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Hello (and thank you)

alex_l

alex_l

Member
Joined
12 Mar 2023
Messages
78
Location
UK
Good morning,

Thank you to everyone who has already engaged with my posts :)

I've kept fish off and on for years but looking through these pages at both the quality of the designs and the depth of the science, I feel like a total beginner!!

I used to have an African biotope with ctenopoma, bichir, Congo tetra... and the planting was minimal. I've also had dwarf puffers in the past and a couple of small community tanks.

My husband and I did marines once... that was stressful... not so much the fish for the SPS corals... it was his domain, not mine... I baulk at too much science or equipment We have a large koi pond with Japanese and Israeli koi (and Mr Tench)... again, that's my husband's domain!

I've now come back to fishkeeping and attempted a more planted tank, albeit low tech.

It seems lots of the tanks now are underwater gardens first and foremost and the fish are minimal or secondary. I'm definitely more of a fish keeper than a plant enthusiast and I can't see me getting into CO2 any time soon... low tech is fine by me, for now...

So I'm running two tanks, my 200l blackwater jungle for my community fish: tetra, glass cats, gourami, rams, kuhli loach and clean up crew...

And my little boy has in his room a 54l tank full of Guppies with some bloody mary shrimp and a honey gourami (and spiderman, a skull and an AT-AT)

I'm considering setting up a small tank on the kitchen counter. My house doesn't lend itself to space for tanks so I think that's probably me done then! I'll probably attempt something more 'scaped' if I do this, but still low-tech.

I also have a tank chucked in the garage by the window which is full of hornwort and snails and is on standby for QT, breeding, etc...

So as you see, I'm keen and know the basics, but I do feel a little too amateur for this forum

Nevertheless, I'll hang around and learn, if you'll have me, because I can't stand Facebook and because the people on here actually seem to know what they're talking about!

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Welcome! There are all sorts of folk here, personally I'm 100% low tech and very poor on the science front! Many of the conversations are way above my pay grade but you can pick bits up and if you're of that disposition you'll be just as knowledgeable in no time :)
It's easy to think that the fish are secondary to the plants on here as the focus is the plants, but you'll find that for almost everyone, the fish/shrimp are the most important thing and having healthy plants ensures better water quality for those inhabitants. Obviously some folk have planted tanks without fish (myself included) which could be called underwater gardens, but mine are still low tech lol. There's a wealth of fish knowledge here as well as plant/science knowledge :)
 
@Myrtle hi there Good to hear from another low-techer

Ahhh... I didn't mean to imply that their welfare was secondary... I don't doubt they're much healthier for being understocked and in a better habitat... what I meant was more than they are the icing on the cake, rather than the main event

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Tank pics from this morning 😊
 

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PARAGUAY said:
Welcome to UKAPS, I always think it's great when all the family are involved
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Absolutely! My son loves animals and is always involved... he fancies himself a dog trainer as well He knows the name of all the fish species, which ones are shy, which ones are confident... he's lovely with them!

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Welcome :wave: Glad to have you! 😄
Definitely dont be afraid to ask people to reword things if there are parts you dont understand, even mid discussion.
Ive fallen off more times than I can count, and sometimes I just have to come back to it much later on 😅

Personally I sometimes find it difficult to determine if the person I am responding to is new to that particular topic, intermediate, or even advanced. If someone is entirely new to the topic discussed, its usually helpful to really word out everything and make sure the definitions to abbreviations and just all the framework is laid out. An intermediate wont need all of that, and then the reply could be written faster and things get moving along sooner. Advanced users might potentially take offense if you start out by explaining water to them (or at least this is my fear), so there is like a balance to be struck there :lol:
The last thing we would want is to come across as exclusionary or elitist, we are just a friendly bunch of nerds, excited about sharing our hobby 😊😊 Also there are so many specialties or branches of the hobby one can get into, most of us just have one or two we focus most on, but overall all these specialties put together might make the forum seem like a high bar to entry (sorry couldnt find a better expression)

Hope you will post more from your tanks 😄
 
A bit of criticism, if you allow.
I don't doubt your son loves that underwater toy shop. Yet good attitude to the nature and good aesthetics don't come automatically. Just like cleanliness. We have to guide kids toward these qualities.
I've seen too many aquariums of adults which were a clear testimony of bad taste, lack of contact with nature, disregard for living creatures. Let me express hope that you'll lead your son to much better results. Your adult tank suggests that you're fully capable of that.;)
 
hello Alex, welcome! I've just joined too, but no tanks yet. Just getting to know the forum. It certainly seems diverse and interesting. I love your sitting room -same blue as we have! So now I know how it will look when I stick a tank in the alcove. Thanks for posting. :cool:
 
@_Maq_ oh man... I think that's hard on a five year old... there is plenty of time for his tastes to change and some things are not negotiable, like having living plants in his tank and hides for the shrimps.

He has a real appreciation of my tank and says it's 'like a real piece of nature' and he also has a 1/4 acre of garden in the middle of nowhere, as well as a huge wildlife pond and a hibernaculum he helped build and trees he has helped plant. He has claimed my rhododendron for himself and likes to tend it and grows vegetables each year. He spent yesterday weeding and climbing up and down the cherry tree.

He's definitely in touch with nature but he also has his five year old obsessions (ie Star Wars) and as long as it's in his bedroom, that's fine by me.

If he doesn't mature and develop better taste as he gets towards his teen years, I too will be disappointed

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Matt_S said:
hello Alex, welcome! I've just joined too, but no tanks yet. Just getting to know the forum. It certainly seems diverse and interesting. I love your sitting room -same blue as we have! So now I know how it will look when I stick a tank in the alcove. Thanks for posting. :cool:
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Good luck getting set up It's a good blue

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alex_l said:
Tank pics from this morning 😊
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I love the AT-AT... 🥰 Bad taste? Are you kidding me... its a tank for a 5 year old! Where is our childlike sense of wonder?

I also love the Kyber Crystals - Kyber Crystals power the Jedi's lightsabers and the weapon on the Death Star - I assume the Empire came in to mine those for the Death Star, hence the AT-AT.... I am still trying to wrap my head around what Spider Man is doing there... Science Director Krennic would be more appropriate... just saying ... can he use his web under water? thats what I would like to know! :lol:

Welcome to UKAPS! :)


EDIT: I mistakenly spelled Kyper with a C... my bad. Yes, they do indeed come in different colors.

Cheers,
Michael
 
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MichaelJ said:
I love the AT-AT... Bad taste? Are you kidding me... its a tank for a 5 year old! Where is our childlike sense of wonder?

I also love the Cyber Crystals - Cyber Crystals power the Jedi's lightsabers and the weapon on the Death Star - I assume the Empire came in to mine those for the Death Star, hence the AT-AT.... I am still trying to wrap my head around what Spider Man is doing there... Science Director Krennic would be more appropriate... just saying ... can he use his web under water? thats what I would like to know!

Welcome to UKAPS! :)

Cheers,
Michael
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Love this!! Properly made me smile but alas, I cannot answer your questions... although there are spiders who survive underwater... they spin a dome web and fill it with oxygen bubbles if I remember rightly... so possibly Spiderman is inspired

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dw1305 said:
Hi all,

Because UKAPS is the /www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/red-algae-bba-an-update.68170/page-6#post-679730']gift that keeps giving[/URL]"> we have /www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/bugs-you-might-encounter-in-your-aquarium.35994/page-2#post-441069']a thread[/URL]">.

cheers Darrel
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Haha... of course there is!!

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