u/Iudicrouspopinjay

I was given this bulb with 2 emerging leaves by my LFS because "it looks dead" so the guy just tossed it into the bag of plants I was buying. It vegetated in a hospital tank for a few weeks and when I added it to my new 20long, and it died - or so I thought! I nestled the bulb (that had a few roots at the end) into the substrate. The original leaves shriveled and melted off but this little baby bulb appeared, attached to the original bulb and kind of floating above it where the dead leaves had been. I'd read that the mother bulb can throw off babies so I just left it alone and observed. Over the last 3 weeks the baby bulb put out leaf shoots and roots of its own, and a few days ago the roots reached the ground and have pulled the plant down and seemingly attached it firmly into the substrate. And last week these big beautiful leaves started opening. I'm so impressed!

Long story short:

I'm really pleased with how things are going in this tank and I wanted to share. While I was taking photos I spotted my first berried shrimp! This is my first experience with shrimp - they are the most entertaining creatures.

Long story long:

I started my first tank this past Dec - a 10 gallon. I purchased a stand that could accommodate a 30 gallon (30" long) tank with the plan to try out the hobby with the 10 and eventually size up/max out at the 30gal if I decided to stick with it. Weight, ease of water changes vs volume for water stability, etc all factored into this decision. Fast forward, I won't take you through my old tank - it was a good first effort but I ended up having to break it down due to planaria. I had a hospital tank on my kitchen counter for 6 weeks while I established an entirely new cycle with snails in, then moved the fish over and drained the 10gal and scrapped anything that could hold planaria eggs and sanitized the rest. During my 6-week wait I decided to not rebuild the 10gal but instead to upgrade my tank size. The 20long really attracted me - same footprint as the 30gal but less deep which meant I could do maintenance more easily and plants could thrive with less light, less volume of water meant easier water changes, and I was already used to keeping 10gal stable so I didn't feel I was robbing myself by only doubling my volume vs tripling it.

I decided on soil with sand cap - I struggled to keep things planted in my previous tank with aquasoil. And Walstad's method of ecosystem development is intriguing... though I did choose to have a small sponge filter because I was scared to have no biological filter to fall back on. Currently actually running 2 sponge filters because I'm switching to a different one and this seemed like the best way to not disrupt the biological filter. I had an airstone at the other end but took it out because the floating plants couldn't catch a break.

What's all in there? Lot of plants mostly from FlipAquatics and AquaticArts - after some initial melt they are thriving, my old stock: 8 dwarf rasbora and 1 mystery snail, my new stock: 6 endlers (male), 20 cherry neocaridina shrimp, and a mix of ramshorns, and a healthy colony of bladder snails. My MS has been the most fussy about the change - he pouted for about a week and I was worried he wasn't going to make it but after an airbath (who knows if that helps?) and being left alone he is back to his usual antics. Alder cones, catappa leaves and cholla wood for tannins and biofilm. A heater, sponge filter, light, soil and black sand cap. Feeding tube and a floating feeding ring.

I planted and then seeded the new tank with media from the hospital tank, there were bladder snails in from the get-go and once the cycle was established (10 days - yes I rushed it, I was freaking sick of having the hospital tank in my kitchen) I moved the old stock and 2 weeks later added the new stock. Since cycling completed my ammonia and nitrite have been at 0ppm, despite a mild bacteria bloom about 2 weeks ago that has cleared itself. Gh and kh are both around 9 drops, I don't have my notes in front of me but they are stable. My tds is around 200 which is higher than I'm used to because I used an HOB on my 10gal and now I'm using a sponge. But that metric is stable as well. Phosphate is 1ppm, pH is 7.4-7.8 (hard for me to read, but stable) and I haven't checked nitrates in a few weeks.

Kind of janky diy stuff: I stuck black construction paper along the back of the tank - totally forgot to put a background on before filling the tank and I can't really get back there to apply a sticker or anything. It is fine - especially given the density of the plants it's really not noticeable - but it eliminates the visual noise from cords and whatnot back there.

