#tannin tank

[nientedal]

Fuckfins has gone to Valhalla. May she battle and feast at the sides of extremely confused Norsemen until the ending of the world 🐠

[headlessandhellbent]

Been a hot minute since we did a Fergus update-

So I ran out of IAL and ordered some of the same exact ones I had.

I did not get what I was expecting.

This is one single leaf of what arrived:

And now I get great views like this:

It's little fish against big leaf over here

And Fergus is enjoying every single damn moment of it

[gasterofficial]

apparently when i get high i order aquarium plants and stare longingly at plecos i cant afford for several hours

[whitefangz]

Btw. this is miso, she’s a female betta imbellis 👍 she is really stupid

[thenarrativefoil]

THE TANK IS CLEAN(er)

[savageboar]

luckily we have huge stainless steel pots for making large amounts of food for home canning that i can boil my driftwood in when it arrives

[teaboot]

How is loulou? Given the last update I’m hoping he’s ok :(

Loulou is doing great!!

I was worried about his tail but there's a specialist in town who took a look and said it just looks like normal wear and tear- apparently it happens with long tail varieties, and I'm not surprised since he's a double tail and can't really pull them in like a veiltail might. They're kinds just... always flared-looking? But yeah, made extra sure there are no sharps or abrasives in his tank so it's likely just... regular friction, I suppose? Idk.

Anyhow, his tank was getting a bit high on the acidity, so I tried a few different ph testers and they all say it's good now. Water changes and some lil tank cones for tannins. He's just as excitable and goofy as ever!

(And apparently what I thought might be stress stripes was not that.)

So. Still kinda nervous about it all but he... seems to be fine? Keeping an eye out regardless.

But anyway here's a picture!!!

He's EVEN MORE BLUE!!!

Giving his best anime eyes 💖

[chipped-chimera]

Since you guys liked the finished planted tank so much, have the tetra update!

A little bit of glass surfing is still happening but honestly was more because I was bugging them with my phone camera than anything. Most of today they were all over the place exploring~ also weird thing in the tank is a Banksia Seed Pod, threw it in for some extra tannins to help with any transition stress (natural antibacterial).

[octuscle]

I need some help! I spent most of my life in the UK, but I'm living in the States. I miss it. And I may have keyed in a few changes to make me feel at home. But, I dunno, I feel different, mate. What do you fink is happen'?

Mate, you've made a few adjustments to get back to living life as a chav like you did in Newcastle. But "Young", "Stupid", "Lazy" and "Constantly Horny" admittedly leads straight to a cheap haircut, tracksuit and fake Louis Vuitton hip bag at the bus stop in the UK. But you're in Los Angeles… The clocks tick differently there. You won't be a scally. You become more of a muscle bro. No interest in soccer, just football. No beer drinking and no chain smoking. American jocks are so boring. I'm glad you contacted me.

You're standing in front of the mirror. Flawless white teeth, buzzcut, toned and tanned muscles. Ey, not everything is bad. But that has nothing to do with homesickness. And the constant "bruh" and "dude" also annoys you… One of your gym bruhs calls and asks what's up. You ask "Mate, what dee ya say to a pint in the pub?" Your bruh asks if everything is okay with you. Alcohol? And at this time of day? He wanted to go to the gym and then to the beach. "Nah, mate! i was goin' to break for lunch na n' then i havta get 'ack to work here." Back to work? You're in college. And it's Spring Break…. Fuck, of course not. You're a carpenter. Interning at an interior design company here in the US. Fuck, the quality here really sucks. You should have tried to get an internship in Scandinavia. Or even better in Germany. There you can already drink beer for breakfast. And not some light stuff like here…

You have to burp. You made yourself a great English breakfast this morning in your dorm. None of that high-protein low-carb crap. Eggs, bacon, beans. Whatever a real man needs in the morning. Shit, beans always make you fart…

Your basketball shorts become work pants. Your tank top becomes a t-shirt. Your cool Apple Watch becomes a cheap almost real gold swank watch. On the other wrist you wear a matching bracelet. Your cell phone vibrates. "Mate, us're meetin' for a booze-up at the bus stop na. Are ya comin'?" You reply that the bloody pigs should fuck off, you're in fucking America and you still have work to do. You take a selfie and send it to your mates.

"mate, hav ya bin under the tannin' 'ed?" "you look like a 'each propa lad!" "come 'ack soon, ya're nit gettin' enough weed!"

You just answer with "I miss ya fuckers". It's time to go home. A chav like you just doesn't fit in California.

