- Floating Oliver Knott Edition -
Continued from >>2155625
Discuss anything aquarium related here, including inhabitants, decor and issues.
Google is your friend.
Feel free to ask questions but know that there are a lot of resources out there that could answer your question a lot faster and accurately than /an/.
Make sure to include these things in your post before asking because we can't help you if we don't have the full picture:
-tank size
-parameters
-any and all inhabitants + how long you've had them
FAQ Section
>How to handle algae, snails, lighting, easy plants for beginners etc.) :
http://pastebin.com/KcJUJeV7
Links:
>How to cycle your tank: http://pastebin.com/x4WnB0Ah
>General aquarium care sheets - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/
>Livestock and plants for sale - http://www.petsolutions.com/ http://www.aquabid.com
>FUCKING GOOGLE
We all make mistakes, so don't put anyone down - rather be helpful.
Chances are, you made a similiar mistake when you were starting out.
>Useful & Extensive database for aquatic plants and their parameters:
Flowgrow
http://www.flowgrow.de/db/aquaticplants
>Cool Youtube Channels:
>Aquascaping -
James Findley/The Green Machine
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreenMachineLtd
Dennis Wong
https://www.youtube.com/user/xiaozhuangw
Filipe Oliveira
https://www.youtube.com/user/FaaoStudio
Oliver Knott
https://www.youtube.com/user/amanoshrimp
>Building your own shit/ Fish&Plant talk
King of DIY
https://www.youtube.com/user/uarujoey
Dustin's Fish Tanks
https://www.youtube.com/user/Dustinsfishtanks
Wayne's Fish World
https://www.youtube.com/user/samuelwaynefoleyjr
Aquarium related documentaries (German & English)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkQ-oVBStx0EYRcwz3bHSA
KGTropicals - Mostly Cichlid Talk
https://www.youtube.com/user/KGTropicals
>Axies are illegal in california
>can't find anyone who sells them anyway
>can't find anyone stupid enough to ship them to me
it's not fair
>>2158912
I don't even understand why they are outlawed. Like they are very picky about their habitat in the wild and are barely scraping by in mexico due to loss of their clean and colder lakes.
In EU we have a similiar bogus situation with Apple/Mystery Snails.
Some guy released a huge plant eating species of the Pomacea genus in Spain and it turned out to be invasive. So the EU outright outlawed the whole Pomocea genus, even the ones that are normally kept in aquaria and don't bother plants.
You are not allowed to sell, give away or breed Pomacea, so it took me almost 2 years to find someone that still had some Apple Snails here in Germany.
Uprooted plants in preparation for guppy babies
>>2158912
dude I had one and I live in hawaii like the fuck.
The albino one I had was very animated and friendly, the green one was a dickasarus and skittish as fuck
>>2158918
iirc it's to keep them from breeding with Cali Tiger Salamanders here which are 'Vulnerable'
annoying as hell since they're only in a small part of California. But then again, Cali is weird about a LOT of animals. We still can't legally keep ferrets or hedgehogs. Not that it stops anyone determined enough to keep one
>>2158920
Is that an ocelot echinodorus?
you could also add floating plants for baby guppies.
>>2158936
>ocelot echinodorus
yes, red strain
no floating plants at my lfs
>>2158940
>ocelot echinodorus
do you think the stock fluval led is enough for it?
>>2158940
You could also just do a spawning mop type of thing out of cork and yarn.
>>2158940
>>2158941
I keep my comparable Jungle Star Nr 2 Echinodorus, which also has red leaves at 30 lumen per litre and bio CO2 and it shows bright red.
How much Lumen or Watts does the stock-LED have? Couldn't find any hard data. I heard it's designated low light, which my guess is should be between 350ish, with roughly 10 lumen per LED.
at 20litres, that would give you 17,5 lumen per litre, so your echinodus will grow, but might have problems showing full colour - but that's just my guess. It's best you observe for a while.
Also a big ocelot could outgrow your tank, so be ready to trim old leaves on a regular basis.
>>2158944
I double dose fluval plant micro
I read it likes extra iron
>>2158943
Why? Guppies don't lay eggs
>>2158946
Yes, Iron is a great supplement for such a plant, even better would be iron tablets for it's roots, since echinodorus like to absorb the most nutrients via roots. Maybe you can find them, but they are not mandatory.
My first go-to in terms of lighting would be an eheim power LED with 11w which would give you 1100 lumen, so 55 lumen per litre.
You could grow almost anything in there with that kind of lighting, even very high light plants.
I don't know about the US prices for the Eheim but it should run at 100-120$ but it has a very long warranty and energy efficiency.
If you wanna go lower, check maybe for fluval LEDs or, if energy efficiency/longevity is not an issue, just get a T5 fixture
>>2158951
Is flourish the same as what I'm using?
What other supplements are worth using?
>>2158951
thinking of this for a light upgrade
>>2158974
No fish in your setup I hope.
I hate when people put blinding lights above animals that don't even have the option of looking away.
>>2158974
you buying the smallest one at 600 lumens? sounds alright, if you don't wanna keep any high demanding plants.
>>2158992
Idk what you're talking about. The tank is 6 gallons.
>>2158999
pay him no mind, he used to have a trip "ila" where he persistently tried to troll this general by pissing people off with claims such as, one shouldn't ad rock or wood to a fishtank, because it always steals swimming space from fish and is inhumane.
People told him to piss off, but now he tries the same without a trip.
>>2158997
I was talking about the lighting output of the LED-Model you were choosing. Their smallest model has 600 lumen, which for such a small tank as yours, should be more than sufficient, unless you wanna keep very high demanding plants like rotala wallichii for example.
My advice with upping your lighting would be, either up some more plants by adding medium stem plants like ludwigia repens or try adding co2 into the mix, to fully utilize your extra light, otherwise you may run into some algae problems.
Sup /an/
80L Odyssea (90x30x30cm) freshwater, temperate, planted. Room sees no natural light.
Still cycling, waiting for another 2 weeks or so before adding any fish.
