Aquariums

[TNHawke]

I have noticed that about some of the plants in stores- although Walmart is the worst for it - selling tropical plants as aquatic. Keeps people coming back in for more... *guh*.
One of the best plants I ever had luck with was actually the green tops of carrots. Cut off about an inch of the carrot root with the green tops, sink the orange part in the gravel and there you go!

Now that you mention the lighting and extra air, that would explain why that 5 gal hex tank I had flourished with the plants, and the Kuhlis too. I had three in there, a betta, and a few neons and danios. Probably overstocked, but it looked beautiful and did great. I don't remember what possessed me to take it down. I should have left it as it was.
But, I had a bubble wand across the back, plus a flex tube wound around under the gravel, a drift wood and lots of live plants. I forget what kind of light I had, but since the tank was so small, the light was bright and close to them.

All this talk about tanks makes me want to dig out my nice 50gal and start it up again. But I should wait until after I move. Otherwise, I'm going to have to move the sucker, and I don't want to do that.

[Synchronized]

I have noticed that about some of the plants in stores- although Walmart is the worst for it - selling tropical plants as aquatic. Keeps people coming back in for more... *guh*.

My store sells some but they're clearly marked "semi-aquatic"(and yet we still get customers saying HEY CAN THIS GO UNDERWATER? ...no. no it can't. it's SEMI-AQUATIC[or in some cases not aquatic at all]) except for the bamboo/mondo grass. I try to steer people in the right direction for tank plants(mainly anubias/java fern).

Fish list here for my own reference, since some have gone missing and it's taking me days to notice:

Spoiler

32g:
-1 pearl danio
-1 zebra danio
-1 red glofish
-3x trilineatus cory
-2x albino aeneus cory
-3x bronze cory
-1x variatus platy
-5x guppy
-1x rosy barb
-5x kuhlii loach
-3x harlequin rasbora
-1x knight goby
-1x bumblebee catfish
-1x clown pleco
-1x flying fox

5g:
1x endler livebearer
3x guppy
1x pepper cory
1x brochis cory
1x tiger shrimp
1x japonica shrimp
1x red cherry shrimp
-a few ghost shrimp. can't be arsed to count them.

[TNHawke]

Where did you get shrimps other than ghosts, and how do you keep your ghosts alive? When I buy them, they always slowly die off. I even watch the females eating their own eggs- but they eat the fish food just fine too. I've heard that the females will cannibalize their eggs when they sense that the embryos have died.

[PossessedPotato]

Can someone tell me why my betta is having his fins clamped??:c he try's to eat but then spits the food out as well,he dosn't seem to notice when anyone touch's his fins either..

[TNHawke]

Clamped fins is one of the first signs of illness, so you could have pretty much anything. Fungus or bacteria are the first suspects though. He definitely needs medicated with an appropriate treatment or he will likely die. Most fish medications will have a guide on the packaging that tells you what it treats- by symptoms, so looking for something seems to match close enough. Then, be careful about overdosing, which can be easy in the kinds of small tanks and bowls that bettas are often kept in. Good luck!

As to spitting food out- I see a lot of fish do this. If the piece of food they bite is too big, or especially with the betta kibble things, they're often too hard, so they get it in their mouth, chew it, spit it out, swallow the bits they got off, then nom it again. Over and over until it's either gone, or falls to the bottom and they go find another one.

[Synchronized]

Where did you get shrimps other than ghosts, and how do you keep your ghosts alive? When I buy them, they always slowly die off. I even watch the females eating their own eggs- but they eat the fish food just fine too. I've heard that the females will cannibalize their eggs when they sense that the embryos have died.

Dwarf shrimps can be ordered online and some stores carry them-- I get mine from a local store about 40 mins away. Thinking of ordering some from another person, might be cheaper in the long run/get healthier shrimp.

As for ghost/glass/grass shrimp, I find a little bit of salt in the water helps! I've never seen mine eat their eggs(though they might have), but they have released fertilized eggs in my tank-- I have about 8-10 baby ghost shrimplets wandering around somehow. Still not entirely sure how they made it to that size, honestly, given that ghost shrimp have a larval stage and don't come out as shrimplets like the dwarf varieties do. To be honest my water quality is not the best right now, especially in my 32g, and really the only reason shrimp die in the bigger tank is because the bumblebee cat eats them. In general I go for very clear, very healthy looking ghosts, especially egg-carriers. I used to have very bad luck with them but it's been a lot better recently.

[PossessedPotato]

Clamped fins is one of the first signs of illness, so you could have pretty much anything. Fungus or bacteria are the first suspects though. He definitely needs medicated with an appropriate treatment or he will likely die. Most fish medications will have a guide on the packaging that tells you what it treats- by symptoms, so looking for something seems to match close enough. Then, be careful about overdosing, which can be easy in the kinds of small tanks and bowls that bettas are often kept in. Good luck!

As to spitting food out- I see a lot of fish do this. If the piece of food they bite is too big, or especially with the betta kibble things, they're often too hard, so they get it in their mouth, chew it, spit it out, swallow the bits they got off, then nom it again. Over and over until it's either gone, or falls to the bottom and they go find another one.

He dosn't have any white spots showing ick, and i know he dosn't have fin rot where can you buy any good medications?

[TNHawke]

He dosn't have any white spots showing ick, and i know he dosn't have fin rot where can you buy any good medications?

