Louise02

Has anyone figured out the ratio of pounds of substrate to gallons of water needed to have a chance at stabilizing the bacteria that minimize the need for water changes?

I have 10-gal aquariums. I have a betta and mystery snail together. I don't want to separate the betta and the mystery snail, because the betta is the only fish that does not pick on this snail. The other two aquariums have guppy fry, two mollies, and a dwarf gourami...with crushed coral substrate. I do have a five-gallon planted aquarium as well, but I figured that that was too small for anything. Winter is coming, and whatever new creatures we are going to have for winter need to be ordered within a month. I am thinking that a pair of ADF would be lovely company for my daughter over our long winters. We could pick something else, but I would like to have some new creature to brighten the dreary months. Would it be possible to keep this docile betta, a mystery snail, and two ADF together? If we tried this, would clean up become a nightmare? I am aiming for very stable aquariums. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated!

Any idea how long you can keep flakes, pellets, or dehydrated foods in the freezer? Six months?

This will be a planted tank. Right now we are preparing to set up a "new" aquarium. Most of the plants that I will use are in my nursery aquarium. It could be another six-10 week before I more the betta in to the new set up.

Thank you!

Thank you for your help!

We have a very docile female betta fish. She is not as picky as others that we have had, but, on occasion, she still misses some of her food. I want to keep a cleaner tank. Are kuhli loaches a good option? She has a friend- a Mystery Snail, and there are a few nerites in her tank. I just don't see them eating blood worms and betta pellets. If you have a better idea, I am open to hear them. I would like to order something and get it settled in before winter! TIA! BTW, she is tolerating young guppies. Would a couple female guppies be enough of a clean up crew? Sorry- this is a 10 gallon.

Are Kuhli Loaches quarantined the same way as other fish?

Should ADF be quarantined? If so, how is it done?

Can ADF live in an aquarium with crushed coral and cholla wood or is their skin to thin and sensitive?

LOL! Okay. Where can I get frog bit?

Can you suggest a good place from which to order duckweed? or another similar floating plant that will help filter water? Water sprite keeps dying. We have many AC plants. I just need something to help filter nitrites out quarantine tanks. I don't want to put our healthy AC plants into the quarantine tanks. Thank you!

I am interested in eventually adding shrimp to my aquariums to help on the clean-up crews. I have never kept shrimp before, and I am not even sure where to begin. I have a 2.5 gallon planted tank that has been running with this set up for eight-months (2.5 years before that). I suppose that that tank will be about a year old before any shrimp are added. I thought, perhaps, I could keep some in this small tank, but as they reproduce, I could add them to other planted tanks. Can anyone point me in the right direction, to figure out how to keep shrimp? Thank you in advance!

I'm trying to decide which tank size to go with for a single female betta. Some people say 10, but others say that 10 gallons can feel too big to a betta. I'd rather go bigger and have a more stable tank, but she seems so content. Thoughts?

Thank you. Honestly, I'm going for low maintenance. When you have to micromanage a lot, you're likely to have a lot of issues. I thought that the betta might get lonely, but it sounds like alone is the best route. Thank you!!!

Thank you!

I need a nano siphon for my smaller tanks. This larger one just can't do a very good job. Any suggestions on a good nano siphon?

We have a very, very gentle female betta. Is it possible that she would be happier in large tank with guppies than she is by herself? or do bettas prefer isolation? She doesn't even bother the Mystery Snail. We are building out new tanks while we quarantine new fish. I am just trying to plan. Thank you!

Thank you. The tank has been running for about three years, so it is cycled. We are trying to keep that 2.5 gallon running a little cooler. We'll move the Mystery as soon as we can. The trouble is that the betta I have is the ONLY fish that doesn't pick on him. He was out and about in the tank today; he is looking well now. Thank you for the help!!!

Lennie, thank you! That was all helpful. This arrangement is temporary. We have four aquariums, and the Mystery Snail will definitely move back to a larger tank next week. We had an outbreak of ick, which meant that I had to make temporary arrangements to keep everybody alive. I *think* that I have fixed the temp problem in the 2.5. I will use the info that you gave me as I move forward. Thank you! BTW, I am supplementing the snails' diet with additional snail foods.

I have a mystery snail and a nerite snail in a 2.5 gallon aquarium that is running hot today. It's about 82*. Both snails are at the top of the water line. Is it too hot for them?

2.5 gallon planted tank temporarily contains a betta. Once our current ich outbreak is under control, it will be a snail tank...maybe someday a shrimp tank. For now, I have two small heaters in there that, together, keep it at 80*. When we had the temp down around 74* the poor thing wouldn't even swim. The ambient temp fluxuates, but is about 70* most of the time.

How has this heater worked for your betta tanks? It seems like it wouldn't be quite warm enough. Fluval 25-Watt Aquarium Heater for Nano Fish Tanks | Mini 25W Heater – Aquarium Co-Op (aquariumcoop.com)

That makes sense, but it's not great news. We received five new nerite snails in the same bag as the mollies and guppies that got ich. One of those snails went in with my betta and four of them are in with a gourami and old molly. I've made a real mess. Would you treat everything for ich, or wait and see what happens?

Thank you so much! Thank you so much! At this point, the fish are in one tank and the plants are in another, partially due to the fact that the fish needed more salt than the plants could stand. Thank you for your input! I will go ahead and run ich-x on the planted tank.