I want to introduce a male betta at the end, but am looking for suggestions for a small shoal and a couple of slightly bigger individuals to populate the tank first.
Am thinking danios or tetras and perhaps a couple of platies or mollies. Also on the lookout for some bottom feeders but again, not decided yet.
I have kept bettas in community tanks before so I know the risks and have a small back up tank should anything go awry.
What do you guys reckon would look good in terms of the options above? Colour/breed/numbers suggestions all welcome.
hit me
>>2159014
I would add some wood/rocks to break up the symmetrical lines of the plants, but that's just my taste. Maybe you were going for that look.
As you know, with platies and mollies, beware that they are not too colourful/longfinned, so the betta does not perceive them as other males to outcompete.
Some Tetras would be fine. Maybe get some ember tetras in there or black tetras. depending on stocking/filtration/maintenance, you could add up to 15-20 in there.
For the bottom you might wanna consider a small corydoras species like pygmaeus, habrosus or hastatus. You could also add 10-15 of those, the more, the merrier.
Habrosus I got myself and out of the dwarf breeds, they seem the most extroverted.
>>2158963
Flourish is basically the same, yes
>>2159008
So dosing exel with the current use would work?
>>2159022
it should be fine, but be very careful with the dosing. I use a syringe for that.
>>2159004
haha ok
The more broken lines of view the better
>>2159014
Small fish:
Celestial Pearl Danio
Clown killifish
Any rasbora
Badis
Is there a clean up fish that will take care of poop?
>>2159045
Malaysian Trumpet Snails, Ramshorn Snails, Amano Shrimp and a fitting substrate in conjunction with sufficient plants make bottom cleanup rather pointless or a small affair
>>2158918
Like the snakeheads here in 'murica.
I watched a show that said they traced them back to some dumbass chinese guy releasing one because it was 'chinese tradition.'
>>2158931
>But then again, Cali is weird about a LOT of animals
But then again, Cali is weird
ftfy
>>2158947
It'll provide cover for them in exactly the same way uprooting plants would, but you wouldn't have to uproot your plants.
>>2158906
I want to do whatever the fuck is going on in this tank.
>>2159116
Looks like a styrofoam ball covered in moss
What do you guys do with your deceased fishbros?
Burial at sea?
>>2159116
Knoot always has some mad ideas, like the floating ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdZgwG6EeN8
or his tipped over tank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8gcBC8GIOA
>>2159121
Viking funeral
>>2159029
That's a cracking looking wee fishbro. I'm going to have to give this some serious consideration...
Any other suggestions warmly welcome - I would like to know what you guys have experience with and get as wide a selection of possibilities as possible.
Cheers!
>>2159121
Used to give them to my turtle. Now I just throw them in the garden.
>>2159004
That wasn't me anon. I was just drunk and concerned, didn't really consider the plant cover. My fault, I'll leave you guys to it.
>>2159158
Sorry for associating you with him. I know we all cam get worked up when we feel someone could potentially hurt his fish.
I'm no better and often get mad when i see people online selling their tiny 10gal tanks, housing multiple goldfish, loaches, angelfish and so on with already murky water and the tank not even filled 80% with water for some reason.
>>2159121
I buried my pearlscale in a flowerpot that I was planting
>>2159014
Iriatherina werneri (threadfin rainbowfish), Pseudomugil gertrudae (spotted blue eye), Celestichthys erythromicron (emerald danio), Poecilia wingei (Endlers) or Nannostomus spp. (pencilfish) are some other options. Maybe some corydoras for the bottom. Pygmaeus, hastatus, and habrosus are all super tiny. I really like Hara jerdoni, too, but they mostly just bury themselves and don't move.
Do you know what kind of betta you want to get? If you go with a plakat, you could probably have some dwarf cichlids with him. Nothobranchius killifish would probably also work, depending on the betta, but they don't live very long.
>>2158912
I got mine illegally by going to new york and buying them then bring them back to nj
>>2159205
ummmmmm!
I'm telliiiiiiiinnnnnnng!
I've never seen them this cheap before.
>>2159121
I buried my betta in the back yard.
Everything else gets burial at sea.
>>2159252
Just be aware that the LEDs on those are absolute shit.
I was so disgusted with mine that I just took the top off and learned how to solder from scratch just to make my own damn light...
>>2159191
>Craigslist
>>2159257
I have the 20 gal version, the LEDs were actually pretty good. Wouldn't recommend trying to grow anything more than java moss though.
>>2159261
That's fucked. Everything about that. They probably don't even use dechlorinator.
>>2159121
Space program.
>>2159265
This was our last space program.
Someone said he was going to send a spider but I guess it never happened.
https://youtu.be/f5YiE3rP6Rw
If you think insects have feelings, do not click.
>>2159261
Looks like they had a party and someone pissed in it
If I'm super good about watching the feedings and making sure everyone gets their fair share, would it be okay to put a Comet goldfish in with like 4-5 fantails in a 100 gal pond? I work at a pet store and while getting feeder goldfish, I saw one that was just too beautiful to become food. I planned on just having like 6-7 fantails in there but I really want this goldfish as well
>>2159307
Maybe 1000 gal pond would work, but 100 G no way.
>>2159317
Why not, exactly?
>>2159318
Comets get huge, like up to 16 inches huge. I'd never stock more than 1 comet per 100G.
>>2159307
Release him into a local pond and laugh all the way to prision
Hey /aq/ I have a planted 20G with no fish or CO2, but there's a ton of bubbles on top of the water, around the glass.
What's causing this? Too much O2 in the water?
>>2159365
Did you use faucet water? Bleach. Yum.
If not, your air filter is blowing too hard.
>>2159367
The tank is full of dechlorinated tap water.
Bleach? Why in the world would bleach be in the tap water? As far as I know the city uses chloramine.
>>2159261
>sacramento
>I share a city with such a degenerate
Also, sup fellow sac anon.
Although I guess not city, but county. Folsom is much nicer.
>>2158947
Is that a female betta?
>>2159365
Protein film + surface agitation, most likely. Unless you have a betta.
