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>>5091840

How should I be disposing of my clove oil? I live within 100 ft of a stream so just dumping it outside seems potentially unwise.

>>5091850
Put it in a bag and toss it out the trash

>go to LFS looking for guppies
>pass by clown loach tank
>one of them is dying and 3 are already dead
>wtf
>look at guppies
>they’re all flashing and one is missing half of its tail
>fuck this
>walk out
Sad thing was, lots of people (mostly chicks) were buying fish there despite this all being in plain view. One woman literally bought a blue lobster from a tank that had a pile of dead livebearers in it
There are good LFS but they’re like 1 hour away from me lol

>>5091854
I think as the hobby evolves more and more people are going to move to buying and selling online. You have tons of hobbyists that are breeding their favorite breeds right now and getting strong, healthy genetics back into the hobby's gene pool instead of the wild-caught inbred and imported trash that has primarily been in the market (US at least) for years. I also trust someone breeding out of their basement to get the fish to me as described and alive more than most of these companies. When it's your personal rep on the line you're going to take extra steps to ensure the health and safety of the fish. I fully expect aquabid to 100x in use over the next few years desu

>>5091857
>aquabid to 100x
it's so easy for people to just sell online indepently. i'm guessing shrimp from a guy on facebook, he just posts his stock and takes venmo and charges for fancy shipping

>>5091875
I don't disagree, that's how I sell the fish I'm actively breeding right now. But if I were to ever scale up I would probably use aquabid while also hosting my own site. A market dedicated to online fish sales is a good thing. Everyone goes through platforms like facebook or even instagram because the demand for a better option hasn't been there. I happen to think that demand is approaching in the next few years. Online content is going to hit a huge bubble burst with how disingenuous it's become, but this hobby will easily survive the fallout because it's rooted in information and communication to spread said information.

Peaceful rainbowfish for a 75 gallon unheated that'll stay mid-low 70s, and goes along with corys, Odessa barbs, platys, and pencilfish?

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Best site for designer Bettas? Looking to buy a sorority that is colored coded. Every LFS keeps falling for the multi-colored Koi vomit meme.

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>>5091883
Sororities are a meme unless you go picrel size

>>5091883
>sorority
why do people insist on trying to make something that provably fails? there are plenty of colorful fish that won't try to destroy each other and can be kept together.

>>5091887
Just do the cichlid stocking strategy.
https://youtu.be/4KhgcgzY_r0?si=mTWxyyXOFbAWdyao

At what size do I need to use a piece of plywood under a brand new tank I'm moving in the back seat of a car? Will a 75 gallon be potentially damaged by just putting it on blankets and securing it from moving?

>>5091850
Never understood the clove oil meme, what's wrong with the rolling pin?

>>5091887
Like sparkling Gourami! They're great in groups

What are some good tankmates for a bunch of guppies? They all descend from a dozen of feeder guppies I bought like 5 years ago. They’re extremely tough and doing well

I have an adult and baby crawfish in there, but I’ve never lost any of the guppies to those guys (the other way around, that baby crawfish is the only one that actually survived to grow 1 inch due to guppies perma hunting them as tiny shrimplet babbies lol)

What are some good tankmates? I’m thinking some danios for the top

Or maybe a sparkling gourami group?

It’s a 10 gallon with 3 filters (1 10 gallon, 1 marineland 30 gallon, and 1 20 gallon filter - stuffed with filter floss and loaded with tons of pothos and anthurium plants and rocks

If adding more critters in there is a bad idea, I’ll just leave the tank as is

>>5091917
Danios will ensure no survivors of the baby crayfish. They're brutal. They also really want more space, they're stupid active.

Sparkling Gourami generally like lower hardness and guppies need higher, so not a good companion. You could put in some galaxy or emerald rasboras, or medaka. Neither species will be as successful at breeding with the other there.

Just get some endlers or other guppies to get some mutts. My best looking hybrids came from mutts. Be sure to get colorful tailed (or albino/koi) females.

Alternatively, shrimp. Neos or babaulti or tangerine/super tigers or amano or all of the above. And also various snails. White wizard are cool.

>>5091877
i appreciate the optimism
we shall return to forums and aquabid

>>5091900
i have moved multiple 75 gallons in the back of my car without issue. it barely fit and i'm a large sedan though, so measure...

>>5091922
Thanks, I’ll probably just get colorful Moscow guppies

>>5091927
Thanks, I'll measure and then just move it.

Now to find 2-3 friends to help me actually put it on the stand...

>>5091932
you said new, not fulll of substrate water and shit.... an empty tank isn't too heavy, just needs two sets of hands unless you're a boss.

even so it's probably <200lbs that you're lifting waist height with two people. I did it with a woman petite. this is with 6" substrate and 12" water and sheit.

alll my supplies have arrived for all my projects I haven't started that I've been too busy/tired to address
>switch to used fluval 307 I picked up for $80 for 75G. got cool lilies and new tubing. remove in tank filter.
>designed and printed a 9x9 slitted tray to remove floaters to trim my overgrown guppy tray without getting a bunch of decomposing mass left in their roots
>move guppy tank around on shelf to make room for new 10G for fancy shrimp I ordered to breed. Set up new 10G tank with 20 ppi foam divider, hornwort in one and java moss the other. clear bottom. two sponge filters. seed tank. shrimp arriving in a couple days...
>scape out new display 20G long for kitchen counter to move my pea puffers and platys to, platys currently awkwardly with guppies and pea puffers in a super overgrown 3G currently on counter I can't trim because it's too fucking small to work in(lesson learned).
>been soaking driftwood in the 20G long outside weighed down by the 10g hoping they'll be ready whenever I get my shit together. they're still floating.
>have acquired ALL materials, no excuses remain.

each idea seemed so simple at the timing but they've really piled up

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>>5091961
and i hate cornered edges. crowded as fuck is main problem

>>5091887
They can work
>t made it work twice
They all aged out at 5ish years old
But my tank was really established and had tons of plants and caves and roots and driftwood, you get the idea

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>>5091840
The celestial pearl danio, a true blessing for nano fish keepers

Too fast for a proper pic, they are horny all mornings.

>>5091960
75 gallon says it's 140lb, and I've got to get it down a short flight of stairs to the finished basement where it'll live. I don't know that I'd be comfortable trying it with less than 3 (including myself).

Maybe I'm over thinking it, but don't want to risk breaking

I have a lot of dead snail shells. The tank seems healthy otherwise the fish are happy and there are breeding shrimp but there are lots of ramshorn shells and they're nowhere near full sized. It's not a water problem (I assume) since they tend to be bulletproof at least moreso than fish and shrimp and it's hard alkaline water so none of the acidity problems that can hurt them. I've occasionally seen amanos pecking at the inside of the shells and harassing live ones but there's quite a lot dead so I don't know what to think. I feed probably too much to keep the shrimp breeding and there's algae on the glass so not a starvation thing either and any potential pollution problems from overfeeding should affect other things first. Any ideas? I'm not so bothered about them but I'm noticing a live population drop and the diatoms on the glass are getting slightly worse so I think they were keeping it down.

>>5091998
>5 year old bettas
>in a sorority no less
yeah im gonna need some proof anon. even bettas that live in solitude under perfect conditions are lucky to make it past the 3 year mark at this point their genetics are so fucked. Unless you're not talking about splendens, but surely you wouldn't omit that you're using wild types to make a point right?

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>>5092174
Me again, had shit to do and just came back
The last 5 year old betta I had (named majestic) passed away. I described her in the last thread
Anyways, here’s a pic of my most recent sorority. It’s been going for a good while now. It’s night time (right before they usually go to bed) so I only managed to catch a few in the pic
Also, there’s a few vids of people doing what I do on YouTube, that’s actually where I got the idea from
And no, they’re not wild type bettas.
Right now it is a harem with 1 male and multiple females (male can be seen on the left)
They usually get along

Corydoras and loaches are the only schooling fish I respect.

