[White powdery substance after every water change??]

I drove myself mad when I had root tabs resurfacing about a month ago. I'd never had a sanded planted tank before, so I'd never had an issue. But depending on the brand, sometimes I'd find like wispy white stuff from the gel capsule itself, or fine gray or white powder from the contents. 

After switching to solid tablets, pushing them down much deeper than I think they should go, and being extra paranoid about not disturbing the substrate when I vac or add water, I haven't had a problem. 

It seems unlikely to me that it'd be the wood, given it is well established, but I don't know! Hope you get it figured out, because that sounds maddening. 

But so long as your fish are okay, that's the most important thing.

[🎃Pumpkin the Community Betta🎃]

This chonky derp pumpkin is doing a struggle. 

I've tried a few kinds of floating pellets, fluval bug bites and NorthFin betta pellets, and he does try to go for them but seems to miss most of the time. And usually when he does manage to track one down, he spits it out. 

He much prefers to go to the bottom for food, but I worry about him bloating or not getting enough protein.

I tried feeding him some broken up TetraPro tropical flakes, and he was able to eat some. So--because I haven't spent enough on betta food he won't eat 😆--I'm going to pick up some Fluval betta flakes.

It's a bit concerning, actually. I worry there's something wrong health wise, like with his vision or coordination or something. But, he's new. He hasn't lived with other fish or in a place this big before.

Hopefully it's just an adjustment period because I love his face. 

[🎃Pumpkin the Community Betta🎃]

This little chonk only seems interested in feeding from the bottom!

I've got corys and snails in here who eat repashy, and I'm trying to give this floofy boy some floating pellets, but the only time he seems to want to go to the surface is for a quick gulp and then straight back down to the bottom for snacks. 🤷‍♂️ So, it's not like he's afraid of the area I've established as the "feeding ring." And I know the little bugger saw those pellets! 😆

I might have to try feeding these corys only at night time, maybe?

Hmm...

I don't want him getting all bloated off repashy. At Least the corys are pretty aggressive eaters, and he likes to give them a bit of berth when they start blindly flinging their tails around. 

[White powdery substance after every water change??]

Hm. Is there any chance it could be the contents of the root tabs? In my sanded tank I have to use the solid kind bc the gel ones always seem to find a way to worm their way back up, even if i poke a hole in them 

[Why the heck is there Nitrite in my tap water?]

Where is the crushed coral? If you put some where there's water flow, that'll help it dissolve faster. I've got some of mine on the substrate as a more slow-acting buffer, and some more in a filter media bag in the HOB to kick start it. 

[Why the heck is there Nitrite in my tap water?]

Happy to help! Wish I'd been on this forum when I was first dealing with it. Would've spared my back lugging those gallon jugs around 😆

[Why the heck is there Nitrite in my tap water?]

Yupppp. I have nitrites in my tap water, too. It comes from a well, and with neighbors fertilizing grass and a horse farm nearby, it happens. 

It took my tank longer to cycle than it normally might, but eventually my bacteria was able to keep up with it after adding a second filter and some media inside the tank itself. First thing I did was freak out and buy 20 gallons of spring water, but now I just use tap for changes and it's fine.

If your aquarium water is nitrite free then you're good, I think!

[Mysterious Snursery]

The snaibies have been released from the Snursery and distributed between the two tanks, where they seem to enjoy hitching a ride on their parents.

 

[🎃Pumpkin the Community Betta🎃]

Pumpkin was released from solitary confinement to the general population! The cory cats kept coming to investigate him, and he ignored them because they weren't food. 

I was a little nervous when he started scoping out a mystery snail and his wavy anntenae, but he determined it was not food and moved along.

The only thing in the tank he really reacted to was the shrimp. He was shipped over with  some blue velvet shrimp--maybe a lingering  trauma? 😆 I'd rather it be the shrimp than the snails. The shrimp move so fast I can barely follow them.

I've got no lid, but there is a blanket of red root floaters and duckweed. There's also two loops of airline tubing which, so far, do a great job cordoning off the HOB flow on one end, and maintaining a pool of still water (and betta feeding spot) on the other. There's also a bunch of riparium plants extending  over the top to give a sense of shelter. 

He's still exploring the new digs. I'm looking forward to the dwarf lily making it to the surface because I bet that'd make a great hammock. It's getting  there. 

I've been stationed on a chair in front of the tank most of the morning. Whenever I'm there, he immediately comes up to the glass:

"Hi, hello, yes? I'd like to file a complaint about the neighbor kids? Also, when will second breakfast be served? Whatcha eatin'? Looks good!"

I love him so much 😆

[So I did a thing lol 😁]

Congrats! I just got my first order from them today, too! Betta and blue velvet shrimp, all alive and accounted for 

[🎃Pumpkin the Community Betta🎃]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:10 PM, Torrey said:

Happy Birthday, and I think either Charlie Brown or The Great Pumpkin would work!

He's gorgeous!

Thank you!

