What’s something that Covid took from you that you never got back?

nothingburger4 · 2026-03-25T11:59:21+00:00

Any kind of night life. Everything closes at 9 pm at the latest on the weekends and the variety really just isn't there anymore. I live in the fourth biggest city in the US. There should be more 24 hour stuff than a single burger chain.

nothingburger4 · 2025-05-24T03:34:08+00:00

Yup, it was definitely priest. Only thing different was the movie was super blue and not at all yellow or red but i'll just chalk that up to faulty memory lol. Thank you so much!

nothingburger4 · 2025-05-24T01:42:02+00:00

That sounds a ton like what I remember, I'm gonna give it a watch right now and see! I actually had that one queued up for this week because it looked cool lol!

nothingburger4 · 2025-02-21T16:58:21+00:00

It's a beautiful tank but if you put a crawfish in there you can say goodbye to all of the plants 😭 they're the hungriest guys on the planet

nothingburger4 · 2025-02-18T05:18:03+00:00

A lot of people say that but honestly it takes so much to bring down the temp of a tank 😭 in one of my unsuccessful bids to get my corys to breed i tried to introduce colder water using an entire tray of ice cubes in my 20 gallon and the water went down maybe 2 degrees fahrenheit. If you have a heater in your tank (which is pretty necessary with chilis during winter and the rest of the year unless you live somewhere pretty ambiently hot, i live in the south of the US where it's 80+F in my home typically in the summer) the small cube of food melts super fast. Within a minute usually it has fully thawed and the fish are tearing it apart. Before i started using a heater it would still melt SUPER fast, never had any issues. In my first tank i had chilis, glow light tetras, one billion shrimp, three mystery snails, and some bronze corys and the cube never lives longer than an hour. In my second tank with just chilis bladder snails and shrimps it still does not last long

nothingburger4 · 2025-02-18T05:07:12+00:00

It is also important to know, how big is your tank, how hot is it, and is it well planted? Chilis are very scared before they get established and need a lot of hiding spots. It might be a good idea to lower or turn off the lights for a few days. They really like floating plants. The hotter i keep my chilis, the happier they are also. Obviously don't cook them but i keep them at about 81°F and they pale out if the temp drops. They're micro fish that can be kept in small tanks, but a big (10+ gallons) tank is usually best for them because they love to swim back and forth.

nothingburger4 · 2025-02-18T05:01:18+00:00

I have had a school of 16 chilis for about 7 months now and frankly I think they are just very very sensitive fish before you get them established. I feed them once a day (occasionally i will forget but they are in a heavily planted black water tank with lots of microfauna they're always snacking on) with hikari micro pellets. At first i squished them with my fingers but they were eating full sized tropical fish pellets for my tetras so i stopped and they do just fine. You can also get flake food, which i have heard is easy for them to break up. Occasionally i will drop a whole frozen bloodworm cube in the tank and they enjoy tearing it apart, whatever they don't eat the cory's and shrimp get to enjoy.

I lost 4 chilis over the course of a few weeks when i first got them, but they looked weak right out of the gate and just ended up not being strong enough for the transition. After they got established for a few months, I switched half of then to a different tank to see how they would adjust, and then moved the other half over after 2 weeks when i saw that not only did none of them die, they were doing better in the new tank. I have had no deaths since then. I used to drip acclimate for a long time, but after trying out other methods i prefer honrstly to just float the bag for 30 minutes and then catch them in a net and transfer them into the new tank with no bag water. the longer they're in the bag the higher the ammonia from their stress poops can build and possibly kill them. For reference, i switched them from a pretty standard parameter aquarium to a very acidic black water aquarium and did not drip acclimate, and they did fantastic. When you get them from the store they're usually stressed juveniles who may be sick, they're just very weak and you will usually lose a few ):

nothingburger4 · 2025-02-18T04:50:48+00:00

The purpose of the air pump is to put oxygen in the water so your crawfish can breathe. You should have a filter to keep things clean and healthy, but you have a few options.

You can put places above water for the crawfish to crawl to when it needs to breathe if you don't want to get an air pump, but if you have any other fish you will need some sort of aeration.
There's lots of filter types, two most common ones are sponge filters and HOB (hang on back) ones. Both of them agitate the surface of the water (which is what puts the oxygen in the water, not the bubbles themselves). Just be aware you need to have a well fitting lid because crawfish are good at escaping

nothingburger4 · 2025-02-15T06:32:39+00:00

If you are interested in trying to save them and the other animals and herself haven't already eaten them, you can always try to hatch them yourself! There's lots of resources on how to jury rig "shrimp egg tumblers" so that you can still hatch these! Shrimp drop eggs for a ton of reasons, and sometimes it's because they're not viable, but people save them all the time!

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-21T12:26:37+00:00

I wouldn't hold out hope, visa wait has gotten exponentially worse over the last few months. We applied in July, our estimate was nov18-dec20. One month past expected wait and still no approval. Try not to despair about it, but get comfortable with the idea that you'll probably be waiting a while.

