16 posts tagged “npt”
The pic to the left was tonight, the pic to the right was at set up on 10/05/08.
The long awaited sale on aquariums came, and I got the 75! And the whirlwind began. We'd been talking about doing an NPT demo for the Aquatic Plant Enthusiast Club and so I volunteered my new tank. Too bad they wouldn't do all the planting for me. It took about 4 hours. I did learn how to use the forceps to plant. It was actually easier and I didn't damage the plants as much from my usual wrestling and rooting.
The Breakdown:
Of course before I planted the new big tank, I had to break down my small tanks. I started with the 10g which had been running for 13 months as a soil tank. I removed as many shrimp and snails as I could (all fish were in the 20g). Then I started taking out the masses of plants. The Sagitaria subulata went crazy in there. I had so much left over that some went home with everyone who came, like party favors :) The removal process from soil was messy. I pulled out maybe 6 plants before I had a big swirling mud puddle to deal with. After all the plants were out I netted the mud to save as many Cherry shrimp as I could. Then I syponed the water through a dapnia net to save the fry too small for a regular fish net. That didn't turn out well. It gave me a lot of dirt in the shrimp bucket, no matter how careful I was, and the tiniest baby shrimps didn't survive the the bucket, as far as I can tell. I added all of my mosses: taiwan, java and marimo ball to the bucket as well as plenty of duckweed and water lettuce. Ambient temps were at least 72F, no heater or filter in the bucket over night. I scrubbed the 10g with vinegar to get the calcium scale off (we have extremely hard water) riinsed it well and filled it with half new and half tank water from the 20g. All the fish went in there with the UV filter for water movement, with some plants; Except for the Otocinclus catfish. He's got a taste for slimecoat and I didn't want him tatsing the other fish in a bare tank, so he went into the inverts bucket. Next I broke down the 20g. Wish I'd known I was getting a new tank the week before when I did my major trim. I'd have saved everything. Oh well. Not many tiny fry in this tank. The last batch was rice sized. I battered these plants more netting the shrimp, but didn't syphon it's water thru the daphnia net. Pulled out as many MTS as I could see and took out these plants. It was really late by the time I was done breaking it down.
Lighting Emergency:
We put the new tank on a piece of styrofoam o the new stan and I had a panic attack. I had used two clamp-on architect lights before with a mind to utilize them for the larger set-up. No go. There wasn't enough lip left over to grasp. And when I looked at them more closely, I saw that they were only rated for upto 60w bulbs. Two of those wouldn't have given me the 2-3watt ideal for an NPT. Crap. I stayed up late searchng the web for alternatives. We found two floor lamps that would work at Walmart and got them the next day- disaster averted. This changed the lighting plan, though. I now have two "tree" lamps on each end of a four foot set-up. I added more watts than planned to reach the plants in the middle. I'm running the equivalent to 300w but in Compact Flourescent bulbs. 2-60's and 2-40's are 6500K GE sunlight bulbs, the remaining 40's are cool white bulbs. If I see algae I'll cut back on the wattage, but it looks right to me now.
Substrate
To begin, I put the rocks and wood on the bottom glass of the tank. I did this first because Diana Walstad reccomends it in her book, Ecology of the PLanted Aquarium: A practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist. She points out that rocks, wood or things on top of the soil would compress it and cause anerobic spots that create Hydrogen Sulfide. Next I ran a border of gravel around the front and side glass, so I wouldn't see the soil through the glass. Then it was time to add the soil. I put in about an inch of plain Top Soil with no fertilizers. If you have soft water you should add crushed eggshells or sea shells or peletized dolomite lime to gently increase KH. I'd say a handful of shells or a tablespoon of the lime per each gallon of dirt. You can also use regular dosing procedures to bring up KH initaially. I didn't need any of this. I topped the dirt with the smallest aquarium gravel I could find. It was 1/2 to 2/3 the size of most gravel. Walstad reccomends 3mm or smaller grain size, such as pool filter media. She has also used sand successfully, but you need to use much less of it and generally the dirt comes to the top of that little sand. I used about and inch of gravel over the dirt.
