AllFishNoBrakes

Quality > Quantity. Every single time. Always. Quality always wins. When I first bred my Marbled Angels I wished it was some Pandas that I really wanted. The first time I bred my Albino Cory’s I wished i invested in a Cory species I truly was interested in. Quality over quantity for sure. Me personally, I don’t really learn until I’ve gotten my hands on it. I take what I’ve read and believe and try it out. From there, I adapt and evolve to what works best for me. Reading and hearing from others is a good baseline to start your journey on.

Whew! What a day. Major day of maintenance, but some neglected projects knocked off the list. Early this morning my girlfriend and I tore apart the entire 10 gallon aquaponics tray. Basically everything had run its course and it was a long time coming. Her wildflowers had died off, the jalapeño and tomato plants were long gone, the chives were harvested for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, and the strawberries were looking sad. I tore it all apart, and man was that a project. Sooooo many roots were dead and intertwined throughout the entire tray. The tank was cloudy, all the drains were clogged, and it was just a mess. We saved the strawberry plants and everything else was removed. The entire tray was rinsed out including each piece of hydroton and then it was all put back together. Massive water change on the tank and it feels good to have a total reset minus the strawberries that were replanted. I’m excited for the next grow of fruits and veggies out of this tank! Also did maintenance on the other 12 tanks including squeezing out all the sponge filters. Filter intake sponges included. Big trim on the Walstad, got a tank ready for the Angel fry, and harvested snails for the Pea Puffers. Just a giant day of maintenance, and I still have to do the fry tanks tomorrow. 10 gallon is set up (at 1/2 water level) to receive the Panda Angels. They’re starting to actually look like little Angelfish, so next week they’ll go to their next tank. Albino Cory fry are doing well, and I’m pretty sure I counted a couple Julii fry in with them too. Female Bristlenose is cured of her ailment and back in with the male. Also, the Marbled Angels spawned again today, but I didn’t keep any eggs. The Panda’s are still occupying the hatch/grow out tank, and I think the Panda’s will spawn again soon. Fingers crossed I can start the next hatch when I move the current fry to the 1/2 full 10 gallon next week. Tomorrow I’ll get water changes on the fry tanks and we’ll be set for another week. Water Lettuce taken from the 6 gallon cube Walstad. The roots had grown into the dirt. Crazy. Female Pleco cured of her ailment and back in her home tank. Shout out to @Colu for their recommendation of treatment. Worked like a charm and wasn’t anything harsh. Thanks again! Panda Angels. Starting to look like little Angels. Couple more days and they’ll be moved to their next home. Fresh trim on the Walstad. You can actually see critters in here again!

@JettsPapa There’s 2 stores about 30 minutes from me, about 2 blocks away from each other. 1 of them carried Xtreme, but they changed owners/management a few months ago and I haven’t seen it in there since. No biggie, I can get it from ACO, but it would be nice to take a short drive and support a local store.

Cory has also stated that it’s up to the individual store if they’d like to honor the member discount or not. Regardless, I wish I could pick up ACO products locally! Heck, I wish my LFS’s would carry Xtreme, lol

I’m a sucker for Dragon Stone and had some success with a mixed bundle off Amazon. It was decently priced, and came with 1 XL piece, X medium pieces, and X small pieces. I was pleased with what I received and felt it was fair for a mixed bundle. Granted, that was like 3 years ago when I was frantically setting up all my tanks. Risk vs. reward for sure, but sometimes the risks pay off!

Love to see everyone getting their lights and all your tanks! My cheap lights have held strong and grow everything I want them to, but as they die out I will definitely be replacing them with Coop lights. Can’t wait to see how everyone continues to help each other achieve success!

Hey @Rxhart. While I can’t say for sure why you’re having issues, I can definitely provide my thoughts and what I do. I’ve often wished I had the space to try the tray system! Strange that it’s not working for you. I guess my first question is, what are you feeding the fry, and how often? I feed waaaay below what people say you “have to do” or even “should do” and have pretty good success. Let’s start there and see where we go! Also, apologies for the delay in my response. I’m usually much quicker; work has been insane.

@Aiden Carter that store is local to me, and where I trade all the fish I raise. I’ll keep an eye out for you, but have never personally seen them in the store.

Sounds like a fun tank to me!

Hey @TeeJay. I’ve had my pair for probably about 6 months. Single m/f pair in a 29g with Praecox Rainbows, Glowlight Tetras, Albino Corydoras, and shrimp. They’ve done excellent for me even “competing” with the Rainbows for bloodworms. A pair has been great in my experience.

Agreed with those above me. I have soft, lower pH water out of the tap (TDS 40) and don’t use Wondershells or anything like that. Give your shrimp consistency and they should do just fine.

The kits that I’ve bought (with the solenoid) simply required an additional purchase of citric acid and baking soda. I like em! Like I said, it’s a good middle ground, in my opinion, to getting started with c02. Best of luck finding what you’re looking for!

