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The cornea looks a bit fuzzy vs. just cloudy. The fuzz doesn’t seem to be protruding much but I’ve seen an African Grey (parrot for anybody that doesn’t know) that had a fungal infection of the cornea that looked a lot like this. Hazing of the cornea from bacterial infection or corneal ulcers doesn’t usually look so patchy and irregular. It tends to be a smooth, homogenous cloudiness if it’s inflamed or a distinct spot that’s a scar. The scar might have slightly fuzzy edges but will still be relatively homogenous across the central part of the lesion. This looks a bit more patchy than I would expect for only scarring. There may be scarring but I’m not certain it’s only scarring. The first pic especially looks like there might be a very slightly raised spot at the 1:00 position that’s concerning to me. Plus there are slightly whiter areas closer to the middle of the cornea and just forward from center at about 9:00. It’s unusual to have more than one ulcer on an eye and more than one area that gets extra cloudy. Unless there were several wounds happen at the same time or in succession. Bacterial infections of the cornea tend to spread outward from a single point but fungal infections will spread through the layers of the cornea via tendrils. Fish will sometimes flash after corneal scarring has happened. They seem to try to rub the scarring away like they think they have something on their eye vs. realizing it’s scarring in the layers of the cornea. That seems to be beyond their comprehension, but they do eventually get used to it if it’s only scarring. If they persist in flashing after weeks to months, then there is likely some persistent inflammation and discomfort.

I have always really enjoyed her YouTube videos. I'm really missing her. The last video that she posted was a month ago and she mentioned having some personal issues. I hope everything is OK with her. Maybe I have missed some thing but again, I hope everything is OK with her.

None taken. I'm under strict orders to keep everything in my man/fish cave 🙂. (Except for one nice display tank in the living room).

Just picked up a new tank and some fish from @SugarBassJoe if you’re around or near the San Diego area he still has some items/livestock that he’s trying to give away. Got a 60 breeder, filter and light that I’ll setup really soon when I’m able to get a stand. I’m thinking of using the husky shelving units from Home Depot so I can also keep the 40B running. No photos at the moment because they were all hiding but doing well so far. I’ll update with some fish pics later when I get home from work. Thanks again Joey! Glad I’m able to help you out 😁

your fish are fine, dont over think it.

One more on cave structures. I see alot of tanks where people strategically stack up large rocks to make small caves. This is alot of rocks and finding the right combo of rocks which fit together can be frustrating. For my Mbuna tank, I will glue together a bunch of PVC condo and just use large rocks as a facade as shown below (work in progress). This rock wall will use foam between the rocks but for something more simple which just sit on the bottom of the tank may not require foam. To clean the condo, just remove the rock facade and stick a siphon hose in the condo.

Pretty much 🤷🏼‍♀️

Was able to get a few photos of the dark celestial rams. They’re so beautiful 😍 Hopefully I can spawn them. They’re settling nicely and are already eating. My super small balloon female ram has been bullying them tho. She felt threatened cause the new girls are just so beautiful 😂😂

I love Jason's Prime Time Aquatics! 🥰 I just wanted to add a statement on this topic. I don't use the python water change system for my 15 and 20 gallon tanks. I add Prime to my bucket of tap water, amount needed for the new water only. I believe, as most experienced aquatic keepers, that the less chemicals the better. It's supposed to be a "natural eco-system" for our aquatic plants and animals. Not a tank full of chemicals and medicines. There... that's my 2 cents worth.

What plant is that growing out of the tank? I've enjoyed reading through your posts. Hate to see the loss when you were gone. Hope everything with the family is good now.

