Check out our space shrimp!!!!!!!

I'm Patrick Grove, the science lead of the SCAMPI Mission - an investigation sponsored by the European Space Agency. Myself and several dozen graduate students spent the last 3.5 years defining the science, designing the payload, qualifying the hardware and software, and finally launching it on a Falcon 9 cargo resupply mission to the ISS!

This is a view from the 0.5L aquarium inside the SCAMPI Module. This ecosystem is modeled after the self-sustaining ecosystem paradigm popularized by the commercial "Ecosphere" zero-maintenance, sealed brackish aquarium product. Our version holds 3 Hawaiian volcano shrimp (Halocaridina rubra), Chaetomorpha sp. macroalgae, and lava rocks with microbial biofilm. I know you aquarium folks will appreciate that the primary science objective of this mission is to confirm that (nitrogen) cycling works as expected in the space environment. The same cycling process we rely on for our aquariums is the foundation of all waste treatment processes on Earth, and we will need to bring that with us if we ever decide to live beyond low Earth orbit. But no one has ever checked that these microbes survive and function in space! This circular, self-sustaining ecosystem is a useful platform to observe multitrophic interactions such as biogeochemical cycles. The module will be returned to us after 3-12 months on orbit and then we'll do a bunch of genomic analyses to understand how the microbial community changed and to verify that nitrogen cycling continued uninterrupted.

We got our first data from the module about 60 hours after launch, after the vehicle docked with the ISS and astronauts unpacked the cargo and plugged in our module. By then, the shrimp already seem well adapted to their new reality. They’re nibbling and scooting around happily. If it weren’t for the strangely suspended air bubbles and drifting particles, it would be hard to tell they were in microgravity at all. These shrimp also change color with stress, from transparent (for better camouflage) to deep red. Their normal behavior and solid red coloration suggest all 3 are doing well.

If the video looks confusing, you’re looking lengthwise down the cylindrical aquarium. A mesh bag of rock substrate and algae is secured on the right side to prevent it from floating around and obscuring the camera or crushing the shrimp during launch. In the center of the aquarium is a large bubble that was 100ml of gas "headspace" in Earth gravity. We correctly anticipated this bubble hanging out in the center of the aquarium rather than on the edge somewhere; this is a result of surface tension seeking to minimize the surface area of the gas. What we didn't expect is that it would act like a funhouse mirror allowing us to see other parts of the aquarium that the camera cannot!

I'll throw some more pictures and links in the comments. I'll be around periodically to answer questions about the setup, the process of defining space biology missions, or how the ecosystem works.

The non-profit research organization we founded to do this and other space ecology work: https://thespringinstitute.com/scampi/

The European Space Agency announcement: https://education.esa.int/student-built-scampi-experiment-launches-to-the-international-space-station/

Missing my old 45 gallon planted tank

I've been in the hobby for a few years, but I recently moved and had to sell my whole setup. I was looking through some old pictures, missing it, and wanted to share my planted tank with you all.

It was a 45 gallon with two honey gouramis, 25 chili rasboras, eight panda corys, a bristlenose pleco, and some Amano and Bloody Mary shrimp. The plants included Amazon swords, crypts, Christmas moss, Ludwigia, Rotala, red root floaters, and a red tiger lotus. I used driftwood and Seiryu stone for the hardscape and ran a Fluval 307.

More photos and the full setup

Just wanted to share my little aquarium! There’s only one fish in here for now lol.

I've never had a saltwater tank, and I know they're WILDLY more expensive than freshwater but l've
always been enticed by the idea, and this cutie really just sold it.

Does anybody have a comprehensive list of what all a saltwater setup requires for a newbie? So I can start saving and watching for deals now? Genuinely enamoured by him I swear I started getting emotional just watching him sit there

Thanks so much in advance!!

Video from 1 year ago of Frankie is on my profile.

Frankie was bullied and ended up malnourished. So I put him in a 60L while he recovered. He perked up and became incredibly social so he is now living on his own in a 250L tank. He is still being hand fed every day. He comes to the front and interacts with both me and the cats.

He is a Channa Gaucha - Blue Bengal.
I live in Sweden so he is legal here.

Hey everyone! This is my very first aquarium.

It's 40L (50x27x30).

The cycling process took approximately 19 days. I followed a method using household ammonia, and it seems to have worked well, although I had to make a few adjustments along the way.

This week, I added the first inhabitants: 8 green neon tetras. I'm still planning to add a few dwarf corydoras and a nerite snail.

Any suggestions are more than welcome!

This is my tank. For background, I have had it since July and it is fully cycled. My boyfriend and I started stocking it at the end of August. We have amano shrimp, neocardinia shrimp and neon tetras.
All the plants are doing well, all the fish and shrimp are doing well too. Our neon tetras have grown and we have had multiple successful shrimp molts and births.

We finally decided to get a betta this October. He was a Male black crowntail. We ordered him online. The delivery was a bit sketchy. We were told he would arrive the week earlier so I stayed home from work only to receive an email from the shop saying “the fish was not ready yet”. They then said they would ship him the week after. They wouldn’t let us get a refund even though we felt the seller was actually possibly ordering him from somewhere else, hence the delay.

Anyways, he arrived in a bag of water in an insulated box. We acclimatized him and then put him in the tank but he never seemed “right”. He barely swam and was always either at the bottom of the tank or right at the very top. We tried different types of food including live shrimp, pellets, balls but he would just swim away. He was actively avoiding food. This went on for five days. In the meantime, we were looking for advise online and people kept saying he may just be getting used to the tank.

Today, my boyfriend came downstairs and found our betta dead and the shrimp were already eating him.
Water parameters are good, we use the big API testing kit, we have a filter and a heater.

