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They show up on the incoming tides at high tides on the full and new moon every year late May to Early June to deposit their eggs in the sand at the high water mark. In 2-3 weeks the babies will hatch looking like miniature adults and make their way into the water. over the stretch of the beach there were hundreds. This was taken right around high tide during the day. At night I have heard that thousands appear. My grandson was intrigued by the foam on the beach and I told him it was sea foam…. And then I told him we could make Sea Foam candy. he wrinkled his nose at me and asked how I could turn that foam into candy… I told him it just looked like sea foam. There wasnt any sea foam used to make it… he then asked me if it smelled the same… today I made him Sea Foam Candy.

He asked if he could get a tank to keep some in… Minimum tank size 180 gallons… I got him to settle for e Horseshoe crab stuffie instead….

Oh, for a kids tank, it’s very cute. Right up my daughter’s ally. But she decided on a fake tree and blue gravel. She had a beta and snails also. Then she added kuhli loaches. Her squiggle noodles

@j2Raptor I think they’re still fin give them a couple of days to a week to adjust to your tank. If they pass, you’ll know. They really stink to high heaven. Just check on them a bit each day. You’ve got good water for them. Okay I take that back, your nitrites are definitely too high. You need to change water a couple of times to get it down. It may actually be that they’re hiding from bad water quality. There isn’t a safe level of nitrites. Sorry if I was confusing there, I should pay closer attention.

Almost done

I don't have a problem! Just questions about Neocaridina. I'm a fish keeper. Never done pretty little shrimp until this April - only Amanos as functionaries. I have had a good experience so far with what I have purchased for this aquarium, having no experience with neo shrimp. History - set up the aquarium in April and cycled with plants. Plants are doing well. Ordered online and got a batch of 5 (5 plus 1 or two) and I think babies were in the bag because they have either multiplied very quickly or there were babies in the batch. Any of the ways....I have a s-load of shrimp (15+) in 45 days after introduction. These are nothing special - they are a neocaridina color mix. I've seen a few molted exos. My question - how much and often do I feed more shrimp that i thought I'd have, and also, is there some fresh veg or something they'd like? I'm happy to purchase what I don't have. I've been providing botanicals, feeding regular flake, nano pellets, and crushed up Bug Bites (for fish in my other aquarium), . Is there maybe a standard nutrient balance that you guys have used? I'm not interested in breeding (though it's probably gonna happen). I just want to get these guys in good condition and color (orange, red, blue). Included here is their aquarium, but you obviously can't see them.

Ok 🙏🏻👍🏻 yes. My ammonia is right where it should be. Ok well I feel a little relieved. I’ll do a water change in a bit and check again before I leave work. Aaaaaaah @JettsPapa I found it. Thank you so much!! 🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 yay. It’s the little things……… 😂

If you’re ammonia is zero you’re exactly in the middle of cycling You’re doing fine. But now in the middle of a fish in cycle. Requires constant water changes to keep your levels safe

I experienced burnout for roughly 6 years. Story time (skip ahead of paragraph for what I did to reinvigorate my love): When I was 2nd year college student I stepped up to a big person apartment. I bought a 128g custom acrylic tank for a steal. It was going to be an amazon biotope. I already had baby angels, neon tetra and some very expensive at the time phantom plecos. By this time I was already a decade into the hobby so felt comfortable with this tremendous undertaking…. Anyway blah blah blah skip ahead 4 months my tank gets a nasty algal bloom and kills all my fish save 2 by depleting the oxygen in the tank. Overnight. Devastated at losing my fish I was done. Lost all passion completely. Left the hobby on read and went on with my life. I still visited my LFS and worked at one, but with no passion left it didn’t stimulate any feeling. 6 years go by and it was genuinely engaging with this community that brought me back. When I came back in I decided to do what I love again but only allowing 1 fish tank at a time to devote myself to. Yeah the passion still ebbs and flows but having one project to maintain and watch slowly grow over time has kept me interested. I have other projects I want to do such as a brackish mangrove with figure 8’s but I got nothing but time now. I will outlive my fish and when I do I can start anew. I have also stopped taking my mistakes so seriously. Anyway despite my ramblings I think each keeper is different and each keeper will have to do different things to maintain passion. Or don’t. Let it die and take a break. Sometimes thats what people need too. You will come back with a different perspective and outlook.

