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My son and I watched the sunrise at Venice Beach day after Christmas. Drove down for the sharks teeth but found the winds had covered them up and deposited thousands of sponges, sea fans, and tunicates torn loose over the holiday. He made an Xmas tree out of them and a piece of driftwood.

Whether you need to moderate tank temperatures during summertime heat spikes, or set cooler water conditions for particular fish species, sometimes aquarists need the _opposite_ of a heater. As ACO has neatly written up here, there are multiple options for achieving desired water cooling temperature goals. I am experimenting with (1) wrapping my tank with some black insulation, and (2) running a fan. If you have found success with particular products, please do share! I looked around awhile, and decided to go with these: For insulation wrapping, I plan to wrap a 55 gal NANF tank between the lower edge of the upper rim and the upper edge of the lower rim - flat against the glass. I hope to just cover the back and sides. I'll use three sheets, and use Gorilla Tape to cover the edges and keep it from peeling away. This will require some effort, as my 55 gal tank is pretty immovable. The old-school blue background has worn down, and needs to be replaced. I am told that a good fan can help lower water temperature by 3-5 degree Fahrenheit. This brand does not have many reviews, but looking through reviews of other brands, I thought I'd give this a try. Right now, I have kept these wild caught (F0) Catawba River Drainage Greenhead Shiners (Notropis chlorocephalus) since March, 2023. They sometimes turn a bit red... But this is what I am going for -- their full spawning colors... Will keep this thread updated as this project moves forward. I have to believe that it's possible to bred these!

Still no promised video YET, will soon enough, I promise. Definitely wanted to drop a journal entry after the last 5-7 days craziness...in saying that, I write this mainly as a warning but also as a thanks to my saviors once again @nabokovfan87 & @Guppysnail for answering my distress call per usual. My 60 gal this week had a KH/pH crash which I could not explain. Felt like I might've done something when I did my every 4-6 week canister service/Purigen change. I noticed it because anytime I have a fish death, found a dead Sterbai 😞, I just out of habit check my water parameters to see if something is amiss. Luckily, I had an idea there was as my Rummynose males were very muted, stressed in color. Anytime there is something wrong in a tank they are in, you will know with them first and foremost right away as they lose the red in their faces ASAP...this info was dropped to me a while back by @Lennie. So I checked my parameters, no ammonia...no nitrite. I go to the next one, pH and nitrates, now bear in mind I had just finished doing a canister service/25% water change the day before. My nitrates were at 85 ppm and my pH was at 6.0!! I immediately reached out and inquired about ideas, Naboko suggested KH and sure enough it was 0. I couldn't think of how I could've killed my KH...did I touch the canister against something in cleaning it that would've had cleaner or bleach or something? No. Did I forget to dechlorinate my water change water? No. Did I use my water preparation/storage container's water to do the water change(this water was from a week or more before collected from my tap when my tap was reading 7.6 pH)? No. Meaning I used tap water that day...now I knew there was a flush or couple flushes happening over a month's time but literally nothing has changed with my water other than it got much harder, usually its 7.0-7.2 at most. Well I tested the tap water, without a doubt it was that. 6.2 pH, 0 KH, 1 GH. Now I just got an RO system, but my water source is exterior of my home I am using and running a water line threw into my fish room to my collection barrel. This takes time and also good weather, neither I have had as of late. For now, I have to deal with tap water and figure out a way of fixing the problem and thanks to my aforementioned friends above, I did that. I filled multiple 5 gal buckets doing chemical KH/GH buffer means and then GH buffer combined with baking soda in others. Baking soda kept its KH without losing it while the KH Alkaline Buffer from Seachem only raised the pH higher then not keeping the KH stable once it was added to my tank via a water change. With baking soda and Equilibrium mix, the water held its KH with the water change and also didn't blow the pH super hard. Last bucket test I got was this... 5 gal bucket 1/4 tsp Equilibrium 1/4 tsp baking soda pH: 7.2-7.4, 3 KH, 3 GH. Arguably you want more of a GH than KH I have been told, but for what I am trying to do, recover my KH while not killing my pH in one direction or the other, this seems to be a sweet spot to start. Did 2 water changes with it and have recovered my tank's parameters to 7.2 pH, 3 GH, 2 KH and 25 ppm Nitrates, zero/zero on the nasty stuff. My advice, if you live especially in cold areas, check your tap water's parameters throughout the winter time. They love to flush the systems at this time. Glad it wasn't something worse than it was though and once again, this forum saves the day. 🙂

