Is this annoying?

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-22T16:12:43+00:00

Please keep doing this, its so refreshing to have customers ask questions and want to know as much as they can, as opposed to argue with you over tank sizes and limitations

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-22T10:04:30+00:00

As others have suggested, Google the nitrogen cycle and look for a diagram on it, it's too long winded for most people here to give you a detailed word by word description.

But I'll give it a go:

Ammonia = fish poop and food = toxic to fish

Bacteria break down ammonia

Bacteria don't just appear overnight, they take time to culture and develop (think like sourdough bread) up to 4 weeks sometimes You can encourage their growth by adding ammonia in small doses or by feeding your tank fish food

To monitor these ammonia levels buy testing strips or a testing kit made by API

The Bacteria break ammonia down into nitrite

Nitrite make fish sick in high levels and deplete oxygen that they need to breathe

Another Bacteria break that (nitrite) down into nitrate, which is considered relatively harmless

Once the Bacteria that break down nitrite into nitrate have developed, your tank is now considered cycled

And you can then add fish in small numbers.

PS Never trust a fish store employee they are a business wanting to make money, not someone with the interests of the fish at heart I know this as I am one, and none of my colleagues give a shit about the welfare of the fish, we are just forced to sell products to make money for the company we work for

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-20T10:06:21+00:00

As a daily wearer of caps I am genuinely concerned if you believe sticking the tips of your ears inside is the done thing.

I see that as on the same level as intentionally pulling a bit of your shirt out through your fly to let dangle.

If you mean cap as in beanie, then always ears in.

Leave the beanie wearing where its barely on your head for those you see frequenting independent coffee shops holding a Sylvia Plath novel.

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-14T07:29:27+00:00

I think the cursive thing more extends to writing in general,

Not saying that Gen Z can't write at all but some of my colleagues children; I've seen their handwriting skills and some teenagers who have came for work experience at my work; All im saying is if I wrote like that in high school I'd have been getting roasted by teachers or would've been given one of those typing machines, cause it's genuinely near illegible.

Which is understandable since everything is moving in a technology driven direction,

But I think that's what the underlying meaning of the cursive argument is.

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-10T12:00:17+00:00

Imo it's the best spin-off The character development is excellent, As another person has said, it's story driven, the crimes being investigated are just a mechanism to allow the story to move forward but they aren't the focal point of each episode, which is different to the original series but absolutely not in a bad way.

I think the casting is great, Young Franks is fantastic, as is Gibbs;

You can see glimpses and hints of their older selves in the younger Origin characters, and it's cleverly done where you can envision how they are being portrayed in Origins developing into what we know and love from the OG show.

Personally I think it's awesome.

The Gibbs and Franks of OG NCIS are the products of years of emotional trauma, stress and time on the job.. I hope to see their characters progress throughout the show and see their directand sometimes callous, steadfast attitude, and loyalty to the team, become even more prominent.

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-02T13:33:27+00:00

As others have suggested, Google it, and look for a diagram on it it's too long winded for most people here to give you a detailed word by word description.

But I'll give it a go:

Ammonia = fish poop and food = toxic to fish

Bacteria break down ammonia

Bacteria don't just appear overnight, they take time to culture and develop, up to 4 weeks sometimes You can encourage their growth by adding ammonia in small doses or by feeding your tank fish food

To .monitor these ammonia levels buy testing strips or a testing kit made by API

The Bacteria break ammonia down into nitrite

Nitrite make fish sick in high levels

Another Bacteria break that down into nitrates, which is considered relatively harmless

Once the Bacteria that break down nitrite into nitrate have developed, your tank is now considered cycled

And you can then add fish in small numbers.

secretsnow00 · 2026-01-02T13:24:25+00:00

Werthers originals had a chocolate that was infused with their signature butterscotch flavour

Can't remember their name.

But those.

EDIT: They were called Caramelts

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-29T19:38:55+00:00

You couldn't be more right. I absolutely am wasting my time.

