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good afternoon

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I have never owned a fish beyond small bettas when I was 11 but I want to start a piranha aquarium. I have all the money to do so and plenty of space in my home. Any tips on how to get starting??

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snail

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IT'S HAPPENING

>3 sword plants
>rose sword is doing fantastic, leaves at least 10 inches long, always putting out new ones
>2 ocelots are withering away and melting off leaves despite root tabs
what gives? I feel like if it was a tank-wide issue then either all swords or all plants would be experiencing it, not just those specific two. can post pics if that would help.

>>5131559
can't hurt.
weird though
tds thing?

>>5131579
my water is hard (around 200-250ppm) but that hasn't affected any other plant, and frankly I am not going through the effort to get RO or distilled water.

>>5131583
I'm simply suggesting you research if that specific plant is subject to water parameters different than the others and your tank conditions

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>>5131586
Ocelot and rose swords are pretty much identical in requirements. i think most swords are just cultivars and not separate species.

new to the hobby- i've got a gravid neo in my community tank, what are the odds the babies will survive?

>>5131597
how densely planted is your tank? what fish do you have in it? baby shrimps are pretty good at hiding but they need some tight areas to hide from the really curious fish.

>>5131602
not as dense as it should be (need a better light) but i've got plenty of hiding spots from rocks and drift wood.
and i've got bronze corydoras, kuhli loaches, guppies, longifn zebra danios, and amano shrimp

>>5131610
>bronze cories
fine, will eat shrimplets but only if they sit still and let themselves get sucked up
>kuhli loaches
same
>guppies
curious but fairly slow
>zebra danios
probably the worst, curious and fast and will investigate plants and hiding places
>amanos
harmless except when they decide to scoop eggs right off a female neo

How true is tank size requirements for plants?
Does anubias really require 10 gallons?

>>5131642
a lot of that is rough guideline based on the size of the mature plant. you can get anything growing in any amount of water it doesn't matter.

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Well I took the plunge. After years of putting off planted tanks I'm going back to it again. But it's the first time I've done a dirted setup. I'll just have to see how it goes.

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>>5131817
Also, does anyone have any idea what this plant is supposed to be?

Has anyone ever successfully used an algaecide without killing everything in the tank? How do they even sell if they’re so bad?

Does anyone breed shrimp? I like the idea of selectively breeding for the best colors. I want to get bloody marys for their vibrant full body color but if I start with the highest grade is there anything left to improve on with my eugenics program?

>>5132258
If you start with high grades then most of the work will just be culling any low grades they happen to put out. If you want the process of “making” beautiful shrimp you can start with low-mid grades and then learn how to grade shrimp and start building a pool of high grades.

>>5132265
Good point. Maybe I'll set up a cull tank for undesirable colors

>>5132276
I just put them in community tanks, also people will happily buy any shrimp

>>5132281
I'm hoping to produce some really nice shrimp to share with friends and maybe trade for plants and whatnot.
My friend offered me some gorgeous mollies for the tank I just cycled but I have my heart set on stocking a particular way and I read that they can pick on shrimp. Trading and breeding is an attractive aspect of the hobby

About to give up on breeding my habrosus. They’re wild caught so I’m pretty sure they’re just never gonna go. One of my males randomly died off in the middle of conditioning last week so I slowed down. He was always a runt, never really grew since I got him. The others are healthy, so I think whatever the issue was, was unique to him. But no amount of bloodworms, blackworms, and cool water changes are getting them to go. Tank is infested with flame moss and water lettuce, parameters are perfect. It’s literally their own jungle paradise and they just won’t fuck. 13 of them sharing the space with amanos and neos and it’s not good enough. Fuck.

>>5132491
I've read about some fish that won't breed without tanins. You gotta look at the source water they came from, not just it's parameters but conditions.
Fast flowing water, slow, shallow, deep, how much tanins, how much light/shade

>>5132508
I have a few aldercones in there and always keep an Indian almond leaf cooking. I wonder if I should over do it until the water is brown basically, condition them for a few days, and then hit it with a cold fresh water change.

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I stopped feeding my pea puffers snails because they wouldn't eat the whole thing and they would rot and i'd get film on my water
been feeding em bbs and daphnia fine, TRYING to get them to eat magic small fish feed but alas
I've had ONE snail out of the hundred(s) I've put in survive, like they just have adopted him as a pet
it's the ONLY tank I have algae, you can see this single snails random path through it on the glass. not necessarily because no snails, but it gets lots of natural light
I really want to get more snails in there they won't fuck with, but all the ones the same size I've dropped in they killed
today I was walking by my community tank and saw this CHONKER so I threw him in
pray he's too big for them to fuck with

>>5131479
Piranha are carnivores and messy eaters so you'll be working harder to keep the tank clean, you'll also want to get them young so they can establish a pecking order before they're big enough to rip each other apart.
once you see how few adults can actually fit in an aquarium, realize how shit of an idea this is and get silver dollars instead since they're basically the same thing but half the effort.

>>5132594
puffer certainly doing a good long think on that

>>5132508
>I've read about some fish that won't breed without tanins.
Really? Name some.

>>5132866
some newer strains of corydoras, wouldn't breed for weeks with normal successful practices.
guy got tip on where they were from, it was very tanin heavy, so he added a dark ass tanin tea to the tank
got spawns next day
idk exact strains, I'm not that obsessive

>>5132880
Original asker back with an update. Boiled and cooled some tannin tea yesterday using aldercones and almond leaves and added it. Just made another big batch, have it outside cooling down in a covered bucket right now. Gonna hit them with a nice cool water change of pure tannin tea tonight and see if they get excited.

>>5132902
godspeed brother
the suggestion is to make it super concentrated, so you can just add like a gallon to your tank without fucking with other parameters but just darken it dramatically

>>5132912
I have crushed coral running in there so I should be able to dose it pretty heavily without destroying anything.

I've had a ton of issues with usually molt failures in my cherry tank and I've ruled out absolutely everything except either my local store being shit and selling weak shrimp to begin with that they house in poor parameters(likely culprit as one of their tanks had a massive planaria infestation), or some unknown toxin that might've gotten in.

I'm running some carbon filtration using a bubbler-powered small filter just because that's all I had on hand as I don't use carbon, about how long do you think I should leave that going in a 10 gallon?

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>>5132912
>>5132902
Well, no signs of Cory eggs this morning. But it seems it brought out a spawn of blue dream OEs at least. Doubt these guys were born last night but still pretty cool.

