#ALSO you can get pretty much any aquatic snail you want so those are also an option!

[blueberryblowfly]

Each day I suffer knowing that giant African snails are semi common pets in Asia but they are outlawed where I live. Ya girl might smuggle some snails

I feel for you, But! keep your local ecosystem in mind and heart, I dunno where u live, but here in the usa those lil puppies Destroy crops and vegetation and are regarded as Very invasive. I must suggest loving them from afar 😔 heres a fun brave wilderness vid with one in it, i believe coyote mentions this about them as well

have a photo of a pet european snail i had as a teenager, sympathizes ❤🐌

[localdryadfaggot]

Hi! I've been wanting to get snails as pets for a while now and I was wondering if you have any tips for people just starting? I think your snails are adorable and I love the way you describe them 💜🐌

First of all, thank you so much! 💖 I’m going to put this post below a break for everyone’s sanity since it is quite long :) it will include different sellers information, general information on both aquatic and land snails (more so land snails since those are the ones I’m personally familiar with), terrarium information, snail care & diet, and links to external sources I found helpful!

Hope this helps and I’m so excited that you are interested in joining the snail brigade!!

I’m sorry in advance for anyone who accidentally clicks more 🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌

Okay so, aquatic snails

I’ll start out with the basics of actually acquiring the snails! Most snails you are going to find are going to be aquatic snails. They are amazing at cleaning up extra food, eating excess algae, and just overall keeping the tank clean! For aquatic snails, I can’t give you overly too much information as I don’t care for them myself, however they do make amazing pets and there are loooooaaaddsss of resources out there for you!

I highly recommend looking into any local aquatic store if aquatic snails interest you as big corporations such as Pet Smart or PetValu (or whatever the US equivalent is) often abuse their animals, have unsafe working conditions for (often underage) employees, and in general create a very unsafe environment overall.

By supporting local stores, you not only put your money directly back into your local economy (Yipee) but also are being given advice directly by someone who is likely an industry expert, rather than a teenage making 15$ an hour.

If you are unable to find any local stores, there are many reputable stores online that will ship directly to your home. Personally I’m in Canada so the websites I use may be different to yours if you are in a different country but there are many Reddit threads willing to help.

Alright, back to land snails

So I’m a florist and the snails I own come in through our floral shipment rather than being bought, but I looked around and found a few reputable snail sellers for you. I’ll link them at the bottom of the post.

Ground snails typically live between 2-3 years on average. Most snail seller (or snellers hehe) will raise them for a year before sale in order to make sure they are healthy and strong enough for shipment.

There are a pretty large variety of snail types available by online snellers so I linked a resource below that gives specifics on the different species and care guides for each specific type. Depending on type, prices can range from 10$ to upwards of 75$, though a decent chunk will have to go towards shipping and handling fees. Be prepared as well for possible customs fees as snails are live creatures. Just budget an extra 50$ if possible just to be safe.

I recommend starting with a smaller snail such as the Milk snail or the Garden snail as they are most commonly sold and overall have the most information available on the internet. They also have a slightly more varied diet overall which can be helpful when first starting out.

Terrarium Info (Jazz hands)

When choosing a terrarium, it’s important to remember that this will not just be a temporary holding area for your snails, it will be their HOME. Would you be interested in a home that’s cramped, stuffy, and with not a lot of places to explore? Probably not lol. Snails are fairly active creatures and giving them a good amount of space is important for their health and happiness.

Personally, I use a glass reptile terrarium for my snails which I believe is 10 gallons. I have 6 snails (five adult and one baby) so I opted for a slightly larger tank. If you only plan to have 1-2 snails, a five gallon should work well!

Make sure you get one with an enclosed lid or your snails WILL escape. And that wouldn’t be fun for anyone.

For inside the tank, there are a few things you’ll need. For the bottom I use a combination of sphagnum moss and coconut husk both rehydrated. This gives a soft moist base that allows the snails to dig around, fall off the walls without cracking their shell, and provides external moisture which is important for the snails as that is how they live.

Typically I change this out once a month. Just remember, you want it to be moist, not soggy. You shouldn’t be able to ring it out with your hands and have a bunch of water come out. Aim for how your hair feels after you towel it down after the shower. If you ring you hair out after towelling, a few drops may come out but it won’t be a stream of water.

I buy my moss in dried packs then rehydrate them in a bowl of water. You can find these at pretty much any pet store or dedicated house plant store. (NOTE: NOT a local florist. The moss at a florist is slightly different and often contains pesticides that wouldn’t be good for your snail.) always aim to shop local. Many of the sellers I listed below also sell limited amounts of moss.

I mix in coconut husk as it provides a bit of extra fluff and my snails enjoy monching in it when I’m late to feeding them :)

I would also recommend getting a small feeding tray so that your snails food doesn’t get spread out across the tank and so that when bits of the produce go bad, it doesn’t spoil within the tank and make it smelly. It is optional though if you are using a smaller tank.

Snails as well LOVE to climb around so I recommend getting them a branch of driftwood to place vertically within the tank just to give them that extra place to climb on :)

Lastly, give them a place to hide under. For me, that’s the little bridge in their terrarium. In nature, snails hide underneath objects to avoid predators, lay eggs, and sleep. Giving them that space is important to recreating their natural habitat!

If you are able, avoid anything with sharp edges such as plastic plants, as they can cut the snails body. Also avoid hard stones if you can as your snails could drop from the terrarium ceiling and crack their shell.

Circling back to the moss bedding, (and I’ll go over this is more detail in a later section) but snails typically burrow down into the moss in order to lay their eggs. Because of this, it is important to give them a thick enough layer that they can burrow, but not so thick that you won’t be able to spot the eggs.

I recommend as well getting a smaller plastic terrarium for travel, or if you need someone to watch over your snails etc etc. just add a small layer of moss from your main tank to keep the bacterial balance in check and you’re good to go 👍

Monch Monch, food time

Snails can eat most produce. I personally find with my snails that they love lettuce, carrots, celery, and bok choy the most. Though every snail is different and has a different appetite, it’s important to refresh their food once every day or two. If you wouldn’t eat the produce, you shouldn’t be feeding it to your snails.

Produce MUST be uncooked and unseasoned. Salt is deadly to snails and frozen veggies are typically pre-cooked so unfortunately unavailable. Onions and any other types of alliums are also not safe for most snails (or really like any pet for the most part lol).

It’s important as well that your snails have a source of calcium in their tank. I personally use cuttlefish bone which comes in a solidified powder. There is plenty of debate among the snail community on how the cuttlefish bone should be administered. Personally, I leave small (very small) chunks around the tank, and occasionally sprinkle some as a powder over their food and around their tank. This seems to keep them happy and healthy.

Other snailers argue that you should not put any near their food as it can cause the snails to OD on calcium. I’ve heard of people every couple weeks mixing it with a bit of water until is becomes a thick paste and leaving it in their tank for them to consume that way, but I don’t really see how that would prevent them from ODing compared to the other methods…

There is also snail food available which comes in a powder and when mixed with water into a thick paste acts as food for the snails but lack some of the key nutrients they get from fresh produce. It is great however if you are travelling and require something compact and temporary.

I personally stay away from anything too citrusy as I’m not 100% sure how they’d respond to it.

Day to day care

Day to day care is relatively easy. Personally I most their tank twice a day with a spray bottle and also have a humidifier that I occasionally run (it’s kinda bulky and takes up a lot of their tank so I don’t use it often). Keeping the tank moist but not soggy is important to maintaining your snails health. You’d be surprised how quickly a tank can dry out. Keep them away from windows as direct sunlight speeds up the drying process and can also burn your snails when the sun shines through the glass.

Switch out any old food after a day of two and replace. You don’t want their food bowl to be empty as snails run on a different internal clock than you or I so they may eat during the night when you aren’t looking.

Eggs, eggs, eggs!!!

The hardest part of being a snail owner is absolutely dealing with their eggs. Snails are androgynous creatures. They can switch their sexual organs at their convenience or even have both at the same time. There is no real way to tell them apart as their sexual organs are mostly internal. What this means for us is that they can fertilize and lay their own eggs asexually. They do also mate with other snails (more info below) but they aren’t required to.

When healthy, snails will lay eggs in clusters 1-2 times a month. They lay eggs in clusters that look like white pearls by burrowing in the moss or on the underside of surfaces (another part to why having hidey spots is so important to recreating their natural habitat).

Since snails are also simply built different, they can store fertilized eggs within their bodies so even if they haven’t mated with themselves or other snails, they still have the possibility of laying eggs.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CULL THESE EGGS. You may think that not all will survive, or that you can leave them for a day or two but you honestly can never know how long the eggs have been there. On average, snail eggs take between 10-25 days to hatch. If you do not cull these eggs, you will be overrun by baby snails.

It. Will. Not. Be. Cute.

So, how do we cull eggs then? The most ethical, cost efficient and easiest way is the freezer method. Gently scoop up the egg clutch (they will usually separate in your hand, you aren’t doing anything wrong) and place into a ziplock bag. Remove that section of moss into a separate bowl and look through to see if you missed any. Then look under any surfaces and the edges of your tanks lid to see if you missed any. If you find any already hatched babies, you can also put them in the ziplock bag.

Then, place the bag into the freezer and allow to fully freeze for at least 12-24 hours. Once frozen, the eggs and any escapees will be put to sleep and be incapable of feeling any pain. At this point, you can roll a rolling pin over the bag to crush the eggs and any baby snails. They will not feel anything and it is the most ethical option for snail culling.

I know it may be tempting to just throw the eggs away but there are several reasons to avoid this. For starters, there is a chance that when you come across the eggs, they may be at the end of their gestational period and right about to hatch. I can assure you, you don’t want to have dozens of baby snails hatching in your trash can.

Say they make it to the landfill, they are then sentenced to a life of being stuck in a hot garbage bag filled with rotting food until they die. If they do escape, they are now an invasive species doing likely detrimental damage to local ecosystems. Same goes for flushing them down the toilet.

Freezing them is the most ethical for both the snails and the environment. If this is something that makes you uncomfortable, DO NOT GET PET SNAILS.

Just needed to emphasize that so you don’t get overrun by snails or introduce an invasive species to your surrounding area.

Other stuff!

If you snails shell cracks, don’t panic! As much as we love to take as best care of our snails as possible, they can be kinda dumb and sometimes they can take a tumble that cracks their shell. This doesn’t mean that they are dead though!

Though they can typically survive on their own, to help the healing process along, provide extra calcium, and shield the injured spot, you can take the thin membrane of an eggshell and apply it over the injured area. When it dries it will act as a bandage and some of the nutrients will be absorbed into the shell, making it stronger. You may want to consider placing your snail into a separate container if you have other snails as snails enjoy climbing over each other.

Snails can also hibernate for upwards of a week without movement or feeding. During this, it’s best to just leave them alone. They will often hide underneath a surface or attach themselves to the terrarium wall and simply vibe for a while. Why do they do this? Idfk I just live here.

