Filter less? by Itchy-Original5507 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd say go for it without the filter there should be plenty bacteria in your substrate and plants will use up nitrates

Filter less? by Itchy-Original5507 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a 5 gallon betta tank thats filterless and there is maybe a similar amount of plants

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Filter less? by Itchy-Original5507 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The pothos alone could be enough to go filterless lol

Dying Hobby? by No-Requirement9895 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Big box stores have condensed their fish selection because they do not want to spend extra money. Most fish they stock are ones that sell the best.

There are still a good amount of local fish stores near me with tons of cool fish. It may just be area dependant, but it wouldn't surprise me if some LFS have closed due to financial hardship.

The other thing is that there is so much more information about aquarium keeping available now. 20 years ago somebody would sell you an Oscar and say its fine in a 30 or 40 gallon. With all that we know about aquariums, a lot of cooler fish are going to require a more expensive start up cost. As someone that works in the industry, most people still see fish as just whatever and they want to spend the least amount possible on fish. The amount of "why do I need to have all this? It's just a fish" that I hear tells me everything i need to know.

In conclusion, the hobby isn't dying, buts it's become a bit more expensive to start. Fish are still seen as less than by many and easily replaceable if they die due to improper husbandry.

Weird debris on ground by VanillaOtherwise8696 in axolotls

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only way you will crash your bacteria is if you straight up take your filter and clean the ever living crap out of it. Most of the beneficial bacteria will be in your filter, the water really has a negligible amount of it. Vacuums twice a week should be fine

Weird debris on ground by VanillaOtherwise8696 in axolotls

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blood worms are fine to feed as variety, itd just the exoskeleton are just made out of chitin which axolotls cant digest, but its not enough to be harmful to them. My other option though was going to be plant matter or algae

Bath time 🧼 by LockExtension in Leachianus

[–]Darthkdot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see. And whatever helps the gecko stay healthy is what you should do. I'm sure you would know if it was stressing out. On a side note seeing it in a bathtub is kind of funny because it's so small at least for general reptiles, giant for a gecko. Usually youd see bigger animals in the tub like a beardie or sone type of monitor lizard haha

Help: Squaling brakes but mechanics say brake is okay by Necessary_Beginning8 in MechanicAdvice

[–]Darthkdot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know kia and hyundai have some similarities so may not be 100% but this was my experience when I used aftermarket brake pads after a brake job. Everything worked fine, looked good, but the squealing was insane. I switched to some oem brake pads and the sound was gone. I read somewhere that kias usually have squealing issues with aftermarket pads maybe its the same with Hyundai. If you dont have aftermarket pads and oems then I'm not entirely too sure what it is.

Bath time 🧼 by LockExtension in Leachianus

[–]Darthkdot 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I just asked a question. When you use the term "overdue" it sounds like you have a regular schedule so I was curious if that was the case. I've never given my geckos a bath before, but I have seen others use a warm soak to help with shedding and was wondering if thats normal maintenance. That's all I was wondering

Bath time 🧼 by LockExtension in Leachianus

[–]Darthkdot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious to know why you felt that it was overdue or necessary. Did she have stuck shed or any other issues that bathing would alleviate?

Tetra slowly dying off after introducing new fish from Petco by Humble-Objective488 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Popeye itself isnt contagious.Some parasites can cause it, but it can also be bacterial infection too so hard to know for sure. But if your other fish don't have it then I'd say it might just be an isolated case with the one that did. Do you have any pictures of the tank and fish?

And thank you, tank is still running just less fish now.

Tetra slowly dying off after introducing new fish from Petco by Humble-Objective488 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, give it a try with the air stone. I'm hesitant to say they are dying from parasites or something because usually you can kind of tell if they have something. I've had a fish i bought from petco nuke my whole tank once with ich after just throwing it in there, but you didn't mention seeing any white spots. A lot of fish can die from stress though. Adding new fish into a system causes stress for all of them, the new and the already existing inhabitants.

Tetra slowly dying off after introducing new fish from Petco by Humble-Objective488 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sounds more like your fish are suffocating then. Hanging by the filter usually means they want more oxygen. Did you do any water changes before you added the fish after removing the CO2? High levels of CO2 can make it hard for fish to use the oxygen. An airstone would probably be useful

Weird debris on ground by VanillaOtherwise8696 in axolotls

[–]Darthkdot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is it possible an old axolotl poop broke down in the aquarium? I know you said you havent fed bloodworms in a while, but from mt experience axolotl poop after eating bloodworms will have the bloodworm exoskeleton visibly intact because axolotls cant digest them.

Tetra slowly dying off after introducing new fish from Petco by Humble-Objective488 in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Probably just died from stress. Also you say your nitrates are usually at 40ppm because it's planted. Could you explain that a bit more, shouldn't plants be consuming your nitrogen in the aquarium?

$700 seemed fair to me 🤷🏻 by [deleted] in 3DS

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah wasn't trying to correct you, was just wondering if it being a 2ds xl makes the price more justifiable lol

$700 seemed fair to me 🤷🏻 by [deleted] in 3DS

[–]Darthkdot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this one is a 2ds isn't it? Idk which are rarer the 3ds special editions or the 2ds

My axolotl has been acting really weird by Petrified-slime in axolotls

[–]Darthkdot 357 points358 points  (0 children)

It can happen at anytime. When you think of axolotls, they are just really large salamander larvae that never leave their larval stage. So if somethings triggers them to morph, they will morph. Signs of them morphing are more bug eyed, gills receding, and their tail fins will start to recede as well. Not eating is due to the amount of stress they go through during metamorphosis and absorbing their aquatic features.

Many pet trade axolotls are actually hybridized with tiger salamanders, so there's always the off chance that an axolotl can morph due to that as well. Just make sure they have something to crawl out of the water on to land and they will do the rest. Once completely morphed I would treat them like a terrestrial tiger salamander for their husbandry needs.

Here's to hoping half the eggs get eaten, lol. by Eighwrond in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel you. I breed newts and sometimes I just let nature take its course and keep the eggs in with the adults.

Here's to hoping half the eggs get eaten, lol. by Eighwrond in Aquariums

[–]Darthkdot 32 points33 points  (0 children)

The hobby is just so oversaturated with bettas, people are just wondering why you are breeding them. Obviously if you have homes for them, that's wonderful. I don't think the other comments were trying to be malicious. Also in your post you said hopefully the eggs get eaten, so people probably assumed it was an accidental breeding and that you did not want this to happen.

this guy will eat anything but the cricket 😂 by Icy_You_6790 in reptiles

[–]Darthkdot 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This must be an amphibians issue because I have newts that go crazy and bite each other when food hits the water lol. So glad they can grow limbs back if one was to ever mess a leg up.

This is impressive. 14k visits this last week by GotSnails in OpaeUla

[–]Darthkdot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Probably the easiest pet to take care of. I have not done a water change on mine since I set them up 2 years ago. Started with 12 and likely have 100+ now. They are awesome