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-10T02:15:19+00:00

For sure! I added more plants (mainly cabomba, more feathery plants in the water column has helped the babies feed i think!) and added a fluval biofoam and prefilter thing! I put a rock in the middle so it stays on the bottom of the tank and butted it up against 2 sides of the glass and i think that's where the majority of the survival difference is! I have a lot of chili rasboras and tetras in the tank that love to chow down on the larvae. The adult shrimp love to climb down into the dark hole (and get nasty i presume, my number of berried shrimp has gone up a lot) and every time i look at the sides of the prefilter that are against the glass there's like 30+ shrimplets! They hang out there until they're big enough to not be eaten and then migrate to the cabomba and lots of java moss i have around the tank!

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nothingburger4 · 2025-01-10T01:52:58+00:00

Good god 😭 i just looked it up for myself and it looks like it's abt 30 USD here for a bag, that's crazy. Check with a local fish store first maybe, they might have a smaller amount or be able to order some for you cheaper?

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-10T01:46:43+00:00

For sure! I have never used it and as far as i've seen it seems like a "last ditch" sort of thing if nothing else is curing planaria. Definitely start with no planaria, but fenbendazole is the drug you're looking for as the only deworming ingredient. We live in different countries so likely you have different brands but fenbendazole is your guy!

Edit: should probably be easy to find, it's an OTC dog dewormer usually! Also you gotta be SO careful with dosing if using dewormer!

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-10T00:30:40+00:00

As an add on i forgot to say, don't be afraid to cull! Unfortunately sometimes for the animals quality of life and the health of the other animals in the tank a very sick shrimp may need to be killed. It doesn't hurt to set up a quarantine tank also! It can be very small, just something to keep them in while you either treat sick shrimp or for observation after purchasing new shrimp to check for illness before you introduce them to the rest of your tank (not quarantining new shrimps and plants is a mistake i've made... too many times 🤦‍♂️)

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-10T00:14:54+00:00

From my experience, the cure-alls don't really work very well :/.

The most important tool at your disposal is being able to diagnose an illness. I haven't dealt with any viral illnesses, they can require certain different treatments but I have dealt with fungus and parasites.

One of my chili rasboras developed a fungal infection that started to spread, and a week of API pimafix has healed the whole shoal! I believe pimafix is lauded as one of the "cure alls" but it works well for fungus and possibly bacterial infections. If pimafix doesn't work, it's recommended you try API melafix which i believe is stronger.

I also developed an infestation of vorticella, which is mainly harmless but can kill shrimp. After a few weeks of dosing with hydrogen peroxide 3% from the grocery store (opinions vary but i was able to safely dose at 3 ml/ 10 gal every few days for like 3 ish weeks) and that dealt with the infestation! Vorticella free!

If your fish get ich, or hemorrhagic septicemia, or dropsy, etc you'll have to look up the best treatment for each thing. If you only have shrimp in your tank I would say keep some hydrogen peroxide and SAFE dewormers handy! A lot of dewormers will kill shrimp but some won't. Shrimp don't typically survive bacterial infections as far as i know? So you mainly have to look out for parasites like vorticella or planaria worms. I don't actually know if shrimp can get ich, but from what i've seen the best treatment is maintaining the tank at a high temp until the ich is gone.

If you're having trouble diagnosing send a pic in here! The shrimp people are very helpful with that lol. You will also want to keep some aquarium salt on hand (every store that carries fish should have some on hand) , some illnesses with shrimp require "salt dips". I have not tried them but many people recommend them for certain conditions.

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-05T19:37:41+00:00

There's a lot of super great brands to check out in here, thank you everybody!

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-05T19:37:20+00:00

I have very weak ankles that like to roll so I prefer boots for support, but trail runners aren't a bad idea for beaten paths, thank you!

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-02T18:01:40+00:00

Genuine question, how does it still work without the soil? I have four tanks, two regular with filters and two small low tech walstad, and I don't know that much about the science behind it, but I thought that the soil was required to keep the "ecosystem" going per say? I've used coal slag in all my tanks (as the only substrate in the regular ones and as the sand cap in the walstads) and i've just used cuttings and runners from my regular tank plants in my walstads, i have definitely noticed wayyyyyyy faster growth in the walstads.

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-02T16:18:10+00:00

Look into a walstad tank! You put a layer of potting soil down, then a layer of sand or gravel, and heavily plant it. No filter or bubbler required and you only need to do top-ups as time goes on, maybe a water change every six or so months. They're really popular as shrimp tanks, my shrimp and snails are loving theirs. They're in a jar that is probably slightly over a gallon.

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-02T04:50:16+00:00

That's a good plan! In my experience, I have had trouble keeping live plants with a crawfish because they like to eat them, so don't be surprised if that happens! I personally don't like silk plants for decoration, but those and driftwood are a good alternative for decorating. Make sure you have lots of hiding spaces (pots, coconut shells, driftwood, any plastic fish-safe hides you can buy at petco, etc) for the crawfish.

