Researching for a potential future puffer?
▲ 10 r/Puffers

Researching for a potential future puffer?

Please be friendly. Context is, I very sadly lost my Bristlenose last night after nearly a decade of having her, after a heater malfunction I caught too late. She was my last inhabitant and the tank is turned off now. I'm not ready to get back into it just yet, but before losing her, I'd been looking into Spotted Congo Puffers. I don't know if I'll ever have the drive to get back into the hobby, but I want to at some point, and these puffers are what I've latched onto that could potentially reignite the hobby for me. (And yes, I've already planned possible future solutions like a temperature controller and a more obvious - even if a little less accurate - colour based stick on thermometer.

Anyway. If I were to get back into the hobby, it'll likely be due to a puffer. The Spotted Congo jumped out to me based on what I read about not needing other puffers as company (I'd prefer a single puffer), relatively peaceful nature, not needing teeth trimming, and not needing an enormous tank.

But I'd like advice here, please. Is what I've read actually accurate? What is the smallest size tank they can comfortably live in? (I need to be able to have the tank upstairs in my UK council house, preferably on a sturdy chest of drawers.) What else can you tell me about them, please? Try and put me off if you need to, or suggest another species - whilst I like pea puffers I'd prefer something different as a) I'd prefer something slightly larger, and b) I'd really like just the one special puffer fish. <3

Thanks so much for any help! Bonus picture of perfect Poppy <3

u/-Daunting — 1 day ago

Before or after?

First two pics are before, last 3 are after.

Was struggling to have any space around my campsite and didn’t want to make the river narrower. I haven’t yet moved the campsite, so you can see in the last pic how little space I had in front of it. Tried knocking down part of the upper cliff, which now means I have space to move the campsite backwards and decorate a bit more in front of it. But it does mean Pashmina loses the little waterfall next to her house ☹️ which do you prefer? And any suggestions on making the pond in the last pics prettier so Pashmina still has something nice next to her house, if I keep it this way? Thanks for any help!

u/-Daunting — 16 days ago

My anxiety is making things hard for the people I work with

I didn't realise.

This year has been one of the hardest I've had. One thing after another after another. Most recently, I've been waiting to find out some important info about work next year, which to me, was very black and white good/bad news.

I thought it was understandable to be a bit on edge. I also thought I'd done a decent job of keeping my shit together. Had a couple of sneaky cries in the toilet but only quickly and came back and got on with it. From what I thought, I'd have described myself as a bit tense, but getting on with it fine. But I did sense people were a bit off with me, which made things feel worse.

Yesterday, I finally got the good news that I needed. I'd messaged my manager initially saying I was cross that I hadn't found out and asking if it was out of place to email the relevant person and ask. Then to tell her the good news. I've always got on really well with my manager and the people I work with. I consider them friends as well as workmates. But then she told me I need to not get so worked up and that my anxiety has made things 'quite tricky' for the staff I work with this week. She said we can talk things through on monday. And 'at least I can now relax' which feels like a sick joke now, knowing I've upset other people and that I won't know exactly what's been said until at least monday.

She was very kind to me like she always is. But made it clear we'll talk in person rather than over message about this. I cried for probably hours after her message. Which proves the point about not getting so worked up I guess, but this was in private, and I do everything I can do keep my feelings private. Like I said, I might have been a bit off recently, but I've done my job, got on with it, and only cried in the toilet briefly.

I was able to relax for minutes between getting the good news, and reading her message. I feel so done with life at this point. I'm torn between so much hope for next year at work being good after the good news, and the feeling that the people I work with don't even like me any more. From what my manager did say, everyone just wants me to be happy, but then why don't they just give me a hug and ask if I'm okay rather than going to the manager and saying I'm making things hard? For what it's worth, they know I get along well with the manager and they do too. But ugh. I hate myself so much.

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u/-Daunting — 23 days ago

Different Bold 9000 keyboards inside?

Recently bought a second Bold 9000 to interchange parts. Noticed this difference with the keyboards - wondering why?

FWIW, the one on the right works better. The one on the left appears to have slight damage on the right hand keys, and those tend to double type/not register on occasion.

