So Many Choices Suddenly!

[soritan]

I told my boss today that my LPS has 4 dwarf puffers, as big as my pinky nail, and they immediately said, "why on EARTH would you want a fish that small???"

I wasn't entirely sure how to answer, so I merely smiled and carried on.

I'd be worried about the puffers getting too aggressive towards one another, although once I'm done with the 10gal, it seems it'll be heavily planted.

Apart from the 5gal tank, which is what I was talking the most of, I bought some hornwart today. My tank is becoming (unintentionally) heavily planted.

*edit: good night prankster705, sorry to keep you up. I think I'm cautiously reasoning my way around owning at least ONE DP. I haven't been this attracted to a fish since I discovered Bettas.

 

[prankster705]

Good luck with the plants,really gonna go to bed... ...slowly... ...not many people are on through the night, I won't be after the 1 week no school wacation has ended...

 

[soritan]

It wasn't actually intentional. I started the tank with some silk plants, dead set on not getting any real ones at all (too much work, I thought). Then I added some moss balls (algea balls, marimo balls, etc). Then I added several feet of anacharis. Then I added java fern. Then I added java moss (only a few pinches, I'm waiting for a 'big shipment' from someone on this forum as well), and today, I'm adding hornwart. I keep coming up with all these bright ideas, I wish the tank would just finish cycling so I could plunk some fish in it and be done with it.

 

[prankster705]

Don't regret it, plants are beneficial, good night... I am probably gonna say good night about a hundred more times; maybe not.
EDITS:Ethos how old are you?

 

[soritan]

I wouldn't say I actually 'regret' it... but I am sometimes a little annoyed that I went this route. Mostly it's the bugs that live in there now, I'm not real sure how to react to them.

My squemish side just wants to say, "EW" and skitter away, but I have to reach in there, take a sample, and test a bit of the water each day to track cycling.

I was half glad and half irate when I saw my first snail in there. It's an odd little snail, it's got the left turned shell like a common pond snail, but it doesn't eat plants. Just worms. I thought snails were death for plants, not little worms?

Do those guys have their mouthes hooked up to their bottoms? No sooner eaten than.... expelled. *cough*

 

[prankster705]

I personaly LOVE bugs and stuff like that, so I kind of enjoyed my first ramshorn snail, but when there were 500+ I had to take action, and now I enjoy my yoyo loach. I never heard of carnivorous snails though, maybe the worms taste like decaing plants.

 

[soritan]

Actually, by "bugs" I meant those tiny worms, fleas, and hydra that are living in there while the tank is cycling. They're in the hundreds now, covering up the side of the tank. It's a wee bit unnerving to suddenly have so much life in there.

I saw the snail itself circling a piece of bogwood over and over again, sucking up worms that lived in the cracks. It would go around plants to get to worms. I eyed it closely when I first saw it. It just really confused me, I expected it to make a dash for my unhealthy anacharis stem and gobble it up, but it seemed content to 'hunt' the little worms.

 

[prankster705]

Hydra is a threat to fish, just hope you know.

 

[soritan]

My initial plan for the 10gal, was to make sure it was cycled, do the big water change (70-90%), and then add a bunch of ghost shrimp for about a week. After that, I'd add fish.

From what small amount I know, hydra are a threat to fry, and small fish, when they are full grown. Everywhere I've read have the 'fry warning' on hydra, but not full grown adults. Perhaps I haven't read enough on them?

From what I've read on this forum, hydra, water flea, and worms do tend to occur during a fishless cycle. All that excess nutrients, and no competition. The threads I've read say that the hydra, worms, and fleas all go away after higher chain competition is introduced.

It's entirely possible that I stopped researching them too soon, though. I read the first 2 articles and 2 threads and assumed I was fine. I do have one thread in 'beginners' that talks of my creepy crawlies, but no one has replied with information. I assumed if hydra were so dangerous to fish, that someone would have immediately told me to rid myself of them. Was that wrong of me?

edit: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113913

I even edited the main post to carefully ask for replies, please. I figured my questions were too boring and stupid and obvious, and that was why no one replied. Or maybe I should simply learn to STFU and use less words?

 

[prankster705]

Yea hidra are a threat to fry, but better safe than sorry, as it has poison and could damage a fish, altough it wouldn't kill one.

 

[soritan]

,,,,,,,,,aklsdfjawo39ur90`1

oops, hit enter by accident, but you get the gist of what I meant.

,,,,,,,,,aklsdfjawo39ur90`1 =
yeah.

 

[prankster705]

,,,,,,,,,aklsdfjawo39ur90`1

WTF???

 

[soritan]

sorry about that, i didn't mean to hit 'enter' on that one. i had kinda hoped to edit it before anyonoe noticed it.

aiye.

 

[Silverlady]

Hi soritan,Interesting post I enjoyed reading it .Its great finding pleasure in the small things in life.Keep us up to date with what finally goes in the tanks.

 

[soritan]

Thank you, Silverlady.

Unfortunately, now I'm totally worried about the hydras, and no one has replied concerning this thread, or my 'beginner' thread. I'd rather not pump chemical into the tank, as it's fishless cycling..... but damn. What can I do about them? after weeks of careful study and searches and google and etc., how can I fall over because of a few (hundred) hydra about the size of my letter 't'?

I'm... very sad, now.

I thought, that waiting for my nitrItes, was the extent of my worry. Who knows how many weeks this could add to my fishless cycle, and here I thought I was on my last week. It's very sad, to me.

Ah. Well.

I guess it's in that 'don't count your eggs' mentality.

My fault for getting too happy.