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That study on salt tolerance in cories was pretty poor as there were significant other stress factors, like the lack of filtration, that make the study pretty worthless. I’ve had no issues using low dose salt for cories or plants (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons) and it can reduce osmotic stress on the fish. Even low dose salt appears to have at least a bit of detrimental effect on Ich, but is not likely to be enough to clear it. Cories should be able to tolerate 82’F for several weeks, somewhat dependent on species. Most should be able to tolerate up to 86’F for the 10 days or so it takes to clear Ich. The biggest risk is, it could be one of the species of Epistylus, which prefer warmer temps. Posting some pics, as closeup and as sharply focused as possible, will help determine if it’s Ich or Epistylus. With Ich the fish look sprinkled with salt. With Epistylus, the spots are usually slightly irregular in size and shape, and tend to be more raised. Epistylus will NOT improve with only raising the temp and may even get worse. Epistylus species are best treated with Ich-X or an equivalent. Ich can be treated with higher temp. A UV filter can help with either by helping clear the vulnerable stages of the organisms out of the water faster.

After a lot of online stalking, I used my ancient carpenter to make my own stands. I'm finishing up the shelves. I have room on two stands for 4 20 long and an under rack of 10s. The color was carefully chosen from the discount bin. Pic to show over all and the joints.

There are so many resources about which fish to breed for profit, but not on how to do it well. I've been able to raise a couple batches of fry (cories, guppies & gouramis) but it usually takes a long time. What are your best breeding practices? Do you have any tips/tricks to raise your fish faster? As a side note, I have three 10 gallon tanks. Should I choose one species and stick with them? How would be the best way to do that? etc.

if you get so much ammonia buildup in the bag on the drive home, there's something wrong, or you are traveling far enough you should be doing some planning. #2 , maybe, maybe not. if your tank water, and bag water are within a degree or two up or down, it doesnt really matter, but if the bag water is quite a bit warmer than your tank, it can shock and kill the fish. if you still dont want to float the bag for 20min or so, set it against the outside of the tank for a while so the temps get closer to each other.

Probably lack of nutrients; i always fed mine root tabs and strong light. Of course these days I cheat and grow it like this;

Aquaclears are my favorite filters for small tanks. I have a 20-long and use an AC30 and so far it has been running great. I would like more room in the basket for floss and purigen. I know Cory and many others advocate for the use of sponge filters because they have immense surface area for beneficial bacteria. I assume the same would apply to the sponge inside the Aquaclear. Would removing my existing ceramic media cause a crash?

looks like it will do a fine job, and nothing wrong with discount bin brown!

The only thing I was really worried about was significant pH change from the seltzer if there were a ton of treated plants going into a tiny tank, or excess chlorine from a ton of plants dragging heavily chlorinated, shocked water going into a tiny tank. I’m paranoid about giving some blanket recommendations without knowing more details. I also usually just shake the plants off, or quick rinse to clear debris if I’m treating algae.

Dog picture dump. I spent an hour brushing the fluffy one. Beast

I added trumpet snails to my jar to see if they can help with the fluffy hair algae.

Crazy exciting news. Yesterday for the first time my little girl started snooping at the divider a bit. She is completely healed and put on size and weight. She showed some interest in the male on the other side throughout the day but nothing consistent. This morning she did not leave the divider for a grindle worm breakfast. My girl does not miss breakfast and grindles are her favorite. So I watched and she did the tell tale head twitch. So I removed the divider prepared to intervene if he again bullied her. She gracefully swam directly to his cave and went in. Typical of him he was a bull in a china shop. She did not miss a beat and swam to the center and danced for him then slowly coaxed him to her side and into her cave. He is still hanging about and occasionally going in. As soon as he loses interest in her cave if she does not emerge the rest of the day I will be putting the divider back to give her the best chance of raising her babies. I would rather let nature just do it’s thing but I do not trust him at all. Especially with no other female to distract him since he killed the other girl. photo of him seeming pleased with himself for getting the job done