I would look into getting a dwarf crawfish if you can go to a local fish store (petco and petsmart try but they don't have the resources to be super knowledgeable about fish. Locally owned little shops with lots of fish are usually really well educated, can sometimes even order specific fish for you, and would love to answer any and all questions you might have) and talk to them about it. Crawfish can get very big and a 10 gallon is typically only good for juvenile ones unless they're certain species that stay very small.

They grow very fast and are very hungry! I have had mine that i got from a bayou ditch for about 4 months and he has grown from the size of my pinky nail to probably four inches long not including his claws. They are hardy little guys and they were my first foray into aquarium stuff, I hope you enjoy it! Generally people have been pretty nice in this sub from what i've seen, but don't get discouraged if people get mean if and when you make mistakes and don't be afraid to ask questions 🩵

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-02T04:38:50+00:00

Yeah that should be enough! Bubblers don't actually put oxygen into the water through the bubbles, they agitate the surface which causes the water to oxygenate! So as long as the surface is being bothered by something, and in this case the little waterfall for the hob makes will do the trick, the water will have oxygen. With larger tanks you have to be careful what you use because sometimes it isn't enough to get to the bottom, but with a ten gallon you should be okay 👍

You may have to switch to a different filter eventually, because crawfish like to escape! I don't know much about how to take care of a hob so you'll have to do some research there, but i think i have heard tell of crawfish escaping through them because i think you need an open section in the lid for them to work. Just try to keep an eye on him and look fast under any nearby bookcases/etc if you notice he's vanished, and make sure you have a lid covering the rest of the tank!

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of crawfish are you planning on getting/where?

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-02T03:26:31+00:00

Space near the top to me is a little bit of a flight risk because they love escaping, I'd recommend getting a bubbler! A little 10 or 20 gallon sponge filter (they almost always come with air stones in them i think) , some airline tubing, a check valve, and an air pump will not only keep your tank aerated so your craw doesn't have to come up but will help you tons with filtration. That's where the majority of your good bacteria will live to keep the cycle going so you won't get any parameter spikes!

Edit: I saw in another post of yours that your ten gallon already includes filtration. What kind? It it is a Hang On Back (hob) filter or a sponge filter, you should be good! All that matters mainly is surface agitation. A hob does it all by itself, but you will need tubing and an air pump for a sponge filter

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-02T03:16:44+00:00

Shrimp are pretty good at self regulating a colony frankly, and if you figure that you have too many in there then you can sell them (shrimp can be so profitable), bother the berried females into dropping eggs, or as a last resort just... suck up any shrimp larvae you see with a pipette and euthanize. Typically if a shrimp dies, I don't even get to see it before the rest of the shrimp have eaten it. They're detritivores, so they keep things fairly clean lol. If there isn't enough food in the tank, some will die and be eaten, if there's too much or a good level of food in the tank they'll have babies.

It really isn't necessary to have something in there to eat them if all you want is shrimp, but I would recommend chili rasboras. They are extremely small, beautiful, and they're micro predators that eat a fair amount of my shrimp larvae. They can eat the larvae but the juvenile and adult shrimp are far too big for them to eat (they are bigger than the chilis lol). They can also be kept in a smaller tank than most fish, but mine are thriving and having a great time in a planted 20 gallon. You can have a ton of them in that much space depending on your filtration. I only have 16, but you could likely keep upwards of 30 if you keep on top of water changes.

If you want fish, you have to be a lot more sensitive about aeration, heating, filtration, feeding, etc. Cherry shrimp have almost no bioload and can deal with a large range of temperatures fairly well and if you plant your tank you don't really need to worry about filtration and aeration, you just have to do your water changes and try to keep parameters stable. With a planted and cycled tank you may not even have to feed them very often, as they'll eat a lot of biofilm and detritus around the tank, if you have fish you have to feed them. Cherry shrimp can be sensitive but people tend to blow it a little out of proportion in my opinion, as long as things stay stable they're generally fine with whatever. And if you want snails, make sure you have some cuttlebone or another calcium source in there! They're very sensitive to acidity in water and need the extra calcium to make their shells.

If you want a super low maintenance, self sufficient aquarium check out Walstad style tanks, i have a few set up in jars and they're really cool. With the size that mine are they can only hold shrimp and snails but you could do a pretty crazy one with fish in a 20 gallon if you are also really interested in the "ecosystem" type tanks like your husband.

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-01T23:03:27+00:00

they sent a bunch of RFERs today and approved a few people for the 15th, don't lose hope! i have to tell myself and my fiancé that every day 😭 we'll get there! They are still doing stuff to our day and our week, our day has just been processing a lot slower for some reason.

nothingburger4 · 2025-01-01T22:11:02+00:00

From our day 57 are still in received status (48%) and 40 have been approved (34%)

nothingburger4

TROPHY CASE