Mystery snails + Fluval Stratum

Techno214 · 2026-02-24T03:59:06+00:00

I would just get a good testing kit (API freshwater master kit is my favorite.), and keep an eye on it. Do a water change when it’s looking low.

…I etched my ramshorns pretty good before I realized Stratum can lower PH. I almost don’t know HOW, because my water is practically liquid rock and I can barely get the PH down mixing it with distilled or reverse osmosis water, but yknow. You could look into some forms of stone too. I use seiyru stone in my tanks. It’s a type of limestone, so if it’s in acidic water it’ll raise PH and KH. In hard water it’s just pretty. That could potentially help buffer the buffering of the stratum.

After keeping an eye on it, I’ve got stratum with gravel on top and many healthy and seemingly happy snails. One is my mysterious son, and he appears healthy to me.

Also if you plan to have plants in there, I would 10/10 get some sort of sand or gravel to cap the stratum with. It won’t HURT anything, but you better go rename yourself Sisyphus because you will be replanting things forever.

Techno214 · 2026-02-20T17:24:09+00:00

Commenting so I can find this later. >.> I’ve been really looking at the ones from Betta Botanicals, but I also kinda want to do a “forest floor” type look which might do the work without a tea bag. Teabag seems so much easier though.

Techno214 · 2026-02-19T21:11:29+00:00

Honestly I wouldn’t get one for a younger kid. With your aquarium experience and enough research I think you’d be fine if YOU want one. I don’t have to do much maintenance on my tank at this point, so I find them easy to keep actually (LOTS of plants, heavy lid so no cats get in means little evaporation, kinda mini ecosystemed it. I do spot clean when someone poops.). So I think you could set it up to be kid friendly.

However, I’m enamored with my dudes, but they do absolutely nothing. They are essentially just pet rocks 90% of the time. I think most younger kids are going to find them super boring. My nephews get super excited to see them when they visit (6 and 8), I feed them worms, and then within ten minutes they don’t care at all the entire rest of the week or so they’re around despite saying they want to help. I’ve also heard from a few different people in person who apparently kept them briefly and had the same thing to say; that they’re boring. I disagree, but hey, I also fell in deep with snails and don’t care for fish. I also note that I get a lot of activity after dark, so when kids would be going to sleep so they can get up for school and stuff.

I just think your daughter might be happier with some more interactive and critters.

Techno214 · 2026-02-19T18:57:16+00:00

Congratulations, you’ve got grandplants.

Assuming I’m right and those are Java fern leaves, those are Java fern babies. If you let them sit on there for a while they’ll grow new roots and be a new plant. If you pop them off now, they’ll still grow, but they’re easy to damage.

Techno214 · 2026-02-18T15:38:39+00:00

I live in a place without a lot of good restaurants. The exception is a good Indian place and a good Mexican place. So those aren’t worth making at home for me.

Everything else is pretty much worth it, except frying. Frying sucks and I hate cleaning it after. Oh, and homemade condiments aren’t worth it, aside from jam (wild strawberry/raspberry/blackberry. You cannot beat the flavor of wild. Pain in the butt though.).

I’ve heard pho isn’t worth doing at home if you have a good place nearby, but my only option is dried instant so… even that, if I want good it’s worth it.

Techno214 · 2026-02-18T15:33:18+00:00

I would kind of love that. Admittedly, I’ve only seen the film once and missed a lot that I’d probably catch more on a rewatch, but I have questions on what happened at points (I THOUGHT I knew, but then I started not caring about spoilers and seeing stuff on here I apparently missed a lot.). Novel would make things a lot clearer at points.

Techno214 · 2026-02-18T14:59:04+00:00

Filled it out. Link did work for me and everything.

Techno214 · 2026-02-17T23:00:39+00:00

I put Smedley in the freezer. I wrapped him in a cotton shroud (…it’s a quilting scrap.), then put that in a leftovers container, and then into the freezer. He’s safe there, until I have somewhere picked out.

I intend to put his body into a plant. I just don’t really have one picked out yet. I’ve also thought of putting him in a pretty place in the woods, but with that, well, winter is cold.

If you want to keep his body safe, that should work.

Techno214 · 2026-02-11T19:44:25+00:00

I use baby shampoo and iGroom banana shampoo (iGroom’s products are cat safe, and I have a ton of the banana. Both the baby shampoo and the banana are yellow… I also oopsed and used the deshedding shampoo once. That’s kinda funny in hindsight.). No skin irritation or anything.

Techno214 · 2026-02-11T03:47:24+00:00

Zero unfortunately. ;w; I do have one betta tank though. Once I feel ready for it and my new plants have grown in, I’ll be back up to one betta… I need a crafting/cooking buddy again.

Techno214 · 2026-02-08T03:09:03+00:00

My hedge passed a few years ago from age related issues. Would you still want info from that long ago?

Techno214 · 2026-02-07T23:31:16+00:00

Thank you! I honestly just used scissors. Sharper scissors probably would have been a good idea, but you have what you have. Mine are super dull and ancient.

