EricksonAquatics

The only fish I’ve kept to date has been a nerite and a betta😂but with my hopefully soon next setup I’d love to keep chili Rasboras, sparkling gouramis, salt and pepper Cory’s and someday Bolivian rams 🙂 and I’d LOVE to set up an outdoor mini pond with WCMM or medaka rice fish!

I think it’s technically best to have it off the substrate but I don’t think it’s a big deal. The bottom of mine sits in the gravel and it’s just fine. You should be good to go!

I don’t quite remember, but I’m pretty sure the first time I walked into my LFS I saw their huge shelf of easy green and other co op products was like what the heck is that stuff?😂and then proceeded to go home and look them up. Been hooked ever since!

Good to know! I might have to pick your brain about chili’s in the near future if I end up with a certain 20L tank😏😂

Interesting! I wonder if not having a centerpiece/tank boss helps them feel a little more safe. They are such tiny little guys, I don’t blame them for hiding😂

I love all your tanks, but especially the 20 long blackwater tank 😉This is my next goal, a 20L with chili rasboras! In your opinion, are they more on the shy or outgoing end? I assume the more you have, the happier and less hidey they'll be?

Yes absolutely. I have a 75 watt one in a 10 gal and it's completely horizontal. So far zero issues!

I think the regular Aqueon 10g tanks and their glass hinged lids are the best way to go. They’re cheap, readily available at most big box stores, and do the job well 🙂

If you haven’t already, you should totally try Repashy! Once they figure it out, they go nuts for it. I’d probably say the Community Plus blend or Soilent Green. Some other options would be some bottom/algae wafers you can drop in or some blanched (boiled) veggies such as zucchini. Hope that helps!

Thank you! I’ll test again and try to be as accurate as I can and see what happens. That’s what I was wondering! Seems crazy but I think it was just user error on the liquid test kit.

Today I did a water change on my 10g and cleaned up a bunch of algae. Yep that’s it, real exciting.😂

Hello all, today I tested my tank water with both co-op test trips and the API liquid test kit. The Co-Op test trips read around 40ppm for Nitrate, while the API test kit read 0ppm. What the heck? Has this happened to anyone before? And which do I believe?😂

I know this is terrible to post on this thread after a YEAR, but I just had to say @kneeyour tanks are absolutely stunning. Tell me your secrets to such incredible plants!!😂 And your Rams are also the most colorful and amazing I’ve ever seen. Whenever I think of Rams I just think of Germans but the Bolivians are for sure a new bucket list fish for me. If I ever get a bigger tank, that’s for sure the first cichlid I’m going to try! Hoping to set up a 20L before too long, but I assume with other community fish that would be too cramped for even a pair of them? 🙂

Yeah root tabs shouldn’t contribute to ammonia/nitrite spike. Before I poked holes and squeezed air out of em they would occasionally pop up and leave the white gel looking stuff on the substrate. But I never had them affect water quality, maybe a tad nitrate but never anything else 🙂 I wouldn’t dig them up because it’ll make a huge mess that I promise you don’t want😂

That is awesome! I’m going to suggest a tank raffle for my local club lolz

I’m not pro at this kind of stuff, but it looks like possibly green water. How long do you have your lights on for?

Set up my first tank (10g) in December of 2022 for a betta and a nerite. One year and many plant casualties later… let’s just say it’s getting there. The betta and nerite are still doing great. Lots has changed, I’ve learned a lot… and I want more plants.😂 And I’m ready for my next tank! Dreaming of 20 longs!!

The one that looks kind of like guppy grass?😂

@Fish Folkwhat is the plant in the third picture that’s taken over your tank? It’s stunning! The tank with the coconut huts and Anubias.

Cory seems to usually recommend crushed coral to raise pH. I think it will also raise KH and GH so just be aware of that.

You should be fine without a heater. I kept a bunch of different plants (including Java fern) in an unheated tank where water temp was around 65F and they all did fine!

I have a 10g with one betta and a nerite. At the moment I have anubias, Val, hydrocotyle tripartita, crypt lucens, crypt wendtii, Amazon sword, and Pogostemon stellatus narrow-leaf (which I’m not sure is the same or different than PSO?). Theres also a few floaters that I got in a pack from Etsy. I have the 20” Easy LED at 30% and on for 7hrs a day. I dose Easy Green once a week per the regular does and nitrate usually sits around 20-30ppm. None of the plants are really thriving per se, but the Pogo and Hydrocotyle are not doing so well compared to the rest. They’re new(ish) to me, along with the Val. I suspect they want more light but I have already been getting a little hair algae. I’m not sure which factor to change. Up the light/more fertilizer/shorter light period/etc. Any thoughts are much appreciated 🙂

1. Keep and breed Chili Rasboras!😍 2. Balance my dang 10g with a Betta and have a jungle of plants in there🐠🌱✨ 3. Set up a 20 long with a sort of “corner” scape where the plants are most heavy in one corner and fade off toward the next corner 4. Set up an outdoor mini pond and breed medaka rice fish, WCMM or something else in it! 5. Figure out how to grow PSO. I love it so much but I struggle terribly to keep it alive 😞 6. Have a 5g desk tank with high light plants, a cool scape and maybe some shrimps. 7. Maybe someday keep some sort of puffer. I feel like they’re aquatic dogs lol this thread is great! It’s so fun to see what others in the hobby are dreaming of!😂

Honestly, I think every betta is completely different. They seem to chill out with age, but holy smokes some of them are insaneo when they’re young!😂 I don’t think Kings are necessarily more aggressive than other bettas, but you never know. I really would like to try tank mates for my half moon but I’m afraid to test the waters lol

Plants seem to be doing alright. If anyone has any tips on how to balance a tank, bring them on😂I think that’s going to be my first priority for the time being. I’m still getting hair algae and a tiny bit of diatom, the Val and pogo aren’t doing as well as I’d like. The Easy LED is at 20% for about 6hrs a day. I’ve been following @Tanked suggestions and dosing five drops a day (except on weekends) with my small bottle of easy green. I picked up the liquid test kit but it’s my first time using it so I’d like verification haha. From what I can tell, is pH 7.4ish or closer to 8? I can try the high range pH kit too. And Nitrate looks to be about 40ppm (third from bottom). Thoughts? Am I reading these totally wrong? Thanks for everyone’s help 🙂 Ok, looks like I have pretty high pH. Dang it!😂looks like I’ll have to go to plan B if I ever want to keep chili Rasboras haha. Someday! test looks to be between 8.2-8.4.