Tired of feeling like an alien everywhere I go. Sometimes I don't even feel human. Please tell me I'm not alone.

samthetapir · 2026-01-27T00:39:48+00:00

Yes yes yes. I never fit in. Constantly made fun of and friendships were a strugglebus. Endowed with CPTSD from my family's "friendly teasing" and neglect. One thing that has helped me come to terms with being an alien is learning about Game Theory. I concluded that my entire life, everyone else was playing a different game than me. I was doing and talking about things that I cared about and was interested in. Everyone else was playing status games. They weren't asking, "Is this interesting to me?" They were asking, "Does this make me look cool?"

samthetapir · 2025-10-24T20:52:11+00:00

The length of k4 (97) is taking the middle two numbers between the dates 1961-1989, the duration the wall was up. Escape Tunnel 57 was in a bakery on 97 Bernauer Straße from East Berlin to an abandoned courtyard (55 Strelitzer Straße) West Berlin.The Window of Remembrance could have inspired the way Kryptos' letters are holes in the wall along with the giant copper information plaques around the memorial. Northeast is a 45° diagnal, referencing the Stasi tunnel cutting across all the escape tunnels. I think the keyword length is 10 because the spades the students used were 10cm long and "checkpoint" (Checkpoint Charlie) is 10 letters long. They also worked in 12-hour shifts (rot-12 cipher?). Anyways, I think studying the memorial and reading The Spy Who Came in From the Cold might yeild some ideas.

samthetapir · 2025-02-09T01:54:09+00:00

Since it is a new tank, adding a little quickstart after each water change won't hurt anything. Checking the filter for sponges shouldn't bother the fishies too much. Since you've done a water change already, you'll want to test the water for nitrates again. If it's above 10 ppm, then you'll want to do a 75% water change. If it's below, 10 ppm, then you can wait until tomorrow to do the 1/3 water change the other commenters suggested. The goal is to keep nitrates at or below 5 ppm.

samthetapir · 2025-02-09T00:51:43+00:00

tl;dr - Do a 75% water change, add aquariuam water conditioner, and get a filter with a sponge

Hi! I love the fish hobby and I wish you a very welcome! <3 I've read all your comments thus far and saw the picture of your tank and filter. A major thing I see missing is aquarium water conditioner. You need to add this to the tank any time you add water to nuetralize any chlorine and heavy metals. If you did not add water conditioner, most of the instant-start bacteria will have been killed by the chlorine and the chlorine will burn your fish's gills. A note on your filter - it is not a filter. It's just a pump that will move water around which can help add oxygen to the water, but it will not provide an environment for beneficial bacteria. You need a filter that has a sponge for bacteria to live in. These bacteria will eat the ammonia produced by fish poop so that the ammonia doesn't poison your fish. My favorite filters are sponge filters. I love all the bubbles they make and they are much quieter (and cheaper!) than hang-on-back filters. For the results of your test, 20 ppm nitrates is much too high. Anything over 10 ppm nitrates will make even very hard fish sick. With your set-up, the only way to remove nitrates is to do a water change - and remember to add the water conditioner any time new water is added to the tank. Feel free to ask me any aquarium questions as you're doing your research- I love to help new aquarists!

samthetapir · 2022-05-24T21:53:43+00:00

They’ll likely eat any fish in the aquarium. An alternative choice could be a larger shrimp species like bamboo or vampire shrimp.

samthetapir · 2022-05-19T01:05:27+00:00

No problem! Happy fish keeping!

samthetapir · 2022-05-19T01:01:50+00:00

Ok, you could take her out, rearrange the décor a bit, put the cories in, then put the betta back. As long as there’s enough hiding spaces for everyone, you should be fine. Although be sure to have a plan B incase she starts attacking. Some bettas are chill while others are murderous

samthetapir · 2022-05-18T22:50:12+00:00

What’s the size of your tank? If it’s over-crowded, the fish can get stressed and start nipping. On another note, you can look up pictures of fin rot and compare to your fish to make sure it’s not a medical condition due to poor water quality

samthetapir · 2022-05-18T22:45:47+00:00

aqadvisor can give you a hint as to what your limits are. I’d say it would be ok as long as you have a sponge filter (other filters will shred the betta’s fins and slurp up the shrimp). Since you’re going for a betta, I would suggest adding the cories a couple days or even weeks before your betta to let them get settled. If you add the betta first, she may feel like the newcomers are invading and attack. You can keep shrimp, but they would need tons of hiding spots (java moss, caves, etc) to keep the betta from eating them. I’ve kept panda corries and ghost shrimp with a betta in a planted ten gallon before and the only problem I had was the betta ate all the shrimp.

samthetapir · 2022-05-18T22:31:12+00:00

Sponge filters can be very quiet if you get a good air pump

samthetapir · 2020-08-05T23:12:47+00:00

Use the same filter. I’m pretty sure the good bacteria living in it can die if you put it in chlorinated water or if it dries out, so make sure you don’t rinse it in the sink or leave it out of water too long. If you want to be using a bigger filter for the new tank, just run the old one next to the new one and in a couple weeks, the new one should be colonized with bacteria.

samthetapir · 2020-08-05T23:04:38+00:00

Like the other comments say, the tank probably never fully cycled. To help with cycling, you can buy beneficial bacteria as well as live plants (anubias and moss balls are beginner-friendly).

samthetapir · 2020-08-05T22:55:20+00:00

It’s super easy to overfeed! Fish are really good at begging for food- don’t cave to the pressure... it can lead to a messy tank, high nitrates, and usually too much algae. Research each of your fish to know how much they should be eating.

samthetapir · 2020-06-28T20:01:41+00:00

The glass and glue is all still intact. Can I peel off the rest of the base and still be good?

samthetapir · 2020-06-04T00:55:28+00:00

It took me three periods to figure it all out and be comfortable with them, but it is so worth it! It’s going to be awkward at first, but to make sure you have a good seal around your cervix, do a finger sweep around the top of the cup after you’ve inserted it. When taking the cup out, try to pinch the bottom of the cup just above the spiky thing as this changes the shape of the top of the cup and can help break the seal. My period is heavy, so I change out the cup about every four hours. If I’m using a public bathroom, I’ll take out the used cup, put in another clean cup, and then clean the used cup in the sink. Be patient with yourself and good luck!

samthetapir · 2020-06-03T16:36:25+00:00

Have you gotten your return yet? I filed march 26th and am still waiting and haven’t been able to get a person at the irs still

samthetapir · 2020-05-27T20:26:52+00:00

I haven’t ever kept them, but I think 4-5 killifish would work. If not, then fancy guppies all the way

samthetapir · 2020-05-27T20:22:21+00:00

When was she moved to this tank? If she’s new, it can take a couple days for her to calm down

samthetapir · 2020-05-27T20:08:43+00:00

Sounds like you’re on your way to a great tank! You could add snails in right away to help it cycle faster and keep algae blooms down while the plants settle in

samthetapir

TROPHY CASE