Gartcreature

Just an update on this: As of today the bulge has gone down completely without treatment. I assume it was actually eggs or constipation or something like that

@Colu Sure thing, I'll keep an eye on it for a day or two and if nothing changes I'll give that a shot. Thanks!

I haven't although I don't tend to notice any of the fish pass stuff in general even though I watch them a fair bit, only seen it a few times so far

Hi all, I've noticed something unusual with one of my X-Ray (Pristella) tetra over the past week or so. They seem to have an unusually shaped bulge towards the front of their body - it forms a sort of unusual pinched shape, and distends more downwards than it does to the sides. I've had these guys for about a month and a half now with no issues, and the tank is about two and a half months old. My first concern is bloat - but all their scales seem to be uniform, and their behaviour is totally normal, as they eat, move around, and interact with the other tetra without issue. Is it perhaps something to do with eggs? Some of the tetra recently successfully spawned (there's a little tetra fry swimming about with the adults which came as a surprise to me since I didn't notice any eggs, very cute) so perhaps they're simply full of eggs. I can't find much clear info on that though, how this looks on X-rays etc. I've also read in some places that having too many eggs can be a problem(?) so I'm unsure. Aside from this there's been no issues at all with the tank, it's parameters, or it's inhabitants. I'm quite new to this hobby so any help is greatly appreciated. Below are some pictures (They'd just been fed hence the specks floating about) and my parameters. Fluval Roma 125L 7x X-Ray Tetra, 1x X-Ray Tetra fry, 4x Hillstream Loaches, 4x Assassin snails, 5x Amano Shrimp Temp: 24c pH: 7.2 Ammonia: 0ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: 10ppm

Thanks all, I didn't actually know about the test kits that you can read with your phone, but after looking into them more I feel like even me reading a master test kit would be more accurate than a phone reading those strips! I think for my peace of mind I'll get a master test kit, then later as I gain more confidence I might get the JBL one for more convenience. Cheers

Hi all, Was just getting together all the extras I'll be needing for my first aquarium, and it occured to me that I might actually have some issues testing water parameters since I'm somewhat red/green colourblind (deuteranopia). I've seen some examples of testing, and I've never been totally confident in matching the shades up. I'd like to get a master test kit since the results are apparently the most accurate, but I fear matching the transparent colours could be even harder, I'm not sure. Was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and if there's any good workarounds? I was considering taking a photo on my phone and just boosting the saturation (which could affect the accuracy perhaps?), or perhaps sending it to a friend (Which might get a bit old for them after a while!).

Thanks for all the replies everyone, certainly a lot to think about. Been hearing this more and more from people, certainly opens my options up a bit Cheers, this all is good to know, I'd be happy to see how the plants do and get a second light of they need a boost rather than just throwing money at it in the first place. I would consider it, but they don't ship to the UK. Nice, think I'll spring for the JBLs since you've had success with them, and it's good to know you've had luck with basic lighting.

Hi all, I'm currently planning out everything I need to setup my first aquarium, which I'm planning on having planted with beginner plants. I think I've decided on the Fluval Roma 125, since it's programmable lighting really appeals to me, over something like a Juwel Rio. However I'm assuming that the 10W aquasky light that comes with the tank would be insufficient for the plants? I was planning on using plants specifically rated for low to medium light (Vallisneria, Amazon Sword, Hydrocotyle, Anubias etc.), but I was still thinking of supplementing the included light with a second aquasky, probably the 21W model. Would this be enough to grow the easier plants? (FYI I don't plan on using Co2 for now) Secondly, I've been spending a long time deciding what kind of substrate to use in my tank. I know you can grow root plants in gravel, but I really want to futureproof my tank for corydoras since I'd love to get some at some point, and apparently sand is far better for them. However I've heard and read in plenty of places that it's hard to grow plants in sand since it's so compacted. So since corys love planted tanks, what exactly are people using to get aquariums with lush plants and corydoras? I was also planning on adding root tabs to whatever substrate I end up going with, and I assume this would be sufficient to fertilize it for whatever rooting plants are in there. Fertilized substrates like Fluval Stratum seems hideously expensive (at least in the UK) so I'd like to avoid that sort of thing if at all possible, especially considering how much I'll need for the tank. Sorry this is a bit long winded, but I really want to have some confidence in my choices before I start throwing money around. Any knowledge you can share will certainly be a big help, and will definitely help me sleep at night!

I haven't actually considered platies !! Looking into them they seem pretty neat so I'll have to look into em more. Ah good, that's reassuring

Cheers, that's really good to know. Thanks, currently I'm thinking of getting a tank around 125L and starting with something small, hardy and shoaling, like Zebra Danios or some kind of Tetra. Then I'd love to get some Corydoras (albino or bronze or something like that) cause I think they're brilliant. I'm thinking shrimp somewhere in there would be great, but I'm still looking into their suitability with the first two (Maybe Amanos? Not too fussed about eggs/shrimplets getting eaten but not sure about adults, also not sure if they'd fit the same params as the other two).

Hello there, completely new to the hobby, and after watching many of the aquarium co-op vids I thought here would be a good place to chat (and ask probably obvious questions!). After being fascinated with aquariums since childhood, I've decided to stop just considering it every 6 months (only to give up on it), and instead finally take the plunge. No tank or anything yet, since I want to be 100% sure of what I'm doing before I start !! Definitely looking into a larger planted community tank, which is obviously something I'm gonna slowly work up to stocking fully.