NOLANANO

Are there any test kits for planted tanks that will give you an idea of your water makeup so that you can try to dial what you need to add? I am hoping that there is something similar to the API master test kit but instead of Nitrates, it'll tell you the iron, potassium, etc. content in the tank.

IDK. I have only ever had a SunSun and everyone told me it would leak and then it eventually did. Its a really good filter otherwise, I rearely had to clean it and my water was crystal clear. And with it being kept outside, I would think that leaking would be less of an issue than an indoor filter. I was also told that all I needed to do was replace the O rings and it would have been fine but I switched to a HOB filter once it sprung a leak for peace of mind. I also have Nano fish in a planted tank so the cannister was overkill anyway.

1) I don't see why not. Honestly you probably don't even need the pail considering its water proof and there aren't any electronics on the outside of the filter. 2) You could but it would be kind of a pain to set up and take down. 3) SunSuns leak. They may not leak right away but eventually they will leak. Mine lasted over 2 years before it sprung a leak and I think a decent amount of the longevity I had with it is that I opened the top as rarely as I could. In the 2 years, I probably opened it like 4 times to clean it every 6 months.

I have a single Amano shrimp named Houdini that shows up once every few weeks.

I went to my first Expo in the spring and went to my second a few weeks ago. I also was kind of nervous about going. I didn't want to feel like an outsider but I highly suggest going. There are vendors with fish you might not otherwise get a chance to buy at the LFS. The Apistos I am speaking of are Borelli. They were doing wonderful and then in the last 2 weeks have been dying off. I do feed bloodworms as part of the diet and I think I will stop doing that. I used to keep GBR and I had the same issue as these Apistos where they would do fine for a few months and then die off all of sudden and I read that it might be the bloodworms. I stopped for a while and then I got Amazon Puffers and they needed frozen foods so I went back to bloodworms. Not anymore. Idk what I want to do next but if I choose to stay with the planted community then I might try Panduro. My other choices that I am thinking about is maybe keeping the tank planted and getting some Neocardina and maybe some Endlers or something like that and have a breeding tank going on. My last idea would be to scrap the planted tank other than my Anubias and get African Cichlids. But African Cichlids would require me to completely rescape. A Betta Sorority is also an idea but I have read mixed reviews about them actually working long term.

My biggest weakness is my ability to diagnose and treat my fish when they get sick. Other than Ich, I have never been able to successfully nurse a fish back to health. Once I notice they don't look right, its just a matter of time. Currently I am losing my Apistos 1 by 1. I started out with 6 but am down to 2 (1M, 1F). I have no idea what is wrong with them as they show no signs of sickness until one day they get lethargic and hide and then they are dead within a day or 2. Can't figure out what is going on and I don't think its the water quality (0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 20 ppm Nitrates, PH 7.5, temp 78) but I also can't seem to diagnose it as anything else. The other argument against water quality is that all my other fish (Panda Cories, Neon tetra, Rummynose Tetra, and bristlenose Pleco) all seem fine. My inverts seem fine too (1 Amano Shrimp, 1 Neocardina shrimp{not sure how he survived with Apistos}, and 2 CPO crayfish). Anyways, what are some of yalls biggest weaknesses?

Fair enough

1) I would say that everyone's hobby is different. One person may love planted tanks with nano fish while another may like bare bottom tanks with large fish. So if one person would enjoy watching and feeding the fish but doesn't own a tank because they dislike other aspects of the hobby then I don't see an issue with creating a solution so long as it isn't detrimental to the fish. Years ago they didn't have dechlorinators and would leave water out over night to dechlorinate. Do you think those hobbiest were upset because someone invented a product that would instantly dechlorinate the water? I'm sure there were purists that hated adding chemicals but that advancement made the hobby more accessible to many more people. 2) We need all the people in the hobby we can get. The only way fish become more available and cheaper is if there is a demand for them. The only way to create a demand is to grow the hobby. I do understand where you are coming from as far as what the hobby means to you but I don't think creating solutions to make the hobby more accessible and easier for others is a bad thing. Now I am not sure if what Adam has suggested is feasible but if it were, it would be a net positive.

I have a buddy that I gave a 29G tank to and I have been helping him the last 6 months or so. I took him to a fish trade show and he bought glow fish (yuck lol). But I had to remind myself that everyone likes different aspects of the hobby and if gene manipulated highlighters is what he wants in his tank then that's ok but I digress. My point is that he probably would be out of the hobby already (if he got into it at all) if he didn't have me there as a resource. Like others have said, the internet does have all the answers but most don't do the research. I don't think he has ever really looked anything up and just asks me the questions and mostly listens to my guidance. As for why most get out of the hobby its because they either don't do the research and then disaster hits or they do everything correctly and then get bored.