Planting
Next we filled the tank about two inches of water, onto a plate. This gets the water in gently without stirring up all that soil. And the water kept the plants wet for the marathon planting. I planted the tank heavily, with a plant every few sqaure inches. I used Vallisineria, E. Tenellus, Annubias Nana, Elatine, S. Subulata, Water Sprite, H. Difformis, H. Polysperma green, H. Polysperma 'sunset', Narrow Leaf Java Fern, Hygrophila 'compacta', Aponogeton (unknown sp.), one platyfila or giant Sagitaria and probably more that I can't remember. I'll put the mosses in with the rest of the inverts later. I added duckweed and Pistia stratiotes floaters. You need true floaters that take CO2 from the air. And you want to incourage aerial growth (out of the water) in your plants. These plants have the advantage in nutrient uptake and defeat algae. It's important to plant heavily, with plenty of rooted and fast growing plants to absorb the initial ammonia form the newly submerged soil. The first month is critical in heading off algae before it happens. Many people will add Hornwort or Najas grass for the first montrh for that purpose. Airing out the soil helps also. I did this by speading the dirt out in a baby pool in the garage for a week prior.
Filling
Once all the plants were in we filled it with 21 gallons of distilled water and tap water. We used a garden hose through the back door for the rest and this went well. No flood. Our tap water reads 8.4 pH, the highest setting on the test, with a GH of at least 300. I wanted to adjust it down some in case I had an ammonia spike. But my plants and animals are all used to the hard, alkaline water and do fine. Once it was full I turned on the heater to help bring up the temp. Once it was warm I added the fish and the Submariner UV filter. I like the UV filter for good water conditions. It keeps bacteria down in the water column, fights green water and water-born illness in fish. It also gives me water movement. A traditional filter isn't necessary in an Npt. There are plenty of bacterial colonies, working together and against each other in the soiland on surfaces. You don't really need to cultivate Nitrafying bacteria to filter ammonia. The plants do that. D Walstad proves (in the book) how aquatic plants prefer to uptake ammonia via leaves rather than Nitrates via roots like their terrestrial cousins. If I need more water movement in this big tank I'll add a powerhead. You could run just a powerhead if you didn't use a UV like mine. You can also use a regualr Hang-on-the-Back filter, but you won't want charcoal or fine media. If you have an initail ammonia spike the charcoal is useful. But take it out when that's under control so the pants can get the ammonia. You don't want a filter media that will grow Nitrafying bacteria either. It's also competition with the plants for their preferred fertilizer.
More on Fertilizing
I don't add any fertilizers other than fish food. A 'moderate fish load' provides ammonia and mulm which snails break down into readily available fertilizer for the plants. I try to keep to just under the inch-of-fish-per-gallon rule. I don't think there's a hard rule. I go by plant growth. I think you balance between the plants getting enough ammonia from fish and the roots getting enough nutrient from roots. I think a tank may be able to handle a higher load, but the plants will grow like crazy and use up nutrients from the soil faster than they can evolve from decomposition. The 10g tank needed more fish for better plant growth, but instead I added a little fish food for the plants. It gave off ammonia as it decomposed. D Walstad reccomends feeding fish liberally 'twice a day plus a little extra for the plants'. I'm not sure how to do this with my voracious fish, so I just give them plenty twice a day. Shrimp and snails eat extra anyway. Snails also clean up some dead leaves and turn it into fertilizer. Both help with algae, but I don't think they can conqer it. I don't vacuum the gravel. the soil has iron, potassium, all of the trace nutrients you would otherwise add to the water column by dosing in a higher tech tank. Without added CO2 systems the growth is not as fast. The soil and fish to support the plants completely. It's lower maintenance. I did use Excel for an algae outbreak this last year. I did the initial dose and maintenance dose for 10 days. Once I kiled off the algae, I didn't need it any more. It worked well and I would do it again for algae. I think I may need to add more fish food than I'm used to for this larger tank, at least until I stock it fully. I understand that I'll be feeding the plants/tank size, not just the fish. Think my shrimp and snails will like that! Going forward I'll top off and trim once a month or so to encourage good growth. I hope to change water as little as 50% every six months.
Recap NPT Elements
1-2 inches Soil capped with 1-2 inches of small gravel, amended with shell for soft water
Dense planting wih plenty of fast growers, good root growth and floaters
2-3 watts per gallon or thei CFL equivalent, sunlight if possible
heater if your tank falls below 74F (78 is better for plant growth)
water movement with HOB filter (little or no media) or powerhead
moderate fish load
stable NPTs need much fewer water changes
I haven't taken pictures of the tank in a long time. This is a neat picture my husband took of the tanks using a "fish eye" lens. You can at least see that my tank plants are growing well. I can't wait until JAP's sale when I can replace these two with a 75g.