>>5092280
What kind of loach?
Your answer will determine how much in respect YOU

well i got the aquarium stand (workbench) set up, that's the first tiny baby step. it's a bit big for the 40gal breeder I want, and I can afford a bigger tank, but I don't want something super tall, I like the novelty of a 'flat' tank

can you buy non-custom 50 gal 'breeder' tanks?

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>>5091961
>day 1
>start 10G shrimp setup, realize great temporary spot for guppy floaters while I prune.
>bump up CO2 in 75G after getting mocked on coop forums for 2 drops/sec being nothing
>start pruning guppy tank
>go to make a drink and see all the fish in the 75G vertical sucking oxygen at the top
>add in two airstones at max, siphon water, hose filter water filler thrown in to match drain flow
>1-2 hours stress
>things equalize while I prune
>setup shrimp tank
>10:30PM. what a relaxing hobby (when you're not retarded)

>pic after squeezing in a filter feed sponge from guppy tank (where I run two)

gonna run two in the shrimp tank with a 20ppi 1.5" foam divider for two different strains. hornwort on one side, java moss the other.
we'll see what I do about the snails that all fell in with the plants. idk if pea puffers will ignore the neos and take em out or i'll have to use traps

>>5092285
No but there are some companies that offer weird sizes (UNS, for one). Or 60 gallon breeder is a standard size.

>>5092305
>60gal breeder
>48 x 18 x 16
that sounds excellent, this bench is rated to 1000lbs so it should be able to hold one

any experience with having aquariums shipped? I'm apprehensive about letting the mail gorillas thump and bang around an expensive glass parcel.

>Have a stable group of fish in my tank.
>Decide to top off my neon tetras adding 3 more to bring it back to 12.
>Everything is okay for 2 days
>One of them dies
>Attribute it to maybe stress or something from moving, remove the body and everything is fine
>Next day 3 are dead
>After that 3 more
>Do a 75% water change, clean filter etc
>2 more die
>All that’s left now is one neon tetras
>Now my Cory Dora’s are dying with one dying today.
Maaaan fuck this shit so fucking much.
I had all of these for two years and now they’re just gone.

>>5092369
Always the risk when you don't quarantine, even if it's not common.

>>5092377
No quarantine tank and never had the issue before. Sucks really.

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>mmm belleds
The amanos haven't spawned in the year or so I've had them. I guess it's possible I have four males but seems unlikely. I know they need brackish water for the spawn to survive but I thought they could get started without it.

>>5092316
I've only ever shipped small ones and they came in OK. I'd definitely inquire with the seller to see how they're shipping it - and expect a fairly hefty price tag.

Ended up getting an acrylic 70 gal + 20g sump this morning from FB marketplace for $200, gotta clean this boy out and get some piping.

I'm planning to put 4-6 wave makers in the sump to make it a moving bed, do I actually need baffles if I'm not having multiple sections of the sump? Or can I just throw the return pump into the bottom opposite side of the tank from the intake?

I have a dozen nanofish being shipped to me next week and I'm stressing like a motherfucker over it. I've always bought my fish locally. I have minimal trust in these shippers' low wage grunts handling them properly and it's fucking january.

>>5092377
>>5092378

My main tank has all common fish. Half of them are petco. Every fish in the tank brushes off ick and other diseases like nothing. Eventually you get a solid stock that don't get sick. Plus if you have good water, they usually bounce back.

Neon tetras are finicky little bitches. I would buy twice as many as I wanted knowing half would croak in a week. Everyone says get the cardinal tetras but they are kind of ugly.

>>5092489
I’m going to get Cherry Barbs instead this time.

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YOU ARE SPOTTED

>>5092631
Must've watched this 100 times and only just noticed it steals the goggles lol

>>5091840
these niggas are immortal
I have a pair and they have survived like 3 tank wipes from diseases, they are like over 10 years old at this point
they're dumb as fuck, though. All the other fish quickly learn that the giant brings food but these will insist in jettisoning at match 9000 and headbutt the glass kek

>>5092489
none of mine have died ever
i inherited the tank with 10, they were kinda meh
so I was like i'll order some on amazon, got 12 more
then saw them on stage at LFG auction, another dozen for like $10
now they're fuckin awesome. I'll definitely get more at the next auction if they pop up. probably all of them. why not 100? they're so heckin smol lol

>20 gallon low iron: 200
>canister filter with heater: 140
>grow light: 80
>regulator: 140
>Co2 tank: 100
>Co2 tank stand: 20
>inline diffuser: 40
>metal lily pipes: 30
>Co2 hoses: 5
>atomizer machine: 40
>atomizer mount: 15
>LED background: 200
>co2 drop checker: 10
>check valves:10
>contro soil: 20
>lava rock: 20
>sand: 10
>hard scape: 40
>water plants: 50
>terrestrial plants: 20
>floating plants: 10
>plant clips: 10
>plant and tank supplement: 40
>water conditioner: 10
>inline doser: 80
>doser system: 100
>food: 20
>fish: 0 (can't afford)

>>5092489
>>5092369
Got Walmart goldfish decades ago as a kid. One by one the original pop would succumb to super AIDS ich as in, as soon as the white spots showed, they were gone the next day. So only goldfish left were walmart goldfish, every new fish introduced succumbed to the ich. I got sad everytime my dad got new goldfish because I knew they were gonna die.

>>5092889
It’s mostly pet store shit.
They don’t care it’s just stock.
I switched to using a dedicated aquarium store and have never had a death for a long time.
Occasional one here and there sure but not wipe out my entire stock.
Not sure what dedicated ones they have for your country but in Japan I use Charm.
I bought 12 cardinals 2 years ago from them and they’re all still alive but now like 2cm.

>>5091932
>>5091960
>>5092057
I've also moved around a 75G with my then-GF (now wife), at the time she only weighed ~120 lbs and deadlifted 135, and she was totally fine helping. The third person might kind of be a liability in this scenario. You're worried about the stairs. Where is the third person going to be? Do you have extra wide stairs? Otherwise he's going to be struggling just to stay in position rather than actually helping with the load. And if it's going through a door... forget about it.

>>5092874
>LED background: 200
I've literally never heard of anyone using an LED background for an aquarium. Obviously a facetious post but everything else on the list is an actual aquarium item.

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>>5092927
They're pretty nice on planted setups
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKqTKhL
https://www.google.com/amp/s/buceplant.com/a/amp-1/products/aquarium-led-light-background

>>5092926
I ended up getting a second hand 48x18x18 acrylic for cheap instead, which is super easy to move alone. Cleaned it with vinegar this morning, going to take out the small bits of clouding/scratches this weekend with Novus #2 and #3. Turns out k3 media is big enough to not fit through egg crate so I'll even be able to set up the sump without needing to drill acrylic.

Have to cut some acrylic to cover the bottom hole in the overflow, so that's still a pain, but overall I'm feeling good about it.

Except for moving current stock, plants, and substrate (as much as I can since it's Hella seasoned) from my 30g. I think I've just gotta do it in chunks and keep most of the filters running, plus keep the substrate/fish in separate buckets with an aerator in the latter for the actual transfer.

>>5091883
Why did no one answer anons question I want to see the fancy betta too

>>5092909
>It’s mostly pet store shit.
>They don’t care it’s just stock.

They care but there is only so much you can do; you treat the ick with medicine, raising temp, salt, and hope they recover.

>>5093044
Nice. I've always liked acrylic although with a toddler running around I've switched to glass for the foreseeable future.
If you don't mind spending a bit more money, I highly suggest getting a small orbital polisher. No need for anything fancy. The cheapest you can get is very likely just fine. It is a HUGE pain in the ass to buff out that much surface area by hand. There are drill attachments but I found them way too cumbersome for aquarium work.

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>>5093090
Why switch to glass, the scratch risk? I've got a 5 y/o but he never hurt the old tank which I got when he was roughly 1.

I may get one of those polishers, there's only about a 40"x3" chunk that needs polishing, and then less than 5 other small scratches here and there. I'm hoping it'll take me less than two hours tomorrow or Monday (if either day stops snowing) but if it feels like too much, I'm going to pull the trigger on a polisher for sure.

