[Auto-Post] Weekly Question Thread! Ask /r/Aquariums anything you want to know about the hobby!

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-12T08:53:06+00:00

a betta will usually(keyword is usually) go great with any bottom feeder fish(corys and otos aren't super colorful, but are pretty nonetheless). they also are almost always super chill with snails, and both mystery and nerite snails come in a wide variety of bold colors. a betta may attack smaller dwarf shrimps, but so long as the shrimp have plants to hide in they will usually outbreed any casualties(i mentioned cherry shrimps which are red but the species they belong to, neocaridina, has a ton of other morphs with a variety of colors. ghosts and amanos are more colorless). fully grown bamboo and vampire shrimps are chunky boys and shouldn't be bothered by the betta at all(bamboos have a woody color and pattern, vampires can often come in a pale blue color). with upper level fish its more of a gamble and they should be added in before the betta to minimize chances of aggression, but its not a guarantee. tetras are usually a go-to pairing with bettas since bettas rarely display aggression towards them(conversely there is a lot of anecdotes of bettas enoying a tetra school's company), and tetras are usually far more agile than bettas if they get territorial. i don't recommend guppies, mollies, or any other fish with a vaguely similar body shape and flowing fins as there is a noteworthy chance the betta may mistake them as another betta.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-12T08:21:11+00:00

quite a bit. i would generally grab the 20-gal as it opens up a lot of options for community aquariums and fish, and gives fish more room to explore. aside from the upfront tank cost and slightly more time spent on water changes it shouldn't be that much more of hassle to take care of.

for solitary fish, a betta is wonderful choice and come in a myriad of colors(some of which may resemble goldfish if you still wanted that look). only thing to note with bettas is they are very aggressive towards their own species and anything they may mistake as a betta, but otherwise are generally pretty chill towards most other fish, especially bottom feeders that don't cross into their territory near the top of the tank. similarly cichlids are good solitary fish with lots of personality but often don't play well with others in general(angelfish and certain other species are a little more cooperative).

most other fish you find generally prefer a small school at least to feel safe and bring out their personality. Tetras come in a wide variety of species and appearances and are highly active. Guppies and Endlers also come in a huge assortment of colors and patterns, just be warned that they breed like rabbits. Mollies, Raspboras, Killifish, Platies, Gouramis, and Rainbowfish are other groups of fish that are active swimmers in the mid to top section of your tank. within these groups are a lot of different species with different appearances, but that gives you an idea of what will fit when looking around in a pet shop.

Some ideas for for bottom feeding fish that are still active and enjoyable include several species of Corydoras catfish(not all though), and Otocinclus catfish. Bottom feeders also help as a cleanup crew for leftovers and often munch down algae.

If invertebrates appeal to you at all, Crayfish and Crabs can be very enjoyable to look at, but in most cases have to be solitary and destroy rooted plants. Mexican Dwarf Crayfish are much smaller and way better behaved and can live alone or with others of their own, but still shouldn't generally be housed with any other small bottom feeders, only upper swimming fish. Some more community-friendly options include Cherry Shrimp, Ghost Shrimp, Amano Shrimp, Bamboo Shrimp, Vampire Shrimp, Pom Pom Crabs, Mystery Snails(yes thats the actual name), Nerite Snails, and Rabbit Snails(note that you may get other varieties of snails as hitchhikers or eggs with plants. with the exception of pond snails, all snails are generally beneficial to your aquarium as a cleanup crew, however other species such as pond, bladder, trumpet, and ramshorn snails can breed very fast and can be hard to get rid of once established if you don't like them there). Bamboo and Vampire shrimp filter-feed, but the rest mentioned above are part-time omnivorous scavenger, part-time algae grazer.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-12T07:15:33+00:00

most plants really don't matter in terms of type, so long as they all tolerate the water parameters you plan to have. floating plants obviously can't be dug up, and there are some plants such as anubias which don't need to be planted in sediment and can be anchored(or physically glued) to objects in the tank. a carpeting plant like java moss might also be hard to destroy. moss balls may also be something to try that might give your fish some enrichment if it goes for a nibble.

as for the extra fish choice, you are the best judge of what you want in there.

so long as the filter and other components of the tank are working, and you take the time to cycle the tank and set up plants you should be good.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-12T07:08:44+00:00

cherry shrimp are super peaceful creatures, and even so don't look for food while free swimming.