Well I've been in a bit of a funk. But I figure we're due for tank talk. I'm sure I have thousands of avid readers who can't wait to know if I've trimmed the Hygro or changed the water in my aquariums lately, Har Har. And the answer is no, I haven't. Gotta love the Natural Tank. 'Cause I hate changing water. A friend mentioned her small tank today and made me think about the suitability of plants for a small tank. Really, it depends on how often you wan to mess with the tank. I made a Nano for my sister's Beta and she never has to trim plants. She has only Sagitaria Subulata in low light. But because she has plants, she rarely needs to change the water; maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the water every couple of months. Diana Walstad trims her larger tanks with faster growing plants every month and tops off, but only changes half the water every 6 months. I change some water every couple of months because I don't like the yellow tint it will get from the Dissolved Organic Compounds. When I can see the yellowing, I change some. But the plants do all the work. They take out the Ammonia that fish give off as waste. D Walstad proves the chemistry in her book . For many small set-ups, all you need is a light. My Nanos 1 gallons for Betas just sat in a well lit room. And they were the easiest tanks I every had. So, I think many plants are very suitable for small set-ups. Some you can even do without a dirt substrate: Anubias, Marimo Moss Ball, Java Moss, Najas Grass and Hornwort. But iit's pretty simple to freeze some dirt cubes and slide them under the rocks (watch the water temp), too or re-set a small tank. Of course, I'd like to start a Planted Tank Revolution. It's just so much easier. And the fish are happier and healthier.
Now for my update. My Turquoise Rainbow is still kicking and has become the King of the 20 gallon. I went back to get him a friend and they were all gone. Just my luck. I'm hoping Rainbows will become more popular in LFS's, so I can easily find them. My baby shrimp are growing well and thriving. They have plenty of food just from the plants, but I have added some zucchini a few times, and a bit of extra fish food. Getting the Gouramis into the other tank was a good move for them. Maybe I'll have massive amounts of Cherries some day. I bought and started soaking a piece of driftwood for this tank in hopes of getting a bristle nose catfish (Ancistus) from a friend in the plant club who has bred them. I selected a piece of wood which will sit on stilted branches, with minimal contact to the substrate. This way I won't be creating anaerobic spots in my soil. The suckermouth cats really need this. My tiny Otto. cat has gotten by on the Anubias rhizhome, but he'll appreciate it, too. The cellulose helps their digestion. So that's where it's at. I am going out of town for a day, but I figure they all can do without food for one day if DH forgets to feed them. Though I may have a few less shrimp babies if that happens...
Black Brush Algae? Horrors!
I think that's what it is just from the name.. It's like black hairs actually so-dark-they're-almost-black green hair algae, but I've never heard it called that, so we'll go with possible BBA. Makes me want to scream either way. I love this H. compacta- it was my favorite plant. You know how they tell you not to compliment people's things in certain Eastern countries because they are likely to give it to you. Well, I was saying how nice they looked in the hosts' tank at my first Aquatic Plant Club meeting, and he reached in and grabbed one for me. I was stunned. And very grateful. Such nice people! I have been thinking the growth is stalled. Looking at old pics I can see much more growth. but seems like I trim these much less than my nanos. I added minimal Flourish Excel as algaecide and losst one Cherry Red Shrimp. May have lost an Amano Shrimp, too. I found a shell. I think it was shed, but there's a chance it died over night and was totally cleaned out by the Rainbows. Someone said on APC that Sunset Hygro was a noxious weed plant. Didn't know that. Not surprised though, all the Hygros grow like weeds. Well I will dispose of my trimmings carefully and not sell/trade it. I don't have a pond, anyway. I have been picking out the pond snails, and a few Giant Ramshorn babies that tagged along. These sails only seem interested in eating duckweed and my live plants. The tiny planorbid and ancilid pond snails don't, nor do the Malaysian Trumpet Snails. The baby Giant Ramshorns look just like the planorbid pond snails, ubntil they grow too big to have been so, or are caught inflagrante planteato. In either case I remove them, make sure they are sealed in a zip baggie and get rid of them. Dr's F &S sent me a new 5 watt Submariner UV filter. The first one was clearly used, but I didn't want to deal with the hassle of trying to return it if it worked, so I tried it. But I kept having problems. Turns out it leaked and was blowing lamps. Got the new one in. Hope this one was made better and it was just a fluke. I ran charcoal in the mean while and vacuumed the gravel to try to take out algae nutrients. Put a wisper palm HOB filter on the 10 with just charcoal in it for the same purpose in the 10. Can't vac that b/c of the shrimp. No mulm to speak of there, and I pull out dead leaves. The rainbows are still timid. Huh. Maybe I need dithers for them. Something small as I don't want to be overstocked when these reach full size. SO tempted to rip these apart and do a big 75 gallon. then I'd have to learn to resolve algae issues, because there's no where for me to go from there. Ha. One last note. I now understand why people don't like duckweed. With the new filters, it is all over my tank, getting caught in the plants (like the riccia did.) Pistia/Water Lettuce come in locally in May and I'll be switching. Not sure where my fish will swim, but maybe it'll kill the algae.
