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More fish likely won’t help. Plus, you don’t know if your betta is going to be aggressive towards tankmates or not. You can also use tall plants to block the back and sides of the aquarium so there’s nowhere to glass surf. Even fake plants do the job for the moment if needed.

I keep both emerald and celestial pearls. Occasionally they get injured sparring or mating. They get a bit rough with both. Sometimes they just get old. The droopy tail and more jerky swimming is classic of these things. Sometimes they recover sometimes they do not. There is nothing to be done other than making certain he gets his share of food and does not get outcompeted.

Dollar Tree should have black poster board if you want a cheaper option

Yes. a thick live plant such as pearlweed, amazon sword etc. I agree! fake plants too

Male betta? Could work, but I see not a big difference with adding more fish to stop reflection @Jack1235. background is best

Definitely do not use MDF or chipboard or anything not at least 7 ply external plywood for shelving. They'll fail in days, and you really don't want to see what they'll do if you ever get them wet!

I am lol. Like @CoryWithAKatana mentioned, adding a black background on back and sides can help. I use a cheap poster board taped. This is a good sign, meaning he is energetic! Won’t always go away on its own usually though. @Jack1235 Yes 👍🏻

*psst* the best way to get someones attention is by adding the @ sign and then typing their name (or it will show up) That way they get a notification that they were mentioned in a post here is an example) @Jack1235

Hey! Some ways you can stop this is by adding a dark background behind your tank to reduce the amount of reflection. you could also turn the brightness down to reduce reflection

Oh, no these have been banished to their own tank. Just the 2 of them and the fry. He was too dangerous in the community first time he’s been going after me. But he’s injured other fish before. But really beautiful. Must be 10” tall

Any of the marineland penguin pro series.

So last week Intrepid Partner and I were at a LFS. The store had a big selection of wood (more than they usually had) so we rifled through their "Ghostwood" and found 3 pieces we really liked. Since I have a 40 gallon waiting for my move at home I started soaking the wood to get tanins out. I emptied and refilled the tank yesterday. 2 of the pieces are dark wood the other a nice 2 tone. They are good sizes. Whether we use all 3 pieces is up in the air at this point but the 2 tone is definitely playing a part in my plan so far being the biggest potential wood "centerpiece" if you will. One of the darkwood pieces is entangled in it right now (to help sink it), I didn't feel like disentangling it for the pics. The other darkwood piece has definitely sunk. THEN this week we went out on the hunt for rocks. Intrepid Partner was really gungho about this part, at this time. We went to 2 different rock places. At the 2nd one he was determined to leave with something. Thankfully for the both of us we found 2 pallets of "Mexican Pot Rock" aka "Mexican Bowl Rock". The pallets were both half empty so we were able to move them around and pick the ones we thought were most interesting. We picked what I'm calling a few "Crowning Rocks" these are the rocks that will top the Peninsula mound and be the main hardscape rock. It may be solo with supporting "actors" or possibly I will use one other so there will be 2. Time will tell. Here is the grouping - MINUS- the 3 rocks with X on them - 2 of those are yard rocks that are always there, 1 is a piece of Mexican rock that we might break into smaller pieces or use elsewhere in the yard. Our favorite and front runner for the Crown rock of the tank is a cool combination of a neat shape, has potential cave and/or overhang area and has other rocks "stuck" in it. One of these groupings of rocks looks like a fist coming out of the top of the rock, it has other formations from similar rocks on other sides. Very cool. So I think this is the rock that will make it at the top of the Peninsula mound: IF that one doesn't work we have 2 other fabulous rocks that could work as well. These have really good holes and shapes that will work well with the back wall and jut out nicely. Especially the one at the forefront of this picture, reminds me of a dinosaur head shape: Then of course we got a bunch of smaller supporting rocks. The idea is that we'd like to form the peninsula mound in a way that all of these rocks look like they are part of one large rock or formation sticking out of it. Then there will be other pieces scattered about that might looks like they were broken off of said feature. One of my favorite smaller rocks that might be a stand alone somewhere in the tank as a "broken off" piece is so far what I'm calling small castle rock. It's very cool standing up on end and has lots of fun places fish can hang out in: So we've been moving ahead with design. I think I'm going to go with Caribsea Peace River gravel. It has some of the tones the Mexican rocks have and is a nice size. We'll add some Caribsea Sunset Gold sand (yes I'm fully aware of other cheaper options for sand and substrate, however being as how this is a very large display tank I'm willing to spend the money on the colors and textures I want). I might also fill the drainage cells we're using to build up the mound with Caribsea EcoComplete in red and use that as a planter for any rooted plants I decide to put in the tank. The rest of the tank will have rhizome plants. Of course any of this can change at any point but I'm getting excited about the design phase!