I love honey gourami as a showpiece fish! They are smaller and less aggressive than dwarf gourami and 3-spot (blue/opaline) gourami. Personally I would not mix a betta, especially a male with long fins, with danios - the danios are much faster than the betta and when I had danios they were nippy. Others may have had a different experience though. Also, in place of tetras or danios, I would like to suggest cherry barbs! I ADORE my cherry barbs, the males are stunning red under the lights, they are totally peaceful, and I was able to breed them without trying! Only a few fry survive here and there, but I have gone from 10 to 25+ over the past year or so.

Yes. Everything in moderation. You could start with Danios, and add three more danios, or add three tetras, or... I like to keep groups of at least five or six. I keep Bloodfin and Serpae Tetras. There are so many choices. Somebody will correct me if needed, but I think Corydoras are a little more sensitive to change, so that would not be my first fish. If you haven't yet, I would purchase an Ammonia test kit to go with your regular test strips.

Banded Darter sat for a couple photos today…

You might find that fish ca eat the hearts of artichoke stems. You could cut them into discs like this…

The last 2 days I haven’t detected any ammonia. I think the last test that was questionable was a fluke. The embers are doing very well and like to hang out under the leaves like they are umbrellas. However the void space is getting on my nerves and my inner voice is saying “something needs to be there!” Probably will add more anubias to keep the theme. Here are the embers enjoying some Repashy. I really like these little guys. If you recall, they come from Aquashella. 🙂

Tap water is fine, but a quick rinse in dechlorinated water after that would never be wrong. Especially if you had a lot of plants going into a very small tank and excessive levels of chlorine in your tap water. It shouldn’t cause an issue, but if your tap absolutely reeks of chlorine, then better safe than sorry.

1 year 9 months (June 1, 2023) I missed posting on this forum the whole of 2023 but during this year, I moved the crypt tank from my fish room to my video editing room. I’m really liking how this tank is turning out. Low maintenance, easy to care for and quite pleasing to watch every night. There’s still some open space for planting and some areas where I’m waiting for the current crypts to grow in. Excuse me for being in the picture, I took this for a YouTube video thumbnail. I will try to upload more images this year and show you the progress of my long term tank.

Been awhile since I added to this thread. I am expecting a box of fish this week. Included will be two pairs of Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma spectabile). The “money-shot” on these is this photo… In reality… maybe one in a thousand heats up that well in spring spawning colors. But they sure can be lookers… To moderate expectations, mine will probably look like this… But an aquarist can dream! 😎

As long as it's growing I don't think I would adjust light. S. Repens needs a good amount of light and once you have enough it starts to take off. The algae you're talking about is green dust algae or green spot algae. Basically, the common advice is going to be that it's either.... -excess nutrients -lack of balance -too much/not enough phosphate -not enough CO2 -excess/not enough light I know it's confusing and it leaves a lot of room for second guessing if you're making the right change. It feels a bit like a game of whack a mole or sometimed. The thing that makes sense for me in my tanks is to step back, double check all the parameters I can and go from there. If I just changed light intensity up and that algae is forming, then I would lean towards that being a main cause. If I just upped dosing, then I would go that route. If nitrates were very high then I would focus on water changes. I hope that as the plant grows you're able to get things dialed in. It's absolutely a process. Small changes are key though and give them time to show an impact on the plants.

I haven’t given an update in the past month, so I figured I’d give one. So far, they’re doing great, no deaths, breathing problems are finally over, and no more white spots. The only thing that bothers me is that they still don’t do the short burst to the surface but instead slowly get up there, take a quick breathe, and swim back down, (fortunately they don’t sit at the top gasping anymore.) It seems the most effective treatment in this scenario was giving them essential vitamins. If I didn’t give them the supplements, they would likely would have been all gone by now. Now, they have nice and round bellies, and are always willing to eat anything that falls in the tank. Not super active, but active enough for me to be comfortable. Right now, there are only 2 peppers and 2 bronze, is it okay if I could keep them in there quarantine tank temporarily until I fix the problem with the ammonia in the tank they’re going into? (Unfortunately, there’s ammonia in my tap water) there’s five other bronze Cory’s in there right now. I was eventually gonna add 13 more peppers with the current ones, (or 12) to get a nice big school going.