Here is a step-by-step of the set up of the new tank. The basic steps are in bold lettering:
Fist I cleaned the used tank with 70% (rubbing) alcohol and let it dry. Next I scrubbed it with vinegar to get rid of as much of the hard water deposits as possible. Then I rinsed it and filled it to be sure it didn't leak. I let it air dry completely.
I put it on the stand. (I should have put a piece of cardboard under it to cushion. I still need to do this for both tanks because I have vibration and am worried about it cracking from stress. Not sure if this is an issue with smaller tanks but better safe...)
Next I put in the 6"x6" pavers that I got from Lowes. These follow the hint to make a catch area for fish. I can take out the filter and potted plants here, chase fish into this side and section them in with a divider and catch them without ruining my plants. These pavers are concrete and could make my pH higher, I guess. I wanted clay brick, but this is what I have, so we'll see how it goes. I was lucky to find anything in the winter, I guess. If you have a larger tank heating cables are an important factor to keep down the effects of allelopathy among competing plants, by assisting circulation around the roots. Next I ran gravel around the front and side edges. This should keep the sunlight from hitting the soil and releasing too much iron into the water column. Next I added a layer of peat. This is first NPT I've added peat to and it's a gamble. On the rest I added crushed shell, because I'd heard it and didn't know why. Now I know crushed sea shells, oyster grit or pelleted dolomite lime help buffer soft water. If you need to buffer, mix one of these with the soil. I happen to have extremely hard water, so I have added peat in an effort to bring my pH down. The risk is that the good bacteria in the soil will go nuts. I read that differing soils should be layered and not mixed together, so I did that hoping it will help reduce the risk. Then came a layer of soil. You may spread it out to air for a day to off gas ammonia. Good if you'll be putting fish in the next day. Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad suggests about and inch and a half of both soil and gravel. Mine are a bare inch each. I figure I have lots of organics, so I minimized this time. On top of the soil is my layer of gravel. I had trouble finding the 2-3 mm sized that is optimal. Smaller can compact and create anaerobic pockets, Larger is more difficult for the plant roots. Next I filled the tank about half way (to support the plants and keep them wet) and planted. Pour thr water in very gently. I poured on my bricks. You can also pour onto a plate set on the gravel, or down the side wall. You want to reduce the power of the water so it doesn't stir up dirt. I added extra gravel where I planted as needed, careful to keep the soil contained. Every time I do this it goes better, with less dirt released into the water. For a Walstad NPT, it's important to do the following to head off algae from the beginning: Plant heavily, use fast enough fast growing and emergent plants and use surface plants. It's important to distinguish surface plants from floating plants. Hornwort is a floating plant, but duckweed, salvinias, water lettuce are all surface plants. Their leaves reach air and their roots stay submerged. This gives them the advantage of CO2 from the air. They grow well and suck out nutrient to help out-compete algae. Other plants which will reach the surface and grow out (emergent growth) should be incorporated, for this reason. I have three kinds of Hygrophilia, Creeping Jenny and Ludwigia to this end. Use 2-3 watts per gallon of Cool fluorescent light 12 hours a day. You can even do 14hrs at start up. If you don't like the look of cool bulbs, you could mix grow light and cool white. Change them annually. Ms. Walstad explains in the book why aquatic plants prefer this type of light, unlike terrestrial plants. Give the tank sunlight if possible, this is so counter to aquarium culture, even planted aquarium enthusiasts balk. Remember that the whole goal is to make the plants grow like crazy, and if you have enough and the right kinds of plants, you won't have algae. The book tells how algae is actually better adapted to low light conditions, which explains why black-outs don't really work. Lastly you need water movement, but without the competing bio-filter. If you keep a 'Hang on the Back" (HOB) filter, take out the floss. You could maybe use a tiny bit of clay beads or something, but you don't want a bacterial bed like in standard aquariums. The plants will use up nitrite as the fish put it off, and the competition just makes it harder for them. This was a mental shift for me, but I have to say I have never had a read of nitrite or nitrate or ammonia. Never even the start up ammonia spike. I understand that often new soil does spike ammonia initially sometimes, but