I made my own stand. You could adapt my stand for your own.

You could black out the front of the tank till the fry are a bit bigger or add a mirror to other side of the tank so he can focus on that

Popeye can be caused by an injury to the eye a bacterial infection or a growth behind the eye I would use aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons to help reduce fluid buildup in the eye and do a course of maracyn2 active ingredient minocycline also has anti-inflammatory properties just in case there's a bacterial component@TheFishCellar

The saga strolls along. I’ve continued to keep an eye, and still don’t have an answer. At this time, I still believe that it is sprouting from the Spiderwood. All I can do is continue to look and report what I see. Here’s a couple fresh pics I just snapped: From the front, it still basically looks the same. There is a third leaf on the underside, but I can’t get a decent picture through the glass and at the right angle. Being at the bottom of the tank, the leaves being small, and the distortion of the glass it’s just near impossible. This picture is actually zoomed out to 0.7x as at 1x the camera doesn’t want to focus on the leaves. This is from the side of the tank. Zoomed in 5x. Here, you can see the third leaf that I cannot get from the front. Still looks like it’s sprouting straight from the wood. Where it looks like it possibly could be a rhizome, or possibly a fourth leaf (roughly 10 o’clock if you put a standard 12 hour clock around the center of the sprout) that is just a tiny, natural piece of the Spiderwood. Spiderwood is just roots, after all, so I believe that was a tiny “hair” root when this wood was alive. I wish I had an answer, but at this time I do not. The leaves don’t seem like they’re substantially bigger. We’ll keep an eye on it, though! What do you guys and gals think?

They do come with the rather silly bio-wheels. I don’t use the biowheels if I have emerse plants growing in the filter box. If I don’t have any emerse plants I leave the biowheels on because if it stops, it tells me I’ve neglected the prefilter for too long and there isn’t enough flow for optimal filtration. 😝 🤷🏻‍♀️ 😂

Afternoon All, Mature, established 450L tank everything doing well except my Javafern. Can you help narrow down why please?

Hey guys. So this is a tank I've had for around 7 or 8 years now. Recently, my betta fish Domino passed away. This left my tank open for the betta fish I just got! I'm unsure of what to name him. Supposedly, hes a blue alien betta and he is absolutely stunning even at his young age and small size. He has much growing to do both physically and emotionally with me.

That’s one of the longest rhizomes I think I’ve ever seen. Very nice.

It’s not structural, but there is Anubias and a bunch of Java Fern intertwined between the wood and the rock. I don’t want to tear up all the rhizomes on Java Ferns that barely grow for me just to see what this lil’ sprout is. Great question, though! Kinda hard to see, but that Java Fern runs the entire left side and up the arch of this piece of Spiderwood

Excellent question! I used to plug root tabs in there. At this point, the years of mulm without gravel vaccing feeds all the Swords and the Jungle Val. Keep in mind that sword is 4 years old. I had it in my 29 for a long time, and then it basically engulfed that whole tank, and I moved it up to the 55. Every once in a while I would put a root tab or 2 down there, but it has been a loooong time since I shoved any in there. So long that I couldn’t even tell you the last time I put some in there. Over a year, maybe? That being said, it might be time to supplement it just a bit. I was just thinking the other day that it has been a hot minute since that bad girl shot out any babies. While it throws new leaves and I regularly pluck old leaves off, I bet some root tabs would have us shooting out some baby swords. Right now, though, the years of mulm seem to keep it pretty balanced where it’s still growing well and doing its thing.

Thanks @Whitecloud09and @CoryWithAKatana. I think I'm going to stick with just betta and I hope to find another wild or near wild type betta. Those are my favorite. This is where he jumped out of. I just added the screen after he jumped to make sure it never happens again.

2x4s 3/4in. plywood with enough braces will hold just about anything. and alot cheaper than most. A little sandpaper and stain to dress it up.

My betta fish is glass surfing and seeing its reflection how stop this

Yes got mine from Dollar General lol. 1 buck.

