NOLANANO

Dwarf neon rainbows would be my suggestion but that seems like a very reasonable combo

Bingo, we found the source of the issue. Not a huge deal and its a mistake many people make. When I first started in the hobby many years ago I used to remove my fish and completely empty my tank and scrub everything in a sink with tap water and change the filter media once a month. I didn't know any better and I was out of the hobby within 9 months. Back then there was no Youtube to teach the basics so I just didn't know any better. When I got back in the hobby about 4 years ago Cory and other youtubers taught me everything one 5-10 minute video at a time. Obviously I still made mistakes but when I made a mistake, there was a video to tell me how to fix it. There is an ACO video about getting the most out of your HOB filter that is very informative. I'll try to find it and link it here. My suggestion is to do daily water changes until your tank is fully cycled again and don't change any media for a while. And when you do change media, change to a thicker sponge than the HOB filter comes with so it can build up a bigger colony of beneficial bacteria.

I would have said you tank is mid cycle but the fact that you had high nitrates, did a water change and gravel vac and now nitrites are out of wack makes me wonder. I still think you are mid cycle and it will all even out so long as you have a strong enough filter. You should do daily water changes until the nitrites come down though. Question: did you change the media in your filter when you did the deep clean? Imo its better to rinse a sponge than replace it if you can especially in a new tank where you probably don't have enough bacteria built up to sustain loss of the bacteria on the sponge. If you didn't replace any filter media then my theory is out the window. Even if its a placebo effect, doing something always feels better than doing nothing lol

When I first started back in the hobby about 4 years ago I bought 5 Neos for my 29G and just like you said, they disappeared. I couldn't find them anywhere. After 3 weeks, I decided to tear the tank apart to try to find them. It turns out that they were all beneath the ACO easy planter that I had in the tank. They either found a gap on the sides or just went in through the plant root hole and decided they liked it in there more than outside. It ended up working in my favor because a month later I saw a few little baby shrimplets and then I started to see more and more of them. turns out they just needed more numbers to feel safe enough to come out into the open.

Any sponge will work as long as 1) it doesn't have any soaps or cleaning agents already in the sponge and 2) its not too fine. The first sponge I used in my HOB filter for my 29G was the algae scrubber from ACO and it would clog fairly frequently. Once I got a coarser sponge, I had much better results.

I'd agree. Its hard to decide to trade a fish in. It comes with feelings of failure to an extent but this is a hobby where failure is inevitable at some point. Its a big science experiment. The positive: You could definitely get more schooling fish if you remove the Gourami. You could get 5-6 Neon Tetras or Harlequin Rasboras or something like that. You could also bolster your Cory numbers since they like to be in larger groups as well. Update us on what you decide to do!

One rule I have learned on my Aquarium hobby journey is that if something in the tank is stressing ME, then remove it. If I have a plant that I can't keep alive? Remove it and try a different plant. If I have a fish that's eating my plants? Trade it in at the LFS or give it to a friend. In your case, I would take the Gourami and trade it in. Pearl Gouramis are very docile so if you want a gourami, I'd go that route but honestly any gourami and Betta has the potential for issues.

I use a child's medicine syringe to pull water from my tank to test it in the test kit tubes. Its much easier to get the right amount in the tube than dunking them. I also use it to spot treat BBA when it gets out of hand.

Yeah you would have to add a TON at one time. Thats what I was trying to get across ith my frequency comment. I think that its easier to do harm if you are doing water changes/adding prime too often rather than too much at one time.

I have not tried to research it yet but I assume I can find details online? Any tips for meal worms?

Yes

@memorywrangler Have you ever read about or tried creating a colony (culture?) of meal worms? I am looking into getting Amazon Puffers and I have read that these are a good food to serve them but I'd rather have my own colony if possible. The issue is that it would either have to be in a box that can fit beneath my tank in the cabinet or be able to survive in my shed because I don't have an area in my house for "gross" looking experiments other than the shed. No disrespect to your work, I think its really cool. My wife just wouldn't agree and would say they are unsightly lol.

1) You did not hurt your fish. I use a python and fill with tap water and condition the whole tank every time. 2) You can over condition but what you added is fine. I have read that you can go as far as 5x the recommended amount prior to hurting the fish. But I have also read that frequency can be an issue. Meaning you shouldn't add prime multiple times per day. 3) I am not sure the question but with my python I fill up my tank and then dose my 75G with a dose recommended for 150G. The reason I double is that my tap water is rather high in chlorine so I feel like it needs a little extra. Maybe its a placebo effect but it makes me feel better. 4) Yes that is ok.

Apistos or Rams would look great in that tank. Rams are a bit harder because they need almost zero nitrates but they are super fun. Here are some pics of Rams I have had in the past.

If you can't move the tanks on purpose, your baby won't be able to accidentally make them fall. The bigger concern as others have said would be the glass getting hit by a stray object or the kid climbing on a chair or something to put stuff in the tank.

The other thing that Aqua Advisor doesn't take into account is plants. They help decrease your bioload so if you have any, then you are probably lower than the 91% their calculation spits out. What is the footprint of the tank? Is it just a taller 20G or more of a square? IDK about the stocking order for the rest but I agree that the Apisto should go last and I think letting the Otos be second to last is also a good idea since it would give the tank more time to build up some stuff for them to scavenge. Neons in my experience are 50/50 when introduced to a tank but if they survive the first 24-48 hours then they are as hardy as any fish I have owned. I also keep my neons at about 26C (79F) but have kept them as low as 24C (75F) and as high as 28C (82F) and they have done well at each temperature.

