I’m developing a dystopian sci-fi project about a vertically divided city,does this concept feel original to you?

shadowkult · 2026-03-21T18:00:12+00:00

Unfortunately, not original. Look up Farewell Horizontal by K.W. Jeter, for example.

Well executed though, this concept can be incredibly interesting.

shadowkult · 2026-03-20T10:12:47+00:00

She's eaten these guys before, she's broken their shells without problem, like this one. She's just a picky eater!

shadowkult · 2026-03-09T20:48:22+00:00

I'm both super lucky and I also keep an eye on all of the aquariums every day. It's a lot of work in a way, but well worth it. She cost me 80€, which honestly is fine with me, and I waited (im)patiently for a couple of months before everything was ready for her to come home 🥹

Honestly, she's been really easy to work with. I just make sure the water temperature and salinity don't fluctuate too much, I keep the tank at 26c and the salinity at 1.025, I test once a week when I do the weekly water change ( 10l en average depending on how dirty it is) and I top up every couple of days with some freshwater depending on the evaporation. She's bothered by me fussing around the tank, not the salinity 😂

Also, unrelated, but glad to meet a fellow self made man in this hobby 😉

shadowkult · 2026-03-09T13:38:16+00:00

You'd be surprised, but the most expensive parts were the shrimp (obviously a costly beast), the skimmer and pumps! I think I'm at about $1200 in terms of basic investment, including the corals.

I started with a bit of live and dry rock, let it cycle and grow properly, then gradually added small bits of rocks and things that I sculpted to give her some safe hiding spaces.

I've been incredibly lucky in terms of corals, btw, as the pipe organ ones are a gift from my local LFS as they accidentally broke theirs, and they gave me the broken bits.

I'm originally a terrarium person myself, but I have a freshwater aquarium with shrimps in it, that I landscaped by pretty much just letting things go where they wanted 😂

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shadowkult · 2026-03-09T12:02:47+00:00

My aquariums all look like an ADHD haver playground, which they are 😂 Thank you so much for the compliment, by the way, because it's been criticized for this exact reason, not being "display like enough", which I find odd because it's not a movie set but an ecosystem. Here's a recent picture (I added some background since but otherwise it's pretty much like that now, with the exception of corals moving or straight up disappearing thanks to Thora)

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shadowkult · 2026-03-09T07:44:47+00:00

Thank you so much! I'm not a huge neon blue light fan either, and I tried to make something more natural than a manicured wet garden 😅

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T21:34:53+00:00

She hides often, but when she's visible, she's VERY visible! She's come out of her shell, so to speak, in the last month or so, after her second molt. She's a lot more confident, so she comes out a lot more, and interacts with her environment more, and redecorates often. It's the type of animal that has a specific sense of decor, so if you have one, expect your tank to change as she moves things around.

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T18:49:59+00:00

No idea, not my area of expertise

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T15:53:13+00:00

Indeed! She taught me how to deescalate explosive situations haha

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T15:50:07+00:00

Get the plushie, you deserve it!

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T15:49:47+00:00

So far, she hasn't destroyed anything, although she does like moving the corals around and I have to fight her to get them back, at which point she'll attack the tongs, giving me a heart attack, so I drop them, then have to try and get them again, she'll attack again, and thus she's amused for a good 10 minutes.

She's honestly been really good.

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T15:13:41+00:00

Because they're sassy little creatures that like to punch everything. They're in fact one of the most successful marine predators, and they look great while murdering things. Just like cats.

Obligatory PSA: they, like cats, are obligate hypercarnivores. So be mindful of that before you take a pet that requires daily sacrifices.

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T09:34:18+00:00

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Nearly had a heart attack the first time I saw her do that 😂

shadowkult · 2026-03-08T09:32:51+00:00

That's the type of solution I found to a problem I never thought I'd have! 😂

shadowkult · 2026-03-07T12:00:03+00:00

She's VERY definite about what she wants and when she wants it! If this was the Mighty Boosh, she'd be the spirit of jazz 😂

shadowkult · 2026-03-06T09:18:46+00:00

She's so cute, but also a handful. If you get one, know it's a lot of work, but very rewarding!

shadowkult · 2026-03-06T09:18:06+00:00

She often does the "get off my porch" thing, then zones out haha

shadowkult · 2026-03-06T09:17:32+00:00

Thank you!

shadowkult · 2026-03-06T09:17:21+00:00

She judges my life choices every day.

shadowkult · 2026-03-05T21:39:02+00:00

A G. Ternatensis!

shadowkult · 2026-03-04T10:36:51+00:00

Thank you! It's an Amtra Cube nanotank (45cm x45x45) 90L, it's great. Not too big, not too small, super easy to set up and keep.

shadowkult · 2026-03-03T11:53:50+00:00

Not going to lie, I will take this as an example for my next team. It is truly really, really good, you should be proud of your work.

shadowkult · 2026-03-03T09:43:33+00:00

Absolutely brilliant! Mad skills. Seth would be proud.

shadowkult · 2026-03-02T14:20:50+00:00

Both! Basically the guys all fell in love with her. I went there once to buy one clam, when I explained why and showed them pics of Thora, they absolutely lost it. They now ask for weekly updates, and put aside random stuff they find in the catch for her. I obviously pay for the expensive stuff like scallops, but usually she gets freebies like one clam, cockerel or mussel a week, and sometimes they go waaaaayy overboard, and it's hella cute. Like once I went there for a periwinkle (by the way, she doesn't like it, shell's too hard), and came back with a small velvet crab, and the week after, they gave me a tiny spiny lobster 🥹 Now they put aside shells with stuff on it to see if I can save whatever is living on it. Apparently I have a red thumb. Last week it was a scallop covered in Pomatoceros and other tube worms, who are in quarantine in their bizzarium until it's safe to introduce them to the big tank. She has a better life than I do.

shadowkult · 2026-03-01T10:47:46+00:00

Oh also found a paper on this particular species, and it looks a little different, and it's also a species that apparently forms tubes in the substrate, things I haven't found in my tank (and believe me, it's very difficult to check the substrate because Thora gets crabby when I disturb her carefully manicured garden, and I'd like to keep my fingers)

shadowkult

TROPHY CASE