The damn thing is bottom plumbed in the overflow (and I'm on a flat stand), and the intake at the top is a 3/4" threaded hole, so I've gotta deal with both of those issues before I fill it - namely a threaded bulkhead which seems to be very hard to find in that size, and weld-40ing a 1/2" 3x3" acrylic square over the hole.

Hoping to get those things done this weekend or mid-week, and getting it set up with some old tank water and substrate next weekend, so it can season a bit before I move the fish in early-mid Feb. Might move unlucky platys I can catch in the interim as well, but the priority is moving all the plants that aren't tied to hardscape and all the substrate I can.

Thanks for subscribing to my blog. Pic rel - it's my bitch post-cleaning. The hard water stains are on the back and idc about that surface, the scratches are on the bottom other than the clouding on the front.

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>>5092927
>Obviously a facetious post
:)

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>>5093162
>Transcend into
Sounds pretty China--translate wankery but, pls show when finished and/or established when you're comfy with it.

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What the fuck is this cunt doing.
>Wont bury in ironsand because too dense
>Will bury in bare rocks
>Will bury between rocks and ironsand
Ugh. Do I banish it to the sump with aragonite and granular substrate? Make a bespoke aragonite 'well' rockwork and risk getting white substrate all over my shit?

Other than some cyanobacteria in the substrate and some rare green spot dots, I haven’t had any algae in my aquarium for over 6 months. Feels good man.

>>5093233
In the top image, it's looking very close to that outlet just to the left.
It could be moving because there's too much water flow.

>>5092010
Are they fussy eaters? I'm thinking of getting some for my coldwater tank.
Also, would they destroy my shrimp?

>>5093310
Not picky at all just choose a food that fots their small mouth, like crushed flakes, frozen cyclops etc
Harmless to grown shrimp but they hunt down tiny shrimplets
I still get a few shrimplets survive

>large online fish retailer
>fish described as tank-raised
>zero mention of being wild caught anywhere
>buy the fish cause they're hard to find
>ask the company if they're actually tank-raised or wild caught
>"our fish are caught in the wild very young and placed in tanks from a young age to be adapted to tank life"
>zero mention of being wild-caught anywhere on the product page
I'm not gonna call this illegal but this is incredibly shady. Do not buy fish from Aquatic Arts

>>5093264
i have been over feeding and nutrienting and running my lights all day TRYING to get algae
like what the hell
it's not a bad thing but I feel like a little algae would demonstrate tank health...

>>5091883
Check your local chain stores. For the US, Petco usually has a diverse selection. Pet Smart can be hit or miss, half of the time its just black and white samurais. Not only do you get big selections of colors/fin types, but you also pay alot less if/when they start to kill each other. You also get the benefit of taking the time to test them to see how they react to each other, you can filter out the ones that show alot of aggression right then and there without paying a single cent by just sitting the cups next to each other.

>>5093352
I've had some of the worst luck with fish from them. And they sent me goddamn prawns 3 or 4 years ago when they listed gambian feather shrimp.

Smaller ones like glassgrown or bigger ones like aquahuna are equal or better at price and quality. Or get on a list like first coast, which is the best way to get fish online.

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>>5093373
I don't usually buy online and they had good reviews. I saw "tank raised from a young age" and raised an eyebrow, but given that they're a reputable seller thought "surely if these were actually wild-caught they would mention it SOMEWHERE because that would be incredibly misleading otherwise". Motherfuckers waited 6 days to answer me on whether or not they're wild caught, now they're doing damage control in my email inbox saying how they're going to update the wording on their listings moving forward. Too late fuckers I already filed an FTC complaint, that shit can't fly.

>>5093378
Ah yes of course, one the largest online retailers just happened to omit an extremely important detail that's a basic descriptor at any other fish store you go to. I'm sure it was just a mistake :)
if you ever bought otos or corys from this site, you probably have wilds

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>>5093378
very honest and reputable company yes

What's wrong with wilds?

>>5093404
illness/parasites, different behaviors, may refuse to breed in captivity, potentially unable to adapt to a tank, questionable ethics the entire way down on imported wilds

>>5093386
lmao gottem
imagine being such a cucked company ahahahah

>>5093412
they revamped the entire site today

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Should’ve quit while I was ahead. Finally took out my new gourami when I found him beating the shit out of my ram cichlid. Those I’ve had in the past were very tame, but not this guy.

>>5093228
Beaut of a unit.

>>5093404
captive-bred fish will eat prepared foods readily, some wild-caught niggas will be fussy and refuse anything besides live food

>>5093593
true
it took like 2-3 weeks for my stupid otos to recognise wafers as food, but now they can't get enough of it

>>5093056
While it's true the fish come from the same places in chain fish store vs mom and pop, there's a huge difference in the general care. Very few diseases are fatal if the fish are well cared for. A higher end store will take better care of the fish. There are exceptions of course. You can get a petco with some autist that runs the fish section like a Nazi. But the main difference is a the day to day care the fish receive waiting to be sold.

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I finally got a canister filter and bought some cool stainless/glass lily pipes
immediately I have the bulb outfflow and it's way too much, all my frogbit is pissed
I cannot fucking find a difusser 17mm contraption
it's insane.
the 17mm stainless steel part that arches over the rim has a coupling at the the to accept another 17mm pipe.
i 3d printed a 17mm spray bar I just aimed at the wall for now, but it looks like ass and is not really doing the job that needs to be happening
i've looked on etsy, amazon, various 3d platforms. I found some diffusers but they're way off size. i'm gonna try scaling them to fit my use but frankly I'd like to buy a glass one

Any suggestions?

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my niece wants sea monkeys so I ordered sea monkeys and a micro water heater and micro air pump

how fucked are these sea monkeys?

>>5093939
Based picocosmos enjoyer

>>5093939
If you want a sustainable colony... good luck. But you can keep it going for a while. They sell a lot of packets for water changes, food, etc. They are of course rather expensive for how much you get, but considering the size and timeframe of this pet, it's better than investing in actual saltwater stuff.
My nephew and his dad started off with them, then they moved onto a pico reef tank, then a nano reef, and now they have a full blown system with the works, large enough to raise tangs. So it's not a terrible introduction to saltwater fishkeeping, but most likely she's just going to lose interest in a few weeks.

Is a 45 litre tank enough for a single ram cichlid? I've tried keeping him with other fish but he's aggressive towards everyone so it seems like he needs to be on his own.

I know I should probably just return him but I'm kind of attached to him now so I'd like to keep him.

>>5094025
It's fine if it's a standard or long footprint, probably wouldn't do a cube though.

>>5094026
The tank I was looking at is 45x32x32 so I should be good, thanks anon

>>5094030
Honestly it would probably be fine if it was a cube but when I had them years ago they were fairly active in the bottom half of the tank. I think people use tanks that size with a breeding pair anyway. If you're concerned then I would just go light on the hardscape. Also depends what morph you've got, golden rams can be pretty small but some can get to 3in which probably is borderline.

>>5091883
Aquabid

>Main tank uses a Fluval Plant 2.0 light
>Want to put it on a timer
>Originally needed a WiFi adapter to do that
>The adapter is discontinued
>The app it was made for is delisted
What's an alternative timer I can use for this thing?

>>5094330
>wifi
>apps
Just have a timer on the plug like a sane person. Why does everything need to be a smart device now.