I have a fan from Amazon on my Catawba River (almost finished) tank. it works extremely well, cooling down the water significantly (feels like an actual coldwater creek). Unless you have an exceptionally hot room, I think that it would do its job for most purposes without insulation material. it has 2 settings, medium and high power. The one significant issue with this particular fan is that the bracket does not fit larger rimmed tanks (rigged it to where it's fine in my case). High power can be a bit noisy though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2R438TJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

The pic you share on social media😎: You in the pic your friend shared, just because they looked good in there🤪😝: When you look good in a pic but no longer talk to the people in there so they have to be removed:

To reduce particulate matter, you need a finer filter media. Filter floss is great at removing particulates, but clogs more quickly than sponge. It's also easier to clean than sponge, but isn't as reusable (you just throw it away). So, there are tradeoffs. I lean towards filter floss and fine filter media because I like clear water and I want to be able to quickly maintain my filter. For a yellowish tinge to the water, that may be caused by both the biological processes in your tank as well as the break down of wood (tannins). Activated carbon and other forms of chemical filtration will clear that up. Many folks choose not to use chemical filtration because (a) they don't want it filtering out fertilizer and trace elements and (b) they don't mind slightly yellow water. Personally, I don't use chemical filtration. There is disagreement on how long activated carbon and other chemical filtration lasts (with biofilms possibly interfering with them). A green tinge to the water might be algae. You could try reducing light intensity. Also, you'll want to test various water parameters to see what might be lacking for your plants (and why algae is currently outcompeting them). If you are seeing cloudy water, that might be a bacterial bloom. That could point to a tank not being cycled yet, over feeding, etc..

I wonder if you keep a tank with no fish (but with snails or without snails), would keeping a tank fishless for a period break the cycle of parasites like flukes, ich, common worms etc? The question goes for other diseases too. If you keep a tank fishless but running for the required period of time, would potential bacterial/viral diseases disappear at some point or they are always there? Is there a general adviced period for this? OR restarting the tank is the only option?

Just my understanding but I am far from a bacteriologist or parasitologist. If the disease or parasite requires a fish host my understanding is yes. However you would need to know the duration of the lifecycle. Some things that require a fish host to complete its life cycle can remain in another state until the proper host comes along. Some opportunistic things do not require a fish host though. Some can use simple detritus to remain alive.

The one unique method I found many years ago was robbing an old cat fountain of the pump with suction cups. I then stuck it at the top and created a sort of fountain to take the best advantage of any evaporate cooling I could.

When removing calcium, vinegar can be your friend. Take the lid off of the tank, Submerge the lid in vinegar if you can, or place vinegar soaked paper or cloth towels on the deposits until they soften.

Hi! My name is Chris Rougeux, aka turtlerouge. My question today is, should i use the ATA Aqua soil foundation in my tank? I will be putting different size lava rocks in my tank also along with 2 bonsaia driftwood trees. I want to put at least one show piece fish in tank. I really like community fish and plecos. I wanted to pur a discus in the 40 gal tank but i cant. I like the Boseman Rainbow fish but im not sure what other show fush i can put in tge 40 gal that wont eat the other fish. Since im new to the planted tanks, i thought of putting plants in ut for newbies. Like, Anaubis, swords, java ferns, java nanos, val, and a few others. Would i need low lighting for all these plants? Are all these plants stem plants? Will that ATA soil be enough along with the Lava Rocks, or should i add more to it? Im going to be using tap city water. Im suppose to boil the driftwwod tree for 30 mins, but i dont have anything large enough to boil the driftwood bonsai tree in. I will have 2 bonsai trees in same tank. I have a full hood for the 40, plus the glass top. That glass top has a lot of calcium build up on it. I tried cleaning it off but i sliced my hand on the glass edge. Could i set my hood light, put in it an LED plant light and set that on top on the glass top ovrr the tank? Is there anythung that i. Forgetting to add to my soon to be planted fish tank?? Thanks, Chris R

Been researching different ways to breed my Betta fish.. but I'd really love to hear from some people who have successfully went through this breeding process first-hand, please? What are some good, helpful tips and what are some dos and donts with Betta fish breeding for beginners? Thank you!

