#Guppy isn't trying to be a nuisance

[dappercthulu]

Some Guppy sketches...

Still not great at this whole art thing, but I think I'm improving lol. The keep reading is just explanations to any curious. Didn't want the post too long.

Also sorry for the tag @biggrumbus I don't know how you feel about them. I really like your Jazzinos (and Bruno too!) And had a lot of empty space soo....yeah.

Upper right is Guppy in his "nest". And by nest I mean a pile of soft objects he obtained by various means. It's some old pipe room, one that isn't or wasn't very important. Perfect safety place.

Then there's a bit of fan art of @biggrumbus Jazzinos. They are great friend shaped creatures.

Guppy's love of soft items gets him in a bit of trouble when he swipes a Jazzinos lovely tie! To be fair, he didn't purposely steal it. It was just....there. and no one was around. This doesn't impress big ol Beelzebino. I honestly don't know how or if Beelzebino would react. But I like to imagine him like that grumpy old man who refuses to admit he cares, but everyone knows he does. Don't worry, the Jazzino got his tie back.

The last panel...thing is Guppy being....Guppy. Only reason Peppino wasn't raging mad is because that wasn't his phone. And yes, he proceeded to eat it. His intelligence is ... questionable.

[mod2amaryllis]

hey so i've been trying to establish an aquarium for a betta lately, but i haven't been able to introduce him to the tank because for some reason i can't get the tank parameters right for the life of me. what kinda stuff do you use when you have to deal with stuff like ammonia, nitrite nitrate PH ect?

and i'm not sure if you have any issues with this but you do reccomend any ways to get more oxygen into the water? i have another aquarium with guppies that i think might have suffered from a lack of oxygen despite there being a running filter. i've transfered the fish out while i troubleshoot but all this stuff at once has been quite a nuisance 😔

GASP tank question *throws everything else off my desk*

I'm not sure what you've done so far trying to get the right parameters, but 9 times out of 10, the right thing to do is this:

STOP MESSING WITH IT.

stop adding any chemical fixes, stop doing water changes, just step back. if set up for success, it'll almost always figure itself out.

you said you have another tank so going into this, I'll assume you already know basics like the nitrogen cycle and to dechlorinate water. I'm also only gonna discuss planted tanks because frankly i can't imagine having a successful tank without plants. i know it can be done, but it's hard work and i got no tips. plants are for lazy fish keepers like me.

to answer your questions point by point: ammonia and nitrites spike during initial cycling, then are kept at zero by beneficial bacteria as long as the tank is healthy. for nitrates, lots of plants help keep them down, and high nitrates can be lowered with water changes. i don't use any "stuff" for these things, like chemical additives. (EXCEPT for in emergencies like random ammonia/nitrate spikes, in which case you can follow bottle instructions to overdose seachem prime (my dechlorinator of choice) to bind ammonia while doing water changes to bring levels back to normal)

now for pH. stop worrying about pH. the actual number isn't that important (for BETTAS. some fish and shrimp are more delicate). i have way higher pH tap water than what all the species guides will recommend (7.6-7.8) and my fish are fine. what's important is STABILITY. making sure the number doesn't swing suddenly. using chemicals to try and get it to a certain point is oftentimes doing more harm than good because you risk swings. just acclimate before adding the betta to the tank and you'll be fine. i also make sure every tank has driftwood and a catappa leaf; the tannins will gradually and safely get your pH to a comfortable level.

now oxygen. o2 is added to the water via surface agitation, and some is released by plants. just use a sponge filter. the bubbles create plenty of surface agitation and the flow is nice and gentle, perfect for bettas. between sponge filters and heavy planting I've literally never had o2 issues. if you prefer different filtration (like a hang-on-back or canister) then use an air stone, or arrange filter output so it's skimming out along the waters surface.

alright now you've got me on a roll so I'm just gonna keep talking about establishing tanks lol

you're gonna hear a whole lot of different opinions on how to establish new tanks. I've had mostly great starts and some bad ones and I've settled on a method that works for me.

plant as many plants as possible early on. you can source plants from anywhere, but the best imo is to take from other established tanks, whether from fellow hobbyists or from stores that grow/store their plants in a running tank. you want a little stink on these plants basically. then to kick start it i add: remediation bacteria (this is not strictly necessary, i think it's more superstition at this point since I've added it to every tank and it's worked), fertilizers, a sinking fish food, and most importantly some PEST SNAILS. then i just let that thing stew. i also have the benefit of being able to pull used filter media from other tanks which greatly speeds the process. if you can take used media from your guppy tank, throw that in too.

i use the api master test kit but i don't really bother testing until end of week 1, then I'll test as much as i need til i get a good reading. once you see 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and some nitrates, like 5-10ppm, you're ok for fish.

the problem with starting tanks is usually patience. you're excited to get a new fish so you hover and test constantly, which is freaky while your tank is still cycling cuz you'll see ammonia and nitrite come up and think you have to do something about it, but you don't. give it a few weeks, treat it like a garden. the worst setup i ever had was right before a long trip. the driftwood was infected with bba spores and everything kept getting covered in this stinky sludge. even after removing the driftwood it didn't seem to be improving. then the trip happened and i had to leave it (no fish, but one mystery snail) for a few weeks. came back and it was THRIVING. crystal clear, happy plants, perfect parameters, happy active snail. that experience really hit me in the head with the patience lesson; ever since then it's been easier for me to take things one week at a time.

if this is all old news to you, my b. the special interest demon possessed me.