Herefishie

I have a 15 gallon Fluval Flex. When I ordered the tank from Amazon I also ordered a Fluval M30, I believe it's called, 50W submersible heater. It is supposedly adjustable but it doesn't matter what temperature I set it at, it is constantly readings 80° when I test the water. Since the heater sits behind the panel in this style of Aquarium, I don't need one that has a hang off the back display, etc. I just want one that is adjustable and actually works. It's too late to return it so I'm planning to buy a new one. Every review on every kind of adjustable heater I read on Amazon with one star seems to complain about the same issue. Does anyone have any recommendations for an adjustable heater that actually works? TIA.

I decided to go ahead and remove them. They were crunchy. 😀 I guess I will keep my mystery snail's name. Instead of a boy named Sue, I've got a girl named Gary, lol.

I was just doing my weekly water change and I found this blob of what I assume are eggs under the lid. II do have one mystery snail. I can only assume That "Gary" laid them. I am pretty new to the hobby so I'm stumped. If someone could identify them and tell me if I should remove them I would appreciate it. It is about 3/4 of an inch long from side to side.

I purchased a Fluval SPEC 2.6 gallon with the intention of housing shrimp only. I have two other tanks. I use tapwater and all the parameters are fine in those tanks. I set this shrimp tank up 3 days ago. It has gravel substrate and a few plants in it. I tossed in a sponge pre-filter from one of my other tanks to help seed it. The pH is high! It keeps reading 8.4. I can't understand why considering I'm using the same water. I replaced half of the water this morning with RO water but it hasn't changed. I'm pretty new to the hobby and sure would appreciate some advice.

I just ordered a spec 2.6 gallon tank from Amazon. I was doing some research about the opening slots and how to prevent shrimp crawling through. I found a great article that said to buy 20 gauge stainless steel mesh and cut up approximately the size of the intake opening. Then she bent the mesh to hang on the plastic backing either in the front or the back. She said if you get it good and tight, it will still allow water flow and the shrimp won't get through. I ordered some mesh from Amazon and I'm planning to do that. I only have shrimp for that tank.

One thing I have learned since I started in the hobby, if you ask five people how to do something you might get five different answers, lol. Having said that, all of the responses I have received have convinced me it's not necessary for me to use RO water. I watched a video on YouTube once and that "expert" said it was a must so that's why I started. Thanks to all for your great responses!

I've only had my aquariums for about three months. I'm definitely a newbie. Today I watched Cory's live talk on YouTube. He mentioned he doesn't think it's worth it to use RODI water. I have a dispenser by my sink that dispenses RO water (not RODI) and that's what I've been using. Now I wonder if that's necessary? I always treat with Prime each week when I do my partial water changes. I should mention that after each water change I fill up empty gallon milk jugs with water and let them sit in my pantry until I need them the next water change. I checked with my water department and my city water does not have any chlorine or chloramine in it. I'm just confused if I should bother using the RO water at all.

Oh heavens no. Since I'm new to the hobby the last thing I need is to be breeding fish. I had no idea what sex these two were when I bought them I didn't even give it any thought about them breeding. I will keep an eye on it. Thank you for your helpful information.

Thanks for the lesson. As I said, I'm new to the hobby. Could you maybe answer my question? Does it look like it's full of eggs?

I am new to the hobby. I purchased these 2 yellow and pink glowfish Danios not understanding exactly what I was buying. I didn't care about the glowfish part. Anyway, today I noticed that the yellow one looks like it has a huge belly. Am I over feeding it or is it possible it's a female and it's pregnant?

Thank you!!

That is an interesting idea. My tank is Fluval 15 gallon flex. The filter media is in the hidden compartment in the back. There's one extra compartment that is empty back there so if I just put the sponge that goes on a sponge filter in that compartment and left it there, would that work if I had to utilize a quarantine tank? I'm thinking I could just take that sponge out of that compartment and put it in the Quarantine tank if the time comes?

I am a newbie and I don't understand if I should always have a tank going (empty) in case I need it for medicating. I don't plan on buying any more fish anytime soon but if I ever notice any sick fish, do I need an established tank going or can I take my small 2.5 gallon and put in RO water when/if I need it? TIA

Good to know! I am so grateful to have found this forum. So many knowledgeable people helping us novices.

Good info. Thanks. I'm pretty new to the hobby.

I received some plants (crips) that I ordered from Aquarium Co-Op. They are enclosed in little plastic baskets. Am I supposed to immediately remove them from that little basket and plant them in the substrate or leave them in the baskets for a while? Thank you.

I am fairly new to the hobby. I recently bought a little kit and some cysts to hatch BBS. They are hatching but when I put them in the aquariums, my fish don't seem to show much, if any, interest. Are they just too small and are they just meant for fry? I have Danios, rainbow fish, Tetras, gouramis, Corydoras & a betta.

I'm new to the hobby. I have a 15 gallon Fluval flex with one beta, six tetra and one mystery snail. I want to plant some micro sword but I'm confused about something. If the substrate gets covered with the micro sword, how do you vacuum? Doesn't the substrate get full of old food, poop, etc.?

I'm going to add a few neon tetras to my Bettas tank. My Betta mostly eats pellets with some freeze dried blood worms occasionally and I bought some neon tetra pellets. I'm confused. Should I drop the two kinds of pellets in at the same time? Thank you.

Well, this is my first post and I can't tell you all how thankful I am for your encouragement.

Boy, I have a lot to learn I think. Thank you for your response.

I am new to this hobby. I have a male Paradise Beta and one mystery snail. Today I placed a small piece of cuttlebone for my snail, Gary, and as soon as he walked over it these bubbles were left on it. It has now been about eight hours and they have not floated to the surface or dissipated. Can anyone enlighten me? Thank you.