In with a quick one this week. My girl had an appointment, so maintenance yesterday was just water out and water back in. No messing with filtration, air collars, etc. Just simple water changes and moved on with our day. Had a friend over today. I’ve known him for 10 years at this point, and he got into tanks about the same time that I did. He’s had some recent changes in his life that allowed him to get a new tank, and I hadn’t seen him in quite some time so it was good to catch up. Didn’t really anticipate sending him home with things, but he walked away with a few! 2 CPO’s, one that was carrying fertilized eggs, so hopefully those hatch out and he can have his own little colony. Also gave him my Xtreme Betta pellets as he got a new Betta and I don’t have one at this point. I convinced him to try a dirted tank since he already had the dirt and could save the money on the Stratum, so I passed on the screen I used to sift my dirt. Also busted a back up light out of the closet and passed it on for his new 55 column tank. Again, didn’t expect to send him home with really anything, but passed on some aquatic life, some food, a light, and a tool, lol. Welcome to AllFishNoBrakes, what are you looking for today? Both Anubias flowers are open at the same time. Pretty neat. Lots of shrimp visible as this was right at feeding time. This tank looks like it doesn’t have any, and then the food comes out and they come crawling out. I lost an Albino Cory. I can’t say I’m shocked, though. I’ve had those guys for nearly 4 years at this point. No clue how old they were when I got them, but I think I gave them a good life. We’ll see how the rest of the colony does. If it’s time, it’s time, and that is just an opportunity to try something else. Time will tell. Cheers, homies.

Thank you. Between me writing that and now three more have died, and I'm not optimistic about the last one. I'm going to throw out the algaefix and pristine, I can't imagine the help they give is worth the harm. And yes, you're probably correct about not trying to rush everything. This was a hard lesson to learn for sure, but I hope to do better going forward. For now I'll be grateful if my Old Guard survives.

The units are different, ppm vs mg/L. And if I had to say so, the strip does look off-white-pink rather than the stark white it should be for 0 nitrite. I'll change out some of the water tomorrow. Hopefully these guys survive until the nitrite converts. It seems I was to quick to introduce them to the tanks. I thought they would be hardy enough. I just don't remember going through all this trouble when I was a kid. But then again, I was a kid, who knows what trouble my parents went through to keep those black mollies alive. Thanks! She was very proud of it. Unfortunately, there's less excitement with the "dead" snails and with the tank turning green, but you guys have given her hope. I've never heard of kuhli loaches. I think she would loves those! Is a 5 gal tank appropriate for them? Can they live with a beta or would guppies be better? Something else for me to look into.

Sorry for your loss. It’ll be okay in a while. We all screw this up at some point. We all lose fish because we mess up. We learn, and then we do better. It really hurts more when you’re emotionally attached to your animals. Losing schooling fish is one thing. Losing wet pets like big Oscar’s or goldfish or fry you’ve raised from scratch hits a lot harder. Sometimes instead of rushing something from lack of time, it’s better to just wait for the right time. Patience is a hard lesson that this hobby can brutally teach. As for the water temperature, that happens. Unfortunately hillstream like cooler water to begin with. So no, you haven’t done anything new that nobody else has done. But for now, it still sucks. Sorry.

My mad scientist equipment!!!!

Plants may help seed beneficial bacteria into the tank. You do need to add an ammonia source though for the beneficial bacteria to grow. It can be ghostfeeding, ammonia drops, or a few live fish with ter chnges to ensure ammoni levls or nitrite levels dont get too high…