(1) Before leaving home, feed live foods heavily. Lots of Daphnia, Baby Brine Shrimp, whatever you have on hand. (2) Adjust conditions to promote spawning behavior: especially for NANF, leave certain tank lights on (i.e. turn _off_ the timer), add a stone tray for riverine egg scatterers, open a vent to a basement fishroom to allow temperatures from central air to lift from mid 60s past the golden threshold of 70-F... (3) After everything has settled down, kids are tucked in bed . . . post a thread about how neat it will be when you return home in a few days to find your fish have been spawning while you were away at your in-laws 😎

Hey Here's the idea, I'm not ready to purchase a big air piston pump and have multiple little pumps. Could I go ahead and setup the pipe with just the little pumps to aerate the sponges. Theoretically, the little pumps should provide enough pressure in comparsion to the big pumps, right?

Hi Team - I've got two Gold Barbs that I recently put into quarantine. They were originally in my 75 gallon display tank. They have red spots / sores on them. I assumed this was some sort of bacterial infection, so I've run through two full courses of Maracyn. I've also tried salt - up to 1 tablespoon per gallon. They've been in a 10 gallon quarantine for about 3 weeks now and don't seem to be getting any better even with these treatments. At best, they seem to be about the same. They still swim around and are eating. Parameters are listed below. Any ideas on what this is and what I should do? Pictures also attached. .Thank you! Temp: 74 Ammonia: 0 Nitrate: 0 Nitrite:0 Hardness: 100 Buffer: 80 pH: 7.6 Chlorine: 0

For the best prices, I go to my local club’s yearly expo (in the last hour you can usually haggle for a good price when purchasing multiples). The monthly meeting is also a good time if I don’t want to wait. However, since your question specifically said sites I assume you want a website. I bought some bolbitis from Dustin’s fish tanks a couple months ago which came healthy, well packaged and in a larger than expected portion.

Possible viral infection it could have a bacterial component what would is treat with kanaplex it's more broad spectrum antibiotic treatment that predominantly treats gram negative bacteria and some gram positive were as maracyn predominantly treats gram positive and some gram negative @Twood

Hi Nolan, I will answer all your questions shortly, again. But ADAaqua soil has another one out called Ada lite. It has lava rock and sand mixed together, should i get that bag? Or, what about putting sand on top of soil but mix sand in with my used, dried aquarium gravel

Woohoo! Thank you!

its still up and running strong, no membership needed, just 50 meaningful posts

Ok, I thought something wasn't adding up. I wasn't sure when the next one would be, saw the ad, and so I checked. I thought prices had skyrocketed maybe. 😄 20H, 10 gallon, and a couple smaller ones are updated to sale pricing.

There is often some weird lag with the store vs. the online. I don't know why it always seems to be the case. Be careful too, sometimes the stores might have the kits on sale, not the bare tanks.

I just checked and saw the same thing. It’s like they’re advertising the sale, but haven’t actually updated the prices yet. I put a 20L in my cart, and the price didn’t update there either. I’d say check again in the morning.

Earlier this year I paid $25 for several 20 longs during half off. 54.99 is regular price. Try adding it to your cart then go to checkout to see if it discounts

