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Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
#1
Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
Nice and quiet here, no one will bother us with that silly god stuff.

(April 8, 2019 at 3:57 pm)Thena323 Wrote:
(April 8, 2019 at 7:22 am)Succubus Wrote: The Bettas I had were all pretty indifferent to the goings on of everything else in the tank, they would sit in the trees (plants) all day doing nothing.
The Cardinal Tetras are far prettier than the Neons. 

Snails? You had better make sure they are Adam & Steve not A&E or your tank will be overrun in no time.

Snails are hermaphrodites, I think. If I get two freshwater snails, they'll have to be of different species to ensure my tank doesn't become Snail Central. The gravel dwellers are good for taking care of excess food particles, and of all of them love algae.
They'll help keep the tank clean, and Bettas and snails don't bother each other at all. They make great tank companions.

Btw, how big was/is your tank? It sounds pretty live.

Snails are hermaphrodites? Well I didn't know that.
Oh they're gravel dwellers alright, my gravel bed was moving there was so many of the little bastards and it was all my fault. I thought it a pretty nifty idea to uproot some plants I spotted in streams I used to pee in the odd time we went out tree hugging. They all died.

But that didn't matter what did matter was I didn't wash them and snail eggs had clagged* to the leaves and you know what happened next. Apparently there are two remedy's, snail traps, I kid you not! Or copper sulfate and there was no way I was risking that shit again, I used it once to fix a 'damping off' problem I had with my indoor tomato seedlings but that's a story for another time.

Three plastic buckets sterilized with lashings of boiling water filled via a syphon tube from the tank, one for niggly Betta and the rest of them into the other two.

Now using a net catch the rest of the fish and place them in the other buckets.
I'll repeat that: 'Catch the fish using a net'.

"It puts the fucking fish in the buckets!"

It was a big bastard tank, 52" It took me hours and my back was breaking and I was demented. If the Mormons or JW's had knocked on the door I would now be detained under Her Majesty's pleasure.
But anyway now empty the tank and scrub it out and use hydrogen peroxide, it will kill all things killable. Chuck the gravel out and use new stuff then clean all pipework & stuff, reassemble the whole thing and refill with fresh water.

Now we need to replace the nitrifying bacteria in the tank or the little bastards we  lovingly worked so hard to save will be dead within days.
There are a few ways to do this:

1) Save a handful of the old gravel and mix it with the new swag. Errr, no!
2) Ask the pet shop for a bagful of of muck out of one of their tanks. Ok, that should work.
3) In my case I knew another dope head fish keeper who used the same Ehime filter/pump system and we did a straight pump swap.

A day later according to a decent water test kit the water was now fit to live in.

Now, using a net...



What is it that fascinates indoor tomato enthusiasts and beautifully coloured moving living things while listening to; Sigur Rós?
Well what you do is: you drag the settee up close to the tank and put your pals training shoes under the wheels so it won't slide backwards then get them to fetch every quilt and pillow in the kip and get comfy watching the goings on in an environment we were once part of. Or am I taking poetic whimsy a bit too far?

But anyway fuckit. Improve your life. Do these things.

Sorry Thena I've drifted of topic a wee bit. Snails, kill them.

*Unless you are from the north of England do not Google that word!
It's amazing 'science' always seems to 'find' whatever it is funded for, and never the oppsite. Drich.
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#2
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
Oh, I can watch aquariums for hours. I find them extremely calming and an endless source of fascination. 
It's clears the mind of extraneous static and bullshit like nothing else; which is excelllent for writer's block, btw.

Maintaining a clean, healthy and happy habitat is pricey, though. And a fuck-ton of work, figuring, chemistry, etc.
Well, well worth it though, IMO.

You recounting how you saved your tank from a near Snail Apocalypse brought the Assassin Snail to mind; Carnivrous, snail-eating bastards...Lol.
Funny how "Hey! What's going on, guys?" quickly turns into "Oh my God...It's EATING him!" 




Not that an Assassin Snail or even two could've helped much in a tank that overrun...Holy crap, that story was just horrendous.
Excellent save though! Clap

I do love real aquatic plants. The ones sold in stores seem ridiculously overpriced, and I've often considered just gathering a few on my own. 
I'm thinking it may be worth paying the price to avoid introducing snail eggs and other potential problems into my tank though. Thanks for that cautionary tale.
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#3
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
Old Mother Shannon's Sure-Fire, Enviro-Friendly, Non-Toxic Snail Killer

Find your self a large, shallow pan to dedicated to this purpose.  A cookie pan or sheet cake pan is idea.

Determine where the snail activity is heaviest (the gunge is a dead give-away).

Late at night, scoop out just enough earth or mulch from Snail Central to sink the pan and make the top edge level with the surrounding area.  Get a bottle of beer, so cheap and awful that your wouldn't drink it on a bet (PBR is ideal) and pour it into the pan.

That's it.  The CO2 will attract the snails.  They'll climb into the pan, and the alcohol will croak them.

Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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#4
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
You got nothing faster? And that doesn't waste beers?
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#5
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
(April 9, 2019 at 8:19 am)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: You got nothing faster? And that doesn't waste beers?

It works overnight, and this is the only worthwhile use for PBR.

Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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#6
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
(April 9, 2019 at 8:26 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:
(April 9, 2019 at 8:19 am)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: You got nothing faster? And that doesn't waste beers?

It works overnight, and this is the only worthwhile use for PBR.

Boru

You've never been on a seven month deployment without a single port visit. These days if you've been out of port for 90 days they give you TWO beers. Back then you had to be creative. Secreted stash was very important. Drunk Typing
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#7
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
Quote:You've never been on a seven month deployment without a single port visit.

Guilty as charged.

If snails were a problem aboard ship, you would probably have required an alternate control method.

Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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#8
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
(April 9, 2019 at 9:07 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:
Quote:You've never been on a seven month deployment without a single port visit.

Guilty as charged.

If snails were a problem aboard ship, you would probably have required an alternate control method.

Boru

Being sober that long is the problem. Hmph
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#9
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
(April 9, 2019 at 8:26 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:
(April 9, 2019 at 8:19 am)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: You got nothing faster? And that doesn't waste beers?

It works overnight, and this is the only worthwhile use for PBR.

It makes a good piss substitute....
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#10
RE: Aquatic plants. The Petunias died on impact.
#1 requirement: Alcohol content.

#2 thru #9: Who cares.
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