For feeding to reptiles, the best nutritional content in the mealworms is only possible when fed only high calcium cricket food that is at least 8% calcium, using this as both bedding and food. Use a lightly damp paper towel renewed frequently as needed for moisture. This can be a bit harder to maintain them on, so some keepers still keep the bulk of the culture in cornmeal or bran, feeding high calcium vegetables, then transfer a feedings worth into the high calcium cricket food for at least 48-72 hours before feeding to the reptiles (also dusted with calcium powder {NOT calcium/vitamin combo powder} before feeding). Fish that are getting mixed diets have less stringent calcium needs but I would still gut load the mealworms on the high calcium cricket food before feeding to fish. Here’s a link to the recommendations from the guy I consider to be the top reptile nutrition expert in the US. He has written most of the chapters on reptile nutrition in most of the reptile medicine and surgery veterinary textbooks. https://www.pethospitalpq.com/how-to-grow-mealworms.pml

1. Probably not very much, if at all. 2. Yes, but I believe you have to really go overboard to cause harm. I'm doubtful that double is enough. Fish aren't made out of chlorine molecules. Neither the chlorine or anti-chlorine treatments are really set up to be in caustic concentrations. 3. I'm assuming you're asking about adding conditioner to the water in the tank, (which has been lowered by the python), before adding in the new tap water? If so, then I doubt it'll hurt. You're almost immediately diluting that concentration. See below for "exposure interval". 4. This is overkill. The water in the tank has already been "conditioned", any free chlorine and chloramine has probably also bonded with whatever it is in there to treat and broken down. Probably won't harm your fish, you're just wasting product. Think of it a bit like over-feeding your fish or over-fertilizing your plants. These don't make the tank "better", they just end up promoting algae growth. I'm going to link you to Prime Time Aquatics' YouTube channel: Prime Time Aquatics I'm doing a channel link as my brain has forgotten exactly which video this is discussed in. I'd imagine you can find the correct one with only about an hours worth of viewing. But Jason has a biology specialization degree of some type, so he definitely knows his biochemistry. If he tells you: "Here's how this works", you can be pretty certain that's exactly how it actually works. He discusses water conditioning at length in one of these videos. Here's what I remember as the main take aways: 1. The scientific paper Jason cites, (I think he might actually link to it as well), on water conditioning mentions that the concentrations are done at a very specific exposure interval: 1 hour. So, to get bacterial kill rates consistent with "clean" drinking water from a tap, it's expected that the bacteria you're treating for are going to soak in that treated water for at least an hour. 2. Gist of the above was that if you're adding water conditioner within about an hour of adding the untreated tap water, then you're probably not messing with your tank's biological filter bacteria all that much. This seems to be the main point of adding conditioner, as if the biological filter dies back, then it treats ammonia build-up less effectively. Granted, whatever bacteria survived are just going to repopulate the tank again, but that does take a week or so. So, worst thing you might have done is make your ammonia levels go up for a little while. 3. The chemical reactions breaking down chlorine and chloramine in tap water start happening as soon as you add conditioner to the tank. Remember that you're also diluting the new tap water with whatever water is already in the tank. The chlorine concentration is constantly lowering over time. 4. Your tap doesn't have the same chlorine concentration as a swimming pool, which is set up to kill bacteria like Cryptosporidium. Most of us can't smell the chlorine in our tap water. Dropping your fish into the local swimming pool might kill it. Exposing it to tap water... not so much. I know as new fish keepers, most of us stressed about tap water conditioner. We probably shouldn't. Sometimes it might be worse for the system to panic and massively overcorrect our mistake, than it would be to just acknowledge that the mistake was made and let the tank recover. It'll also depend on your tap water. My tap water is low enough in chlorine/chloramine that I've gone months without adding conditioner to water changes. No ill effects were observed in my fish. I only decided to add it again for the slime coat protection. Your tap water might be higher in chlorine than mine is, and thus conditioner is required not optional. I can almost guarantee that it isn't swimming pool water, though. You can probably make a mistake or two without causing lasting harm to your fish.

Looks swollen and irritated and maybe getting some fungal growth. Time for strong salt at 1 tablespoon per gallon. I would definitely move to quarantine and away from any plants now. And time for some antifungals. There are a variety of them but try Ich-X first if you have it.