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>>5133074
Ah shit. Another one of the mothers was dead on the substrate. Not sure if it was the water change or a failed molt but I’m pretty sure she’d still be here if I didn’t do that. Fuckin dammit. Extracted the eggs to a breeder box with an airstone. Used water from the mother tank and hit it with some methylene blue. Currently suspended in a net over this airstone. Hopefully I can save the spawn.

>>5133086
Is the water too soft?
>>5133074
weeeeeeee

>>5133101
Nah. I buffer with crushed coral because I naturally have soft water. But when I put the new water that was 99% tannins in it was probably a pretty dramatic swing overall. Temperature, pH, and hardness. I knew it was risky but accepted the risk because I desperately want the habrosus to breed. Everyone else is doing fine and the water change was long enough ago now that the pH and hardness have balanced back out. Just upsetting because these neos are nearly $40 a piece and that mother was extremely high grade. I should be able to save some of the babies though.

Eriocaulon cinereum perhaps, buried a little deep so hard to say for certain. Needs a lot of bullshit to be happy, high light high flow high CO2.

>>5133115
Meant for
>>5131818

Some general daphnia observations to no one in particular. I'm having more fun culturing these than playing with my tank.
>fry food and chlorella both cause population explosions. spirulina just destroys the water
>chlorella ruins the water fast though. you have to do a weekly water change and vacuum the bottom with chlorella
>green water creates much bigger daphnia. they top out smaller when I feed them other foods
>green water is a pain in the ass to get dense with fertilizer alone. I put the equivalent of 19-7-20 which is like what you would use for weed production
>I use some amazon f2 plus Advanced Nutrients (hydroponic fertilizers)
>using ground up plants to make green water takes forever, but the water gets extremely dense

Does any manufacturer offer a large (100+ gallon) shallow rimless tank? Something that's long and/or wide instead of tall?

>>5131472
My ancestor :)

>>5133240
Lol that would not come out like you think it would. A 20 gallon shallow is 30in b
By 18in which is almost 4 ft square. Picture 5 times the footprint. I can't even imagine what it would cost either.

>>5133283
Well, I saw a listing for a company that makes tanks to order, one of their common sizes was 72x24x24 which is pretty much my dream size, but I'd prefer 18 inch depth, maybe even 12. I know it would be over a thousand dollars, I just wonder if there's a company that offers that size off the shelf.

>>5133301
>over $1000
Lol. I don't think you've priced this out yet

>>5133302
The company listed that sized tank for 950 dollars. I assume they would charge more for an alteration even though it would use less glass.

>>5133304
Alternate shapes are usually multiple times as expensive. Look at other sizes and the difference between thr standard vs shallow, rimless, etc

>>5133311
I think next time I go by the fish store affiliated with them I'll ask if they have a sample tank in the warehouse and if I can get a quote on what I want (even though I can't buy it because I have nowhere to put another tank)

buy some frozen bloodworms to make it worth their while.

>>5133318
To be clear, I want to move to be closer to family and if I do, I'd get a big tank then and move it in when the place is totally empty.

>>5133319
Yeah at 12 inches high it would be like 5' by 3'. Definitely have to plan around it. Even moving and setting it I'd prefer to have 2 helpers.

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Thinking of getting golden wonder killi, but how much do I need to worry about their jumping ability? I have a small slit of open space where one might be able to hop out at any time if they think they can just leave the tank, but I don’t know if they’ll do that when they aren’t spooked. Really the chief concern is probably when I’ve got the lid open to clean. Anyone with experience or recommendations with these guys or hoppers in general?

I want to make a carpet of moss on a new aquarium that's currently only hardscaped with no water, does cutting it with a knife until they are very small gets the same effect as blending them?
I have been thinking about taxiphyllum for the ground, and fissidens for the trees if that makes any difference.

for a stable stand, am i better off hitting Home Depot for DIYing it or getting a heavy duty shelf? even for just a 20 gallon long i want no risk.
unless one of the various stands from Petco are actually good

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>>5134213
>home depot metal racks
if you want multiple tanks
>diy
wood, can do whatever you want, isn't that hard; can even do cabinet doors, sliders, holes, to mimic the name brands
>petco
the petco shelves are from the manufacturers of the tanks, they are definitely adequate
sometimes they have pull drawers for cannisters for easy maintenance and hose holes
that's all shit you can diy easily too

but at the modern cost of wood, paint, etc to emulate the petco stands...
if you make more than $20 and hour it's probably worth it to buy premade.
however if you'll enjoy the process, go for it, there's tons of youtube videos on it. really isn't hard. just time consuming and requires some tools and competency

there's also stuff on amazon with good reviews

>>5134213
I bought a wood-top metal workbench from a home improvement store for 300 bucks. Holds up to 1000 pounds and there's space under it for either another tank on a short stand or a cabinet for filters and supplies.

this came up a couple threads ago... any of the Amazon auto feeders stand out as the best?

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If I place my transparent fertz bottle near the window, is algae gonna grow in it?

>>5134224
Yeah no cost savings on the shelf when you factor in time. .75 in plywood is going to cost $30+ and stain plus polyurethane will run you another $20. Even treated pine is going to be $30 in.

I build custom as needed for non-spec designs, but I try to use as much off the shelf as possible. For example buy a u-line particle board shelf and replace the particle wood with plywood.

Plus if you don't know what you're doing it won't be level. If you don't already own a miter saw or a table saw I would suggest starting with a different DIY project.

>>5134213
I have a metal petco stand for my 40 gallon. It's solid. The pieces assembled easily and it didn't look or feel cheap.

Reddit era is over. Mass market stores aren't terrible and aren't much worse than the average LFS.

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Uhhh bros I might’ve not gotten all the air bubbles from the sand because I just noticed these little black circles forming in new spots on the top of the sand, I think I saw a worm poking its head out of this spot earlier but I might be going crazy. Should I cover these spots with more sand or just leave them? I can’t tell if it’s soil I used or poop that has floated to the top using an air bubble

>all of my algae issues were because of CO2
After battling this for two months it’s finally on the upswing. Went down to 2 hours of light a day so everything doesn’t die and water changes twice a week. Fuck algae. I don’t really get how people run CO2 nonstop if this is the result.

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>>5134312
i'm been using the pawfly ones for almost a year, they're recharagable but I've still running off the original charge
do everything you could want and are compatible with the coop 3d printed augers and attachments and whatnot
>>5134426
pic related
this stand is just spot welded corners with 3/4 plywood on the shelves. it holds 2 10 G
if you can spot weld it's probably cheap af to do something similar
i have no assurance it isn't going to collapse, but it's seemed stable for the past 6 months
>>5134442
vacuum

lungfish are based

My betta never flares but he’s aggro af. Can’t even put ramshorns in with him. Anything I can do to chill him the fuck out? Tank needs some clean up crew but he wants to assassinate anything he can.

