Posts by Shortie

I can fully understand your frustration especially with something like that growing in your sink and you not knowing how to get rid of it. As with anything that has water and as said above, is exposed to sunlight you will find that algae will form and if you don't notice it straight away it will take off and may end up being a lot before you notice it. My first thought to get rid of it would be to use bleach and scrub it, that should help to get rid of it but you may need to do it more than once.

If I remember rightly the first one, I went for was a 29 Gallon one. I didn't want to go too big when I was starting off if I am honest, but I also didn't want to go too small either because I wanted to add things in like aquatic plants and other decorations that would help the fish feel at home and safe. I found the 29 gallon one was perfect for me for starting out and was glad I went for the size I did and not any bigger for a start out.

When it comes to purchasing a tank, I will always go for a basic rectangle one rather than an odd shaped one mainly because I feel they are easier to place in an area that keeps them safe but viewable and there are less issues of them being placed somewhere that they could be knocked into or even knocked and broken or damaged. As much as odd looking tanks look nice and they are unique, I always look at what would be better for me in terms of not having them get damaged. As said above when they are an odd shape, the water does put a lot more pressure on the glass and the seals and that can then cause leaks.

When it comes to a choice between a glass tank and an acrylic tank, I would more than likely choose the acrylic for a few reasons. First reason is because I have children in the home and I know with glass, accidents do happen and that last thing I would want to see if my child hurt if they accidentally managed to damage the glass fish tank. Second reason is that acrylic is cheaper and a lot more durable than glass and I really do feel that acrylic would last longer than glass.

With many things I would always try to look at making them myself but with a fish tank stand, I wouldn't be able to risk making one myself for fear of it not being strong enough to withstand the weight of the tank and water in it and I would be worried I'd just make a huge mess for myself instead of having a nice stand for my fish tank.

Hoping this may be able to help you, it's a step-by-step guide to help you build your own fish tank stand and may be of some help if you are still looking to make one for yourself.

How To Build A Fish Tank Stand (DIY Step-By-Step Guide) | Reef Tank Resource

Buying freshwater aquarium plants has its benefits and it is always a good way to go to help you keep your tank looking good. They are a great algae deterrent, we all know that as fish owner, none of us want algae in our tank and if we can prevent that we will do what we can. They can also provide a safe home for the fish that you have in your tank and help them feel safe and happy within their living areas. Another great benefit for freshwater aquarium plants is that they also provide another food source.

Aqatic plants not only give the fish you have in your tank a place to hide and feel safe, but they also give them that natural habitat feeling which as well can lead to happy fish and we all know if fish are happy, we are all happy. When placing plants in a tank though it is always wise to take a look at the space you have and how many fish you have in said tank. You want to create an area where they can hide if they wish to but so that it does not feel overly crowded for the fish.

I absolutely love tropical fish. I often find myself going into the pet shop near where I live and just browsing the fish and I am always amazed at how many different ones there are and how good the colors look on some of them. I don't own any tropical fish myself, but I feel that if I was to really look into taking care of tropical fish, it would be something I would look into getting down the road.

When it comes to looking at ideas for my tank and getting my inspiration for my tank, I would usually look at other people's tanks online and just see what they do and how they do things with their tanks. I wouldn't outright copy a tank piece by piece, but I would definitely get some inspiration from them and some ideas of what I could do for my own tank and what things I could use for my own tank depending on what fish I plan on having in there.

I would definitely separate my corals when moving and place them into separate bags and label them, so I know which is which. I have heard that putting corals together that get along together in a pail is ideal and using plastics bags to separate corals from rocks is also an ideal thing to do when moving them. I would advise that if you have any corals that may release any chemicals from stress should be bagged on their own.

There are quite a few fish that can be placed in the same tanks as shrimps but with some you would have to be very cautious as to how many you place in as some can hunt shrimp in groups so that is definitely something to look out for.

A few that I can recall that you are able to keep in a tank with shrimps is

Guppies: If you choose to keep these in the same tank as shrimp, ensure there are less guppies in the tank than there are shrimp as guppies tend to hunt in groups rather than on their own.

Tetras: These are ideal to keep in a tank with adult shrimps as they are small and wouldn't even try to eat anything bigger than they are. Baby shrimps are a different story though with tetras as they would be roughly the same size and they would attempt to eat them.