Ya alway find propa lads @toughukladz

[mod2amaryllis]

what do you mean by black water? I'm Curious but I don't know fish things.

it's a style of aquarium where you add tannins to the water to get this tea coloration

tannins are released by wood and what's referred to as "botanicals," stuff you find in nature like seed pods, pine cones, leaves, basically organic matter that breaks down slowly in water. it's cool cuz the idea is that you're mimicking the natural environment of the fish, and it's really good for them! you can look up the benefits of adding tannins. i put leaf litter in my tanks, just not enough to make my water too dark. when i boil the leaves i even add some of the "tea" for an extra little boost.

visually it's just sooooo cool.... you can't go too crazy with plants since the light won't penetrate, but the botanicals plus just a few pops of green is gorgeous

neon tetras are considered ideal for black water because it's so close to their natural environment in the Amazon. they're happy in it, and in fact their bright colors are that way BECAUSE it shines so brightly through the tannins; in the wild it helps schools keep track of each other!

[nientedal]

[kimarisgundam]

I'm kinda proud that this setup turned out well! It's my first time doing a backwater tank 😃!

It's been around 3.5 months (cycle, seasoning, and monitoring after adding my juvenile betta in) and I think everything is going great so far!

I think he's maturing well too cos his adult pattern is appearing/darkening 😃

(*coughs* I had issues at first cos I used the filter cartridge from my other betta tank to get the cycle going... not realising that there's activated carbon in it 😐

I kept adding almond leaves and wondering where my tannins were dissappearing to until I cut the cartridge open and was like "ooh..")

^ he's always begging for food 😅

He's a Betta macrostoma, a wild betta fish native to the region I live in (He's not wild caught, his parents were bred in captivity)

[endangered-aquarium-fish]

Samurai gourami (Sphaerichthys vaillanti)

Endangered

The samurai gourami is a small fish from the area of the Kapuas River in Borneo and its SO FUCKING COOL LOOK AT THEM I WANT ONE RAHHHH

They don’t actually live in the river, they’re way too cool for that-  

They live in a wonderfully bizarre habitat called a peat swamp, where pure rainwater pools over a meters-thick layer of decomposing leaves and wood fallen from the dense canopy above. The acids released as it all decays mean the pH of the water is so low (sometimes 3-4) that nothing can even decompose when it dies, and the tannic acids bond to any dissolved minerals and sink them into the soil. 

The water has the dark color and distinct scent of tea. It sits perfectly still, too dark for any plants to grow, so nearly every fish that makes its home there has to use a specialized organ called the labyrinth organ to get their oxygen from gulps of air. 

…btw, most adult fish will die within minutes in water like that - it’s nearly as acidic as pure vinegar. Samurai gouramis are literally so fucking metal… they live in the fucking Evil Death Water of Doom and theyre just. chilling. unbothered. thriving :3

The gouramis live in pairs, hidden in the tangles of submerged roots and branches and leaves. Their thin shape helps them mimic a dead leaf- and they play into that by acting like one too!! their slow, calm movement looks like they’re simply drifting peacefully through the water, even as they stalk their prey (mostly insects like mosquitoes). Also, they’re some of the biggest fish in the swamp- at a whopping 3 inches long. 

They usually form a social hierarchy where the biggest females get the best territory, food, and mates. And when they choose a mate, it gets really funky and weird :3

The males are less colorful than the females, but they have a pouch in their throat that they can extend as a display, kinda like an anole. The females lay from 10 to 40 eggs at a time before the males fertilize them and scoop them up with their mouth. It’s a lot like the toba betta, but it’s even more specialized - they keep the eggs in their throat pouch, even after they hatch 0.0 The babies spend a while growing up in there, just living in their father’s throat, and so he has to find a way to feed them…

He uses the tannic acids in the water. He absorbs them and mixes them with his own mucus, using their natural stickiness to form sort of a fishy tannin slime that he excretes into his throat like milk for the babies. They spend weeks nibbling at it until they get big enough that he can let them out to swim away. He doesn’t eat anything until they’re free. 

Overall 10/10 fish very funky does a masterful imitation of a leaf. but like if the leaf was fruity or something

They’re endangered by deforestation and pollution from illegal gold mining upstream. The efforts to protect them in the wild have failed, but not in aquariums :3

Luckily they don’t have to live in vinegar or acid rain or something. They’re okay in any soft water with a pH of 6.5 or less, which may even be how your tapwater is naturally. If not, you can gather fallen leaves, seed pods, and sticks from local trees and let those soak in your aquarium, and the tannins they release will give the fish what they need just like in the peat swamps. They really do need very soft water though, so if your water isn’t already naturally soft, this may not be the best fish for you. 