To find out if your snail is alive, you can lift the shell and look inside. A living snail will have a little bit of body showing. If you can’t see this, wait a while before throwing your snail away as they may just be acting moody. You can typically tell if your snail is dead by the weight of their shell, bleaching and other discolouration of the shell, and hollow appearance if you shine a flashlight on the shell itself.

If you want, you can choose to crush up a dead snails shell to provide extra calcium for your still live snails. I don’t do that though because I feel bad but you do you boo 💖

Snail mating looks kinda freaky af. They will look like they are fully eating each other but I can assure you they are just boning. Do not try and remove the snails from each other if they are in the mating process and it could result in injury or death to the snails. They latch on pretty tight. Typically the snail will lay eggs 4-6 days after mating but they can store eggs for a pretty long while if they feel like it.

Thesis, body, conclusion

So yeah! Those are the main aspects of snail care!! If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to ask me!

I know the about of info I gave may seem kinda overwhelming but snails are truly such a great starter pet and pretty low maintenance once you know what to look out for! They just require consistent care and love on a daily basis and the occasional snail-bortion 💖 I love my snails and I’m sure you will as well!

Links!

These are some helpful resources but be sure to do your own research into local snellers and varieties before making any decisions! 💖

Snail types

Snellers

https://landsnails.org/en

Terrarium sellers

https://www.abcplants.com/the-plants-store?page=2

(There are plenty more terrariums on Amazon and I’m sure available locally, I just linked a few small businesses)

[soverywitty]

I was tagged in 15 questions for 15 mutuals by @tadpal

I'm tagging @no-lava @salamancialilypad @justslowdown @colossalcryptid @aggressivebutterflies @thatsthenorthstar, sorry I know that's only 6 people, I just don't have a lot of mutuals on my main.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yeah. I was named after Katharine Hepburn. My middle name comes from my great grandma Gertrude's maiden name, and I'm planning to legally change my first name to my great grandfather's once I get the money and paperwork together.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Ooooh fuck, I cry a lot tbh. Last seriously bad cry was probably 3 weeks ago? It was around the time I left my job, it was super stressful. Since then, I think I cried most recently a little over a week ago. April 29th marked one year since we had to put our older dog down.

3. Do you have kids?

No! Thank god. I love kids, but only in small doses. I have a little sister who's 7 who I love to absolute death, but after a week visiting her, I feel like I need to just lay in a quiet dark room for a week straight.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I exaggerate and use hyperbole more than I use sarcasm. Like I use it occasionally, but when I'm going for comedic effect I tend to use the other tools in my arsenal.

5. What sports have you played?

I'm gonna be real, I have never been a sports girlie. If ballet counts, I did ballet when I was little.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about someone?

Hair and clothes. I guess, style in general. I'm decently faceblind, so faces don't tend to register much unless they're pretty distinctive. I'm very much a person that'll notice what you're wearing and stop to give you a compliment if I like it.

7. Eye Color?

Blue, but specifically, blue enough that I made having blue eyes part of my personality when I was younger

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I like scary movies, but only as long as they have a happy ending. I don't like any movies that end where everyone's miserable and everything's shitty and sad.

9. Any special talents?

Uhmmmm, not really? Like, there's not really anything I can think of off the top of my head.

10. Where were you born?

I was born in a decent sized city in the Southeast US. I still live there, and it's not too bad a place to live, but as soon as you leave the city and surrounding suburbs shit gets real rural and real conservative, real quick.

11. What are your hobbies?

Honestly, I fly through hobbies like nobodies business, I have ADHD, so I tend to hyperfocus and then get bored really quickly. The majority of my hobbies tend to be crafty stuff, but hiking and other outdoorsy stuff is another thing I love. Fashion and style and design stuff is a big passion of mine. Right now, I've been locked in on houseplants and stuff related to them. I have maybe 20(?) or so, and I also have terrariums, and a planted aquarium.

12. Do you have any pets?

Yes! I have my sweet little Persie dog(follow us on @pomegranatepup), and I also have aquatic snails right now. I feel like all the plants I have should also count as having pets, but whatever.

13. How tall are you?

5'6"! I always try and lie and say I'm taller than that, but I'm really, really not. I'm mad about it because I feel like I definitely had the potential to be taller than I am.

14. Fave subject in school?

English! I was one of those gay bitches that'd be obsessed with their english teachers. My english teachers would have to give me advanced material because I'd finish and get bored so quickly with the english assignments we were given. I was also constantly reading books in class and getting in trouble for it. I know it's not the question, but my least favorite had to have been math, I failed algebra 1 like 3 times. Kind of embarassing, but I had undiagnosed dyscalcula, so whatever...

15. Dream job?

Right now, I want to someday open and run my own bakery or cafe, maybe a coffee shop. My current plan is to go to culinary school for pastry arts and go from there. I've been working as a baker for the past 4 years or so. Honestly, my real dream job is being a worthless layabout. If someone handed me 10 million dollars today, that would be amazing.

[thenativetank]

Hey! I just found your blog and i think its great

I'm working on a 20 long native Virginia biotope for a while now and was wondering if you had any recommendations for plants or snails I could try, right now I have hornwort and ludwigia repens along with some type of local moss I was able to grow aquatically :) for fish im either thinking fiery red or saffron shiner or bluespotted sunfish

Oh! A person after my own heart. Lots of options depending on what sort of set up you have and how much energy you want to put in.

Let's start with plants. If you have low lights and no C02 set up, then I would most highly recommend our native bladderworts. They grow quickly, require very little fuss, and are pretty interesting. Some of our local potamogeton pondweeds will work as well - we have a number of species so it's all about what you can find. I've had hit or miss luck with vallisneria in low light tanks but have had fantastic luck with good LEDs and do-it-yourself C02. In those kind of tanks, I find anacharis and hydrilla also do great.

As for snails, I think it's worth trying whatever you can find. I've had great luck with Planorbis and Physa species, and okay luck with Bithynia. I really only recommend against Chinese Mystery Snails, which are very destructive towards plants. But even those could be fun in the right hardscape.

We have a lot of smaller fish that would be great choices. I can personally vouch for Tesselated Darters, Banded Killifish, Mummichogs, Eastern Mudminnows, and Bluespotted Sunfish. All are fun, hardy, and peaceful - though a few of those can be shy. I feel like Eastern Mosquitofish get a bad reputation... I've had mine in a 55 for 2 years with no aggression at all. Banded Sunfish are another great choice, but avoid the locally imperiled Black Banded Sunfish. I'm undecided about any of our local minnow species here as they are all either too big or too active to be truly happy in a 20 gallon I think.

If you wanted to try a brackish biotope, we have a few cool Gobiosoma spp. Gobies that I'm tempted to try. Mummichogs, Eastern Mosquitofish, some gobies, and a handful of glass shrimp would be a very fun tank! Rainwater Killifish would also be fun if you can find them. We have some local blennies I don't know much about but could also be fun to investigate.

[beardycarrot]

Hello, I've noticed you own an axolotl and would like to ask for some advice to taking care of it?

Sure, did you have any specific questions?

The important points are that they need cold, clean water, have a tank with a large footprint all to themselves (or another axolotl of the same size), and that you shouldn't put anything smaller than their head in the aquarium unless you're okay with them swallowing it.

So, let's go over what those things actually mean.

Axolotls are native to lakes in Mexico, which they prefer to live at the bottoms of. Because of this, they're adapted to cold water without much light... so you'll need a special setup for them. You can buy an aquarium cooling system, but it's a lot easier to just set up a small fan and point it at the surface of the water. This causes the water to evaporate, cooling it. You'll need to add new water more often than you would with other aquariums, but it's by far the simplest solution. When I decided to move my axolotl tank last week, I bought an old desk to serve as an aquarium stand, because it had a convenient place for attaching the fan.

Being bottom-dwellers is also why you want a tank with a large footprint. While fish swim around a lot, axolotls spend most of their time lounging on the bottom, so don't get much use out of vertical space. A ten gallon aquarium is okay for a baby, but once they're bigger, a twenty gallon long is ideal. If you've got a forty or fifty-five, even better.

Axolotls are pretty sensitive to water quality, and poop A LOT, so you'll need to clean up after them in a way that's not really necessary with most aquatic pets. You will, of course, need to nitrogen cycle their tank before putting them in... but the problem with that is aquarium plants, which I'll get to in a minute. Once your tank is set up with the proper bacteria (which you can buy in bottles, actually), the best way to maintain it is to actually remove the axolotl poop as soon as you see it. Just keep an eye out for what looks like a brown Tic Tac, and suck it out with a turkey baster. If the water gets too dirty, either from poop being left in for too long or the nitrogen cycle not functioning as intended, axolotls can suffer ammonia burns to their skin and gills. They'll recover from it (that's kinda what axolotls do), but I mean... don't mistreat your pets, kids.

Planting an axolotl tank can be tricky, because being bottom-dwelling amphibians, they're not particularly bright or good at identifying things by sight. If they encounter something that can fit in their mouth, there's a good chance it WILL end up in their mouth, on the off-chance that it's edible. This is a problem because most aquarium plants are sold with the expectation that you'll root them in gravel, and an axolotl eating gravel is... well, it's not ideal. You really need those plants as part of the nitrogen cycle though, so you gotta put them in somehow.

I don't know what the ideal solution is, but here are mine: I happened to have a couple small plant pots (two to three inches tall), so just made some miniature potted plants. These are some kind of anubias (anubias nana, I think?), which I chose because they don't need much light, planted in gravel within the pots. I also have another plant in an aquarium log, which you can find at most pet stores, though I'd advise putting it in its own tank for a week or so before introducing it to an aquarium: even if the store claims the logs don't have any snail eggs in them, they probably have snail eggs in them. Finally, on the right of the photo above, you can see my third type of plant, a marimo. These moss balls just kinda roll around underwater, so don't actually need to be planted in anything.

Tank mates of other species don't really work for axolotls. If it's a fish too big for an axolotl to eat, it'll try to eat the axolotl's external gills. If it's anything else, the axolotl will try to eat it. Axolotls will even eat the gills and limbs of smaller axolotls, so if you don't want your axolotl to be lonely, get another axolotl of about the same size. Axolotl axolotl axolotl axolotl.

Those were the main points I wanted to touch on. What else... well, substrate is important. You can't use gravel, and being bottom dwellers, axolotls like to crawl around just as much as swim, so will get kinda stressed out if the bottom of their habitat is smooth glass. Most people use sand, since if the axolotl swallows it, it should come out the other end no issue... just make sure that you get natural quartz sand and clean it well. If you want to get colored sand, do your research: a lot of black sand sold for aquariums is coated with plastic to give it that color, and you don't want your axolotl eating that.

You could also do what I did, and just buy a big piece of natural, untreated slate. It looks really cool, and gives your axolotl plenty of traction for crawling. I bought mine from BlankSlateCrafts on Etsy, who if asked nicely might even be willing to custom cut you a piece to fit the inner dimensions of your tank.