>>5094357
The Fluval light defaults to blue lights only when manually turned on/off

>>5094361
God that's awful. Why is everything so shit now

>>5094365
I've considered downgrading to some brand of chinklight just to have full manual controls

>>5094357
Because people asked for it. I assure you, fish accessory companies were not chomping at the bit to do this. They were and still are ill-equipped to do software, that is why it is usually shit. That industry isn't exactly attracting top software developer/engineer talent, and making a secure, reliable, and user-friendly app to control lights (among other things) is very similar as any other consumer device that has a multinational, billion dollar conglomerate funding its development, except the companies like Fluval do not have that kind of capital. Add on to that that not a single fish gear company that I know of is trying to sell SaaS or any other subscription fee to make our devices work, they have little financial incentive to do it as it takes a full time developer (likely more than one) to constantly develop and maintain the code base. Which actually worries me; sooner or later some company is going to want to charge us subscription money for "extra" features, which will turn into needing a sub for all features, and then all the other companies are going to see dollar signs and jump in on the bandwagon.
I do have to say though that I like smart lights. My planted tank has an old light on a timer and my fish, after half a decade of being in the same tank with the same setup, still fucking hate it and go insane when the lights suddenly pop on. My reef lights however have an entire sunrise/sunset routine (and even a setting that follows moon phases, which is how hobbyists and labs control coral spawning).
I guess, if I had more time and motivation, I could make a soft start circuit (I'm an EE) on top of the dimmer I made, but I'd rather just upgrade the lights as they're not quite good enough for what I want.
>>5094361
That's pretty disappointing from a brand that's supposed to be chain store premium.

>>5094371
I mixed things up. It's the Aquaskies (which have no manual power switch at all) are the ones that default to blue only when the power cuts and *needs* the app to go back to its programming. The Plant 2.0 and its successors have a manual switch, but it has a blue light-only setting in between the on/off cycle that would make using a normal external timer a PITA.
If I really want to shell out the money, then I'd have to upgrade to a Plant 3.0 or 4.0. My alternative to that is downgrading to Finnex or some chink brand that has a non-smart timer remote hardwired into the light.

>>5094370
the pawfly lights are crazy cheap
3 buttons. White, Blue, Mode
white and blue change the brightness of each color respectively. mode changes it to be RGB or just blue
has memory for analog timers
have dropped them in my tank many times, 0 issues

>>5094370
I like Hygger stuff, idk if it's full chinkshit. I'd call it elevated chinkshit.

I also like my fluval plant light someone gave me, but it's only like 12" long and cost them $50 so I'd never use it as my primary light source. I have two hyggers on a manual timer plug on each of my tanks, they default on to max level which is what you need for anything on a timer plug.

my twinstar lamp has a built in timer and gradualy turns light on and off

best of all worlds desu

>turn on co2 two hours before morning
>lights turn on two hours later
>fogger turns on when I get home, shuts off two hours later
>Co2 off 1 hour before bed
>lights off one hour later
Can't do dimming or blue mode but it beats having to buy smart lights for 2x markup.
https://a.co/d/cFWXdSb

>>5094391
>>5094399
I'm looking at Seaoura lights because I got two of their cliplights for some nano tanks, and they've been working great so far. They also have 24/hr timers with sunrise/sunset times

>>5094421
>>fogger
hmm?

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>>5094424
They're cool riparian setups

>>5094427
>riparian
neat

>>5094421
>but it beats having to buy smart lights for 2x markup
>only 2x
If only.
>>5094415
Well, Twinstar is far from being cheap, at least their more powerful lights are. They're up there on my list of possible replacements.

>>5094357
I used to use an analogic timer plug for my co2 system and it died within 6 months. I then switched to some chinkoid smart plug connected to wifi and it works seamlessly to this day.

>>5094370
You can switch to a week aqua K series and it would probably be an upgrade over whatever fluval shitter you’re using. Chink lights are very good nowadays if you avoid the no-name stuff. Out of the 5 best freshwater lights in the market, 2 are chinese, 1 is japanese, 1 is german and 1 is american (aquaillumination is american, right?)

>>5094330
Have you tried the fluval app?

Are saltwater tanks really so unstable that it is a constant battle to keep them going? I have kept freshwater tanks for years now and once a tank matures the maintenance is pretty minimal. Salt water keepers act like they are burning wheelbarrows of money and huge portions of time to keep their tank from imploding which is what keeps me on the fence about getting into that side of aquarium keeping. It also gets confusing when I see some people claim you can do saltwater cheap with little problem and others say you basically have to be rich.

>>5094526
The Plant 2.0 light uses an older Fluval app that's been delisted years ago.

>>5094540
Can you load the apk from an archive? Or will it not work with latest OS at all?

>>5094540
Have you tried the current app? yes or no?

>>5094546
Yes, it doesn't detect the light.

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>>5094547
Have you tried turning it on and off again?

>>5094549
Fuck it, I'm getting a Seaoura SR-659

>>5093352
>>5093373
>>5093378
>>5093379
>>5093386
>>5093412
>>5093416
Follow-up on this Aquatic Arts saga. They delayed the shipping by a day for an unknown reason, was supposed to receive today now they're coming tomorrow. They also told me they're including 1 extra nerite and 2 extra corys, and they "hand selected the best available for me". Here's the issue:
When I bought these fish, I bought the last 12 in stock. There was no option to purchase more than 12 and once I checked out, the page updated to "sold out". So where are these mystery corys coming from? Did they pull an extra 2 from quarantine that shouldn't have been ready yet? How are you "hand selecting" the best fish to appease me when I bought your entire remaining stock? There shouldn't be any hand-selecting the best fish or bonus fish if I bought your entire stock. This also implies that if you make enough fuss or perhaps if you're one of their VIP clients, they'll take the time to sell you their best stock, which should be the standard for ALL customers.
I had to email them and explain I don't want an extra nerite. Who in the hell would ever want extra snails? Their stocking requirements are typically specific and the bulk of the hobby sees them as pests. I bought two so I could split them into their own tanks and never worry about having indestructible eggs all over my aquarium. The corys are supposed to be going into a 10gal but I fear 14 of them is probably too much of a bioload, so I'll more than likely need to split them into two groups of 7 which I didn't want to do either.
I am once again telling all of you NOT to purchase from this site.

>>5094594
Nerite females will drop the eggs everywhere even when alone. I like nerites, myself, they keep the surfaces very clean, and I over-added assassin snails once upon a time so no other small cleaners will remain for long, even when I throw 200+ in at once.

Speaking of, anyone want assassin snails? Drop a burner email and I can send you some, just pay shipping. No heat packs though so if you're somewhere cold either bring them in fast or expect dead snails. I don't want more than 1 or 2 in my new tank.

>>5094583
They have part numbers?

I just ordered a 48" one five minutes ago. I'm the guy with the big acrylic with blue back above. Didn't end up needing more than Novus #3 and #2 to get the viewing sections 99% clear. Plugged the bottom hole in the overflow this weekend, going to add plants, substrate, and a couple old filters tomorrow. Maybe get the sump going, too.

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>>5094628
You have to dig deep into the specsheet to see it, but it is there.
In any case, the SR-659 is the one with this style of controller

>>5094635
Any reason you picked that one vs the one with smaller screen and colorful buttons?

Is a betta pair tank or a harem tank possible?

>>5094644
Not really, I just saw this one first.

>>5094669
For Splendes, only if it's very large. And even then, it's a time bomb.

There are wild betta species that are peaceful with each other, like betta rubra. Many of them need sub-5 pH water though, which is difficult to maintain in an aquarium.

Anyone kept blue neon rainbowfish in a community tank? SF says they're easily out competed for food but I've yet to see tank bred fish that actually let themselves starve from shyness, so...

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>What is your favorite nano fish within the hobby?
Honey gourami mog all others

2 of my African Dwarf frogs are getting freaky. I have 4 of them in a 20 gallon tank with a bunch of snails and dense vegetation. What are the odds their tadpoles survive with no intervention? They're retarded as shit so will probably try to eat them but they're also blind and incompetent so will they even be able to?

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Look at this gorgeous female cpd

>>5094594
Delayed another day for "bad weather". Awesome. I'm getting a box of dead fish.

>>5094594
You ordered one of the dwarf corydoras species I assume from the 10 g. They probably had 2 extra in the tank they didn't knew about until they started collecting them for your package.

>>5094594
>I bought the last 12 in stock
If they run it like they're supposed to, then what's listed for sale != what they have in stock.
You allow fewer to be sold than what's on hand.

>>5094735
>African Dwarf frogs
Do these make good pets or are they boring?
I have a spare ten gallon. Need something to put in it.