I just came across this thread and read through the whole thing. I did not see anything saying what size tank this is, however you did say it has a center brace so Im guessing wither 55 or 75. The nitrate levels seem a little low, I usually try to have 30-40 ppm in my tanks. One suggestion I would have would be to raise the light up off the tank rim. It will allow for more spread of light, and since you said the intensity is only at like 40-50% you can always up that. I see that you have glass lids on the tank, and one problem with using lids is that you will get a shadow where the black hinge is. It will help a little bit by raising the light up, or you can do as Cory showed in a couple of videos recently that he has put two lights on some tanks to get the light in the back as well as front of the tank. I would also not move plants around much. I like to wait three to four weeks minimum after making any changes to see any results. Some plants will handle being moved easier than others, as you did mention some crypts done like being moved much. I have a few different varieties of sword plants on my tanks, and I have noticed that when I get a new one, some take longer than others to get going, establishing root systems and new submersed leaves. All my tank lights are on for 8 hours a day, I used to think more hours of light would mean more growth but I have found that there really isn't any difference between 8 vs 10 or 12.

They're color has really started to explode and they are not shy at all. I went to take pictures and the one with the spot came to investigate the camera: The palm frond is pretty much completely gone now. I may add a few leaves to replace it. The licorice fern is starting to show signs that it's dieing off. That's disappointing but half expected for something that is native to a temperature climate and mainly grows in winter. Luckily, it was just picked from my parents back yard. The water lettuce is surprisingly struggling too. Maybe the just isn't enough nitrates in the water? But the important thing is that the fish seem happy and healthy. I'm debating between putting a sparring mop in here directly or moving the female to another tank for a couple days to condition her and then adding a male and a mop. Any suggestions?

I think that unless you’re not seeing healthy growth, I would keep to the every-3 months standard.

Absolutely! I’m sure you could do a search and find diagrams and plans. Info on how long your coil needs to be for a set fridge temp, desired water temp drop below current water temp, etc. It was all out there back in the day, after the internet became more widely used. We didn’t use one on our first reef tank in ‘83 but a friend did on his and it worked well. We did finally try one on a more complex tank set up we did in about ‘97 or ‘98 after we moved to Texas and by then there was more how-to stuff available on the web and chillers were still massively expensive. It worked well and was much quieter than the fans because we also had it plumbed through the living room wall into a closet. The fans didn’t cool enough in the closet - they were set up on an elevated refugium and on a sump.

Back in the days of early reef tanks before chillers became more common place, we used to use small apartment / dorm size mini refrigerators and run a stainless steel cooling coil through the wall of it and circulate tank water through the coil. You adjusted the refrigerator temp with the dial and if you needed more or less cooling than you could get with the dial, you added or removed coils in the fridge so the water spent more or less time inside the fridge as needed. You don’t even need to cut the coil, just reshape it and pull some outside the fridge. But more cooling (unlikely to need on a NANF tank where you’re already fairly close) you would need a longer or spliced cooling loop. Where you would like to cool multiple tanks, this might not be such a bad idea. Amazon has one for just under $90.00 and I see they also have a stainless steel cooling coil for under $40.00. You could add more coils for more tanks. I don’t know of any chillers that could run multiple tanks unless they were on a shared water / filtration system. You would need a pump for each tank to run multiple coils and it might be a bit of a Tetris moment to get multiple coils into the fridge, but I’m sure it could be hooked into a canister filter system for each tank. You might even be able to acquire any cheap, used but functioning refrigerator if you have room by the tanks, and use it for a second fridge in the basement (ala mancave beer / soda fridge if you’re so inclined). As long as you weren’t particular exactly how cold your sodas are. 😆

If interested, I made some caves. Here is the link: Tiger Barbs on Strike! They demand a cave! My current project is 75 gallon Mbuna tank which will have ~24 caves (I call them condos). I made the condos from 4" thin wall PVC shown below. This condo is 4.5" wide, 2 3/4" tall. So I cut a small piece of pipe and put it in the oven at 210 degrees. I made a form using 2x4". So heat up the PC, slide it over the form and press down. To make one with a back on it, you could cut a 8" piece of pipe and make the form 4" long ie: 1/2 the length of the pipe. Just push the back of the pipe together while it is hot. Note: if you want a bunch of caves on the bottom of the tank, I would think about connect a piece of pipe to the back of the condo and connect it to the water return line from the sump. FYI, this is the form I made, the round edges are optional.

