAYS be subject to false high readings from pre-existing Nitrite, what method do you think it uses?

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>>5161134
alright dude fair enough im not disputing the method of the test, i though the zinc powder converted the existing nitrate to nitrite to react with the acid / dye in the salifert test. So thought under that logic if i had nitrites already then the dye would react without the zinc being added as there would already be nitrites present.

But either way i stocked the aquarium with more corals and 2 clowns, a bta and all seems stable. Polyps are extended on all corals including frogspawn, the clowns seem happy, bta seems happy (other than moving to the back of the fucking rockwork). I think the issue was my heater controller not being calibrated properly before. All of the fish were slowly freezing, rookie mistake and i learned my lesson. Im also packing the tank full of macroalgae to soak up nitrates or any other nasties etc. The caluerpa is going crazy.


If you have a reef tank can you post some pics. Heres my duncans

Are CPDs known to jump?

can filter media bacteria survive if i put the media in a bucket of water and put an air pump in it? how long could it survive without an ammonia source?

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>>5160843
Yes, thrice with a 20min vent before
Tried using AI to see how it should supposed to look like (and might put pothos on top just to make shade under the root), but I feel it's missing something in terms of proportion...

is there a way to humanely euthanize a cherry shrimp colony? or atleast the ones that get left behind?
i need to break down a tank and will try to transfer most of them to another tank, but there's absolutely no chance i'll manage to catch all of them

>>5161227
If you’re breaking the tank down I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to get all of them, seems kinda retarded. Take things out one at a time, dunk the hardscape or plants in a bucket of tank water before tossing or removing it so the shrimps separate themselves into it and then net them out into wherever you want to move them.

>>5161227
when theres nowhere for them to hide they're actually quite easy to catch. Use two nets, one to spook them backwards and the second to actually catch them.

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>>5161212
id go bigger on the wood desu. Hardscape always looks better when it comes to the top of the waterline or out of it. Also get some trident fern like in this pic its a great plant to tie to driftwood.

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>buy bubble tip anenome
>immediately decides that it wants to live in the very back of the tank where i cant see it.
>sun hits it through the window where it has attached so it most likely will never move.
I have wasted 25 pounds

>>5161228
>>5161233
thanks, i will just try and strip the tank down untill only the aquasoil+monte carlo carpet remains, and then try to catch everything

>>5161201
anyone? my filter will be unavailable for a couple of days soon but i want to try and keep my bacteria alive

>>5161241
yes it will be fine. Bacteria is pretty hardy. It literally is the first thing to grow in your tank. Id maybe try and keep it at the same temp as your tank with a heater if possible. Its probably more important than the air stone. Do both if you can though.
>how long will it last
probably a lot longer than you'd think. A few months maybe? Years even. Just look at standing water outside. That has no obvious source of ammonia but is swimming in bacteria.

>>5161243
thanks, that's reassuring

Kinda want to add a female alien betta to my longfin bristlenose breeder tank just to have something pretty out and about in the day but idk if she’ll be aggro and fuck up the breeding project or attack the parents cause of their color and fins

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>shell deterioration
Why? I have crushed coral in the filter, feed a bunch of veggies like green beans, zucchini, peas, and spirulina

hastatus corys acquired

>>5161146
not particularly, any fish will jump if provoked into it. are you worried about having an open-top tank with CPDs?

>>5161379
Yeah

>>5161250
if you're really concerned you can keep putting in the amount of food you normally wood, this will indirectly feed the bacteria. it doesn't care if the nutrients come from decay of food or fish digestion
can add some snails too if you want and watch them explode in population
but i wouldn't worry about it, as long as it is wet and not stagnant (which may not matter but makes me uncomfortable)
>>5161252
they generally don't like longfin things
you could get an angel or honey gourami probably

>>5161383
Never had an issue with mine, but i have lots of cover including some floating plants and long sagittaria leaves on the surface. Seen a lot of other people keep them in open tanks without issue.

>>5161388
This tank is heavily planted but fresh, so not grown in yet. Once the carpet is established I’ll add floaters, and ime floaters eliminate jumping. Only thing I can’t speak to for that is killifish but I have a feeling it would work. I’ve never kept CPDs though so I wanted to double check. But until Wet Spot gets them back in stock I’m just letting everything grow in. If it takes long enough I’ll just add floaters after the carpet is established and it’s a non-issue.

>>5161393
My CPDs only really spend time near the surface because of the duckweed area, otherwise they stay in the middle and lower areas. They're also really tiny and swim in bursts. I wouldn't worry about them jumping

If I wanted to slowly, incrementally drop my pH for breeding low pH species what would be the best way to do it?
>don’t go chasing pH
Yeah yeah, I know. I’m trying to do something more advanced for once.

