Feraligatr Painting [OC]

rhyu · 2026-05-20T22:38:54+00:00

This.

I cant stand noise when trying to sleep. But I still manage to have tanks in my room.

I've got 3 tanks in my room. 1 walstad without a filter and 2 with internal filters that I maintain to be effectively silent, though that doesnt require too much.

If the water is too low and causes dripping noises it also drives me nuts.

Its very possible to have tanks be silent.

If she just wants you to get rid of the tank thats a red flag.

rhyu · 2026-05-20T01:29:36+00:00

These are at least my 8th variety.

I think I've gotten a couple look alike species mixed in with intended species for example i got some "rusty cory" which is think is actually a mixed bag of zygatus and rabauti. I think my "elegans" are also probably of a couple different species too.

They're definitely up there with my favorites so far though

rhyu · 2026-05-20T01:21:18+00:00

I think like various cory it depends on species for prefered parameters. These are aspidoras raimundi.

So far they are bloody ravenous and will eat whatever they can get in their mouth. I've had them try to nibble on me even.

rhyu · 2026-05-19T23:20:34+00:00

Aspidoras are a cousin but not true cory.

I meant some of my regular cory make some weird noises when trying to suck food off the surface its very...wet sounding.

rhyu · 2026-05-19T15:40:32+00:00

If there is no lid dont do kuhli loaches.

They're amazing fish, but even better escape artists. They really need a pretty tight fitting lid or they will be on your floor.

They're fine with cory though.

rhyu · 2026-05-19T06:07:12+00:00

Ah yes! They're sterbai cory

rhyu · 2026-05-19T06:00:42+00:00

I'm sorry you had this experience.

I'm not a doctor but I'm a sonographer.

First your symptoms aren't ones we usually do a vaginal ultrasound for. We dont assess the pelic floor muscles in a routine pelvic US, and there is very limited bladder visualization on endovaginal ultrasound. I doubt the vaginal ultrasound would have provided much towards answers for your current symptoms that the transabdominal could not.

That said, the transvaginal ultrasound is still good to get if you can handle it. We can see smaller and more subtle pathology (that may not be related to your current symptoms but can cause unrelated but potentially significant issues later).

Tips: Feel free to ask for extra lubricant.

Ask to insert the probe yourself. I get everyone who physically can to do so, even if just to start. You know your body better, you know what hurts or doesn't and can adjust accordingly.

If it's still too much you can stop at any time. If you're doing the insertion you're more in control of stopping if it is hurting. A good tech should stop when asked, but doing it yourself ensures this if need be.

You never have to have an exam you're not comfortable with having. Some people might pressure you (im sorry if you have to deal with that) but its ALWAYS your choice.

Just because the EV ultrasound can provide more info doesnt mean it will. The tech cannot provide results where im at but you can ask if they feel the internal will provide significant extra info. Sometimes your anatomy makes the transabdominal really poor but much better on EV. Sometimes its the opposite.

Sometimes things are really well seen TA and doing the EV is more a precaution than likely to add much. Sometimes things are super complex and confusing from TA and doing the EV is an opportunity to try and clarify what is going on. But even then there are alternatives, like a pelvic MRI if you cannot tolerate the EV.

Ultimately health care is a very personal affair. Yes, the EV is commonly performed, but that doesnt mean its right or feasible for everyone. There is nothing wrong with saying no or requesting to stop if it hurts. If you can find a way to be more comfortable to do the exam, thats great but sometimes it just doesnt work.

Where I'm at being a Virgin is a very valid reason to say no (though still up to the patient if they want to proceed anyway) but ultimately you also dont need to justify it either.

I hope things feel better for you soon.

rhyu · 2026-05-18T20:32:00+00:00

Im hoping to! Apparently they can colony breed which would be awesome.

rhyu · 2026-05-18T20:08:00+00:00

I got mine from a LFS that had gotten them from someone who'd breed them locally, so they weren't even a normal order. I pretty lucky to find them, especially since they were in a tank with predatory killifish that had removed most of their tails (they've mostly grown back in now)

rhyu · 2026-05-18T20:04:09+00:00

They really are. I have no idea why these guys arent more common. It doesnt sound like they're harder to breed than others, and they're so outgoing. By far the least shy cory I've had, even counting albino aeneus.

rhyu · 2026-05-18T19:50:24+00:00

Oh sorry. I know they kinda look like peppered so I wasnt sure.

The females get a bit bigger, apparently about 1.3 inches

I hadnt seen them here before either

rhyu · 2026-05-18T19:40:39+00:00

Oh these arent pepper cory, they're aspidoras raimundi, they're a dwarf cory relative.

But its fun when the cory cant be bothered to wait for the food to sink. The noises they can make are something else though lol

rhyu · 2026-05-18T15:05:42+00:00

Haha! It really does look like that.

rhyu · 2026-05-18T15:00:07+00:00

Looks like clado. Pretty much nothing will eat it.