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Should I be concerned that this Blue Bolt shrimp is turning red? That's a bacterial infection right?

>>5134711
Honestly looks like typical caridina pattern, just changing color. They turn orange when dead/dying like when you cook a raw shrimp and it turns orange. But it wouldn’t be just the pattern changing color. I’ve never known of a bacteria or other illness that would do this. You might have a color changing shrimp.

>>5134679
Lower the temp, put a shit load of dither fish.

>>5134826
It’s only a 10 gallon, not sure what I could realistically add with him.

>>5134833
Chilli rasboras or white clouds IMO. I have a White cloud colony of about 35-40 fish in a 20 gallon with a female betta and they're small enough that it isn't overcrowded. Clouds are Insanely hardy and reproduce fast as well.

>>5134838
Chilis are a bit more enticing visually. I’ve never kept them though are they hard to breed? I try to make sure all my tanks generate some passive income. The betta is the only thing in my entire ecosystem that doesn’t contribute. But he’s cool so it’s fine.

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>>5134840
Chillis are the most beautiful freshwater nano fish, but they're expensive, harder to get at an LFS, will be brown/white for a good while before they color up and likely have harder breed requirements. White clouds are kinda shitty but they're cheap and functional, which is good for something that might be bullied to death by a betta. They're basically neons if they weren't shit.

>>5134842
Yeah just looked into chili rasbora breeding, seems like a wash there. White clouds get to a pretty decent size though, 2 inches is as big as the betta. Are they really gonna be okay together?

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>>5134843
My largest breeding males are barely over an inch. Even if they could get to 2 they're significantly thinner than Bettas, any male Betta could kill the shit out of a group of white clouds if they were forced into a cup together.

>>5134844
Oh those aren’t longfins. Do the longfins get bigger? Was looking at those cause I figure they won’t be as fast to nip at the betta’s fins.

>>5134842
>will be brown/white for a good while before they color up
i put a dozen of them in my pea puffer tank and i've been concerned they havened colored up over the past couple monrhs

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>>5134847
Females are supposed to be less colorful + stress makes them pale. Rasboras in general are kind of a gamble if you get good ones or not.

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Would it be a stupid idea to put a really long aquarium on this windowsill?
I initially had some houseplants there but started having too many bug problems plus it was too sunny for some plants

I've seen some people do ecosystem builds but those seemed more for "entertainment purposes" rather than building something healthy

>>5134845
I never even knew longfins existed, no LFS of mine has ever carried them. I assume they'll be susceptible to the same fin diseases that bettas can get right?

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>>5135008
I would imagine so yes. But it’s not really fin rot I’m worried about. That shit is amateur hour if you just keep a clean system. I’m not sure how aggro these guys are nor am I sure how kindly the betta will take to them. I’d probably be better off with the short fins, my luck my betta will think they’re other bettas and go on a murder spree.

>>5134531
That"s pretty cool. How do you keep the plywood on the shelf? Is the weight of the tank sufficient?

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Can someone pls recommend a solid cheap filter and pump for a 3 gal betta tank? My little cousin has a betta fish and has this shitty filter thats just this white little baggie with some carbon pellets inside and the fishtank is green after cleaning in about a week. I feel bad for the little fella

>>5135071
Do yourself a favor and just get the ACO sponge filter and pump. A few dollars more than the budget brands but it’ll actually function for the life of the tank at least. A lot of cheap gear breaks very quickly, and we’re talking maybe $50 total for the ACO equipment.

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>>5135053
yeah they're just placed, followed by a leveling mat(lol), and the tank
it's all warped and off level, so I was hoping the plywood would contort to whatever shape the tank needed

>>5135071
>>5135073
3G is too small to fit a sponge filter unless you get some nano shit
i know the smallest one ACO sells will barely fit
you want a small HoB and just fill the cavity with coarse sponge
p.s. it's probably green because it's getting way too much light, a filter won't help

>>5135088
Their nano option doesn’t fit a 3g? The fuck do they call it nano for then? I didn’t know, never needed a filter that small.

>>5135089
it's the same amount of sponge as the small, it's just shorter and wider
they have dimensions on the website
but really 3G is already such a small tank for a beta, you can't afford to waste any volume on a sponge filter

>>5135073
Its suitable for a 3gal tank and made for bettas? I read bettas like smoothly oxygenated water. They dont like it if its too turbulent.
>>5135088
It sits by his window, is that too much light? I mean his whole room is pretty bright during the day. He has a light timer for the artificial light thats built onto the tank lid, so during winter it goes off when the suns down

>>5135092
>It sits by his window, is that too much light? I mean his whole room is pretty bright during the day. He has a light timer for the artificial light
yeah there's no way you're beating algae in that scenario, unless the tank is filled with fast growing plants
>3gal tank and made for bettas
it's marketing. you can buy 400ml betta tanks on temu. 'fish bowls' for goldfish, when goldfish grow to be pond sized
3g is almost animal abuse for a betta. you can compensate with some plants they can use to break of the space and it seem larger

I guess I should be happy about people getting into the hobby but 'betta chicks' are exhausting

>>5135099
As a betta chick we don’t all suck. Idk why so many alt girlies gravitate to them though. Always with the stupid fucking hoops and “rests” that have a bunch of holes in them that the betta gets caught in and dies on. Colorful gravel too. Fuck.

>>5135095
>yeah there's no way you're beating algae in that scenario
well you could paint the back of the tank facing the window, maybe the sides, and a darkout lid
but i don't anticipate you're looking for effort tasks

>>5134868
Make sure you get a filter with a UV sterilizer and maybe an automated tank fan+heater to deal with fluctuating weather.

>>5135095
>3gal tanks is animal abuse 4 bettas
Damn really? I thought it was a good size cuz i always see people keeping bettas in small bowls. Its only 1 fish btw.
>>5135102
I think painting is too much. However maybe i can cover it with some very thick paper or plastic that blocks the light?