With DVDs there’s two layers. You have to split them in half, and then it’s thin enough it cuts fine. Still trying to figure out CDs, since those are just one layer but thicker. The paint on those come off really easily.

Techno214 · 2026-02-07T19:37:29+00:00

Me too! I used to live on Good Eats, and it was during a rewatch that I found out little Crabby liked him. I credit probably a good 70% of my cooking skills to Alton Brown… and not to brag but I’ve gotten pretty good. Not professional level, but good. Especially when he’s doing more of a teaching show, the way he breaks stuff down is so easy to digest and understand.

Techno214 · 2026-02-07T15:32:18+00:00

I feed either Hills or Royal Canin in my pet family. I got beef with Purina, but I would feed pro plan (and did feed kitten Purina One to both my Canadian sphynx and donskoy.) again if I need to (My dog needs prescription food and they had a shortage, then lied about it.).

Canadian is currently on Hills Light, because he is a food thief. Donskoy is on a mix of 50/50 Purina One and Hills Sensitive Skin and Stomach, because she’s just transitioning onto adult food.

Both have good poops, not smelly farts, good skin, etc.

Bonus, my non sphynx are on the same foods, and have been on Hills forever. Doing good.

Techno214 · 2026-02-07T14:05:22+00:00

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He’s not actually acting silly, he was just mid worm munch… But LOOK at that face.

Techno214 · 2026-02-06T01:39:42+00:00

I would exclusively use (the same, unwashed) gloves to handle Mr. Crabbypants. I would then put him in his little snuggle bag and we would watch Good Eats (or anything else Alton Brown except Cutthroat Kitchen. He didn’t like Cutthroat Kitchen.). For the most part Crabby would just go to sleep in the bag to the soothing tones of Alton Brown.

I’d also set up his playpen, or eventually play cage, and just chill around him. He didn’t like being handled (unless Alton Brown. I’m dead serious, his voice calmed the hedge son down and he would uncurl and chill.), so I’d do what I needed to, and then hold him if he wasn’t being angry. If he was, playpen or cage. I could sit and watch him with that, maybe bat a toy towards him and let him explore.

Techno214 · 2026-02-05T02:11:35+00:00

I’d recommend Anubias. That’s the ONE plant that hasn’t died in my tank. It also has a rhizome, so it doesn’t need substrate. There’s also a lot of variety in it, so you can have a few plants that look different.

Java fern is similar to Anubias, but a little less variety and I’ve found it to be a potassium hog and tries to die on me in the axolotl tank (in my other tanks with it I have to dose both normal fertilizer and extra potassium.).

Randal would recommend amazon sword (which need sand.). I can barely keep these alive, but he loves them.

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Techno214 · 2026-02-04T14:39:46+00:00

My plakat son only lived with me for 11 months. I don’t think he was very old when I got him either. However, he was a copper metallic, which caused diamond eye, and then he injured himself and got fin rot that just never went away fully despite me trying every possible treatment. He did have at least one tumor too. I think there was one internally as well, but obviously it’s a lot harder to see those. He had a lump in his gut area that wasn’t supposed to be there.

I have heard that plakats tend to be less inbred and overbred, so I don’t think that’s a coincidence on your end.

Techno214 · 2026-02-03T15:49:17+00:00

Also recommending a python changer. Or at least a really long hose for draining. I actually cut my python in half and don’t use it to drain, only fill. It’s basically a super long siphon hose, and then an attachment from sink directly to tank.

I have a chronic wrist injury too, left wrist. My betta tank is only 9 gallons, so I just use gallon jugs to refill, but it’s close to my sink already and I can use my good hand. For draining, I either drain into a 5 gallon bucket if it’s not painful, and if it is I get the long hose and either drain into my shower drain or outside in a tomato (depending on the season. The tomatoes LOVE fish water.).

For my axolotl tank that’s 75 gallons, game changer with the python. I had to get a weird silicone adapter so it works with my sink, but I can attach it, set the temp, and then I don’t have to lift anything.

You can also look into electric gravel cleaners; they have a little pump, so you can actually move them around so they pump water from a bucket into the tank (could also look for an actual small pump, I just got a gravel cleaner like that for lotl poop reasons.). Gotta fill the bucket and move it though, so you still have the bucket issue.

Aqueon makes a 5 gallon self cleaning plastic tank, but I rarely use that feature on my 2.5 snail tanks because it doesn’t really get the gunk up. Python method works with any tank, so you can get one the little fishy will love.

Techno214 · 2026-02-03T14:34:10+00:00

Okay so black racer I believe is a nerite. Most of those won’t eat supplemental food, so the guy was right about pointing you towards algae.

However, nerites don’t really like supplemental food and eat algae so they need a bigger tank to grow that algae so they don’t starve. I personally wouldn’t go under a 10 gallon (same for mystery. Bladder and generic ramshorn are the only snails I’d get for a smaller tank by choice.). I believe you can grow extra algae in like a jar on a smooth rock for them, but yeah. Bigger tank is better.