Wow, keeping a journal of tank stuff seems like so much fun! I'm going to give it a try and see if it sticks. It'll be fun to watch the progress over time. Okay, like I said in the intro section, I'm a returning hobbyist who lives in Kitsap County, WA. I've kept both fresh and saltwater tanks in the past, but haven't had one for a few years now, maybe going on five? Anyway, I'm restarting again from scratch! Exciting times. 😁 It may be a challenge figuring out what to keep in this water, it will be my first time starting up a tank since we moved across the country. I always had tanks in city water and here we're on a well. The water is SO HARD, GH registering between 100-150 with a KH around 80. Luckily the pH isn't bad, right around 7. We do have a tiny bit of nitrate in the water, but it's only around 10 so not too bad. I currently have a 15 gallon cube that I just got for my birthday. Started up on December 22nd. I fed the tank every day and waited until I saw measurable ammonia on the 28th to add a bottle of nitrifying bacteria. It took 4 days to get to 0 ammonia, and there hasn't been any since. Currently waiting for my nitrites to drop all the way down to do my first water change, but I've already got quite a lot of nitrates in there, so probably any day now. Water has been cloudy since I added the bacteria, but finally today it seemed to start really clearing. I've got three plants in there right now, (pennywort, dwarf chain sword, and pogostemon stellatus) with several more on the way this week. Once my nitrites have gone away I'll be headed to the fish store to get some neocaridina shrimp. I can't decide between all the lovely colors, so I'll likely just go with whatever they have the most biggest ones of when I get there. I've kept them in the past and really love their antics. Eventually I'll add a school of nano fish, but that's a ways down the road at this point. Later on this year I'll be upgrading to a bigger tank, a 29 gallon high (that's why I have the giant filter sitting in the 15 right now 😉) We still have the stand for my old 20 long though we didn't move the tank with us, so I'm just going to repurpose that from being the table in my husband's office that holds some computer equipment and a lamp back to its rightful job. I regretted the smaller size tank almost immediately, hehe! But it's probably good for me to start off slow anyway. I love raising aquatic plants, so I'm toying with the idea of going high tech with CO2 and the whole nine when I go to the big tank. We'll see though. Okay, here's a picture from today!

Hi everyone. Uproar here (not my real name of course). 20, from India. A couple of months into this hobby. I was initially gifted a tiny bowl with 2 guppies and a fake plant. After a couple of months, I saved up enough to get a 1 ft cube (8 gal) and move my fishes in there. I currently have 2 female guppies and 1 male, along with 2 nerite snails. In a bucket I have around 30 beautiful frys growing. Currently saving up for my next tank which should be here in 2-3 months. 33g long is the plan (3 ft). Anyway, it's nice to meet you all!

Hey all, I have had this desk tank set up for a couple of months. The plants have remained totally healthy and things looked great. All of a sudden, yesterday, one of the species of plants just started losing all its leaves! I really am not sure what is going on here. Any suggestions? Thanks.

So i've just gotten into the hobby (have a 55G and a 29G) and honestly after reading this...it's got me a little freaked out. First of all, i've def. stuck my arm in the aquarium water (Although it was newer tanks with newer fish) when i've had little knicks/cuts (nothing deep, although im not immunocompromised). So im scared of myself getting it of course (Even though it doesn't sound deadly it doesn't seem great) The second part is more scary: If my fish/tank gets it people basically say you have to throw everything away? But there is also conflicting information saying most tanks have SOME of it everywhere? It'd suck to toss away 800$ worth of equipment for a disease....so im almost regretting my decision getting into fishkeeping. Am I being too paranoid?

I went to my favorite LFS today (Preuss Pets for any Michiganders here). Very respectable place. Anyways; I have a dozen Chili Rasboras in my 10g planted tank - that's it; and was picking up 8 Ember Tetras today. My tank has been set up for over 3 years now - it'll be 4 in April. Employee who was assisting me with getting the fish, was suggesting me to pick up Seachem Stability while I was there - as a precaution for the waste and ammonia these fish would generate. I was a little surprised that she suggested that. Needless to say, I didn't get it; as my tank is pretty seasoned, imo; and I didn't really think I needed it. Does this seem like a logical thing to suggest, given my tank status?