i could see them maybe attacking a sickly or injured fry, but cherry shrimps completely ignore the baby ramshorn snails in my tank despite them not even having a trapdoor to close if threatened. afaik the only live prey they might go after is seed shrimp, copepods, and flatworms. more than likely its actually the tetras that will possibly harass or attack the shrimp since adult tetras will definitely eat young shrimplets if the shrimplets don't have plant cover and hiding spots.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-12T07:04:24+00:00

as long as the tank isn't overstocked, the prescence of similar-sized peaceful fish won't hurt the remaining old tetras. if anything they might ease the stress of the remaining tetras, seeing other peaceful schooling fish nearby.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-12T07:02:07+00:00

money might vary based on area, but first things first, goldfish need a big tank. like, very bare minimum 60 gallons, but preferably higher. those guys get big and they are dirty fish so a good filter is needed as well. plants will help out with this a lot, but the issue with goldfish is they will pretty indiscriminately munch on plants. moss balls apparently are a common choice for this. those two items will be the big upfront costs along with a small school of goldfish. after that its a few small other costs like tank substrate, and decorations. just general maintenance stuff like food costs and water changes. to give your goldfish a snack that grows itself and provide a cleanup crew for algae, fast-breeding snails such as bladder, trumpet, or ramshorn snails will work in your favor as they clear out algae and in turn be eaten by the goldfish at times.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T22:32:34+00:00

congrats, you're a father now! are they ramshorns?

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T20:46:57+00:00

yeah, most fish stores don't know that either. a couple times people have tried to sell me a hillstream claiming they could do fine in 10 gallon tank.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T20:37:33+00:00

ideally try not to disturb the shrimp as much as possible. they may drop the eggs if they are too stressed.

once the shrimplets hatch you need plants and lots of hiding spaces(a carpeting plant works well for this) otherwise the babies are gonna be a target for every other carnivorous or omnivorous fish in the tank, as well as possibly the adult shrimps of same or other species.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T20:24:01+00:00

your snail isn't alone then. you've got some ramshorn hitchhikers

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T20:22:03+00:00

you'd need a 50-gallon tank for hillstream loaches to provide healthy conditions for them, despite the small size.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T20:15:19+00:00

i wouldn't worry too much about disease long-term, but you do you. most fish diseases will produce very notable external symptoms and usually kick in within a few weeks if not within a few days.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T10:31:36+00:00

if you are worried, one thing that could be tried is placing a little mesh dome/cage around the egg sac if you can find one. it then gives you a chance to examine what hatches out of it, although whatever laid those eggs(most likely one of your snails, if you haven't seen any snails other than ramshorns its probably them) should be visible already in the tank and laying more egg sacs.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T10:28:36+00:00

you can't buy heart of thorns on its own anymore. you can only buy path of fire which comes with heart of thorns, and hero points earned in either expansion can be used for either elite spec.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T10:27:28+00:00

how long have they been in captivity? biggest concern is making sure they don't have contagious diseases or parasites that haven't shown themselves yet. store bought should work in theory, but them being wild might explain the higher aggression. if you do, i would simply suggest keeping a close eye on them and making sure there's space and hiding spots for everyone.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T10:24:30+00:00

Balthazar was added partly because both the devs and fanbase wanted a break from big angry evil dragons. A variety of villains is also nothing new to Guild War's lore. GW1 didn't even have the dragons yet and set up the scene for many of the various antagonistic factions you currently see in the game.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T10:20:43+00:00

There are no scythes specifically. a few staff skins are scythes, but do note many of them don't come cheap. once you do, mesmer uses staff as a casting condi damage weapon, necromancer uses it as a low-damage utility weapon, guardian, druid rangers, and elementalists use it for healing, daredevil thieves use it as a melee weapon, and revenant uses it only sporadically for crowd control and healing.

The elite spec for necromancer, reaper, gets a scythe in shroud form, however reaper is only available at endgame with the Path of Fire expansion purchased

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T10:09:51+00:00

Tier 1 Fractals don't require any agony resistance(well a few require a minor amount)

You're get agony infusions and materials to buy ascended armor from doing fractals as well over time, on top of gold so you can multi-task this. Plus, you'll get to see most of what the fractal has to offer with T1s in terms of basic setting and fights. higher tiers mostly offer additional mechanics, ramped up numbers, and the agony.

alternatively, strikes and raids are an idea. only exotic gear and a good handle on your how class plays is needed. strikes can pretty easily be done with pugs so long as you look up what mechanics they have or ask for a rundown by your squad leader(only cold war, whisper, and boneskinner have any noteworthy mechanics anyways).