I am on this journey presently, after having failed a few times and after having bred many other species successfully. Here's a short list: (1) Be ready with a plan in the event of success. - Fry will need very small live foods. I culture Banana worms. After they're large enough, I hatch out live Artemia nauplii (baby brine shrimp). - You'll need to have a plan to keep the air above the water surface as humid as possible for the first two months. Bettas develop a labyrinth organ (as do other anabantids). If that doesn't develop, they can crash at about 6 weeks. - Male and female fry can live together for a few months, but male v. male aggression begins to pick up and males need to be separated to grow in isolation. For my males, I plan to use a 20 gal. long with custom cut Darrice mesh dividers. That allows one common filtration system in subdivided sections. I also have a jug rack that I can repurpose if necessary. Females can grow out as a sorority. (2) Be sure to acquire a healthy male and female pair. - I am just going with a couple that look close enough to pass. Fry I raise will always look better than adults. I selected a Magenta + Lavender + Silvery-pink looking male. Female is the same, with long fins. You'll easily spot the white egg spot between the ventral fins of a mature female. (3) You will want to set up an adequate breeding space. - I use Sterilite -- ca. 15 quart / 3.75-gal tubs that have already long been seasoned, cycled, have kept fish for a long while. I get my clip boxes from WalMart. - I put my male in one, and my female in another. I have peat moss in the bottom, and Java Moss clumps in both. I float large Catappa leaves for the male to build a bubble nest under. (4) Ensure that water and air parameters are all good. - Temperature should be 78-82 F - Water needs to be covered with a lid or wrap to keep the air above the surface humid. This is crucial for Anabantid fry development. (5) Prepare the pair. - Feed with lots of live foods. I use Daphnia and live baby brine shrimp. - I supplement with a variety of frozen foods. Do not overfeed, but be sure to keep them well fed. - I put a small hang-on breeding net cage into the male tub, and add the female there for a few days. She is separated from the male, but easily seen. The male should get excited, and build a bubble nest. - I leave the light on low, non-stop for the next 72-96 hrs. Maybe even longer. This is because fish sometimes “snap” when lights go completely off, and forget their parental duties. This is especially helpful when breeding Angelfish, BTW. Everyone wonders why they eat their eggs. This is one possible reason. (6) When ready, add the female. - Male should have built up a full Bubblenest before a female is added. - Some females will clearly indicate they are “ready” by displaying vertical bars along their sides. However, due to massive ornamental breeding techniques, the wild-caught appearance of many females has been overshadowed by iridescent scales that keep this signal from being easily seen. - Bear in mind that once she is added, he may be very brutal towards her for the next few days. I do keep some added plants in there for her to hide (Wisteria, Indian Swampweed). - Limit distractions, lights, shadows, stresses for next few days. - Keep the lid on full. You want to maximize humidity -- especially tricky in the winter months. - Minimize any airflow (they're Anabantids . . . they can breath air from the surface). This requires a very seasoned, fully cycled breeding tank because the flow will be low and aerobic bacteria colonies that convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate will be low on O2 for a while. I do keep _very, very light_ air flowing through the tiny sponge filter, and through an airstone. Just enough to keep bacterial scum from covering the surface of the water, but light enough that the bubblenest is never in danger. I will add that having peat moss as substrate and Catappa leaves on surface will tend to lower pH, which (along with temperature) may affect the sex-ratio of fry. ______________ The pair should bond and spawn within 48 hrs. Once they have spawned, and the male is guarding the nest, the female needs to be removed. Male stays in until enough fry are free-swimming that it is obvious they are viable. Because the Sterilite bins I use are shallow, there is not too much concern about fry falling away from the surface. I remove male to a separated area in the female tank (I use the breeder net). Fry are fed banana worms, and Artemia. I do not overfeed, and try to change water a fair bit. To set up a water change system . . . I am also trying to preserve the air moisture as much as possible. So, I will be hand-drilling small holes in the top to insert pieces of rigid airline through. These I'll attach to normal airlines, and siphon out stale water / add fresh water with large syringes. I will also use the rigid airline end to feed the worms and Artemia. Here are videos and photos from my most recent set up... I'll add that the Catappa leaves produce a degree of tannin (the tinted water). But I also use pure Rooibos Tea bags to get a desired tint. Here's one of my Daphnia tank set ups... Here's a look at some of my miniature nematodes for feeding fry... And here's how I hatch out baby brine shrimp...

Are you from Louisiana with a last name like Rougeux? I think you have been given good advice as far as planting goes. I would argue that if the plant list that you gave is your goal, you don't really need aqua soil. You could use sand or gravel and use root tabs for the few root feeders you have. The reason I would caution against aqua soil is that it leaches ammonia like someone mentioned (but that's a short term issue) and that the nutrients in the aqua soil eventually get used up and you will either have to remove the substrate and replace it (which bring sthe ammonia issue up again) or you would have to use root tabs anyway to supplement. If you like the look of aqua soil and don't mind replacing it or just using root tabs then ignore me. As for stocking, there are so many options for a 40 gallon planted tank. The trick is finding the right combination. How experienced are you as a fish keeper? I only ask because some fish are easier than others to keep. But in general some fun ideas would be one or many of the varieties of cherry shrimp (neocardina), maybe a dwarf CPO crawfish (or a group), cory catfish, whip tail cats, most types of tetra, rasbora, or danio. My favorite fish is the German Blue Ram but these need consistent water parameters with pretty much zero nitrates to work. You could also do an electric blue acara. a pair of Apistos would be a good add. They are like the Rams but a bit hardier. honestly your options are vast outside of large south american cichlids or african cichlids. Any type of dwarf cichlid should work as long as they aren't diggers.

shine a light in a bottom corner of your container and wait for ten minutes. Most of the shrimp will go towards the light allowing you to scoop out water from the top. You might scoop out a few shrimp, but the main population should be fine.