I’m new to this forum so I’m not sure which topic this would fall under but I joined because I’d like help finding a good stocking idea for my planted 40gal breeder tank. I was thinking about having a female gourami (maybe a powder blue dwarf one) or female betta as the centerpiece fish and some tetras and bottom dwellers but I’m not sure how many tetras or fish would go with it. I’d like multiple different kinds so maybe a school of neon tetras and a school of ember tetras with some corydoras (maybe panda) but I don’t want to accidentally overstock or get fish that aren’t compatible together. These are my parameters and tank info: PH: 7.0-7.6 (around 7.2) Ammonia: 0-0.25ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: 5.0-10ppm Temp: 78-80F Plants in tank currently: Anubias, Java Fern, Hornwort & a mystery plant I got 2 years ago but I forgot the name of it (it’s attached to the rock in the left side) -Planted, has driftwood, rocks, rock hides, aquaponics on the top and bamboo on the top All and any advice/criticism is much appreciated. I don’t plan on adding fish until I fish getting all the plants in and I know the plants are alive and thriving in the tank so maybe in 1-2 months but I’d like to prepare so I can make sure the tank is suitable for the fish. Also currently I do have a male betta in the tank (he’s 6-7 years old) but only because recently it was given to me by a family member that moved to a place that didn’t allow pets (even fish) and it was my only cycled tank that fit the needs for the betta perfectly. Which is another reason I won’t be adding fish anytime soon because the betta in there most likely won’t live too much longer considering how old he is so to make sure he doesn’t get stressed and enjoy his retirement home to himself, no new fishies anytime soon.

I have a 8 week old 90 gallon, heavy fish and moderate plants with no CO2. I use root tabs and am trying a moderate amount of Easy Green. I have 1 large Amazon Sw. 6 Crypts, 3 Java, and a patch of Vals about 8"x2". I'm really only looking for moderate growth. Everything is growing great, Crypts and Vals are multiplying with new leaves and babies, Sword is getting bigger also. I have used root tabs on everything except the Java's of course. My question is this - how often should I replace my Aq. Coop root tabs? Instructions say every 3-4 months. I'm thinking more often. Opinions vary from every month or every 3 months.

I was gonna say that I had this happen to me and it's nuts! It's definitely distressing. In my case, also with Staurogyne Repens, it ended up being an issue where GH crashed on me. I would grab a GH and KH test kit and verify what's going on there. Rule of Thumb is that you generally want GH to be double your KH.

It's definitely a valid concern. They do sell gloves to work on tanks and you can use methods to sterilize equipment and reduce risks. Some species can be avoided as well to further reduce risk. Ultimately the key is to really be smart, be safe, protect yourself as well as those in the tank you care for. I've often stuck my arm in the tank many times a day and the key being to make sure you clean yourself off ans do the things need be in future to keep the you safe.

It is something to be aware of. One write up on it is this here. Three keys: (1) chances of getting it are low (2) antibiotics typically are effective at eradicating it (3) if properly diagnosed, even at a more advanced stage it is treatable.

Love her videos! 🙂

So if you have a 55 gallon and you change 10 gallons for instance, you will still dose for 55 gallons? (if so that's good to hear since that seems to be the "safe route")

I dose my tanks for the entire water volume. When using my Python, I’ll dose for the whole tank volume as soon as the water is flowing from the Python into the tank. I’ve been doing it this way for 4 years and haven’t had a single issue across 14 tanks.

There are risers on Etsy. There is also hanging kits that might work as well.

This is Nova. She’s theoretically a calico fantail. Just a Petco fish, no pedigree whatsoever, could be a mix of anything. When I first got her, she was maybe 2”. Her body was the size of the last joint of my thumb. That was in June. She’s now roughly the length of my iPhone SE, nose to end of tail. And she’s retained a rather long sort of body shape. Definitely a long double tail, very long and ribbon-ish, even. And trailing. I have read that attempts to resurrect the Watonai breed involve crossing a Ryukin with a Comet, and the end result . . . rather resembles my random mutt of a fish. I am concerned.