>>5095027
SHRIMP

>>5095027
They're fun, they swim up to the glass when I'm near, they stand on each other's heads and do silly things. I it like when they stand up on their hind legs then fall over backwards like a stupid little bowling pin.

>>5095058
I already have blue rili in a 20 and opae ula in a 3.
Need something else.

>>5095069
What kind of set up do you have? No substrate? What about plants, heater, filter?
How big of a tank do they need, I have another 3 gallon if they can handle small.

(I keep finding tanks at my local thrift store for $8. You can't pass up a bargain like that.)

>>5094735
These things look so silly kek

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Anyone keep vampire crabs?
How difficult is maintaining a paludarium?

>>5095079
3gal is too small for frogs to be very active, but would be fine with as many shrimp as you can get inside it.

The key to frogs is to not give them anything they can kill themselves with. So sand bottom, lots of plants, sponge filter. You could get 4-6 in a 10 gallon with some various snails and be good to go. They're goofy little guys, and incredibly retarded, but fun.

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what is this white shit? biofilm? fungus?

>>5094901
Delay one more day and you'll hit the snowstorm and you'll be receiving a box of ice.

>>5095225
They actually just showed up, acclimating now. water was cold as shit, they're starting to perk up as they get warm. too small and still in the bag so I can't tell if there's any losses yet

>>5095222
Maybe mold? Idk you need snails and/or shrimp and it's gonzo. Or scuds.

>>5095229
it's doing a fishless cycle rn

>>5094735
Lol sounds like the tadpoles will have a decent chance

>>5095231
Then carry on and keep ghost feeding or whatever you're doing to add ammonia.

I'll tell you though, pest snails don't give a fuuuuck about an uncycled tank. And shrimp are immune to nitrites (with an "i"). Neither add enough bioload to actually cycle on their own, but never hurts to get them started early.

>set up nice aquascape
>get all the plants in
>put down bowl and start to pour water
>BLRGLRGLRGL
>substrate everywhere
Well, fuck. At least I can replant.

Ordered some acrylic panels to build a custom sump because my stand isn't wide enough in the middle for a normal 20g. Ordered it a bit too tall which was probably stupid. I might be a little retarded.

Pics tomorrow.

>>5095294
To clarify, "a bit too tall" meaning only about 1.5" of headroom between it and top of stand, not literally too tall. Still, I have a jigsaw, and the baffle is 4" lower than the top of the sump, so I could take a couple inches.

Just finished installing the Seaoura SR-659. This thing's lights are definitely cooler than the Fluval Plant 2.0's. That fixture had a lot of yellow LEDs

>>5095214
Super easy with the right setup. Mine bred and had 2-3 generations when I had mine. Hardest part is scratch building your paludarium platform and filter setup.

>>5095395
>with the right setup.
What's the right setup?
>when I had mine.
The obvious question is - why don't you still have them? They died? They're boring?
I read that you don't really see them, that they're skittish.

>>5095396
More land than water, lots of caves and hiding spots, waterfall or stream feature as they like the running water.
They tore up all my aquatic plants [spoiler] and my whites tree frogs kept eating them when they got big enough [/spoiler]

>>5095400
Do you have pics of your setup?
When you google it you only find masterful setups. I can't do that.
A water feature, land, moss, and plants I can do. But the ones you find online look like Vitruvius and Palladio met up and laid out.

>They tore up all my aquatic plants
lmao
> my whites tree frogs
I'd get frogs but keeping live crickets or cultivating fruit flies is something the people I live with would never accept.

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>>5095402

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>>5095417

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>>5095419

>>5095079
I have monstera and pothos growing out the top and then some water sprite down on the tank. I just have regular aquarium gravel for substrate (the picture is from a fish store not my own tank), generally you want to either have smooth gravel that's large enough that they can't accidentally eat it or sand that's fine enough that if they do they eat some they can just shit it back out. A couple important tips keeping them that you don't hear as often as well
>They are NOT community creatures despite what people say, if you put them with most fish they'll eat all the food before the frogs even notice it's there. Keep them with slow uncompetitive animals like bamboo shrimp or snails
>They are highly sensitive to copper, check any fertilizer you use before putting it in with them
>Do not use powerful mechanical filtration, they'll get sucked into the intake, use a sponge filter and plants
My oldest frog is about 2 years old now and he's been doing fine in this set up.

>>5095497
Also, for tank size, I think the rule of thumb is 2-3 frogs per 10 gallons of water, and for heater, just any random PetSmart heater appropriate for the size, they do fine with the usual 78 F.

>>5095058
https://youtu.be/TwVcrQudWzc?si=tTFJ_4IPZsjSfrQ1

>>5095417
>>5095419
>>5095420
Beautiful setup, 'non.

>>5095558
https://youtu.be/iTGaW3Qyv6Y?si=aB1Kdaa-Vb1mH62x

has anyone had success making and selling tanks?
i'm happy with the 75 gallon community I made months ago and my new 20G long looks great.
i got leftover substrate and hardscapes.
no real space for more tanks but what I made a little project space, built up another 20G and seasoned it and sold it as 'decorated and fish ready'
i guess the problem would be hardscape falling on transport. so it'd have to be simple. plants would be fine.
i just tried gluing everything in to 20GL i made and some things broke loose just moving from table to table

>>5095619
If you live in a major metropole you can simply sell it pick-up only. That way you don't have to worry about the hardscape.
I live just outside of NYC and there are people who sell fully-stocked tanks like this.

If you live in a less populated area you probably wouldn't be successful. Not enough potential customers.

just got my 40G today
gonna leak test it tomorrow

>>5095228
Good luck anon. Sometimes these critters surprise us with their hardiness.

My 28G is almost completely overtaken by Anubias. I need to get rid of some of it, but I don't want to just throw away all this growth of large leaves. Should I start asking around LFSes if they can take in the excess?

>>5095724
All 14 are alive after a lot of careful effort. Not sure if it was necessary but it felt so. Skittish as fuck though, hoping they chill out within a couple weeks but they're wild caught so who knows

>>5091840
Ngl i never kept a fish but they are the only interesting pet to me. A dream of mine is to keep a predatory monster fish like an alligator gar or a catfish. Any suggestions or advice on anything smaller? idk

>>5095869
Arowana, bichair, barracuda, pea puffer gulper catfish. Expect to pay big on a large tank or pond even if they are a fraction of the size of a river monster.

>>5095870
>Arowana, bichair, barracuda, pea puffer gulper catfish.
Those are good suggestions
Expect to pay big on a large tank or pond even if they are a fraction of the size of a river monster.
Ok

there's also oscars. you could keep them in a 20g

>>5092722
>I'm a beaty model
>NOM NOM NOM
>AAAAHHHH!!!!

>>5095878
what about piranhas?

>>5095898
Can't get them easily or legally. You can get Pacu instead.

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obsessed with these lil dudes

Do I need to gravel vac a shrimp-only tank or is regular water changes enough?
It's heavily planted so I can't really get down to the substrate well; but I feel like I'm not cleaning it enough.

>>5096167
don't need to vacuum that. you're fine.

>>5096167
Get a turkey blaster and blast the substrate. If a whole shitload of mulm gets blasted up, you may want to blast the entire surface while water changing. I think most people just leave it be though.

>>5096170
>>5096174
Alright, I guess I'll mostly leave it. I'll turkey baste the front just to make the tank look tidier.

>>5096162
interesting, just did their first water change since receiving them and their behavior totally changed. fully grouped up and just slowly traversed the tank before settling on the sponge filter. Both are things they haven't done yet. I wonder why? It's not like conditions were bad or anything I don't think it was a stress response.

>20 gallon planted
>male betta
>15 chilli rasbora
>Hillstream loach
>red whiptail catfish
>marble hatchets
>amano or cherry shrimp
Too much for one tank?

>>5096187
>>5096162
I love habrosus, they actually act like normal corys unlike pygmys who pretend to be slow tetras.

Most corys react to rain in the wild, so water changes will often make them act accordingly.