>>2159424
That makes sense, my oversized HOB REALLY agitates the water.
Is the film anything to worry about?
Had to leave my tanks for 3 weeks to deal with some family stuff. wasn't sure how the tank would hold up but hell i come back and one of my one of my Buce in a 7.5g is blooming and my 40br has less algae then i left it with.
>>2159430
Sometimes plants are better off without human intervention
>>2159422
I already put him and 3 other nice feeders in with the nice Comets on the floor. It sucks because I saw this fucking fish and was just caught in awe at how perfect he is. Perfect plump body, bright orange with a cool white tail, beautiful long fins, perky, no injuries or holes in his fins... a real 1-in-a-million when it comes down to feeder goldfish.
But alas, I don't have the room I suppose, and it would be pointless to just keep one or two fish in a decorative pond. I already have a nice looking lionhead on hold there, too, so I'm kind of obliged to go with Fancies, especially since I can fit more in the pond.
Why do I want this beautiful fish so damn bad? I can't get him out of my head...
>>2159432
Time to invest in a few 150 gallon tanks for all your future friends
Will Red Cherry Shrimp clean algae off the glass and off my sand? I'm getting a really bad algae issue in my heavily planted tank with some ghost shrimp. Really don't want any snails. If no, any good recommendations?
>>2159432
Get your credit card ready and buy a 200 gallon right now. You can't have just one comet, he'll get lonely.
>>2159434
get amano shrimp instead
>>2159307
Put him in he'll be fine. It'll take a few years for him to get big. You can always find a new tank in those years.
Question /aq/, I will probably get flamed for it but whatever
For freshwater tanks, is it really necessary to do water tests, and most "advanced steps"? I as because I know (anecdotally) a lot of people with aquariums with fish that live a long time and they only do basic stuff like water changes and feeding.
Also I'm aware of the fact that most aquarium fish are hardy, but is that main/sole reason
>>2159490
You can do a blind cycle, but without the test kit, you will really never know if it worked or not.
Also, if your fish are dying or sick, it's very hard to determine what's wrong or how to fix it if you don't know the water parameters.
>>2159490
Your average aquarium, once established, can bounce back from most abuse. As long as you do small water changes (10-20%) and dont overfeed, you don't need to test daily/weekly for your pH, ammonia, nitrate/nitrite, whatever.
Those tests are handy when establishing an aquarium or trying to diagnose an issue that is presenting itself.
>>2159429
Only if it's coating the entire surface of the tank.
>>2159498
It's only a few streaks, but how would I get rid of it?
>>2159491
>>2159493
Thank you for such informative posts! I really want to get a tank and big one at that because I hear it is easier to maintain a large environment. I'm not opposed to water testing or anything in fact I will probably need it since I want the tank to be planted.
I just felt like asking since I'm seen the most ignorant fish owners with 8-10 yr old fish
>>2159432
Put him in a 20 gallon until PetSmart's Black Friday sale and get a 125/150 ensemble for half off.
>>2159432
>>2159501
Or keep him in a snap set pool from Walmart.
http://www.aquaticstoyourdoor.co.uk/Aqua-One-Betta-Trio-32L.html
Is this big enough?
>>2159518
If you can take the dividers out it's big enough for a betta. 20 liters is the commonly recommended minimum for bettas.
As is, I'd only recommend using it for inverts.
>>2159527
fuck that my betta was in a 2.5 gallon and it lived for 4 years. That will be fine for 3 bettas.
>>2159528
Look mom, I posted it again!
>>2159529
That doesn't even work you idiot, i'm stating a fact.
>>2159535
Look mom, I posted it again! Again!
>>2159542
Look mom I waste money on buying 50 gallons for a fish that can survive in a cup.
>>2159543
I could house and feed you in a 4x2 cage but that doesn't mean it'd be good for your happiness, growth or development you fucking retard.
>>2159548
Oh hes getting angry puss puss pussy.
There is a difference between keeping a 2 inch fish in a 10 litre tank and a 6 foot human in a cage. If a fish can survive in a jug its gonna be healthy and happy in a 10 litre tank with clean water and plants. Stay mad though you "fucking retard"
[spoiler]bigmanontheinternet[/spoiler]
>spoilersdontworkonan
shame
>>2159555
haha using shitty r9k insults now?
Whats it like living with mommy? Do you ever jerk off into your fish tank?
You should virgin, do your fish a favour.
geez, what have I missed now?
All this arguing reminds me I haven't fed my fish in days, I gave them a custard creme on tuesday so they should be fine.
Just bought this light http://www.ebay.com/itm/291609026231
did I fuck up? Should I go back and get http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-18-24-30-36-48-72-Aquarium-LED-Light-0-5W-Multi-Color-Full-Spec-Plant-Marine-/291645087202?var=&hash=item43e766dde2:m:meA3pfMaQcBWPD5jduaqtiQ instead?
Im starting with Azolla and frogbit but I want to attempt to carpet Monte Carlo if I dont fuck up the floating plants
>>2159433
>>2159435
I already bought this 100gal and that's what I'm going to have to work with. I don't have the time, space or money to go buying a bunch of 200 gallon ponds or tanks
>>2159449
I'm thinking I'm going to go this route. It will take him years to get big, and in that time I will be willing to adequate him
>>2159501
I like the idea but again, I truly just don't have the space for a 125+ gallon tank, especially indoors
>>2159503
IMO that looks trashy as fuck and honestly won't fit or match the area I'm putting it in
I know for a fact that for a full grown Comet, you need to go 40 gallons per fish, so at a minimum I can at least keep 2 in there. I may consider getting a third one so that they can have a full school between them. I'll have plenty of live plants, and the filter I'm getting is one meant to handle 800gal ponds, so I'll be over-filtering to the extreme.
And they won't grow to be anything over a foot any time soon, so if I have any issues with them being cramped as they grow in the future, I'll take the neccesary measures. Even then, in a 100 gal, each fish is still getting 33 gallons a peice. Right now the fish won't be over an inch, so things should be fine.