I do not personally have shrimp, but I will give some insight here. I don't have shrimp though, listen to others who do ( @Whitecloud09, @GoofyGarra !! , @AllFishNoBrakes , are some potentially good sources! ) I know that water quality is important for shrimp, but if yours are molting, that's probably a great sign! Just like how fish will be brighter colors and in better health with ideal water quality, shrimp need this too. I know for my snails they need harder water with calcium and minerals high. I believe shrimp is the same -- as they are crustaceans and would benefit from calcium to help them molt and grow. I don't know about veggies, perhaps just experiment and see! I make snello (lots of recipes online) for my two mystery snails, and my fish love it, and I have heard that shrimp love it too. Super easy to make and economical, as I just used veggie scraps that I had saved for a month and I've had the same snello batch in my freezer for 4 months. Zucchini, cucumber, cooked greens, peas, green beans, watermelon... etc. My snails love cucumber and green beans. I've added those leafy parts of celery as well and they like those. Just experiment! You can attach the food with a fork or clothes-pin for easier removal. I've heard shrimp minerals is a great additive (again, no personal experience, but I've heard good things - ask around): sometimes things like this can be kind of a scam or you can easily achieve it for cheaper (e.g., eggshells, crushed coral, botanicals [not saying this is good for shrimp. I have no clue. But ask around with those who know this stuff, eggshells or crushed coral may be good additions, but I have no idea.) I believe Wonder Shell and Seachem Equilibrium are great additions to water quality for shrimp. Also, could be wrong, but I do think it is best to leave the molted exoskeleton in the aquarium. In the wild often many reptiles and birds will eat their eggs after hatching -- it is kind of the same concept, I know lots of shrimp species eat their molts to gain calcium and other nutrients. Other than that... I know they like cholla wood and marimo, as these both grow lots of algae and biofilm. I also know spirulina brightens color for many fish -- I don't know if this would do so for shrimp, but you can easily buy spirulina powder and add it into snello if you decide to make some. Maybe these articles can be helpful? I skimmed them and they seemed very informative https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/cherry-shrimp-care https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/shrimp-food https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/keeping-and-breeding-cherry-shrimp-neocaridina-davidi https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/breeding-red-cherry-shrimp Hope I helped a little. Would love to one day own shrimp, but not there yet !! Good luck my friend! P.S. - your floaters made my jaw DROP. Wow. Those are stunning! Is that salvinia? whatever it is i am amazed by it, way to go!

plants are supposed to have a supply of the bacteria with them. which can start a cycle. sometimes it doesn't, but then sometimes cycles fail just because they feel like it. you did not ask Oscar. I'm very sure he does like plant. they're either salad or play toys 🤣

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i would recommend just removing the airstone.You will get a shorter pipe and better mixing at the same time.

I agree with the others on the bacterial bloom, but find the "smoke' possibly being a different issue. Could you post a picture? Is the "smoke" free floating or possibly stuck to the substrate or decorations? "sometimes looks "opalescent"" leads me to think of cyanobacteria, also resulting from excess nutrients.

I categorized them with labyrinth fish. I have already written a section on bettas, but if you'd like to, by all means, go ahead! Here is my section: Betta (Betta Splendens) Native to: Thailand and surrounding countries. Ease of care: Easy, males should be kept alone. Length: 2.5 in. (6 cm.) Minimum Tank Size: 5 gallons for a single male or female, 20+ gallons for a group of females. Temp: 72 - 78 Fo (22 - 25 Co) Ph: 6.5 to 7.5, can be kept in harder water with Indian Almond leaves. Aggression: Males are very aggressive towards each other, Females are semi-aggressive, if you keep multiple, you must have 4 or more. Is it pronounced Bay-tah or Bet-ah? (I think it's Bay-tah, but that's not important). The betta has exploded in popularity over the years, going from just veiltailed, red or blue varieties to hundreds of color morphs, including mustard gas, black samurai, koi, and galaxy, and a wide selection of fin types, including half-moon, plakat, crowntail, double tail, and elephant ear. There are even giant bettas, which can reach up to half a foot! The possibilities are endless! Bettas tend to be very aggressive, especially the males. For that reason, males should not be kept with other males, and they are best kept alone. A good target size for a single-betta tank is 5 gallons. Females can be kept together, provided the tank is large enough, and has enough cover. The tank should be planted, and the lower the flow, the better. The tank should be at least 20 gallons for a group of 4-6, with peaceful cleanup fish, such as Corydoras or Otocinculus, and peaceful schooling fish, such as Cardinal Tetras. Do not house bettas with fin-nipping fish. These fish need easy access to the surface to breathe atmospheric air, and they like to have floating plants. Male bettas can be identified by their pelvic (lower) fin. The males will have a longer pelvic fin that extends past the tail fin, and females with have shorter pelvic fins that do not extend past the tail. Females tend to be a bit more plump than the males, and they do not build bubble nests. Do not keep bettas with shrimp, because they will eat babies and sometimes even the adults! I think for the sake of not confusing readers too much, we should put the silver halfbeak in, but with the oddballs. Otherwise, we should stick to the 5 common ones: Guppies, Endlers, Mollies, Swordtails, and Platies, as well as maybe the American Flagfish.

