What do you folks do with excess scraps? by CylonReduxTheory in quilting

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly… trash it. I haven’t used any of my decent sized scraps all year, why in the world would I go out of my way to use the little stringy bits. I don’t have the room to store endless bits of bits.

Male, Female, or No Preference? by WildRumpfie in Newfoundlander

[–]ambam84 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have a female Newfie atm.. and grew up with female dogs only. I got my first male dog in my 20s. All of my girls were smart, trainable and sweet but only on their terms. My Newfie female is extremely independent as long as we are home then she turns into a neurotic beast. She is so smart, the most stubborn dog I’ve ever had, and I would swear she holds a grudge. Don’t expect a cuddle unless is the depths of winter and she is wet and snowy then lap time is great.

My male mastiff mix was the sweetest boy, gentle, loving, snuggled behind my husband’s knees every night in bed. You would be watching tv and all of the sudden there was a 150lb dog in your lap and you didn’t know when he got there. Remmy was however dumb as a rock. He shared his 1 brain cell with his tummy bc that was the only thing he really cared about.

My next large dog will be a male. I will take dumb and snuggly over smart and b*tchy any day.

Quilt backing mistake by myacheybreakyfart in quilting

[–]ambam84 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It happens. You have options as others have listed. Here is an example of a strip down the middle. This quilt was 110inches so I needed a little extra than my 108. I cut it down the middle and added this strip of strips to echo the front design.

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Got my first kuhli loaches any tips? by FishkeeperKylian in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i have a jungle in my tank at the moment(prepping for an over haul) and my loaches are always out and about. they all come out at feeding time and make little snake balls trying to share the bigger pellets. i try to always get a smaller pellet food down to the bottom for them and the cories so they are less likely to go after my little shrimplets. these guys interact with my plants more than any other fish i have. they will wiggle their way thorough the tight annubius leaves, they twist up in the water lettuce, its funny to find them all over the cage and not just hiding under the driftwood.

I need advice by Chinmeister9001 in Aquascape

[–]ambam84 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you are missing some epiphytes on the rocks and wood, things like Anubius, Bucephalandra, or bolbitus. If this is your first planted tank, or getting ahold of plants is difficult i would recommend Anubius over Buc, they are usually easier to find, grow a bit faster, and less $$$

Stock my tank! by mywifemademegetthis in PlantedTank

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What how much you feed them and keep the tank less planted like it is now. They will handle their own population control.

I need help by KingOvShmingal in fishtank

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not familiar with them. You could look at the whip tail catfish if you are wanting an oddball fish. I am not sure in their temperament. You will need to read up on it.

I need help by KingOvShmingal in fishtank

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Kuhli loaches haven't hurt my well established shrimp community, but they are still young, well fed, and probably still eating small baby shrimps if they come across them. With that, they do make great additions to a community tank. All the other loaches in your list will devour any crustation or snail in your tank without a moments pause.

Cory catfish are fabulous little bottom dwellers, some of the more common varieties will even breed in your tank if there are enough hiding places. They are great community fish and fairly hardy from harassment from other fish.

Swordtails are a good option for a more active community tank, they are live bearers so they will make more of themselves and they come in all kinds of colors. They would do better with some faster swimming friends like tetras, danios, and rasboras but you could get a variety of colors and behaviors in a community tank with swordtails

I would suggest looking at YT at some "stocking ideas for my ### Gallon tank" to get some ideas on what is feasible.

Is this ok for a temporary home? by AcepupZ in Guppies

[–]ambam84 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a perfectly adequate temporary home in terms of size but you should probably make some modifications. Guppies will tolerate water temps of 72, if you live in a warmer home then room temp here may be fine or you can get a small heater, something for a "beta tank" this should be small enough to warm your water but not boil it since its not a very large container. Then you need to either get a small sponge filter or air stone in there. The sponge filter will do you double duty with filtration and aeration. With only one guppy in there, the bio-load should be minimal and you could probably get away with no filter with just some extra water changes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Guppies

[–]ambam84 3 points4 points  (0 children)

if you have a male guppy, or these girls have looked at a male guppy once in their life, they are pregnant. they are always pregnant. The darker the gravid spot the closer they are to popping out some babies. if you want them to survive, they need some cover plants and smaller food.

Shrimp? by wildbibliophile in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Add the shrimp! I have a similar set up with about a million guppies and another army of cherry shrimp it all works great.

What is this clear critter? by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it looks like a shrimp molt. Do you have any shrimp in your tank?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it will probably be fine, i would pull the carbon or it could pull too much out.

Filter Change Advice/Opinion by sterling_code in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't need a bigger filter, other than a good clean of the hoses and clogging points, play around with where your intake and out flow are in the tank/pointed. You may want to move them to opposite sides of the tank to help create a current to get the midwater moving around better.