They do best in a shallow tank of at least 30 gallons, with very clean and warm water (75-82 F) and minimal flow. They don’t like bright light so add plenty of floating plants to cast shadows, and make sure the water has plenty of tannins to keep it that dark color. They can be very shy and reclusive sometimes so they really need a lot of cover to feel safe and comfortable enough to come out. It’s easy to give them that, just add lots of wood, dark caves, dead leaves, and plants to the tank. Most plants won’t do well in blackwater, but there are plenty that will - I like to use frogbit, cryptocorynes, water lilies, mosses, and some stem plants like rotala rotundifolia if you let them grow up to the surface. You can also use plants like pothos and peace lilies that like to grow with only their roots in the water - these are amazing at keeping the water clean and your gouramis will love the roots. There should be about an inch of air at the top for the fish to breathe from, and a lid to keep it humid enough so the babies’ labyrinth organs can develop properly. 

Samurai gouramis are wonderfully peaceful and harmless, so whatever you keep with them (except shrimp) is perfectly safe. The only thing you need to worry about is that the gouramis are slow and timid enough that a lot of other fish will eat all the food before they can get any- and if the other fish are aggressive at all the gouramis are done for. The best tankmates for samurai gouramis are small, slow, peaceful, and unintimidating, so I’d suggest a small school of pygmy cories or tiny rasboras like chili, kubotai, or axelrod rasboras. You could probably also keep them with similar peaceful gouramis like chocolate gouramis, licorice gouramis, or snakehead bettas. Just make sure you have plenty of other samurai gouramis (at least 6) since they need company almost as much as we do.

Breeding them is easy, just have a group and they’ll form pairs. The difference between males and females is really easy to see - the males are chocolatey brown like an old fallen leaf, and the females look like a psychedelic rainbow. They’ll all find their own spots in the tank when they decide to breed and eventually the males’ throats will be filled with eggs and they’ll become reclusive and stop eating for up to three weeks while they care for them. It’s best to move the adults into another tank temporarily for a few days after the babies are released or they could get eaten. The fry need to eat the microorganisms that grow around dead leaves, and they should be fed other tiny live foods as supplements like microworms and baby brine shrimp until they get big enough to eat what their parents eat. Even the adults are a bit picky and they prefer live foods but they can usually learn to eat protein rich prepared foods too.

Have fun with ur gouramis :3 

[tauforged]

got any tips for beginner aquarists? :O

any advice i’d give is highly dependent on what you’re looking to accomplish — all fish are very different and have different needs! however in all my years working in the aquatics department at a pet store, i’ve found that water quality can be hard to grasp for some people — understandably so, it can get complicated, but it’s very important for the health of your fish. here’s some of the important stuff that i learned the hard way so you don’t have to!

- FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY. DECHLORINATE YOUR WATER!!! seachem prime is the most concentrated dechlorinator you’ll find at most stores at 2 drops per gallon, and it lasts a good while. it’s got a strong sulfur smell to it in the bottle, but unless you massively overdose it you won’t smell it in your tank. the #1 mistake people make is not dechlorinating their tap water before filling a tank or doing a water change, and it sucks because it’s such an easy fix but can totally wipe a tank. always pre treat your water!!

- if you’re going to be using tap water, consider testing your water’s pH at the very least so you know what you’re working with. pH is integral to the health of aquatic animals down to a cellular level — if your pH is too high or too low, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing everything else right. keep an eye on that shit.

- if you need to adjust it, look into more natural ways to do so rather than bottled pH booster or reducers (sometimes chemical additives can react with eachother in funky ways). to raise your pH, put a mesh baggie of something like crushed coral sand in your filter. to lower it, look into driftwood that leeches tannins - it’ll turn your water a bit brownish, but that’s okay. in fact, a lot of fish in the hobby naturally come from waters thatre tannin-y, and will be quite alright with things a little murky!

- if you can’t use your tap water for whatever reason, bottled spring water is next best. distilled is really only good for topping off after water has evaporated, but it lacks a lot of minerals thatre important for your fish’s health, so don’t JUST use distilled.

- the larger a volume of water you’re working with, the more forgiving the entire tank system will be. i usually don’t recommend going smaller than ten gallons for your first tank — maybe a 20long or 29 if you want lots of options. you can definitely make tank volumes smaller than ten gallons work (i’ve got a planted low tech 3gal that’s been going strong for quite some time now) but it’s generally a lot more finicky and will be much easier for a mistake to snowball into an emergency

- filters are good! please use a filter on your tank. in general every tank should have a mechanical filter for water movement and to help maintain good bacteria (more on that in a bit), an airline bubbler to help keep the water moving and make sure it’s oxygenated, and a heater because most fish in the hobby are tropical and like things toasty.

