Monkeypoint

I have some questions: 1. How long has your tank been running? Is it fully cycled? 2. What are your nitrate levels? GH? pH? 3. Why are you adding RO water? 4. How many hours are your lights on? Depending on how long the tank's been running and how new the plants are, I would suggest increasing the amount of light gradually. Also, I would add more plants like slow-growing anubias and some Java fern - plants that take their nutrients from the water column that will compete with the algae. Prune away anything dead or dying. Avoid changing too many variables (start by adding more plants), increase the light gradually (wait a few weeks before making any changes). Hope this helps!

No, they've never been treated.

Thanks. He put up a good fight. Do you think I should still treat the main tank? There's an albino Bristelnose Pleco, Ember tetras, Amano shrimp and Neocaridina shrimp, and a couple of Nerite snails - all seem to be doing fine. They've very active - especially the shrimp.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it.

Ah, gotcha! Will do. I meant to ask: do I do the rounds of ParaCleanse treatment back to back? So if day 5 is 25% WC then the following day, I begin the second course? Thanks!

He’s perked up! I’m on Day III of the ParaCleanse treatment. It’s 2 doses followed by a 25% WC on Day IV. I’m going to leave him in the QT tank for now so I can keep an eye on him and then treat the main tank before putting him back. I’m giving him high quality food like Repashy.

Thank you - I've seen him grazing on leaves. I dropped a small piece of blanched spinach in the tank but he hasn't touched it. He's doing a lot of head stands. I've seen other Corys doing the same thing - completely perpendicular to the substrate with the barbels just barely touching. They'll stay that way very still and then they're on the move again. So I don't know if it's an indication of something wrong with this guy or he's just doing weird Cory things. I think that's good advice about treating the main tank. ParaCleanse is supposedly safe for inverts, I hope.

https://youtube.com/shorts/9Ql2Ab0cNco I started noticing this Cory acting strange a couple of days ago - leaning against plants or barely moving. Several times, I thought he had died. I put him in an isolation tank. I can't see anything visibly wrong though. I started treating this morning with ParaCleanse. When I got home from work, he seemed to be doing much better - more energetic and grazing on plants. At around 13 seconds, you can see his underside. I don't have anything to compare it to, so I can't tell if there's anything out of the ordinary. His usual tankmates are Amano shrimp, Neocaridina, a couple of Nerite snails and one Bristlenose Pleco - all doing very well. 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 10 Nitrates pH 7.5 GH 11 KH 3-4 Temp. 72 degrees

Okay, thanks. I figured they were Nerite eggs but I usually find them all over the glass. Do people scrape them off? I thought I saw something somewhere that the eggs contributed to increased nitrates.

These suddenly appeared on my Java fern. I have one Nerite snail and one Mystery snail (I’ve ruled out the Mystery snail since they don’t lay eggs underwater). I haven’t seen any bladder snails. Could they be fish eggs?

I had this same question. I watched this helpful video: I only have 2 angels. One is bigger than the other but they’re both the same age. The larger one is also a bit aggressive towards the smaller one. They both have the pointy tube but having only 2 and nothing else to compare them to, I’m still not sure of the gender although I’m guessing they’re both male. I have a friend who wants to rehome one of her angelfish but I’m now thinking that could create a problem - especially if her angel is a female

I cannot tell a lie: before the leaking started, I realized I had flipped the intake/outtake tubes. I'm simply not able to assemble anything without first doing it backwards. If something can be done backwards, I will nail it. If not, I will find a way. Fortunately, this is a brand new setup. Fish, ect. are still in the old tank.

That's a great idea! Will do. This is a brand new setup (this past weekend new). Fish are still in the well-established 55 gallon tank. The filter media in the canister of the new tank is also new - straight out of the Seachem Matrix bucket. I plan on waiting several weeks before transferring inhabitants of old tank to new, at which point, I'll add the old filter media to the new canister filter. I have an HOB on the old tank as well and I may run it for a while. The bio load, even for the 55 gallon is very low at the moment. I want to get a handle on the CO2 first before thinking about new tankmates.

Is anyone familiar with this inline atomizer for running CO2 through a canister filter? When I flipped the switch on my canister filter, the check valve started leaking between the metal and plastic part right in the middle (not from either tube end). I tightened it and the leaking stopped. Aside from that, does it look like it's properly connected? I watched the Buce video's instructions and the threads were exposed below the nut (the video showed the nut being tightened away from the threads so that it overlapped the end of the tube). I have it hooked up to the CO2 cylinder but I'm nervous about turning it on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I went through the same thing, researching and researching and researching some more. I already have an Eheim Pro 4 250 for my 55 gallon tank. But I needed something bigger for my new 68 gallon and I'm always thinking about the next thing: could there be a better version out there that I didn't know about when I bought the Eheim. I kept reading all of the Top 5 official Wirecutter type reviews for canister filters but then there seemed to be no consensus when it came to user reviews. I was leaning towards the Oase Biomaster but then I found another Eheim Pro 4 that was like half the price and I thought, why am I doing all of this research when the product I've already been using for 3 years and am totally familiar with has been working without a hitch? In my experience, the Eheim is really quiet, easy to clean, and you don't need to prime it.

I would want to know how old the tank was and if it ever sat dry for any length of time, or been moved. I bought my 55 gallon tank in October of 2001! It's never been moved or emptied/dry. I did start getting nervous about the possibility of it developing leaks due to its age, although it will probably be good for another 20 years. I was having too much anxiety thinking about 55 gallons of water flooding my living room so I decided it was time for an upgrade. But I also really, really, REALLY wanted a bigger aquarium without the rim and that was a big deciding factor as well.

I have the AQ 20 and haven't had any issues with rattling, but I also have some hearing loss so maybe I haven't noticed.

Cool, and I agree - Mark is awesome. I saw 2 babies this morning!!!!! They were both grazing away on Java moss.

So, I just watched a Mark's Fish Tanks YouTube video where he mixes Bacter AE and Montmorillonite clay with RO water and squirts it in his shrimp tanks. Has anyone tried this? And once mixed, how long will it keep? I'm wondering how much to make at a time, how long it'll keep, and/or how to store it once mixed (I'm assuming cool, dark place). I have several berried shrimp and woke up today to find the first baby! So excited!

That entire thread is incredible. I’ve bookmarked it for easy reference. Impressed by the knowledge!

Reading through all of the common illnesses, I’m wondering if it’s an intestinal issue caused by internal parasites.

I also have Methylene Blue and Melafix.

I have some of that on hand so maybe I'll start with it today and then tomorrow I can get paracleanse. Thanks for your help. I'm looking up dilution ratios for Kosher salt.

I actually removed him from the tank and put him in a bucket with an air stone and some floating plants. He was hanging near the surface and it does look like there’s been some weight loss. I haven’t noticed any of the other symptoms. Can I use Kosher salt since it’s not iodized? I don’t have any marine salt and my LFS is about to close.

Worried about my Angelfish. It's been bumping into things, seems disoriented and lethargic, not eating and has had a long string of poop hanging all day. 55 gallon planted aquarium Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 25ppm KH 60 ppm GH 150 ppm pH 7.2 water temp: 76