>>5135129
>Damn really?
yes>>5135129
>i can cover it with some very thick paper or plastic that blocks the light?
yes

>>5135141
Why hasnt PETA said something yet? I think exactly for reasons like this is why they should even exist. Theyre retarded and unrealistic for thinking they can fight cattle consumption, but not try and go after something more likely to happen like educating ppl on proper pet fish care ... anywho, so what size is the lowest i should go to give this lil guy sufficient amount of space. I always see free aquariums getting thrown away on cl or local recycle groups

>>5135145
10G is plenty and fine and common
5g would be a nearly 80% increase, though less common

>>5135145
you're just retarded for thinking peta is anything other than leftist scum that perpetually worsen problems under emotional arguements

>>5135146
Thx4thetip brah
>>5135149
I dont really think much of them tbf

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>>5135071
Get a cheap hang on back filter that's tiny like this one. Stuff the media with black foam, let it cycle and get it all brown and shit. If you don't have the time to cycle it in another tank before giving it to your cousin, then just use the hang on back directly on his tank and tell him to cut down on the food and change the water every couple of days or so until the filter sponge starts to get all brown and mucky. It might take a while but the water changes will help with the green algae I bet.
>pump
You don't really need it in a tank this tiny. The hang on back should be able to agitate the water surface enough for that one betta. Just scrub the algae off the glass and do a partial water change and monitor for a few days.

>>5135260
>>5135071
Also, if he's just using plastic plants, tell him to get one of those fish house thingy for the betta to swim in and hide. Let it have some cover space. And if you're getting the hang on back filter, make sure to get the one with adjustable flow and set it to the lowest setting. Even a tiny filter/pump can have strong flow and it's too much for a tiny tank, it really depends on the brand and engineering. If the tank has brown shit on the gravel and no live plants, the brown shit has no purpose and it's just gonna feel algae as it decomposes. Get a airline tube and cable tie a small squishy pipette to it and use that to do water changes. As the water flows out of one end of the tube, use the end that has the pipette attached to it to blow air onto the gravel and suck up the mulm into the airline tube. Small tanks are easy to maintain, you just gotta do it right.

>>5135145
Don't listen to that, it basically came from PETA to begin with.
Bettas adapted to live in ditches and puddles that go through droughts, 3 gallons isn't a problem and they can take being in those small store bowls for a few months no problem. The worst thing most stores do is put them in clear bowls right next to each other so they're always stressing each other out or not changing the water regularly, I wouldn't buy from places that do that.
Personally I have mine in a Spec V, it's nice to watch him swim around in that space though idk what they were thinking with the nozzle filter outlet, the flow speed is way to high even at the lowest setting on the pump and I had to order a waterfall attachment to slow it down.

>>5135268
>t. lives in 400 sq ft new york studio and thinks it is normal

>>5135100
I didn't say 'suck', I said it's just... tiring to try and explain that they're wasting money on plastic crap and that fish don't need 'enrichment' or 'exercise'. also they act like bettas are the pinnacle of fishkeeping instead of babby's first poisson.

>>5135396
fish definitely benefit from enrichment like live food, live plants, and fucking space to swim; as well as proper school sizes for normal behavior.
>>5135268
sure your betta will live. good job. i guess that's why we keep pets.
a 3G tank and a 10G tank take up hilariously similar space. A 10G is over 300% more volume for a fish to live in. A 10G is also 10$ and the 3G is probably more.
Smaller tanks suffer more parameter sensitivity.
It's fucking stupid, no fish should be in less than 10G

>>5135260
Yeah i saw a video where a pet fish owner recommended getting rid of the shitter biofilter bags and just stuffing it with some sponging. Makes sense 2me, that bio bag is so loose inside the hob vessel that i cant see how anything is actually getting filtered in it with all the gaps, but the sponge can be cut to fit inside the hob vessel so that there isnt any gaps forcing the water to be filtered correctly. Anywayz how long does cycling take? Ill just give him the new tank, sponge and hob and have him cycle it.
>>5135266
Thx for the tip on the adjustable flow setting, thats kind of what i mean when i said pump, i thought it was the pump that adjust how fast the water is getting put out.
>plastic plants
I saw a video on easy to maintain aquarium plants. I think ill get him some anubias, java fern, java moss and guppy grass. Whatever i can find available at a local aquarium store.
>airline tube and pipette
You lost me here, idk what youre describing

>>5135268
Im already set on getting the 10g
Btw whats best kind of gravel to get? Since theres gonna be plants should i need some kind of special aquarium plant gravel, rocks or dirt? And what about adding driftwood? Can i use wood i find in my local parks and woodlands or does it need to be a special kind of aquarium treated wood?

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>>5135412
>You lost me here, idk what youre describing
Pic related. (It cost me 10 million gigawatts of CPU power to generate this btw)
>Anywayz how long does cycling take?
Really long, in my experience a month and a half at least. You can take a look at this if you need to put the fish in the new tank straightaway.
https://aquariumscience.org/2-5-aquarium-fish-in-cycling/
>>5135414
>Since theres gonna be plants should i need some kind of special aquarium plant gravel, rocks or dirt?
That depends on the type of plants. Not all plants root into the soil, some like anubias, java fern, java moss can be stuck onto something like rock or wood and left in the water. You really only need plant-specific substrate if you are gonna keep decent amount of rooted plants. I'm currently setting up a dirted tank with lots of stem plants and root feeders, so my tank has an inch of organic potting soil and 1.5 inches of coarse sand on top, which I stick my plants into. If you're going this route, look into Walstad method/dirted tanks/low-tech planted tank/father fish method, etc. You don't have to do that if you're gonna just keep stuff like anubias and java ferns. To clarify, if you are going to go the planted tank route, you don't need to clean the gravel/sand/soil like in this picture. That's something you just let it be in those types of tanks.

>>5131472
tsuchinoko!

>>5135268
>Bettas adapted to live in ditches and puddles that go through droughts
A "ditch" and "puddle" in the wild is far larger than you think. If you saw a circular puddle that was three feet across, you'd think nothing of it and just step across, but if it was an average of just one inch deep, that's already 18 gallons. /aq/ has been through this discussion shit tons of times before and each time, the <10G crowd just sperg out because they don't understand things outside their basement.

>>5135412
swords are pretty easy but there's only a couple 'dwarf' varieties
bacopa caroliniana and b. australis are hardy and don't need trimming all the time
"""dwarf""" sagittaria is easy to grow but it WILL get super long and take over the tank, don't listen to Big Sag's lies

>>5135472
Oh shit cool, thanks for the picture! That definitely makes it clear now. And thanks for the tips about the substrate. Even though i might not use rooted pants, this is good info to have for future reference

>>5135653
Does that need soil/sand for those plants?

my guppy tank is full of val. it started with the back half and now it's the literal whole thing. I was moderately trimming every month or so but got fuckin sick and aggressively trimmed the fuck out of all of it down to like 1.5-2"
i haven't had any vertical growth since then. what I left it still green, but no new growth. I bet they would do runners, but tank is already full. no room for more runners.
>>5134531
this bottom tank

I don't know what question to ask. Just uh yeah

>>5135659
it's probably 3-4" whatever

>>5135656
swords yes, bacopa will probably grow in pea gravel, sag will grow in solid concrete
>>5135659
I know your pain. I'd take a pic but I've been lazy and not cleaned off the biofilm patches on the glass.

