CKetchum

Longer term - I put some floating plants in my tank to cover up my Anubuis B. The floaters seem to be helping a lot, I have new leaves coming from the rhizome and no algae (yet). Flag Fish enjoy munching on hair algae.

Thanks for sharing! This is going to be an interesting ride.

Nerite snails are very common in the hobby most LPS and big box stores will have them in stock. They are great clean up crew. Amano shrimp are as well.

@Guppysnail TY so much. That means I keep my babies for ~ 1 more month. 🥰

Hey everyone, when do you think it is appropriate to start to give away some juvenile MS? These snails are doing great, very good eaters, active and coloring up. I will have some jades, ivory and blues. I am not in a hurry. They are ~6 weeks old and so stinkin' cute. I plan on giving them away to LPS and anyone here. 👶🐌

How low is your bucket from your water line? Did it use to work and now it doesn't? A small diameter may give you more suction power (increased velocity). 💪

I leave my in the pots for about a week then plant. The wool and pot have beneficial bacteria on them so good for the water too.

Wow those are really nice. Are they red minor size or larger?

Snip, Snip and plant! It will grow like a weed, maybe it is a weed? 😁

Welcome to the forum! Love that snail. Nice collection of tanks you got.

@Zenzo Do you have any advise regarding the size of this species?

I bought some plants, hard scape (rock) and 6 fish yesterday to support my LFS! ✌️🤑

I think my red drawf is just a little bit ahead of yours. I shoved some root tabs under once it got to the phase you are seeing today. Thanks for sharing. Grow, little fella grow! 🌿😄

Have you tried adding some stability or Fritz 7 beneficial bacterial? I am not too familiar with Seachem products. I think Prime is a WC, neutralizer and doesn't contain bacteria. Maybe more bacteria and live plants would help with the NH3 load?

Thanks everyone. I did more research and w/o a sand substrate, I don't think it would be fair to the Ram. So, not the fish for this tank. Hmmm.... I will keep looking. Maybe a Apistogramma caca?

Have you tried your local schools? School year is starting soon, maybe you could help a K-2 grade teacher set-up a tank (old filter, media from a tank, other supplies) for a class room or library. It would be a great way to start new interest in the hobby and teach kids. My other thought is local boy or girl scouts? Maybe they have a "headquarters" around you? There are all kinds of nature badges and this maybe a great community service project for them (set up a tank, raise fry, donate to a library or school). Check out on social media.

Silks are handy for a hospital tank or QT as well. Nice collection.

Hey that looks great! My tank (well isn't everyone's) still a work in progress. It is cycled and I am going to the LPS for a couple fish today. Hoping they have peacock gudgeons or a Bolivian ram. Sorry for the low water line. I wanted space to float my bag later. Did a 30% change today and still need to move my Windelov back around. Tank has been up for 4 weeks.

do the Bolivian rams dig up plants? Is gravel ok?

I like the idea of the Amazon swords, the gravel is not that bad. Substrate is ridiculously expensive! I think less symmetry would look better then all things perfectly square and symmetric. Some texture would go a long ways too. maybe a "sword" tank but mix it up. I really like my melon sword (easy plant) it is in gravel with some root tabs and happy. I really like the block tower things too. I have an 18inch tall tank with a Finnex Stingray, my Anbuis nana was not liking being attached to drift about 4 inches from the top of the water. I had to move it. What about some moss or subwassertang for the towers or maybe nana closer to the bottom? Its gonna be a great tank though.

I am also currently cycling a planted tank (first time with plants) I am a few weeks ahead of you I think. I had some diatom algae after about 2 weeks. Now (4th week) the diatoms have died back (just a light film). My nitrites are low and my nitrates are ~25. I am dosing with EG, have EG tabs and I dosed lightly with Equilibrium (soft water). I think what finally happened is my plants finally adjusted and started to utilize the nutrients more efficiently, out competing the diatoms. I have some growth in my plants as well. Gonna do a 50% water change this week and add some Fritz 7 bacteria to the tank in hopes I maybe able to lightly stock in a week. I have a small herd of baby mystery snails in there (babies from my other tank). They are doing very well and starting to look like peas, I think that their waste maybe starting to contribute a small bit to my cycle. Question: If I use Fritz WC in neutralizes nitrates. So do I wait a day before adding Fert? Great start to your tank. As Cory states algae is a good thing, it means the tank is no longer sterile 🙂

I read all these posts. I feel like I just read/watched a lifetime movie :+}. How terribly stressful for you. Glad that your latest post is showing good results. Thank you for sharing. I learned something from your experience and I am sure others have too.

Its Christmas in July! 🎅

They grow so quickly. Be sure to feed it some root tabs. It will exhaust it's "bulb" and could die back. They are super pretty.

Thank u so much for this information. I have some ordered for snails. They love GB and kale! I occasional will feed blanched carrot slices. I also feed some snail food: ABF Aquatic Freshwater Snail Food Mix with Calcium. They don't "love" it, but I wanted to give it a try. My water is pretty soft, I have to add Equilibrium in for my plants.