Hmm... I guess the last thing I should touch on is feeding. My axolotl, Woop, eats earthworms almost exclusively. Specifically, red wigglers and other small European nightcrawlers, which I feed her every other day. Ideally you'd have a composting setup that just continually breeds worms for you, but you can get them anywhere that sells bait. Just make sure to read the label: some, like the ones dyed weird colors to attract fish, will specifically say they're not intended as pet food. I also give her bloodworms, which you can find frozen into ice cubes at pet stores, though these aren't the kind of thing you should feed them every day. Think of them like french fries. I feed Woop earthworms with a pair of long aquarium tweezers, and have a dish in her aquarium for the bloodworms. It might be worth making a post going over all the equipment I use...

Alright, that's about it! If you (or anyone else) have any other questions about axolotl care, feel free to ask!

[laurelnose]

monster! parasites!

you know how a few days ago i said we weren’t going to talk about monster parasites? that was a fucking lie.

the basis of my monster parasite thoughts are: every organism comes with its own internal ecosystem that goes with them everywhere. it’s like having built-in friends! ergo, when monsters crossed over to the witcher dimension during the Conjunction of Spheres they must have brought many new and delightful parasites with them. you know what fiend manes are full of? MITES. you know what drowners got on their skin? COPEPODS. what can we do with this information? anything we want.

i promise there are no pictures below the cut. i have tried to put warnings on all my sources but click any of the links below at your own risk. warning for internal and external parasites of animals, monsters, humans, and witchers; parasites altering the behavior of their hosts; and probably general body horror. if you read the eating-liver-flukes post that’s probably a decent baseline for how revolting you will find this post. 

also, super obvious bias towards aquatic parasites as referents. my degree is fisheries science not terrestrial ecology so that’s primarily what i’m drawing on even though nearly all of the witcher monsters are terrestrial. there is a TON i’m missing here bc of that bias! specifically i really wish i could talk about how parasites of invasive species often act as co-invaders with their hosts and monsters definitely count as invasive species and would have majorly reshaped ecological interactions on the Continent but i don’t know enough about terrestrial ecosystems to speculate properly. (ETA: while i still think monsters would have majorly reshaped ecological interactions on the Continent, I don’t actually think they’re invasive species anymore!) hopefully you enjoy it anyways!

it is, hilariously, canon that parasites are used for alchemy. according to The Last Wish, the Temple of Melitele’s grotto grows a bunch of different “rare specimens—those which made up the ingredients of a witcher’s medicines and elixirs, magical philters and a sorcerer’s decoctions” and some of those specimens are, uh, “clusters of nematodes.” nematodes being parasitic roundworms. this is really funny because it’s so fucking weird. also everything else in this description is a plant or a fungus and nematodes are definitely animals? i choose to believe the world makes sense and nematodes aren’t plants in the witcherverse. therefore parasites are alchemical ingredients, it’s canon, give me more witchers digging through monster intestines in search of worms and put a nematode colony in the basement of corvo bianco please and thank you

this actually leads right into my personal favorite drowner headcanon (hello yes i’m tumblr user Socks Laurelnose and i am always thinking about drowners)—you know those bits where drowners kind of have red blotches in their skin? those are nematodes, actually, because i said so. the reference is Clavinema mariae, a nematode that infests English sole. the worms are basically harmless but they’re dark red and you can see them through the skin. it freaks people out and makes it hard to sell sole. (IMAGE WARNING: a picture of an infected flatfish. it looks mostly normal but there’s a dark red lesion near the fin.) said lesion is probably a coiled-up Clavinema. sole have so many of these, it’s not even funny (PDF article link, IMAGE WARNING for worms visible underneath skin of flatfishes. relevant images pointing out exactly how many worms on page 5). “but the red parts of drowners could just be flushed from blood”—no. worms. 

okay that was my main specific-parasite-for-specific-monster headcanon (except also succubi probably have a unique species of lice for their hairy legs. but that’s barely even a headcanon, basically all terrestrial vertebrates have a unique species of lice.) i wanted to start with it because i think that everyone should feel free to arbitrarily assign a totally benign but conceptually gross worm to their favorite monsters. why not, yanno? also it probably sets the tone for the rest of this post. 

carrying on: “what monsters might have nematodes, besides drowners,” you may be wondering? probably all of them! all of them are full of nematodes. nematodes are fucking everywhere. allow me to share a deeply unsettling quote from nematologist Nathan Cobb: 

“In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable since, for every massing of human beings, there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites.”

jesus christ! thanks nathan, I hate it. nematodes are usually both benign and microscopic, but we’re talking witchers, we want some parasites we can fuckin get our hands on. sperm whale placentas are sometimes infested with nematodes up to 28 feet long but only a centimeter in diameter (Wikipedia link, no images). like an incredibly awful spaghetti! we don’t really seem to know if this bothers the sperm whales. also, i unfortunately do not know enough about the size of whale organs to tell you how big the placenta is in relation to this worm. the point is: real big monster? REAL BIG NEMATODES.

moving on from nematodes—okay, you know, since i mentioned eating deer liver flukes at the start of this post, let’s just go there. real life flukes max out at about 3 inches long, but hypothetical monster flukes could be much bigger and equally edible if desired. (if you’re wondering what a liver fluke would taste like: the flukes feed on the liver and they have very few organs of their own, so they would taste basically just like liver, just also long and flat like a fruit roll-up. if you’re going there, a witcher should not eat any flatworm live. if they’re digging them out of cockatrice livers or whatnot they should kill them before munching or save to cook later. it would probably be safe to eat one live, but you know that cliche “their tongues battled for dominance”? handling a live flatworm is like a handling very strong and energetic tongue complete with slime, okay, it wouldn’t be nice.)

parasites often need more than one host to complete the life cycle—for instance, Leucochloridium paradoxum (VIDEO WARNING: you may have seen this, it’s the one that makes snail eyes pulsating & green) has a bird stage and a snail stage, and it makes the snails look and act really weird in order to attract the birds. parasites altering host behavior to attract the next host in the life cycle is pretty well-documented; for instance, there’s an eye fluke that can make fish swim near the surface where predators can eat them (New Scientist article link, images of a microscope slide & a normal-looking fish) and a tapeworm that does the same and makes the dark silver fish turn white (JSTOR article, no images). i posit that at least some monsters are accompanied by “ill omens” of animals looking or acting strangely because they become infected with a stage of one of the monster’s parasites—usually, the mechanism is that internal parasites lay eggs that are passed in feces & transmitted that way. witchers who are up on their parasite ecology might be able to identify what monster is hanging around by observing exactly what kind of freaky-looking animals or animal behavior is going on around the area!

(if geralt is involved you may desire to have him explain this totally non-supernatural mechanism for abrupt animal appearance or behavioral changes at excruciating length to the chagrin of all present. or maybe that’s just what i desire. it would be funny okay)

potentially even more hyperspecific application of dual-stage parasites: there’s a dinoflagellate parasite that, when it infects crabs, makes the meat chalky and bitter like aspirin (Smithsonian link, images of healthy crab and microscope slide). geralt hunts down dinner, digs in, and immediately sighs and grabs jaskier’s portion away from him to the poet’s complete bafflement before going to get his swords because judging by the flavor there’s definitely a shishiga nest in this forest. 

like. parasites are one of THE most hyperspecific things in biology. the majority of them have very specific hosts and life cycles, many of them are completely unique to a species, if you think a fictional parasite is too specific to be plausible you’re probably wrong, make it even more specific. “the witcher monster lore is so hyperspecific lol” IT AIN’T TRULY HYPERSPECIFIC UNTIL YOU CAN IDENTIFY EACH MONSTER SPECIES BY ITS UNIQUE PARASITIC LOAD, OKAY.

and, with regards to behavior-affecting parasites, before anyone brings up Cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps, as of 2008): yeah that sure is a thing! if you weren’t aware, just a couple of years ago we found out it actually is not a mind control fungus!! it bypasses the brain entirely and affects the muscles (Arstechnica article, Atlantic article—photos of fuzzy ants and electron microscope pictures of fungi). or as Ed Yong puts it, “The ant ends its life as a prisoner in its own body. Its brain is still in the driver's seat, but the fungus has the wheel.” which is. significantly worse than the brain thing. awesome!! i bet there would absolutely be similar fungal parasites of endrega and arachasae. real Ophiocordyceps still very much does not affect humans, but you know what, if plants can be cursed into becoming archespores and cultivated by mages i see no reason why mages could not also curse endrega fungus to affect humans, just saying

aaaand quickly back to hyperspecificity: monsters in different geographical areas having different abilities because of their symbionts. forktails in vicovaro acquire a bioluminescent symbiont in their diet that forktails in other parts of the continent can’t get, and they can create flashes of light? that’s sure gonna fuck a witcher on Cat up when he comes in the cave expecting a normal forktail. (geographic location affecting bioluminescence is a thing that actually happens in midshipman fish—Wikipedia link, no parasites.) geographically-dependent symbionts can also produce different toxins and such for their hosts! this isn’t exactly a parasitism thing per se (although parasites are also symbionts because ��symbiosis’ refers to two organisms in close association not two organisms in positive association) but like. it’s cool okay ecology is so cool

writing fic and tired of all these same-old monsters-of-the-week? quick and easy way to spice up either the horror factor or just make the hunt stand out slightly: just add parasites!! i know i’ve read fics where monsters were described with distinguishing old wounds. you can do the same with parasites! i would fucking swoon over a detail like an ancient water hag’s eyes glowing in the dark, one of them marred by a dangling parasite—geralt notes the blind spot and presses his advantage. (Wikipedia link, no images: this one is referencing an aquatic copepod called Ommatokoita.) also, please put barnacles on skelliger drowners, i want it so badly. just—some percentage of monsters should be Extra Grody on the inside and/or the outside, that’s how nature works. spicing up a mundane hunt by making the monster a little extra gross for its species is Valid, is what I’m saying.

also, every single time frozen specimens with obvious fungal/ectoparasite infections come into the lab we absolutely always take extra close-up pictures of those suckers and make sure everyone else gets to see them. witchers bringing field sketches and notes of the weirdest shit they found on the path back for winter. lambert declares they’ll never know if this alleged fiend tumor was a fungus or mange because geralt sucks at drawing. eskel, the man who hauled a katakan corpse all the way up the mountain so he could dissect it, produces actual skin samples of his own encounters for examination, possibly in the middle of dinner. this elicits mixed reactions.