"Fish need water to survive" 😉

Gorgeous trumpet snail checking the temp

Climbing out: This is a normal behavior for nerites, and you will find they enjoy spending a few hours out of the water. However, if snails immediately climb to the waterline or above, it could also indicate that there is a problem with the water and they are uncomfortable. Possibly a parameter problem or no airstone running in the tank. Nerites have very powerful suction and you should try not to move them because it could harm them. Fish stores must move them to sell them, but in the home aquarium they should be left attached to a surface unless it is absolutely necessary. Moving them also creates stress. Stress in fish or snails can lead to poor health. Nerites can take several days or longer to move because they are nervous about their new surroundings and are recovering from stress of transport and different water. I would gently lift the snail out of the water if it is not attached to the bridge and sniff it. If it is dead, trust me, you’ll know. I would do the sniff test once a day if you don’t see movement. Also, observe the snail using the zoom on your phone camera to see if a hairlike antenna is poking out and feeling around. You do need an airstone because water additives, especially dechlorinators remove a lot of oxygen from the water. The organisms in the tank will struggle to breathe without added air whenever you dechlorinate, medicate, or add other products to the water. Green beans are readily accepted by mystery snails, but nerites will usually not touch them. Nerites survive on algae and biofilm. They do well in cycled tanks and things like driftwood and catappa leaves help them out because biofilm readily grows on those surfaces. @Guppysnail has a lot of nerites. @Guppysnail what do you think is the best food for nerites once they’ve eaten all the algae? (My nerites have lots of algae to eat, so I don’t really need to supplementally feed, but when I do I take Soilent green Repashy powder and swirl it in the tank so it coats surfaces). Brown diatoms start to appear when a new tank is starting to cycle. It is a good sign that you are on your way to having a healthy ecosystem suitable for aquarium inhabitants.

I ended up buying the mayaca fluviatilis that caught my eye last time and I planted it in the front. Was super fun watching the tetras go through. Fonsi seems to be kind of ignoring the strands. I also got the fish some bloodworms and fed them that, which they loooved. I'm waiting on hornwort and amazon frogbit to arrive tomorrow; very hopeful it will actually make it. Fonsi has learned that the pipette means food and will chase it around the tank. I need to find some plastic mesh for when we go on vacation so he doesn't think he wants to jump at the autofeeder and out of the tank. He just starts looking better and better the longer he's in the tank. I love him. Attached is also a picture of the snail that I find very interesting; it seems like it got much better nutrition all of a sudden and the new shell is nice and dark whereas the older shell is pitted and pockmarked.

I'm adding only 1-2 pieces of aragonite before testing again. So far the first two pieces don't seem to have had an effect, so I added another two pieces today and will test KH and GH again tomorrow. The cardinal tetra I netted out last week for potential euthanasia must have been quite stressed: he started developing small snout chondromas. Very slowly, but it's interesting to see proof that this really is stress-based. I'll keep an eye and may euthanize before we leave. A neon tetra was found deceased on Monday for no reason I can ascertain but unfortunately had been mostly eaten. Thankfully, that one was from the new batch so possibly did not have NTD. @ColuThe IAL helped Fonsi a bunch. Earlier this week I noticed the bump on his lower lip sieemed to be reducing. Now he looks good as new; except of course he keeps finding new ways to tear his caudal fin. Will keep an eye and possibly replace the stump.

To me, the cure (or prevention) for burnout is to not overextend yourself. That will vary from person to person, but basically if you’re running yourself ragged maintaining tanks, you’ll get stressed and your enjoyment will decrease. Think about how many tanks you actually want, and downsize to that number. Personally, I like having just 2 or 3. Any more than that and I’m liable to worry I’m not giving each one enough attention.

it comes, it goes. id cut back on the number of tanks you currently have set up, and if you get excited about it in the future, you have the tanks.

That’s exactly why I don’t have a fish room. I really don’t want to be down there by myself. Instead I’ve covered most of the flat surfaces and empty spaces with fish. And my wife is only partially annoyed…. Most of the time 🤣 @beastie everyone slows down from time to time. As long as you’re not damaging your animals, it’s fine. Sometimes reducing tanks helps. Trying something new helps. Or taking breaks helps. If it feels like work, you’re doing it wrong. It’s a hobby, it’s supposed to be fun. But the hobby requires a lot of work. That’s what Cory from coop has been saying. It’s better to do less, and enjoy more. Maybe find what you really like, add more of it. Eliminate everything that’s not part of that. One tank, your favorite animal. That would be enough. Or just take a complete break, do what’s best for you. Cause if you don’t love it, you may end up hating it.