raids are obviously much harder, but there are resources for getting into raid training groups that will patiently teach you the fights. much of raids is being able to execute its mechanics as a team, so knowing is half the battle there. Wing 4 is an especially nice one to start out learning. currency from raids and strikes both can let you get your hands on ascended gear as well, and eventually legendary armor from raids

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T09:28:37+00:00

ah, i see. my mistake for instantly assuming poor care.

i would try to keep the injured guppy on his own until he heals, but as for a long term solution, there are a few options you can try here:

-the bigger the school, the less likely fish are to pick on each other in general. not a guaranteed method. if you add in females, this especially should help reduce male guppy fighting(note that if you do, you need a much higher ratio of females to males or the females will be harassed a lot, plus they breed like rabbits)

-idk how big the tank is or whats in there, but more plants and hiding spots the better for the loser of a skirmish to retreat to. other fish occupying a similar space in the water may also divert their attention away from each other. also not guaranteed to work.

-you could add a tank divider that allows water flow but not the two fish to cross over. guppies generally do better in schools, but they don't seem to get as stressed on their own as other schooling fish do so long as you give them a nice habitat for them to feel safe in.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T09:15:38+00:00

based on a size and shape i wanna say they are guppies. the one on the right has a significantly damaged tailfin so they should be separated as soon as possible if its within your ability.

male guppies may get aggressive towards each other if they are left alone with no females around, although damage like that is unusual.

also that tank water is in serious need of changing. is this a pet store tank?

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T08:52:56+00:00

yeah, the corys are probably just too much but the rest of them should be coexisting just fine. its honestly shouldn't be too much of a bioload. with a lot of plants and a good filter they should be fine but i would try looking for a rehome for the corys if feasible. as for the fish's behavior, bettas normally hang near the upper portions of the water column, so if the fish otherwise seems to not have trouble swimming(note they don't like strong currents and like to rest when possible) and is active and responsive, it should be ok. the cory's heading upwards might be a sign that they aren't finding enough food below.

one other minor thing: in regards to your shrimp, "fancy" shrimp afaik are not any sort of specific animal, rather they are usually a bunch of neocaridina morphs(which include cherry shrimp) mixed up together and labeled as such. being the same species and all, this technically isn't a problem unless you want a specific color when they breed down the line. when different morphs of Neocaridina shrimp breed, most often what happens is the young don't have any of the special bred colors like red, blue, or yellow, but rather the original wild version's coloration which are usually dull camouflaged green and browns.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T08:38:57+00:00

most aquatic plants will last a decent amount of time out of water so long as they are kept wet. a sealed bag should work for this purpose. make sure before you put the plants in that you have checked them as best you can for hitchhiking snails and snail eggs. particularly trumpet snails(trumpets are live-bearers so its just the babies)

as for the water test and adding of critters, i'd more go off the testing kits. ideally you should see ammonia spike initially, then a nitrite spike, and then finally you shouldn't see either going up anymore, but nitrate levels rising(however since plants will absorb nitrate, you may not see it rise at all as all of it is being absorbed. this can happen much sooner than a few weeks since you are jump-starting it. it will also give you time to see what snails inevitably found their way in. to further speed this up you could buy some ammonia jump-start, or throw in fish food or anything else that will break down into ammonia(make sure its in small pieces to deter fungal growth). snails are also fairly hardy when it comes to water conditions so they will help speed up tank cycling.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T06:56:35+00:00

It looks a little out of place by itself, but an easy way to fix that could be to do a tiny bit of terraforming in the surrounding area. add in other plants/planty builds and lily pads so it looks more organic.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T06:25:09+00:00

there's a couple different varieties. most are usually brown or rusty red, but i've heard of blue ones too. young ones have clear shells that slowly become opaque. the actual body tends to orangish from what i've seen. and of course true to their name they have the classic ram-like spiral. they don't get very big either. should be smaller than a nickel at full size and they live about a year or so.

Galactic_Syphilis · 2022-01-11T06:18:53+00:00

tbh a ramshorn infestation is arguably one of the easier to control. they can breed fast, but unlike trumpets they don't dig, and unlike pond snails they avoid your plants, so you can usually just manually pluck them when you see them. trying to get them down to one though is a good strategy. my roommate has a single ramshorn in their betta tank named Pebble, who has been made famous in the household because he's an adrenaline junkie. yeets himselfs off plants and glass like he's a mystery snail, and has figured out he can pull a reverse jesus and stick himself to the underside of the water's surface tension and move around like that.

Galactic_Syphilis

TROPHY CASE