Posts by Avery

This is actually a good question, since many doctors exist for reptiles for example and other semi-aquatic animals (or even fully aquatic animals), but there aren’t vets that just specialize in fish for example. In many cases, some vets will take fish in (think of those goldfish or koi that live more than 10 years).

As far as actual locations and names of those vets, it might just be best to call into various semi-aquatic vets and see if they will handle aquatic species (and then mention fish and the fish species). However, a vast majority of research and help can be found online in communities like ours, and surgery is extremely rare with fish due to their high sensitivity and the possibly price tag with any surgery on any animal.

I’d say that it really depends on what part of the tank you’d want to place it in. I don’t think that it’s honestly common, but I’m sure you could add this to the output of the refugium where the water would cycle back into the tank to make sure that any micro-bacteria that was feeding the refugium, isn’t zapped out.

We actually cover this under the filtration section of the getting into saltwater article (https://aquariu.ms/article/6-salt…0657-filtration)

But in short, they are just another filtration method that can be also used to source in live food. “A refugium typically contains aragonite live rock, macroalgae, and a deep sand or mud bed and tends to be the best natural way to filter out your tank (as it would be done in nature without any mechanical aspect). This works by allowing for particles, uneaten food, and debris to settle on the sand or mud bed where micro crustaceans live and break down these aspects while also providing an additional food supply when needed.”

Do you know specifically what type of algae you want them to consume? Shrimp, snails, and even some other common fish (ex; mollies) could be great for your tank and would get along with them all. Otherwise you may be looking at smaller algae eating fish species (ex; some Plecos can stay within the 6” limit you requested).

I think the most that I have ever added to a new tank, was about 30 neon tetras in a 48 gallon Bowfront tank that I had purchased used at the time. They were the first set of fish that I had added once it was done cycling, and the way they were playing made me almost want to keep them as a species only tank.

Do you know if the tank is near a window, or possibly, if you are possibly ovefeeding or someone else is? I’ve found for those three algae types, you must have somewhere that extra nutrients are coming into it your tank (that lets the algae grow), especially when it comes with brown algae since it’s primarily fed on tanks that have an imbalance of nutrients and excessive lighting conditions.

The tumbleweed affect may be hair algae that isn’t getting fed well enough and turning brown (dying off) but leaving a mess as it does this, which than is letting the other algae grow on it since it’s in prime locations for growth.

Quote from darrie53

Do you have any updates on where you added the driftwood at? I’m curious since I’m thinking about getting a turtle after reading that article guide on here.

Yes! I just added in 3 more photos, to show the updates. I took the piece of driftwood from my column tank since my local store that has driftwood in bulk has been out for awhile now, and have added in some Anubias since the turtle ate all of the Anacharis that was in there before. Additionally, you can see the nice calcium lines forming on the glass and on the equipment (which I won’t really take care of until I move this turtle into its final, bigger aquarium setup).

Have you kept a clam only tank before? And if so, what was your experience with them and how did you have the tank laid out (any corals, live rocks, or decorations)? Is there anything that you would have wished you knew beforehand that would have made your experience (and others who might try it after reading your experience) night and day better?

I would suggest getting a PAR light meter, since it can sit at the bottom of your tank or at any level and tell you the actual light reading it’s getting back (since fish swimming around will change the light level slightly and same with the surface agitation).

I normally don’t mind the snails unless they are huge pests one. Then I would avoid getting a fish just to eat the snails (same said when people have algae problems and get an algae eater) as once the problem is gone, you have an additional thing to kept fed differently in your tank.

I would probably advise, if you have no sensitive species and have verified this through each species’ profile, that something copper based wouldn’t hurt them and you don’t plan to do many changes soon with your stocking, to dose with medicine and then heavily gravel vac + huge huge water changes after.

Otherwise I would advise to use vegetables on a fork and in the middle of the night to pull it out every so often and get the snails that way. It’s less ideal since not all of the snails may actually go to that food source, but should help keep numbers in check if done frequently enough.

Looks like an event started last weekend, and ends November 28 2021. I’m not sure if this is regional since my contact and area don’t have this going on, but just as a word to all to check!

With a bunch of the shopping still being done online, minus the handful of stores or pieces of equipment that are just too big to handle online (ex; Petsmart’s deal on their aquarium tank and stand combo), what are you looking to try to grab this season?

Where do you purchase your shells for your crabs and snails at, and how do you disinfect them properly if you purchased them at a craft store for example? Do you look for any specific designs or types of shells (non-painted, for example)? Have you tried using any shells that aren't actually shells but were created from a molding of some kind?

Like any new substrate (or even re-used substrate), do you tend to rinse it out thoroughly or do you just put it into your tank and let any debris settle out over time? Do you have any types of tests that you do to determine if you actually need to rinse it out (ex; putting some in a bucket and stirring it around to see if it makes the water cloudy)?

I’m not too sure, it really depends if they have a way to label out your given tanks or if they really will only let you link one at a time (which I feel like is the worst case possible).

Did you give it a shot and see what happens/happened?

With all the types of foods out there, which ones you do you feed your fish and why?

With some species it can honestly be super easy to catch them in a net, however others are either super fast or are super smart and can avoid being caught in a net for awhile. What are your go to methods to make sure you can catch all of the fish in your tank with a net if needed?

I think efficiency really can only be talked about based on how big your tank size is, and other equipment. As far as more reliable, it tends to be those that aren’t cheap when it comes to protein skimmers and those with brands you know will be around (ex; name brands) for warranty and part reasons alone.

From a chemical reaction standpoint, I believe that it would take a large amount of time for any element to be fully released and not able to be re-captured by any substrate. Similar to how many use those (in freshwater) planted tank substrates such as Flourite which will release and soak up specific chemicals.

I do always try to keep a fine layer around the whole bottom, and dependent on species I will add more in specific areas to try to have them be more comfortable by creating hills in the sand as if it was done naturally by the tide/current.

I’ve seen people use all different types of sand that come in a bulk like pricing/package, such as you noted pool filter sand, play sand, or the black diamond grit blasting sand. I’ve even seen people who try to buy those plastic pebbles (the ones with weight) to use, or the colorful rocks that you see for sale for like 1 bag full (a handheld bag) for $2 (these rocks are cheap when bought in bulk).