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Oh! Yes! I looked up some freshwater ciliates and that's totally what this organism is! The more magnified view helps to see the individual ciliates better. Is that your photo?? It's really impressive. You can very clearly see the lophophore (tentacle feeding structure) of a bryozoan in the...

Photo time! They've settled down a bit, thankfully, so they're a little less spastic and spending more time chilling. Just hanging out, and then... Nyoom! The two together "MY thermometer. No touch 😐" I'll have to come up with names for these guys. They're so charismatic

I'm in the same predicament... The closest actual club with meetings is close to 200 miles away from me. It'd take me all day just to drive there and back, let alone actually do anything in the city while I'm there. The best I've got is a FB group for sales and trades that caters to an entire...

Yes, that'll be fantastic! Microscopes of any sort are super fun and useful. When I eventually move away from the marine station I work at, I'll have to get a microscope of my own. A professional compound or dissecting scope is best, but even the little camera ones are really useful, and they're...

This would be great! If you can get an image at a higher magnification under a scope, I'd probably be able to give you an answer/educated guess with much more confidence

Yeah, it's somewhat erratic swimming, but directed at the walls of the tank, so the only way I can really describe it is glass surfing. Only one of them seems to be doing it consistently. I also finally found the actual model of the tank I have and it's technically a 6-gallon tank! That does...

Hmm... I'm not as familiar with freshwater inverts as I am with saltwater ones, but this doesn't look like a hydra to me. Hydra are cnidarians with polyp-like or anemone-like bodies. They generally have smooth tentacles that are arranged in a circle and all lead to a central mouth on a stalk...

Great, thanks Colin. I did loosely wrap the package in a towel, but it obviously wasn't enough. I'll definitely be more prepared next time with more towels and/or a cooler and ice packs. Thankfully, I do have a local store that sells frozen fish food, so in that case I don't think I'd need to...

I think if he moves and feeds alright, and isn't exhibiting any other symptoms other than some color loss, then you may just be able to leave him be. To my knowledge, growths like that one aren't contagious. So, I would say monitor him closely and if/when he shows other symptoms or starts to...

The tank is only 20gal, and painted turtles get to be 5-10in long, so I think that'd be a pretty tight fit... In a much larger tank though, aquatic turtles can be great for paludariums!

I know the general consensus is to not re-freeze and reuse thawed frozen foods, but that seems to typically be advice applied to open packages and leftovers that weren't fed out. I bought some frozen brine shrimp cubes from the LFS and had a ~2.5 hour drive home. By the time I got back, they...

Frogs are acclimated and in the tank! They really are jumpy little buggers. I also got some bacopa for the tank, but I think I'll need to get plant weights... Also got a few small river stones, so I'll glue some of the rhizome plants to those tomorrow. No pictures for now since it's long past...

They're definitely rather small at the moment, so I think the 5gal will be alright for them, at least for a while. I may consider upgrading to a 10gal at some point though!

Old tank, new journal thread. This is the same 6gal tank that used to hold my neon, Jelly. I have it slated for a couple ADFs, which I'll hopefully be getting tomorrow. When I adopted the tank, the gravel had an extremely thick layer of mulm and detritus underneath. I had tried to remove it...

Oh no! You don't hear about casein allergies very often. At least plant-based milks and dairy alternatives have gotten a lot better over the past decade or so. I hear that even plant-based cheese is getting to be alright now.

Yeah, you really have to take a close look at them in the store. If they aren't in top condition at the store, there's a pretty good chance they won't do well when you bring them home. It's possible the ones you bought were just too skinny for even intense feeding to fix. It happens. Otos are...

Capsaicin can be neutralized by the protein casein, which is found in a lot of dairy products and is why dairy is recommended for pain relief from hot peppers. Cheese tends to have pretty high casein content compared to less processed dairy products like milk. Capsaicin is also fat-soluble, so...

Okay yeah! When I uprooted it (I'm rescaping), it did look very rhizome-y, but it's not quite the same as my larger anubias, so I wasn't sure. Thanks!

This plant came with the tank when I got it, and the person I got it from didn't know either, so I'm not sure what it is. I feel like I should know... I've looked through online plant catalogues and my best guesses are some sort of small echinodorus, or some weird variety of anubias?? It also...

Great, thank you! Yes, I plan on the ADFs being the only inhabitants apart from some ramshorns. Glad to know that a sponge filter has worked well for your guys

I've done all the basic research, so don't worry, I'm not going in blind and I'm not looking for basic care info. What I'd like to know is if anyone could share personal experiences with them, especially things that you wish you knew before getting them which aren't covered in online resources...

He's right, those views look more like a carefully planned and maintained aquascape than a real habitat. I really appreciate the detailed descriptions of microhabitats and their inhabitants. I'll always be incredibly grateful for people like this, who obviously have spent many, many hours...

A betta would do well in 29L of water. With all the extra height, it probably won't be able to jump out. However, a lid made out of a solid material like glass would still be a good idea because it helps to retain humidity and heat, which I understand are important for paludariums, depending on...

Just keep in mind that having a ton of emersed plants will limit your land space! I can't say mudskippers never climb on plants, as I haven't kept them, but from what I understand, they prefer hanging out on the substrate. To be honest, I don't really know. My knowledge is lacking in terms of...

Sorry for the mini essay ahead, I just love mudskippers. None of this is personal experience, but I too got caught up in a mudskipper infatuation (haven't fully recovered, to be honest) and did a bunch of research. Maybe this is stuff you've already read, in which case, this is for anyone else...

Fish can have a surprising amount of personality. I love hearing goofy fish stories. My neons reguarly try to eat the temperature probe when I stick it in, but they'll also try to eat their own poop, so... The fish at the aquarium I volunteer at are a bit more charismatic. Some of the rockfish...

Green is my absolute favorite color, so I have a soft spot for the surprisingly few green fish out there. At some point, I'd love to make a green-themed tank that only has green fish species. Good luck with the breeding project! The rough version is already gorgeous

You have correctly identified a large knowledge gap in science. To be honest, in general it's rather difficult to find research on many species in the hobby (except the very common ones like guppies, bettas, zebrafish, and a few tetras). There's even less research on the long-term effects of...