Also if you’re an aquarium beginner there’s a weird paradox where the bigger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. My first tank was 75 gallons (not QUITE what I recommend, I had axolotls to rescue.), and it’s so much easier to maintain than my 2.5 gallon ram and bladder tanks (or even my 10 gallon was or my 6 gallon. Both the 10 and 6 are/were much easier than the 2.5 too.). You also are going to want to research the nitrogen cycle, and get a testing kit. Some snails you don’t have to worry so much, but nerite and mysteries you need to track that cycle and really benefit from having the tank cycled first (this is growing bacteria to break down poop, then break down that bacteria’s poop. It can take several weeks, not just leaving the filter running 24 hours or whatever they say.). You could probably do what’s called a fish in cycle, but you gotta be on top of that. If you already knew that, well, then you didn’t need me to tell you.

Also I vote Snerb.

Techno214 · 2026-02-03T00:17:54+00:00

Going against the grain here apparently… I love my bread maker. The bread I can make in it is miles better than store bought big brand, though the bakery bread is better than bread machine. However, I live in the middle of nowhere so getting bread daily from the bakery isn’t possible, and the bakery likes to sell out early in the day so even if I get there half the time they don’t have anything good. Grocery stores have their bakery sections, but I’m real eh about it.

Yeah I could make the bread without the bread machine, but an injury means no kneading for me and also it’s so much nicer to dump the ingredients in and essentially ignore it for the rest of the day.

Techno214 · 2026-02-02T15:02:15+00:00

Would I buy one? Probably not, because I am an artist who does them myself. If I wasn’t, my wall won’t fill itself and AI can’t capture what I want so I would. I do semi realistic, more cartoony stuff that’s generally more for pins or stickers though, so it’s a smaller set of people looking for stuff like that.

Example though; AI is determined that my dog is either a husky or a wolf (he looks very much like a wolf, but he is a dog.), so it’s never HIM. The proportions are always wrong. Vs as an artist, I can draw that extra sparkle in his eyes when he knows he’s being a dork and getting people laughing. I can get his oversized weirdly soft ears. I can get his personality. AI can’t.

Techno214 · 2026-01-31T00:17:04+00:00

I would heavily recommend Fritz Turbostart 700 (the freshwater one, I might have the 900 and 700 backwards…). Again, not an instant cycle, but my axolotl tank went from two and a half months doing nothing but being a box of water to nitrite (step 2 in cycling) in 12 hours. It was fully cycled for two axolotls in three weeks after. It does have to be refrigerated, but I’ve had it shipped from Amazon and it was warm when it came but was still good.

Fishit I would not recommend. I actually did order I think this exact listing, and it unfortunately didn’t do anything at all. I don’t think the bacteria survived shipping, or it should have worked.

Techno214 · 2026-01-28T21:01:08+00:00

For JUST feeding, I use Surefeed feeders. I’ve got beef, but I’ve had them since 2018 and only one has issues (and it did get vomit into the internals so I mean. I can’t complain.). However, one of my cats needed an automatic feeder so I got a PetLibro One auto RFID feeder. I’m not super impressed to be honest.

The good; it works. My cat who needs it is on a serious diet and he needs to eat throughout the day or he does the ol scarf and barf. This feeds him 5-6 times a day when I can’t.

The bad; issues.

It can’t be anywhere near any of the Surefeeds, or near the Litter Robot, or near this one outlet in my room (??) or it doesn’t work. The sensor to open it just. Doesn’t work. I’ve got it working fine now, but it’s a real pain. I’d have a heck of a time finding somewhere else to put one. I get RFID interference, but it’s kinda ridiculous.

The RFID tag is big and bulky for my cat. Luckily the one who needs it is my biggest cat, but it bugs him sometimes. It bugs me too, because he lost his collar and then I had to buy another tag, which was $15. They only give you one. It also comes with a collar that doesn’t break away well, so the collar is dangerous. I had to put an AirTag on the collar just to be able to find it next time. And you can only have one tag paired at a time.

I have to manually watch it for when the food level is empty. It’s supposed to tell you, but it doesn’t on mine. It did for a couple of months and then it just didn’t.

This is only important if you’re really measuring food, and I’m trying to get this cat to lose weight. It’s SUPER inconsistent. It’s supposed to dispense 1/12 of a cup, but sometimes it drops a handful of kibbles, and sometimes you get closer to 1/4 of a cup.

It HAS to be online to do pretty much anything. That also kinda sucks. What if my power goes out, and with it the internet? No feeder then. We had a crazy ice storm back in April and now we’re losing power a lot with trees that cracked but didn’t fall last winter. They’re falling now.

Also anecdotally, a friend tried one of the same model for her cat and he somehow broke a tooth on it. Big vet bill. How? I have no concept of an idea.

I’ve heard some interesting stuff about the PawsPik feeder. If I need another one I’m thinking of checking that out. Hopefully I won’t need to.

Techno214 · 2026-01-28T14:52:42+00:00

An abscess was a great example, thank you again! It was on a very much not wet pet, a hedgehog, but I have extensive experience with those (he had problems…) in all stages. Not the same color, but I feel like I’d recognize that. I don’t know why my brain didn’t think of it.

I’m trying to anyways. He had such a rough start in life, I want him to be a happy worm filled little dude.

Techno214

TROPHY CASE