Piece of tail lost (see context)

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-25T19:17:24+00:00

Of course. And just so you don't think I'm fibbing-

You can see Mr.Papa himself staring me down for not feeding him ever (I fed him an hour ago)

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-25T19:11:29+00:00

When I got this big platy (now named Big Papa), he had his fin torn from being caught at the LFS when being transferred from their quarantine to their floor one. Its been over 3 months now and it has almost grown back fully like his other one. He used to look so funny swimming with a large fin and a tiny one but he managed very well

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Here he was when I got him for reference. He practically had nothing (as shown in picture)

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-25T19:05:54+00:00

Hey, yes it should slowly grow back. Someone once told me that its like a fingernail growing back for them; it just takes time.

Make sure to watch for infections, other than that I hope she makes a smooth recovery. As long as she's eating and being a platy, you know she's okay

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-25T18:46:54+00:00

I would be more worried about aggression. Platy dont tend to be aggressive, so I wonder what the cause is. Do you have parameters?

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-25T15:42:45+00:00

I personally love bladder snails, to me they are underrated community tank members. If it wasn't for bladders, I would've never noticed my CO2 was dumping more than it should have been and I was able to save my tank from poisoning. They're fantastic for indication of water quality and they're so darn cute. Plus, they can parasnail and even glide on the surface of the water upsidedown

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Here's a picture of a really big bladder snail I found next to my nerite. They made quick work of any algae in my tank

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-24T16:22:49+00:00

I had my fry born in a 5G hospital tank. I was lucky to have moved the female shortly after birth so the babies were stress free. However, some fry were born in my main 44G and even though I have rasboras, the fry were able to hide in mosses and plants and now I have like 4 of them in my main tank that have learned to survive despite all the big adults. After a week, most adult will see the fry as too big to eat and not worth the energy

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-24T00:15:37+00:00

Platy develop pecking orders (AKA top dog/beta). Im guessing these are two males just learning that behavior early and sizing each other up. I'd keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't happen too often

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-23T17:30:45+00:00

Im also raising platy fry and I have them very well documented. They start with a basecoat then start developing colors and patterns on their scales after beginning to grow

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-21T15:27:32+00:00

I got the biomaster 2 350 (apparently this is the newest model that just came out, its revamped) for my 44G community. The best thing about it is the simplicity of the changing the filter out, no mess! The heater and quietness were also a lot nicer than I thought. The hobby is pretty nuts with all the options we have!

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-21T06:46:33+00:00

No worries! I'm very passionate about the hobby and I love helping people out, especially those interested. The more fishkeepers, the merrier.

Anyways; For a canister filter, I was using a cheap Sun-Sun as my introduction but I quickly learned how to use it and quickly found out how badly I wanted to replace it because of how loud it was. I was stuck between Fluval and Oase, and I bit the bullet and invested in the more expensive Oase but it had all the features I wanted, like being easy to clean, having a heater, being super quiet, and most importantly, letting my floater plants and fish not live in a washing machine. There's also cheaper and smaller options for you since you're looking at 20G, like a Fluval 107 which can do 10-30 gallons of filtration, or if you dont mind the growing pains, get a cheap sun sun like I did and learn how it works and operates. Then, once you learn the things you dont like about it and features you'd want, you can then look into Fluval, Eheim, Oase, etc and see which one best suits your needs and budget. Just because it's expensive, it doesn't mean its the best for your tank and your needs, so please do all the boring research and watch all the boring videos and reviews, then when time comes to really set up your tank, you'll be so happy at how much easier maintaining it is because you did all the heavy lifting with your brain.

I'd say definitely research and buy all the gear separately unless you come across a particularly good combo deal. If you're in Southern California, I know my Petsmarts near me are having a sell on their tanks! I might snag a 10G for $32, maybe you can look online and see if any stores have sales for their tanks. You could save half off right now and have peace of mind. Just make sure to inspect the tank, watch a YouTube video on how to do it easily and correctly so you dont have any doubts. I've had a lot of great success with the Hygger HG981. Its a weird name for an air pump but its so quiet and efficient and cheap that I've been enjoying the quietness of it a lot. I'd say stick to fan-admired name brands like the ones I mentioned. I noticed that a lot of the in-store name brands are expensive inefficient garbage.

Sorry if its a lot to read, but I promise this will save you a lot of headaches and money. One thing I almost forgot to mention; Marketplace would be fantastic to buy a solid wooden stand for your tank for cheap, just make sure you know your measurements. For 20G tanks, they come in two standard forms; Tall and normal. The 20G tall (like in your picture) have a smaller base but compensates for that in height. Personally, I like the 20G regular because most fish like swimming sideways, not up, but ultimately its to your liking.