Thanks for all the help, guys
>>2159490
even water changes are overrated.
back in the day we used to do a water change every 5 years or so.
the only reason they're really necessary now is because the current filters are lame. If you have a number of plants you can probably get away with skipping even that little bit of maintenance.
>>2159535
You're stating some anecdotal evidence. I've met several people who have had bettas last for years in gallon containers. That doesn't make it okay.
A standard 2.5 gallon tank is at least half-decent for a betta, but those partitions in that tank work out to about 7 inches by 8 inches, versus 12 by 6 for a standard 2.5 gallon. It's a big difference.
>>2159543
You're the one insisting that spending 100 pounds on a subadequate betta aquarium is a "good idea."
>>2159566
Explain yourself.
is pic related a shark? i'm kind of new to sharks and catfish
>>2159577
I already did.
water changes are a new thing. Young people don't know the new from the old.
>>2159564
It looks like it's exactly the same thing being sold by two different people.
Should be decent enough to carpet Monte Carlo, especially if you have CO2. There's another anon on here who got some HC to carpet using a fairly low-powered LED.
One thing, floating plants are going to shade the rest of the tank and reduce the amoun of light getting to carpeting plants, so at the least you'll have to be removing the excess rather frequently.
>>2159582
You're not explaining anything. You're just making an unsubstantiated claim. Appeal to tradition is a logical fallacy.
>>2159578
Eclipse catfish.
Protip: any freshwater fish that's labeled "shark" isn't a shark. They're usually catfish or carp.
>>2159578
I dont think shark ever have whiskers. That's more a loach/carp thing
>>2159583
ah I see
I wasnt paying attention before since it does look like the same light. The one at the top though has 189 LEDS @0.10 watts, 2450 Lumens, 6500k. The second one has 96 [email protected] watts, 5760 Lumens, 10000K.
Admittedly these things confuse me but is that not a significant different?
Just get some high kelvin Cree led cobs if you're into diy.
Also a lot more efficient and reliable than chinese leds.
150 lumen/watt is pretty attainable.
>>2159606
link me, kind sir?
>>2159593
Yeah, they sell them at PetSmart.
>>2158974
I just got this in a few days ago, made a huge difference from my fluorescent light:
https://jet.com/product/New-129-Multi-Color-LED-Aquarium-Light-Full-Spectrum-Lamp-For-36-43-Fish-Tank/c138f6e8740247b2b686d50f80a470af
My water conditioner is getting low
Using pic related, but I'm thinking about switching to Seachem Prime.
There's nothing bad about using a different one, right?
I'm new to this aquarium world and have no experience whatsoever with having and taking care of an aquarium, but i really want to get into this hobby.
I'm thinking of just starting out with a single male betta (and maybe some red cherry shrimp) and plastic plants/decoration. Does anyone know a good tank for beginners like me? Something between 30-60L (preferably closer to 30L, as space is an issue). Also, if possible, it needs to be relatively quiet, because the tank will be very close to my bed.
Any suggestions/tips?
Pic related is a tank i've been checking out, but like i said, i really don't have a clue whether it's a good tank or not.
>>2159680
5 gallons is fine for a betta, you can get a barebones tank for cheap and there are plenty of filters out there that are fairly silent. Usually the submersible ones. Just make sure you have a top because betta WILL jump out and die when you arent looking
real plants are nicer but fake ones will do. Note that a betta may or may not kill all of your shrimp.
that tank looks good to me. If the filter is noisy, replace it but generally the filter noise will be negligible
I have a 13L cube type tank that I want to aquascape and maybe put a betta in
I'm keeping my "will survive a nuclear holocaust" anubias with goldfish at the moment, so it'd be nice to branch out into other things. Is it worth going the whole hog and thinking about CO2 and lights intended for plants?
>>2159680
Go for silk plants, or even live (Java fern and moss is easy to grow. You don't have to do anything to it). Plastic plants and rough decor can rip Betta tails which can lead to infection if the tanks dirty.
So a while ago I went a little overboard getting plants not thinking about their requirements or spacing. Got root tabs, a bit of api first layer, better lighting, got advice on placement, rearranged a few, their roots were quite long at this point.
I have
4 Amazon swords
2 aponogeton
5-6 water wisteria
1 plant I forgot the name of
2 marimo
2 java fern one of which is sprouting wee babies
Oh and that dwarf hairgrass that's finally rooting that is a pain in my ass.
I also have 2 anubias in other smaller bowls that don't get as much light.
These are 90% tube plants from petsmart.
I'm still kind of not satisfied with how it looks, I am skeptical about getting any more hardscape because it takes away space from my already small 20gal, any more advice on placement?
Also, I have 3 leopard danios that I love/hate and a pea puffer that I adore, but between them they've killed all my shrimp. I used to have 40ish ghost shrimp and 3 RCS. All dead or vanished (eaten). It's fine, but I notice my danios are pretty fucking mean, even to my puffer. What do? What could I add to this tank that my danios wouldn't pick on and that wouldn't pick on my slow sweet predatorial pea puffer? I'm open to getting rid of the danios. That wouldn't solve me wanting to have shrimp, my pea puffer would probably devour them all.
>>2159721
Posting this pic makes me realize how weird it looks.
I'm also open to getting rid of the hairgrass for the most part.
>>2159722
Get smaller grain, porous substrate. Doesnt have to be an active one. Add bio co2 pr pressure based co2, add other ferts if necessary. Your light must havebeen quite low, all plants look scrawny, so hope your new one will got it. Have the model/wattage/lumen by any chance?
In general the tank looks like you placed plants first, hardscape second while it should be the other way around. Maybe check some videos of james findley on youtube. Bank up the substrate at the back, to create visual depth, add more prominent hardscape like driftwood and rocks and compliment it with the plants. Moss attached to hardscape also is a nice touch.
In terms of stocking, try to get rid of your danios if they bother your puffer. Rather get peaceful bottom dwellers. Most small corydoras species get along well with dwarf puffers.