Anyway, interested to know! Thanks for any help!

u/-Daunting — 1 month ago

BB OS 4.5 vs OS 5 - which is better (in this day and age), and why?

Appreciate any answers! I know how to upgrade it, at least using a simple method by Romkingz - but should I? Can it have any bad effects on the device? Any other pros/cons? Thanks for any help!

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u/-Daunting — 1 month ago

Part missing from new screen?

It looks like the correct screen (first 2 pics are the new one, 3rd is the existing one) but as you can see it seems to be missing the piece of plastic at the top? Am I supposed to remove it from the original screen and fit it to the new one? If so, how please?

Also, does the new screen look OEM?

Thanks for any help!

u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

What type of spider is this that bit me (south east England)?

In case it’s not clear, this is my pinky finger. I’d let this spider hang out on my bedroom ceiling for a while as despite my irrational fears, it looked similar to a false window that hung out outside bedroom door a while back and was predictable and an excellent natural big zapper!

This one dropped down onto me about half an hour ago, and I noticed maybe looked different to the previous one. Tried to tempt it onto a surface other than my hand, and it wouldn’t leave, then bit me! Just looks and feels like a particularly sore hive atm, but interested to know what species of spider this is please? Thanks for any help!

u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Have I bought the wrong Blackberry Bold replacement screen?

Ordered last night, just realised it says 'touchscreen digitizer' but it says it's for the Bold 9000 - is there anything specific I can look at to see if it's wrong? It's off eBay and says genuine Blackberry - wonder if the item name is wrong and they meant the 9900, as the screen looks the same in the picture? If it's wrong I can order the correct one - this is the one I ordered: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197440243666?var=496795166826

Thanks for any help!

u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

I still remember the small kind deed someone did for me over half my life ago

I was about 15 and hadn't long got a PSP (this was very exciting to me as I'd never owned a PS). Went shopping with a friend, and wanted to buy Little Big Planet and GTA Liberty City for it. Got to the checkout and they said they couldn't sell me GTA because of the age rating - which I totally get, but it hadn't even crossed my mind. Was obviously disappointed (I live in a small town and had to get the train/bus to another town to buy, so whilst my mum was happy for me to buy it, I couldn't just call her and ask her to pop in and buy it with my money), but didn't make a fuss or anything.

Anyway, when the cashier was busy getting the Little Big Planet game for me (I think the games we'd bring to the till were just empty display boxes and the real ones behind the till IIRC), the lady behind me in the queue quietly got my attention, and told me to pass her the GTA game, and she'd get it for me. I think I gave her my money first which could have gone wrong, but she seemed kind. And I was right - she checked out after me, then gave me my game!

I still appreciate it so much all these years later. It must have been obvious to the cashier too, but I get they had to enforce the policy unless it was an adult buying. She didn't need to do that, but she did, and it meant I could go home with a game I really wanted to play. I think there was a small amount of change that I didn't ask for back, so I hope she used it to buy herself a small treat.

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Interested in customizing my Bold 9000!

I bought it a couple of weeks back in great condition. Managed to do a few things relating to software so far, but interested in hardware mods. Doesn't seem to be many interesting shells, although I'd love a metal bezel if that were to exist. I'm looking at the keyboard and trackball - I've ordered a new OEM keyboard as it doesn't look too tricky to replace and mine has minor double/non-typing issues, plus is the only part that has particularly visible wear and tear. I don't wanna mess with a brand new OEM one, but I've been reading about people using sharpies to essentially colour the LEDs in their keys - wondering if anyone has any links or knows what I should look for if I wanted an extra keyboard to mess around with, that doesn't have the red numbers, please? (Not 100% but seems like a branding thing that most have red numbers but some don't?) Anyway, I'm not fussed in this case if it's branded or not, but would be interested to try messing around customizing a keyboard! Same with trackball - love that this one lights up, and I'd like to make the most of it - is it a tricky replacement? Thanks for any help!

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

(Bold 9000, BBOS5) Is it bad to delete the original applications folder (or others) for customization purposes?

