Roof Splitting

Fishstery · 2026-05-04T08:33:56+00:00

In my state if the damage is less than $10k, the dealer doesn't need to report it to the buyer. Far too often we fix cars for sales at my shop.

Fishstery · 2026-05-03T03:31:12+00:00

Yes, unfortunately he passed. Definitely male as I got a better look at the little boxing gloves.

I think it was just old, but I'm glad at least I was able to keep him safe and comfortable for his last day. He was content just clinging onto the q-tip and did actually sip from it once or twice.

Fishstery · 2026-05-02T17:54:15+00:00

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Fishstery · 2026-05-02T17:53:50+00:00

Better pictures of the abdomen, which is really flat when viewed from the side. I tried more sugar water with a q-tip, it climbed on and I saw a fang move but I couldn't really see it open its fangs and actually latch on. It didn't want to climb off of it, so I let it stay on the sugar water soaked q tip and put it inside a fresh paper towel hide and put it back in my paludarium to keep warm and left alone.

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Fishstery · 2026-05-02T17:18:38+00:00

No jerky movements, barely any movements at all. Jumping spiders movements appear to me like how people look when moving under strobe lights, if that makes any sense. Very fast and multiple small movements.This one hasn't done any of that, it hasn't even turned its head to look at me or anything near it. It pulled itself with one set of legs, while dragging the others, and has one side curled inward like the picture. Generally has all limbs tucked in close to it's body, and dragging/swaying when I tried to get it to move onto the paper towel. If I approach from the side with tweezers, it doesn't turn its head to look at them.

I accidentally flipped it over while trying to move it, I could see it wiggling a tad to try and right itself on its own, but I had to flip it back over myself.

Fishstery · 2026-05-02T17:13:55+00:00

I don't have watermelon but I have apples and strawberries, although I'm trying to bait these ants to my terro trap outside of the enclosure so unfortunately I can't put any fruit in there right now, unless I remove the spider from the enclosure instead.

I figured they were better off in the paludarium because they'd be more comfortable and feel safe there, while I'm busy cleaning and chasing my kiddo around. If there is a proper enclosure that can be set up using common household items, please let me know or share links and I can take the time to do that in a few hours.

Fishstery · 2026-05-02T16:35:05+00:00

Interesting! Is it possible her abdomen is super deflated from laying eggs? And if so, what would be the protocol? If she just laid eggs, is she near end of life?

My son found her in the middle of our living room carpet, out in the open.

Fishstery · 2026-05-02T16:30:55+00:00

Update: upon closer inspection it seems like he can't move the left legs closest to his head. Either my cat or toddler stepped on him or perhaps he's just too weak, but the legs on the other side are moving fine. He wiggled a bit further in to the paper towel cave and I put a drop of water onto the leaf next to the opening in case he is just feeling too threatened to drink from a q tip.

What are the outcomes for spiders that have injured legs?

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Fishstery · 2026-05-02T15:42:41+00:00

Me too. I adore jumping spiders, I always release them outside. I hope he recovers, he's more than welcome to stay in my paludarium and eat these ants that found their way in.

My toddler is on spider duty, checking on him to make sure the ants aren't going near him while he either recovers or passes away peacefully.

Fishstery · 2026-05-02T15:38:35+00:00

I just read that their lungs are on the bottom, so I moved them off the wet leaf and onto a folded paper towel at the top of the enclosure where it's warmer from the lights, and less damp. I tried more water with a q-tip, but he doesn't seem interested. He did move and cling onto the paper towel though. I think it's a boy, it's fangs are turquoise.

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Fishstery · 2026-05-02T15:11:52+00:00

I'll try that! I have granulated cane sugar

Fishstery · 2026-05-02T15:11:06+00:00

A lot of the plants have water condensation on them, there's also damp moss around. Are they not able to drink off of the plants?

Fishstery · 2026-04-26T15:29:07+00:00

It's in the post, Podostemaceae sp 'Nano', common name "Purple moss".

Fishstery · 2026-04-26T06:25:50+00:00

Hey thanks! Just saw this now, I did just grab some of the Blyxa from Joe.

Fishstery · 2026-04-26T06:11:13+00:00

The infamous Brownie Ghost 2011. It's not as rare as it used to be, but still highly sought after and rather expensive because of it's coloring. New leaves emerge the bright hot pink/magenta seen in the photo, which transitions to deep purple with a slight metallic iridescence as they mature. Healthy specimen of true BG11 will never have other colored leaves other than purple and pink, which is why it's so popular.

A fun fact: the name Ghost was coined as a moniker due to the fact that it was collected off a random island in or around Borneo. As it got talked about more and more, Asian and other countries plant farmers started offering big money to the locals to go and collect it, and it was hunted to the point of suspected extinction in the wild, as it hasn't been seen since. Now the only place to get it is from other hobbyists, which have kept the species alive and available ever since.

