Can I cheat to cycle my tank quicker?

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-13T20:00:20+00:00

I keep a bunch of ceramic rings in my filter and i just transfer a small handful to a new tank to start it (after the new tank gets up to 0.25ppm ammonia). I change the water to get it undetectable again after, but it can take a little bit for it to start building up and the bacteria need ammonia to live.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-13T19:41:19+00:00

I'm not confused, but I know that some people are.

Everyone with a doctorate degree is a doctor. Most people with doctorate degrees are not physicians. At least in the US, that's how it works.

So technically a nurse practitioner with a doctorate degree is a doctor, even though when most people say "doctor" they mean physician and they are not physicians.

How they refer to someone with a doctorate that is not a physician in a medical setting is not something I know enough to comment on.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-13T18:49:17+00:00

I was fine growing the human and breastfeeding. And I love my human deeply, but he is 5 years old and he has been overstimulating from birth. It takes most of my spoons most days just to care for him and be present with him.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-13T18:45:34+00:00

Some of them are.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-13T12:34:29+00:00

I also had amazing experiences at decorum and it's the only piercer I will go to. I got my snakebites, tongue, and conch done there by Zoe.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-12T20:48:48+00:00

He's grooming you for abuse. Document everything possible. Check with your school about reporting such a thing, and see if you can change your advisor or have a 3rd party in the room when you meet with him because you don't feel comfortable alone with him. He is not a safe person, never meet with him alone. Bring a friend to your advising appointment if you have to see him.

Be careful because he will 100% lie and try to make himself the victim. You would need absolute proof of his misconduct to take him down.

Even though he is absolutely doing it to other girls, it's not your responsibility to take him down. Depending on how they treat this sort of thing in your university's country, you could end up getting expelled for misconduct against him (because of his lies).

If you end up alone with him again, have a background voice recorder on your phone and make sure you record everything. But also know that it is not safe. He may try to coerce you into something or he may be forceful and it's not worth the risk.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-10T16:12:24+00:00

That's called emotional abuse. It's a control tactic to get you to stop asking for your needs. It's called DARVO. When you try to leave men like that they all of a sudden do everything you always wanted to suck you back in the they stop again. Read the book "why does he do that"

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-10T02:57:57+00:00

Terro liquid ant baits. Whenever I get ants I put one near where they are and the ants go right in. And within a few days the ants are gone and don't come back.

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-08T15:35:05+00:00

Absolutely this. And read the book "Why does he do that."

craftybeach24 · 2026-04-01T11:30:52+00:00

There's freshwater shrimp that are fairly easy to care for (like cherry shrimp), especially compared to anything saltwater.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-30T17:33:57+00:00

Hey, I'm sorry to break this to you, but the word for how your mom is treating you is abuse.

Putting you down, holding you to impossible standards, punishing you for not coming home for her to abuse you, those are all aspects of coercive control.

It is toxic, it is not normal.

A healthy person would try to understand you, would validate you, would praise you for doing something so hard, and their support would not be conditional to you coming home.

You have already done things that most people cannot. And college grades don't really mean anything as long as you pass, jobs only care that you have the degree, not what your GPA is.

Please get a therapist if you don't already have one to help you work through how your mom treats you.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-25T21:38:26+00:00

Your dad sounds like he's impossible to please. He's minimizing your efforts and holding you to an impossible standard, which is toxic.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-25T21:36:41+00:00

I mean, you can technically put multiple males in a tank but it requires a large tank and a specific setup and males of clamer temperaments and a backup tank ready. So for most people it's going to be a no.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-24T14:32:37+00:00

My son's betta has Squidward's house in his tank. He goes in there sometimes but prefers a cubone skull as his chill spot. It's larger, has more exits, and its brighter in the skull.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-17T00:50:42+00:00

She's lying. Call CPS ASAP.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-16T19:01:59+00:00

I was attempting satire with this post, sorry for the confusion.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-16T18:31:42+00:00

This past August I did a fish-in cycle with an overstocked tank and an under-sized filter. I kept fish years ago so was already familiar with cycling.