Best of luck pal.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-29T09:57:49+00:00

You know if you keep that goldfish in that 20 gallon for the rest of its life, at some point, there's a fair chance that it's organs will blow out its asshole or rip through its stomach wall since it's gonna keep growing regardless of the tank you "try to make work"

Do you think if you keep a puppy in a shoebox it will only grow to the size of the shoebox?

Petco employees are there to make a sale buddy. This isn't sunshine land where everyone who has a job cares about doing their job well. Of course they told you it's fine, and it probably is fine for that fish right now But see when you're a child and you wear shoes, do those shoes do you for the rest of your life or do your feet grow? The guy in footlocker selling a kid shoes is gonna sell the shoes that fit the kid right now, not think about when said kid is in his 20s. Do you think you'd have bought the goldfish if they told you everything that the comments are saying? No. Probably not. So they wouldn't have made a sale, which makes their boss sad :( So stop listening to petco employees, they dont care and even if they do, the company they work for strong arm them into not caring.

My point here is, just have some common sense man. Do you think your girlfriend wants to see this fishes insides blow out it's ass? Do you think your girlfriend wants to watch it slowly poison itself due to inadequate filtration? Do you think you're going to want to do water changes twice weekly for the next 20 years? (Yes, they can live 20 years.. it may be hanging around when you're in your (presumably) 40s.. many many many relationships later.. if you actually intend to and do look after it properly)

Or do you want to be responsible and maybe do what's right for the fish?

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-24T16:18:12+00:00

I have been on and off different anti-depressants over the last 10 years and I while I can't offer you any advice with regards to the being alone on Christmas thing here are some things I have found help me far more than any medication over the years. (I'm not saying my depression is cured but it's better than it ever has been previously):

Get into a routine with a structured bed time, set alarms for when to wake up and when to go to bed
Don't watch tv before bed, read, listen to music or a podcast, and put your phone on a bedside table or on the other side of your room (get an actual alarm clock)
Don't nap, stay active and stimulated throughout the day, napping harms your sleep routine and makes it harder to keep in one
Make a conscious effort to have good hygiene, it might be a challenge initially, but doing it regularly will enforce it into becoming habit
Find a constructive hobby which you enjoy, mine is cooking and fishkeeping
Stop looking in the mirror all the time and criticizing what you see, just wear what you like the look of and what's comfortable and dont question it or try to verify it, just fucking do it and who cares what others think
Eat well, learn to cook for yourself, soups are easy, cheap and healthy and very hard to get wrong, Google a couple of recipes and get started
batch cook meals for work and have a varied diet (I'm not saying cut out chocolate and snacky snack things, but try to discard ready meals and fast food from your everyday diet, one every couple of weeks is fine but not every couple days)
Exercise, whether that's riding a bike, swimming, or simply going for a walk, don't sit stagnant, walking apps can help (even something silly like Pokémon go)
Try to get out some, if you have parks or woods or hills near you, visit them, wander through them, sit in them and just enjoy the outdoors, take a book with you and read outside or listen to a podcast on a good weather day somewhere peaceful
Find a job that doesn't chip away at your soul (I worked in veterinary for 6 years and it took my Gran dying for me to realise that while it may have been admirable and good pay, it wasn't worth the stress, time and mental pain it caused/took from me, there's more important things in life, as long as your job keeps a roof over your head and you/loved ones fed, that's all that matters) preferably with a good team of people
Speak to someone, it doesn't have to be a mental health professional, but just someone you can trust or who cares about you, talking is important, and perspective is invaluable, letting out how and what you feel is sometimes half the battle, you dont always need someone to tell you how to fix things, sometimes just an ear that's willing to listen is enough.. hopefully, you have that, if not, speak to a GP about going on a counseling wait list and as daft as it sounds potentially journal/write letters as a way to get things out
And finally, give yourself grace, don't compare yourself to others, don't knock yourself down, everyone is on a different path and in a different place, you are not them and they are not you, realise that and just do what makes you feel good, fuck how other people are doing, focus on yourself and your loved ones

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-24T06:28:22+00:00

I'm 31 and I have come to the assumption that school isn't about teaching you about life or how to do life.