quick detour into preservation, since I went there—witchers are probably immune to parasites that infect humans by virtue of having pretty different biology to begin with, and probably immune to parasitic infections from other sources by virtue of superhumanly boosted immune systems and all the poison they put into their bodies on a regular basis. picking up a monster parasite would probably not be a big deal for witchers, either in that they have total immunity or that they would only be minimally and briefly affected, but the field of monster biology is likely such that they probably just don’t actually know what would happen to them in the majority of cases. this has potential as a source of battle stories and/or stories intended to freak out trainees, i think. therefore, out of caution, a witcher harvesting/preparing parts for alchemy might want to be sure to treat them first. personally i think all monster parts should be preserved immediately anyways to avoid attracting necrophages, and given that alchemical concoctions in witcherverse are alcohol-based, preservation in strong alcohol is probably the best way to maintain potency and kill basically everything. (cons: alcohol is SUPER heavy and jars are fragile. tissues or organs which are thicker than perhaps half an inch or an inch require additional preparation for the alcohol to penetrate properly. other preservation methods are more efficient for travel. depends on how soon your witcher intends to use or offload their stash.)

also, here’s an absolutely wild marine parasite that would make it worth a witcher’s while to make certain everything was dead! pearlfishes are long eel-like fishes that live inside the anus and respiratory organs (which are attached to the anus) of sea cucumbers, and they have pretty nasty teeth (PDF article link, IMAGE WARNING: dissected sea cucumbers literally stuffed to the gills with pearlfish). the highest number of pearlfish discovered in a single sea cucumber was sixteen (ResearchGate article, free PDF; no images). a different fact: we discovered tiger sharks eat each other in the womb because a researcher got bitten by a fetal tiger shark while he was dissecting the mother (NYT link, no images or parasites). what i’m saying is: parasites are often very small relative to the host and usually harmless to things rummaging around inside, but what if the monster’s parasites were also monstrous. give me a monster that has to be very dead or when you start rummaging around for alchemy ingredients the things in its intestines will lunge out and bite you. 

what happens if a human becomes infected with a monster parasite? bad things, probably, i mentioned before that parasites in the wrong host, if they don’t just die, often super fuck things up internally (if you get tapeworms outside of the intestine where they’re supposed to be... it’s not good y’all. CDC link, no images). host-jumping for parasites is actually fairly rare since most of them are highly specialized for their hosts, but it does happen. humans are very not my strong suit so i’m not going to dwell on this but it is entirely possible that something like necrophage infestations or monster-contaminated water sources or just being a little too involved on a witcher’s monster hunt could produce strange parasitic diseases in humans. up to you how well-known and/or how clouded in superstition these effects might be! opportunities for hideous whump? gross body horror? messy and horrifying parasite-driven behavioral changes? terrifying and potentially prolonged uncertainty over what the issue actually is because of minimal information about parasites? the decision whether or not to dose with a witcher potion? excellent possibilities.

okay last one, just because i think it would be fun: myxosporeans and sirens. Myxos are a parasitic relative of jellyfish that produce whirling disease in baby salmon. whirling disease causes neurological and skeletal damage and has a pretty high mortality rate, but it also makes infected fish do this, well, whirling behavior and it’s honestly fascinating. (video link: a pretty normal-looking young trout spinning like a fuckin top). imagine a siren doing that in the sky. i just think myxos are neat!

tl;dr: extra grody hyperspecific biology of monsters!!!

[shelli-gator]

Hi, how ya doin’? I’d love to ask: what are your opinions on AHKJ Exiled? I thought it was real fun to have a storyline for a full season and it was great some leems got more screen-time, but I was wondering your thoughts? What u liked and didn’t, fun(ny) scenes and anything else you can think of? I mean, Pancho was in it, so it can’t have been too bad XD

Hey :D I'm doing alright, work sucks, but things are fine otherwise! Hope you're all keeping safe and sane <3

Oh I LOVE Exiled! The different formula was great for the characters, it was really nice to have longer conversations, and to see side characters like Pancho and Ted get more screentime. The over arching plot was nice, and it really felt like stronger storytelling. I could have watched a whole show in the format of Exiled, but I still love all of AHKJ just as much :).

And I'm not ashamed to admit, I adore Exiled for how much screentime Pancho had. He was 150% the Most Valuable Player, springing into action when no one else would. He pretty much pulled off the shark heist on his own. And beyond that, he was just hilarious and endearing. I l o v e d seeing him pretend to have a gun in Strife Aquatic (he even pretends to holster it at his side when he comes up behind Julien), and his absolute savage bitchiness towards the sharks was god tier. Oh! And when the one siren jabs the air and he falls on Julien like he's been hit, and she's all "I didn't even touch you" and he's all "Doesn't make it right, sweetheart." GOD that had me dead.

I could ramble for ages about how much I thrived off Pancho in Exiled. Like literally every scene with him in it was hilarious

But another thing I really loved was the depth to Julien's character in Exiled. At least how I interpret it, he seems clearly upset at himself at what happened to his kingdom, and he even goes so far as to say his people deserve better than him. He lost faith in himself, and regains it at the end.

And while he's outright aggressive towards everyone (Ted, Maurice, Pancho), it feels like the stress and hurt he's going through has him lashing out at them. We take our frustration out on those closest to us, because their loyalty is unshakable. And I like to think they understood that, hence they never held it against him.

I also loved how selfless he was, enough to repeatedly try to sacrifice himself for the safety of his people. He's come so far, and I'm so proud of him!

Something that I didn't like was how Pancho was cut out around the half way mark. And even with Julien in a bad mood, it seemed bizarre to me that he would simply wave off Pancho being left behind, when he's always been committed to protecting all his people. I can only explain it away with Julien being upset about him ratting them out, or he's trying to pretend he doesn't care. When Maurice says "Where's Pancho?", Julien visibly looks shaken/shocked, like he just realized he's left something important behind. And when Pancho returns and the blimp gets blasted, I recall him laughing all nervously like "I sure hope the monkeys are okay!" To me he really just meant Pancho, but doesn't want to say it out loud.

I hc they hugged when they reunited, like Pancho expects Julien to have any other response, but Julien just runs up and hugs him before ruining the moment with an awkwardly scolding "Ah... you're late >:("

I also love the idea of an au where Pancho doesn't get left behind with the monkeys. I feel like it would have been hilarious and also interesting to see him react to UKJ suddenly being there at the gladiator school. I can just see him having an episode and he goes from being Theodor's assistant to blindly climbing inside the mouth of the fossa suit in blind terror, and poor Ted just has to improve some explanation for this guy feeding himself to their prize fossa.

Beside that, there's not much else I would change. Maybe I could have done without the bell-snails, their weird designs kind of throw off the immersion for me, as wild as that sounds.

But yeah! Exiled was super fun for me, and I look forward to watching the whole thing again when I rewatch the show shortly :D

[hella-free-space]

Repurposing “Betta Tanks”

I’m a big fan of ‘upcycling’ stuff and I hate just throwing things away (especially pricier things).

There’s SO MUCH (literally a ridiculous amount) of misinformation about bettas that gets circulated by pet stores, facebook users, pinterest users, youtube users, and even betta-centered websites! There’s also plenty of people who have gone out and purchased bettas and “betta tanks” only to find out later that they’re completely unsuitable homes for their new finned friends! D: (If you’d like to know more about bettas and proper husbandry, check out this post) It would seriously suck if I went out and bought one of those Aqueon Betta Falls tanks (they are completely inappropriate for any fish or live animals and they can seriously injure bettas and other fish), which costs around $40 btw, only to learn that I’ve got to start totally from scratch and shell out another $40-100 PER safe and proper setup (the betta falls holds up to 3 fish, so that’s up to 3 new setups). and then after buying a whole new tank and equipment, I’m left with an expensive death trap. I wouldnt feel right selling it anyone else (who might use it to house bettas) but I also don’t want to just throw it away. Do I just put it back in the box and put it up on some high shelf in the garage? NO. NO I DO NOT. I’m going to find a good use for it, and I’m hoping that some of the ideas listed below give y’all some ideas too! more under the cut

Wall Mounted Fish Bowls

[Source]  These are usually anywhere from 1/2 - 1 Gallon, and are available from a number of brands and sellers on amazon and ebay. The idea is pretty cool and novel, but obviously not a healthy home for a betta (or other fish / invert). Consider using it as a hanging terrarium or planter! You can do fresh cut flowers, marimos, pothos, bamboo, java fern, anubias, or even an entire miniature aquascape! Funny enough, you can actually buy hanging glass terrariums / planters as well, so here’s some visuals!

USB / Desktop Aquariums

NO. DON’T DO IT. PUT THOSE FISH DOWN RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE NOT GOING IN THIS TANK. I’ve seen people keep bettas, guppies, tetras, etc. in these things and I just want to make it very clear that these are NOT suitable for anything...

EXCEPT MARIMOS!! :DD Marimos love a little bit of current and can be kept in bowls, jars, or tiny tanks! I think that having a little bit of current and some mini marimos and even some miniature decor would make an awesome edition to any desk, especially since it comes with a light and pump! :) Feel free to get creative tho! you can grow bamboo, pothos, and other plants out of it as well, or do a miniature aquascape, or even do some simple aquatic plants like anacharis, or an anubias nana petite one a tiny piece of driftwood~ have fun with it! :)

Betta Falls

OF DEATH. these tanks can seriously injure your fish, are too small to hold a stable cycle, will stress the fish out (because they can see each other) and are honestly no bigger than the cups you bought them in :/ 

What’s really cool about this tank is the design, though. Its got this cascading waterfall type design which would probably be awesome for marimos since they get their round shape from being rolled around by the current! A bit of flow is the way to go~ Also, being able to do 3 totally different (or completely complementary) sections is what makes this an especially fun and challenging upcycle! 

- You can do some cool rocks or miniature aquarium decor and use it as a waterfall, similar to how these little countertop fountains are used - You can grow bamboo or other semi-aquatic plants out of these compartments - You can grow fully aquatic plants in these compartments - You can even add some fake bettas if you want to add a lil fishy centerpiece - You can do any combination of different things and you’ve got 3 compartments to decorate however you see fit! :D

Betta Cubes

no.

NO!!

YAAAAAAAAAAS!! see where I’m goin with this y’all?

Other “Betta Tanks”

Besides plants, betta tanks also make fantastic enclosures for invertebrates!! :D I’m talkin about your snails, your millipedes, your slings (baby tarantulas), and even your mantids!!

@hipsterzombiesquad took this 1/2 gallon “betta tank” and turned it into a small terrarium for their snails!! :D It’s literally the cutest thing <3 (there’s two teeny tiny snails on top of the rock ornament in case you’re looking for them!)

Amanda L. left this review about the Sweetness Betta Tank: “This is not appropriate for any fish, but I bought this to house a tarantula spiderling. My spider is quite happy and not only is the enclosure cute and a good size for this dwarf species juvenile but the interesting shape let me set up a really deep starter burrow that he's currently excavating and webbing up.”

This is one of these marina betta tanks.  Youtube user ShreckKram used it for a praying mantis! I’m not sure how tall the mantis is compared to the enclosure, but generally you want the terrarium to be 3x as tall and 2x as wide as your mantid is at the very least :)

Emzotic also used the marina betta tank for some snails! :D (skip to 6:20 to see baby snails!)

