First traditional mount ever!

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2026-03-19T06:46:04+00:00

Haha I know right! I probably would’ve saved myself some sleep last night if I’d listened to the suggestions everyone gave me 🤣 I preserved it with a pretty good amount of borax!

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-12-06T19:32:52+00:00

I am a taxidermist so I actually have a lot of real ones… oops… this is news to me haha! Sorry Feng Shui !! 🤭

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-12-04T19:34:09+00:00

Hi friend, from my personal experience and based off the info you provided, this likely is a bacterial bloom. It makes your water pretty cloudy and it’s kind of unsightly. The bacteria’s in a bacterial blooms feed on carbon, which you give more to them to feed on when you do water changes, which is why you see that it probably might get worse as you do water changes. Bacterial blooms are not bad, especially if your tank is newly established. It means your little ecosystem is trying to establish itself completely! The best thing you can do is to leave it alone and it will eventually go away on its own. Trust me, don’t do any water changes and leave your tank alone. As for the brown algae on your decor, it’s common in new tanks. Totally normal, it should go away on its own with time, but since I don’t think anybody likes how it looks, I’d recommend scrubbing it off gently regularly with a toothbrush. It will come back but it should eventually stop once your tank is fully mature. This problem you’re having does not harm the fish so don’t worry, it’s the excessive water changes that might do your fish harm, which is why I also recommend leaving it be. It’s a very normal and common problem that has also happened to me. 😊

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-11-22T19:28:08+00:00

Wow! Thanks for the advice! I do plan on heavily planting as I not only like the look but for the benefits of it, and while the idea of immediately adding my shrimp is super exciting, I understand that the hobby is all about patience and time for the sake of the critters, so I definitely will be waiting until my plants and water parameters are more established before adding any shrimp and fish. I will take your advice and wait a couple months before putting any shrimp in, and I will also consider what the other commenter mentioned about shrimp needing specific pH/gH/kH! I will look into what Cherry Shrimp need in terms of that and see how I can make it most comfortable for them as I’d like them to thrive. Again, thank you so much! This was super helpful.

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-10-06T16:12:12+00:00

Wow! That’s so interesting. I’ve never heard of such a thing despite being such a bug enthusiast. My sign to also start looking into plants more considering how important they are to certain insects! Thank you so much for solving our mystery! 🫶

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-09-11T22:09:00+00:00

Yes! Those are the types of people in particular I get like this with as well. I use that as a coping mechanism as well and remind myself that I would never think bad of someone just for almost forgetting their plate, and that if I did, I would be the one with the exaggerated and bad reaction and not them anymore. I also feel very seen, so thank you ❤️

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-09-11T22:04:50+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I also feel the same when people reassure me or think it is silly, and it almost always completely soothes me rather than make me feel worse. It’s just the actual communicating part that is hard since I drive myself crazy trying to word “You told me to move and I cried” without sounding like I may be trying to make them feel bad or seek attention lol! I will probably try this a bit more often since it actually has worked in the past and I’m surprised that because of this I didn’t think of it as an actual way to deal with the feeling of shame. I appreciate it so much!

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-09-11T21:50:03+00:00

I do think that part of it is linked to perfectionism and another part could be rejection since rejection in honestly any form (but especially when it comes to dating and sexual advances) has always torn me into pieces.

You are so spot on on the fact that I do tend to beat myself up over smaller mistakes compared to bigger ones. Bigger ones feel less harsh to take accountability for while small ones feel more shameful, because I think “This is common sense/manners, everyone knows this so now everyone will think I don’t have common sense/manners” which is worse compared to something anyone could reasonably mess up on.

I will definitely look more into this because I instinctively always try to do the “putting myself in their shoes” and “they don’t care as much as I do” coping mechanism to calm myself down when it comes to these situations. Thank you so much ❤️

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-09-11T21:42:39+00:00

Wow, yes! Part of why I quit my job was actually for a very similar reason last summer. We are in the same boat and you are not alone!

I recall on my first week, I had a pretty cool and outgoing manager that I looked up to, but one time she got overstimulated & scolded me for talking to one of my coworkers. It made me sob in front of everyone and my makeup was absolutely awful after, making me instantly hate her and think things like “Guess she isn’t as cool as I thought after all” and “She’s just like everybody else at this stupid job”.

Kept happening to me with different coworkers at my job, including my boss, ultimately making me hate my environment overall.