Normally the toxin is released, water is milky, then they die off in about 5-15 minutes. It's extremely quick. Rapid breathing and then they just die. If there's internal damage of some kind of damage internally it would be this extended issues over time like you're seeing. I can't say that's the case because everything we've discussed it seems like the correct steps were taken. (On both sides) The only real issue was the heat pack stuff you mentioned. All we can say is "stress" and then go from there. Maybe there is some way to get an autopsy to determine what happened, but I think right now it's just really tough to point towards one sign. If either of you have the opportunity, the co-op has the channel membership and that gives you access towards a medical vet talk as well as several corydoras talks, one of them specifically focused on the toxin. I really, really don't believe the toxin will cause the response you're seeing based on those sources of information. Do you happen to have any botanicals?

Sure does! This hobby is almost never boring! Yeah, I've had these guys in the past. Super cool relationship with the shrimp, but maybe not the most fun fish you'll have in your tank IMO - really depends where they set up their cave. I've found blennies tend to be a bit more exciting to watch, on average. In good news - I had a male and 3 females make it through the epistylis apocalypse, and probably about 10 fry. So in the end, it's taken salt, erythromycin, lots of aeration, and Ich-X to get them through it. Seems like maybe the platies brought in an infection, or possibly I had an ammonia spike that led to the epistylis taking hold. The fry look clear of spots, and the adults only have a couple spots per fish left. Hoping for the best.

Midwest liquid rock. In person it looks kind of in between 8.4 and 8.8 These tanks get a ~5% change every 6 hours. I will continue treating for what you recommend. Sterilizers would be nice but each tank is kept separate from eachother and don’t want to add the expense of multiple individual sterilizers. as of now between treating and removing substrate and mulm I haven’t seen any bodies or others acting funny. I will keep this post updated for the next few days unless it turns for the worse again.

@Colu @nabokovfan87 I lost another one this morning. There is only one left from that order of eight. My original five that I got from a different breeder are all still alive. Do you think it's possible that the ones from the first breeder are releasing a toxin that is killing the c. Schultzei from the second breeder? It's weird because the tank is completely cycled, I barely have nitrates. The shrimp are doing awesome. After dosing with expel P and a water change my nitrates are 10 PPM. Previously it was like 20 maybe 25 ppm. The only thing I can think of is the original 5 C. Schultzei are releasing their toxin and killing any newcomers. The secondary breeder is the one who brought this up to me. I don't see any spots, bloating, clamped fins, they eat well, etc. He did refund me which I thought was really cool. So, hats off to JoesAqua.com for the refund. His blue dream shrimp have been really good and have good coloring.

The apple snail is a family of snails, while the mystery snail is a species in that family. You can call a mystery snail an apple snail, but not the other way around. More than that, although their anatomy and appearance are similar, mystery snails never grow as big as apple snails. Secondly, The mystery snail grows up to 1.5 inches in Diameter. Other apple snails, however, can grow as large as 6 inches.(In Diameter) Keep in mind that mystery snails CAN grow up to 3 inches lengthwise especially as you have measured their foot. Thirdly, Mystery snails have darker colors, such as brown, black, or blue while other apple snails have lighter shades of gold brown, pink, red or blue. Mystery snails have more slated feet. Overall, it seems to be a mystery snail.

I hope you return to lots and lots of eggs as your after holiday present.

Would the Ziss Bubble filter be good for an axolotl tank? I currently use sponge filters but really love these filters in my other tanks. I'm just worried they might be too loud.

I would imagine it would do well for that setup.

