Leaderboard

Looks like a Peacock Gudgeon

Definitely a peacock gudgeon. Very interesting fish and typically easy going although I have heard of the occasional aggressive gudgeon

No need to worry, the white fungus that is developing is totally normal for new driftwood. Typically it will go away on its own as the wood becomes saturated but I have seen snails, shrimp and fish all pick at it. It will be gone in no time

Oh, no! Don't tell the hubby...

pogostemon stellatus octopus is really good and fast growing. good for fry to hide in.

Definitely a rainbow fish what species anyone guess at this point

Second peacock Gudgeon there cave spawns if I remember rightly very colour

Yeah, don’t worry, when the edible parts on the driftwood is gone so is the slime. It may take a week or so. And if you wipe it off, it’s still coming back. Until it finishes working on the wood.lots of things eat it. Not harmful at all

Mayaca Fluvalitis would be PERFECT for the tank, checks off all of the boxes!

Green CABOMBA is another option.

Im currently big on Green Myrio, big, fluffy and beginner friendly

Watersprite is another good option that can be grown both floating and planted. Once it gets going though it can get large in a hurry!

I have no experience with it, but I know a lot of people use guppy grass or hornwort for those purposes.

Looks to me like some kind of kind of silverside (Atheriniformes), specifically some kind of rainbowfish, but it's hard to tell? Did you order them online?

Rip giant black square 3/20/2024 - 3/21/2024 Gone but not forgotten!

Well she already ok'd replacing the 36 with a 55. Baby steps!

For sure. Keep in mind I’ve been nurturing those relationships the last 4 years. Definitely didn’t happen overnight!

You will probably end up with some type of bladder/ramshorn/pond snail at some point just by adding plants to your tank. As long as you are not overfeeding, their population will grow to a point and then level off. If you are looking for another easily identifiable/name worthy snail a nerite would be a good choice. They won't breed in freshwater but there are tons of different variations and colors to choose from. Their one downside is the eggs that get laid everywhere and can be tough to remove.

3rd on peacock gudgeon. I recognized it from a video from AC, is this in your tank?

Don’t know this from experience, but that’s biofilm, and pretty much any scavengers or opportunistic feeders (including plecos) will gladly eat it!

This might help you to decide. Interesting information in this video.

Great question and one that is full-on opinion based. This is purely about what you want the fish to look like and each fish responds differently to their environment. So, I like the black background and a lighter colored substrate. The lighter substrate brightens the tank as the light reflects off it more. It also brightens up guppies, imho. I first had dark substrate and for the longest time was worried my guppies were sick. Seriously, where I thought they'd be silvery on their bodies, they were instead dark and dingy. Again, to me that's how it felt. I've heard it said that a darker substrate makes them color up more, and I guess it does, it also makes them darken up more.

As Captain Picard said, "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness. That is life."

I forgot how young danios start going at it. Added a bunch of pogo to the tank to fill it in yesterday. Today I saw the boys sparring. I put in a collection cup and they were checking it out the minute my hand left the tank.

They’re already in a 5 gallon bucket. Remove most of the water and any decor that can be smashed around. Place decor in dechlorinated water. Netting them out adds an unnecessary step to further stress them. I’ve done it a dozen times with much larger aquariums without issue ever.

For a 20min drive and relatively small fish, I think you could totally get away with a bag or even a Tupperware container if you don't trust the bag. This is how I have moved fry or small fish like endlers too and from swap meets

A New Hope, Almost. When Ponyo passed away, I was done with bettas. The harlequin rasboras were doing great. So I began to realize that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't me or fish keeping in general but bettas and me that are the problem. I started doing more research, started watching youtube, and found Cory and Aquarium Co-op. His vids had lots of helpful info but also carried the same message: fish keeping isn't hard, we make it hard. He was defining me and my mistaken approached towards this hobby to a tee. I honestly can't recall all the advice I gleaned in this time. But it was pivotal in changing my approach and expectations in fish keeping. I saw that relaxing and finding the simpler methods actually yielded better results too. I was hooked. Oh yeah, I said I was watching Cory right? So while doing so I became hooked on guppies too. It's all your fault Cory! 🙂 So I took the rasboras back to the fish store and came home with 6 male guppies! Alongside them, I bought my first real plants from Aq-Coop too. Nothing could stop me now.

