MattyM

Maybe get off of el dosing. I have what I call a semi-high tech tank. I dose low CO2, just a plant boost - a drop checker prob wouldn't even change color, and add just enough ferts - a few squirts of EG every other day or so along with Potassium. I barely have any algae issues (only happens when I overdose ferts) and each week I do maybe 30 min of maint work, barely any need to change water, just a little cleaning and plant maint here and there, and the occasional canister clean. When I do need to change more than a bucket of water (it's a 100g), I have a dead simple python-like system to replenish the water.

Agreed that the squared-off belly is a sure sign she is loaded with babies. If you have access to frozen/live BBS that might help encourage her. If you look at a fish from the top, and it looks like a pine cone, then that is dropsy I believe. If you google for pics, it's pretty obvious. From the pic I don't think that's the case here.

I've had them pop up - never had a problem. The capsule will eventually dissolve if not removed. If you get nitrate spike or anything just do a water change. What I do now is poke a hole in one end with a pin/tack, and then with my plant tweezers I get them in the tank, squeeze the air out, and then bury as deep as I can.

I used sponges and HOB's in smaller tanks, but in my 100g (heavily stocked and planted) I am glad I went with 2 canisters, one at each end. I love the circulation they give, and they pull an amazing amount of gunk from the tank. This wasn't my original plan, but I'm glad it worked out that way. Most of my maintenance is outside the tank, which I like. Custom Aquariums estimate might be different b/c they use thicker glass.

You can do so much with these things - well worth the investment.

I have a giant neon too, I think its a gravid female that never layed, or reabsorbed, her eggs. She gets around well enough and eats, but swims nose down like yours. She's been with me over a year now. Is this one eating? Adding a bit of salt to the tank might help heal the fins and relieve any bloating. I've done about a tablespoon per 10 gallons before, but you can up that as needed, esp if you don't have live plants. @Colu might be able to help too.

That's quite a long time to have a light on, in my opinion at least. Not sure how that impacts breeding, but something to consider when trying to replicate a natural environment.

What is your light intensity and schedule like? Are you feeding food that would be small enough for fry to eat? I know you're on a budget, but a pack of BBS or other frozen food might jump start them again.

A betta would be cool - kind of like the office mascot. With live bearers maybe you can encourage others to get into the hobby and take home some juvies so your tank doesn't get over crowded. A striking tank could be black sand, lots of plants and ember tetras.

I love my MTSs for that reason - I have them in a sanded tank now, and am wondering if they would also turn over eco-complete 🤔 may just have to try it. In my 100g I have both - the rams tend to climb all over everything and go everwhere, whereas the MTSs stick towards the bottom.

I've only had the wifi one, and I only have a single unit controlling both heaters in my 100g. It is easier to setup using the app, vs using the buttons on the unit. It will also send you alerts when your temp goes outside your specified parameters, and when the heaters are constantly running for over a period of time that you can set, or if one of the probes stops working. The app will also show you a graph of your temperature trends, and also allows you to turn the unit on/off. I really like it.

I saw in a video of Cory doing a new tank last year where he featured pearl weed, he just planted the entire pot in his gravel. I've had luck just weighing pearl weed down with a plant weight, it will eventually grow into the gravel.

It could also be related to ammonia and cycling - more info on tank bubbles here: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/bubbles-in-fish-tank-water If the bubbles feel "slick" - could be soap, esp if your fingers smell like soap 🙂

I've used these before: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SZ5ERV0/?th=1 Just note the top shelf is made for a standard rimmed tank - there are pegs that go under the rim to keep it from sliding off. Servicing the bottom tanks can be a little tricky but it's doable, especially if you leave the decorative front board off. I also cut a piece of plywood, painted it black, and used it to evenly distribute weight on the bottom shelf. I had these tanks up for over a year before I transferred them to my 100g - no issues, just had to level them:

YouTube - this vid changed how I think about aquariums:

Maybe an oil based deck paint? A dark stain and polyurethane might also be cool - both should repel water/moisture very well.

And YouTube yeah?

Crypts do indeed shoot out runners when provided with the right light and nutrients, but in my experience they need to get fairly big before doing so. Mine shot runners in about 3" of gravel - they got regular root tabs and medium light from a Fluval Plant 3. It may not be obvious they are runners - mine didn't travel as far as say, Val runner do. But when I pulled them up to move to a new tank, it was obvious what the new plants/runners were.

In my 100g - what my fish don't eat, the cory cats eat (I also give them bottom-feeder food), and what the cory cats don't eat, my amanos and snails eat. This makes it very hard to overfeed the tank 🙂

I would hold off on the Iron, and just start dosing Easy Green, which has Iron. Start with a low dose, like half the recommended dose, and increase as needed. If you see algae appear, dose less or less frequently. Monitor the new growth and be patient, it may take time to dial in. Only add in the Iron if you don't see any improvement with the Easy Green after a month or so. I only recommend starting slowly with ferts b/c it seems you have mainly slower growing plants, and any extra ferts in the water column will just generate algae. Good luck 👍

If you want to lesson the amount of air going to it, you can rig up a bleeder valve.

I think of algae as the tank trying to balance itself - perhaps you have more nutrients than the current plant load can handle? (Also, Easy Green has phosphates in it.) Then again, wow those phosphates are super high - are they that high straight out of the tap?

I don't think I've ever cleaned mine and it's right next to my desk (also a betta tank) - can you post a video of the sound?

After some googling, I guess the process is that a product like Prime will break chloramines down into chlorine and ammonia, and then removes the chlorine. Whatever ammonia is left is bound by Prime and handled by your biological filtration and plants. (I am not sure what "bound/bind" means in this context, assuming it infers "safe".) Seachem also claims that water treated with a dechlorinator can lead to false positive ammonia readings 🤷‍♂️ https://seachem.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000122593-FAQ-I-tested-my-tap-water-after-using-Seachem-Prime-and-came-up-with-an-ammonia-reading-Is-this-because-of-chloramine-Could-you-explain-how-this-works-in-removing-chloramine

These suction cups with zip ties have come in really handy on numerous occasions - and keeping pothos roots in order is one of them! I use them to pin most of the roots to the back wall. I do trim here and there, but these have really helped: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0856WJMF4?th=1