>>5157074
one of my otto catfish just randomly jumped out this morning and dried out before I could discover it. Idk why, it was fine for months and even grew in size and was comfortable in the 30 gallon tank. There was plenty of algae too
I kept it with swordtails and the tank is properly filtered and no out of the ordinary stuff I can think of
what could have caused him to do that?

>>5161526
Fish aren’t the smartest. Sometimes they just do it. Sometimes they get spooked by something that wasn’t actually a threat at all and choose flight. As long as your parameters are good and nothing else is jumping, it’s just unlucky.

>>5161526
happened last month for me. was my breedimg female adolfoi cory. tank has a small opening for your finger to lift the lid up and this goober must have gone too fast for a gulp of air and breached itself. Funny thing was that my cat was stepping on my head that night and when I noticed the dried fish on the floor I thought whether that was my cats way of trying to get me to see the fish was out of the tank. Still need to replace that cory

>>5161238
>anenome
Can the jannies ban this sort of degenerate behavior already?

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I am doing a bit of a tear down because my vallis is completely out of control and I saw one of my microcrabs for the first time in almost 6 months I think. I guess we all have our bad purchases but these were really a mistake, I only have a foot by foot by foot nano tank and I just never see them and it concerns me not being able to check on welfare. You'd need a really tiny tank to check in on them properly while being well planted. It looks healthy though and it's probably 50% bigger than last time so it's moulting fine.

My Alien betta gave up the ghost today. Found its body inside one of the ceramic shrimp houses. I'm still not sure what exactly killed him.

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I have a problem with the skimmer. Its not sucking the surface film enough. Im new to this AIO marine tanks (this one is Aquaforest Nano 90l), so i need advice how to set this motherfucker right to suck up on this bitch. It is like the film comes in, but not always getting into the filter sock, then some part of the particles goes back into the tank. I experimented with the setting on the bottom inlet vs the upper inlet (skimmer/overflow), but doesnt seems to work.

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>about to go on vacation
>ask neighbor to feed my fish while I'm gone, he says "sure thing"
>have a great time
>come back to a half-closed green star polyp
>immediately test everything, 80ppm nitrates and 1ppm phosphates fml.jpeg
>two panicked water changes later, the zoas are closed, too fml_again.jpeg
>complete halt on everything for two weeks, but add some macro algae
>resume water changes, but very small quantities with twice the frequency
>finally get it down to ~10ppm nitrates and ~0.25ppm phosphates (see picrel)
>zoas started opening up again, gsp completely closed for the past three weeks (at least)
Wtf did he do, bros, did he throw handfuls of food at the fish? How do you kill a green star polyp in such a short time?

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Woke up to my ulvaceus flowering. Neat stuff.

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>go on vacation back home
>visit local fish shops
>see amazing fish at rock bottom prices
>can't get anything because 20hr drive back
it really do be like that

>>5162717
https://x.com/threadoor/status/2100764157146492951
just get them shipped bro

>>5162737
I get worried driving over a bumpy road with fish in a padded bag and these niggas....

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What shallow tanks are structurally sound? I should stay away from the Petco shallow tanks correct? I want something that is no more than 15 gallons but something that won't have panels melt and leak. It needs to suit a very shallow depth but idk how much I am going to need to spend for something that's quality and shallow.

>>5162685
idk how you don't train people to feed your fish
i just use an autofeeder on low doses when gone for weeks and it's fine
>>5162703
neat
>>5162717
literally just package them up and ship them to yourself or drive with them
fish get shipped for many days+ with minimal issues all the time
>>5162756
>>5162737
they're in containers of water, jostling doesn't affect them
he placed it just like the previous box
twitter schitzos
>>5162761
shorter = more sound generally. pressure comes from height
petco sells namebrand tanks with warranties, I wouldn't worry about it
they're all super over engineered
sounds like you'll need custom made though

>>5162782
I don't WANT a solution, I WANT to be mad

also I'm sure someone near me will bring in CPDs again soon... but man do I love those lil gold-eye cichlids

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>>5160190
Update: they’re frogs now. Guess they were tree frogs so I’m moving over to herp general or something I guess.
It was nice learning from you guys while I was here.

>>5162239
Me again. A few days after he died, I went ahead and did a 70% water change as well as doing some much-needed maintenance like rearranging the Ludwigia and unclogging the sponge filter pipe.
How long should I wait before I get a new fish? I'm not sure I want another betta so soon after this.

>>5162971
You probably don't need to wait at all, or even do the big water change but it doesn't matter assuming you didn't lose any shrimp.

>>5162782
>mass reply
Someone is wearing a fish-shaped buttplug, I tell ya hwat!

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>>5162985
I only get online like once a day ):

>>5162983
All of the inverts are still doing fine. I was just concerned over the possibility that the fish died of some internal infection. It could've also been old age, but I only had that betta since January 2025

>>5162990
Have you tried zero times a day?

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My wild caught chocolate grouper that's pretty much obedient, had it for like five months and it died a month ago

>>5163096
i would not be able to continue living without 4chan