Posts by Dan The Man

I found it significantly harder to get started with a saltwater tank for the first time compared to freshwater, but it has been worth the effort.

Sustainability is very important to me, so yes, I do try to check into it.

I’ve never played any aquarium games, but I love the idea of a really detailed aquarium sim game, or even just a kind of coral reef sim game. The more elaborate the better.

I haven’t been on a vacation since before I graduated, so nobody?

They sound like they would be really awesome, but alas, I wouldn’t have anywhere to put them, nor would I feel confident that I could take proper care of them.

Why does everyone find them unattractive? They don’t seem particularly hideous to me, kind of cute?

Quote from Juloy39796

I love shrimp or even crayfish. They are so unique and different than fish.

For a while, I was keeping cherry shrimp, and I loved them—they were super cute. But then they started breeding, the population density exploded, and then I had a problem where there was a ratio of too many males to females, and the females were all killed by overaggressive males. That was the end of my entire shrimp civilization.

Apple snails are cool; I miss the one I had. I never saw eggs before though!

I am not sure, but I think it also depends on the types of leeches you get. There are predatory bloodsucking leeches, but I have read that there are also plant leeches that eat vegetation. You’d have to make sure that you were providing them with enough food that you could still maintain the vegetation in your aquarium, I guess.

The first time I bought a fish, it was because I felt sorry for it—it was a beta in a small plastic container, and I thought any life had to be better than that one. After I still failed to take care of it properly despite my best efforts, I did my research the next time and picked new fish accordingly.

I would not put more than one beta in a tank both because they need a lot more space than people realize and because they can be very aggressive with each other (which is why some people think it is amusing to hold mirrors up to them and watch as they try to attack their own reflections).

I would pay attention to the fish’s behaviour—is it eating the same amount, sleeping the same amount, still active and seems to be happy? Also, what species is your fish? That might help us figure out whether a natural color change would be expected.

Usually I’d say if you want to buy one and you know you will be using it ethically yourself, go ahead and get one. But if you would be happier without one knowing stores no longer stock them either, maybe it isn’t something you need/want all that badly, and you might be happier with the decision not to buy one?

There are tanks that feature a more vertical pillar-like construction; you could try one of those, but they still tend to be pretty small.

Community tanks can be hard to manage, but personally I think they are more interesting because you get to create a complex ecosystem and watch how it evolves and do what you can to keep it in balance and functioning. It is an incredible learning experience!

I have some old coral and shells that I found on the beach when I lived close to the ocean.

Thank you for sharing this petition--keeping betas in these tiny environments is deeply horrifying to me, and I cringe every time I walk into a pet store and see them in those awful little plastic containers. I only owned a beta once, and it died within a year, which might have been my fault, but I can't help but think that the conditions it was kept in before I got it contributed to poor overall health.

I would consider paying for something like that if it was within my budget, which isn't likely at the moment. It also makes me curious how viable something like that would be as a profession.

What do you think you'll put in this tank after you move the turtle out of it?

We used to have a tank like that when I was a kid; this is the first time I think I’ve seen one since. It looked stylish, but ours was too small to do much with. It was also kind of hard to work with.