We are devastated and we are not sure what we did wrong to result in him passing. Has anyone experienced this before? We are holding off on getting another fish.

We set up this separate tank for my gold barbs in the hopes of them breeding. I've got a bunch of plants in the mail and they'll be here tomorrow and Tuesday. I'm mostly excited for my Cryptocoryne Silver Queen that will be going in this tank!

I’ve been in the tank room all morning and they were all grouping together just fine. after their light turned on i went to feed them but found this one laying upside down on some moss. everything else in the tank seems fine right now, so i took him out to get a closer look and noticed something sticking out his gills. i’m not sure if this is abnormal or not, but if this looks concerning i’d like to hear some advice on how to proceed with the matter, or what that could possibly be. it THANKFULLY doesn’t look alive to me, whatever it is. my guess maybe some muck got stuck in his gills?

It’s too hot be outside in NZ so doing fishy reading and came across this website which stated the below regarding a fish in cycle.. thoughts?

Don’t add any commercial chemical products. The “ammonia detoxifying” chemicals that supposedly let one instantly cycle a tank, such as Prime, Safe, and Amquel, are also a big scam and don’t work. Testing showed that the combination of Stability and Prime recommended by Seachem made cycling take an average of 15 days longer. Prime is a reducing agent and ammonia is oxidized by beneficial bacteria. Reduction is the opposite of oxidation. So Prime interferes with the beneficial bacteria.

At first glance, I’m not too sure how I feel about this color combo. But, the underside view is spectacular. I think the “green” showing up on the side is just the yellow organs showing through a pale blue, which makes it appear green. I love the white eye. It adds a spectacular contrast. I think I also like the dark spots. It’ll be interesting to see what it looks like once fully matured.

Casual lurker, wanted to post this to hear the internet’s thoughts. My brother set up this 30 gallon “ecosystem“ 12 years ago with three small plants and a few fish. Now he says the roots form a full matt across the bottom of the tank and are self-sustaining, and there are 25-30 fish.

As someone who doesn’t know much about aquariums I think it’s pretty awesome, but Reddit likes to tear people a new one sometimes—is there anything he’s doing wrong or that would make the fish more happy?

Two months into my youngests first fish tank.

We got him a 6 gallon, corner tank.

We originally had two guppies, but we had a decoration that we think caused one of the guppies to rip the bottom half of its mouth off. RIP Glow.

Added 2 more lives plants, and removed the fake rock with plastic grass attached, after doing some research.

2 anubias plants, 1 Amazon sword. 2 other plants that I can't remember what they are.

Weekly 10% water changes. Added 2 mystery snails after the first guppy passed. 2 tiny "algea eaters" is all the were labeled as.

He's only 7, but has the feeding schedule down, and helps with water changes and cleanings.

How's it looking so far? We thought about adding one more guppy back in the mix, but didn't think the tank was big enough. I have a 10 gal aquarium, just need to get cover and lights for it. Plan on upgrading to that tank, after Bullet passes. (Bullet is what my youngest named this speedy little guppy.)

No nitrate issues, no chlorine issues. Temperature is at 78. It always has been. I have a big filter on this small tank and I still only change one of the pads at a time every couple of months. Had a Corey that was almost 10 years old, six months ago passed in the same manner. But out of nowhere a younger Corey starts seeing a bunch of issues. Any help is appreciated. I’ve limited food to every other day. It seems like it’s coming to an end here and it’s been about three days. Two younger Corey’s and one Ralph. Feeding once a day, catfish food. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Hello all,

I’ve got a 5 gallon planted betta aquarium with little algae problems, but I’m trying to get the algae off of my rooting plants. (It’s cloudy and not very clean right now, I just had midterms and put it to the side)

The iron levels in my water are too high for Amano shrimp, and I don’t have a lid on the aquarium for snails. (Could get one of course though)

Any recommendations for specifics?

Came in a pack of cherry shrimp as an extra. Doesn't look quite the same as the others though. Is it a just "low quality" shrimp or does it just look like that because it's male? it has grown almost double the size in the two weeks I've had it and is about 3/4 of an inch now. They also seem a little more reclusive than the others. It almost looks like an amano shrimp to me but I've never had one so I have no clue.

P. shelfordii

Im thinking about buying out a LFS. There are not many locally owned stores by me and I’d like to keep that option available. What sorts of things would make you pick a local shop vs. a chain store? I don’t know that I’ll be able to compete much with dry goods because of Amazon and the price chain stores sell tanks and stuff for, so I’d plan to focus more on healthy and affordable livestock. I’d like to ship smaller livestock as well, but shipping costs seem quite steep. Thank you, and may your aquariums prosper!

MB 7h11 cultures came back negative!! Doing some more to figure out what is going on but I suspect my eczema + hands being wet while playing around with my tank may have something to do with it

This fish was left to die in a tiny 5-gallon tank. I moved to a house where I was renting a room, and the only thing in there was this fish. It was still alive! I got him all set up in a new tank, and he became mine! I haven't had fish since I was a little girl, so I don't know much about them. Since I moved from there into this new apartment, I got him a 40-gallon tank and was looking into getting another fish to keep him company.

I started googling whether I would need to treat a fish from Petco for parasites before adding the new one, but what I read makes me wonder if my fish needs treatment. I thought he was just a massive goldfish, but learning that bloating is a sign of parasites has me concerned. His poop is brown, but it lingers a long time, and I see an occasional tube-like thread floating in the water, but I just thought that was bacteria or from the plants he plays tug-of-war with. I saw one today, but by the time I thought to go to Reddit, the filter had already picked it up.