- make sure you get a heater with a built in thermostat that will shut off if it gets too hot, ideally one that you can adjust instead of a pre-programmed one. they’re a bit pricy at box stores because they’re the ‘advanced’ option, but hygger is a solid brand and you can get a really nice one of theirs with a temp control dial on amazon for like 20$.

- PLEASE NEVER EVER EVER LEAVE YOUR HEATER PLUGGED IN WHILE ITS OUT OF THE WATER!!! it will overheat and break and is also a fire hazard. i recently had my water level on my reef tank drop due to a pump malfunction and the heater was SMOKING when i got home from work and found it. it will also make your heater thoroughly nonfunctional, and replacing them is a pain. most have a minimum waterline marked, make sure you pay attention to that. unplug it during tank maintenance if you’re worried about it not being fully submerged.

- you’re going to want to be patient. while you COULD fill a tank with water and then plop fish into it the next day, you’re not going to be as successful as if you’d aged the tank a bit and allowed a biofilter to establish itself . i recommend doing some research about the nitrogen cycle and nitrifying bacteria, but the long and short of it is as follows:

— biological waste (fish poop, uneaten food, dropped plant leaves if you have live plants) in your tank produces ammonia. ammonia is highly toxic to fish even in small amounts, so you want this to be as close to 0 as possible.

— there are certain bacteria that will process ammonia into NITRITES. nitrites are still not great to have a lot of, but are much less toxic than ammonia.

— there are OTHER bacteria that will then take those nitrites and turn them into NITRATES. nitrates are the least toxic of the three, and so your end goal is to establish a healthy population of these various bacteria so that any available ammonia is quickly processed into nitrite, which then becomes nitrate. nitrate can only be removed from the system via a water change, but some is absorbed by plants as well. you still definitely want to do water changes even in a well planted tank.

- there are lots of different ways to introduce these bacteria populations to your tank and establish a biofilter. bear in mind that you want to treat your biofilter like any other living thing, so make sure things like temperature and pH stay as consistent and stable as possible. ideally, you want to decide what sort of fish you’d like to keep and then figure out what their preferred ranges are, and then keep your tank at that for the entire bioseeding process

- if you want to do it au naturale, these bacteria will colonize any body of dechlorinated freshwater if given enough time. you want to add a source of ammonia (some people will buy cheap feeder fish and put them in there, but i find that a bit unfair to the fish as if it doesn’t go smoothly they could suffer from ammonia burns or other health issues. plus, it could introduce all sorts of parasites and pathogens to your tank that can be a pain to clean out without hurting your bacteria) . the safest and cheapest way is to ‘feed’ your tank with little bits of fish food every now and then

- either invest in a test kit, or find a fish store that can test for you. chain stores like petco or petsmart offer testing, but they use the cheap strip tests that are probably the least accurate. they’re mostly good for telling you ‘yup, ammonia is there’ but not actually indicating if it’s decreasing over time or not. do some digging to see if there’s any local fish stores in your area that can test for you, and ask what methods they use. chemical tests are good for giving a ballpark and generally the highest quality the average hobbyist will get. i use a spectrophotometer at work so i’m spoiled LMFAO but you don’t need all that

- you want to see an initial spike in ammonia, which will then start to go down. you don’t want it to go down TOO much and starve your bacteria, so keep feeding your tank as this happens. eventually, you’ll also see a nitrite spike — this is good! this means the first group of bacteria are here and working hard. once the nitrites start decreasing you will hopefully see nitrates start to go up, and then congrats, your tank has a biofilter!! you can start adding animals now, although make sure you don’t have too much leftover ammonia or yucky food on the bottom first. i would start small — nerite snails are the roombas of the freshwater aquarium world, so you’ll want a couple anyway. add these first. if they’re still chillin after about a week, you’re good to proceed.

- this process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. the longer you wait, the more well established and stable your tank will be.

- you CAN buy bottled bacteria to speed this process up a bit — your success may vary. most of the stuff you’ll find on shelves at a pet store likely isn’t alive anymore, but it doesn’t hurt to add because even if the bacteria are dead, you’re still adding waste material to help kickstart your cycle. the brand i’ve had the best luck with (and that we use for bioseeding systems at the aquarium i work at) is dr tim’s. not sure how many stores carry it, but you can find it online easily. there’s freshwater and saltwater versions, make sure you get the right one.