Yep. I have the pump turned all the way down and I'm planning to put a sponge on the end to further slow down the flow Also, I've been working on the tank some more. I added java moss and some micro sword. I'm thinking dwarf sagittarius or vaisernaria to put in back and also some anubis nana petite

I followed this to quiet my ACO air pump... https://youtu.be/3JNcwZC-1To?si=CPueq3QnOS4rXDlY but I filled the jar/vase with polyfill, instead of leaving it empty. I shared the before and after decibel readings: I did the same with a nano air pump that was noisy, too. Not sure if this was what you were looking for, but anyway. good luck!

I've always just plopped and dropped shrimps but my water is liquid limestone, completely off the charts gh and kh, so I think they don't mind it. The past sets I've got immediately went to eating some pellets as soon as I put them in. No molt issues. You might want to just get some that aren't quite so bred for color. I think the culling really weakens the genetics for them and makes them unable to tolerate changes.

I’d wait a bit to see if they’re compatible after the eggs hatch. I had 8 rams before and one male has spawned with all four females. One female he fought with when the lights turned off and he ignored another female after the fry were free swimming. There was only one female where he remained bonded with until the last free swimming fry was alive.

Agreed that you shouldn’t chase pH. If the fish are doing well, let them. No point in stressing everyone out, yourself included, chasing a number that doesn’t matter most of the time. I’ve had 14 tanks for almost 4 years, and I’ve tested pH maybe 3 times. Focus on consistency and you’ll be good.

Hi everyone, I’m very glad I found this forum. I got a beautiful betta fish as a surprise present, which is crazy because I didn’t even have a cycled tank or let alone know much about bettas. I’ve only owned a couple in my life as a kid, and everyone knows how that goes. I want to treat this betta as best as I can, this is the best tank set up I could come up with at the moment due to tight finances, but please give me all the tips and affordable websites for live plants or anything else. I’m kind of panicking because I really don’t want to kill this fish, lol. His name is Darius and I love him so much. I tried my best with his tank, and I cranked in literally a crazy amount of research because I had to make a tank for him extremely quickly, I’m just worried about cycling and how that will go🥹

Oh I'm working on the 6' tank in the living room. That has yet to secure consensus.

@jwcarlson this helps. It’s my old folks egg collecting gear 🤣

The problem with a comprehensive guide to identifying micro organisms in your tank is that this forum has members spanning the globe. As does the hobby. Not only that but even though many of our members are NA, fish plants and substrates come from all over. And if that wasn’t complicated enough there are hundreds of species of flying insects especially in the warm months that sneak into our homes climb into our tanks and lay eggs… When I or someone else identifies a microfauna we can only guess at the genus or even group of critters it might belong to. Blood worms for example refer to something like 100+ different species of midges! And even more midge larvae aren’t red 😬 Anyway I hope you enjoyed my TED talk and delightfully unhelpful answer haha

