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I'm pretty sure that youtubers make sure their tanks look perfect for videos, so it's entirely possible that any little plants are removed beforehand. Those tanks in the videos didn't look that good before the video, and won't look that good for very long after.

I am not a fish breeder. I'm just very excited to find new life in my 20gal! Last Friday I was peering into my little eco system and saw some swift movement. I couldn't believe what I was seeing!! Two baby corydoras!! I have 3 adults. 1 of them is probably about 4yrs and the other 2 are only about 1yr. I never expected any babies. I have never seen their eggs. And I have a Panda garra that I was sure would eat any babies. I think it was he that wiped out my shrimp colony. He seems to be leaving the corys alone and they do have little crevices to hide in. I also recently have had one mountain minnow fry survive. Just an exited new fish baby momma sharing!

Thank you @Pepere, I really appreciate it. I also read all the judges comments for each tank I enjoy in every category. It's valuable information for sure. Here's another cool thing to look through even if Dutch isn't your thing. It has some water parameters listed and such. NBAT

Tank maintenance as usual this week. To demonstrate the woe I have with the Parent tank recently- I vacuumed extra and discovered a dead Anubias plant so I pulled it from its spot in a pot- once I pulled that there was nothing left in said pot so I just removed it as well. This gave me more space and revealed more places to vacuum of course so I went about doing that. This helped the look at the bottom of the tank, but this tank continues to plague me. I cleaned the HOB and the UV sterilizer as I always do. I've decided the HOB doesn't have as much flow as I would like AND it's the original from this tank (2020, though I've not used it the entire time I've had the tank) I've decided to buy another because well, it's cheap enough to do so. This won't entirely solve my problem but it should help. The HOB will come with a carbon filter which per @Chick-In-Of-TheSea might help so I'm going to take that idea and try. This tank is in embarrassing shape. It's not like it gets any less attention than the other tanks, in fact it gets attention every day and it just continues to plague me. Bear with me, I'm working on it: In prettier news, the Accidental Tank with all my Endlers and the 1 lone White Guppy from Medieval are doing well. I really love this tank, the plants do great (including the Pothos and Bamboo growing out the back not pictured). Fish seem to be thriving. I have a healthy population of bladder snails since I have to bottom feed the Hillstreams. I spotted both of them this weekend which is a rare occurance. Here's Dyson: Dyson is really dark in color and usually hangs out on the FooDog closest to the food bowl. Ha, can't blame them. Then here is Kirby, my original Hillstream. Not sure where they hang out in the tank but I see them so rarely now it was great to see them: Here is the whole tank minus the plants growing out the top: Sorry reflection is unavoidable with this tank. Moving on to the Dragon tank with Invictus the rescue Betta. He's doing well. Tank is doing awesome. Since the shrimp out competed the rams horn snails in the Medieval this is really the only tank with a small population of rams horns in it. Though I have spotted one in the Angry Man after a plant transfer. I pulled a whole lot of floaters- every week they try and take over the top. Since Invictus needs some space to breathe I took out about half which is typical. Some of those did go into the Medieval Tank. I try to save what floaters I can but they are prolific. Here's the Dragon tank, and you can spot Invictus's head near his tunnel: Angry Man is on it's 4th dose of IchX due to Punk's potential eye issue. Everyone is hanging in with it but no changes seen in him or the bloated Black Neon females. Tank still looks great though: Medieval is thriving, despite having lost 2 batches of platinum Guppies. I've decided not to replenish any Guppy population. 8 Ember Tetras still doing well in here, they are very bright orange so they're happy with their environs. The shrimp are EVERYWHERE. Tiny babies to grown adults. They are not perfect specimens as I've seen other shrimp breeders pull some that look like a lot of mine but they are pet shrimp and I don't care. Some of them have really cool patterns- all stem from the same Rili shrimp I started with. Here are some of the Embers with a shrimp photo bomber as it is impossible to take a pic of this tank without a shrimp somewhere now: Some shrimp: And my favorite shrimp pic is of one my juveniles taking a massive poo, always satisfying to see: Anyway here is the tank: I have to pull at least 3/4 of the floaters every week because by the end of 7 days the top is full. I try and keep a little in the corner behind the Arch (Amazon Frogbit) and some over the top of the "tree" for a fake canopy (Dwarf Water Lettuce). Last but not least. While at my LFS this week to get some frozen food I came across their Siamese Algae Eaters. Little, tiny, baby ones. Ok maybe a little over an inch. I'd done some research and I don't think I'll be caught in yet another case of mislabeling (ahem, False Julii Cory) I believe this is a Siamese and not a Chinese as the stripe is supposed to go all the way down the fish for a Siamese and it does. Plus they did have some labeled Chinese and those lines were broken. Please let me know if I might be wrong! Anyway. I realize they get to be 6" but this fish will be going into the 196 gallon tank when it's ready. I figured with having to start with someone so small it will be nice to get them to gain some size before losing them in a tank that big. In the meantime they will live in the Angry Man tank after they clear QT and it's deemed safe for them to be released there.