Thank you everyone. I meant a new tank to replace one of the older ones not get another one. I am sort of on the fence of giving fish away as i tried few times and people don't keep fish in the correct environment and last time i offered a fish i had no takers, even for free! I don't enjoy aquarium plants nor do I have the lights/green thumb for it. Most of my plants are low maintenance, i don't do any co2 not much fertilizing. I already have a lot of indoor plants and I have a garden with vegetables and I am not a gardening enthusiast at all :)) I travel a bit too much for new pet so that is out of the question and I was vetoed all of the ones I asked for, no chickens, guinea pigs, snakes... But a solid advice. another slight problem i have is, some of the fish species i have i havent had for long and i don't like giving them away because i have not experienced all of their behaviors. I think it would help if I wrote what I have exactly as I see downsizing as a slight problem. Most of the fun fish are the ones in the smallest tanks :))

Interestingly, I added two half-grown Apistogramna hongsloi to my aquarium and my harlequin rasboras immediately stopped their breeding activity and became less active. The apistos are paying no attention to the rasboras at all, but just their presence is enough. Regarding soft water, my hardness is about 125 ppm, KH runs about 40 ppm, pH is about 6.6. I have a a couple of large driftwood pieces giving off tannins too (and I think pulling the KH and pH down).

Doing a bit of research reveals that the ph indicator solution is Bromothymol blue. https://theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/Bromothymol_blue I haven’t found anything about what dose might cause problems for fish or plants.

It could be an algae bloom that's clearing itself up now that your plants are getting bigger and finding balance with growth and your not adding extra fertilizer. My pH is lower like yours, I embraced it and picked all blackwater fish specifically Barb's and corydoras, kulhi loaches and Otto cat's. Using lots of big wood and botanicals for tannins.

I have no idea if it is harmful and at what dosage it would be harmful, but I have had similar accidents myself from time to time in a 20 and 29 gallon tank and never perceived any ill effects to the fish or plants. When it has happened I have fished it out, cleaned it up, refilled and replaced… the 4 dkh solution is mostly distilled water, a tiny amount of baking soda and 3-4 drops of ph indicator solution in 5 mls of solution. So in essence it is no worse than adding 3-4 drops of ph indicator solution in the tank… I dont make a habit of it, but have never felt the need to do a deep water change after an oops.

I've done all of my fishless cycles with a bottle of ammonia that I got at the grocery store. Just make sure it has a single ingredient. You can fill up a 5 gallon bucket, does a certain mL and see what the ppm reads.

The only species I have experience with are Endler's Guppies and Guppies, so i can do the livebearers section, but someone else should do the other fishes. -Livebearers: Guppies, Platies, Mollies, Swordtails, Endlers Livebearer / Guppy, Mosquitofish, Killifish (But I don't know about them) More Livebearers: https://www.aquariumnexus.com/livebearing-tropical-fish/ These are some of the most popular or ones that I know of, but if anyone wants to add anything they have experience with such as the Pike Livebearer, which I don't even know what it looks like, feel free to add it to this list.

Update for this tank, I have gone through a fast roller coaster ride with it recently full of unexpected surprises. To start, none of my local pet store have had pea puffers in stock. While I was waiting, I caught a small large mouth bass. I decided to keep him in this tank instead and named him Boomy. After a while, I was having problems with him feeding. He refused frozen and freeze dried foods and the local pet stores didn't often have small enough feeder shrimp or feeder guppiez that he could eat. Since he was getting very skinny, I decided to let him go back where I found him. Funny enough, one feeder guppy and two feeder shrimp he didn't eat were left behind and are currently living in the tank. The shrimp are keeping things clean and the guppy turned out to be pregnant and gave birth. I now have about a dozen baby guppies I'm currently raising. They are the first fish fry I've ever raised so I'm excited to see how it goes. I'm planning to soon set up another journal covering the past and present of this tank in detail. If your interested in following this tank, I will post in here when I set up the new journal. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a joyful day!

Update! Recently, I noticed my crayfish was acting aggressive towards my gourami and that the gourami was spending more time hiding than usual. I kept an eye on them and when I saw the gourami's fins torn up, I decided to move him to my 20 gal tank. He is currently doing very well and his fins have completely healed! As for the crayfish, he now has the tank completely to himself which I plan to keep it that way due to him being aggressive to everything, even me! If anyone has name ideas for the crayfish and gourami, please let me know. Thank you for reading and following this tank. If you want to see more of my gourami, I will be updating on him on my 20 gal tank journal. I hope you have a joyful day!