>>2159716
If you wanna house a betta, rather get a 20-30 l tank. Easier to maintain. These extremely small tanks are also hard to scape properly if you are a beginner. Hardscape/plant placements that are off will be easier to see in such a small tank, so 20-30 might be better. Also more room to move your scape around and try different placements.
As for blowing money on equipment, rather start investing in used equipment off of craigslist, like a small bio co2 reactor, led lights etc, before you start to blow 100s of dollars on expensive ada glassware, high end LEDs etc..
>>2159716
It is a lot of work to set up but is easy once it is all said and done (getting the right levels of co2) and costs even more.
For a 5gal with a betta I would say no personally, but it is ultimately up to you. But you betta will be the happiest fish alive if you plant heavily with a good "swimming free space"
>At lfs some fat women are buying 3 goldfish
>After I ask the guy for 6 white clouds
>"How big is your tank"
>"30l"
>He pauses for a second and then goes to get the fish
Yeah so 6 white cloud in 30l is questionable but someone buying 3 goldfish isn't?
>>2159677
>There's nothing bad about using a different one, right?
No, but I'm pretty sure AmQuel and Prime use the same ingredients.
>>2159680
I'm not sure what kind sof aquariums are available in Europe aside from the Tetra AquaArt series, which seems to get mixed reviews.
30L is a good size for a betta and some shrimp. Like the other anon said, you're best off getting silk or live plants. You should also get some small caves or densely decorated areas so the shrimp have someplace to hide.
Most filters are fairly quiet. I use a Marina Slim on one of my tanks and they're near silent most of the time. Sometimes it'll buzz and I have to jiggle the lid.
>>2159716
That isn't a very big tank. Trying to balance ferts and CO2 without things getting out of whack would be a delicate process.
>>2159721
It isn't going to look quite right unless you get some more hardscape. Either on the right side to balance it, or on the left side to create a slope. 20 gallons is plenty of space to work withI'm not sure how well the airgrass is going to do on plain gravel long-term, and aponogenton can get 3+ ft long before going dormant in the winter and dying back.
Danios tend to be less aggressive in larger schools, if you want to try that. Usually the most highly recommended tankmates for dwarf puffers are none, or other dwarf puffers if you have a densely decorated tank.
>>2159775
no one cares about goldfish, rightfully so.
>>2159566
back in ur day you also killed fish by letting nitrates build up slowly over time and from the general build up of dissolved solids so
>>2159788
say that to my face
>>2159790
Happily would do, fucking need 60 gallons bullshit the needy cunts.
>>2159790
Goldfish tanks are some of the ugliest in the hobby.
They're meant to be viewed from above, not from the side.
>>2159794
true, but they make me happy, some of the best personalities I've ever seen in scaled creatures
>>2159790
The old timers probably killed more fish from ph swings after water changes than build up of nitrates.
>Buy a sword tail for my community
>Beautiful blue and white speckled colour
>It's going round my tank voraciously pecking every plant
>I notice that it's mouth is fucking huge, much large that the Gorurami I have which is a physically larger fish.
Whoops this thing is going to eat all the RCS in there isn't it?
Well no matter, all that's in there are my culls from my shrimp colony.
![20160702_173903[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/QUNdz3H.jpg "20160702_173903[1].jpg")
Yay with this new addition my planted high tech nano is complete (go away algae)
>>2159794
They don't have to be, it's mostly the stigma that's attached to them.
>>2159797
Also the fact that "water change" at one point mean draining the entire tank and washing out the gravel and filter, killing your cycle.
Really wish I had room for a fish lads
I love the things
![20160702_190219[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/PwXrP1s.jpg "20160702_190219[1].jpg")
>>2159803
Only one has coloured up so far so I think I've been given 5 albinos and 1 normal.
>>2159806
A decent one only takes 2 square feet. Half that for a betta or shrimp.
>>2158906
>cycling a tank
>pH is super high right out of the tap
>add vinegar to the tank to lower the pH, maybe a capful
>everything is super cloudy and there's a thick film on the surface of the tank.
pH read at 8.6, reads as 7.8 now
5.5 gallons, 2nd week of cycling. Last recorded tests (last monday) read the water lowering off the nitrite spike.
I did a 20% water change to make sure the plants weren't being poisoned or anything.
What do I do, /aq/?
>>2159894
Never add salt or vinegar on a whim to screw with parameters. You will do more damage than good.
If you want to soften water, use Part RO-Water (the devices that can produce RO-Water are like 50 $, but well worth it)
Also add indian almond leaves or leaf litter in general, with driftwood hardscape lower ph/hardness just fine.
>>2159907
Wouldn't the lead litter rot and cause a spike in ammonia?
>>2159938
*leaf not lead
>>2159938
Talking already brown, dry, dead leaves. Its actually quite common, and no it's no problem. Also helps with fish health and provides biofilm/microorganisms
>>2159956
dont forget to mention that these turn your aquarium water into tea
I like it personally but not everyone is into brown water
>>2159965
How do you accurately test the water if it's stained with tannins?
I want to make a blackwater biotope, but this is one of the things that's holding me back.
>>2159980
?
just because its stained doesnt mean that chemicals wont react?
>>2159984
He's saying that the water would be tinted before even adding the test chemicals, making it more difficult to match the test result to color chart.
>>2159894
Keep in mind that if you test water as soon as it comes out of the tap, it may be off by a few points.
This is because tap water is in the pipes it usually has more oxygen dissolved in it. When the gases in the water equalize with the atmospheric air, the CO2 lowers the pH.
Just got my azolla in the mail and it looks gross and smells like fucking sewage
that may just be because it was in a box for 5 days but... uuugh. Hopefully Frogbit looks less gross
>>2159999
azolla is kill. when plants look and smell gross they're probably kill.
>>2160010
well that sucks. I put it in a tub out in the sun. How long should I wait to just flush it? it's still green
>>2160026
Leave it alone for a couple days. It'll probably be fine.
I would suggest putting it in a spot that gets afternoon shade. Azolla does well in full sun, but you might have trouble getting it to adapt to indoor lighting when you decide to put it in your aquarium.