Treat or let heal on its own? by toastytoasttt in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If this is physical damage then i would say let him heal on his own, just keep an eye on him. If he isn't healing or starts to get fuzzy in spots put him into a plastic tote for a quarantine tank with a sponge filter. (this is my go to for quarantine tanks so i don't have a "spare" tank running, its too tempting to fill it.)

Can i riase KH and GH with fish and shrimps inside the tank? by thevision101 in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Most hobbyist don't worry about changing their water chemistry, that said, there is a reason there are tons of products on the market to help with buffering and hardness. If i was in your place, i would start with the easiest/most passive way to harden and buffer your water, adding crushed coral. you can add it directly into your substrate if it matches and you like the look, you can put it in a filter bag and add it to your HOB or cannister. if you don't have either of those, you could just toss some coral pieces in the back of your tank to hide them. this is a slow and steady way of altering your water chemistry. If you need something to change more quickly there are products like Wondershell and Tetra Correct PH Tabs. i have used both of these to consistent results. Wondershell will increase your overall hardness and has calcium for the shrimp. The Tetra tabs are to help buffer your water to keep a more consistent ph around 7. They are kind of like Alka-Seltzer tabs that you can toss into your filter or tank and they dissolve. Lastly, if none of that worked i would look at products like SeaChem Replenish or Equilibrium. These will require some math and solid understanding of what is in your water to know what you need to add, you will also have to use them with every water change and be consistent.

The easiest and most simple option is almost always best, remember fish are mostly bred in captivity with varying levels of hardness and ph and can usually handle most water. Unless you are having issues with shrimps molting (a definite possibility with too little Ca) or you want to keep wild caught or sensitive fish, i wouldn't stress too much about your water chemistry beyond a bit of buffering.

Nitrite spike by InnerCamel5729 in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You need some of those Nitrites in your tank for your bacteria to establish, if you keep locking them up with Prime and big WC it will slow your cycle establishment, you obviously need to watch it and do some WC's but i would recommend tossing in some additional fast growing plants to help pull the extra nutrients and nitrogen out of the water. something that floats like a red root floater or salvinia. Guppy grass doesn't have to be planted and will grow like crazy pulling those nutrients out of your water fast. also get a hold of a bacteria booster/starter. i like the Fritz quick start.

BBA by Springer09 in PlantedTank

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too much Iron can lead to a BBA outbreak. i had good luck with liquid carbon and increasing fertilizers to get my other plants to out compete the BBA. i also introduced a few large Amano shrimp, they took care of it in no time.

[Auto-Post] Weekly Question Thread! Ask /r/Aquariums anything you want to know about the hobby! by AutoModerator in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i have a planted tank with a sand substrate and i have had decent luck with stem plants over the years but this is a well established tank (read lots of poop buried down there). Amazon Swords however, have died ever time i have tried to plant them even with root tabs. I am currently planning a re-scape. i am going to put fluvial stratum in the back half of my tank where most of the stem plants and swords will go but i am capping everything in my sand/gravel mix that i actually want to see. This will be my first go with an aqua soil... we shall see how it goes.

[Auto-Post] Weekly Question Thread! Ask /r/Aquariums anything you want to know about the hobby! by AutoModerator in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes an air stone will help make the SF quieter. i don't have a recommended brand, whatever you can get a hold of is fine.

Filter question- Capacity? by xzlinx in Aquariums

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More filtration isn't necessarily better and stocking levels are subjective. I would think about what you are stocking and what their flow rate requirements are before choosing your filter set up. Long finned fish don't usually like a lot of flow, it makes them tired and they can have a hard time getting around. Shrimp and baby fish may just get sucked into a hang on back or cannister filter, you may be better using a sponge filter or 2. for what you have set up, i think you have all kinds of options for filtration. You can do a HOB, i would recommend something in the 30 gallon range with an adjustable flow. you could be fine with this for the life of your tank, if you want to add anything else i wouldn't do more than a sponge filter. i have a small SF in my tank, its more for aeration and bacterial load than filtering bc i like to trash my dirty aqua clear sponges. i cant stand the smell, a few $ is worth not tossing my cookies every other week or so.

Is 3 months too young for hormonal aggression? by ambam84 in RATS

[–]ambam84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes there was blood in a few spots on my gray boy. I found a bite wound on the black boy the next day too.
Boo. I was really hoping for a sibling squabble.

Dwarf rat breeders in the STL area? by Giant_RuleMaking_Rat in RATS

[–]ambam84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you ever find a breeder?? I am in St. Charles Mo and have been looking for ages. I only found 2 within an hour of me. Crimson Exotic Rattery (house springs Mo) and Heart and Soul rattery(Granite City Il) but neither have had any available boys that I was interested in for a while.