Bugsincyberspace sells a ton of different invertebrate kits as well! These are biobubble deco cubes that are often marketed towards bettas but as yall can see, they’d make a great bumblee millipede terrarium! :D

The Fish Bowl

[Source] Last but not least, we have to talk about what in the heck to do with these classic fish bowls, drum or not. These bowls are basically blank canvases and there are tons of decor ideas floating around on pinterest, but for now I wanted to give yall a few decor ideas and a then show yall some more interesting uses!

These sand bowls are a really cute alternative to live plants and with all the miniatures you can buy on amazon or ebay or at hobby lobby or michaels (or even walmart), there are so many unique themes / scenes you could choose to create. You can also do a little zen garden of sorts with rocks and different colored sand and a miniature rake even!

A fairy garden!

I don’t personally drink, but I know there are Of Age fishblrs on here, so this is for you! Tipsy Bartender also did a video for this drink!

Of course I had to include a planted terrarium too! Now, when I created a fish bowl succulent terrarium a lot of people said that it wasn’t the best kind of container for succulent since it traps humidity and there’s no drainage (feel free to drill some holes if ya know how to do that tho!). If you’re worried about keeping succulents in a bowl like this, there are tons of mosses and ferns and such that you could use to create a terrarium :) SerpaDesign has a TON of instructional videos for making terrariums!

Another decor idea! 

Now, this is similar to something I actually made for my then-boyfriend (now husband) for valentines day a few years ago. I made a little luvdisc aquarium in a dollar store fish bowl (they’re like 16 oz. super small). I used like, glass pebbles and plastic plants and filled it with this fake water stuff and it came out pretty cute! I’m so sorry that I don’t have a picture of it for yall but the concept is fun and you can do the same thing with pretty much any plastic creature you have!

The last idea I have for y’all today involves food. I’m not the best cook, but I do freakin love me some chocolate, so with halloween coming up, you can use that old fish bowl (preferably cleaned. very well.) for a party-size bowl of dirt-and-worms or the summery sandy alternative (for the vanilla or banana pudding lovers out there). This version features some cute little amphibians! And of course I had to include a dinosaur version because of course I do.

There’s tons of other holiday decor and food and drink ideas as well. since this post is sooooo incredibly long, I’ll just list these last few ideas as links instead of including pictures and everything else.

Glass halloween lighted bowls

DIY Gumball machine

DIY Candy Dispenser

Shark Jello Bowls

The cutest halloween graveyard terrarium

Fishbowl centerpieces

Frog jello cups

Caught ya bein good reward bowl

Fish-themed slime

Goldfish snack bowl

Tissue Paper Lanterns

Dinosaur Terrariums

Origami Fish bowl

Resin Fish Bowls (most of these are miniatures but i dont see why a larger version would be any less cool)

Fish bowl punch (feel free to switch it up and add gummy octopuses too)

Paint it black and make a dry ice cauldron

Paint it black and make it a cauldron candy or punch bowl

[meg-a-million-whats]

[Korrasami] Theory of Operation

Original Prompt: “Korra getting lessons in engineering so that she understands Asami’s work, and hopefully impress her.”

Notes: For @the-fragile-knight​. I can’t figure out how the reply option works on Tumblr, so here you goooo. Shoutout to @anonymousclone for the abstract algebra bits.

[Read on AO3]

Having a genius as the love of your life is pretty great, most of the time. But sometimes Korra wished she could understand what Asami was saying.

“I really think hydropower is the most reliable and cost-efficient energy source available to us right now,” Asami said, as she rolled open her blueprints. “I mean, employing firebenders to power electrical engines is great, but—if you have an automated device that combines the rapid response load-following and balancing capabilities of hydroelectricity generation, as well as its peaking capacity and power quality, plus the accessibility of combustion energy, hydropower can surpass coal power plants in no time.” Asami beamed at Korra. “An invention like that would be a game-changer.”

“Uh-huh,” Korra replied.

Asami blushed. “Sorry, this is boring, isn’t it?”

“No, no, it’s not. Uh, I really like the part about—planting. Powerful planting. That sounds really interesting.”

Korra knew she had said the wrong thing when Asami smiled kindly instead of lighting up in excitement.

“Why don’t we go over what the the president wanted for the Republic City Aquatic Center?” Asami asked.

“Yeah,” Korra said, secretly grateful, because it involved repositioning spirit vines—something Korra understood—instead of this newfangled thing known as engineering

“Why don’t you just try to—I dunno, learn it?” Bolin asked her, when they were getting drinks at Swamp Munches the next day. “Like, pick up a book from the Central Library—”

Korra shot him an irritated look. “I did. But they had all these—letters. Mixed in with weird symbols. And I couldn’t read any of it, even though the librarian swore the book wasn’t written in a foreign language.”

“What about metal benders?”

Korra threw her hands up. “I mean. I asked Chief Beifong if she knew what Asami meant by ‘hydrodynamic stability,’ and she looked at me like I was possessed.”

Which was a legitimate concern, given Korra’s line of work.

“I don’t think metal benders know anything more about this ‘engineering’ than we do,” Korra concluded.

“Huh.” Bolin tapped his chin. “Well then. There’s only one way out of this, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Consult the only other guy we know who understands this—” he made jazz hands, “—engineering.”

Varrick was massaging Zhu Li’s feet as Korra explained her problem to him that Thursday. As part of their marriage vows, Varrick and Zhu Li had agreed to be each other’s secretaries for equal partitions of a day. It was a weird arrangement, but considering their relationship before their marriage, Korra supposed she could understand. She didn’t get how the foot massages came into the picture, though.

“Interesting proposal!” Varrick declared when he wiped his fingers of massage oil. “Teaching the Avatar the foundations of engineering? This is a challenge I like! Zhu Li, I need—”

Zhu Li coughed and held up a pocket watch. “Twenty-two more minutes.”

“Right!” Varrick agreed, with the same amount of enthusiasm as before. He turned to Korra. “Well, before we began—what’s your math background? I don’t need any of those proof-based stuff—partial order differentiation and vector analysis are good enough for the basics.” He frowned and crossed his arms. “Though the Southern Water Tribe is known for their theoretical mathematicians. So, don’t worry if what I’m asking seems too simple! We’ll get to the hard part soon!”

Korra blinked at him. “I—I can do fractions pretty well?”

Varrick’s expression didn’t change, but he paused for a second too long. “Well! This is even more of a challenge than I thought.” His lips split into a grin. “I like it!”

They spent the first two weeks teaching Korra algebra. Korra hated it. She had too many questions. And the way Varrick was teaching her just made her more confused than ever. Why did numbers have to be represented by letters? Why couldn’t they just subtract 15 from 55 instead of writing x + 15 = 55? And why did Xiaoming have to buy 55 apples at the grocery store anyway?

“It’s not working,” Korra told him, flatly, when they tried to move on to algebraic multiplication. It didn’t help that Varrick would sometimes jump to things that Korra definitely knew had nothing to do with engineering, like telling her how she should be excited about what she was learning right now because really, algebra was so much more—it was an abstraction of the real world, and if she learned to perceive them in the forms of groups and rings and quotient fields, separating algebra from the axiomatic assumptions of its elementary form, she would open herself from understanding that parallel lines had the same slope to understanding that the symmetric group of eight elements was the square preserving transformations of a square—

By the end of the second week, Korra could tell that Varrick was beginning to lose his confidence, but trying to hide it by shouting more loudly and with more punctuation. Korra came to the conclusion that teaching Korra math was miserable for both of the parties involved.

“Look, I don’t want to learn algebra, alright?” Korra said irritably. “I don’t care about any of it—I just want to know what my girlfriend is talking about when she gushes over ‘fluid dynamics’ and ‘merit order’ and ‘microelectronics.’”

Korra wasn’t going to admit this to anyone, but she sometimes had nightmares about Asami breaking up with her for a really smart robot.

At this, Varrick’s ears perked. “You mean you just want an empirical overview and practical demonstrations of a field of study that is set to take over the world in the next century—with none of the theoretical foundations?”

“Uh. Yeah? I guess?”

“Well why didn’t you say so?” Varrick jumped up from where he had lied, curled up, on the ground. “Zhu Li, give me—”

Zhu Li coughed daintily again and held up her watch. “Fifteen more minutes.” She glanced at Varrick. “And I asked for a lemonade half an hour ago.”

“Forgive me, I get carried away sometimes,” Varrick said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Zhu Li smiled. To Korra, he said, “I’ll have a whole new syllabus ready in an hour!” before stalking away.

A month later, Korra and Asami went to oversee the hydroelectric generator system in the new aquatic center. The center was built right next to a river to source in water, and the turbines would generate extra electricity for the city on the side. Looking at the turbines, Korra had to admit that they were pretty cool: circular, each ten yards in diameter, covered in a snail-like shell. Beneath each shell was a ring of blades spread out like flower petals.

“I can’t believe you designed all of this,” Korra said, after she jumped down from the top of one of the generators, giving the frightened inspector a break.

“I really didn’t,” Asami said. “All I did was modify the penstock and some of the interior engineering. It’s really just so the turbine can take in water with relatively low pressure but, like, hopefully generate the same level of voltage as you can for a dam—” She paused abruptly, blushing. “But that’s not important. I mean—”

“But how did you do it when there is basically no potential energy to turn into electricity?” Korra asked, genuinely curious.

Asami lit up. “Actually, I modified the rotor with a reactor core so that it spins at a higher angular velocity to induct more mechanical energy into the magnet! And I also was able to modify the properties of the copper coil in the electromagnet so that resistance becomes malleable and is actually exponentially dependent on the water pressure. So the slower the water moves, the more electricity you get.”

“That’s amazing!” Korra said, holding Asami by the shoulders. “I mean, with this you can bring electricity into the central Earth Kingdom as long as they have a tiny little stream going on—”

“Yeah, that’s the idea.” Asami’s eyes were shining. “I got permission from the president to test the technology here—to measure the energy conversion efficiency. If it exceeds maintenance costs and things like that, Prince Wu should be able to convince the Earth Kingdom prime minister to distribute it throughout the kingdom.”

“Bringing electricity to people who couldn’t afford it before,” Korra said, breathless. “I’m sorry I didn’t know about this sooner.”

Asami shrugged, still blushing. “It’s still in its prototype stage. I didn’t want to say anything until it’s efficient enough to justify the costs. Otherwise it’s just a really expensive gadget that can’t really act as a substitute for the current system—so, useless.” She looked at Korra. “Where’d you get all that physics knowledge all of a sudden?”

“Oh, that.” Now it was Korra’s turn to blush. “Um. Well. I wanted to learn more about what you’re doing, since you always took the time to learn what I’m up to—so I asked Varrick to teach me.”

Asami laughed. “Oh, Korra, that’s—that’s so sweet of you.” She hugged Korra. “Thank you. But how did you—well, stand learning from Varrick?”

Korra thought back to the massive volumes of technical manuals, diagrams, journals, and practical hands-on experiments that Varrick had crammed into their little classes over the past month. Not to mention the weird tangents he still went on in his lectures. And the problem sets.