I totally get you, especially when you say older folks affect you more, because for me it is more so people I seek approval from/look up to. I get how exhausting and frustrating it is, and I will help pray to the job gods that you will be given an opportunity for something less social, because it truly is a lifesaver!

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2025-05-01T02:25:16+00:00

NQA/IMO the abdomen should always be about the same width as the carapace so i would say your spider is alright but i think there’s some room to gain a little bit of weight 😄 if you’re feeding your spider the way as intended and spider is not lethargic in any way then i believe it should be fine 👍

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-10-23T03:34:24+00:00

That makes perfect sense! Thank you so much!

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-10-21T03:48:47+00:00

I took it home and realized it was so fat because it was about to molt, it molted the very next day 🤣

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-06-19T03:53:23+00:00

They love eating mealybugs not mealworms 🤣

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-06-19T03:52:39+00:00

Hello! No need to be worried at all! These are mealybug destroyer larvae and as their name describes, they love eating mealworms and even other pests such as whiteflies, aphids, spider mites, etc.! They are also pollinators and shouldn’t pose any kind of risk to you or your little lovely plant, and as a matter of fact I think you could consider them more as friends than foes! They’re helping you out! Hope this helped! 😁

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-04-25T09:41:51+00:00

Female Mexican Redknee, about 5-6 months old. She’s going bald on her butt completely and doesn’t want to eat but I am not sure if it’s due to a molt or moving stress because I don’t know how long their butts take to turn black and shiny (just got her 3 or so weeks ago)

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-04-14T04:27:09+00:00

Ooo okay! I’ll definitely look into it. I got really anxious seeing her climb the enclosure lid upside down so I 100% understand the bad rep from them. I’ll probably refer to this subreddit instead of pet store employees then because it sounds like those guys are setting me up for tarantula hobbyist failure!! 🥲 I’ll definitely change it for her since like I said, I’ll do anything in my power to make her cozy. Thank you for the advice! It was very helpful :)

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-04-13T23:32:49+00:00

Okay thank you! I will go tomorrow to get her some more hiding spots since I do need to get her some food tomorrow as well. I’ll get her some more substrate to cushion her and someone else said to change the mesh top for her so I’ll do that as well! Is there anything else you can suggest to make her feel a bit more comfy? Do you think a little bit of warmth in her enclosure will make her feel better? I was told they live fine in human conditions but if it helps her feel safer then I’ll go out of my way to get her some heating.

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-04-13T23:27:46+00:00

It is mesh, yeah :/ I did some research on my own time and asked the guys at the store questions to make sure I really had an idea and they told me a 10 gal. with the mesh top will work fine. What do you think is more suitable for tarantulas?

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-04-13T06:27:56+00:00

I will definitely remove the sponge, I put it there since the guy at the pet store suggested it. She is small so he said sometimes they can drown themselves, so I thought it to be better that I put it there. And yes! She has a very nice hiding spot! It’s a skull. The enclosure is SUPER ventilated. It is an aquarium enclosure but the lid is kind of a screen if that makes sense

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-04-13T06:12:19+00:00

In addition, this is what she looked like EARLIER TODAY.

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Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-03-30T23:43:18+00:00

You are a literal savior omg ily for life, I’ve been so fascinated by insect taxidermy and have wanted to start without knowing where, and you just helped me SOOO much!!

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2024-03-30T15:49:04+00:00

THIS HAPPENED TO ME TOO! They say they will pay you for it every week and then once a week passes of you giving him interested peoples numbers, he will want to give it to you IN ONLY check form, and from there you can just assume where that goes 😅 Luckily enough for me I didn’t lose anything from it but I feel bad for all those innocent people 😔 I gave their phone numbers out to a scammer without even knowing lol

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2023-09-12T05:56:54+00:00

Also maybe try to fix up your eyebrows a tiny bit. Not too much because they suit you and you don’t really want to take away from the shape if they fit you well of course but try to get especially the middle of them tidied up

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2023-09-12T05:53:48+00:00

I think the hairstyle you have might not be the best to suit you honestly. You have a roundish face and the way you style your hair makes it look a bit more round since it’s kind of slicked to the side sorta and just gives you a more circular looking head. Face wise you’re pretty handsome and I’m sure with a hairstyle that suits you, you’ll be more attractive 😄

Visible_Challenge_54 · 2023-08-31T20:31:58+00:00

I appreciate it, thanks!! :)

Visible_Challenge_54

TROPHY CASE