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>>5134213
I've seen some guys build some nice stuff with extruded aluminum. Which I would order rather than going to a big box store. There was a decent selection of stands on wayfair for around $100 - $150.

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I'm new to /aqg/ but not new to the hobby. Recently ordered a 23gal liveaquaria curved edge tank. Won't be surprised if it's crap but for the money it will scratch the itch until I'm ready for a larger reef tank. I've had several kinds of tanks in the past but I'm not sure what to put in this one. Considering mbuna cichlids but the tank is a bit small perhaps.

my mystery pleco i kept in a 55 gallon died a couple months back. aquarium was looking dire. just threw in a decent sized bristle-nose and I am shocked how he simply demolished the problem in 2 days. what a champ.

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I buyded a fush
The foxface immediately tasted the end of his dorsal fin.

>>5134379
Depends what's in there and if UV has any appreciable effect on the contents.
I've had DIY sodium/potassium nitrate, phosphate solutions go from clear to a darker orange than iron ferts over a month.
DO I know what changed? No. Do I know if it made a difference? No.

>>5136481
Those are some rather puffy catheter fruit discs.

danios dude

>>5135402
You are very dumb. A betta being adapted to living in mud puddles doesn't stop at its body. If anything a nice clear and open 10 gallon would make it feel more vulnerable than living in a tiny mud bowl, it does not psychologically need a big living space any more than it does physically

>>5136559
>a big living space
>3" fish
>10G

> If anything a nice clear and open 10 gallon would make it feel more vulnerable
...plants, wood, rocks.
>10G

>>5136593
Lol not the other guy, but the funny thing about you self appointed gate keepers is you repeat the mantras so hard you don't consider if they are true.

Proofs in the pudding. There are millions of bettas thriving in 1 gallon vases.

>>5136605
>Thriving
No.

Surviving for a few months until they die from neglect because those owners don't want a fish, they want an ornament.

>>5136593
>>5136684
how many times does it need to be told to you? their natural habitat is 2 inch deep irrigated ditches full of fertilizer that they have to hop and flop between, or muddy rice paddies completely choked out with plants. The mere sight of another fish is often enough to drive them in to a psychotic meltdown that can kill them from the sheer stress. They neither need nor want a bunch of space and they aren't particularly affected by water quality

>>5136711
Ok, Supardi.

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Got a nygger heater for my African dwarf frogs

>>5136724
>African dwarf frogs
Albino or nasty-shit colored?

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>>5136737
Fat nigga

>>5136737
I wish my LFS would stock blonds. Any compatability issues I should know of? Or can I stick them in a 20 gal with a betta shrimp and a pleco?

Couple questions for experienced anons. Do you have a backup power source to keep your tanks running in the event of a power outage? I usually get at least a couple outages with winter storms, one time it was a week. I don't want my fish friends to freeze to death or suffocate. Looking for a cost effective way to keep them powered.

How important are quarantine tanks. I'm going to get a few more cherry barbs to fill out my school. I'm getting them from the same store where I got the first batch a couple weeks ago. Is it worth setting up a 10 gallon for screening new fish in the future?

>>5137055
Not for a week. Even a strong UPS running just the heater would conk out after 12 hours. Do you lose heat completely? Honestly the easiest way to keep the tank an acceptable temp is get a generator for your heating system.

If you can already run heat during a power outage you'll be fine. Even if you can't, how cold does it get? Even after a couple of days with no power, my house is still in the 50s which is fine short term.

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Has anyone tried out the stuff from Etsy? I'm planning my new tank and wanted a cave system for shrimp and maybe fry(if the Chili Rasboras breed) to hang out in to avoid the Betta male and his incel rage. I would put a bunch of moss at the two entrances to hide/block them.
It's pretty cool. and is better than the Western theme I was thinking of.

>>5137100
I'd say a generator is my only option. My house is old with shit insulation. with the heat off it's basically whatever the outside temp is minus the wind chill. -20 is typical. I can deal with it myself with a couple sweaters and blankets but I guess I have to get my ass in gear for the fish' sake

>>5137112
Just buy a shitload of cholla wood anon

>>5137115
You can do both. Yes.

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Him got weird eyes lol

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>>5137129
I dunno anon. 3D printer shit tends to look really ugly after a while, even moreso for white decor. Unless you make your whole aquascape with the same architecture theme its going to look ugly. Wood and logs will look good in any planted setup. If you can make it look like pic related then go right ahead, but there's 100 other pictures of people trying this aesthetic and it looking like shit.

>>5137186
It comes in multiple color choices. I would go with Beige.
My idea is for the tank to just be plants, driftwood, some rocks, and a Pleco cave. No ruins or pillars. Those would be solely in/under these sub-straight. Everything else about the tank set up would be your standard heavily planted tank.

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>have rare high grade shrimps
>LFS only wants to offer store credit
It would be retarded to sell to them right? Because the moment they start breeding in the store tanks my value goes to the gutter and they become way more available locally. I think I will gatekeep my shrimps.

>>5137258
No LFS is paying cash, they're all credit only. Keep your pure-breds, experiment with crosses and trade in the undesirable morphs.

>>5137258
Why not sell them to locals? I sell a lot of unremarkable cherries and even wild types to local moms.

>>5137304
That’s the plan, just takes longer. These can easily be $30+ per shrimp and I have tons of them. If I could offload in bulk to an LFS at $10-$15 per shrimp I would cause it would be way faster and easier. But I have zero use for store credit as it stands. I can’t fit any more tanks right now nor do I want to.

How can I add flow to my tank without destroying my floating plants? I think my corys will refuse to spawn until I give them moving water since they’re wild caught.

>>5137258
You can just supply males or just females, not both. That stops them from breeding within the tanks at the store and at customers homes.
Times are tough, and you are a new, hobbyist supplier. They won't be sure if they can sell, if they are in good shape. The chances of them giving you anything besides credit basically 0. Maybe if you took the credit, the shrimp are in good shape, they sell quickly, and you can show you area reliable supplier, they might consider cash payments down the line.

Or, just cut out the middle man and find away to sell them yourself. Craistlist is a good option.

>>5137346
underwater outflow

Good easy plant that's not valisineria or pothos?
Preferably cheap

>>5137542
Anacharis

>>5137542
Syngoniums and Cryptocorynes.

