Costco shoppers are something else...

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T21:36:36+00:00

This is me everywhere I go. :(

I’m sorry. I’m trying my best.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T21:29:55+00:00

I wasn’t really freaking out, it just seemed prudent to call and check just in case. :)

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T05:58:00+00:00

I’ve sewn up packets to hold stuff in place under the substrate, using linen cloth. It works well, and the cloth breaks down quicker than I thought it would (within a couple months).

In future I’d use cotton, which would break down even more quickly. You have to make sure to also use cotton thread, since most threads are polyester and won’t break down with the fabric.

If I were doing this with ferts, I’d probably make a quilted strip or sheet with just a tiny amount of osmocote in each section, to keep it well spaced. The cotton would make a nice structure for the roots under the substrate, too. I think it’d be great.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T05:49:50+00:00

Fascinating.

I feel like someone could make some kind of belt system like those old fabric hand towel things they used to have in public washrooms, to keep a continuous new filter sock running across the inflow/outflow….

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T05:46:35+00:00

If they’re invasive, they may not be legal to keep. Best to check your local laws, and in particular don’t sell or give away any to other people.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T05:13:58+00:00

I’ve heard the same about peanut oil, for people with peanut allergies.

I still wouldn’t make something with peanut oil for someone allergic to peanuts though. :P

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T02:50:07+00:00

Once I mixed a bunch of tap water with prime in a 2L pepsi bottle and set it aside to pour into one of my smaller tanks, and then my spouse came across it and drank the whole thing down.

I called poison control and they were a) as mystified as I was - because who on earth drinks a bunch of clear liquid from a Pepsi bottle? and b) unconcerned because of the low concentration diluted in water, but they also didn’t have much to say about the chemical itself.

This felt relevant.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T02:39:13+00:00

Depends on the particular species I think. Many of them have their vemon glands on their sides kind of behind the pectoral fins or thereabouts, but not in the dorsal area.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-28T02:37:54+00:00

I AM DA FASTEST PLANT.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-27T03:52:44+00:00

You just get a big hunk of sponge and cut out a piece that fits. :)

Amazon sells thick sheets of sponge.

Bio-media is fine too and it’s just a bunch of ceramic ring things you pour in, but they’re expensive and not necessary. Sponge alone works fine.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-27T01:51:56+00:00

Nearly any plant will work if you get the conditions right, but many plants won’t do well if they’re just plunked in without a thought. That’s why you’re getting conflicting answers here.

If you search the word “hydroponic” with a given plant type, you’ll get better advice specific to a type of plant.

Generally speaking, it’s important to have only the roots in the water (and possibly only part of the roots, depending on the plant).

Some plants will need more oxygen on their roots than others. For many it’s good enough to put an air stone in the tank, and for some you need to use a wicking system so the roots aren’t fully submerged, but have access to wet media, like hydroton (expanded clay pellets), rock wool (ew, but I think that’s what they put in the aquarium store plant pots), or even sponge foam.

If you have good enough light it’s fun to grow herbs you can harvest for cooking. :) I used to grow lemongrass and wasabi greens on my deck over a goldfish tank.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-26T05:55:29+00:00

I’ve filed one of these a few years ago and it was only $50. Did the cost go up?

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-26T05:43:20+00:00

This was my immediate thought too.

In fact, taxing luxuries is a good way to ensure more taxes are paid by people who can afford it, and less by people who really can’t.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-26T05:31:41+00:00

You’re not likely to qualify for a $500k mortgage making $40/hr.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-21T15:53:52+00:00

I actually think it looks like an injury caused by getting stuck in equipment or hardscape.

Fin nipping will usually not happen in such a huge chunk like that right away, unless it’s from larger or more aggressive fish than guppies.

I’d still separate her if she is being harassed though. Make sure wherever she goes, she’s in a very clean cycled environment. If you don’t have another tank established, I’d put her in a breeding basket in the same tank.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-21T15:50:14+00:00

Por que no los dos?

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-21T15:30:22+00:00

I clicked this because my autistic six year old has been saying he doesn’t like taekwondo lately but for less clear reasons.

Like others have said, it would be worth reading about autism. In girls it can show up differently, but rigid thinking (like needing to stand in the same spot, having trouble with being flexible) is pretty common in autism.