Look into the metal canisters with citric acid and baking soda. It’s not the plastic bottle DIY yeast and sugar, and it’s not a full blown 5 or 10 lb tank. It’s a nice mid range that affordable, and a good option. At least I think so. It’s how I started in the c02 world and continue to keep 2 of them running. Make sure whatever kit you buy comes with the solenoid as you’ll absolutely need that. Link below is a good place to look. https://www.amazon.com/FZONE-Aquarium-Generator-Dioxide-Regulator/dp/B07YCPKBV3/ref=sxin_20_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.46c1cb6f-208d-4ede-8768-4115a9d05fe7%3Aamzn1.sym.46c1cb6f-208d-4ede-8768-4115a9d05fe7&crid=346GSKZZ7C99T&cv_ct_cx=c02+for+aquarium&keywords=c02+for+aquarium&pd_rd_i=B07YCPKBV3&pd_rd_r=f2b8bbac-e3cb-4978-baf6-dc9ecbc1e25f&pd_rd_w=yntXT&pd_rd_wg=ESEMF&pf_rd_p=46c1cb6f-208d-4ede-8768-4115a9d05fe7&pf_rd_r=ZC7GRE3G5P0JERJBTXWZ&qid=1673019573&sprefix=c02+for%2Caps%2C129&sr=1-2-a73d1c8c-2fd2-4f19-aa41-2df022bcb241-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNFBGTVBOTjlYT1lQJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDYxMzY5M0xSMUhBNFhHOFQ3NCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzgwMzUyMlRIOTkyMkxMWlVSViZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Agreed with the telescoping nets from Amazon for the same reasons everyone has listed above. They’re great for shrimp and all kinds of fish.

Me personally, I wouldn’t chance it. If this happened to me I would consider it a lesson learned and a mistake to avoid in the future and start fresh.

I have low pH, soft water (pH mid 6 to 7) and have shrimp in most of my tanks and they do just fine. Just like anything else, you should strive for consistency rather than chasing arbitrary numbers.

What up fish fam?! First journal entry of the new year. Skipped last week as me and my girlfriend spent a few days in the mountains without cell service. Was super nice to get away, unplug, and recharge in the most serene place with a fire every night and some tasty tequila courtesy of my boss. Just got caught up on maintenance. Water changes done, fertilizer in the tanks, and everything cleaned up. Got a couple things going at the moment. The Julii spawn I had going crashed hard and I have no idea what happened. One by one the fry were dying once they got to about 3/8-1/2”. No clue why. Was a little disheartening, but we’ll try again in the future. Being worried it could’ve been disease I dismantled the tank, and hydrogen peroxided everything including the filter. Rinsed out, let completely air dry for a couple of days, and then set back up. I had probably 25 Albino Cory fry hatch right before we went to the mountains. I put those guys in the refreshed tank knowing most of them probably wouldn’t make it. There’s currently 6-10 fry in there still so it is what it is. The recharge was much needed and the fish will spawn again. Panda Angel fry cruising right along. Still in the little 2.5 and growing slowly as I’m in no hurry to grow them out. When they’re ready, they’ll go to a 1/2 full 10 gallon and keep cruising. Photo dump incoming. Albino Cory’s freshly hatched right before we went to the mountains. Amazon Sword throwing out another runner. We’ll have more baby swords in no time. Marbled Angel spawn. Didn’t keep any of these eggs. Another Panda Angel spawn. The difference in color from the above pictured spawn is super interesting. Didn’t keep any of these eggs either. CPO carrying eggs! Shrimp out of water today during maintenance. Tried to splash it with water out of the Python but they weren’t budging. Definitely still alive. That was a first for me today!

Thanks! That literally started from just a couple of strands lol. That tank has since changed, but that giant Java Moss jungle and a couple hundred shrimp was fun.

When I set up my shrimp tank I threw in a bit of Java moss, my hard scape, and then let the thing get gross with algae. Started with 30 shrimp, and have sold several hundred of them at this point. I feed every other day. Shrimpee pellets from Xtreme, Hikari shrimp cuisine, boiled zucchini, etc. I agree that you should establish biofilm and algae. It will help you be successful

GlowLights are rad. A few years ago, my 29 gallon was the third tank I set up, and the first couple GlowLights were the “canaries in the coal mine” to ensure the tank was ready. Today, I still have my whole group (10) that I started that tank with. They’re great fish! Wish you the best of luck with them!

All the cholla wood I have is for my shrimp tank and it went into the tank after a quick rinse for any dirt

Sorry if others recommended this, too. Didn’t read the whole thread, but this is exactly what I do. My DIY siphon has a sponge shoved in the end, and then I refill like I always do. All my tanks get weekly water changes, and almost every tank has shrimp. I have t seen any ill effects.

Bolivians have been the easiest of the Rams I’ve tried. I have 2 in a 20 gallon high with 6 Julii Corydoras and 6 Furcata Rainbows. Tank is 76° and everyone gets along

I’ve tried black rams a couple different times with 0 success, even keeping the tank at 84 degrees as they like it hot. When the second attempt at black rams didn’t work I went with Bolivians that don’t have those higher temp requirements, and they’ve thrived for me. Definitely recommend the Bolivian as they will want temperatures more in line with your general tropical fish and their needs

Well, a couple weeks later in the lightly salted tank and a couple Catappa Leaves and Pleco looks to have the issue resolved. I’ll probably leave them in this tank for another week just to be sure, and when I have the best view of them they’re always facing the exact wrong way I need them to. Of course. But, from what I can tell that white mass is gone. Shout out to @Colu for the awesome recommendation. I’m glad salt and leaves did the trick before I went the medication route I was originally planning on. I appreciate your commitment to helping others, and hope you’re feeling better than a couple weeks ago when I originally posted this! This community is awesome. Edit: Came back a couple minutes later and finally found the fish facing the way I needed to actually check. The issue seems to be resolved! Heck ya. Maybe on Wednesday, maintenance day, they’ll go back to the tank they came from.