it will settle quickly. Don't add chemicals. Aquatic plants actually prefer to take these in as nutrients via their leaves. Consider a heater. I think if you are 72 or above, it isn't necessary, but that's my opinion. My tanks are small, and the water appliances (small power head in one, UV filter in the other) heat the water enough. My Nano tanks have no heater or water appliances and they are fine. Just make sure the fish you buy are fine with that temperature. When you first start up there may be some cloudiness. You may want to run a filter for that (with floss, etc) And Carbon can help solve some short term problems, but it removes the organic compounds in the water column that your plants need. Don't use it all the time. Add fish to a moderate load and don't forget snails. Snails play a very important role by breaking down organics so plants can use them more readily. Small snails clean leaves better and my favorite are the MTS who burrow and stir substrate as a bonus. Don't worry about their breeding, as it will reach equilibrium. Shrimp are good too, but not a substitute for snails. Feed your fish generously and don't vacuum the mulm. Feed liberally. Give enough food for the fish plus a little extra, Ms Walstad does this twice a day. The nutrients in the food break down to perfect fertilizer for the plants. The book shows the scientific studies if you need proof. This is another difficult concept, against common aquarium practices. You now have the beginnings of a balanced system. Don't bugger it up with chemicals. You should only need water conditioner to remove chlorine or chloramine, which ever one is in you home water. If you have to medicate fish, do it a smaller 'hospital tank'.
Here's the book, wherein lie answers to all of your questions:
Am I a geek or what? I am going to my first meeting tomorrow, and really hope to score some plants. Good plants, grown lovingly from people who, unlike myself, actually know what they are doing! It's a long drive and DH isn't thrilled about me going to a house full of people I don't know. Funny how the man never said a word about me going in to work for 24 or 36 hours with a house full of men. A few women, but most of them liked other women. Or running into burning buildings, chemical spills and shooting scenes not yet cleared by police. Hmm. I think it's 'hausfrau syndrome' Now that he's got me home... Just kidding honey. Maybe he really is worried that I'm old and broken. I know I am. That's neither here no there. The point is I'm finally going to make some headway in getting the 20 gallon planted. I have had no luck in finding the 45watt 18" bulb for the hood. I guess I'll be starting with an old light. That's not good because the first few weeks establishing a tank are very important. You want to do everything you can to encourage growth so algae doesn't take hold. I'm seriously desperate for a bulb. I'm emailing my friend because I haven't been able to find one at pet, hardware or online stores. I haven't had any luck finding topsoil this time of year either. Nothing plain without fertilizers or vermiculite. I am soaking some peat as that will be a very thin under-layer. I'm hoping to offset the gravel mixed in my dirt with peat as extra nutrients. Feels like I'm walking a line with this, though. Could have a major bacterial bloom if it's too much. Knowing this, what am I likely to do? Yes, I'll be going for it anyway. It's all an experiment. The alternate is to stand out in the snow and wash vermiculite out of potting soil with buckets of water filled inside the house. I don't think so. I'm not that crazy. Yet. I am also looking forward to replanting the Betas vases yet again. At least one of them. The red guy (Gordon) is going to live with my sister, if Harold (the blue guy) can be nice in the new big tank. Not really sure yet. I may end up putting them both in the 10, divided. I''m not sure I can get enough plants right now to do that. We'll have to see. It would be nice not to have to gut the 10 to replant the 20. I am not running more than two tanks, and that included Nanos. I have to put a cap on this craziness. It's like a drug. When you get the Natural Planted Tank in balance, you don't have to do anything but trim once a month, top off water and only change water a few times a year. But I missed my opening window for it to be easy at the beginning. The secret is to plant heavily right at the start, and it all falls together. I needed to read that book, before I started, because most of NPT procedure is the opposite of high tech process. I was reading the wrong books and made mistakes. But I learned from what I did, and I have really enjoyed it. So a whole lot of writing to say: I still have not got the 20 set up- but maybe tomorrow night. If there aren't enough plants offered at the meeting, I'll have to break down and buy two E. Amazonicus (or Bhlerii) from Petsmart. Until then....