>>5137561
i will give anyone that comes over 20 anachris stems
you can leave after
it just won't stop growing

>>5137618
Don't listen to this guy, I came over for the anacharis and he trapped me in his basement (the food is good tho)

>>5137649
you don't have to pay rent either, shut up.
there's a tv and bed. fucking paradise for most the world.
don't worry, i'm taking care of your wife

The scary thing is I don't even have a wife. He's upstairs with some random woman and she's whimpering a lot.

How red is your red rubin sword?

>60g + 20g sump
>med-high hardness, heavily planted, roughly 100 fish from cory to turquoise rainbowfish size
>haven't changed water since start of April
>tds tested today: 237ppm
So this is the power of clams

How do I stop my fishbowl greenwater culture from foaming at the surface? I have a cheap wavemaker in there to keep everything suspended.

>>5137770
this nigga literally built a living can of sardines

>>5137926
Foam usually means protein buildup

Excessively high PH, water changes result in stability for a time. PH always goes back up.
Added drift wood, not sure where to go from here. Results in a lot of dead fish any time we try to resupply only about 3/4ths survive.

We've tried everything the internet has to offer within reasonable price, but it always just goes back up.
We have one lava rock, but the guys keep telling us it's suppose to lower PH not raise it.
IDK what is happening, only tank i've ever had that as done this and none of my other tanks have this issue.

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Trojans before horses were invented.

>>5138030
Just ditch everything in the tank and start anew, man. Ground zero that bitch if something obscene is leaching.

Are you pH testing tapwater?
Ignore what your LFS is telling you, forever.
SOMETHING in that tank is consuming H potential.
Hell, get a bare, unpopulated tank - just water - and compare pH between that control and your 'living' tank.
pH doesn't magically climb. Stop fucking adding fish if they're dying.
What's the age of your oldest tank?

I came to visit a friend from out of town and saw gis 100G tank is a mess

He only has 3 clown loaches and a large eel in there BUT the tank is absolutely infested with assassin snails. What can we do to deal with these things? Like this is an insane amount of snails in the tank

>>5138030
what this guy said>>5138036
but also what's your tap water parameters, measure gh and kh
i've found crushed coral helps a lot with a tank that has such fluctuations.

>>5138034
Keeping fish is trojans before condoms were invented.

>>5138030
what do you mean by 'excessively high pH'? If it's over 9 you've absolutely fucked something up bigtime.

>>5138145
>>5138076
>>5138036
I consider 8.2 excessively high.
The tank is established has been for years, it mostly had plants and a small school of fish that have been living for about three years.
Oldest tank is over 15 years old that one is salt water though at around 200 gallons.

IDK what to tell you, it's a 25 gallon tank that has nothing that should raise PH, but every fucking time it just raises PH.
Also yeah local water supply is higher PH from lime, but I don't really use it regularly usually use distilled water.
unless I got some shoddy bag of rocks from some china company that is actually a PH raiser for the substrate and ground layer idk what could be causing this.

I like going to the fish store but I'm always sad I can't get more fish :c

>>5138384
>Puts slightly acidic water into tank
>PH climbs to 8.2
>what do you want me to tell you bros it's not something in the tank

Oh OK lol. Sucks, but strip down and restart might be your best option. Or hope you can bleed out whatever is raising your PH.

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>>5131472
My tank finally kind of taking off. Bloody mary shrimp numbers exploded, plants growing. I still only have 2 rice fish in there but they seem happy. The hydra population is stabilizing. The fish keep laying eggs but eating them, hopefully some survive as the plants expand. The rocks are slate with fossils I gathered myself. Should I add pygmy Cory's?

>>5138652
Did you 3d print that sea mine?
Also, get some moss for your shrimp. They love the shit.

>>5138624
I literally said I don't use local water.
I literally said it.

Direct quote
>usually use distilled water
Distilled water is neutral and absorbs chemicals to reach low PH within a few hours.
I am directly telling you, something is raising PH and we do not know what it is.
>drift wood
shouldn't raise PH should lower it
>lava rock
should lower PH
>gravel
should lower PH
>plants
should raise and lower PH depending on time of day
>shells
can raise PH, but we've removed the shells that we can see.

PH after water change is always solid, but it raises to near dangerous levels within two-three days. It never skyrockets, but in my experience it is usually multiple weeks or months even in my most stable tanks before I even debate buffering or doing a water change.
It's just this one tank.
It's also got like 20 fish and should be lowering PH.
Man I would of argued that the driftwood or lava rock is raising PH, but neither of them has been in a lime heavy water source both were bought from stores.
I'm just baffled m8, I have no idea what to do.
Hate to rant on here, I love you guys, but I'm fucking stumped and no one has even a slightly different theory to what could be causing it.
Always change water add more driftwood.

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>>5138666
Not today satan

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>>5138654
I bought the mine from temu. I got some moss in there but it hasnt been doing the best(also got it from temu lol). Pic is the oldest surviving bloody mary shrimp and one of her 40+ offspring.

Can I get some tips for dealing with algae? More water changes more frequent filter maintenance more plants and less light is that it? What has worked for you?
I'm about to order some floaters, they always die for me though, even duckweed hasn't survived.

>>5138666
I didn't read all that.Distilled water is slightly acidic my dude. In a sealed container it's 7.0 but the second gas touches it, even pouring it out, makes it absord carbon.

You can do 1000 go rounds on this. It's obviously something in your tank.

>>5138711
which type of algae, anon? it makes a big difference.
I have staghorn on my val because its the one type of algae that snails and shrimp won't touch. I have tons of plants including duckweed and I remove about a quart of that each week. As long as you have an environment that is good for plants, algae will exist. Floaters prefer open-topped tanks because they don't like that humid air trapped between the lid and the surface.

staghorn, hair and black beard are the hardest types to get rid of mostly because nothing eats staghorn and very few things eat hair and BBA.

>>5138785
What even is the removal procedure for hair algae? I have it in small bits and no matter what I do with my lighting or how long I completely cut it, it never goes away completely.

>>5138787
hair algae isn't like a plant, it can regenerate from a tiny portion. spinning a tootbrush around in it and pulling it out is good for cosmetic removal but eliminating excess nutrients and adjusting lighting is the only way to beat it back completely. Florida flagfish, mollies, platies and Siamese algae eaters/silver flying foxes will nibble away at the shorter bits.

>>5138711
Pretty much that's it.
If you're still struggling it may suggest that your levels are off.

Add something to consume the nutrients that are feeding the algae.
Also get the API test kit and check everything.

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>>5138785
The standard green stuff. Admittedly it's easy enough to remove I'm just tired of seeing it.
I'll keep that in mind for floaters, I think my flow was too high too.
>>5138798
Yeah I just need more plants I suppose, I didn't have this problem until I got a brighter light. I want to be as hands off as I can.