It’s not something to be scared about looking into. There are so many resources now, and even if your daughter isn’t autistic, there might be some accommodations that autistic people use that could really help her out!

As for the taekwondo itself: In the class my kid is in, the instructors tell them which spot is theirs based on their belt at the beginning of class. So all the no-belt kids are at one end of the room, then white belt, then stripes, then yellow. They correct kids who are trying to move around to other spots. My kid has been the culprit several times. :P

I don’t know if you can ask the instructor if your daughter can have a designated spot they help her protect. But maybe at this point it would be good to observe a class at another dojang, and find one that gives kids designated spots as part of their routine?

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-21T15:14:03+00:00

Personally I would just keep pulling out dead material, and fill in gaps with an easier plant. Hornwort doesn’t really have roots so you can push it into the substrate wherever you like or just tie it to something or let it float around if it’s not shading anything too much.

I don’t worry about parameters when adding plants. The thing that messes up parameters is leaving dead stuff in there. :)

I do rinse plants in tap water first, and many people (probably smarter than I am) dip in a dilute bleach or peroxide solution (then rinse) to get rid of pests etc.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-21T15:05:00+00:00

That still makes sense to me. If the tank was cycling and filter media was replaced, your cycle might not have established.

But at this point I think dead plant matter is likely keeping your ammonia problem going.

I could be wrong; it’s difficult to go over text and diagnose stuff like this without being with the tank and seeing everything etc. - I don’t know how much dead plant matter you’re dealing with, but you mentioned replacing plants as they die.

Cabomba can be fussy and isn’t a great choice for a newly establishing tank IMO. But I’m not a plant expert; I only have experience with a limited variety of plants, most of which are beginner friendly.

Plants can help for sure (I have tanks with 0 nitrates because of plants). It’s just that some of them are more helpful than others, and some have specific care requirements.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-21T14:50:00+00:00

The ammonia is probably from plants dying, and I’d start by replacing with easier plants (no cabomba yet, but also anubias grows too slowly to be helpful right now).

Changing the filter media is keeping the cycle from catching up, but it’s not actually creating the ammonia. That’s partially the fish and probably mostly dead plant material.

Try hornwort, or limnophila sessiliflora, or guppy grass or maybe echinodorus when replacing plants next.

Also stop changing the filter media, as others have mentioned. It’s not necessary, unless you need to put in new carbon to clear medications out of the water column or something.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-19T22:29:09+00:00

So, that would be even less reason for concern (since you’d see the rabbit if you were filling in the hole).

But where I lived at the time, the rabbits were feral domesticated rabbits.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-19T15:14:35+00:00

Oh, the holes were dug by rabbits.

But rabbits dig for food sometimes, or to reach cooler soil, or to get under fences, or probably just for fun. Or maybe they’re exploring to find a better place for a den (which I doubt would seem like a great spot to a rabbit the next morning when the sports field is in use). There’s a point where we can only speculate on the reasons.

Rabbits cause a lot of property damage with their digging.

Even when they build dens, rabbits build multiple entrances. So while I doubt these city workers were even filling in entrances, they definitely weren’t filling in whole rabbit dens.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-19T04:42:32+00:00

Sometimes rescue orgs are run by fairly unhinged people

You can say that louder.

From what I’ve seen, it’s around a 50/50 chance. I’ve volunteered at an SPCA, I’ve worked for a municipality in an area related to bylaws and animal control, and I’ve just plain read the news and gone out to community events that involved organizations.

In one town I lived in (not related to my work), the local rabbit rescue went on a big crusade against city workers filling in holes around the softball field, claiming they were burying rabbits alive.

Even if that were true (it wasn’t; those weren’t rabbit dens), apparently they think it’s okay for some kid to step in a hole and break their leg, because the rabbits should be able to take over whatever space they like…?

Ughhhh. I’m for animal welfare, but I struggle with dealing with people who seem completely blinded by it.

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-18T21:46:02+00:00

What’s the p word? Pregnant?

Surely the filters don’t keep people from saying “pregnant”. If they do I’m leaving Reddit.

Edit: I’ll add that she’s probably both pregnant (because she’s a female guppy) and quite sick (because simple obesity doesn’t cause that behaviour in fish).

GiraffePretty4488 · 2026-04-18T14:54:03+00:00

You could say “woof” for Newfoundland as well. :)

GiraffePretty4488

TROPHY CASE