- even if you’re adding bottled bacteria, i would still let the tank run empty for a couple weeks. this lets you make sure all your equipment runs well and lets you play around with decor or lighting without stressing any fish out.

- when adding animals to your tank, do so gradually to avoid overloading your biofilter with ammonia. how gradually depends on tank size, but it’s always better to be more cautious than not.

- information about the hobby in general varies in quality depending on where you get it — so seek information from as many sources as possible! look through forums! read articles! ask the guy at your local fish store! ask another guy at a different fish store! don’t take any one source as fact, but bear in mind that not everyone may be right. the more opportunities you take to learn, the faster your knowledge base will grow and the easier it will get.

- tank size is its own beast, but my rule of thumb has always been that there’s never any such thing as giving a fish TOO MUCH space, but there’s absolutely such thing as not giving them enough. a betta fish, for example, can SURVIVD in 1-3 gallons of water… but will absolutely thrive in 10-20. in general, take a recommended tank size for any species as the bare minimum if anything.

- most of all, don’t be afraid to make mistakes! it happens to everyone, and it’s part of learning. anyone who tries to make you feel bad for not knowing something is just being rude. if you’re willing to learn, that’s the most important thing!

- pet store employees usually aren’t experts, but they’ve got questions they’re obligated to ask before they sell you an animal. if they deny you a sale due to tank size or something like that, don’t argue with them. they’re not judging you personally, they’re just doing their job. if you absolutely must lie to them to get them to give you the fish, at least be consistent with it. nobody ever likes having to go ‘well actually…’ halfway through scooping a half dozen fish because you let slip that you only have a ten gallon after insisting you have a 40.

- unless you have a pond or space for several hundred gallons of tank, stay away from goldfish. they’re adorable, i know, but they’re carp. they get big. they live a long time. they poop so much. they aren’t worth the hassle for most people.

- please never ever release fish you don’t want into the wild. if a pet store won’t take them for whatever reason, that sucks, but it’s on you. we don’t need any more invasive species. please

- please don’t flush fish that are still alive. if you absolutely must euthanize a fish, look into how to do so humanely (yes, people do this, and yes, there’s a right and a wrong way to do it)

[auckie]

waiting for the beta fish post to drop ill wait however long it takes idc 🦦

Okay. I’m ready. Nothing demotivates me more than losing progress on like. A game, or word document or whatever. A lost ask is like a grain of sand dropped into the ocean.

Anyways!

So betas are often sold in little cups, right? And the people at say, pet smart tell you, ‘yeah a bowl will do’. WRONG! While betas are somewhat low maintenance fish compared to many— a cheap but beautiful option that seemingly needs no filter or heater and very minimal space, it is now widely accepted that this is flat out untrue. Everyone knows males cannot be kept together, but even having just one fish I would highly recommend a ten gallon. May seem excessive but considering that betas do well in high tannin naturalistic setups, you’re going to want to fill this space with plants and hides. What’s more is if you don’t want to do a self filtering tank (which will still require moving water and regular changes/cleanings or refills), it is still generally recommended that you do invest in a filter and heater. I’ve seen some people go about this by using natural sunlight or heat lamps but 1) harder to regulate 2) risks overheating.

I used to keep fish. Betas and a warm fresh water 1 gallon with a few species together. I don’t anymore for a few reasons. Mostly the upkeep, and because for me personally. I just don’t like keeping fish. Any animal that’s bigger than your thumb, if it lives in a cage or tank and spends most of its time in there. This isn’t to say it’s wrong by any means, but like birds…I’ve just come to think ‘yeah we probably shouldn’t be keeping them outside of their natural habitat esp if they’re highly social or mobile creatures. Moreover with long life spans and high social/mating needs.’ Again! Not condemning the practice for others. It can certainly be done right! But it’s often a lot more time consuming and costly than people realize. Now if you’re willing to invest in what it takes to keep the animal comfortable by all means! Aquarium keeping can be super rewarding, and making naturalistic setups makes for beautiful and calming decor. It’s an amazing hobby. Even if you can’t keep something as simple as duckweed alive for whatever reason, artificial hardscapes with plastic plants and such can still look okay. And a ten gallon + tank vacuum + simple filter and heater really won’t cost you much! I highly recommend looking to YouTubers for tank inspiration, and tips!