>>5138805
>I want to be as hands off as I can.
In my shrimp tank, my java moss chews up all spare nutrients. Outside of changing water every other week, trimming the moss in the only maintenance.

Of course, I leave an algae wall. You might not like that.

I'd definitely test my water.

>>5138805
Right picture looks like cyanobacteria, That will also suffer from the same things that impede algae growth but nothing eats it. I had it start growing on a big rock under my HOB discharge but then it just sort of vanished in a week, I think maybe the constant parade of snails disturbed it.

>>5138761
opposite happens, because it has nothing it absorbs carbon dioxide immediately upon touching air.
When it breaks down in the water it creates hydrogen which greatly lowers PH.

Your argument just doesn't make sense.
Yeah no shit it's something in the tank, but it has to be a specific something not regularly talked about.

>>5138828
Me: distilled water becomes acidic when exposed to air
You: what are you talking about, that lowers it's PH

I can see how you messed your tank up lol. Good luck anon.

I'm making a fountain out of a moderately sized planter and I would like to add in some duckweed. I know duckweed doesn't really like agitation, but how much can it tolerate? The fountain shouldn't be particularly aggressive, it's a cheap solar powered one, but I don't want to buy some duckweed just to kill it. If not duckweed, are there any alternatives you'd recommend? I plan to keep the fountain outside in an area with no shade during warmer months.

>>5138949
Not quite answering your question because I don't have a pond, but I use lot's of duckweed in all my cultivation tanks. You should be fine on the agitation. The duckweed will get pushed away from the fountain and stay a certain distance away depending on the power.

I'd be more concerned about temperature and sunlight. A planter is small. A pond is large. The planter can easily hit 90 in direct sun. For sustained periods that could kill the duckweed. Also, duckweed can handle bright light, but it needs a crapload of nutrients under high light.

>>5138988
I don't mind adding extra nutrients. Noted about the light: it's west facing so direct sunlight won't be constant, but once the sun is on that side of the house there won't be any shade, and there will be at least indirect sunlight before then. I'll take a look and see what the temperatures end up reaching over the next week or two. If it's too hot, I'm okay with pivoting off of duckweed. Thanks Anon.

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>starting a new planted filterless tank (pic)
>last one is going strong, but has become overgrown and infested with bladder snails

I plan to move my three oto catfish and Bloody Mary shrimp (about two of them plus babies/teens) to this new one. Just waiting for the tank to cycle. Will they be all right?

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Throwing in the towel on my habrosus breeding project. Females have been gravid for weeks if not longer with no spawning activity or sign of eggs/fry whatsoever. Got them as juveniles in late January and have nothing to show for it now in July except -1 male cory for no discernible reason. Every rule in the book for conditioning has been followed and repeated for at least 5 processes now. Their parameters are ideal. The only discrepancy I can see is one person reporting consistent spawns in the mid 6 pH range. But I’m not gonna go chasing pH when the fish are already adapted that’s retarded.
>daily large, cool water changes
>tons of moss and clear glass to lay eggs on
>heavy protein diet conditioning via bloodworms, blackworms, repashy, carnivore pellets, nano feed, and spirulina
>low light
>highly oxygenated
>added flow
>took away flow
>did water changes during rainstorms
I’m just gonna assume because they’re wild caught they’re never gonna spawn for me in a tank. At least they look cool and are fun to watch. Extremely frustrating though.

>>5139052
can you explain this netted pearl grass please

>>5139802
It’s apparently supposed to be left on, because otherwise it’s not anchored to anything and would float up

>>5139821
Is it going to root in the substrate?

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>>5139981
I think that’s the idea! Here’s what it looks like, it’s anchored to a tile and I guess it will outgrow the netting

>>5140033
yes the netting isn't really the issue. what are the roots going to do with tile in their way?

>>5140038
No idea, but why was it sold like that?

>>5140042
i don't fucking know, i'm the one asking the questions
surely you did your research before purchasing
i'm sure it wasn't cheap

>>5140043
Kek I thought you were asking me rhetorically. But from what I found the roots will still spread out and it should overgrow both the netting and the tile, while both the netting and tile also keep it anchored

>>5140045
it looks pretty big, i don't see how the center 4/5ths are going to root their way around the tile

first time attempting to move with an aquarium. catching the fish wasn't as bad as expected. i read ahead time that it's way easier to pull out all decor and plants, then drain down to 10-20% before trying. THAT worked a charm. the two net herding technique got it done in about 15 minutes with no casualties.

>>5140527
Hahaha good job anon breaking down a tank is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it has to be done sometimes. Hope the move goes well.

>>5140542
thankfully i didn't have any autism worms. i have heard they are nearly impossible.

I want a mini crayfish why do they have to be turbo murderers

>>5138846
anon you do realize I wanted to lower the PH right?
I need you to know that.
You seem to be literally retarded.

>>5140838
You win, you've trapped me. You said your ph was raising despite only adding distilled water. Everyone pointed out it's something in your tank and that blew your simple little mind. So instead of facing that, you've decided to argue against things I clearly never said.

I see why your tank is dead.

i just started a tank two weeks ago with plants and last week added 5 guppies. i want to add shrimp and khuli later. got a lot of what i guess is biofilm building up especially thick on the cholla wood. is this fine? also should i have snails for cleanup while im waiting to put in the cleanup fish?

>>5140996
Is it white? That stuff generally only appears on new wood. It's a great food source for inverts, including shrimp. It doesn't last forever though, but by the time it goes away, the rest of your tank should be mature enough to support shrimp.
What kind of cleanup fish?

>>5141026
it looks almost like a clear jelly. i was trying to figure stuff out and came to the conclusion thr kuhli loaches and shrimp should be good enough for cleanup, but also that i should wait a bit before putting anything else in at this point. ive got the tank decently planted but the plants havent gad much time to grow out yet

Do shrimp get stuck in cholla wood?

>>5141030
that's standard biofilm
adding shrimp isn't going to cause problems. they're so insanely small bioload, it'll just help you cycle faster

>>5141113
agreed with this anon, shrimp are incredibly tough and just pick away at stuff without needing hardly any food (one hikari wafer will feed a whole tank of them)

>>5141113
>>5141125
ok, ill test my water and if its still looking good ill pick some up by the weekend

Opinions on java moss vs. Christmas moss?

Is it normal if fish aren't excited when you feed them? Mine don't really respond and will let the pellets sink to the ground

>>5141271
They're not hungry. You're overfeeding.
Feed less/less frequently.
Unless this is a change in behavior. Then you should check your parameters.