A very nice friend gave me her old 20 gallon and I have begun to gather what I need for the upgrade. I read D. Walstad's post about content of commercial potting soils and am seriously considering putting 100% peat humus on the bottom and then layering my Eco-Complete and soil mixed together, that's in my 10 gallon now. Ms Walstad herself replied to my APC post and said that just stirring it up and reusing my soil Eco mix should be fine. I didn't ask at that time about the peat, figuring I'd add extra soil. I did read not to stir two different sources of soil, but that they could be layered. Since potting soil is basically a mix of peat and sand, I'm going to put a peat layer on the bottom and hope for the best. I will be running the UV or a charcoal filter in the beginning, for a day or two.
I did a partial water change today because I had to replant all of the new ludwigia that ornery Sunny, my huge apple snail, dug up. They were potted and I had followed this tip from an APCer who lined pots with plain paper towels to help keep the plant contained, for better root systems. This way it could be replanted with greater success. The snail and her excellent sense of smell discovered the towel under the gravel and uprooted it and munched on it constantly. I picked a bunch of it out as white fuzzy mush. Of course, when I was done, I spotted more so I'll be doing it again in a few days. Quite a mess. I ended up taking the hornwort out. I really need it now to use up nutrients, but it was covered in diatoms and snagging the potamogeton. The long P. stems would twist in the current with hornwort and break off, killing all of the surface leaves. I also had to remove one of the baby E. Amazonicus swords. You may recall I bought two plants for $2 at Petsmart. They were clearanced out because they were dying. I brought them home and put them in fish water that night. The next morning I woke up with the flu, so they stayed in the water glass in the window for a few days. I was lucky to save anything after that.
More bad luck: I changed the UV bulb, finally. I re-read my manual, and I have the newer model and didn't need a wrench. I managed not to break the quartz sleeve. However, my old bulb had silvered near the wire. Either it blew and I didn't notice or it was ready too. It also had condensation inside the quartz sleeve which could be disastrous. I dried it out so carefully. I cleaned around the interior seal, which appeared intact. The outside (epoxy?) seal may be flawed. So frustrating. Worse still, I have hair algae in the 10 gallon now. It cleared up in the Beta nanos but now there's plenty in the 10. Just my luck, I guess. I know I need the plants to fight it.
I rubbed the new 20 gallon tank down with alcohol, as a precaution against mycobacteria. I will still need to clean the Ca deposits off with vinegar and rinse it well. It is just too damn cold to do all of that at once. I was in the garage and my fingers were numb. Plus DS decided he needed me as soon as I started. I usually play with the tanks when he's asleep for that reason. I hadn't noticed the hair algae in the 10 when I was working on it, or I would have rubbed it off. I'll be making another water change in a few days and do it then. I still have green water because I haven't added floaters. I will be doing that it the new tank.
I joined a Aquatic Plant club that's not too far away. No dues and they meet every month and sell each other their extras. The sales sustain the club. A good thing for me. DH was understandably concerned about me going to a meeting full of strangers. I know that there are other women in the club. I also have more self defense skill than the average Jane. I think he's worried because I'm somewhat broken down, now. But I still have a lot of fight left in me, if necessary. I will be cautious. The plan was to go to an auction first, but I have no idea when they'll have one. I don't think the whole thing was set up, years and months ago to judge by the dates on two web sites, just to lure me in. Clubs exist for hobbists to support each other. They trade plants which are often healthier because they didn't have to endure the stress of shipping. And generally nicer to begin with. They exchange ideas. They sell livestock that they've bred. They make orders as a group to save on shipping. I can say it's been hard to ind ways around the expense of the hobby on my own. I am looking forward to it.
I am also looking forward to doing another tank, even though I am still having some bumps. I have decided not to worry about it until I replant. It's a whole new ballgame then anyway. The shrimp and snail are happy and that's my guide.
I'll end with the icky story about Snicklefritz demise. DS named the new Brigs snail Snicklefritz after a cat on a kids show. The female, whose quite large now, is named Sunny as I said. Both were golden colored. Snicklefritz came rom J's A&P a LFS who I've seen dosing every tank with blue something. They do it regularly as a precaution against disease. The problem with most of these medicines is that the invertibrates in the tank are closer biologically to the things the meds are designed to kill. Thus many meds will also kill shrinp and snails, even though they are 'safe' for fish. I wonder if that is what killed Snicklefritz, I knew it when I bought him, but he seemed fine. One day he was up and around, and the next day Sunny had cleaned out his shell. I know she ate him after he died but it was weird. I do a head count as best as I can, every day. I may not see all the shrimp, but I can easily see the snails. They mated, she clutched, and she ate him. And now she has grown another inch of new shell.