The lid is a piece of plexiglass I cut - it cracked, it sags, it is imperfect but it saves me a gallon of evaporation per week so it will do until I come up with something better.

I don't love that the floating plant corrals have big ugly plastic things that impede viewing and are generally just ugly, but I don't know what else to do other than arrange them so that the tether points aren't on the front glass. This causes my floating plants to block light at the back of the tank where I planted my "background plants" that are supposed to get tall. Haven't figured out what to do about that yet.

Everyone seems happy - all the foragers are busy foraging anytime I check in. The fish are doing their fish thing, whatever that is. The endlers are vibrating at each other and occasionally at the rasbora. The snail population is growing and I think I will slow down the supplemental shrimp and MS food to try and keep that under control. An assassin snail might be in my future though...

Short version: what is this guy? Reddish leaves still opening, some roots coming out at the base of the leaves, bulb about the size of a spherical quarter.

Long version: I bought some plants at my LFS yesterday and the guy popped this in my bag - he didn't seem to have a strong plant knowledge - more of a "this is what works in my tank" kind of vibe and he both didn't know what this was and thought it looked basically dead. I disagree and want to give it a try, so it's in my holding tank while I get my 20long set up. I think it's a tiger lotus or something in that family - those leaves are larger today than they were yesterday - and the red color is definitely interesting to me!

I picked up some plants for a new tank yesterday, and as I was unpacking at home I saw 4 of these snails in the bottom of the bag. I put them in a glass with some tank water and a floating plant to segregate and keep them alive while I learn more.

I have experience with mystery snails and nerites because I have researched and bought them in the past. And I have experience with bladder and tiny ramshorn because they came on my first set of plants.

I've never seen or dealt with this type before. I looked at the snail section of my favorite online retailers (Flip and AquaticArts) and I don't see anything similar.

I'd love to add them to my tank, but not if they're going to be an issue. Can you ID them for me?

I was playing around with an online calculator and decided to write it all down as a reference for myself. This is obviously just for my specific stats, AND also an estimate, not a gold standard. But it is a good reminder to remember that the original calorie goal you set for yourself will slowly become less effective as you lose weight, because the deficit will slowly shrink. For now I can maintain a nice deficit with just careful calorie tracking, but in order to maintain that same deficit down the line I will either need to accept eating less or incorporate more exercise. It's also good to know there is a real reason that people close to their goals often struggle more than people with a lot to lose.

I really like the look of this shoe, but I own a pair of Origos and they are definitely made for a lower volume foot than mine. To be fair I haven't tried this exact shoe, but given my experience with the brand, the description that says "best for low to mid volume feet" and the expense of returns - I'm hesitant to try it out. Does anyone know of a brand making similar styles with a little more vertical room?

I began a new starter on Mar 20th, perhaps foolishly, knowing I would be going away for 10 days from April1-10. But it was hyped for sourdough! I made a blend of 50% white bread flour and 50% whole wheat. I followed Sourdough Journey's method for those first 10 days to a T: start with 75gm water, 75gm flour left it alone for the first 3 days, and from day 4-10 discard/feed it daily 1:2:2. I put it in the fridge while I was away for 10 days, and post trip (for the last 18 days) I aim to feed it daily but I've missed a day here or there. I got the false rise, the lethargy and now it is consistently rising to more than double in maybe 10 hours (I haven't timed it but I usually notice by the evening that it is at peak. And, my kitchen is quite cool: low 60s Fahrenheit) but every morning when I open the jar I am bowled over by acetone. I've read this means it is hungry. Should I feed at a higher ratio? At what point can I begin baking with it?

My ultimate goal is to have a strong starter than lives in the fridge. My dad has maintained a starter for over 60 years - it is a quite watery one - it lives in his fridge and he takes it out, uses some, feeds it, lets it rise and then back into the fridge it goes. He "eyeballs" his measurements. His sourdough pancakes are a seminal part of my childhood, yum! I'd love to have something that didn't need daily maintenance, like that...

Photo of it at peak.