[Tetras and gel food]

On 7/31/2022 at 3:10 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

If you can, please record a video of the tank and just their general, normal behavior when not feeding. 

They should be "fine" with something like the nano pellets, something like the flakes from xtreme.  feeding those every day is perfectly fine, but I understand wanting to sub in some diverse nutrition and that's awesome you're trying to do so for these fish!

It's odd to me to have to soak flakes, you can try a pepper mill to grind them up very fine as well (or pellets very fine using that method) and that might be much easier, keep the feeding times lower/easier for you as well as give the fish what they need.  

How long have you had the fish, have you treated them with bacterial meds?  Erythromycin or Maracyn as an example when you first purchased them.  Do any of them have sunken bellies or look very thin?  Stringy white poop?

Next batch I would try 3:1 and see if they do anything different. Try just the repashy with no garlic. (some fish just don't like it)

Won't let me upload a video. Had the fish about a month. No bacteria meds administered when I got them. No sunken bellies and none thin. I never see them poop, but they are really small fish.

I soak everything so it sinks because they won't go to the top to eat. Also, they won't eat it if it isn't soft, they spit it out. They're spoiled I guess.

 

[Tetras and gel food]

Katherine, how did you get the slivers small enough for them to eat?

[Tetras and gel food]

I used 2 tbs of gel food and 5 tbs of water, so 2 1/2 to 1 ratio. 

My ember tetras are very finicky eaters. They won't eat dried tubifex worms or granules. They will only eat crushed flakes soaked in water and frozen baby brine shrimp. Oh, and if they don't get fed on schedule, they start nipping at one another.

[Tetras and gel food]

Greetings. Just bought some Repashy community plus gel food and my tetras refuse to eat it. I've tried adding garlic guard to it and they still won't touch it. I put some at the bottom of the tank, then tried adding a string and dangled it at the middle of the tank. 

Anyone ever had this problem? Any suggestions?

[Low ph and beneficial bacteria]

On 7/3/2022 at 3:17 PM, Gwallace said:

That is low but not low enough to crash your system or affect your cycle.  Is the purified water remineralized?  All life needs minerals.  That could be your issue.

I forgot to mention I do add Seachem Equilibrium to remineralize.

On 7/3/2022 at 2:55 PM, Patrick_G said:

I’ve heard that low PH can slow down the growth of BB. However it also greatly reduces the toxicity of ammonia so your fish should be safe.

Are you using the Co-op test strips? I’ve found them to be very sensitive to ammonia to the point where I might get a .25ppm reading on the strips but show no measurable ammonia with the API kit. 

No, don't have the coop ammonia strips. Maybe I'll give them a try. Thanks.

[Low ph and beneficial bacteria]

On 7/3/2022 at 2:37 PM, Gwallace said:

First...what is the Ph?    What are you calling "low"?   

My ph is 6. I use purified water for water changes.

[Low ph and beneficial bacteria]

Greetings. Can low ph levels harm the beneficial bacteria? I have ammonia readings of .25ppm two days after 50% water change. This has been going on for 2 weeks. Here's what is in my tank:

20 gal long

Aquaclear 50

Temp 78 degrees

O nitrites, 0 nitrates

4 pygmy cories, 7 ember tetras, 3 green neons

2giant java ferns, 1 large amazon sword, 7 anacharis stalks, 2 wendtii, some moss

Gravel substrate

Any suggestions?

 

[Prefilter sponge or intake]

On 6/28/2022 at 4:12 PM, Patrick_G said:

I lean towards a sponge for the above mentioned reasons. It's only drawback are looks and cleaning. Those stainless pipes look really cool and don't need much cleaning.

Thank you everyone for your input. I think I'll continue with the sponge. Just a concerned fish parent and don't want any of my little dudes to get hurt. I've got green neons and pygmy cories.

[Prefilter sponge or intake]

Greetings all. I wanted  to get opinions on which is better to prevent smaller fish from getting sucked into filter: prefilter sponge or stainless steel mesh cover over the intake.

I would think water would flow better with the mesh cover.

What are your thoughts?