Miss you Steve. ***** I spent the night talking with a newbie hobbyist, and another. First one is someone I've been helping with their shrimp and planted tanks. They were trying to decide what light was the right fit and so on for a small tank they setup. The second hobbyist is someone seemingly very new to the hobby and the exciting part was when we started talking about planted tanks. It was exciting because everything is new. It's fun to be able to approach something in the hobby with blind eyes and to be able to try and dive into a new challenge. They had tried plants before, but not sure on what to try or how to care for them at all. Of course, the assumption that was made was that they had the wrong kind of light or substrate. We talked about YouTube content creators and just generally discussed cool things about the hobby. Time will tell if they try plants again. Hopefully they check out some of the channels and ignite that passion for the hobby going forward.

What a unique, amazing fish. They are a great size and they seem to extremely unique... unlike anything I've seen before.

It's no secret that Murphy's best days are behind him. Cataracts, what looks like cancerous tumors on his chin, a general sluggishness, all point to a decline in our beloved puffer. All the same, he is the puffer kaiju that I have hitched my star to, and while I lament his decline in his elder years, I celebrate this magnificent cronchbeast for all he is and has done. Merry Christmas, Murphy! When it is at last your time, I know the Gates of Clamhalla will be open to you, and among your fathers you will not be diminished. I imagine that is Murphy's soundtrack:

Seems to have come through.

There are two schools of thought here: 1. Those of us keeping more traditional tanks, (as others in this thread seem to be), will be somewhat confused by the microfauna. Having microfauna appear after three weeks is kind of a surprise. You usually don't see those for much longer out. It takes awhile for them to get established and build up to noticeable levels in a traditionally planted tank. (I.e. Aquasoil, sand & gravel substrate, chemical fertilization, etc.) 2. If you're running a dirted tank setup, similar to what Father Fish runs, then congratulations. Great Success! High fives all around. You've achieved exactly what you want, test for ammonia and nitrates, then see if you feel comfortable adding fish. Dirted's different. Might be a leak in your sand cap, but otherwise it's okay. What you're experiencing is actually a necessary step in a dirted setup. You'd be adding fish to control the microfauna and balance out the system. I think you're right that they came in on the plants. Yeah, you got them from the Co-op, but even their plants have microfauna. Most of us would be planting in a tank that already has fish, and fish eat the microfauna. You're planting in an empty tank, and the tank stayed that way for three weeks. As long as there is nutrient-inflow, then there's near-limitless space for microfauna to build up. Your source of excess nutrients is your twice a week fertilization schedule. This is probably more than your new plants need. You might also have root feeding plants instead of epiphytes. Epiphytes like java ferns and annubias feed from the water column and Easy Green style ferts work well for growing them. Root feeders like Amazon Swords and Cryptocorynes are looking for food in your substrate. Easy Green doesn't necessarily penetrate this layer as fast. Chlorella is naturally occurring in tap water. If your tank has a slight haze to the water, that's Chlorella. The excess fertilizer is feeding the Chlorella, and everything else is eating it or each other. You may also have your lights on for too long during the day, or there's a south facing window in your room. Excess fert + excess light = algae like Chlorella. Try dialing one of these two things back a bit and see if it helps. Assuming your water tests come back okay on Nitrates and Ammonia, I don't see an issue adding fish. They'll gorge themselves on the microfauna. Maybe don't feed as often while they control it. You've got an algae problem, but so did pretty much everyone else in this hobby when they first started out. My algae problem is on my plants and I'm kind of stuck with it as I'm keeping the lights on long enough to convince the pitbull otos that it's summer/baby-makin' season. You just learn to deal with your strains of algae. Wanna know a secret? I have a jar of greenwater/Chlorella, daphnia, and copepods that I'm intentionally growing to inoculate my tanks with. My pygmy swordtails and tiger teddies are going to be in hog heaven. It's under an LED desk lamp and seems to be a wriggly little mess. Got two backup greenwater cultures bubbling away on the window sill, too. Your problem could always turn out useful.

And now for something completely different! Edgard Varèse, Ionisation:

