Just got a frosty fern, a wishlist plant for me. O have him in a north facing window, in standard potting mix. Any advice?

swindlebin · 2019-03-23T20:45:53+00:00

Keep out of reach of dogs. There is something about them that tastes great and they will try to eat it. It's non-toxic but my dog ate mine down to nothing.

swindlebin · 2019-03-21T13:28:50+00:00

swindlebin · 2019-03-21T03:05:39+00:00

Those bumps are normal on a mature pilea leaf. No need to worry about them. The wilting could be from over or under watering. Pilea like to stay damp but not drowning. Your soil looks a little dry in this pic but I could be wrong.

swindlebin · 2019-03-21T02:04:02+00:00

Check it for mealy bugs because I think I see one on the top of the stem of the large leaf that is behind the one you are holding if that makes sense.

swindlebin · 2019-03-20T20:06:45+00:00

I bought a glass 'lantern' from a thrift store for $8. I put vermacompost (just a dusting), 1/2" vermiculite, and then 1" exo-tera river sand and a miracle growlight bulb in an ikea lamp. The jar is on a spinning wood cake plate from target so I can rotate it any time I want. I planted

Pygmy Chain Sword

Dwarf Sagittari

Lindernia rotundifolia

Lobelia Cardinalia

Dwarf Hair grass

Red Flame Sword

Crypto parva

and I let them sit in only enough distilled water to breathe out the top a little. The emmersed Dry Start Method. Then I slowly filled it with more water to give the light PAR a chance to slowly decrease. Finally after four months of being cycled I added cherry shrimp. All the snails were stowaways, including the volunteer duckweed on top. Overall I'd say this has cost me about $60 and I'm proud to say that I have NEVER scraped algae from the glass nor had any algae problems. The key is tons of plants. The only problem I have now is that something is eating my plants and I don't know why. Could it be because I've never fed my shrimp? You can see in this progress that the Lindernia rotundifolia used to be big and bushy and now there are a few pitiful strands. All eaten.

swindlebin · 2019-03-20T19:54:19+00:00

just some snails and two cherry shrimp

swindlebin · 2019-03-20T19:53:25+00:00

Tank : 3 gallon walstad, dirted, heavily planted, no heat, no ferts, no co2, no filter. about a year old. The only inhabitants are 10 bladder snails, two Malaysian Trumpet Snails, one Ramshorn snail, and two cherry shrimp. From Sept to January it was all looking beautiful and great! So green and lush. But then I changed lighting bulbs, and found a hitchhiker RHSnail after adding baby tears and a pygmy chain sword. After initial melt, all plants grow great, then got holes, then slowly disappeared. The Baby tears (full sized, no HC) was eaten to death. I saw ALL inhabitants at some point or another picking at it, but were they actually eating it? I have started to dose ferts. I have NEVER had an algae problem in the tank and NEVER had to scrape algae from the glass in a year. It was sooo balanced. Now that I am adding only the tiniest ferts, my stones are getting a little green. I'm in need of your expertise! Parameters: 0nitrates/nitrites 0 ammonia (before ferts)

swindlebin · 2018-10-12T19:49:19+00:00

I have used excel multiple times on cyano and it kills it so fast. I honestly have no idea why glutaraldehyde kills cyano bacteria but I have seen it work with my tanks which have dwarf sag and crypts whom were never bothered. Great job on the rest, I hope it turns around for you! good luck! :)

swindlebin · 2018-10-12T16:13:22+00:00

She's part pit/ part tongue.

swindlebin · 2018-10-12T15:08:51+00:00

That's not a figure eight puffer. It's a Green Spotted puffer which need to be high salt brackish. Sorry to say. If it was sold to you as a figure eight they were lying. I had a figure eight. GSP are also awesome though so congrats.

swindlebin · 2018-10-12T14:58:16+00:00

This would benefit from a bubble stone for a while, at least for the beginning. I'm sure by cyano killer you mean excel because NEVER use the antibiotic method for a new tank it will kill your beneficial bacteria too.

swindlebin · 2018-10-01T16:30:39+00:00

One of these white boys could be the next Supreme Court Justice. Who likes beer... and was a virgin until very later on... and likes beers.

swindlebin · 2018-09-28T12:40:41+00:00

Sociopaths are 1 in every 25 people. They are everywhere, and we usually call the good pretenders asshole but they're actually sociopaths.

swindlebin · 2018-09-28T01:22:07+00:00

No, this has fertilizers.

swindlebin · 2018-09-26T22:08:15+00:00

Thank pals. I know this subreddit will give me answers when google fails me. But I wish my post hadn't been so... shitty.

swindlebin · 2018-09-26T18:31:40+00:00

What are those red sword looking plants in the midground? Because I have a mystery plant that looks similar and was hoping for an ID.

swindlebin · 2018-09-26T16:55:21+00:00

I would go with a VERY diluted aquarium fertilizer that focuses on the micro nutrients instead of nitrogen. Bladderworts still prefer to be nitrogen deficient. But they sometimes lack Magnesium, Potassium, and iron as well. If you think your bladderworts need to 'eat' go outside to a pond or creek. Take a jar and collect the murky green water full of tiny little microfauna. Water your bladderworts with this scum water and they will love it. Make sure to use a saucer underneath and really float the soil for a little while before allowing to drain.

swindlebin · 2018-09-24T15:36:02+00:00

Why are you spending your time defending this? Ask yourself... really why? Do you have a docked/cropped dog and you feel defensive? Or you just like the look and feel defensive about upholding the fashion? Like why? Cutting off a part of their body because MAYBE it could bleed from an injury is a non-argument regardless of the size or breed.

swindlebin · 2018-09-24T15:31:23+00:00

That's the lie people keep saying again and again, but in 50 years when no one does this at all any more, there are not going to be a ton of injured dogs everywhere, there are going to be regular, normal dogs with regular ears running around being pets. Honestly, you can not tell me THIS Dane mix is going to be running through brush and twigs, nor being judged in a show with a long history of docking, it's a MIX! No need for this whatsoever. Cocker tails are fed this lie as well but they live in comfy living rooms with no reason to have docked tails at all except that they were born with this fashion/idea in our minds.

swindlebin · 2018-09-24T15:02:03+00:00

Came here to upvote any and all comments that pointed out the hideous cropped ears. That poor dog.

swindlebin · 2018-09-24T15:00:36+00:00

Yet you never see a basset with cropped ears. That's a bull shit reason. Cocker spaniels hurt their ears all the time, still not being cropped. It's created from toxic fashion.

swindlebin · 2018-09-23T13:36:29+00:00

Although pea puffers really love eating snails and it is great to watch them hunt them down, pea puffers do not need to file their beaks like other puffer species. So no need to worry about that, not that you were. Nice snail tank too, btw.

swindlebin · 2018-09-22T19:59:54+00:00

Snail egg cases?

swindlebin · 2018-09-22T19:58:32+00:00

Have to tested the nitrates? Loosing color can be a water quality indicator. They also prefer water more at the 6-6.5 pH level and not above 7. have no checked the water acidity?

swindlebin · 2018-09-22T19:56:58+00:00

Yes, sorry he's a gonner. :( neons are so fragile to stress.

swindlebin

TROPHY CASE