“Oh,” Korra said, light. “Well. I do my best.”

Asami laughed.

“You know, at first I really just wanted to impress you,” Korra admitted. “But I feel like the more I learn, the more impressive you become.”

Asami cupped her cheek. “Weird. Because I feel the same about you,” she said.

Korra felt her heart warm at that.

“I’d still like to learn more,” Korra said, “but I also feel like I’m stealing Varrick away from Zhu Li all the time.”

“I can tutor you.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Asami said, grinning. “I already have ideas for all sorts of homework problems. And we can have projects! And midterms! It’d be just like university.”

Korra groaned and let her forehead fall forward, touching Asami’s. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“You love me for it,” Asami said.

“I do.” Korra kissed her on the cheek.

And she really did. Making Asami happy was worth all the studying in the world.

[memfish88]

🥇🐠Top 10 Best 20 Gallon Fish Tanks in 2020

What are the Best 20 Gallon Fish Tanks? If you’re new to aquascaping as well as establishing an aquarium, you may be interested to understand what the ideal 20-gallon fish tank for you is. It can aid you to get started in the new leisure activity and complete the setup of your storage tank effortlessly, specifically if purchasing a total package.

Nonetheless, it can be lengthy to research as well as compare your alternatives without an idea on what this container is, how many fishes can fit it and also just how much it weighs roughly. It can additionally be difficult to choose one without understanding the variables to consider when contrasting various containers.

Allow us to answer all those inquiries as well as highlight an acquiring overview for aid. Likewise, have a concept on the most effective items as well as their pros and cons in the following reviews.

See More: Fish Tank Coffee Table – Coffee Table Aquarium Reviews 2020

The Best 20 Gallon Fish Tanks – 20 Gallon Aquarium Reviews

Marina LED Fish Tank Kit

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When it pertains to a 20 gal fish tank set, absolutely nothing defeats the functions supplied by Marina LED Aquarium Set. If you are searching for the best storage tank package, it is a smart decision to include this item in your wish list.

What I truly appreciate regarding this 20 gallon storage tank set is the presence of an impressive filter. I can always rely on this little aquatic equipment to eliminate any kind of standing bits, harsh chemicals, and also unsafe microorganisms via its three-stage purification system.

The heater is one more dependable tool included in the package. I can rely on this small gizmo to prevent the fish from cold throughout critical moments of the winter season. Other aquariums do not have a heater included in the kit, that’s why I had trouble discovering the perfect one that will certainly match the style of the tank.

Another exciting attribute of this container package is the LED lighting. The light is very trendy the eyes; it is neither blazing nor dim. It’s just really best for the size of the storage tank. The lights are very inviting, cozy, and also pleasing. Once the LED is turned on, it becomes a very wonderful attractive item that can bring beauty to any type of home in the home.

What I don’t like regarding this fish tank kit is how the fish food drifts on the surface of the water. The staying fish food simply litters the water as it waits to be filteringed system. Inasmuch as I want to provide my fish a little quantity of food to stop it from clouding the surface of the water, they would quickly obtain starving. After that, I would need to dedicate another component of my time just to see that the fish are well-fed.

Pros

Has an excellent filter

Has a preset heater

Has an LED illumination

Has actually an LED hood

Has a water conditioner

Has a free fishnet

Features free fish food

Cons

The fish food drifts as well as clouds the surface area of the water

After taking all of the vital info right into account, I can say that the Marina LED Fish Tank Kit is a great product. It has every product that both novice and seasoned hobbyists are searching for: a trustworthy 20 gallon tank, an excellent filter, a heating system, and LED lighting with a hood. The plan likewise features a water conditioner so that tap water can suit the fish. If you need to have a 20 gallon fish tank kit instantly, then this product will certainly supply you a smooth fishkeeping experience.

Tetra 20 Gallon Full Fish Tank Set

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Generally, when you are getting started establishing your fish tank, you need to consider what decoration as well as ornaments that you will place in it.

Will you have an Easter Island head placed in the center of your storage tank? Will you include a Sphinx or a pyramid? Or will you simply put in some PVC pipes as well as rocks?

There are so lots of options.

These are every one of the things you have to consider when it involves the look and feel of your aquarium.

However with the Tetra 20 Gallon Total Fish Tank Set, you essentially have actually that work provided for you. At the very least part of it anyhow.

That’s due to the fact that the container features every one of the significant components to run your container (as listed below).

However, the package additionally consists of Wonderland Plant Multipacks and a blooming white anemone. The polyp is a pretty awesome function, really.

These additions to the kit will certainly aid provide your tank personality. As well as, you can include any type of other accessories you would certainly such as.

One more cool thing about this container is the Color Combination (color-changing) LED. It will actually make your storage tank pop.

This is an LED light that rotates between different colors. However, it will certainly allow you to choose just one color.

This LED illumination function is just one more reason that this aquarium made the checklist on the most effective 20-gallon aquarium packages.

Bear in mind, you will, naturally, still require to select the shade of gravel. I ‘d recommend black gravel, directly. It truly assists set off the shades in your tank. And in between the lighting options, gravel options, and the fish you choose, you can actually make this right into a distinct looking fish tank.

Pros

LED light with several shade settings. (You can keep the color one setup.).

Paradise Plant Multipacks.

Blooming White Anemone.

A UL Heating system.

Tetra Murmur Water Filter.

Water conditioner.

Aqueon 30X12X12 Fish Tank.

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For those that are trying to find a durable as well as dependable space tank just, the best one on the market is definitely the Aqueon Tank Black 30X12X12 20L.

I admit that this is a bit various from the other brand names that include full 20 gallon fish tank accessories. This offers me an opportunity to experiment as well as increase my decorative horizons. While I can not place various types of fish with each other, I had the ability to attempt different gravel and also reefs as part of fish tank decoration.

An additional benefit that I get from acquiring simply a space tank is the chance to reproduce a few of my fish. Because of a vacant 20 gallon tank, I was able to efficiently breed my guppies. Now, I can offer two to three guppies to my friends, relatives, as well as neighbors that are likewise right into fishkeeping.

What I don’t like about this open 20 gallon tank is how it easily gets filthy. Because the container has no cover or hood, dust and also other free-falling bits can enter the water conveniently. Also, fish and snails can easily get away through the opening. One time, a reptile worn and also it went right into the open fish tank. The little guppies assumed it was fish food and also they chewed it straight away. So right now, I’m utilizing an improvisated cover made from a discarded plywood just to keep the storage tank covered regularly.

Pros.

Includes black and oak designs.

The glass is long-lasting.

Light-weight.

Lets all-natural light in to assist plants to prosper.

Cons.

It obtains filthy easily because it has no cover.

Fish and also snails can easily leap out.

After listing every one of the benefits and also negative aspects, I conclude that the Aqueon Container Black 30X12X12 20L is an excellent container kit. Despite being just a storage tank, it is an ideal space for breeding fish, for experimental decoration, to name a few. The storage tank is made from long lasting glass so you do not need to worry about changing it very soon.

Tetra 20 Gallon Complete Fish Tank Set.

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If you’re looking for a full package, you may desire the Tetra 20 Gallon Complete Aquarium Package. It consists of all the things you require to establish the container promptly also if you’re a beginner.

The full kit set includes fabricated plants and also designs, so you do not have to purchase them separately. It likewise comes with one item of white anemone that adds more elegance to your container and that provides your pet dogs a hiding location where they can relax.

This version likewise comes with a LED lights that can change things each time it changes shade. Under it, the tetra plants can revive, as well! The only things you require are care products, fish as well as crushed rock or any type of various other substratum of your option.

Pros.

Universal Shade Altering LED.

Plastic plants as well as decor.

UL heating unit.

Consists of a white polyp.

Perfect for novice aquarists.

Cons

Filter can quit working all of a sudden.

SEA CLEAR.

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If you’re extra really feeling the acrylic fish tank as well as require a very easy set for fish care, the SeaClear Aquarium Combo Set is your best choice.

It’s straightforward to set up, user friendly, as well as fits practically anywhere comfortably because polymer isn’t as hefty as glass.

Though the set doesn’t come with a lot of devices, it does come with a clear lid. For those that intend to maintain their aquarium in a main watching area, this is a great alternative as folks of all elevations can enjoy it.

And also, with the intense clearness of acrylic, you’ll have more viewing pleasure all around.

Pros

Measurements: 24″ L x 13″ H x 16″ D.

Weight: 19.4-pounds vacant.

Kind: Freshwater or deep sea.

Products: Polymer.

Consists of: Storage tank, reflector lighting fixture– bulbs not included, clear acrylic top.

Acrylic storage tanks are much more impact resistant and less vulnerable to cracking, that makes this one an excellent option for homes with youngsters and also family pets– or clumsy spouses– that tend to bump into points a great deal.

They are, nevertheless, a bit harder to keep scrape free. If you pick this fish tank, be sure to obtain appropriate soft cleaning supplies to stay clear of messing up the stunning clearness.

Aq Ascent LED Package.

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Dimensions: 24 × 19/17 × 13 inches.

Weight: 25 pounds.

This aquarium package sports a frameless exterior. It flaunts a sleek as well as contemporary look with a distinct drifting base and sparkling edges.

The back glass procedures 19 ″ as it tapers down to 17 ″ in the front. The slant from the front to the back is prominent along with the floating base which uses up 2 ″ from all-time low. Nevertheless, this angle makes it a little harder to cleanse the container as well as feed the fish.

Such a visual layout has a half-moon designed opening cut across the leading cover, which is additionally made of glass. This aids in position the filter in the water, accompanying the package.

The LED light is just appropriate for low light plants. The boring lights are attached to the glass lid and are positioned as a cover for the container. The set, nevertheless, does not consist of anything besides the inner filter and LEDs.

Although ranking in the bestsellers, this set is prominent among the users for having rather a variety of defects. The LEDs wear out within a brief period and in order to replace them, you would certainly need to acquire a whole glass top.

Aquarium Masters 20 Gallon Long Aquarium.

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Measurements: 30x12x12 inches.

Weight: 26.4 lbs.

This black-framed 20-gallon tank provides an imaginative charm when set up totally. These containers are run through ruthless examinations to guarantee top notch products are specifically marketed out.

If the structure is not nearly enough, the storage tank uses distortion-free glass with Ruby Polished edges and also a silicone sealant of business quality. Such precautions are included in make certain the user’s safety as well as to prevent any type of leakage.

An additional top characteristic of this kit is its devices. Both the lights and also filters offered, can be found in various shapes fitting the varying tank sizes.

Although such stylish functions are profitable, the set can be a little pricey.

SeaClear Polymer Aquarium Combo Set.

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This is probably among my preferred 20-gallon aquarium on the listing. Even though I’ve never ever possessed one personally.

One reason this tank is such a standout, and so remarkable, is because it’s acrylic. And being acrylic, plants, fish, and anything else in your tank come to be exceptionally a lot more brilliant in shade.