Hmm. Sort of like saying go carve a copy of Michelangelo's David by getting a big block of marble and remove everything that doesn’t look like David…

Hi everyone! Here's the new stock for this upcoming week after they are cleared from quarantine. Most fish are ready to go by Sunday/Monday (depending on how quarantine goes). All fish are sold on a first-come first-served basis. If you have any questions on these fish or other questions related to the store, please email us at: store@aquariumcoop.com ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Frogs, Shrimp, and Snails African Dwarf Frogs Leucistic African Dwarf Frogs Cherry Neo. Shrimp Orange Neo. Shrimp Red Rili Neo. Shrimp Blue Velvet Neo. Shrimp Medium Amano Shrimp Asst. Nerite Snails Assassin Snails Asst. Mystery Snails Blue Wood Shrimp Bamboo Shrimp Bettas Asst. Halfmoon Males Asst. Crowntail Males Asst. Plakat Males Cichlids Small Blue Snakeskin Discus Small pigeon Checkerboard Discus Small Red Cover Discus Medium Red Melon Discus German Blue Rams Corydoras and Other Catfish Panda Cories Albino Cories Sterbai Cories Reticulated/False Julii Cories Pygmy Cories Habrosus Cories Bronze Cories Paleatus Cories Dwarf Petricola Catfish Plecos Common Otocinclus Assorted Small Bristlenose Plecos (Locally Bred) Loaches Kuhli Loaches Yo-yo Loaches Tetras Neon Tetras Green Neon Tetras Cardinal Tetras Rummynose Tetras Ember Tetras Candy Cane Tetras Black Emperor Tetras Congo Tetras Black Neon Tetras Black Phantom Tetras Red Phantom Tetras Barbs Rosy Barbs Cherry Barbs Danios Celestial Pearl Danios Gold Ring Danios Rasboras Harlequin Rasboras Other Cyprinids White Clouds Siamese Algae Eaters Badis Scarlet Badis Gouramis Sunset Honey Gouramis Livebearers Asst. Fancy Guppies (Locally Bred) Asst. Endlers (Locally Bred) Asst. Mollies Asst. Platies Asst. Swordtails Red Koi Snakeskin Guppy Pairs (Locally Bred) Rainbowfish Dwarf Neon Praecox Rainbows (Locally Bred) Killifish Florida Flag Fish Goldfish/Koi Small Black Moors Small Red Cap Orandas Small Calico Ryukins Small Red and White Ryukins Ricefish Assorted Medaka Ricefish Oddballs Elephant Nose Clouded Freshwater Archerfish Schoutedeni Puffer Pea Puffers Sales (While Supplies Last): -40% OFF All Non-Aquarium Co-Op Branded Rimless Tanks Photos 1. Red Melon Discus 2. Assorted Small Fancy Goldfish 3. Sunset Honey Gouramis 4. Assorted Small Discus 5. Freshwater Archerfish

I dont think any of us who have seen @Mmiller2001 has failed to be wowed by the look he achieves in his tanks. Mmiller2001 recently submitted an entry in the Aquatic Gardeners Association Dutch style competition and won second place in a field of 21 entries. https://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2023/index2.html clicking on each entry allows you to view larger photos, description of the tank and judges review of it. The competition was awfully good. I would be pleased to have my name next to most of them… I have found studying these tanks and reading the judges response quite educational and thought others might enjoy reading them to. There are also categories for garden style that might be more akin to how most of us style our tanks rather than following dutch style rules closely… Congratulation @Mmiller2001for your outstanding results. I know I am beholden to him for help he has given me to grow healthier plants and suppress Algae…

Thank you!! Yes it is! I feel like it's verification that I am giving the fish a healthy environment. I hope I am!