>>2160026
If it's still green it might actually pull through.
>>2159733
>smaller grain, porous substrate
After spending money on plants, this will probably come at a later time.
I have two different bulbs:
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/lights/aqueon-mini-compact-fluorescent-aquarium-lamp-zid36-16441/cat-36-catid-300073?var_id=36-16441
and
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/lights/marineland-natural-daylight-fluorescent-aquarium-lamp-zid36-16494/cat-36-catid-300073?var_id=36-16494
I don't have the boxes on me now to tell you the lumens, but I'm pretty sure they're both 10 watt eq. One Aqueon the other Marineland.
I did start with the mopani and later added the plants, but when I'm ready to get substrate I'll definitely buy more than I did before and add quite a bit to the back. Might get another mopani from amazon. I can't seem to find any moss to attach to the hardscape.
Thanks for replying, anon.
>>2159777
I figured I might need more hardscape, I just thought it would end at plants. I don't want to take my turtle shell out since it's been the first thing in there since I started the tank and I'm attached to it. Yeah, I've been told about the aponogenton, I'll definitely store them at winter, I like how they look.
Tonight at feeding they were quite friendly towards each other. Do you think bumblebee gobies would do well with them as well? I had my eye on them, they're slow moving and stay out of the way and are tiny and sweet looking. Or maybe even corys or even what kind of cory. I might also consider just letting the danios go to my friend's tank and just keeping a few puffies in the hopes that they breed one day. They're really cool fish. I love watching mine hunt down shrimp and blood worms. I'll probably go to petsmart on my day off and get him some snails.
Thanks for the advice, anon.
You guys told me to use shims to fix my aquarium's leveling problem but it doesn't seem to work. The building itself is built on a slope going downhill.
Pretty frustrating desu.
>>2160122
The fuck do you mean it didn't work? Either your home is collapsing and you need to get out now or you did it wrong
>>2158912
Just get an air pump that uses batteries, a bucket, toss a bag of charcoal in and drive across state lines and get one.
Fucking retard.
>>2159321
Stop lying
>>2159907
>devices that can produce RO-Water are like 50 $
Where the hell do you shop?
I can't find them for under a couple hundred...
>>2160161
Drown yourself
>>2160166
It would be an easy task in the pool of lies you have poured.
>>2160159
>drive across state lines
m8 its not that serious
What's going on with my elodea? It's started to turn brown and lose some leaves, only the ends are green and growing? Is there anything I can do to perk it up?
5 gal tank with 1 betta and a few small ramshorn snails. Other plants include floating water wisteria, a dwarf lily and a marimo ball, all of which are doing well under my fluorescent light in a sand substrate. No fertilizers, but I do have well water, which may be supplying good minerals and nutrients to the plants.
>>2160162
not him but I paid $120 on ebay for an RO/DI unit.
>>2159994
In most cases it isn't dark enough to make that big of a difference when reading the results.
>>2160185
your water might be too warm?
>>2160185
What are water changes.
Literally 90% of aquarium problems are solved by weekly water changes.
>>2160026
As long as there are, like, 3 live plants it can pull through just fine. It's like duckweed in that regard.
>>2160117
50/50 bulbs aren't real great for plants. The first of those is far better for them, but you could use walmart.com/ip/21778165 and get basically the same results.
Have you considered manzanita wood as well? I really like it.
Moss is pretty easy to find on eBay.
If that's a real title shell it's going to dissolve over time in that tank.
There are people who will insist that bumblebee gobies are brackish, but as far as I know they get along fine in fresh. The hardest part would probably feeding them, since they're supposedly both picky and terrible hunters.
Small cories should be pretty safe. Julii, panda, dwarf, etc.
>Thanks for the advice, anon
No problem.
>>2160161
>>2160167
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-10649008
>>2160122
What, are they sinking into the carpet? Do you live in the Leaning Tower? Use more shims.
>>2160162
There are small RO units from Dennerle/JBL here in europe for that price point, so I figured there wouldnt be much of a jump when it comes to US prices
>>2160235
Oh. I'll definitely end up getting another one of the first on my links, since I don't think the Wal-Mart ones will fit in my small hood. I was strolling thru Wal-Mart the other day tho looking and thought of buying those.
I got a manzanita perch at petsmart, boiled the crap out of it, shaved off all the bark, boiled again, stuck it in a vase with anubias and aponogenton next to a window, and it's grown a light gray/brown slime on the surface of the wood and water. In the process of getting a little sponge filter for that vase cuz I wanna put something in it finally. I'll probably end up looking thru ebay and getting the moss, manzanita, and substrate at the same time.
>dissolve over time in that tank
Really? Never even thought to Google it. The few shrimp that are left love it. I'll take it out in the next water change, clean it, and set it somewhere. My dog found it like that on the side of a creek.
As for the bumblebee, my water is a tad brackish for my puffy, so I think they'd be fine. Didn't know they were picky eaters. I really hate that. I just thought maybe since they're slow and small my puffy wouldn't see them as a threat. I'll look into cories too next time I go get snails.
Thanks again!
>>2160161
>i know nothing about goldfish: the post
>>2159122
The floating ball looks fairly practical to recreate and looks like it could be a pretty interesting environment for nano livestock to explore.
The tipped over tank is, well, highly original. I'll give it that.
I moved the yellow shrimp that were in here to a 10 gallon, but I liked this tank too much to tear it down, so I put in some low grade cherry shrimp in their place.
Loving my new whiteclouds so much I think I've finally found a use for my 5ft tank when I move house at the end of the month.
Hillstream biotope. Packed with whiteclouds and hillstream loaches.
I'm making a dutch style 90L cube so it will be interesting to go back to basics and just try aquascaping with sand, stone and very sparse amount of plants.
>>2159257
They grow moss okay if you put them on something 1/4th the size.
>>2158906
Just filled this 5 gallon saltwater tank today. It is cycling now probably won't be good to go for a few weeks but I bought wet live rock so we shall see how it goes time wise.
Planning on sticking with almost all invertebrates and some GSP soft corals and other similar soft corals.