This storage tank is a wonderful item to feature in a location of your house that obtains a great deal of website traffic. It can improve the look of your fish tank life by many notches.

Additionally, acrylic is a lot stronger than glass while at the very same time being lighter than glass. So this will make for a lot more resilient as well as sturdier storage tank, one that is more resistant to chips and also damage.

Yet indeed, if you are maintaining vibrant fish or blue crayfish, this storage tank would make those colors escalate just due to exactly how the container is made.

Keep in mind: This storage tank is not a kit that consists of whatever you need to start. You would require to purchase a water pump as well as other devices by yourself.

This aquarium set comes with the following:.

4 ″ light.

An acrylic container that is more powerful than glass however evaluates les.

Marina Design 20 Deluxe Glass Aquarium Package

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Pros:

Marina Slim S20 clip on filter.

Full range canopy with 18″ 15 watt Sun-Glo fluorescent bulb.

Nutrafin Max Fish Food.

Nutrafin AquaPlus.

Nurtrafin Cycle.

Fish Web.

Thermometer.

This storage tank does not include a heating unit and also you would have to buy one which might be a professional or con. As I have actually said prior to, I personally rather an adjustable heating system and also a lot of sets include one that is preset that you can not adjust.

The testimonials for this item has me directly not wishing to acquire this online. The most complaints where about the product packaging. Package was completely as well large as well as left much room for it to move and having it provided busted or completely trashed. There were a few problems about the storage tank not being a 20 gallon fish tank. As I had said earlier, once you add substrate, plants, design, filter, heating system you lose space. Nevertheless, I checked out the dimensions of this tank and also as a matter of fact it is NOT a 20 gallon fish tank yet rather an 18.7 gallon tank if filled with water entirely empty.

Marineland AMLPFK20B Biowheel Fish Tank Kit.

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Giving the perfect setup for fish and also plants is a have to if you want to become a fishkeeper. This is what the Marineland (Aquaria) AMLPFK20B Biowheel Aquarium Set aims to achieve. If you want to do well in your fishkeeping undertakings, the most effective storage tank kit that you need to have is definitely this one.

What I appreciate about this 20 gallon fish tank starter set is the scratch-proof storage tank. With this, I am confident that sharp as well as sharp objects will not damage the surface of the glass which can bring about other unknown events. Another thing that I really praise is its lightweight function. Even my twelve-year-old youngster can bring it without breaking a sweat.

An additional feature that I such as is the LED lighting. It brightens the components of the storage tank properly. On top of that, its radiance gives an additional ornamental result on any room where the storage tank is installed. On the other hand, the filter gives an incredible work of keeping the water clean as well as clear constantly. Its three-stage purification system is truly exceptional. It maintains harmful microorganisms, harsh chemicals, and drifting bits far from the water.

While the glass storage tank is scratch-proof, it is not totally long lasting, which I discover extremely unsatisfactory. I have actually unintentionally broken it when I provided it a little push. The water spilled all over the floor of my living-room.

Pros.

Has a scratch-proof storage tank.

Lightweight.

Has an efficient filter.

Has an eye-pleasing LED lights.

Comes with a heating system, water conditioner, fishnet, and also fish food.

Cons

The glass is not as strong as promoted.

After carefully assessing all the pertinent information regarding this item, I can end that this fish tank set is one of the most effective in the market. All the essential accessories that you need for a 20 gallon fish tank are below: the storage tank, filter, heating system, LED lighting, water conditioner, fishnet, and also fish food. If you want to start your fishkeeping leisure activity, this is the excellent item that you must attempt.

Conclusion.

There you have what to learn about the best 20 gallon fish tanks, which can supply more room to expand and propose your container good friends than smaller ones can. These storage tanks are resilient and top quality as well as are by reputable producers.

Most of them are total packages that have all the devices you need for establishing. That claimed you might feel confident that you ‘d have the ability to start with your new leisure activity. Nonetheless, make sure that you spend initiative as well as time in comparing and evaluating your choices well. You can begin describing our overview highlighting the top picks in the classification for aid today!

source https://memfish.net/best-20-gallon-fish-tanks/

[waterworldcraze]

Are Guppies Aggressive? Facts And Solutions

Guppies are beautiful dainty fish, but how well do they do with others?

Are guppies aggressive? Guppies are not viewed as an inherently aggressive fish. They live peacefully with those in their tank and their species. They are however playful with one another and might chase each other around the tank now and then.

If any of your guppies are acting aggressively with other fish or those of their same species then there are outlying factors that are contributing to your fish’s mood.

Sometimes aggression is harmless and just a period that your guppy is going through. Other times it is because there is an issue that isn’t being addressed so all they feel they can do is act out.

Below are details on the guppy’s personality, why and when they act aggressively, and what to do about it.

The guppy’s personality

To understand what to look out for in aggression in a guppy it’s helpful to know the base level of the guppy’s personality. Owning a guppy isn’t like owning a shark, they are not a naturally territorial animal and do participate in foraging activity.

The guppy is a popular freshwater fish from South America. They come in a variety of patterns, colors, and fin shapes. The males being the more colorful, while the females are larger.

Guppies are a shoaling fish, with some varieties swimming in a schooling pattern so they do better when there is a group of their species.

They are a very easy going small fish that’s pretty. What more could you want as a new fish owner? They will live up to 2 years so they are not that long-lived, but they do have a rabbit-like reproductive cycle which will change their mood.

If you want to look into fish breeding then guppies are a great start for you. Just be careful with inbreeding which due to a large amount of fry is a possibility. Just plan your tanks well.

Guppies have a reputation for eating their young, which is well earned. They certainly will. In the wild guppies that are introduced in various environments tend to overpopulate the location.

Somehow through the process of selective breeding for stylistic choices guppies have lost their instinct for caring for their young. There are ways you can avoid this such as:

Feeding the adult guppies live feeder fish

Keeping adult guppies well feed

Removing the mother from the tank right before birth

Removing fry from mother

Providing plenty of plants for cover for the young guppies when reintroduced to the tank

Guppies are not known to be aggressive fish. They are a very common fish for community tanks as well as singular species aquariums. If your fish is acting aggressively then it is an indication to you that something is wrong with them or the tank itself.

Just because the guppy is an agreeable fish doesn’t mean it doesn’t have specific needs that have to be met. Like with any fish the guppy has space requirements, environment needs, and will go through periods of breeding.

Accommodate those needs and be thoughtful with your actions and the guppy will be a beautiful addition to your tank. Ignore their needs and they will become lethargic and will fight those around them to obtain their needs.

Fish, in general, have a natural aggression

In the dog world, which is the standard in which we set for all other breeds of animals, breeds are classified as aggressive and non-aggressive.

This is more complicated in the real world where breeds who are thought of bringing mean are nurturing while the safe dog bites you on the knee.

The fish world is even more complicated. We can tell you all day that this fish or that fish is aggressive or not. But every fish will become more aggressive under the right circumstances.

If you have ever watched the ocean or water nature documentaries you know that life in the sea is rarely serene. Each fish is fighting for a food source from other fish and it is the big guy that wins.

Guppies are a common fish, but if you have any other fish that are smaller than the guppy they will get picked on sometimes even eaten.

This particular behavior does not mean that the guppy is a naturally aggressive fish, this is just standard fish behavior. Anything smaller than them looks like food and they will eat it.

In a community tank type of environment, the guppy is the one that is most likely to be bullied instead of the other way around. They are a smaller fish so they are ample prey to those who are larger and more aggressive in the tank.

When you are stocking your community tank think about the type of fish that will do well with the guppy. Nothing too large. The guppy typical grows up to 2.5 inches with some varieties getting as large as 3.5.

Choose fish that are near this size. Some fish tend to be more aggressive than others so avoid any that are known to be fighters like the Angelfish. Also, avoid what is called nibblers.

These are fish that have a habit of taking a bite out of other fish’s fins, such as Tiger Barbs.

Some good varieties to go with for guppy tank mates are:

Molly

Corydoras Catfish

Loaches

Tetra

Guppies also do well with bottom feeders. Another method owners have used to stock their tank is to add feeder fish. Feeder fish are types of aquatic animals that are feed to larger fish.

Animals such as shrimp, snails, and smaller frogs work well in a guppy tank. Just check their size and what they typically eat before adding them.

Guppies will fight each other but don’t worry it’s just for show

If you have a tank that only has guppies in it don’t worry if they start fighting each other. The dudes especially will put on power plays to show off in front of the other guppies. Mostly a lot of tail slapping.

Think of it as play. The video below shows a variation of what we mean.

Keep plenty of hiding places in your tanks like plants or even caves. When one of the guppies is acting like king of the castle your other fish can just hide out until the dude calms down.

If you notice that the fights are getting a little too aggressive to the point where you think they can hurt each other then keep a breeding tank to separate them.

When the guys aren’t fighting it out the mating ritual of guppies might deceive the owner that their fish are fighting. Guppies chase each other during breeding. If you see the smaller more colorful fish chase the larger duller fish then they are just flirting with each.

Even after mating is over with male guppies will nip at pregnant female guppies. If it is just tail hitting or nothing serious it’s ok to keep them in the same tank together. However, it can get intense if you have a lot of male guppies and they are exhibiting the same behavior.

Just as a precaution keep a breeding tank to separate the female guppy from the male. If the male fish become aggressive enough the female guppy could lose her fry.

There is no set time or season for guppy breeding and it happens throughout the year. It’s easier to tell if the female guppy is pregnant after about two weeks. Two dots will appear on her bottom half, after a while the female guppy’s weight will increase.

It’s harder to tell if they are mating because guppies naturally chase each other around, but the male guppy will attack the female guppies with a tube on their belly.

Guy guppies can be a bit much with their flirtations and exhaust the female guppy. When stacking a tank give your female guppies a break and don’t over the number the males to females.

The dudes might be more colorful, but they can tire out your female guppies to death.

The best way to combat guppy mating aggression is to stack your aquarium in a way that will prevent that to happen. The guppy is a naturally shoaling fish, with the fry using traveling in a school.

So they do need to be raised in a group. When purchasing guppies keep it at a male to female ratio of 1:2. The smallest group of guppies that you can keep is 3 so for this pairing purchase two female guppies and one male.

The male guppies are more colorful and have a higher variety of patterns, but it helps your female guppies’ sanity in the long run. Before you think that you can just get only males they need female companions to live a happy life.

The world outside isn’t deficit from females and the tank should reflect the world that they naturally live in.

Ways to combat aggression.

In the rare cases that your guppies are acting aggressively, there is always a reason why. Either there is something wrong with their environment or they are going through changes such as breeding above.

This is a clue to you as an owner to investigate. First, check to see if there is any breeding activity. Watch the male guppies and how they interact with the female guppies. Ask yourself these questions.

How are the female guppies acting?

Do they have any dots on their bottom half?

Are they gaining weight?

Are the male guppies treating the female guppies differently?

Is the play more aggressive?

Are they hitting the female guppies with something on their stomach?