Looks nice! Your plan could work. Everyone has different preferences and different experiences. Is your water hard or soft? A planted tank with wood leeching tannins tends to skew soft, and pH will tend to slowly lower unless you add a buffer. Just musing about how that might affect species selection. Green laser corys are nice if you can order them… The smaller Green Neon Tetras that are coming out tend to do better for me than the bulkier normal Neon Tetras… You might like a male Betta imbellis. They’re a fascinating “swamp fish.” I kept a green one awhile…

My female Swordtails keep getting huge… but no fry show up. So, I am trying an old play from Master Dean’s book… Dropped fry can swim out through the holes, and survive in the tank.

Thank u everyone for the help, i love my fish and just want to be able to provide a healthy enviroment

Hey, easy plant diagram that way though.

If you net all the fish out of that setup will you take a video, @Mmiller2001? I want to know if it's just me that can't catch fish. 😄

Will do. Pics are hard because he presents his good eye to the outside of the glass most of the time but I will do my best.

Thanks, yes, that was kind of the idea since the Java Moss didn't end up working on the spiderwood.

If no changes, then I would monitor at this stage. May only be scarring by now. Should have seen at least a tiny difference if it was going to respond to Ich-X. Monitor close and keep us posted. Oh, and take a pic every other day or so. That way you can have a comparison. Sometimes we don’t notice slow, subtle changes when we look at them every day, but gradual changes will be more obvious when we scan across multiple pictures at the same time.

Kuhlis surely dig! I keep mine on aquasoil and they love it. Here is a pic I caught. In fact I added some sand to their tank but they remained uninterested at least from what I see. Aquasoil is def the fav of mine But they are very nocturnal and hard to see overall. I had to try these noodles ones and I like them. But if I gotta be honest, they are not great if you have only one display tank and you wanna watch fish often. They are hard to see. My tank offers lots of hidding placest and it is still hard to see them. They are somewhere in this jungle

Baby something! My money is on Diamond Tetra

Yeah that makes sense given the predefined rule sets and stylistic guidelines for the various aquascaping practices, I just suppose that as a less refined hobbyist than the judges, I like to see a lot of cool fish in the tanks! 😆

Java fern, (and other ferns) produce babies when they are stressed. There is something also to be said about youtube aqua scappers. Many of these videos are not from your standard run of the mill hobbyist. They are tv quality productions and include a staff to make that video look effortless, as if a single person was responsible for everything in said video.

It could be from the stress of transport/transplant if it's the older leaves. I think they're kind of neat when they start growing more little java ferns from the leaves. But I agree with, @JettsPapa... I don't know how much stock I'd take in most YouTubers plant advice. Those people are setting up and tearing down tanks left and right.

So years ago, 2006, I picked up a book called The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. My imagination was so sparked by this book that it is among a very few books that I hold as most treasured and have read it more than once- ever time a similar effect has occurred. I don't reread the vast majority of books I pick up. This book is only surpsassed by one other that I've read around 4 or 5 times. Anyhow, while travelling this last fall in Ireland I went into a book store. Behold I saw The Land of Lost things by the same author- a NEW book all these years later. Weirdly I also had no idea that I was also in John Connolly's native home and he'd just been at the bookstore recently SIGNING the books! Now while I am sad to have missed the man himself I was more than happy to pick up this new book and have been reading it. Halfway through I already know it to be just as endearing as the first book will be.

Awesome! Congratulations!

