EricksonAquatics

That’s interesting that you’ve had them for a while and they still aren’t acting normal. I agree with @Tony s. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, but I don’t have a ton of experience with mystery’s so I’m not much help😂

It usually takes them a minute to adjust to your tank. How long have you had them? Usually they don’t feel very safe at first. I’m not sure about how age affects them, but I’d give them time to get used to their new place!

I don't know a ton, but I’ve been in the hobby for about a year so I’m glad I can help a little! Oh I’m so sorry for your loss. Losing Bettas is about the worst loss in the hobby I think. Sounds like Sonic had a wonderful life and was very loved!🩷

This is another random thing: I’m not an accomplished pumpkin-carver by any means, but I try to carve something unique and fun every year. This past Halloween this is what we came up with!! Next October I’m for sure doing an aquarium pumpkin carving thread lolz

Hi all! I’ve been on the forum for a while now, but thought I’d properly introduce myself (and my tank). I’m Emry from Utah! I have one tank, a simple 10g Betta tank with a Nerite. I’ve learned so much from this one tank already. It’s been running for a little over a year now. MTS is sneaking in on me and I’m itching to get my hands on a bigger tank (likely 20-29 gallon)!😂 Anyways, meet Merlin🐠

Tank looks amazing! And that’s a pretty handsome betta you’ve got there🤍

I second this. I’m still battling hair algae (which looks like what you might have) and by decreasing the intensity/period of light time and increasing fertilizer, the hair algae is slowly depleting!

Twinning is winning!!😂

That sounds epic👀

This is the most random niche thing, but I’m actually an equestrian by day (I ride horses) and fish keeper by night😏 I don’t do rodeo or things like that. I ride English which is basically jumping horses over sticks to put it simply😂 So meet Ditto the grey hippopotamus🩷

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/background-plants here’s some good options 🙂

I got a pack of a bunch of different varieties off of Etsy! If you can’t find any from your LFS of course 🙂

They are such darling little things! The dwarf Cory species are some of my favorites. I’m yet to keep them, but the hastatus, habrosus, and pygmies are all on my list!

Honestly most fish will go after baby shrimp if you don’t provide a lot of cover for them to hide in. Most tetras, some Rasboras, and livebearers will all opportunistically snack on them. How large is your tank?

That is the most beastly clump of Java moss I’ve ever seen😂but so epic!

No - and I don’t plan on it!😂😂

I agree, I think it’s pretty picky about conditions. Technically it’s supposed to be a high light + CO2 plant but I had heard people have success with it in lower light tanks. Thought I’d give it a try but it doesn’t seem to appreciate my tanks.🥲 Wisteria is another one that I cannot grow! It struggled so bad to convert and never thrived. Any other plants you’d recommend that seem to be bulletproof? Besides the typical rhizome plants 🙂

Thank you!!

If you want something smooth for the Cory’s and not crazy fine, I’d say go with the Petco Imagitarium gravel (or PetSmart has a similar one). It’s cheap, usually very smooth and plant roots can penetrate is very easily. Just rinse it thoroughly and load it with root tabs for your plants 🙂

I have seen the Girl Talks Fish video! I need to watch it again to remember exactly what she talked about. Ill for sure look into the Pasco video 🙂

Thanks for the advice. Some people can grow Pogo like weeds, and some people can’t get it to grow. I guess I’m one of those people😂I do believe it does better in a high tech tank, but I thought I’d try it anyways. For now, though, I just want my plants to grow!

So do you suggest keeping the intensity low and the lighting period longer? I thought that algae LOVES long low light periods, but maybe that’s fake news.😂 40ppm Nitrate seems high for my tank. I feel like it isn’t crazy heavily planted but maybe it needs more fertilizer and more light than I think. So from here, lengthen lighting period a tad and keep fert dosing the same?

Yes I plug in root tabs as needed. pH 8, GH about 25ppm, KH 80ppm. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0.

Hello friends- I have your typical 10g tank with a betta and a nerite snail. It’s been up and running for over a year now, and I’ve struggled to balance it ever since!! I can’t get any of my plants to really thrive even though it feels like I’m doing things the right way. I think I need to start over with the basics. Anyways, I fairly recently got some “Pogostemon Stellatus Narrow Leaf” (which I’m not sure if it’s similar or completely different to Pogo Octopus) and it hasn’t done quite as well as I hoped. I purchased pogo from the co-op a while back and it also didn’t do so well. It handled things ok for a while but never took off and eventually melted away. There’s somehow always brown diatom algae on its leaves. I’m guessing it’s because it takes a minute to convert to submerged grown and the algae takes advantage of the old leaves? Who has experience with this plant? Does it take a while to convert? also, I’ve got an Easy LED at 30% and dose easy green one pump once per week. At the end of the week I get abt 40ppm nitrate, so I water change. 40 seems high, so maybe I should dose less ferts? I just barely switched my light timer to be on for six hours a day. It used to be on for around 7 and a half, so hopefully the shorter light period will stump the algae growth (mostly hair algae with a little brown diatom). Any tank balancing tips would be much appreciated!

Personally I love black substrate! I think it really helps the fish and plants pop. Only issue is it will show fish poop and dead plant leaves a lot more than lighter substrates. But if you’re ok with a little gravel vac work to make it pretty, it’s no big deal! As for suggestions, I use Eco Complete and I like it. It’s relatively inexpensive and looks nice. You can always use regular black gravel or sand from your local Petco/PetSmart and load it with root tabs! Both are fairly smooth and soft so wouldn’t bother your future Cory’s! Those are the two main options I can think of but I know there’s more out there 🙂