>>5096188
An anchor catfish too

>>5095756
Anubias are relatively expensive due to the slow growth. I’m sure they would take it.

>>5096188
Whiptail needs more space than that, really. Betta could go aggro on the hatchets. Most hillstream do better in cooler, harder water than the rest. None of that is a deal breaker but can make it harder. You'll need a lot of filtration for a 20g with that much stuff, so get a small canister to not just fill the volume with internal filters.

>>5096167
If it's heavily planted, you shouldn't be vaccuming ever. Get burrowing snails and leave that shit alone. My shrimp tank doesn't even get water changes anymore, I think the last time I did anything besides top it off with distilled water was last May, and it's got guppies in addition to shrimp.

>>5096162
Corys are truly based fish

>>5096189
Yeah I'm a big fan myself. These are my first cory species and I definitely think I made the right pick. Pygmaeus really do just seem like wannabe tetras with barbs. I'm planning to breed these if they'll cooperate, seems like a lot of people want habrosus and can't get them.

>>5096193
>you shouldn't be vaccuming ever.
Okay, just wanted to make sure.
Last time I had fish - like 15 years ago - I wasn't on top of it, the levels spiked, and everything died.
I'm doing everything properly this time.

>My shrimp tank doesn't even get water changes anymore,
My tap water has moderate hardness and I don't want to deal with distilled.
Dechloration is enough. But if just topped off evaporation I'd imagine the water would get too mineral-y.

>>5096307
Yeah if you're topping tap with tap it'll creep up. I get distilled from my local supermarket for about $1/gal so I just use that for topoffs and changes in my bigger tanks as needed. But plants + enough filtration + adding nitrates to keep phosphates used up keeps those to a minimum.

In my experience across multiple tanks, the key to a low maintenance tank is plantmaxxing, "over" filtration, high aeration, clean up crew (Amano + MTS) and distilled top-offs.

For bigger planted tanks (20g+), I love having clams. Just a couple, and the trumpets which will clean them up underground when they eventually die. And they take care of the detritus from the plants, both chemically and visibly.

>>5096193
>My shrimp tank doesn't even get water changes anymore, I think the last time I did anything besides top it off with distilled water was last May, and it's got guppies in addition to shrimp.
Your TDS is probably insane. Why do people insist on doing this?

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>>5096316
>nope.gif

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>>5096318
I've also got a big ass purple waffle plant growing out of the far side of the tank, which helps. It started as a 4" single sprig. It's been giving up old leaves these days due to insufficient nutrients.

The number above was before a top off.

>>5096318
>200
>nope
nigga

>>5096322
200 in hard water is essentially zero non-gH/KH dissolved solids. 4kh/6gh is 180ppm.

You can water change if you want to, no problem with being fastidious. But tiny fish and shrimp provide near zero bioload, easy to have enough plants to deal with the nitrates and phosphates. It's very easy to balance a tank like this with no meaningful organic solids.

>>5096323
>>5096322
To add, most municipal tap has 250+ tds. Even if you think 200 is "high", its not "insane".

Neos and guppies are also easy tier, if it was equilibrium at 500 tds, they'd still be fine.

>>5096323
>>5096324
>live in a major US city
>tap water is 35 TDS
why lie?

>>5096313
i noticed my lfs sells RO water for .39$/gal and ro salt water for .89$.
I don't need it but thought it was cool they offer it so cheap

i bought a 40$ 12" cannister carbon filter and buiilt it as a hose attachment (bigger than RV filters, none of those get all the chlorine) and use it on my tap for 'hardness top offs' and have an RO drink dispenser for smaller regular top offs

i use the water conditioner with new tanks and ~50% changes, but probably don't need to. just a precaution since I already have it and fuck all what else is in city water. but i've tested the filter outlet regularly and it does its job for chlorine. highly recommend.

>>5096321
people really underestimate plant impact
between my bamboo stalks, pothos, floaters, and submerssed plants... i've having to dumb in like 3-4x recommended nutrient levels to keep them from showing deficiencies.
nitrates are a laughable concern, even being super over stocked

>>5096331
you live in soft water city that probably gets mountain run off or lake sourcing instead of groundwater. 200 tds is norm in florida

>>5096331
Lucky you. I'm outside Boston and my water comes out of the tap at around 350 tds.

>>5096334
The only nutrient imbalance I've ever run into is Phosphorus being underused in an aquarium with equilibrium zero nitrates. I've taken to dosing nitrates in my betta tank to kill off the algae and get literally any growth in the floaters.

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>>5096331
>Portland or Seattle
Go fuck your bull

>>5096341
Seattle, and I just might

>>5096336
Tap water on Long Island is usually around the 150 range.
My local is 87.

It still tastes like shit and the common refrain is that it gives women breast cancer. Not just because of Grumman.
Also hear the breast cancer rates of those above us - CT, MA - is also oddly high. There are chemicals in the Sound, for sure.

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>>5096343

>>5096347
worse, a woman

>>5096349
Did your family readily accept your transition?

>>5096349
Tits or gtfo

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Hello Brothers, I'll be starting new 112 L set. Since it's mostly for my daughter, there are gonna be some Tetras, Neons, frogs, (Congo dwarf clawed frog) But my daughter saw this 3d printed motherfucker (pic related) and she would love to make an arangement with a dragon skeleton. My question- Do you have any experience with 3d printed shit in water? Is it safe? Also are all those sharp fangs, and bones a danger for fish? Cheers

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>>5096449
Don't do clawed frogs. After crayfish, they're the best way to kill a tank. They'll eat the rest, tear up the plants and substrate, and shit like a truck.

>>5096449
I haven't had problems with 3d printed in freshwater aquariums - but they have a shelf life.
I change it after a year or two. Not because I was worried about leaching chemicals, but because I printed caves and was worried they'd collapse.

Use high quality filament (PLA in my case), though. Some shitty brands may have additional chemicals. Maybe PETG is better?

>Also are all those sharp fangs,
I'd sand down anything sharp.

>Congo dwarf clawed frog
100% will eat your fish.

what would suddenly cause all of the particulates in a tank to kick up into the water column? I have only nano fish in here. Even if they went into a pure feeding frenzy they couldn't have made this much mess, and they didn't frenzy. I know it'll eventually settle back down but wtf

>>5096531
did you filter move or the outflow change in some way? i mean if the current from that is hitting a spot it never did before, it could cause this. if there's an airstone in there, same thing. did a plant uproot?

>>5096534
i didn't touch or change anything that's why im confused

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Added a trio of Dwarf Flag Acaras to my tank. I love them.

>>5096449
No frogs. Will end badly for everyone involved.

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>>5096739
Also a pic of my Powder-Blue Dwarf Gourami

>>5096449
Resin is safe if it’s fully cured. If it’s not, it will kill everything. It also gets decomposed by water, so it will eventually break apart.

>>5096741
Hate those balloon body type shaped ones like with the Rams, I think there's something up with them they're all smashed and slammed.

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My Angelfish are breeding.
https://litter.catbox.moe/ltt56gz2esqb5g2p.mp4

>One tetra's been severely emaciated for months
>Most definitely has some chronic illness
>Still moves and hides too quickly to try to quarantine or cull
Should I just wait it out?

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>>5096966
Yeah, I would. You could also dose with prazipro if you haven't, could just be parasites. But if it's living its happy little life, no need to call on kindly Dr. Foot.

Oh yeah, it's all coming together.

Acrylic pieces for sump come tomorrow, then it's weld and wait time. Polishing filter to grab some of the sand bullshit, give the sump a week to cure, then I'll load the bad boy with water, move the fish and filters (moved one already), and we're cooking with gas.

I think I'm going to add a small group of turquoise rainbowfish once things are settled. Maybe boesemani but I'm going to keep it around 74-76 F and everything I hear says they need more.

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>>5097028
Oops...

why is my swordtail shimmying like this?
https://streamable.com/hc9yji

Also, why do my white/hybrid swordtails seem so fragile compared to my pure orange ones?