Or you could be feeding the wrong food type for what you have. Not all will take pellets.

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One day ago my angelfish got really spooked while I was at my tank. It thrashed around and eventually kept "stuttering" as it swam as if it was hyperventilating. What could have killed it so quickly, all other fish are fine.

Anyone put 3d printed things in their aquarium?
I read that it's fine provided the filament used is good quality.

I'm assuming Inland (Microcenter's brand) is fine?

>>5141326
For something to die so quickly and no other fish be affected I can only think that it somehow injured itself when it got spooked.
It could have hit his head and it got actual brain damage.
But I have never seen anything happen like what you described.

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I redid my shrimp tank

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>>5141464
people have been doing it for years, i've never seen an ill report
most of them are regularly changing water though
if you're doing like once every 6 mo water changes i might reconsider
>>5141498
very nice anon
i can't fucking see anything in my shrimp tanks anymore

>>5141545
>if you're doing like once every 6 mo water changes i might reconsider
It's a 5g shrimp tank. With the plants, I'm down to, just about, water changes every three weeks.

You think I'd have to do it more often?

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Why does this co2 diffuser arm keep filling with water?

Is there any statistical possibility for Amano larvae to survive to juvenile in 100% freshwater? They have hundreds of babies every single time and not once in their entire history has one survived fresh water?

>>5141613
wouldn't worry about it at all
>>5141689
backsiphoning, any hose will do it submerged in a tank with the other end below the tank
that's why you install check valves
>>5141730
i got two preggos i'll let you know in a month

If I'm cycling a tank with plants (java fern, anubias) do I need fertilizer?
Since there's no fish [poop], do I need to supply nutrients?

>>5141806
yes
also just add a fish

>>5141812
>yes
Is seachem flourish okay?
>also just add a fish
I'm doing shrimp.

Does anyone have some good aquarium light recommendations or universal stands for a light?
I have a 45 and a 100 gallon planted tank with the black rim/supports. I have decent full spectrum lights but recently wanted to start planting some shit in planters on top of the tank. I am tempted to just do a diy rig for the lights I already have but i’d rather not drill into the ceiling.

>>5141806
Basically >>5141815
Get some guppies or ember tetras. A few nearites could help too. I find my planted shrimp tanks always do better with some small, peaceful, snails and fish.

>>5141730
It is 100% mortality. They can live but won’t molt so they just die in like a week.

>>5141869
>Get some guppies or ember tetras
It's a nano tank, it's not big enough for that.
Do nerites breed and take over your tank? "Just feed less." I won't over feed - my kids might, though.

So seachem okay? Or is it not comprehensive enough?

>>5141907
Nerites need brackish water to breed. They lay eggs everywhere but they don't take. They actually need a lot of space though like 5 gallons per so don't load up. They are voracious.

If other snails take over a tank, crush them and leave them in there. The shrimp will clean up the mess and the shell will dissolve. That's what I do with bladder snails.

>>5142038
>They lay eggs everywhere but they don't take.
Gross, don't want eggs everywhere. Doesn't seem like you can reliably sex them, either.

>If other snails take over a tank, crush them and leave them in there.
Crushing them is like nails on chalk boards. I'd rather not.

>>5141869
i imagine guppies would eat baby shrimp
i might move a male endler to each of my shrimp tanks tho that sounds kino

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Getting a lot of hair algae on my plants, suggestions? I do have a young SAE and the plants seem to be doing fine with the fuzz on them.

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I took photos of these two at Petco yesterday. Do you know what kind of fish they are? Thanks.

How do you add substrate (sand in this case) to an already established and planted tank? For example, my carpeting Monte Carlo would probably benefit from another half inch or so of substrate, but if I just dump a bunch of sand over top it’s gonna destroy the tank and kill most of the carpet until what’s left can work its way back up and basically re-carpet. I don’t wanna fuck my fish up either.

>>5142269
just grab a cup full of sand, slowly lower it under the water, and pour it where you want

>>5141545
the shrimp probably prefer it that way

>>5142291
the left side is reds and the right side is green venoms
today I saw a couple baby greens on the red's side
fuckers

Can I put 2 guppies in a 2.5 gallon?

>>5142397
You can put them in a one quart Ball jar if you want

>>5142397
Please do not.
In a 2.5 your options really are shrimp, snails, or betta.

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>>5141113
>>5141125
i love these little guys. i had a cone in my transfer bowl they all stuck to. i moved the cone over and they one at a time dropped off it to the bottom over the next few minutes. they all seem to be doing great and they look pretty silly to me. fish store had this really cool giant saltwater shrimp with big whiskers that floated around, looked really cool

>>5142478
i think it was a very large banded shrimp, but i just learned about harlequin and mantis shrimp. kicking put my roommates asap to put more tanks in

Who here had painted the back of their tank? I'm considering it. Did it make a difference?
>Acrylic?
>What color did you pick?
>What finish?

>>5142487
paint works fine. dark window tint works well if you want black. privacy window films from hardware stores. if you just want to test to see how it might look with various solid colors you can tape some construction paper on the back and get an idea.

>>5142477
Why tho

>>5142487
paiting the back black makes a WORLD of difference, it would take a very unique situation for me not to do it.
i have used acrylic and latex with rollers and brushes. as long as you put enough coats you won't be able to tell the difference
i've tried the window tint things and it's hard to make it perfect and not show bubbles. just paint it

>>5142397
Do at least 5 gal. They are very active little fish and shit twice as much as other similar sized fishes.

>>5142196
Some kind of american chiclid

Water change
>>5142759
>>5142759
>>5142759
>>5142759
>>5142759

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I got a couple Black Line Tetras and put them in my 20 gallon tank that previously just had my betta fish and some snails, the betta immediately took a bite at one of the Tetras but otherwise went back to swimming at the top of the tank while the Tetras explored the bottom. I was told these tetras would get along fine with Bettas at the fish store so the instant aggression kind of freaked me out. Did I make a mistake?

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>>5142760
Bit early innit?

>>5142760
>50 posts before bump limit
???

>>5142773
Fun fact, that's what they all look like

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Those cool efficient aquarium youtube videos are fake, aren't they?

>>5142767
bettas are pretty slow, tetras should easily be able to gap a fucking betta that tries to put the speed on them

i'd be more worried that since you only got a 'couple' of tetras they'll take any aggression out on the betta instead of their own kind. gg no re

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>>5142901
>Those cool efficient aquarium
idk what you mean
i think mine are cool and efficient, take minimal maintenance

>>5143118
how do you keep all the water in your sideways aquarium?