If you do decide to go for a 3-5 gallon, or some nontraditional choice of habitats, like a large vase. Well I can’t stop you, and that doesn’t t mean your fish will die. It was a common myth not to long ago that fish couldn’t feel pain, and that their memory spans only lasted for 3 seconds. This is false, and luckily not as widely believed thankfully— but it’s a great example of how people will assume that non mammalian animals have simpler needs due to misunderstanding how their bodies operate, simply because of how different they are than say a cat or dog. Not accusing you of this by any means— you may very well be waaay more informed and aware of this than I am. But it’s a necessary disclaimer.

Other easy to keep fish include neon tetra, fantail guppies (but do not mix them with fish who will nip their tails), and the classic goldfish. another disclaimer about the latter: flushing goldfish thought to be dead, or simply tossing unwanted ones into local water ways has caused them to become a highly invasive species in many areas across North America. Do NOT do this. They’re outcompeting native species due to how fucking hardy they are, and growing to insane sizes. The lack of natural predators and peoples unwillingness to fish for them makes for a particularly nasty pest :/

These aforementioned fish save the goldfish will need the same basic things as a beta, but can be kept in mixed sexed groups, and tetras are often kept with great danio, mollies, and even tiger barbs (who are cute but can be a little aggressive for smaller beginner fish). All of these are available at big chain pet stores for very cheap.

If you’re hellbent on forgoing heaters and filters you could try triops (they don’t require much space but love to dig so have some specific substrate needs, and don’t live very long but can be multigenerational and sustained if done correctly. They’re also insanely cute and entertaining to watch), shrimp (so many different kinds!), snails, or even a mixture of these!

There’s also ecojars. Very cheap to make, and very educational! I love microfauna and follow a lot of YouTubers who’ve had great success making both aquatic and terrestrial ecojars from the local environments around them. If you live by the coast, brackish and saltwater jars are a lot harder, but freshwater ones are very simple! Terrestrial ones are basically just vivariums/terrariums you can even stock by going out to forage for things like snails, slugs, isopods, millipedes, etc. Clean up crew critters do well, but larger predatory insects are a bit harder to keep in an enclosed/self sustaining habitat. That brings us to our next options!

If I can sell you out of aquariums for an easier and possibly cheaper or equal price with a lot less upkeep! But. It involves insects so I’m going to put it under a cut in case that is not something you’re looking for. It’s long too, so feel free to ignore it. BUT! If I’m able to wet your whistle please feel free to ask for more info 🤠

Bugs! Well, arthropods. Such as: isopods (I have rubber duckies and they are doing exceptionally well eating nothing but leaves with the occasional fruit or veggie and calcium sources! They cohabitate with spring tails, harmless soil mites, and terrestrial amphipods. There are many much cheaper and hardier species that are easier to find such as dwarf whites, dairy cows, or even local wild caught ones! Another warning is to NOT dump these outside. And be careful foraging for things from outside for them to eat because you never know what’s been treated with pesticides or beneficial nematodes, or is infested with fungus, mold, or harmful pest species like parasites or mites).

Really all you need for any given species is a little container with a few air holes, substrate such as coco fiber, reptisoil, jungle mix, or your own backyard topsoil which ideally has been baked to sterilize. You can also bake pinecones and oak or magnolia leaves for them to feed on. Crush them up and mix them into the substrate, and add either crushed oyster shells or maybe bits of limestone or coral if you have them available. You can buy cuttlefish bone online as well. They love cork bark, but again, I’m sure if you find and bake bark or bits of drift wood, you can make that work too. They loooove to eat moss, and some species will readily gobble up fish food and bee pollen. Josh’s frogs (as well as other brands) make some specific powder blends that I feed mind. I think it’s called bug burger. The general practice is to create a ‘moist side’ and ‘dry side’ gradient so the isopods have a choice of where to go. They have gills but that doesn’t mean they want to always be drowning in 90% humidity. There’s a lot of beautiful exotic species but they get expensive fast, and are often fond of burrowing or hiding in sphagnum moss so you won’t always see them, and well. They’re usually tiny.

Millipedes are very similar— some are huge and beautiful, some even look like giant isopods (pill millipedes), but burrow, so…you won’t get the most visual bang for your buck.

A lot of people are very fond of finding and keeping jumping spiders. They’re cute to look at and fun to feed, but this requires buying feeders (crickets, meal worms, roaches, or fruit flies depending on size and what’s available near you), but that’s not always everyone’s speed. Plus they don’t live very long once they’re adult size and sexually mature. You can buy them as well but, I prefer to just enjoy them outside. Why take a solid guy out of his environment if he’s not gonna live much longer and is doing his part in ridding your yard of gross bitches? They do a NUMBER on mosquitos.