I guess you have aquasoil. I want to mention that I personally had issues keeping cories on aquasoil, or better to say any bottom that is hard to keep "clean" whether it is based on the substrate and/or based on the "dirtiness" of other fish. Both gold lasers as a grow out in the super red BN breeding tank and pygmy cories in my full aquasoil tank started to have bacterial issues gradually. I mean, pygmys having issues after a year, Im not talking about a short term effect but rather keeping them on aquasoil on a long term. However my sterbais who have a partial aquasoil in their tank does not seem to have issues, the majority of the tank is fine sand. Just a fair warning for cories. In my experience cories need a clean bottom to do well in the long term meanwhile majority of other bottom dwellers I keep don't seem to care it as much as they do. I personally find it hard to keep aquasoil clean. In addition, I tried pygmy cories with my female betta and gradually I had issues. I personally don't believe pygmys are a good option for bettas based on my experience. Maybe their wiggling, the way they move triggers the betta? Idk. I know the betta's character matters but my female is not aggressive really in general.

Per the Center for Disease Control: "Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins can harm fish and other aquatic animals in several ways. The toxins may directly kill the animals. When a harmful algal bloom caused by cyanobacteria decomposes, it can use up the oxygen in a body of water." That is why water utilities try very, very hard to source water where there is not cyanobacteria - it's not good for our health either.

My sterbai surprised me with about 25 eggs today. No complaints here. 🙂 Got my 55 cleaned out and ready for the next inhabitants which should be here tomorrow if this massive snow storm doesn't delay them!

One day I may take the time to start working on the bap program in my fish club as well. Just so much paperwork. Maybe I'll get one of my girls to do the paperwork and I'll get the plaques. 😆

Went to my LFS and got some plants, did not get any pictures because they were very busy and i did not want to hold up the aisles. I bought some moss and the guy put a small plant in the bag as well (for free), any idea what it is? Im thinking its a tiny crypt in which case if i can get it growing i saved tons of money as its a big bunch of plants and i got it for free with the purchase of the moss Moss: Mystery plant:

I lied..... still kept tugging at that thread! It still needs a few hours of work (yes, im that slow)

So once my tank is cycled and my parameters are stable and my plants root out I plan on stocking this thing. And I was curious as to what I should get for the bottom water column. I was thinking some kind of Cory or like 6 khuli loaches. Next I was thinking like ten neon tetras and finally a female Betta. (It will be heavily planted for what I'm going to be stocking)

I’m going to keep MISC journals about Livebearers here. I’m growing out Swordtails spawned outdoors last summer… They have some NANF tankmates - Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish (egg layers)… The adult brooders are in a separate aquaponic set up… They also share space with a different NANF species, the Bluefin Killifish (also an egg layer)…. Also enjoying an ongoing breeding group of “Precious Metals” Guppies…

So two and a half weeks in to this (I had to start late due to travel). Everybody is looking good. 2 big water changes a week forced me to find a corner of my tank under some rocks that was NASTY, so I'm sure that didn't hurt. The little guy in the Quarantine tank is looking a little better. No longer going upside down, but still very thin and struggling. Here's hoping he hangs on. Thanks so much for your help on this!

Well perhaps 3-4 larger plastic totes that could nest when not in use as temp holding pens…

@Mmiller2001 can you remove the fish just for the photo and entry? Ie put them in another tank while you get your pics and then return them for your viewing pleasure?

Congrats! It's very exciting when something like that happens 🙂

I was at a Goodwill yesterday and saw some books by WEB Griffin and his son. They were $1.99, so I bought them, but I saw another book in one of his series that had his name on the cover, but when I looked at the title page it was written by two other authors. I left them. This practice seems to have become fairly common in recent years. I know there are still books being written and published with Tom Clancy's name on the spine, even though he died in 2013. Am I the only one who avoids these? (And don't get me started on Lee Child's recent collaborations with his brother. There's a reason his brother hadn't been very successful writing alone.)

I knew you'd do it @Mmiller2001. Still wish I was your neighbor so I could get cuttings every day. It'd be like fresh flowers in my tanks. Neither of us would ever be bored. And remove half the fish!? You can give me those too I guess.