Very nice, you must be so relieved.😃

Update! I recently released Boomy back to the wild due to him becoming skinny and other problems. Finding food he would eat was hit or miss at my local pet stores so I decided to release him back to where I found him. Thank you to everyone who gave me advise for keeping him. More news regarding this tank, two feeder shrimp and a feeder guppy he didn't eat are currently living in the tank and thriving! The shrimp are keeping things clean and active, and the guppy turned out to be pregnant and recently gave birth to around a dozen baby guppies! It's my first time raising fish fry and they seem to be doing well. I'm feeding them fry food and live baby brine shrimp. Not sure what to do with them once they grow up but will be the first fish I raise from birth. Very excited for what the future of this tank holds and cant wait to see what comes next. I'm most likely going to start a journal for this tank. If I do, I will post a notification on here for those who are interested. Thanks for reading and I hope you are doing well!

I just moved my sparkling gourami from my 2.5 gal to this 20 gal tank! He seems to enjoy the extra room. He had been doing well in the 2.5 gal but I started to notice my mexican dwarf crayfish was acting aggressive towards my gourami. I had been keeping an eye on it and recently noticed my sparkling gourami's fins were getting shredded. It was this that made me move him to my 20 gal. Since moving to the 20 gal, his fins have made a 100% recovery and he is significantly more active! Currently he seems to be enjoying the 20 gal and its inhabitants. He hasent messed with or been messed with by the shrimp, oto, or rasboras. The only potential problem I've seen was he likes to sometimes follow my scarlet badis. Nothing aggressive so far but my scarlet badis dosent seem to like it much. After a couple days it's gotten better and I think there shouldn't be any future problems. Also, if anyone has name ideas for my sparkling gourami or scarlet badis, please let me know! I hope you are having a joyful day and thanks you for reading.

I would just give them time. If they don’t smell, they’re still kicking. After a week or so they should be back at it, doing all the snail things😉 Also, mine goes up to the waterline all the time. He sometimes likes to hang up out of the water, too. If you have a lid with no gaps in it, they won’t escape. Best if you don’t touch them!

He's looking great! You're doing wonderfully with him.

After introducing them to the tank, they started moving right away. All three of them went up to the waterline and stopped. For the first two, I moved them down, afraid they would escape, but they never moved again. I exchanged the first and second one, placing the second in the tank and putting the first in the bag the second came in. The first never moved again and I tossed it out with the bag after a day. The second is still on the bridge and hasn't moved since Tuesday. For the third one, it also climbed to the waterline, but this time I didn't touch it. Now it's in the corner as though it fell from it's spot. They don't smell, but I'm not hopeful. I will give them a chance and keep them around for a few days. I do not have an airstone. I assumed the hang-on-back filter was enough. Let me know if that's a bad assumption. I set up the tank two weeks ago, I thought that would be enough for the nitrogen cycle. Though, I started this snail journey about a week after setup.

Great! I'm so sorry. I was a little confused there 🙃

One thought I have is that sometimes snails are just plopped into a tank, but they have to be temperature acclimated just like fish, meaning, you must float the bag for 15-30 minutes at least before releasing them. I’d recommend adding a little of your tank water to the bag once or twice during that time. I see for the last snail you did float the bag though, so I’m puzzled. Also I read somewhere that nerites have trouble righting themselves, so when I place them into the tank I always make sure their opening is touching the ground.

That food should be ok. You can look at the price of lowering your pH, there are chemicals for lowering pH, some will also lower to say 7 but not go lower if you are worried about going too far, though with your water you can just add a bit more and you'll raise it again quick. Peat moss is also a good longer term one to lower it, check the prices for what is best in your area. In reality, fish breed in your area will be used to your water conditions rather than the conditions reported online where they traditionally came from. If you need to go down the RO route, honestly I'd choose different fish, at the costs you mentioned, it's not worth it.

Waylon is another who is at the top of my list.

Update on build: I have added the area in for the terrestrial aspect using leftover glass and wood pieces and silicone. Once that cures I will begin the scape! I have also started collecting and propagating various mosses, liverworts, and even a couple lichens (pixie cup lichens, peltigera, letharia, and cetraria [if I identified them correctly!])... so far, the mosses I have found are Oregon Beaked Moss, curly thatch moss, Nuttall's yellow moss, badge moss, thyme moss, and black rock moss. I also have some water-moss I can borrow from my 30g. I haven't gotten any terrestrial plants yet, but I will soon!