Beetles! Some species stay grubs for the majority of their lives and will be buried until they’re ready to go out and find love, so as much as I love larger species that are fun to interact with, I’m going to lean towards what I own: the blue feigning death beetle

Very silly little beasts. Very low maintenance! They live in American deserts and are covered by a powdery residue that helps them retain moisture. You can make a mix of sand and coco fiber and keep them in an open top tank (I keep mine in a huge fish bowl), and provide them with hides such as cholla wood or cork bark, rocks and even plastic decor. They will eat almost anything and get most of their moisture from their diet. I feed mine cut up fruits and veggies, the occasional roach, beetle jellies, bug burger, chicken feed, cat food (wet or dry), sugar water in little bottle caps with a sea sponge, moss, or cotton ball in them, fish flakes, freeze dried peas, bee pollen, and even like. Leftover bread or popcorn so long as it’s unseasoned. They can go a while without food or water too, so handle neglect well. But so long as you give them a ‘wet sweet food’ and protein at least once a week you should be Gucci. They’re diurnal afaik and will begin moving about when it’s light out. They don’t need heat lamps or anything of the sort.

They rarely bite and when they do it’s because you have food on your hand, and it doesn’t hurt. They can’t climb or fly, and play dead when threatened. Very cute to watch, and hold, and they’re constantly fucking. Sometimes a male will see another male trying to feel up a larger female, and will climb atop them both and start trying to have sex with the male. I’ve seen two males feeling up and trying to go at it with a rock. They’re so funny. But it’s very difficult to breed them in captivity. They live a while tho so hey, you got a while to research and experiment! Because of this, however, most available for purchase are wild caught. And I personally am not crazy about that.

Scorpions! There’s a good amount of largely harmless species that make for great pets! Asian forest and emperor are the first two that pop into my head. They glow under UV light, making them easy to find, and don’t have to eat super often. The one I own loves to run up to the side of its enclosure whenever I walk by, throwing its claws up to show me it means business. I’ve never been stung but I hear it’s like a bee sting. The two species listed are cheap and prefer it moist, and afaik don’t really sting once they’re mature. They prefer to use their claws to do the talking. Below is a random species under UV light:

And finally, the most visually pleasing, long living, and low maintenance yet entertaining things I own: tarantulas. Given that I work at a tarantula breeder and am incredibly biased feel free to ignore this next bit, but also hear me out. I’ve never been afraid of tarantulas, but used to be a bit wigged out by spiders as a kid. T’s, at least the new world species I own, are so. Much more stationary, slow, and just. Nonchalant than most true spiders I’ve kept. You will usually know if and when they’re about to strike.

Orb weavers have never done well for me, but I’ve had some luck with cobweb weavers (they don’t tend to remake their webs every fucking day which helps with setting up a habitat), but they just don’t live very long— and when something has such a short lifespan I feel guilty for keeping it from its primary goal of breeding. Tarantulas, however, can live for up to 20+ years. And you can make money breeding them! But a lot of discords or Facebook groups dedicated to this are. Like full of the most obnoxious people you’ve ever met. Males don’t live as long, they usually croak after sexually maturing and then molting again. If they’re lucky they might make it one more. And they don’t have a great chance when it comes to breeding and surviving. Depends on the breeder controlling the situation. I’ve read that the longest lived one on record was a female Goliath bird eater* clocking in at over 30 years old. That’s a fucking cat. Not all get huge either! There’s dwarf species, and many are arboreal meaning you’re likely to see it often!

The shop I work at, along with most tarantula breeders recommend a GBB as a first time spider. I fucking Do Not. They’re aggressive, cute as spiderlings but less cute as adults, gross (web and bolases and shit everywhere), kick urticating hairs* that drive me nuts. And they just suck.

I have two coworkers who follow me and will strongly disagree but I don’t care because I know I’m right on this one: my top beginner picks are the caribena (formerly avicularia) versicolor.

As slings they are bright blue and so fucking funny. They walk like a cat with mittens on and their urticating hairs are so fucking mild that you won’t even notice them. Their red mouths stick out like a shitty lipstick on their stupid blue bodies and they love to shake their butts before they jump, like a cat but way worse. They’re not terribly fast and their bite is nothing. It’s worthless. They’re…somewhat sensitive and do like to randomly die, but so long as you keep them in an arboreal enclosure with ventilation and a weekly misting? You’re golden baby. They eat well, are arboreal so you’ll always see them, and can be kept in fairly small enclosures for quite some time! Here’s what they look like as adults:

Still pretty! And not scarily massive.