I have a 75 Gallon planted aquarium and have kind of hit a lull in my hobby evolution and am looking for ideas of what to do next. Parameters: 79-80 degrees 7.5 PH 0 ppm of ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite (thank you plants!) Not sure of exact number but the water is on the harder end. I currently have the following stocking: 11 Neon tetra 9 Rummynose tetra 8 panda cories 3 Pearl Gourami 1 Julii Cory (rescue) 1 Bristlenose Pleco 1 CPO Crawfish 1 Amano Shrimp 1 Gold Ram (last survivor) I have done rams for a while now and they are great but I think I am ready for something else but I am not sure what direction to go in. I have had most of the fish in this tank for 2-3 years and don't love the idea of trading them in and don't have another tank to move them to so I think I want my next feature fish to be able to co-habitate (is that a word) with what I currently have. This eliminates most cichlids African or South American. I eventually want to do an Mbuna tank but right now I feel like I am not ready to abandon the planted tank. Also with my children's after school schedules (dancing, sports, etc.) I don't have a ton of time to do maintenance and rely on the plants to keep the water clean. Current ideas that I am playing with: 1) Betta Sorority - I have never been super into Bettas because you can only keep one in a tank for the most part and it really limits the tankmates and I am really into community tanks with a variety of species. But a sorority might be fun. My fear is that it will go wrong and I will have wasted money to watch fish kill each other. My other issue is that none of the LFSs have a good Betta selection so I would have to order online. This drives the price up with shipping and I have had bad experiences in the past of getting fish that don't have the best coloration that I would not have picked out if I saw them in the store. I'd also have to figure out how to lessen the flow coming out of my cannister filter but I feel like I could figure that one out if I went this route. 2) Rainbow Fish - I have never really been into rainbow fish but the colors are striking and they are active. My main issue with this route is that I can only stock so many in a 75G tank and I'd want a few of multiple varieties but based on research it seems like these are best kept in decent size groups. Could these be kept in pairs or with 2 males of a certain type and no females? The main draw to these is that I think my kids and guests would be drawn to the colors. This idea would be more for others than myself but, who knows, maybe I'm a rainbow guy and don't even know it. 3) Angel Fish - Similar to rainbows, I have never really given angel fish the time of day. They have always seemed pretty boring to me and from what I have read, they eventually pair up and kill each other. But looking for a new direction to go, this could be an option. They would fit well with my current stocking for the most part as well. The only fish they might beef with is the gouramis considering they occupy the same water level. The pro to Angel fish is that I could still do rams if I wanted. Angel fish just don't excite me though. Maybe someone in this thread can convince me otherwise. 4) More schooling fish - Maybe I should abandon the centerpiece type fish idea and get more schooling fish. Maybe I could get some Odessa barbs, Congo tetra, Harlequin Rasbora, and/or chili rasbora. Maybe even add a second species of Cories or stock up on more panda cories. This idea seems fun but my draw back is that schooling fish are kind of mindless. I enjoy watching my rams have territory disputes and search the tank for food. With all schooling fish, I would miss out on that aspect of it. But like I said before, I don't have a ton of time to dedicate to the tank and don't get to watch the happenings of the rams very often anyway. So maybe colorful schools would be better for the time being. Now that I am typing this out, this idea is growing on me. Just looking for anyone's opinion on any of these ideas and maybe some suggestions that I haven't thought of myself.

Thank you! And yes, I did cycle my tank. Now I'm just letting the bacteria and everything else establish themselves for a while longer. I understand, I won't clean it then. I appreciate the advice!

Sorry to get off topic a bit but do your pea puffers get along with the cories, shrimp, and tetra? I have read mixed reviews with most saying don't put tankmates with pea puffers but I want to try it. I have a 75G community tank so there would be plenty of room for everyone to have space.

I highly recommend Boraras Rasboras like Chili's or Strawberries if you must have a fish with your shrimp. Or pygmy species of corydoras. I currently have like 200 bloody mary babies running around my tank with Habrosus and Hastatus corydoras. The rasboras I moved but they weren't denting my shrimp population either.

Yeah as with most meds. I think the general consensus is 0.1g per 10 gallons of water is safe. Tbh ive made one of my tanks look like Pablo Escobar's wonderland and the shrimp were unaffected....sadly aquarium leeches were unaffected too. lol.

From what I have read there's a fine line between a safe dose of fenbendazole and a toxic dose that will kill shrimp so I would always air on the side of caution when using any medication with shrimp in the tank

Fenbendazole is shrimp safe I'm pretty sure. I have used it in my tanks to kill hydra multiple times in the past with no impact on reproduction. But it will completely annihilate any snails and will continue doing so unless the tank is fully cleaned and restarted.

The answer to that question is rather complicated because there are many variables involved that contribute to nitrate poisoning. I will be succinct here and say as a general rule for long term health of the fish you want to keep it under 30 ppm.

I do play with them I like mine with blue shell pink body leopard