I was just thinking that I might have to get the 150 snails off of Amazon and set up a breeding bin or something. This may be an unfair question but I have found that there isn't a ton of info on feeding amazon puffers online so I will ask anyway. How many snails per puffer and how often? I also saw a guy on Youtube who has had his Amazons for a couple of years and he says that he just feeds them frozen blood worms but doesn't thaw the cube. He holds the cube in the tank with planting tweezers and he says the grinding of their teeth on the frozen cube works decently. He said he had to trim their beaks at about the 18 month mark so obviously his plan isn't perfect. He is also skeptical that snails help Amazon puffers trim their beaks like other puffers because in his experience they just suck the snail out of the opening and don't bother with the shell at all. He thinks they might not have a strong enough bite to break the shells or something. If push came to shove, I would trim the beaks myself but I am obviously nervous about it. MD on Youtube also recently got some Amazon Puffers that he will set a scape up for in the near future. His aquarium shop said they have been feeding meal worms and that has been effective in trimming the beaks. Maybe I need a trio of meal worms, Rams horn snails, and frozen bloodworms. IDK, Its a lot to figure out with not a ton of online help. I keep going from "I am definitely getting these and its going to be awesome" to "I don't know, this seems like more work than I originally thought" and I can't decide what I want to do. I feel like the puffers would be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable, I just worry about the extra care they need being too much. I'd say that right now I am about 70/30 I am getting them in the near future, I just need to figure out the whole beak/feeding thing. Thats why I was hopeful someone on here had experience with this particular species of puffer.

Where do you get the ramshorn snails? I don't have an extra tank to let them breed and even if they were $2 a piece at the LFS (not sure the price) that would add up to $10 per day if each puffer only needs one snail per day (I plan to get 5). Thats $70 per week and $280 per month to feed them. Or can you buy bulk frozen rams horns or something like that? I found 150 ramshorn snails for $48 on Amazon which is better. How far would that go do you think? A month?

I guess this means that I need to get some Amazon Puffers and step up as the board expert lol

Hey Chris, sorry I didn't realize you edited this post to answer some of my questions. I will number your responses in the quotes and respond below: 1) Good Idea. Like i said in a later post, the bags help keep the base layer from surfacing. But if you are worried about layering since its all new, you can do a single substrate and it will work just fine. 2) I am not saying you can't try but unless you are talented with detail, I would pick a single substrate to go over the crushed lava rock. Imo, sand works best but some people like gravel. I use black diamond blasting sand because it is very cheap and looks great. But you honestly can't go wrong, just google aquarium substrates and find one that you like. Another cheap option is play sand from a Home Depot type of store. It may not be professional grade but it gets the job done and is a white-ish, yellow-ish sand. 3) These are all good plants to start with. make sure you have root tabs for the swords and Val. Also make sure you don't bury the anubias or java ferns. like you mentioned, these are best attached to rocks or wedged in crevices. I might caution against moss only because once its in the tank, its VERY hard to get it out. every time you trim the moss, little bits will go everywhere and attach itself to other plants or wood or rocks and a few months later, you have a moss problem again. BUT if you like the look then by all means. 4) Carpeting can be hard I'd start by trying to keep the easier plants alive and then try to carpet down the road once you have a hang of it. 5) This is perfect thinking. a stem plant that I have had a lot of luck with is Bacopa Carolinana. Its hardy as can be and grows fairly quickly but not insanely quick like some other stems. 6) I use a $50 Hygger light I got on Amazon and it does the trick for me. but you can also go the route you are planning and get a plant florescent light if you already have a hood that uses florescent tubes. (I think thats what you said you have?) 7) If you mean a Hang on the back filter, then that should work. There is no need for a cannister filter if you are gonna have plants. You can do a sponge filter if you want but if you have a working HOB filter, it will do the job just as well as any other filter. 8). you probably need a heater but you can find a budget friendly one on Amazon. 9) We found your feature fish. I am not a huge rainbow guy but if you like them then thats the fish you will plan around. do some research on how many you can put in a 40G and then research good tankmates and you are on your way. 10) I am from New Orleans and we have a ton of French names down here so thats why I thought you might be from Louisiana. Also your name being turtlerouge, I thought it might be a play on Baton Rouge. 11) My name is actually Austin. my handle does look like Nolan ANO but its actually Nola Nano. Its because I am from New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) and I like Nano fish.

How stocked is the old tank? If its under stocked, I would think you could just take the old sponge filter out of the old tank and put it in the new tank and the new tank would have a colony of beneficial bacteria immediately. The old tank should have enough beneficial bacteria on the substrate and decor to make up for the loss of the bacteria on the old sponge filter until the new sponge filter grows bacteria of its own. Again this is dependent on your bio load. If your old tank is at capacity with its bio load then losing the old sponge filter bacteria will have negative effects.

I would mainly be worried about everyone having their space. I had my pair of Borelli in a 75G where they had tons of space and hiding spots and they were pretty timid. I don't think either fish would be harmed, I just think the borelli would be more out going with space.

Thats looks great for a pair of Borelli. Imo the chili rasboras are a good idea but I am not sure about the Otos. There isn't a ton of real estate and putting a decent sized bottom dweller (for that size tank) with the Borelli might not be a good idea. 3-5 Amano shrimp might be a better option if you are just looking for a cleaning crew.

Anyone on here keep Amazon Puffers? I am curious about what you feed them to file down their teeth and where you buy the food. I am considering a group of 6 for my 75G planted community tank but I am nervous about feeding them/their beak situation.

Any pics? I'm always curious about other people's scapes.