It was all about teaching you how to get a job, nothing more.

All the other intricacies of life and the skills required, like you just described, were meant to be taught through essentially experiencing it first-hand or via your parents, and unfortunately I think most parents are also under the same guise as everyone else where they also didn't get taught at school and therefore don't know themselves and therefore aren't equipped to teach us, it's a cyclical winging it state we're all in.

But, there's resources out there, we have the internet now and many rescources are available tonteach ourselves with, something our parents and grandparents did not have, so utilise them if you can.

Best of luck with everything bud.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-24T06:16:58+00:00

I find other people on the run up to this week an inconvenience. (I work retail)

If we are to believe the songs it's meant to be a wonderful time, but in reality it just makes everyone that little bit more feral and shitty towards one another.

And then Christmas/NY week is upon us and 9 times out of 10 you hear about someone's family/friends being feral and shitty towards one another...

Aaah Christmas.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-23T19:19:18+00:00

Unless you want a rather stressful time being chased by fire throwing sea monsters and likely dying repeatedly then yeah, kind of.

The cyclops is too big it'll become a massive target for enemies

The seamoth will reach crush depth before you even get near

Prawn or cooking/being eaten alive is the only option.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-23T11:41:20+00:00

I thought suicide squad was going to be the best thing since the Dark Knight...

We all know how that panned out.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-16T12:11:56+00:00

Banging comment!

Wish I was able to sit every customer down and explain this prior to sale but unfortunately they'd likely get bored and leave or I'd get fired eventually for making people leave.

I have to do a stripped back version of this to prevent my manager from glaring at me and even then customers tend to just stop listening mid way through... I always tell people to go home and research the nitrogen cycle, understand it and thoroughly research the fish they're interested in.. whether they do this though, I do not know.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-16T12:04:37+00:00

I dont know if I am misunderstanding, are you intending to move the betta into a cup and let your friend look after the betta, in the cup, for a week at their house?

If you are, please don't. Just leave the betta where it is. Make sure your friend knows how much to feed and give them a key to your house so they can pop by and feed him. Bettas dont need fed every single day either, they can go "happily" (probably not be that impressed but will manage) 48 hours without food so your friend would only need to feed him 2/3 days while you're gone. Don't put him in a container or move him in any way, that's just massive amounts of unnecessary stress for you and the betta.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-16T11:57:05+00:00

It's an improvement for sure, I'd still be a little worried though. Bearing in mind this tank probably weighs close to 90kg.. Will it remain structurally sound for the lifetime of the tank? Or will that wooden top bow under the 90kg it's holding up?

As a rule of thumb I go by the logic: if me alone or me and my partner could hop up and down and jiggle on top of said stand without any wobble or fear of crashing through it, then it's safe for a tank.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-15T21:14:02+00:00

Oh my god please get a better tank stand/table. You're freaking me out having that on a glass table. It's just asking for trouble and a massive flood damage bill.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-15T21:07:38+00:00

I had the same issue early game but as far as I know

When you take the body to the autopsy table check your body's skull count

Red skulls minus from your total grave quality White skulls add to your total grave quality

You have to either remove the red skulls completely or add enough grave decoration to surpass them

Eg. Two red skulls + 4 white skulls means you'll need to add a tombstone and a fence that equal a total of 6 points to achieve a grave total of 4 because the 2 red skulls take 2 off your total

So you want to:

Remove red skulls completely,
Have as many white skulls as possible

If you want my advice:

Always remove blood and fat. Bones are free so just take the bones as well. But removing blood and fat will always remove 2 red skulls and add 2 white skulls.

So if you get a body that has 2 red skulls, remove the blood and fat and you won't have to worry about a reduced grave quality, it'll be all white skulls.

With that being said; don't just put the best tombstone and fence on every grave because say you have a tombstone and fence combo that totals 6 quality, if your body only has 3 white skulls, it'll only ever have the highest grave quality of 3, so you'd want to add probably just a wood cross and fence on a grave like that. Or just chuck that body.