@Guppysnail Maybe the full name should be, The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown 🎃

[🎃Pumpkin the Community Betta🎃]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:00 PM, Guppysnail said:

Happy birthday 🎂 

He is beautiful. I vote The Great Pumpkin since he is so beautiful and I’m a senior citizen that is like 5 years old and still love Charlie Brown and Snoopy 🤗

I LOVE THE GREAT PUMPKIN!

Charlie Brown might even be a good name, given the coloring 😂

[🎃Pumpkin the Community Betta🎃]

Lacking good local options, I've been keeping an eye on Aquahuna's bettas for months now. The plan was always to add a betta to my new(er) planted 29 g community tank (albino corys, panda corys, amano shrimp, mystery snails, nerite snails, blue velvet shrimp). 

I'd been planning on a female, but after spotting a black Dumbo Halfmoon male with orange and white fins, I fell in love. I watched the livestream on and off over several hours, and each time his neighbor would flare at him, he'd just sort of casually float away...

Now I've got Pumpkin (temporary nickname/possible forever name) in a breeder box with red root floaters in the community tank, and the behavior isn't much different. The corys have come to check him out a number of times, and he couldn't care less. He's just focused on me:

The giver of baby brine shrimp 😂

It's been so long since I've kept a fish that really looks at me, and I'd forgotten what it was like!

Two albino corys were pacing around the breeder box, getting right where he was. He didn't care because he was too busy scouring for leftovers and wondering why the hell I was taking his picture instead of feeding him. Over the course of several hours, the only thing he reacted to in the tank was a blue velvet shrimp, and the shrimp darted out of there pretty sharpish. I don't even know if it was, "Ooh, food!" Or "What the hell, shrimp come in blue?!" If anything, I'm worried the corys would bully him.

I was worried at first, because his coloring looked so, so different from the livestream (more beige and yellow than orange and black), that my first reaction was this is the wrong betta 😬. (Which would be pretty crushing after paying about $40 to get him here.) But after having some time to relax in betta (ha) water, his orange is coming back. I take that to mean he's happy. 

Even contained in the temporary bachelor pad, he looks incredible against the green, burgundy, and purple plants.  I'm so happy he's here, and looking perfectly healthy so far. 

I've got a brown diatom outbreak my snails and shrimp are working through, and even without it, it's next to impossible to get good pics of this tank. But I did my best. 😅

(Happy birthday to me! 🥳)

[Albino Cory Acting Peculiar]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:36 AM, Guppysnail said:

Is the light different in the new tank?  I moved miy panda from a 29 community to their own 20long. I have identical lights on both. The 20 being shorter it was much brighter. My pandas were not thrilled and stressed a bit. I notched the light down one setting and they calmed right down. My eyes are not great so I can’t see any nub. 

Oh, that is a definite possibility. The plants haven't grown in so there's much less cover. Thank you!

[Albino Cory Acting Peculiar]

Telling me not to worry is like telling duck weed not to spread. 😆 Thank you for the reassurance!

[Albino Cory Acting Peculiar]

I just moved my albino corys to a newer tank a few days ago with the same basic parameters as the old tank. (No nitrites, no ammonia, nitrates 10, PH 7.2-4, temp 76).

One of three albino cory cats has been swimming like mad, knocking off the thermometer and running along the tank walls. 

The problem is my vision is terrible and the fish are dang albino so it's hard to see something like ich.

The only thing I can see different from the others (whether this is new to this particular fish, idk) is a sort of nub on the dorsal fin.

I've separated him for now, but any insight would be very much appreciated. 

The other residents in the tank are mystery snails, nerite snails, amano shrimp, and panda corys. Everyone else seems fine.

Is this just a cory taking advantage of all the new space from a 20L to a 29?

 

[Baby Mystery Snail Algae Trail Art]

My baby is an artistic genius. 😆

Seriously, I'd frame this. Because I'm odd.

 

[Just sharing!]

So cool! It looks like a peace lily!

[Algae Outbreak - Brown Diatom?]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:40 AM, SandBkeeper said:

If the algae isn't on the plants and only the glass and rocks, maybe you could just wipe it so you can see? As long as the algae isn't covering the plants so they can photosynthesize, the plants should be fine.

I did wipe off a bit to install some suction cups (for reasons 😆) and it came off very easily. So that's something at least! (But the nerites seem to be enjoying it, so I'll leave them to it)

On 7/5/2022 at 11:42 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I think @Katherine knows what brown diatoms look like? 

And the nerites are going to amaze you. Go to bed and then look at your tank in the morning. They are very efficient!  (oh but if you ended up with females, they will lay eggs on the glass at some point.  They can't hatch though. They will only hatch in brackish.)

The nerites are already amazing me after an hour! I did try to squint real hard at the store tank for any signs of eggs, and I didn't see them. But if they do show up, it's a small price to pay for all that work!

On 7/5/2022 at 12:09 PM, Katherine said:

That looks like brown diatoms to me. It should clear up on its own between time and the snails. Also, that definitely looks like 'I'm eating it' tracks from your small snails, not just moving through it. See how it's kind of back and forth?