I am so sorry to here this about your betta! If you want another betta, you could go with a female betta (less aggressive betta) and add some type of rasbora or tetra. For example, chilli rasbora, galaxy, or neon green neon, or cardinal tetra! Yes for Wccms, they could be ok with a betta, but might get kinda tight though... so if you are open to another type of fish, wcmm is A GREAT easy-to-keep fish! Gold wcmms are beautiful! Or long fin, or standard. I love mine in my 10g aquarium. 5 of them, 4 males and one female. I plan to do a big breeding project. Private message me if you want some info from experience on those!! Whatever you decide, good luck @JS Fish!

If you really like the smooth stone appearance, just add enough sand to fill the crevices. The Cory cats will make sure it all ends up in the right spots. I stand by my list, anubias and java ferns look great in a 10 gallon. Some windelov Java ferns looking crazy in the mid ground, anbuias Barteri in the back.

Funny I googled and got the same answer but I ignored it because after watching every Terminator movie, including that pile of crap called Terminator Dark Fate, I have a deep mistrust for AI so I was seeking a human response. I was thinking I keep the QT cycles by just adding shrimp to it and when I have a sick fish that needs medication move the shrimp to the established tank. Then move them back to QT when I am done. No idea.

Can I put ember tetras to make the reflection to stop

WHAT! Omg thats horrible. It was such a pretty betta... Well, look on the bright side. You can now do some more things with your tank. Some bettas can live with other fish if you do it right. Im going to guess you are probably going to get another betta in the future for your tank. May I suggest waiting for that and doing this instead (if you want, this is just my grand idea). If betta fish are added to a tank where there is already fish and enough room so that they aren't squished I have seen it work. The key is that the fish are already there so the betta thinks he/she is entering their territory so they are less aggressive than if you added fish into the bettas territory. If you wanna add some White Cloud Minnows @Whitecloud09 can help you with that. If you want some other schooling fish you could get neon/cardinal tetras. Or if you want some absolutly adorable fishies may I reccomend Ottos or Corydora Catfish. Again, I am so sorry to hear that your juvenile fish died. Make sure to keep that lid on tight.

Could even get a new light. Nothing to expensive, if you’re really wanting him to stop. Thant can be dimmed..

You may be right since I am using the API test kit. How I got in this situation, I minimize my interface with fish so they don't associate me with food, fear me or get accustomed to my presence so they act "more Natural". Kinda a unique and pleasant experience not to have fish beg for food when you observe them. Explains the lack of water changes.

Hey whitecloud009 if you watching this does the betta will the glass surfing and seeing is reflection will go away on its own

@CoryWithAKatana Thanks for the answers. My substrate is Aquasolum black humate. @JoeQ The video helps a lot. Never seen the turkey baster method. Have always felt that my cleaning process doesn't make much sense because a lot of what you're trying to catch gets circulated in the water. With the baster method, seems easier to get most of what gets kicked up. I try to clean my aquarium every weekend, but as my data reflects, I've gone 10 or more days between changes more often than 7-8 days. Until I can get the substrate cleaner, would you recommend doing smaller, more frequent changes? Using the baster method, after doing this method many times, should I see less waste to be cleaned up? As for filter floss, I was using it in the past, but stopped. I didn't seem to notice a huge difference in the clarity of the water. Maybe I didn't know how to best look to see the differences. Thanks!

You could get like black construction paper or like poster board. Or you could get some higher quality stuff from Amazon

There may be some concern about introducing illness to a QT tank if you use tank water. Technically, moving a sponge filter over and using treated tap water should be Ok. But if you’re using a broad spectrum antibiotic to treat sick fish, that _might_ knock out your beneficial bacteria colonies in a small QT tank. I recommend just setting up a permanent QT tank. Move in a permanent, primed sponge filter. Start off with healthy tank water. Buy and wash a pile of lava rocks, put an airstone underneath the pile, drawing water through the pile. Extra beneficial bacteria will build up.

My light isn’t dimmable What type of black background

Exciting times! So cool to see the old faithful anubias living its best life out there! Off topic question - in your other tanks that aren’t dirted, do you ever have to put root tabs in? Like the 55 (I think) with the massive swords going gangbusters! Does the fish poop take care of that or are you plugging in root tabs all the time?😂

Oh no! That's awful. I hope he wasn't suffering too badly 😞 What is the gallon size for the tank?

@ColuOkay, Thanks. I'm assuming I should do this in his QT? I'm at work at the moment, but swinging by LFS to see if I can get filter media later

If a female platy even looks at a male, she’s probably pregnant. You can pretty much assume that they’re always pregnant. The question to ask is just how long until babies drop.