For example, if I made a new applications folder so I can change the colour/icon on the folder image, moved all my applications to it, then delete the original folder? I know I can do it as I did before system resetting, but my question is more whether I should? Thanks!

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Best apps to download for BBOS5?

Finally got the hang of installing them using BB Desktop Software! But I don't know which to download - looking for recommendations, please?

In particular, I'm interested to know if there's a better notes app - obviously don't expect anything fancy, but to be able to use bold, underline, and change font colour would be great. Or if there's any games I can download?

Or just anything that is often recommended/helpful! Thanks for any help 😄

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Bold 9000. Using BB Desktop Software to install themes. It works fine at first, but then when I try to change theme, it shows previous theme’s background on menu screen. Only shows properly when I reconnect to laptop and reapply settings via BB Desktop Software. The issue also occurs after battery dies - pictured here (I guess as I don’t change from a previous theme, menu went to a white background)

Is this an issue with the OS 5 I downloaded online? An issue with the themes I’ve downloaded? Or just a standard issue with BB in this day and age?

Thanks for any help!

u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Bought an old BB Bold 9000. Was on OS 4.5, downloaded an autoloader which upgraded me to OS 5 - I don't really understand how autoloaders work, but I wanted OS 5 so I was happy.

OS seemed to work fine apart from a glitch with menu background mentioned in my previous post here. But then today I got a white screen, all I did was hold down BB button and look to see what apps were running. I took out the battery and put it back in immediately and the phone wouldn't turn on. So left battery out for a bit which fixed it, it had the loading bar when turning on. Yellow/orange LED was flashing and idk why (low battery?). But doing this caused the glitch with the menu background - which I've fixed now.

But I'm wondering if these things point to a faulty OS - maybe I shouldn't have done the autoloader thing. (Or is it a case of if the OS works and isn't a virus, the autoloader isn't the issue?). It's not issue if I'd be better off factory resetting. Or are these just normal issues with this lovely old phone in 2026? The menu background thing seems weird, and the white screen is worrying.

Thanks for any help!

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Or weirdly, more specifically, it's changing to the previous theme - eg I select doodle theme, background only changes on home screen not menu screen. Then change to nightlife theme - now I can see doodle background on menu, but nightlife theme on home screen. It's like the menu shows the previous theme's background?

I downloaded an autoloader, which seemed to automatically update the OS to OS5, from 4.5. Could it be to do with this? Do I need to factory reset the phone? Is this a normal glitch for this day and age, or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks!

UPDATE: I'm using Blackberry Desktop Software, and I've just noticed that after installing more themes and going through initializing process, it's turned back on with the matching menu background and home screen background. Interesting... turning it off and on again alone didn't fix it

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Noticed it wasn't lighting up red when charging. Went into options and turned on LED coverage indicator. It seems to work, as it flashed green a few times after that. But now it's on charge and still not lighting up red - I thought it was supposed to? I can't send it a message to check as it's an old SIM of mine that's no longer active

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Or the latest BB OS it will support? I'm on v4.6. I've downloaded Blackberry desktop software, I have an SD card I can move between laptop and BB, and I have a cable to connect BB to laptop. But Desktop Software says no updates available?

I'm a bit clueless with this stuff but it sounds like it can be done? I'd appreciate some help, please!

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

The browser is telling me I need to update it, but I don't seem to be able to. Are there websites that still work and would allow me to download something equivalent to an app store? I mostly just want to get themes and music. I can also use an SD card, or possibly find a cable to connect it to my laptop. Are things like themes and music possible to put on these devices nowadays? It's so cute! Thanks for any help

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago

Bought it as a cheap nostalgia backup phone, for music etc. It's obviously been a long time since I've used BB - tips, please? I remember being able to install custom themes that changed the whole interface - can we still do that? I've read of people modding to a more recent OS but not sure if I want to do that as I bought it for nostalgia - I'd appreciate thoughts on that please, like what it enables vs what it changes? Also I'd appreciate any and all tips!

(Please don't just tell me this phones old and redundant - I know it's old and that's why I love it - I don't intend to use it like my normal phone! Just want to enjoy it the most I can, thanks for any help!

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u/-Daunting — 2 months ago