Sometimes new fish glass surf until they are comfortable. Question, is there a lot of flow along the glass that they choose to surf in? some fish just like to swim in the flow.

In the days following my trip, I lost 2 fish. one male and one female Apisto. I still have 2 males and 2 females that are healthy but it was sad to see those go. I wonder if maybe not eating much for a 2 weeks and then being fed normal had anything to do with it? Maybe I should have fed just a little and increased it over time. I will add that the male Apisto I lost was my weakest male. He was in the middle as far as size but he never challenged the bigger one and the smaller one would push him around too. Maybe he was just a weak specimen? I can't really tell the female apart as much and I never saw her die but I used to have 3 and now I only see 2.

My level of interest waxes and wanes depending on how busy I am and whether anything is new in the tank. No matter my overall interest level, if I sit in front of the tank then I will lose track of time. Its about taking the time to sit.

FACTS! I killed a colony of around 150 shrimp because I didn't change the water. There were no Nitrates or anything so I thought it was ok. I didn't realize at the time that I wasn't replenishing nutrients in the water that things like shrimp and plants need. PSA: Change your water folks.

GERMAN BLUE RAM. End of thread.

Hey everyone, I am just here to rejoice. I recently went our of town for 12 days and due to unforeseen circumstances, I was only able to get someone to feed the tank once at the 9 day mark. Yesterday I returned home and not a single fish was lost! IDK if there is a bigger sign of a healthy aquarium than being able to essentially ignore it for 2 weeks and have everything inside it be happy and healthy upon your return. In the past, if I went on a vacation for more than a couple of days, I would always return to some sort of issue. I am so relieved that it all worked out this time. Anyone else have any similar stories? Or maybe a time when it didn't go so well?

It appears that the fish they are adding to this aquarium will be the first fish added to this aquarium ever so the display tank can be used to Quarantine the first batch at least. Obviously Quarantining is best practice and should be done if possible but I don't think it should be a beginners biggest worry since they likely don't have a second tank and don't really know what to look for anyway. As for adding fish, unless they are known to be super sensitive fish I would just plop and drop. This mean, float the bags in the tank for 20 minutes so it can temperature acclimate and then pour the fish into a net (making sure none of the fish store water gets in your tank) and then dropping the fish in the tank. The theory here is that being in the bag is stressful for the fish so getting them out of the bag as quickly as possible is best. I am not going to say the method other use don't work but I have not lost a single fish upon release into the tank since switching to plop and drop 3 years ago.

I used to when my tank was newly set up but now conditions are stable enough that I'd essentially be writing the same thing over and over.

Not all fish but I think fish that pair feel grief. I don't have rams anymore but when I did, if one ram in a pair died, the other followed suit not long after.

Possibly Frontosa?

I could be wrong but I would say thats pretty full for a 40G. Agassizi are known to be some of the most aggressive Apistos so I would caution adding one to such a stocked tank. I would consider trading in some of the Danios to get more of the same kind and add some more Cories of the same kind. Pay attention to aggression levels of the Gouramis and the Angelfish. Often times everyone will get along and then one day, one fish will decide its boss and start attacking the others.

Without knowing anything about tank size, I would suggest doing higher numbers of the schooling fish. So instead of 3 zebra and 3 silver Dania, do 6-8 of one of those species. Same for the cories do 5-6 instead of 3. Also I don't know much about Neon Blues but Gouramis can be pretty aggressive so I would be careful putting 3 in there with 2 angel fish. (Angel fish can get aggressive as well.)

Sad Update: I am really considering trading the puffers in. Over the last 2 weeks the puffers have become much more "nippy" than they were before. Prior they would nip my Apistos infrequently but currently all 3 of my male Apistos have tears in their pectoral fins. I also see the puffers nipping at cories and other fish. While I have enjoyed the journey thus far, I don't think that the health and happiness of my other fish can or should be compromised due to the puffers. This realization makes me sad because I was really excited about the puffers and wanted it to work. I feel defeated and like I am to blame because I did read in some places that I would have these issues. I just also read where it worked for others and hoped it would work for me. I would caution anyone from getting these as community fish. While I have not seen them kill other fish, they do pester them. A very cool and unique fish, just better off in a species only tank. It could work if every fish in the tank was short finned but I was not able to test that theory.

Congrats. Keep fighting the good fight!

When I get a little burnout, I either need to start planning a rescape or find some sort of fish that I have never kept before and get excited about it. At the moment I wouldn't say I am burnt out but my tank is fully stocked and scaped well so I don't have a ton to do. My son, however, wants a crested gecko for his birthday so I have been reseraching that a ton. A bioactive vivarium is very similar to a planted aquarium so I am having fun looking into different plants and setups and budgeting for this. Maybe downsize your aquariums and get another oddball pet like a gecko or small snake or something.