58 is a great result with some cheap insulation, a lot of aeration and a small fan, great job @Fish Folk. @Odd Duckas I was going through the thread started to reflect on my experience with beer fridges, brewing setups and the like and so when I came to your report I wasn’t surprised that some home brewer reefer came to this as a diy! Definitely something to consider as I keep getting my son pushing me to setup an axolotl tank!

It's ALIVE!!!! 🔎 Lots of critters bopping around on the glass today. Another wee snail among them. I've decided to leave this one alone because I've got algae starting on some of the plants now. Maybe if it earns its keep I'll let it stay. Nitrites are still detectable, but definitely better even since yesterday. Tomorrow might be the day! In the mean time I have some more plants arriving today, so at least I'll have something to add to the tank.

Hygrophila Corymbosa if I remember correctly. Thank you! Everything is good 🙂 Will be posting more since I'll be setting up a new tank. Just need to get a stand, more rocks, driftwood and aquasoil.

Thank you. I tried to isolate the Amazon Sword plants, so their root systems won’t interfere with one another. It was a pain, but I got them to work. They basically have their own territories like my Bolivian Rams. The Ammania are more in the spotlight, as well as the remaining Corymbosa plants. The Java Fern, Bucephalandra, and Anubias are still doing well. The Java Ferns’ offspring are starting to break off, so I wedge them in spaces that I don’t need glue to hold them. The Banana plant is still doing banana plant things. The Crypt Tropica’s sensitivity scares me, so I didn’t interfere. Like you said, we’ll see what happens from here. I’ll keep you and everyone updated. When I go to my LFS Monday (rainbow fish time), hopefully, they have the panda Garra available, if not, I’ll try to get some more Amano shrimp. Reinforcements are needed for the algae on the plants/surfaces. Lol. Sidenote: My Apistogramma Cacutoides pair spawned inside my spiderwood, but I lost the eggs last night as I believed the male consumed them, which is a shame, since they were on Day 3 going into 4. Here are better pictures I took right now.

@Odd Duck, you sure about fungus? I see no fuzziness at all on his body. The lens of his eye is just super foggy. I understand it could be IN the eye right? is that what we're thinkin? I have some Ich X so I'll start treating him with that.

For #1: Are you saying you use water conditioner for the ENTIRE tank size every time (and not just the water you changed?) just to confirm.

like on the wizard of oz, curtains or doors hide the magic. a cheap curtain in front of the mess, makes the mess go away.

She has a buddy, who was bigger than her but now is smaller - but that’s okay, because Nova is just very chill except about food. Indigo, on the other hand, is a little *ahem* who still thinks this is her tank. She’s not really the brightest, either, but she’s a tough little thing. And pretty.

Welcome to the CARE Forum! I like your tank. You'll get perspectives from all sorts of aquarists here. I'm more of a fish breeder than anything else, so my perspective is colored by that interest of mine. Those caves look inviting. You might consider some Apistogramma agassizii. Let's see if I can find a nice photo of a double-red / super-red male... Apistos love caves. That's what made it come to mind. Tetras are always fun. You might also like a lively school of Rummynose Tetras... There are a lot of cool Corydoras to choose from, so find one you rally like! I think that a few bottom-dwellers, a nice full school of shoaling / schooling fish in the mid water column, and 1-3 major centerpiece fish is a full, balanced tank if everyone gets along. There's an old rule of thumb: add 3x plants for every 1x fish. I'd love to see your entire tank loaded with plants, and then sprinkled with fun fish.

Great project a nice big school of Cory's would look great in that tank

@nabokovfan87 this is the one “tank” that requires the least effort! I don’t do anything for weeks at a time. You see how it keeps making flowers, etc. The initial setup is what makes it thrive: Try it!

Welcome to the forum. What a lovely way to enter the hobby. Your tank is also lovely. Congratulations on your fry. Guppy fry are so crazy adorable.

King Koopa nerite snail