>>5097034
Also, the water is not brown, it's just the LED light set to orange cuz muh wife likes it
when the led is off or set to white, the water is actually clear and my parameters are good

>>5097034
Shimmying is very bad. Means it's almost certainly dying. It happens in all livebearers, my understanding is it's the nervous system shutting down due to disease that is usually sparked by too low of pH or hardness, but I can't prove it's not just late stage of some specific disease.

Raise temp to 76+ if you can, add a wonder shell, tums, and/or crushed oyster shells, and the chances are it won't spread.

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I think my guppies are starting to get quite imbred

Is this little guy in pain or does he just look funny? I'm thinking of moving him to another tank so he can't pass this on to future babies

>>5097057
2X TUXEDO
3X FANCY TAIL
SPINE BOY
SMASHED AND SLAMMED

>>5097057
Probably just looks funny, if he's swimming OK and eating.

Raise ya calcium levels. That is a more likely cause than inbreeding, unless you started with less than 5 and it's several generations in. Even then I'd be skeptical; I rebuilt a crashed guppy colony from a single female (so her kids were gen 1 and all incesty), it's on generation 10 or so now, and never seen any signs of inbreeding.

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>>5096898
Okay, I got my WebM program working.

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>>5096739
Here they are pooping

>>5097157
the nice one close to the camera is funny

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>>5097161
That's the male trying to fend me off. Here's a lone surviving Cardinal from the group I used to have in there. His size indicates he's the only spawn that ever survived. He's actually a brave fella. He's the smallest fish in the tank that's usually out front during the day and rarely hides.

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>>5097157
Here's an overview of my tank. It's recently recovered from a pH problem caused by the racks that used to be in there, so please excuse the poor looking Anubias.

>>5097186
How long have you had those plecos? They look suspiciously sailfiny.

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>>5097193
They're all children of a Super-Red Bristlenose male and a common Bristlenose female (both are no longer alive). There is a lot more in the tank. I'll film a feeding later. Here's a pic of one.

>>5097199
Ah, nice, with the size and maturity of the tank I figured I was being retarded....

I'm in the market for a BNP soon, can't decide which color I want. Anyone know of rarer types that can be had captive bred? If not I'll probably go calico or snow white.

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>>5097173
Look at my dood swimming out in the open. Didn't even swim away from my camera.

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>>5097200
Feeding time

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>start using Co2
>dial glass indicator to optimum levels
>start dosing potassium
>start dosing iron
>start dosing plant supplement
>red plants start turning green

>>5097221
pleco tank
>>5097228
i regret adding co2 as well

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New betta fishe

>>5097289
Doesn't seem happy he's surrounded by snail turds

>wild caught corys going absolutely nuts cause it's raining outside
does this stress them out at all? it's supposed to rain for the next like week

>>5097352
Mine do that too, wild and captive both. I don't think it's stress, just instinct to swim when it rains. Regardless you absolutely can't stop them, so don't worry about it.

>>5097355
cool, they're only a week in >>5096162 so I'm just trying to stay on top of everything, they had a rough journey and the tank was cycling for a month before they came but still isn't quite there yet.

>get nerites to churn substrate
>they never go in the substrate
>not even once
do red racers not burrow?

>>5097364
No, nerites don't burrow. Who told you they did? Find them and punch them in the head.

MTS, Hercules, Faunus Ater, and white wizard snails all burrow.

Hot take: in a heavily planted tank, clams + moving bed sump is all you need to stock heavily.

>>5097408
have fun checking your levels every day because there's no other way to know if a clam died in your substrate and became an ammonia bomb. clams would be perfect if not for that.

>>5097411
If you have enough biofiltration and other digging snails (particularly assassin snails), it doesn't matter. They'll eat the dead clam before it comes to the surface and rots.

I've had over a dozen clams live their lives then die, and never saw any impact except short term nitrate pop (up to like 30ppm, not a dangerous level). One even died on the surface and the snails + fish ate it and everything was fine.

Hence the moving bed reactor; it can easily deal with an ammonia spike.

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>>5097221
Rare sighting of my Darter Tetra. I highly recommend them. They swim around like a humming bird and then like to perch themselves on the hardscape.

If I'm setting up a new tank, do I need to cycle it before adding plants? Or can I cycle a tank with plants?

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Medium-Bertha.

>>5091847
Look at that little murder-fish.
>>5091916
Murder-fish.

>>5097485
you can and should cycle with plants

>>5097497
>>5097485
This.
Plants do not care about cycling, plants cannot (in practice) die from ammonia spikes - they LOVE ammonia.

Any recommendations for big hanging grow lights? I have a kessil H80 but it seems too faint for my 20 gallon.

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>>5097504
Fuck that shit up with a bay light.
Huge options on temp, less-huge options on DIP-switched outputs.
PicRel, 4k 100-275W bay light for the last year. I'm not winning any blacklight raves but photo-synthetics give zero fucks.

>>5097494
I had a nem about that big that just decided this week to split four ways at the same time. I didn't even know that was possible.

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>>5097519
Nems do not care what you think, know or need.

>being wealthy enough for a marine tank
(You)r kind is not welcome here.
We post $80 shrimp tanks here.

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>>5097522
My waterchanges cost more than your shrimp livestock. Is that what you want to hear? It's not what I want to hear when sharing a hobby. The marine hobby can be and is elitist as fuck.

>>5097307
it's okay, the snail turd tank is just a temporary housing

What's the best thing about saltwater tanks?

>>5097524
You think I can set up a small (say 10g) marine tank with just junk I have lying around? I regular, shitty hob filter and a tetra heater?
I don't need to spend $500 on a fluval, right?

How much space does one clown fish, a shrimp, and a coral really need?

> cost more than your shrimp livestock.
Have you SEEN the price of blue rilis? I wouldn't be too sure.

>>5097527
If it helps you, I can't import, legally, any freshwater shrimp full stop into NZ. We don't have these things. Just, big no-no. Prison nono.
That said, my marine tank has a total volume of about 780L/200gal so 60lbs of salt just to fill it - 100USD per 100% WC.
IMO you could get by with an aqua one clearview HOB and an air pump to generate flow, about the same as I have with a 15W 4k COB LED ghettoblaster to breed pods and GSP frags.
That said, my 6'x2'x2' marine tank is my first and last marine tank, so I can't weigh in on tank sizing and stocking. The smaller the tank, the more serious you ahve to take salinity (evap) and waterchanges, there is simply no way around it.

>>5097539
It's still probably illegal but if I was in NZ I'd catch and keep some of your cool looking freshwater crays.

>>5097539
If you're in NZ you are presumably near the ocean. 55g trash cans of sea water are free, nigga.

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>>5097574
Reasonably close.
The skimmer got really angry after I did that once.

>>5097677
Tell the skimmer it's a little bitch. That water is natural.

Grab some live sand from the beach while you're at it.

Can someone recommend me some nice metal lily pipes? I'm getting tired of my plastic Oase ones.

>>5097687
i can tell you I ordered 17mm steel/glass lily's witha bulb outflow where the company advertised a diffused outflow and it's been a pain in my fucking ass printing/buying shit to try and fit on/in. probably gonna settle on a 3d printed spray bar

it looks great and does the job, just too much turbulence in my tank with floaters
https://a.co/d/dFdO7wu

Does anyone use some sort of magnification when viewing your animals? I am getting into the hobby with a shrimp tank and am thinking I'll want to get a closer look at them go.

>>5097703
macro lens is the only way if you're a shrimpkeeper

>Accidentally kick up too much mulm when replanting Rotala
>Betta now has fin rot
For fuck's sake

>>5097833
why didn't you just do a big water change?

>>5097841
I *did*

>>5097833
I killed my betta by uprooting crypto, he got columnaris.

Planted tanks can be a death trap.

fishy eaty da poopy

>>5097887
I'm now doing daily 50% water changes and feeding it food medicated with Neoplex
Wish me luck

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>>5093939
>>5093940
>>5094012
Update on this.

I set it all up, they hatched. My sister immediately poured the entire food packet into the tank despite being told not to feed them, and to use the tiny spoon.