I plop and drop when I get them to temp, typically. That said... how much ammonia is building up in the ride from LFS to your house?

Absolutely not true. You have almost no GH and have salt in the water which damages plants. For reference, GH 5.2 KH near 0, in pool filter sand and no root tabs. Get the water right with excellent husbandry and you will be in a much better spot.

Yea those females can be nasty; you have to be careful because they sort of 'know' just where to hit another fish to kill it. People have tried breeding borelli in 15 and 20 high aquariums nad have reported the female one shot killing the male even though they are relatively passive species. Trifs are said to be quite aggressive esp m/f.

That all looks fine to me. You can set the heater at an angle so that the heat doesn't travel directly up to the sensor.

I’d just do a 50 50 mix and go with that. 8 degrees GH isn’t a deal breaker.

I love this it stirred a very funny image in my head 😂

Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Scouring-Plastic-Non-Scratch-Scrubbers-Assorted/dp/B07ZRMPM7F

Another vote for zebra danios. The are extremely hardy and will probably only die of old age in your tank. 🙂 My suggestion for this would be simple store-bought ammonia along with the ACO or Tetra ammonia and 6-1 test strips. Wait for the nitrite to show up and then hit 0. No need for water changes or fish health anxiety. 🙂

Thanks

I would be careful adding danios to bettas. Small danios, like cpd's, can easily end up as food. Larger danios are too active and fin nippy. Most bettas will do community tanks just fine depending on their tankmates. Corys would be good. possibly not the pygmy though. I currently have 3 bettas in 3 communities. with corys, harlequin rasboras, platys, otocinclus, mystery snails, and some shy neon tetras. Depending on the betta's personality, most can be kept with peaceful fish. Usually, it's the betta that gets attacked. By fin nippers. I have failed at keeping them with Lemon tetras and any kind of glow fish. I wouldn't keep them alone with mystery snails. Bettas are nippy at their eye stalks.

[Insert Rocky Theme] This is from earlier in the week. One very old female amano (left) and one very old male amano (right).

Here is one of my newborns! For reference, it is on the nano sponge filter!

Today a coworker randomly tagged me on a Facebook picture. Turns out they took my advice and got their betta a heater. Now he's acting happier.

If you are going with Petsmart as your only source I would try neon tetra with beta and cories. They will have them. the tetras color with the beta will be complementary. Good luck, and welcome.

Thank you! So start with about 3 danios, or whatever we end finally going with, wait a bit then add a few more danios, wait a bit then start introducing another species? Does that sound about right?

Mr. Redbelly Dace… still a stunner!

I'm in a small town and only have a PetSmart around me and was going by what they have. Although I will try and do more research to see if I may have missed other stores as I rather not buy online. I thought about a betta as well. If we do go that route, would doing tetras instead of danios be better? I was thinking of bottom, middle, and top swimmers. Thank you for the suggestions and I'll definitely keep an eye out for those! PetSmart only had 2 kinds of rainbow. Not sure if either of them were dwarf, but I know they didn't say dwarf. Thank you! I was going by what PetSmart had in stock, as that's really the only thing that is close by. Although I will do more research and see if there may be another type of store around. I'll keep an eye out for your suggestions. Thank you so much!

Agree with both not using carbon (which will filter out the meds) and too much salt can be harmful to plants. I've used salt (and meds and temp increase) for ich and my plants "survived," but may not have been completely happy.