Oh, you're right! It's so hard to see with the babies, but that is the exact sort of pattern the adults make when their cruising along and munching on something. 

I'm a big fan of anything that can be fixed with time and snails 😆

[Terrestrial Alternanthera - Emersed Plant]

On 7/4/2022 at 4:04 PM, Expectorating_Aubergine said:

Grow a cutting in a very humid situation, like a terrarium. When I say humid I mean like 80%+ humidity. The plant will transition more successfully since it's tissues will be thinner and more like what you would find in an aquatic plant. 

Thanks! I grow my cuttings in the tank in a soap rack I've got in there--they've all done great so far. Guess the humidity might be why!

On 7/4/2022 at 4:08 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi @DarthMollusk

The genus Alternanthera is large, with 200+ various species (not counting all the variants).  The plant we typically see in the hobby is Alternanthera reineckii (with several variants).  The 'Purple Knight' is a cultivar of Alternanthera dentata so do not be disappoint if it does not transition to submerged growth.  Different species have grown up to adapt to different conditions.  -Roy

I grow several species emersed for future 'scapes.

I don't really expect to grow submersed; I'm always thrilled when I manage not to kill them 😅

I've got a couple cuttings in the tank this morning, but later I might try extracting the main plant from the dirt, cleaning well, and trimming roots for emersed growth. That method worked really well for the peace lily and polka-dot plant, but we'll see!

[Algae Outbreak - Brown Diatom?]

This may sound weird, but...I've never actually had an algae outbreak before. And I've been keeping tanks on and off for two decades. So, I don't have a whole lot of experience with algae. Does this look like brown diatom algae to you?

I've got a newer open-top 29 g planted tank that finished cycling a week ago and hasn't read any nitrites since. 2.5-3" of Sand capping ecocomplete (in the ecocomplete is a light dusting of soil/earthworm castings). Most of the plants were cuttings and are still getting themselves situated, and likely don't have much in the way of roots yet (but the four-leaf clover has been spreading like crazy). I also have floating plants (red root floaters) and a bunch of plants growing out top riparium style. Nitrates hardly ever read above 10, and I dose EZ-GREEN about two or three times a week to keep it that high. (Root tabs are in the habit of squirelling out of the sand and making me think my tank has been taken over by freaky white gel 😆. So I'm switching back to the non-gel capsules). Running a Hygger full-spectrum on a 12-hour cycle, peak intensity. 

The algae is only on one side of the glass (for now), and only the rocks on the left half. Sunlight does hit that side from a window. The light is in the middle and hits both sides of the tank equally.

There's two amano shrimp in there and several baby mystery snails who've been making a tiny dent. (It's hard to tell if they're consuming it or just leaving a snail-shaped trail like a little squeegee 😆 either way, they're adorable to watch--I'm keeping an eye out for secret messages). One shrimp took a whack at it before getting disgusted and returned to her work cleaning driftwood.

I picked up a pair of nerites this morning, because I'm used to mysteries but wanted to try out some nerites because....I just love snails. 🤷‍♂️ Too soon to tell if they plan on going to work on it yet.

I'm not, like, "Oh, god! Algae! Kill it with fire!" I just don't want to get into a situation where it harms my plants or something else. Also, I can't really...see in as much as I'd like? 

I figure the tank is still getting balanced, but I'd appreciate any insights from the community before I just....go in there with a paper towel or blow torch or something. I tend to overcompensate for problems and make them worse half the time. 😂

Thanks for reading! 🐌

Editing to add: hot dang, those nerites are going to WORK on that glass!

 

[Terrestrial Alternanthera - Emersed Plant]

On 7/4/2022 at 2:53 PM, Patrick_G said:

Try rooting a cutting in some water and see what happens. 

That's the plan!

[Terrestrial Alternanthera - Emersed Plant]

On 7/3/2022 at 7:51 PM, Fish Folk said:

If you can figure out how to properly splice off viable plantlets (sorry, I’m obviously not using correct terms), definitely try to transition it to immersed.

I’ve been told that many plants can transition. But I’m guessing if it were possible, someone would have figured this out awhile ago for such a lovely specimen. 

That's my thinking, too. But, it's a fairly sizable plant so I might try both out. For science!

[New baby Corydora! Now what?]

Congrats!

To I'm in the same boat--I just discovered an unexpected baby panda cory yesterday. At this point, I think my non intervention was the source of the accidental breeding success. 😅

But I feed my fish repashy (I mix soylent green and community) which they like.

[Mysterious Snursery]

On 7/3/2022 at 9:53 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Did you let the clutch hatch naturally or did you crumble it? If left to hatch naturally snails will hatch at different times and you’ll have a size difference.

 

No worries, just take the bulb off and let them come out the other end. 😊

 

I crumbled the clutches, but it is from two different moms. Maybe that's it? 🧐

I did figure out the bulb removal thing after a panicked minute, thankfully. Phew!😅