When it comes to Amazon Milk Frogs, the more space you can give them the better it will be for them. I know the recommended size for 2 - 4 adult Milk Frogs is a 29 gallon aquarium that measures 30 inches in length, 20 inches in width and 18 inches high. More room is of course recommended if you are able to but that would be the ideal numbers to go from depending on how many Milk Frogs you are wanting to keep in the tank.

Yes, there are quite a few diseases that do happen in just saltwater tanks. Some of them are more common than others and it is wise to know about the more common ones as well as the less common ones.

Some of the more common ones that I can think of off the top of my head are

Marine White Spot Disease
Clownfish Disease
Flukes
Bacterial Infections
Swim Bladder Disease

I know there are more than this in terms of common diseases, but I hope these help a little.

I have found that it varies depending on the shop you bought the fish from and their policies on returns. Some that I have been to have been quite happy to have you return them if they do not fit in the tank you wish to put them in as they would rather you returned them than trying to find them a new home yourself and then end up with them being in a home, they will not be taken care of as they should be. Other stores have a once you have bought them, you can no longer return them policy and they tend to be the stores I will steer away from when buying fish that I may potentially have an issue with when I place them in a tank with other fish.

Personally, I feel that all stores should have a return policy to prevent fish from ending up in bad homes and it doesn't make any sense as to why they wouldn't want them returned if their new home ends up not being suitable.

I would say that the reason most people with saltwater fish tanks use acrylic tanks is because they are durable, lightweight and tough which is very much needed when it comes to a tank. Other reasons many people with a saltwater tank will use acrylic is because they are made from acrylic sheets which are pretty cheap and also due to the fact that they are nontoxic which makes them safe for the fish.

Definitely wood and plenty of it if you are able to. Plecos love to hang around wood as it's their natural habitat and where they most feel at home. In terms of what wood you choose I would say go for something that you would love to see in your tank. They will be happy with any kind of wood and there are plenty to choose from as well.

Yes. I remember back in 2019 I bought two goldfish for my kids as they had been asking about having goldfish again as we had them previously when they were a lot younger. I remember getting them and within a few weeks they had passed, and I never worked out what caused it. I did everything I should have done to ensure the water and the tank were as they should be for the fish, and we still lost them. We fully cleaned out the tank to prevent any further issues if they had died from a disease and then bought more and did everything by the book again but after a few weeks they died again. I truly believe it was a disease but to this day I still don't know what killed them.

Looking at the image I am baffled as to what they could be. I would say either of the two things you suggested but if they were snail eggs, they would be soft white spots and would normally be in groups. I can't tell from the image if they are soft or hard spots but they don't seem to be in a cluster so that may rule out snail eggs.

In terms of them being fish eggs I am pretty sure fish eggs are a different color and also would be closer together as well.

I would definitely get a closer look if you can just to see how they look and possibly how they feel as that will give you a better basis to go from as to what they could be.

Hopefully you find out what they are! Curious myself if I am honest as I am baffled.

There are quite a few plants that you can use in freshwater that would thrive and would look really nice, it all depends on what you are looking for and how often you would want to change them out or the care you would need to provide for them to thrive.

Here are a few that I know of that are suitable for freshwater

Saururus Cernuus (Lizard’s tail)
Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal Plant)
Heteranthera Zosterifolia
Anubias
Limnophila Aquatica

Over the years as a kid and as an adult myself we have had many fish. I remember when I was younger my parents used to have a huge sized standing tank that we had quite a lot of fish in and I always remember we had Goldfish, Minnows and there was another fish that we had that would stick to the side of the tank and eat algae, but the name escapes me of what the fish was. We also had a pond outside with large goldfish that used to belong to my grandma for years prior to us getting the pond and the fish and they lasted so long.

For me I would have to say it wasn't so much a regret buying the fish, but it was where I bought them from that I regret and that was Goldfish I bought in 2019. I did everything that I should do to ensure that the water was fine for the goldfish that we had bought but we still lost them a few weeks later. We believe they had problems beforehand that we were not aware of or the owner of the shop we bought them from didn't fully tell us all that he needed to. We ultimately decided to buy two more, did the same things to ensure the water was how it should be for them and again, they died a few weeks later. I have been put off buying any fish anymore now until I find somewhere else that sells them that would be more professional than the person, I bought them from before.