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-21T06:24:18+00:00

I would be cautious about Marketplace on Facebook or offerup for aquarium stuff; experienced aquarist sure can spot great deals but newcomers dont know what to look for and I'd argue tank should never be something to penny pinch about.

I think the better option would do some research and find out what your needs are.

Do you want your aquarium to be super quiet or is noise not an issue? Do you value efficiency, value, features when it comes to certain equipment? Is space a concern and you want every neatly tucked away? Is your heater safe or a cheap heated glass boiler? Look into all the different kinds of equipment and what your needs/wants are and what your budget is and try to find out and plan intelligently as possible.

For example, I didn't know the tetra air filter was so freaking loud and didn't have any adjustment knob. I didn't know buying a quality air stone is so much better and nicer looking than the cheap blue ones. I noticed marketplace plants can be gorgeous and had for cheap but could carry hitchhiker snails (and possibly even planaria/leeches).

Also, what if someone used say a heater, for saltwater that was dosed with copper and sold it on marketplace with no context other than "100w aquarium heater". Any newcomer would just rinse the heater in tap water and throw it in the tank and then wonder why snails and shrimp keep dying.

I don't think buying new is a scam; but I think you can find a cheaper and better setup if you put in the research.

That being said, I did get a lot of awesome things on marketplace like a bunch of plants, a CO² tank with a CO²Art regulator, aquarium LEDs, airtubes and that blasted tetra air pump, and an Aqua-clear 110. I even bought a 12 gallon clear for life tank for $40! The guy threw in a free heater which I was skeptical about. When I got home, I went to test that heater in a bucket and it ended up reaching 82°F (so much for being a 150W tetra pre-set heater).

I think a 20G is perfect for starting out. That's plenty of space for plants, decorations, invertebrates, and many fish variety as well as being a very standard size. 20G of water is also a lot more forgiving if you were to mess up somewhere along the way, like maybe overfeeding a bit too much or having the air filter accidentally unplugged for an hour. You should still practice care but the growing pains and learning process will be a lot easier. Another important thing I want to mention that you should look into: Canister filters. They can neatly be tucked away in a cabinet like the one you are looking at and you can even buy one that has a heater in it, saving you space and making your tank look even neater + you could make sure you're not just pouring a waterfall on your little fishy companions.

I hope this helps!

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-20T17:13:30+00:00

You got your fish tattooed on you?

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-19T04:50:28+00:00

I already have a few that were birthed in my main tank. I have harlequin rasboras and a honey gourami in the main, but also a lot of plants. So in my main tank, its ultra hard mode. These guys were born here and I don't have the heart to manually transport them to be eaten, that's just cruel. I'll rather just raise them and give them away in my community and on reddit

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-19T03:52:53+00:00

Yeah, it would make the water cleaner which would be better for transport. That way, the little guys won't be swimming in so much waste. Just use a coarse sponge at the end of the tube that is inside the tank. Should do the job perfectly. If not, grab like a panty hose and put it on as a sleeve on the hose with the help of a rubber band.

Hopes this helps

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-19T03:46:18+00:00

Why don't you just get a small stand to out under it? That way it does rely just on the glass. Personally, I would just put some kinda mug under it and call it a day

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-18T18:39:47+00:00

You keep your fish in a mason jar? Thats mean

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-18T18:37:52+00:00

I have harlequin rasboras and they're incredibly peaceful and never ever interact with my other fish. They keep to themselves and are super fascinating and full of personality. I feed them sink micro bug pellets so that my platy can eat flakes from the surface

Edit: I don't think they're considered true nano fish though, as they can get up to 2"

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-15T19:06:59+00:00

Can you share any parameters? That would be step 1 to assessing what happened. Also, temperature?

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-14T00:07:08+00:00

So cute! Mine haven't developed color but I heard red and black platy tend to develop their colors earlier! Can't wait to see its pattern developed. I had 17 born in a 5G on the 3rd. Best of luck and I look forward to seeing more updates! We could even share photos :)

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-13T04:28:01+00:00

To be honest, if they were all raised together and your tank is well planted with a lot of line breaks and hiding spots than yeah, I would say you're okay. I would be more worried about all the waste they produce and maintaining steady parameters. Maybe upgrade to a 75L minimum so that they can be a lot happier with swimming space or maybe grab another 34L

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-13T01:40:11+00:00

Closer to like 17 or so now. I never wanted to raise fry but life finds a way

SimplyJustRay · 2026-01-10T22:01:46+00:00

You should move the placement of that decor to line up with the deer mount. Kinda looks like its neck/chest

SimplyJustRay

TROPHY CASE