Do you want to replace the ceramic media with sponge? That is fine. However, I wouldn't do it right away. Add the sponge to the existing HOB, wait a month and then remove the ceramic media.

I use light grate along the back instead of the plastic strip that comes with glass lids. That idea came from @dasaltemelosguy

Same!

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.

First batch of fry moved to an upgrade last night. Feeding this morning:

Caught George and Tammy Spawning. He just does not fit where she chose. I did move the log back a bit after last time. It’s crammed against the back wall but there still is not enough space. So Im not sure these are fertile again. Video ended abruptly so I could chase Crystal away from the spawning site. Jealous any time George pays attention to Tammy.

Let's see what they will produce and what gene is hidden within gastromyzon double redfin They would be a great addition to the bottom of my whitecloud/ rainbow shiner aquarium

Couldn't get any good photo of him...he is 6month and from a very small batch i bred this year

Cichlids are fascinating. Many aquarists have a love-em / hate-em polarity of attitude towards keeping them. For me, I adore them all! There are several well known Cichlid clubs I read info from now and then: Greater Chicago Cichlid Association, snd Capital Cichlid Association. American Cichlid Association may host events too. Broadly, Cichlids can be divided into meta categories of “Old World Cichlids” (Africa), and “New World Cichlids” (Americas). Personally, I like to also think of size spectrum from large Tank-Busters to small Dwarf Cichlids. OLD WORLD CICHLIDS (AFRICA) Madagascar… There are very curious cichlids to be found in Madagascar. Most are “tank-busters” that require ca. 120 gallons or more. My favorite is this one: Paratilapia polleni / Starry-Night Cichlid Rift Lake Mbunas and Peacocks… When people say “African Cichlids,” they generally refer to either the commonly sold mbunas from Lake Malawi, or the ornamentally bred “Peacocks”. We kept a tank of mixed mbunas. As has been stated above, one breeding male will eventually assert dominance and rule the tank. Rule of thumb is stock heavily, buy them young, and provide ample hideouts. Loads of color options: Shell Dwellers… These are small, attractive niche-species. Typically kept in species-only groups, they’re a fun breeding project. I’ve never kept them, but enjoy seeing other’s enthusiasm about them. There are a number of varieties. I think this one is Lamprologus occellatus: West African River Cichlids… These are favorites of mine! Best known in the hobby are Kribensis. They’re small, but hardy. My son bred these a few years ago: I have recently gotten a pair of Dwarf Congo Cichlids — related to Kribs: NEW WORLD CICHLIDS (AMERICAS) Central American Cichlids are generally feisty, large species-only fish. They’re often just a one-fish-tank scenario: Jaguar Cichlid: Green Terror (very interactive!): Some medium-sized Central / South American species are easier to keep in a _hardy_ community tank. Firemouth Cichlids: My son bred these for BAP… Electric Blue Acaras: We bred hundreds of these… Check out Jim Cumming to see HUGE South American species. Most popular New World cichluds are (1) Dwarf Cichlids — Apistos, Rams, Laetacara, etc. Here’s a male GBR we raised: Here’s a natural-color Apistogramma agassizii my son kept: (2) Angelfish We bred some Marbles awhile back: (3) Discus Tricky to breed, but not hard to keep: I’ve had eggs once, but never fry:

2 snails appeared to possibly be pinned between the nylon and the box. They were successfully freed. Also I’m starting to see detail and no longer need the magnifying glass, for the most part. Here is a video of a lovely friendship that has blossomed.

Bred over 400 fish and culled almost half These are farm stock and they carry deformity. Such a shame for a native fish to have this much deformity being in the fish trade. Top photo..top 2 was cull due to having a short face Bottom phot..top female was kept and bottom female was culled I didn't notice at first but alot of the fry had weak dorsal which came from one of the breeding female. She won't be breeding for me next year. bottom photo..the bad female is at the bottom with a weak dorsal. On top of her is a older female for comparison