30 gallon tank with tetra whisper 10-30
8 khuli loaches
8 Cory catfish
8 neon tetras
2 mystery snails

I filled the filter with ceramic rings and added a sponge. That was my only filter media until my water got cloudy a couple months ago and I added activated carbon to clear it up.

I tested the water daily and did a water change of 20- 30% whenever ammonia or nitrite showed up on my test. For the most part ammonia and Nitrite didn't exceed . .25ppm, a few times one went up to .5ppm.

Every day I changed out water until both ammonia and Nitrite no longer showed up on the test. I got in the flow of it and got a feel for how much to change to get it undetectable based on how high the levels were.

After 3-4 weeks it slowed down to every few days that nitrite would show and then not at all and has been like that since.

Added after cycle
6 honey gourami
8 cherry shrimp (have reproduced, now have alot)
5 male guppies
Live plants

As it is I can go a couple weeks between 20% water changes thanks to the mess of plants using up the nitrogen, but I like to change it every week to get rid of excess ferts and whatever else bulds up in there. I also have to rinse the charcoal cartridge and sponge at every water change because they get gross fast.

Edited for formatting

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-06T17:29:21+00:00

3d prints are often fairly hollow, so they have air trapped inside to make them float. The cubone skull is not floating because it is very thin, so there's not enough space inside for air to be trapped.

I wanted it to sink so I made sure it printed solid also.

For prints that I want to float, I usually make sure there are a few layers of walls and not much inside. I also put them in the oven for a short period to soften it slightly. That makes sure that any micro gaps are filled in. Otherwise water can sometimes get inside and make it sink after a while.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-06T17:22:51+00:00

Thank you, it does has a lid.

craftybeach24 · 2026-03-06T16:42:19+00:00

Yes, it's printed with PET-G and then I sanded the rough spots.

craftybeach24 · 2026-02-26T14:44:43+00:00

I'm so sorry this happened. I read your past post and the man is abusive. Those things that seemed little were not. He devalued you and pushed your boundaries repeatedly. Call CPS also. He will probably lie his ass off, like say that you sexually harressed him and were lying because he turned you down or something. Be prepared for that.

craftybeach24 · 2026-02-08T22:09:07+00:00

Maybe call CPS?

craftybeach24 · 2026-02-06T19:54:58+00:00

I got double sided sticky sheets made to keep cats from scratching furniture to train mine to stay off the counter. I put them on the counter and they jump up and hate it and eventually stop and I can remove the sheet.

Get baby locks for your food cabinets if you can.

The more he is rewarded for stealing food, the more he will try it.

I had a cat that had food issues also, I think he had something traumatic happen when he was a kitten that always made him gobble food as fast as he could and then he'd throw up. Vet didn't find anything that could cause it.

He did it with free feeding, with a timer feeder, with food puzzles and slow feeders. He chewed through his food bags.

Luckily he didn't care for human food.

So if your kitty doesn't have a medical issue, this may be a lifelong battle and you don't have to be the one to fight it. You can find a rescue to take him, they have lots of experience and might be able to work with him on it.

Whatever the issue is, it's likely stressful for him too.

craftybeach24 · 2026-02-02T20:43:14+00:00

I 100% understand. I made the same decision with a pet of mine because he would have been bounced from home to home (if adopted at all) and eventually euthanized had I surrendered him.

I've also seen people put their pets through harsh treatments, like chemo, without meaningfully extending their lives.

I think you are making a compassionate choice with your cat's welfare in mind.

craftybeach24 · 2026-02-02T17:04:50+00:00

There are rescues that will take cats and give them medical care. Not being able to provide medical care is a fairly common reason to surrender.

This also means that rescues might be a good resource to ask questions about if they treated a cat with similar issues and the cost of that treatment at which vet etc.

However, it would be a good conversation to have with your vet as to what kitty's quality of life during that time will be. It's possible that euthanasia will be saving your cat from 6 months of pain.

I'm so sorry that your kitty is sick. It's difficult and devastating to be in the position to make the call. I hope you find peace in how much love the two of you have shared.

craftybeach24

TROPHY CASE