Recent content by plebian

Maybe a juvenile diamond tetra that survived over a month in my canister filter? The OP's topic was "near" catastrophe. How about total catastrophe? I was trying to rid a group of juvenile discus of gill flukes using praziquantel, the most recommended treatment. Since praziquantel is not...

Not to throw any shade on the Olympics (though I think some shade is deserved), but the best athletes in the world are on American football teams.

Nothing to be sorry about. I just found it strange that you received 5 likes and several comments for your post, while my original post received 159 views to date and NO likes (or dislikes) and NO comments. I guess there really aren't any Betta lovers on this forum.

You mean if you ignore the 3Ps: predators, parasites and pathogens and the requirement to adapt or perish? It should also be noted that humanity is a naturally occurring phenomenon which one might reasonably classify as pathogenic.

I posted this, along with another companion video maybe a week ago under "Betta Lovers" (in the Betta forum, naturally).

Yeah, I have a lot of large flat stones in my garden that would fit this role perfectly. That's my go to if I should need it. I actually used to have one section of the aquarium more or less covered with them but tired of their appearance.

It also needs to be noted that's it's not just the overuse or misuse of technology that's at fault. It's the degradation of educational curricula in general that's been ongoing at least since the early 90s. Parent's complaining to school boards because their brats had been disciplined for...

That's for damn sure. And nowhere is that more true than in this hobby. It's absolutely unbelievable. It's partly due to how little real research has/is being done, and how little we know in general about animal behavior, aquatic microbiology, etc... but still. Another part of the problem, and...

Initially, I was concerned about running out of algae, but it seems to reproduce fast enough to keep the Otos fat and happy. Repashy is not available where I live, but I have tried cucumber, algae wafers and kale chips (for fish) just in case. The Otos ignore all of the above.

I have had an algae problem for many years. The primary culprit is brown algae, though I have had occasional (minor) bouts with black algae, green dust algae and blue-green "algae". It's defeated every attempt I've had to add plants, because it begins covering leaves as fast as the plants can...

Plants introduce the likelihood that the fish will not do well due to constant maintenance, fertilizers among them. Your comment about predators is perfectly relevant. It's why plants are wholly unnecessary in an aquarium unless one includes predators. What's ironic is your use of the term...

Well, thought required some deep thought.

Except you're wrong. Heavily planted tanks are an order of magnitude more difficult to maintain. The only thing you're right about is the artificial nature of aquariums. And still, people insist on trying to make them "natural". Nature is generally a very unpleasant place to live in. Hence...

Following is a link to a video you may enjoy. If you watch it to the end, a second follow-up video will be shown. Life in the Wild

You mean, "More bad news for planet Earth". It's going to get worse pretty much everywhere.