I assume they're all going to die.

Shortest sea monkey colony ever. Do not trust women with anything.

>>5097887
literally beta problems

>>5097921
>Shortest sea monkey colony ever. Do not trust women with anything.
duh
I run a 3d printed brine shrimp hatchery without airstone or light that always works
i see vids of guys with the ziss hatchery just ignore them from two months and the brine shrimp keep growing
i can't imagine it really fucks up as long as salt level is in range

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>>5097467

>>5097921
lmao
It's possible they'll survive until you can do a water change, but will you want to? They're certainly not going to do it. I dunno how much effort you really want to put into this. The problem is two-fold. If you do nothing, the colony will die very fast and your sister and niece will learn nothing and suffer no consequence and will start a lifelong string of shitty pet husbandry and normalizing animal abuse. Many such cases.
On the other hand, if you try to do more, you'll be seen as overbearing not to mention just stress yourself out over something completely not your responsibility, with the colony likely going to die in a month or two anyway. Like I'm a really experienced reefer, and I can tell you now that I've had colonies of micro crustaceans collapse after a few generations (sterility is a huge thing and one slip up can start a collapse in a few generations). What chance does a dumbass mom and daughter combo have?
I'd like to say just tell your sister she's an idiot and on her own, but I can only say that because my sister is smart and reasonable enough to never be in that situation (she has taken care of her own pets throughout her entire life on her own, quite successfully as well).

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>>5097956
I thought about a water change but I have no aquarium salt, no net, no siphon, no way to measure salinity. I'd have to buy all the extra shit to try to fix it.

My sister just ordered another sea monkey kit. I think they're just going to watch them die and then use then re-do the tank. The kit is only $10 while buying a carton of aquarium salt would basically run the same deal, and no eggs or food.

>>5097958
Get Aqua Dragons, the tank is nicer.
And you don't need to buy the whole kit, they sell refresh packets.

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>>5097971
Bro I live in Canada we don't have access to shit. Lucky they even sell these kits at Canada at this price. They sell the individual packets for more money than the whole kit. I fucking hate it here, everyone is stupid and nothing makes sense.

>>5097974
Shhhh, my Albertan friend, it will all be set right soon.

Does anon talk to his fish? I do.

daily reminder that livebearers give life.

In all honesty is there any greater feeling than watching a school of livebearers schooling in the corner of a tank begging for your affections (food). These fich are my minions. i am their god.

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>underage
>had to separate her for a few days due to swimbladder malfunction
>let her rejoin today, immediately dives into moss to be gangbanged by 3 males

Peak cpd

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I feel bad throwing duckweed out so I made some duckweed snacks for the shrimp with duckweed, agar agar and some spirulina tablets.

>>5098020
yum

Cycling a 5 gal tank for African dwarf frogs, currently ghost feeding it. On week 2, but got my ammonia test kit like last week. Ammonia looks to be at 0.25 ppm, should I ghost feed it some more at this point?

>>5098211
Yes, you probably want it to be closer to 1-2ppm while cycling.

If I don't want to buy special aquarium substrate, would organic potting soil work? or should I just wait until spring and go dig up some dirt.

it'll be capped with fine sand either way.

>>5098252
>would organic potting soil work?
That is the most commonly used soil for two layer substrates in planted tanks.

>>5098253
thanks, guess I'll pick some up at the hardware store tomorrow

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New amanos

>>5098265
s h r o m p s

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After over a year of heavy algae issues and plants not growing well I threw one of the rocks out, replanted every single plant and finally placed that wood lower and at an angle so it stops shading the entire tank. I hope this finally allows major plant growth and combats the algae.
My bladder snails live in hundreds, my black trumpet snails are making babies.. so I have hopes for a good eco system.
I left tons of snail poop in there in hopes it fertilizes the plants so I get rapid growth.. all the yellow is snail shit.
To this day I don't know why my 2 attempts at neo shrimp died but my snails are doing great. I hope this grows into a vast jungle of plants now.

>>5098307
vacuum up that nasty bed of bacteria

>>5098309
Why would I?
This is honestly not a meme response. I simply don't see a reason to.

>>5098323
if you only want to keep plants, don't bother
if you want to keep any fish or shrimp, clean that filth up, bacteria is an undetectable killer of shrimp which is probably why yours died, and disturbing that filth can cause ammonia spikes

>>5098324
I have bladder snails and black trumpet snails. I had the thought of adding like 5 white cloud mountain minnows but I am still in the process of learning about them. Still reading wiki pages, reddit pages, blogs, etc.
I tried neo shrimp twice and they sadly died and after a year of research and posting in forums nobody was ever able to figure out why they died.
I also tried Clithon snails, bought 3 of them.. they died the next day.. had 3 thiara winteri, they died after 2 months, all at once, no idea why. Nobody could figure it out.
I checked all the parameters I could, got digital instruments even.. my tank seems to be perfect but nothing besides bladder snails and trumpet snails survive.
I read about the minnows and how they are hardy af so I wanna try those.

2 of my 3 red racer nerites have perished in a week. I have no idea why. The tank is cycled, parameters are ideal, the fish are all thriving, there's plenty for them to feed on. I don't get it.

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Has anyone used one of these fry trays? What are your setups for raising up fry?

>>5098290
o___o

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Y'all fuckers ever make a "jarrarium"?
I've been seeing all kinds of youtube videos of peeps just going out to a river with a jar, loading it up with dirt, sand, rocks, algae, plants, and water, and then seeing what happens/how long it lasts.
Thinking of trying it this spring.

>>5098403
>Y'all fuckers ever make a "jarrarium"?
Yeah, like 15 years ago when it was a fad I did.
The only one I still have has opae ula in it.

>>5098255
update: potting soil is plentiful but nobody seems to have pool filter sand :C what sort of LOSER isn't swimming in their pool in -30 weather?

>>5098416
I just get that shit delivered from home Depot, can do pickup if you only need one bag and don't want to pay shipping
They're also great for 5" River stones and aquasoil
It's crazy the aquarium community markup

>>5098334
I printed one, it came out well. haven't used it yet. am planning to try and breed my bronze corys in a 7 gal
I have 3 healthy adults right now that have been in the community tank for years, they have stuck some eggs to the wall a few times. i grabbed em and put em in a guppy tank but nothing came of it

>>5098530
yeah, I refuse to pay twice as much for special AQUARIUM SAND that comes out of the same gravel pit, and I don't want to pay anything for AQUARIUM ROCKS when normal rocks are free beside the highway

Welp, I mismeasured the sump and it doesn't fully fit on my stand because of the doors. Hangs off the back about 2".

Can I support a 25ish gallon sump on a 1/4" plywood board cut to size, or think it'll sag too much for that last 2" (from a 18" deep tank)? If not I'm going to have to rig up a support from 2x4s and plywood.

Might do both, now that I'm thinking of it.

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>>5091883
Update. Bought a pair from Nice Betta Thailand. 280 usd for the fish and import then another 50 for overnight shipping from middleman. Really nice fish but I know the price isnt for everyone. Ordered on the 22nd, just got it today.

>>5098739
You know not to leave them together, right? Once they breed, he will kill the fuck out of her.

>>5098743
Of course. Male in a 20 gallon community. Female in a 5 gallon to herself.

>>5098744
>20 gallon community
Is fifteen fish really a community?

>>5098739
That's saltwater money, 'non. Abandon the betta, get a clown.

>>5098573
it's often more than 2x

I want to try t sorb on my next tank, i've read lots of positive comments. it's essentially just small, round clay balls

>>5098769
>>5098769
oh I had made a paint image comparing prices, thought it pasted...
50lb pool sand is 24$ (actually pre cleaned)
10lb most aquarium sands are 20$

t sorb is <9$/33lbs

>>5098767
You can see other users purchases on there. People drop 2K+ on Bettas

>>5098792
That's insane. That's saltwater money.
Saltwater fishes are so much more interesting.

>>5098809
The difference is that a $500 hard coral requires a 10K+ tank just to not die. A $500 betta will live like a king in a $200 tank.