Maybe like.... 1 or 2 super small fish. Maybe and that's a big maybe.
It's my first foray into salt water. When I introduce other stuff the right side of the tank is going to get some kind of small power head. But, for the cycling it seems pointless.
Some snail was on the live rock that's like half am inch long. We shall see if he lives.
>>2159435
Is this actually true? I have a comet in a 40 breeder (with some white cloud minnows). He seems happy, but do you think he really would be better off with a friend (not that the 40 gallon has the room for one)?
>>2160533
What kind of plant is that carpet?
>>2160633
They're gregarious and exhibit social learning. It's not so much that they suffer if they're alone, but it's better for their mental stimulation if there's more than one of them.
I've had a 10 gallon planted up for a few years, mostly moneyworts that I keep multiplying, slow enough because of a shitty starter kit LED i have
I've restocked the betta i had hanging out in it after a few months of being fishless plus some corys but I've noticed I'm up to like 50 cherry shrimp
If i refill a 15g i have laying around and put a sponge filter on it for mass shrimp production, do you think i could make some pocketchange selling them to the big al's nearby?
>>2159121
I've fed all casualties to houseplants
>>2160640
It's a marimo ball that I splayed out and tied to a piece of slate using fishing line.
What are some good tankmates for a chinese algae eater?
Before mine suicided out of my opentop 50 gal, he or she was an incredibly friendly, inquistive fish that I quite enjoyed. He was also eating my platies so I cant put another back in there.
My new 60 gal is housing my 4 bettas but its really too much space for them. I was thinking of getting a 40 gallon for them and getting however many Tiger Oscars can go in a 60 plus an Algae Eater
what yall think?
>>2160663
Best way to answer that question is to call Big Al's to see how many they'll take and for how much. Cherry shrimp don't really multiply quickly enough to be a significant income source, and eventually everyone who wants some is going to have them already and you'll have no one left to sell to.
>>2160665
Chinese algae eaters are generally regarded as awful for any kind of community. One CAE and one Oscar could work in a 60 gallon, but if it's a standard tank (60 x 12 x 24) the Oscar is going to have trouble turning around in there once it gets full size, and the CAE might try to latch onto the Oscar to suck off its slime coat.
actually, it looks like i'd only be able to keep one and that's lame
what's a good fish to get for a 60 gallon where I can keep at least 2 fish? I want something that will stalk me as I walk around and will threaten to take my hand off while cleaning the tank
>>2160672
it's actually 60 x 16 x 17 but that's still probably too small. From what ive read CAE will attach to any fish once big enough. Are there any fish that wouldnt mind hickeys? I read that Oscars are one of them but.. eh
>>2160622
Another pic. Anyone have any opinions on my plan?
>>2160672
That's a shame, I don't have anything to feed them to
If i wanna get into shrimp factory-ing, should i switch to amanos or ghosts or sink some money into a handful of designer color inverts?
>>2160664
Ah, good idea, looks great!
>>2160673
>>2160675
The best match I can think of is convict cichlids. They're bitchy enough that they might fight off the algae eater. They have a reputation for breeding like mad if you get a pair, but in your case it sounds like the juvies would just end up being food for the CAE.
And if capitalism prevails, you may soon be able to get them in fluorescent green trim!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXXKv0c3xts
>>2160696
Neocaridina spp are by far the most prolific breeders among shrimp, I'm just saying that you aren't going to be able to, like, pay your rent with shrimp money. You might get $50 or so every other month.
Tossing a bunch of different colors together is a bad idea, since they're interbreed and roduce lower grade offspring that won't sell for as much, but if you want to start the 15 gallon off with a rarer color morph, yellow and blue neos sell for more than cherry reds and have a reasonably high demand. You can put a Caridina species in with them if you want, like black bee or crystal red. Caridina shrimp tend to sell for more than neos, but they're pickier about water parameters.
>>2160718
>And if capitalism prevails, you may soon be able to get them in fluorescent green trim!
Wake me up when I can get a fancy goldfish in that color. Preferably a calico with blue and yellow on a green background.
>>2159606
does this take into account that you need blue and red lights as well?
Ok, I'm just starting out and I have a 5-gallon aquarium.
It's hard to maintain, I know, but it's the only thing I can afford.
I set it up last week with a filter, a heater, and everything.
My initial plan was to feed it flake food every 12 hours to start the nitrogen cycle and after a week, I think I put too much (seeing as it was a 5 gallon tank and all the food was piling up in the corner) so I vacuumed the gravel and at the same time replaced around 20% of the water for fear of getting some of the "bad" bacteria.
Now, here's my question: I'm not sure if I want to push through with feeding it flake food every 12 hours (seeing as it is a long and messy process and I also have to clean up the gravel again after I finish cycling). I'm thinking about just doing it with ammonia that I'll buy in Ace Hardware and watch the water parameters. However, I'm fearful of what the leftover food (that I couldn't vacuum) would do down the line if I start using another method of cycling. Would you just recommend me to continue doing the fish food method of cycling? How long would that take? and if you recommend that I start the 100% ammonia method instead, how long would that take?
I've been searching all over the internet for an idea on how to do next and, frankly, when it comes to cycling, people give a LOT of different, even contradicting suggestions.
Thank you so much in advance.
>>2160804
oh, and additional question, if I do the ammonia method of cycling, do I just raise the ammonia levels to 2ppm and wait until it all converts to nitrates? I seriously just read another article that suggested that you raise it to 4 ppm and after it drops to 0, you raise it back to 4 ppm again. It's very confusing.
>>2160808
well, I guess I'm going out to buy some guppies then. thanks for that. I've been obsessing over this for the past days now.
Where can I buy small tadpoles?
>>2160819
ebay
Hey so my mom has a tank with a few angefish and she texts me saying that this one hasn't been eating for like a week and got really bloated
I told her to go buy those medicine drops but what the hell is wrong with it?