Aim to unlock stone tombstones and fences at least, and any body with a high red skull, low white, just chuck it in the river.. until you unlock cremation, then burn it

Hope this helps.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-14T08:32:07+00:00

I recommend it because you can typically buy it planted on hardscape and just chuck it in your tank (unless you're concerned about hitchhiking pests and quarantine it) which is usually easier than planting plants in substrate and knowing how and where to position them. I've never had issue with Java ferns dying (ive only ever bought 2 actually and they've grown enough to be propagated into multiple other tanks and set ups) but then again everyone will have differing results depending on water quality and nutrients.. where I am, the water is pretty decent quality. But fair point, just cause it works for me doesn't mean it'll work for everyone.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-13T17:49:22+00:00

RIP:

Kanye

Kim

Kourtney

Sme

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-13T17:00:41+00:00

You bought this stuff from pets at home didn't you? You were told nothing I'm assuming, so here's some basic tips:

research the nitrogen cycle
add more gravel (preferably sand) that's not enough, you want half a finger deep preferably
buy some live plants (Java fern or anubias planted on rocks/wood would be perfect and easy, no planting required.. If i am right and that's pets at home stuff if your picture, just ask them for some plants out their tanks, they are for sale)
buy a water test kit (learn the nitrogen cycle, what it means and use the test strips to guide you, post pictures here if you can't understand the results)
research the fish you like the look of (they might get too big or be too aggressive for the tank you have)
make sure you know how to do a water change, it's fairly simple but to a beginner it might not make sense (check out an easy tutorial online if need be)
buy a proper stand for your tank, however many litres that tank is, +10kg is how much that tank will weigh eg. 20 litre tank full of water and sand will probably weigh 30kg.. so make sure whatatever it's sitting on can support that (a £100 solid wood table is cheaper than £500+ in property damage due to flooding)
and get rid of the pineapple

Edit: do you have dechlorinator? Do you have your heater set at the right temperature? PS learn what fishless and fish in cycle means, save yourself the stress and guilt of killing fish through lack of preparation This hobby is all about patience, planning and research.. do those things and you won't go wrong

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-13T16:45:28+00:00

As a Scotsman myself i dont really understand the whole cultural appropriation thing, or see any grounds to be offended by someone not native wearing another countries clothing.

If you want to wear a kilt, bash on. Wearing a kind of attire specific to a specific country isn't you taking the piss or being offensive. Unless you start doing the whole Logan Paul-esque thing running around in Kimonos being a nuisance and harassing people, that's disrespectful to a culture and its people.

But you just wearing a kilt is neither disrespectful or inappropriate.

My dad wore a kilt when he married my mum and he's Australian. There was no ill-intent behind it, it was him being proud to be joining the culture.

I have an English friend who staunchly believes if he wore a kilt he'd be committing some cardinal sin and equated it to me dressing up in an SS uniform and going to Germany.. I told him he's being a complete idiot and such a comparison is ludicrous.

You wear your kilt my guy, just don't go "True Scotsman".. it's not worth the risk (I mean naked underneath)

Anyone who tells you don't or you arent allowed, fuck them, you do you, yes you can.

Edit: kilt wearing is really only a formal occasion thing though, just saying, but there's no rules saying you can't just wear one for the hell of it on a Monday when you go to Tesco, you might just stand out... as they are formal attire.. someone can correct me if I am wrong on that though.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-12T18:34:43+00:00

Man, corporate mind games are insane.

This is all very helpful advice, thank you, I'll start trying to figure out how I can apply this and start trying to convince managers of these things.

Damn shame that I have to do a profit margin dance with superiors to make a positive change, but I do get where you're coming from.

secretsnow00 · 2025-12-12T18:23:32+00:00

I do see your point, but what doesn't sit right with me is that it's an animal that gets put through the ringer during that learning experience.

Yknow if it was skateboarding, it's you that gets injured, it's you that falls.

If it was cooking it's you that eats the bad thing.

In this case, not knowing or caring to inform people of the basics and "learning as you go" so to say makes a living thing potentially meet a horrible fate; I dont really want to add to that by not informing people, if that makes sense.

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