Personally, my advice would be to simply embrace the tannins (they're good for your plants & fish), but I also understand not everyone wants yellow water 😅 I am a total nerd, so let me add in some scientific knowledge here. I haven't used spider wood or any other driftwood with a tannin problem in aquariums, but I do collect wood pieces from the beach & local hikes for my garden or my grandpa's pond. Sometimes I will find a piece that is really dirty, has a lot of tannins, or still has phloem, cork cambium, or bark/cork. Anatomy of a Tree Heartwood is dead wood. It is old growth cells (sapwood, vascular cambium, phloem, or cork cambium/cork) that has died and now only serve the purpose of structural support. Sapwood aids in transpiration: which is water vapor exiting through the leaves of the tree. Vascular cambium is new sapwood growth, but does not do much for transpiration; it is simply a new expansion of sapwood. Phloem serves in the transportation of sugar - it takes sugar from the leaves (which is produced by photosynthesis) to the roots. Cork cambium is the cells of the bark and the bark serves as protection of the inner layers. [note: bark is also called cork.] If you cut through phloem, you cut through sugar transport... which kills the tree, as it cannot gain nutrients any more. If you cut through only a section of the phloem (so not completely cutting the entire trunk) or only one limb, the tree does not die. Tannins within Tree Trunks & Limbs There are two kinds of tannins: condensed tannins and hydrolysable tannins. Condensed tannins are found in food and byproducts, and can generally be ignored. Hydrolysable tannins are found in tree bark, stumps, limbs, trunks, leaves, and some nuts/seeds. Both condensed tannins and hydrolysable tannins aid the tree in protection, whether protecting against fungus, bacteria, disease/rot, or insects. Hydrolysable tannins are primarily made up of ellagic acid, gallic acid, and sugar [glucose]. Ellagic acid and gallic acid have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory abilities, hence fighting against diseases & whatnot. Chemically, ellagic acid and gallic acid are actually white, but when exposed to oxygen, turns brown/yellow. Considering that hydrolysable tannins primarily protect the tree from external threats (disease, fungus and bacteria, insect, etc), most tree species have the highest concentration within their bark and cork cambium, with tannin concentrations following within the phloem and then cambium. Sapwood and heartwood is [typically] incredibly low in tannin content. What kills trees Trees die from a removal of access to nutrients and/or roots. Because of this, trees die for six main reasons. 1. Drought. Trees need water for nutrients. In the process of transpiration, trees take water from the soil through the roots, up the sapwood, and out through the underside of leaves or needles. Without water, trees cannot take in carbon dioxide, and, in addition to an absence of water movement, therefore cannot create nutrients. 2. Drowning. While many wetland trees have adapted to low-oxygen conditions, with many of them constantly living in water, most tree roots cannot tolerate saturated soil or being submerged in water. This essentially suffocates the tree, as the aeration in the soil which usually provides oxygen is absent, making it so the tree cannot obtain oxygen via the roots. Additionally, this can disrupt the photosynthesis process, as the sunlight and carbon dioxide is disproportionate to water. 3. Disease. Disease is a wide term, but typically means an organism (bacteria, fungi, or some other simple organism) is saprophytic or parasitic, taking away nutrients from the tree. 4. Insects. Many varieties of insects eat the bark, sap, and inner wood of trees. Many insects lay their eggs in trees or house in trees. Bugs can kill trees by: a) burrowing deep within the bark, or to the inner wood, of trees b) sucking sap and other nutrients from the tree c) disturbing photosynthesis and other nutrient transfers d) spreading disease e) … and more. 5. Cutting. Due to logging, this is the most common reason for tree death. Without access to the phloem, the roots are deprived of sugar, and starves. 6. Excess nutrients (also called fertilizer damage). This is the best way to go about killing a tree or limb if you want a specific part of the tree. Nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and boron are very important, but can be deadly in excess. How this all applies to tannins in wood (AKA: TL;DR) Tannins are highly present in bark and cork cambium, so it is best practice to remove the bark from driftwood if any is present. I use a potato peeler that is specifically for plant use (not for eating!), but any knife, razor, or even your own hands will do a good job. If the bark or cork cambium is hard to get off, soak it for an hour in hot salt water. You can use table salt or epsom salt. By removing the bark, you remove a high concentration of tannins. Hot water leaches out tannins in high quantities, as heat triggers a transfer of nutrients. Salt causes fertilizer damage – the excess of nutrients suffocates the tree. I would use 1 cup of epsom salt per every quart of water. Allow it to dissolve before putting the wood in. Soak this for at least half an hour. For cooking salts, mix one-fourth to one-half cup of salt for every quart of water. The process is the same. After soaking, use a rag or abrasive scrubber and scrub the wood all over with hot water. Rinse with lukewarm to cold water, and repeat if needed. Chances are, you’re going to need to do this at least twice. Using a razor the peel layers between soaking & scrubbing can also help, but depends on the wood piece. As a relatively last resort, soak it in boiling vinegar concentrate (one fourth cup of vinegar per quart of water.) This will engage several nutrients and help leech the tannins. You can also mix salt and vinegar, but be sure to thoroughly rinse several times before putting it in the tank. Hope my long-winded nerdy info-dump helped! Haha...

Ya don't know what you are missing till ya do!!!