Rabbit snails are so fun! I have a few in a 16 gallon long with neocaridina shrimp and celestial pearl danios. I haven't had any issues with that combo and regularly find baby rabbit snails. I also have bladder and ramshorn snails in the tank and I have found that, when they get to abundant, they can outcompeted the rabbit snails (especially the babies). I regularly remove some of the bladder and ramshorn snails to stop that from happening. I feed them green beans regularly and different wafers/shrimp pellets. They don't seem very picky. Have fun with them!

I keep mine with swordtails, bristelnose plecos and dwarf petricola catfish in the upper 70s.

Regarding feeding they are not picky, so easy to please. Cucumbers, zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, pumpkin, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, pea, sweet pea, green beans. Any of the green stalks of vegetables like cauliflower broccoli, beets or even the harder part of lettuce or cabbage even, those worked too. Basically what would you chop away from those and not eat could be fed. All the leaves be it beech, oak, jackfruit, mangrove you name it, they ate it. Green leaves too sometime, nettles, spinach,... All the algae wafers, protein wafers, anything that hits the ground really 🙂 for vegetables i would do thin long slice, pour boiling water over them and drop to the tank weighted with something. I am confident in my water parameters so they could stay for 24-48 hours, but not more as the vegetable rots and fouls the water

I’ve switched nearly all of my HOB’s to the Marineland Pro style since the pump is inside the tank and they restart very reliably. I may or may not use the biowheel depending on if I have emergent plants growing in the filter box. I replace the cartridges with blocks of filter sponge and add an ACO prefilter. The Pro line has been MUCH more reliable than the original line with the pump outside the tank. The only downsides for me is the extra bulk visible inside the tank and that it’s a real booger to get the pump put back together after you take it apart for cleaning. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I end up not cleaning the pump / impeller as often as ideal but even with severe neglect, I haven’t yet had to replace one of them with over 2 years of use on most of them. Being in the water seems to save the impellers quite a bit or wear and tear on restart. They don’t rattle around at all and restart smoothly. I have 2 each of the biggest (“up to 90 G”) on my largest tanks (2 x 100 G’s and a 75 G), and singles on some of my smaller tanks varying according to their size. They only go down to an “up to 20 G” so those go on my 10 G’s, I have an “up to 30 G” on my 20’s, and an “up to 50 G” on my 29 G. I like good flow. 😃 I don’t have an HOB on all my 10’s so I have 11 of these all together. I have a few other old HOB’s on 10’s that haven’t died yet. If I decide to replace them (vs just air driven filters), I’ll use one of these. I wish they made a smaller version I could put on my 6 G cubes plus a tiny nano one for my 2 G. My 14 G cube will get one when that HOB filter eventually dies.

This is also the part that has me confused. Nothing has changed in this tank. That piece of wood has literally been in the same spot since 05/2021 when I set the tank up. I’m a little dumbfounded, but ultimately extremely curious as to what this is!

This seems incredibly cool. However very unlikely especially after that much time. Had there ever been a small anubias in the tank with that wood? A stray root attaching seems more plausible. @OnlyGenusCaps is this true leaves growing spontaneously from the wood? It would be so very cool 😎

Yeah, the substrate that you are using is really good, but has its pros and cons. Aqua soil is basically small pebbles made from nutrient dense clay that plants love to sink their roots into. It is basically solid fertilizer. That aquasoil alone should provide all of the nutrients that your plants will need for about the first 9 months of having the tank set up (so they say, I haven't actually tried it yet), and then after that you will need to supplement with roots tabs and some liquid fertilizer once the aquasoil becomes less rich. After about a year, you can treat it like you would normal gravel, supplementing with root tabs and liquid ferts. So yeah, you are probably just overfertilizing the aquarium and should hold off for a while. more plants and more water changes should both help you get your aquarium in balance, at least until the aquasoil stops releasing so many nutrients into the water column. But also, like Patrick_G said, I wouldn't freak out too much about the elevated nitrates. As long as your fish and plants are looking healthy (and you stay under 100 ppm nitrates), then I would just follow the above steps and wait and see if you can get your water chemistry to stabilize and nitrates to come down slowly with time.

Are your Nirates at 80 after the water change or before? In any case I’d do an extra water change or two and see if that helps. Adding more plant, especially fast growers will also help. I think some of the guidelines for unplanted tanks aren’t as important in planted tanks. We purposefully increase N to feed the plants and we know we can rely on the plants to remove the N in the long run. We can also decrease the amount of fertilizer. I guess what I’m saying is that water changes aren’t the only solution and a higher Nitrate level isn’t as dangerous as it would be in an unplanted aquarium.