Look for a slightly cloudy or just thick looking slime on either his body or fins.
As for where to get meds, any good pet store will have them. I, personally, have had excellent luck with Pimafix and Melafix. The packaging will tell you which one to use- one is better for bacteria, the other is better for fungus. When in doubt, those are safe to use together, and I often do anyways to help with secondary infections.
I've tried the Maracyn and Maracyn II products because they were highly recommended, but they never seemed to work for me.
For an actual Ich infection, I swear by a product called Rid-Ich.

If you don't have a pet store nearby, sometimes you can find fish meds at stores like Walmart, but I can't vouch for how well they work. As a matter of fact, I can say that which ever fizzy tab thing they have for droopsy does NOT work.

Dwarf shrimps can be ordered online and some stores carry them-- I get mine from a local store about 40 mins away. Thinking of ordering some from another person, might be cheaper in the long run/get healthier shrimp.

As for ghost/glass/grass shrimp, I find a little bit of salt in the water helps! I've never seen mine eat their eggs(though they might have), but they have released fertilized eggs in my tank-- I have about 8-10 baby ghost shrimplets wandering around somehow. Still not entirely sure how they made it to that size, honestly, given that ghost shrimp have a larval stage and don't come out as shrimplets like the dwarf varieties do. To be honest my water quality is not the best right now, especially in my 32g, and really the only reason shrimp die in the bigger tank is because the bumblebee cat eats them. In general I go for very clear, very healthy looking ghosts, especially egg-carriers. I used to have very bad luck with them but it's been a lot better recently.

How do the plants and snails do with salt in the water? I'm assuming you're not going full brackish... or are you? The only time I had a brackish tank, I had lots of eels and mollies. And the eels were eating the shrimp, which was why I was buying them.
I remember years ago, I could find ghost shrimp at 20 for a dollar, then it was a dozen for a dollar, then 4 for a dollar. Now, IF I can find them, they're usually more expensive than 3 for a dollar. It really sucks.
It might be fun just to have like a 1 or 5 gal tank JUST for ghost shrimps. They're so cute.

I saw a 5 gal tank of snails, decorated with plastic plants, drift wood and rocks under either a blue light, or a grow bulb. It was SO cool. Utterly relaxing. The owner fed his snails algae wafers and zucchini and cucumbers and such. I've thought that would be really cool to do too. He had several different species and LOTS of them.

[Synchronized]

How do the plants and snails do with salt in the water? I'm assuming you're not going full brackish... or are you? The only time I had a brackish tank, I had lots of eels and mollies. And the eels were eating the shrimp, which was why I was buying them.
I remember years ago, I could find ghost shrimp at 20 for a dollar, then it was a dozen for a dollar, then 4 for a dollar. Now, IF I can find them, they're usually more expensive than 3 for a dollar. It really sucks.
It might be fun just to have like a 1 or 5 gal tank JUST for ghost shrimps. They're so cute.

I saw a 5 gal tank of snails, decorated with plastic plants, drift wood and rocks under either a blue light, or a grow bulb. It was SO cool. Utterly relaxing. The owner fed his snails algae wafers and zucchini and cucumbers and such. I've thought that would be really cool to do too. He had several different species and LOTS of them.

Nah, I just put a bit in to make them and the guppies comfortable-- the ramshorn snails are fine with it, and java moss can survive some pretty heavily salted water, from what I know. For the record, I'm not using marine salt, just aquarium salt.

He dosn't have any white spots showing ick, and i know he dosn't have fin rot where can you buy any good medications?

Check the water quality before you jump into medications. Without knowing what exactly is wrong with the fish, most medications will make things worse-- chances are the fish is just stressed from high ammonia or nitrates, which poison them. What are you keeping him in? How many gallons? Is it filtered?

[PossessedPotato]

How do the plants and snails do with salt in the water? I'm assuming you're not going full brackish... or are you? The only time I had a brackish tank, I had lots of eels and mollies. And the eels were eating the shrimp, which was why I was buying them.
I remember years ago, I could find ghost shrimp at 20 for a dollar, then it was a dozen for a dollar, then 4 for a dollar. Now, IF I can find them, they're usually more expensive than 3 for a dollar. It really sucks.
It might be fun just to have like a 1 or 5 gal tank JUST for ghost shrimps. They're so cute.

I saw a 5 gal tank of snails, decorated with plastic plants, drift wood and rocks under either a blue light, or a grow bulb. It was SO cool. Utterly relaxing. The owner fed his snails algae wafers and zucchini and cucumbers and such. I've thought that would be really cool to do too. He had several different species and LOTS of them.

Nah, I just put a bit in to make them and the guppies comfortable-- the ramshorn snails are fine with it, and java moss can survive some pretty heavily salted water, from what I know. For the record, I'm not using marine salt, just aquarium salt.

He dosn't have any white spots showing ick, and i know he dosn't have fin rot where can you buy any good medications?

Check the water quality before you jump into medications. Without knowing what exactly is wrong with the fish, most medications will make things worse-- chances are the fish is just stressed from high ammonia or nitrates, which poison them. What are you keeping him in? How many gallons? Is it filtered?

hmm i just changed it and the water looks clean,i have those pool testers for ammonia and its a very low level,i have him in a 2 gallon bowl but my others are in half a gallon and they are doing just fine after almost 2 years in them.