I have a planted 10 gallon tank with a half dozen Neocaridina davidii, some bladder snails, and a very young ramshorn snail. The filter and substrate have been running in one form or another and in one tank or another for months now, bit the hardscape and about half of the plants are new. Since there are no fish putting pressure on them, I see some very small organisms moving around in the tank. I see references to copepods, seed shrimp, scuds, isopods, rhabdocoela, and all manner of microfauna, but I never really know what I'm looking at when I see small things moving around in my tanks. Is there a "beginner's guide" or an "illustrated guide" to microfauna in freshwater aquariums anyone can recommend that I might start learning about these things?

Copepods have a reflex that makes them 'jump' to avoid predators. Usually that's the guys you see swimming like they're drunk. They'll have a twin tail of their egg sacks once they get a little bigger. Here's one from my tank:

I'm not an expert on crayfish so take this for what it is. I think a lot of the people commenting here don't realize that a lot of the rules for crayfish in general are not the same for CPO. They aren't typical crayfish. My thoughts is that it died of other causes. You might be someone that could answer some questions I had about CPO. I'm going to dm you though so I don't hijack the post. That video is about crayfish in general. CPO are not normal crayfish. The typical answers that work for every crayfish doesn't always fit with CPO. Heck a common tank mate for CPO is shrimp. Ain't no way that shrimp is surviving with other crayfish. CPO are tiny.

Did some feeding tonight- one of the advantages of having 2 boys under 9 are the leftover veggies that the shrimps and plecos get. Tonight it was cucumber and the plecos had a ball. My pride and joy is this female longfin standard L144 ancistrus - gorgeous! Elvira is her name! Nextdoor is my 20 high with Santa guppies, 6 L519 juvies, and shrimp - Malawa, Aura blues and Bloody Mary’s. Guppies are such opportunistic creatures as suddenly a treat for the plecos and shrimp becomes there’s! The 20 long up above has my cherry shrimp and they’re coming along nicely as well. I hope everyone is well and having fun. I have some ponds that I’m getting back into shape and a new fish coming tomorrow so exciting times in the BBG fish house! Updates to come and hopefully sooner than later!

Sorry about that,I would just grab 2 more corys personally I think they feel safer in groups if I am not mistaken, I look forward to your tab in journals!! Thanks for update @Qnash

Finally, I got some fish! I got 10 neon tetras and 6 Cory catfish. It’s been two days. I had 2 catfish die. I can’t figure out why. The water checks out at 0 amonia, 0 nitrites, 15 nitrates, ph 7.7. Temperature 78 degrees. Since two died do I need to get 2 or 4 more? I have a picture of the dead fish if it’s helpful. I will move to the Journal tab.

Well today was a very long day - and a heck of a lot of work but we replaced the sump on my ~600 gallon aquarium. @xXInkedPhoenixX might find this interesting since they are about to setup the same type of aquarium: This is what it used to look like (picture from 8x4): And this is what it looks like now - minus some cleanup work:

try this video. towards the end Irene speaks on easy green

This is what melini look like just emerging. I just watched this one’s tail Pop out.

Haha, okay, good points! I guess I was just, I don't know, jealous? That's probably not the right word, but I see people confidently say things about the scuds or the copepods in their tank and I'm over here saying "huh, I've never seen a sesame seed swim that well before"!

Each genus has different results when it comes to hybrids in terms of health and ability to reproduce. Because of this, each genus has different ethics in terms of creating hybrids. Cories are not encouraged to create hybrids. It's not the same as cichlids. You may get a couple of healthy ones but in general they are not healthy and not advised. Doing it on accident is fine but it is not something we should encourage to experiment with. It's not something new. It's been done before and we already know it tends to produce unhealthy offspring. A lot of cories in the hobby are lineage 9 https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/genus.php?genus_id=51

As someone else mentioned, they are both in the same lineage 9, so they will cross. I would encourage you not to cross them, separate the two species, and if you do ever try to sell these be sure to point out that they are a hybrid. Lineage 9 also includes aeneus and the different laser corydoras, so any of those will also cross. Intentionally hybridizing the cory cats is something that a lot of people discourage, the same with rainbow fish. I know a lot of people will go into an LFS and want to get a few of several different species of corydoras because there are so many nice ones, but it is better to keep one species to a tank.