Im moving the guppy fry i had living in my 5gallon back to the school tank, they are big enough to live with their parents and i want to focus more on the shrimp. However, in the process of catching out the guppies, i ended up with 2 shrimplets in the bag, so they are going into the school tank too.

So, last week ammonia and nitrite were 0? In a new tank, the "biobag" (and scaffolding) in the Tetra filter represents most of your biological filtration. Later, your whole tank can be considered biological filtration. So, changing that biobag probably got rid of most of your filtration. I have the Tetra Whisper IQ 45. It comes with a plastic "scaffolding" in the front. I placed a sponge in that area. I cut holes in the sponge for each of the "spikes" on the scaffolding which allowed it to fit properly. I'm able to change the "biobag" (throw it away) without losing the beneficial bacteria in the sponge. Here is one of mine:

most "algae" eaters are fairly poor at it once they get past the juvenile stage.

Of course…. 50% off on tanks right now…. I remember the first time I heard of people having more than 1 tank…. Blew my mind. I had never thought of that…

Hi, I had another attempt with this pair and this time he hasn’t eaten the eggs! It’s been almost 24 hours. I’ll just see if they hatch.

When it comes to that era of authors you either really like them or you don't which is totally okay. Personally I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice mostly because of Jane Austen's dry witty remarks which had me laughing at points. I have recently read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.

One rule I have learned on my Aquarium hobby journey is that if something in the tank is stressing ME, then remove it. If I have a plant that I can't keep alive? Remove it and try a different plant. If I have a fish that's eating my plants? Trade it in at the LFS or give it to a friend. In your case, I would take the Gourami and trade it in. Pearl Gouramis are very docile so if you want a gourami, I'd go that route but honestly any gourami and Betta has the potential for issues.

The filter is a sump with 'socks' and i clean the socks weekly though they are not clogged. It is a large aquarium 180 gallons. I could try chemi-clean but prefer to not use if this stuff will eventually go away. Once i had a different type of bga caused by nitrogen release from anerobic activity but that was fixed by very soft current flowing over the substrate to lift the gas to escape but this is different. The stuff is a lot coarser almost sheet like. The reason i favor chemi-clean over dr. tim (if i use something) is because i've used it before with success on a 29. At the time i had rams in the tank; the stuff died very fast the rams lived and i was happy and it never came back (I did add a lot of air stones); i'm very reluctant to use meds. If it is cyano is there a negative to just letting it grow out of control - is the cyano bad for the aquarium (or fish health) ?

ok, there has been a small change in plans. I was going to use the 2gallon for blackworms, but i noticed a pineconing platy today and that was much more urgent. I have dosed a small amount of salt just as a small medication but am not sure what to do. I have the med trio on hand. Unfortunately i forgot the heater was off in the tank when i put the fish in so i think i temperature shocked the poor thing too. Here is a picture, what do i do? @Colu _________________________________________________________________________________________________ In the middle of a WC right now, family member decided the best time to shower was while my tank is half full, cutting off my water source, im waiting for them to finish so i can refill my tank. I also have some fish goals for 2024, mostly about stocking: Reduce platy numbers to less then ten Reduce cory numbers to less then ten Reduce mini ramshorn snails to less then ten Also got a picture of Vulcan showing off his odontodes:

An interesting thing happened today. When I feed white worms I'll pick them out of the culture, rinse them in a cup of aquarium water, and then use a pipette to feed them to the fish. Today I was feeding when my wife asked me to help her with something. I came back and am hour later to find that the worms were crawling up the pipette to get out of the water:

Fed some blanched zuchini today, Vulcan and the shrimp are big fans. I used a plant weight to hold down Vulcan's pieces, and we used a wooden chopstick for the shrimptank (it didnt really work though). Vulcan while warming up to me, unfortunately can be skittish when i try and photograph, so pictures of him eating are difficult. Note to self: Feed shrimp zucchini more often, they love it: Though some of them were more interested in the chopstick then the zucchini...

in the middle of Two Towers right now. Ive read the Lord Of the Rings trilogy multiple times now, its fun to reread.