>>2160827
So mad that she didnt do something sooner. Heres a picture before
>>2160827
>>2160828
Your mom doesn't really know any better, be thankful she doesn't do stupid shit like dumping an entire container of fish food inside the tank
Instead of getting medication, you might want to have your mom stop feeding all fishes and fast them for a few days. Maybe get some boiled peas with garlic to entice your huge lardass angel to eat and possibly relieve constipation. Ask her to watch the your angel and record all behavior
>>2160832
She thought it was pregnant, but doesnt the hump mean it's a guy?
And thanks anon
>>2160799
You can order them in several different colors, including blue and red.
>>2160804
You really don't need to worry so much about it. If you want to keep using flakes, it only takes about 3 flakes every other day. If you want to use pure ammonia, just leave the flakes that are in there and do a bug water change when the cycle is done.
If you buy some kind of fish to put in there to cycle the tank, you risk ammonia poisoning to the fish, and even if it survives you now have a fish that you didn't necessarily want taking up space in your already small tank.
Fish-in cycling is an archaic practice for the old and impatient.
>>2160827
>what the hell is wrong with it?
shes feeding it about 4x too much
Is there a way to ethically dispose of pond snails? At first I thought one of my nerites had babies but one of my friends identified them as an unwelcome guest. Not like I couldn't use 40+ snails but it's a little... crowded for both of my tanks and I don't want my pleco eating them.
No one in my area will buy them (understandably so), so should I just flush them or throw them into the local swamp?
>>2160845
Acquire an Assassin Snail.
>>2160848
That sounds like a good idea! My only concern is if they might eat my other, desirable snails. I have four that are about the size of the average assassin snail, but I'm worried about my little red onion snail who's only about the size of a 10c dime coin, and also some small shrimps. Is there a size restriction to what the assassin snails eat? I've googled a couple different things but none of them go into it.
>>2160852
More likely the assassin snail will try to attack any sized snail but don't know about size restrictions.
Best bet would be to keep the desirable snails in a separate tank.
Your shrimp should be safe as long as there's plenty of pond snails to eat.
>>2160845
dump them in a local lake
Would 6g be ok for a smaller rainbow fishes such as blue eye?
>Acclimate new Espei Rasboras to quarantine tank over an hour
>Everybody looks fine
>Come back after work
>One of them seems to be struggling with swim bladder issues
>Saw the same thing happen at the store with another stressed Rasbora
I have the poor guy isolated in a large net near the surface. Pray for him senpai ;_;
>>2160912
I wouldn't recommend it. Celestial pearl or emerald dwarf danios would be better.
>>2161000
You mean in terms of range they like to swim?
>>2160912
why are you such an asshole
>>2160705
That's a good point. It may not be and I will have to look into it. I may combo it with a finnex 10 inch led strip
My tank's evolved from Amazonian, to Asian, and it's about to be a local tank. Transferring all of my fish to my new setup, and putting local fish in in a few weeks. Both stumps came from the Arkansas River here. Half the plants are native, the other half are random.
>>2160845
Drop them into 99% rubbing alcohol and keep them in a vial on the shelf. That's what I so with tank invaders.
For my first reef should I start with an all in one 45 or test my limits with a 75?
>>2161129
>test my limits
wut?
the 75 will be way easier to keep.
it'll cost more to setup, but not by much.
>>2161129
generally larger tanks are easier to keep stable
If you have space for it go for the 75
>>2161176
You underestimate how retarded people are.
>>2161067
All hail local tanks
>>2161209
retarded people don't keep reef tanks.
not for long anyways.
>>2161215
My crawdaddy. Few months old, his favorite pastime is eating all my fucking minnows.
I just got a 55 long, what should I stock it with?
>>2161254
Scooter blennies.
Anyone ever see a deal so good, but not have enough cash at the time to get it? At my LFS they were selling off their old display tanks, such as a 180 gallon acrylic tank for $175.
>>2161311
>yard sale ad
>selling a 125 gallon tank for $50
>dont have a car to go pick it up with
>>2161319
Shit...
Started my Killifish eggs this morning, already have one swimming around!
>>2160664
How
>>2161322
Nice! Where'd you get them?
>>2161331
Found them on ebay for like 17 bucks, thought I'd give it a shot.
Is there a specific brand of LED lighting I should get? I have a 20g tall but wouldn't mind spending more money on something that fits it and a bigger tank to help future tank purchases.
>>2161336
What are you using it for? If you want plants or coral Marineland, eheim, fluval or coralife. If you just need light any brand will do.
>>2161339
Probably should've specified a planted tanks. Will be my first planted tank so just looking to start easy to see if I am capable
>>2161340
The marine land ones are really good, the main problem with leds for plants is they're expensive. About 350$ for a 24 inch. Which is what you'll need, if you can afford it do it, other wise get florescent strip lights and pop in some t8 or t5 growth lights.
>>2161340
These are also good lights to, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BDDIPAU?pc_redir=T1&tag=haledgrowlightsplanted-20 they'll work.
>>2161336
im getting this. $40, 5760lumens on the one im getting
Will be reporting back I guess
>>2161342
What are the benefits of LED if any? If I decide to stick with fluorescent would just 1 work? Im thinking about getting a hood with 2 spaces for bulbs.
>>2161355
You can program them, they use less power and theoretically you never have to replace them. A 2 bulb set up would be ideal.
>tfw Neon Tetras are the most patriotic fish
>Tank is filled with freedom
>>2161386
USA USA U! S! A!
>>2160679
Try finding some very slow growing seaweed/kelp. Just one one or two pieces of it, that you can stick in a corner or something.
I never understand why anons go through all the effort of buying and running saltwater tanks and they never bother with seaweed/kelp.
Especially when they come in so many different varieties and colors that would be absolutely perfect for a small aquarium that has little/no fish in it.
If your lighting is good enough for coral, then it's good enough for seaweed/kelp.
>>2160827
>>2160828
>>2160832
What this anon said, however, it's important to note that you should mix the goopy insides of the boiled peas with only a very SMALL amount of garlic.
Also, tell your mom about how having a single day of the week that she does NOT feed the fish, at all, can be very helpful in preventing these kinds of things in the future.