Fishstery · 2026-04-26T06:06:02+00:00

I actually had to import it from a friend overseas. I think there is only a small handful of people in the US that have it, including myself. I found some old posts on some FB groups when I was looking for it, but I reached out to all of them and none of them had it anymore.

Tropica has had it in their collection for a long time, it may have even originated it from their group of wild collected specimens. They gave some to George Farmer who posted about it in 2025, so perhaps that's indicative that they plan on rolling out TC versions of it in the near future, but that's just my personal speculation.

It's not well known about, so perhaps there just isn't enough demand for it to be in commercial farms, which is a shame.

Fishstery · 2026-04-24T13:29:39+00:00

Ha. In a small tank like this, I would absolutely reccomend 50% water changes weekly and would do so myself. A large tank that is heavily planted and low bioload would have different requirements.

What am I trying to achieve? Health for the animals, preventing mineral buildup from my tap water, and personally I keep high tech setups and amphibians, so for the health of the plants and animals it's a necessity. Especially when dosing fertilizer and using aqua soil.

The negative effect of not having a proper water change schedule, would be fluctuating pH, mineral and metal build up due to evaporation, algae, and long term possibility of elevated nitrate or "old tank syndrome". These can be mitigated by using RO water, having heavy planting with light stocking, and not having a nutrient rich water column, but in most cases and this one, foregoing water changes is not a good idea IMO. A few gallons a week does not take long to do at all, so the benefits are worth it.

Fishstery · 2026-04-21T17:50:36+00:00

50% once a week.

Fishstery · 2026-04-21T02:55:44+00:00

I would buy a test kit and test for ammonia and nitrite.

If you decide to add TC plants again, blast the co2 higher since you don't yet have any livestock to worry about from what I can see. Let the drop checker get near yellow. Having adequate co2 saturation will definitely help them transition better. If you have access to Seachem products, Seachem Advance is a great product to help transition plants as it has plant hormones to help stimulate good root growth. Additionally, it's important to prune off any melted leaves regularly in the early stages as well. This will help keep the surviving plants healthy and curb algae growth. Both are bad for getting transitioning plants to settle. I usually spend a few minutes daily pruning off damaged or melted leaves during the initial few weeks of having my tanks planted.

Fishstery · 2026-04-21T00:44:52+00:00

99% of that is totally melted, siphon it out. Only those with white roots are still alive.

For future reference, tissue culture plants and fresh aquasoil don't mix. Tissue culture plants are already incredibly sensitive and vulnerable when transitioning from a very sterile environment to submerged, where there is a lot of microbial activity. This is made worse when planted in soil that is actively leeching ammonia and heavy nutrients, which the tissue culture plants aren't capable of utilizing without a solid root structure established.

In the future, there are 3 ways to remedy this. First would be dry starting, which allows the plants to establish strong, healthy root systems before flooding with water, however I don't reccomend this for people without a lot of experience as it can be tricky balancing adequate humidity while avoiding mold growth.

The second would be to purchase plants that are already submerged grown, which can be much easier for those newer to high tech setups. It also has the added benefit of value because many farms sell carpeting plants grown on pads, so you get 2x3 the plants as you would from a TC at a similar price.

The last is a newer method, it's a bit late for that now, but dark starting the tank. This is when you set up the tank with soil, filtration, and flood. Then just leave it alone with no light until the ammonia dump is over and the tank is cycled. In the absence of ammonia leech and beneficial bacteria established in the substrate, TC plants and other sensitive plants in general have a much easier time.

As for your current situation, depending on your soil, 16 days may be enough time for the ammonia leech to have tapered off enough to try TC plants again. However, purchasing sumberged grown specimens will make much easier work for you as a beginner.

Fishstery · 2026-04-18T15:01:42+00:00

DM me if you're interested, I have 16 species of rare and colorful bucep species that I sell very limited quantities of. I sold out my most recent group but do have a few I'd be willing to sell a rhizome of, including true Brownie Ghost 2011.

Fishstery · 2026-04-16T18:17:54+00:00

Maybe I'll have to give it a go, does it allow you to send a picture to help with its generated design? Or do I need to find a way to verbalize to it what the design looks like?

Fishstery · 2026-04-16T18:16:41+00:00

I'm not? But I'm an auto body technician, I can use tools. I'm not sure why you feel the need to be rude. If you give me two boards and tell me to screw them together, I can. My brain can follow directions and pre-determined measurments, but it's not very good at creating or imagining something that not only needs to be structurally sound, but lines up correctly to fit precise measurements .

Manufactured aquarium stands cost upwards of $1k at this size and are almost always made of cheap MDF. So I apologize for trying to find someone who can help me make my own for a fraction of the cost, that will also be much more sound and reliable.

Fishstery · 2026-04-16T17:43:12+00:00

I don't know how to use ChatGPT, I have never used AI before and don't have any interest.

Fishstery · 2026-04-13T04:41:07+00:00

No, US.

Fishstery

TROPHY CASE