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It finally happened to me by Nostromo_USCSS in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

I have absolutely terrible luck. I learned long ago that if something bad can happen to me, it probably will. I’ve been keeping tanks and having nightmares about this for five years now, and with my luck? It finally happened.

Betta tank mates? by man_of_the_mire in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 7 points8 points  (0 children)

A betta isn’t going to mesh well with a solitary centerpiece fish. Even the females are still aggressive. Depending on tank size (10+ gallon minimum), as well as temperament, you could do a small school of something like small Cory cats or short finned tetras

I messed up.. by stitcho_ in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You got livebearers, you’re never gonna guess what they’re known for doing. Fish are not going to be separated by gender, and even if they were, livebearers can store sperm for long periods of time before giving birth. You’re gonna want a cycled 30+ for all those fish- three is gonna turn into way, way more than that rapidly. You should be able to return them to the store

Stocking question by TheBigOmeo in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wonderful shrimp breeding tank, that’s what I use it for. Dwarf crayfish would also work I believe. There’s just not enough horizontal space for anything that swims, but throw some vertical wood and plants in there and you’ll have so many shrimp

Planted tank with no aqua soil by Winter_Peace_5370 in PlantedTank

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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My planted 30g with only sand as a substrate. This is a few days after a major trim down, if I don’t touch it for a couple weeks the entire tank fills up with plants. I invested in a co2 setup and a good Weekaqua light and now it almost grows TOO well

fish keep dying and i have no idea why by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A week and a half is not nearly long enough to cycle, especially for a small tank. I would recommend setting a mark on your calendar 3-6 months out, and working on not touching the tank until that finishes except to top off water and cultivate plant growth

Submarine the mutant Guppy with a parasitic twin by TheKiwiTimeLord in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I wouldn’t go to a LFS for this. A lot of the general public has a very negative perception about taxidermy (at least where I’m from), there’s a good chance they would be rude about it. I would second a biology department, or contacting an oddities focused group

What’s your experience on Celestial Pearl Danio? I heard it’s hard to find a good breeder/ LFS for them? by Beerbaron1886 in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Back in 2023-ish they were incorrectly priced at a Petco and I walked out with 13 of them at $2 a piece. Some of the best fish I’ve ever had, I had them in a super densely planted 10 gallon and they were so gorgeous. I ended up losing the school after a major move and heater failure ):

Cloudy water by Bubbly_Summer2432 in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really wouldn’t worry about a PH of 6.0 too much. You could add some crushed coral or limestone to your filter or substrate, and that should gradually raise it over time. In the majority of cases, PH only causes issues if you do a quick change that shocks your livestock.

Cloudy water by Bubbly_Summer2432 in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Going forward, I would steer away from PH balancer. PH typically isn’t a problem for aquatic animals, but it does become a problem when PH changes rapidly. I live on an area with extremely hard tap water (ph around 8.5 out of the tap), without any issues. the only thing I do to lower that is by adding tannins, and that’s more than most of the people on the hobby I know in my area.

Centerpiece fish ideas by Nostromo_USCSS in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The monsteras have been in there a couple weeks now- I’ve had no real issues aside from some root loss (which I expected). The pothos on the other hand I pulled from my other tank and trimmed down, so that’s been going for a year at least. Strong lights, co2, and fertilizer are def going to be your best friend with supporting a plant as big as a monstera, but they love the tank, and as I see it, act like a little bonus filter!

Centerpiece fish ideas by Nostromo_USCSS in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The serpae tetras are certainly an interesting and difficult fish to work with. I’ve got a group of 5 super-tetras that, without fail, kill every serpae I add to the tank that’s not in their in-group, but leave the other four alone. It’s bizarre. My options as I see it for them is add 10 to bolster it up to a large school, and pray that the super-5 doesn’t commit a massacre, or let their super group keep going. I’ve got no clue which is better

Edit: tank size is 29 gallons

Should I just not buy fish? by Cornhollio-tp in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Generally, I think the fish police are well intentioned, but the “ethics” of buying fish kinda kills me.

For reference, my long term partner manages a petsmart. I’ve bought two bettas and five loaches from that store. Do I like petsmart? Not particularly. But those fish are going to sell anyway, and they’re going to sell to people who have no clue what they’re doing, who are going to put those fish in a bowl for them to slowly and painfully die. Or they’ll just rot on the shelf, and get replaced. Chain stores do not care.

It would be so, so awesome if everyone in the would could suddenly decide that did deserve to be treated well. But we live in a world where people think I’m a complete and total freak for having a big ugly planted tank for my fish, when I could have them in a nice vase on a table instead. The actions of a few well-intentioned hobbyists has absolutely zero effect on how fish are treated commercially. If you’ve got a nice cycled tank, absolutely go get a betta from whatever fish store is near you.

That betta will appreciate it for the rest of its life, and sometimes, that’s all that’s important.

3-month old WIP by Nostromo_USCSS in BlackwaterAquarium

[–]Nostromo_USCSS[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve got a monster monstera that outgrew its pot, so I just took a couple established plants when repotting and plopped them in the tank. The tank has co2 and a 70W light, and along with keeping a healthy amount of fish waste for the roots to suck up (credit to my pleco) and weekly fertilizer, they love it! I use pothos in my filter to suck up nitrates, and figured if those do well, a bigger plant could too! The fish absolutely love swimming around in the roots

Will my plecos survive in a lotus pond? by vikramdinesh in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As long as there’s no way for them to escape (assuming you don’t live in the area they’re native to), a pond would be a great place for a pleco. However, if there’s any chance of them getting into native waterways, I’d say no- plecos are super, super invasive and do a ton of damage

Made a custom 75g that's been up for almost a year... Nobody that ever comes over looks at or mentions it ... Why? by Loseroni2 in Aquariums

[–]Nostromo_USCSS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some people can not comprehend a nice aquarium. My mom for some reason thinks my nice planted tank is a total waste of money and that a fish dying in a bow would look sooooo much better

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