I own an even more sensitive species: the Brazilian jewel tarantula. It’s a dwarf species but stupid expensive and makes a shitty trapdoor so you don’t see it often which is a shame bc they’re beautiful and so adorable. Similar mannerisms and levels of ‘this piece of shit can’t hurt me’. Ideally you won’t be handling them but, well, I can’t blame you if you do bc it’s fun. I don’t own any species that care hurt me bc why would I want to?

For some. More common first time reccs tho, I would probably say the Arizona blonde (very chill and fuzzy. Somewhat more itchy), the Brazilian black (a little less stunning but also pretty chill and fun to watch because they will completely rearrange the furniture of their habitat for no reason), the Chilean rose hair (read previous)— basically any grammastola or brachypelma species. Hamorii (Mexican red knees) look cool. Another controversial pick are cyriocosmus. They have golden hearts on their butts! They’re pricier though, and again, other t keepers act as if they’re hard. They’re not. Most new world species are simple if you just research them— my boss often will balk and laugh when she hears people are buying 1/2 inch slings and putting them in like, 5 gallon tanks. But it’s literally fine. They def don’t need that much space but if they burrow. Look for the hole. Give them enough substrate, keep it moist but not sopping. Ventilation is key. Some people use empty, clear take out bins or medicine vials to keep these things in, and that’s fine so long as there’s air holes. You can use a soldering iron or small drill, or even a pin to poke some into the container, depending on how hard it is. Even larger spiders have been kept in big empty jars and such. You feed them once a week unless they’re in premolt (they get fat and shiny or lose their hair on their asses and may make a molt mat of web, or a little enclosed webbing bubble, or bury themselves and won’t eat during this time which, depending on species, could be a while), or whenever they look skinny!

If they’re arboreal give them a vertical climb, be it a real plant or plastic, cork bark, even aquarium decor. So long as it’s not sharp because tarantulas are surprisingly delicate.

Feed them something the size of their ass give or take, and disable it using little, sharp feeding tongs (grab the head and drop it in near them, or hold it to them at a distance and if it’s moving they’ll usually strike). Some super tiny slings will even eat springtails. Larger, adult T’s can take multiple dubia or even big ass roaches like hissers. It’s kind of sad feeding them off but, the spiders gotta eat 🤷‍♂️ if you’re interested and have any questions on other species, or the ones I listed, lemme know!

Okay. And by far. The least wanted or liked recommendation I have. Are roaches 😔 there’s some beautiful species out there man. Hissers are super fucking docile, but prolific. They hiss when scared, but never bite. They don’t even eat each other in times of duress! They do have spiky leg bits which can scare some people off. But take a look at emerald roaches (which are. Expensive 😶), don’t they look like cool beetles? They’re arboreal! Then there’s the table mountain roach, which SQUEAKS when scared! The domino roach! I’ve posted pics of molting roaches many times— they’re soft and white and have huge, mantid like eyes. It’s very disarming and cute. They’re so much more intelligent than we give them credit for. The roaches I keep at work know when I’m about to feed them and they all clamor at the tops of their bins, and once the feed is in they all grab a bit and run off with it in their mouths like dogs! Many tropical, burrowing species are basically little cows, and many are amazing parents which is a rarity in the insect world!

Most of these fellers can do well in a plastic bin with a top, with ventilation of course. And the usual substrate, hides like cork bark and rocks and moss, misting, and similar feed to isopods and the beetles I mentioned. As for price and availability, well, you’re probably only going to be able to find hissers and dubia unless you have a niche store near you or are willing to have them shipped. And while I love both of them. They are gross. They’re R strategists to a T and will multiply to the point that they require sell offs or regular culling. Which, if you own species that eat them, it can be a win win! But they also are hard to keep clean. So I probably, actually do not recommend them 😞 the less prolific, more beautiful species are cleaner, but more expensive. But hey, I had to shoot my shot, right?

Okay. Well. Thank you for listening if you got this far. Good luck either way and thanks for being patient!

*Goliath bird eaters and any similar named bird eating tarantula do not. I mean they *can* eat birds yeah but that’s just a shocking name that stuck. Don’t let that scare you. But also that species sucks so it doesn’t matter

*pretty sure I put another asterisk in here but I can’t find it and don’t remember what it was for sorry. Shoot me an ask if it was like. Killing you ig

[savageboar]

i want driftwood in tank but also would have to boil the wood for hours to get all the fuckin tannins out. excuse me im cooking my wood.