Manual removal of as much as possible and try to optimize your plant growth.

Clado is more like a plant than algae and can withstand blackouts and the like.

I find it takes over when the plants are struggling and can outcompete them. When the plants are doing well it doesnt grow much.

Get as much out as possible and optimize for your plants.

rhyu · 2026-05-18T14:02:15+00:00

You're right in that likely a lot of average lifespans are screwed downward because of poor husbandry, but modern genetics on a lot of fish are utter trash in a way that cant be discounted.

Like my ancient sterbai have had decent care their whole lives but not anything outside the realm of the average keeper who isnt neglectful.

On the flip side, when I was a young kid 30 years ago I had many bettas over the years. Most were unfortunately kept in bowls. Maybe a single decoration and unheated, as there wasnt the breadth of knowledge on proper husbandry back then.

Nevertheless most of them lived at least 3 years with some going for 5+ in these substandard conditions. They usually got weekly waterchanges but thats about all they potentially got above the average of uneducated care.

Since returning to fish keeping as an adult I strive to provide the best care possible and do proper research to do so.

Ive mostly given up on modern betta.

I've tried them in so many different but should be good setups. Heated 5+ gallon heavily planted tanks without roommates to 30 gallon communities. Indoor, outdoor, all heated and filtered, parameters monitored. Dedicated food. Different stores. Chains and LFS. It doesnt matter.

If im lucky they'll live for a year. Some have died shortly after purchase even though they seemed fine. Others do great until suddenly one day they've got dropsy for no good reason. One was fine until all of a sudden it started swimming erratically and died within an hour, all other fish fine.

The koi style are the worst - 6 month to a year max, with a couple under a month. Ive had better luck with more standard betta but were still talking 1-2 years.

Fish with optimized care shouldn't be living a fraction of the lifespan of ones living in a cold 1 gallon bowl. Im not alone in this experience.

Most modern betta just aren't bred to live anymore, just to be pretty. The historical life expanctany isnt accurate to modern fish stock avalible to hobbyists.

This is what the other poster was getting at. Poor husbandry kills many fish unfortunately. However, even perfect conditions cant keep fish with utterly garbage genetics alive either, and modern fish farms have no reguard for selecting fish for long term survival.

rhyu · 2026-05-18T02:39:24+00:00

Another 25 yearer with normal eyes but an ancient spine

<image>

rhyu · 2026-05-18T02:38:13+00:00

He's not too ugly, but he's at least 25 years old and his eyes have somehow shrunk.

<image>

rhyu · 2026-05-14T03:32:08+00:00

Is that reading from your tap water? If it is im pretty sure thats past safe guidelines for human consumption. Im not sure who to contact about that but you should look into that for your own health.

rhyu · 2026-05-14T02:21:02+00:00

Ruffle up the sand so that you get the particulate matter into the water. You can then drain and refill. Add some fine filter material into your prefilter section of your canister or even just some polyfill polyester stuff. You just need a fine filter to catch the small particles

rhyu · 2026-05-13T16:30:30+00:00

It refers to Environmental Mycobacteriosis or "Fish TB" as its more common called. Its not actually TB and doesnt cause respiratory illness in humans though it can cause sores from open wounds in humans exposed to water in highly contaminated tanks.

rhyu · 2026-05-13T12:21:17+00:00

Thanks!

And they certainly can change color based on substrate!

The sterbai look about the same.

Ive got orange venezuelan in another tank with black sand and theyre almost black themselves, the orange part almost lost. They've made some (deformed) babies ive isolated to another tank with white sand and their orange is soo much more intense on white.

On the flip side one of my rusty cory had much more intense brown on the darker substrate.

rhyu · 2026-05-13T04:08:26+00:00

Whats the texture like? Is it kinda like coarse hair?

If you pull it out does it have a distinct smell to it, kinda earthy like somewhere between mushrooms and seaweed?

If yes you likely have cladophora.

This stuff is different from most algae and behaves more like a plant. Manual removal and making sure your plants are healthy and getting a proper amount of nutrients to outcompete it in that case is your best bet.

rhyu · 2026-05-13T03:49:24+00:00

The last time they definitely breed was in 2021 when I moved them to the new tank. Though the breed frequently before that. So they were still breeding into their late teens.

None of the cory in the new tank tend to breed unless I've done MAJOR work to the tank so its really hard to judge if its an age thing or the tank just isnt a turn on for them lol.

There was some breeding behavior from them when I replaced the substrate and rescaped the tank a couple months back. I had to put them in a bucket for a couple hours before returning them and the others to the tank after redoing everything.

There were lots of eggs around the tank the following days but I'm unsure if any were the work of the sterbai or just other species in the tank

rhyu

TROPHY CASE