These questions will help you determine if your guppy’s grumpiness is due to breeding and pregnancy. This is the most common reason guppies display aggression.

To learn more about guppy mating and have they typically treat each other read the section above. If you have alleviated this reason then there is something wrong in the environment around them.

Don’t overcrowd your tank

Whether you have a community tank or one just for guppies don’t overcrowd your tank with fish. Fish like their area and they have less of an opportunity to get that in an aquarium.

If you get a little fish happy and put a lot of different types of fish in a tank then they will start fighting each other for space. Guppies will fight those who are smaller than they are.

Guppies also need places to hide if one of their members is going on a territorial streak.

The guppy is not a large fish by any means, the most they will get up to is 2.5 inches. So tank size is easier than say a jumbo koi. Each guppy needs a gallon of space.

They are also a group fish and should never be kept on their own. You need at least 3 guppies in a group.

Not enough guppies

The guppy is a group fish and does better when there are plenty of others of their species with them. The bare minimum number of guppies that you need is 3, more being better.

The environment in the tank

Though the guppy can be found in any type of water than you can think of they generally go for ponds and slow-moving streams.

They are typically found in freshwater ponds, but unlike typical freshwater fish, they can handle saltwater well so they can be included in marine tanks. Check the flow of your filter to make sure it isn’t preventing your guppy from moving around properly.

Guppies are a popular fish for a reason. They are small enough to own in a smaller tank, come in a variety of colors and fin shapes, and they have a peaceful personality that is perfect for pros and new fish owners alike.

Paying close attention to your fish will give you clues that something isn’t right when they display unusual behavior. If you keep them happy

[viralhottopics]

The Scary Reason Why You Should Never, Ever Feed Bread To Ducks

If you’ve ever gone for a walk in the park, there’s a chance that you’ve stumbled on a duck pond.

Still, adorable as these aquatic birds are, you should think twice before you feed bread to ducks.

Ducks, pigeons, geese, and other birds that share their habitat with humans often get remarkably tame, and they learn to associate soft-hearted people with food.

It’s not at all uncommon to walk up to the edge of a duck pond and immediately get accosted by a chorus of demanding quacks asking for food.

To their credit,ducks are pretty good about returning the favor. Still, they’re as bad as dogs when it comes to begging!

You might be tempted to give in and feed them, but before you do, there are a few things everyone needs to know about acceptable ducky diet.

Top of the list? Bread is off-limits.

Scroll through below to learn why you shouldn’t feed bread to ducks, and what to give them instead!

[H/T: The Spruce]

Photo Credit: Pixabay / Pixabay

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Flickr / Elliot Brown

If you go to just about any park in the country, you’re likely to find a duck pond or two!

Ducks and humans share a lot of the same space, so it’s not too surprising that these crafty creatures have figured out how to work the system.

Most ducks have absolutely zero fear of people. It’s a quality they share with other city birds like pigeons, geese, and swans.

In fact, instead of fleeing when they see a human, they’re far more likely to walk right up and start loudly quacking in the hopes of being fed.

Most people, when faced with a loud and adorable duck, are happy to oblige.

The thing is, you have to be careful what you feed a duck.

Wikimedia Commons

Bread, for instance, is a major no-no.

If you happen to have an extra roll leftover from lunch, it might be tempting to offer it up to the local ducks.

Lots of people even bring sacks of day-old bread to the pond with their kids to give the ducks a special treat.

It seems like a fun and harmless way to spend the day, but all those carbs are no good for our feathered friends.

In fact, stale bread can really mess up a duck’s health, because it’s a lot of highly-processed carbohydrates and not much nutritional value.

Pixabay

Ducks who live in high-traffic parks with ponds might get fed so much bread, by so many passing families and visitors, that they eat almost nothing else.

They stop foraging for theirown food, because they know people will bring them something tasty.

Unfortunately, this the duck equivalent of eating only potato chips. (By the way, ducks also shouldn’t eat potato chips. Or popcorn, crackers, or other human snack foods.)

Bread might taste good to them, but it has no nutritional value other than the quick energy of carbs.

If they consume a diet of only bread and other simple carbs, they’ll be vulnerable to illness and malnutrition.

Flickr

Even worse, bread can be really dangerous for baby ducklings.

Ducklings are even more vulnerable to malnutrition than their parents, so a diet heavy in bread endangers their lives.

What’s more, baby ducks who get fed on bread all the time never develop the ability to forage for food if they need to.

Humans also shouldn’t worry about ducks getting enough food. These birds are more than capable of getting plenty of their own duck-friendly meals, like pond weed, small fish, snails, and insects.

Wikimedia Commons

Besides, the glut of bread in ponds, canals, and other bodies of water can cause major trouble for the environment.

For one thing, if there’s too much of it leftover, the remaining bread will get moldy, which can poison animals that come to eat it the next day.

It’s also a major temptation for pests like rats, who can come and soil the whole area feasting on leftover duck bread.

Too much bread can also hurt the ecosystem of a pond or stream.

Flickr

But don’t despair! You shouldn’t give ducks bread, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave these charmers in the lurch, snack-wise!

You still shouldn’t give ducks too much food (they can feed themselves) but if you want to give them a quick treat, try cracked corn, barley, rice, grapes (cut up), peas and corn, or even chopped lettuce and veggie trimmings!

If you aren’t too squeamish, you can also try earthworms or mealworms.

These are all delicious and nutritious treats for ducks, and will keep the creatures and the environment happy and healthy!

Did you know this rule about feeding ducks?

Be sure to help spread the word andSHAREfor anyone who loves wildlife!

Read more: http://ift.tt/2o2exLW

from The Scary Reason Why You Should Never, Ever Feed Bread To Ducks

[hella-free-space]

elephant ear betta anon! I don't know how to test those levels. I didn't even know they were a thing. I saw you were a bettablr and thought to ask for help. He's my first fish, so I'm still learning. I have him with a sponge filter in a 10 gallon, lots of pretty decorations (but I made sure there were no sharp edges!) and he has 4 baby mystery snail tankmates. I only got him a few days ago, and his tank is right next to where he can always see me. His hood lights are LED and pretty bright.

well it sounds like you’re off to a wonderful start anon! :D a 10 gallon is a great size tank for a betta and water changes will be much easier. the sponge filter is the best filter (at least, imo) for a betta because it’s low flow and there’s no intake tube to be sucked up into~ and it sounds like all of your decor is betta-safe as well! :D 4 baby mystery snails might not be too high of a bioload rn, but as they get larger, you may have to do more frequent water changes or get them a bigger tank because mystery snails get really big and they produce a lot of waste~ ngl this post is gonna be an info dump and there’s a lot of information so if you need more resources or explanation on any of this stuff, please let me know! :)Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all ‘parameters’ that you can (and should) test your water for! they’re measured in ‘ppm’ or ‘parts per million’ and they let you know how much waste your tank is producing and where your tank is in ‘the cycle’.

What’s this cycle thing?It’s the nitrogen cycle!

All fish produce waste. Because all aquatic animals produce waste, they require (biological) filtration of some sort to process that waste.

Fish produce waste in the form of ammonia. Ammonia is toxic above 0ppm (parts per million). So you’ve got all this ammonia floating around in the water, right? and you’ve got water running through your filter…so these bacteria start growing all over your fish tank, wherever there’s water flow, but we want to concentrate on the bacteria that are growing in your filter media. This bacteria will be processing the waste that your fish or aquatic animal produces :)

So your fish produced some waste, and it’s floating around in the water as ammonia. The first bacteria (#1) that grows will ‘eat’ the ammonia and then ‘poop’ out nitrites.

Nitrites are also toxic to aquatic animals above 0ppm though :/ so then another bactiera (#2) grows and it ‘eats’ these nitrites that are floating around in the water and ‘poops’ out nitrates.Nitrates are safe for fish (up to 20ppm)! :D Since there’s no bacteria that’s going to grow to eat these nitrates that are in the water, we have to physically remove them by doing a water change. A helpful post about water changes, how they work!

If you have live plants, they will use some of the ammonia, nitrite, and/or nitrates in the water as nutrients :) Some plants will use more than others, as some plants are heavy root feeders, some are floaters, and some prefer to be somewhere in the water column. (note: live plants SHOULD NOT totally replace water changes! water changes are still necessary even for planted tanks :3)

To recap, “the cycle” aka “the nitrogen cycle” goes like this:Fish waste (ammonia) -> bacteria #1 -> nitrite -> bacteria #2 -> nitrate -> water change

Okay, so how do I make “the cycle” happen? How do I “cycle” my tank?

Note: knowing where you are in the nitrogen cycle (how much ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate is in the tank / being produced) requires a test kit. I recommend the ‘api freshwater master test kit’, it’s cheapest on amazon.Note: the following is an explanation of ‘fish-in cycling’

Keep your water parameters .25ppm ammonia/.25ppm nitrites/20ppm nitrates or less :) In order to do this, you’ll have to do a ton of water changes, but your fish will thank you since ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish! Bettas are pretty hardy, and one of the only fish that you can perform a fish-in cycle with, so just be sure to keep those parameters as low as possible until your readings are 0 ammonia/0 nitrite/ x nitrates (these are the parameter readings for a cycled tank). After that, make sure your nitrates stay 20ppm or below, doing a water change whenever they reach 20ppm or higher. Also note that it’s important to continue to test ammonia and nitrite levels even if your tank is cycled, since sometimes parameters spike or a cycle crashes, and you wont know unless you’re checking for that!

Okay, but what about water changes??

This post explains how to figure out how much water you need to change!

You can remove the water via a cup (just scoop out the water) or a siphon (a ‘gravel vac’). If you have a large container or totally clean (not used for chemicals, dirt, etc.) bucket then you can prepare your new water in that! add dechlorinator to the new water in the container, stir well, then add it to the tank. oh! and make sure the temp matches before adding it to the tank too~

If you’ve never had fish before, these posts might also be helpful!

General Fishkeeping + Equipment:Fishkeeping 101“Seeding” a tankWhy do we do water changes? How much water do I change?Invest in a waterchange bucketAquarium siphoning + vaccuumingBaffling a filter Everything I’ve learned about filters and filter media

Decor + DIY:DIY Aquarium DecorAn ask that lists some easy aquarium plants How to superglue plants to stuffTidbits for Planted Tanks

Care Guides:A betta care guide: All about bettas!I bought a betta, now what do i do!? (fish-in cycling included!)

Other handy dandy posts (written by other awesome tumblrs):Fishless Cycling MasterpostThere are a few different ways to cycle a tank and this post is insanely informative!How to do the thing (cycling)Cycle your tank! Handy Articles Master PostGetting the most out of aquarium plantsPlants melt and that’s okayBig list of aquarium plantsList of low-light aquarium plantsPlanted Tanks for Beginners and So Can YouComprehensive Planted Tank Guide Dollar Store Fish Tank“Cleaner Fish” Why They Don’t Exist & Your Aquarium Doesn’t Need One By Ren Brooks