Kit Craft

Me being me I'd double the numbers on the White Clouds and Danios. Or look into some rainbow shiners.

My shrimp like snello more than my snails do fwiw.

I haven't kept cherry barbs in years so I can't say for sure, but I'd go with your gut first of all. Even if everyone were to tell you it was a good idea, if you are personally not comfortable it'll bug you in the long run. Me, I'd be fine with your numbers from a biological standpoint but am not familiar enough with their activity to comment on footprint. As for white clouds, I have always liked them. I currently have a group of 13 with some assorted snails in a planted 10 gallon. I have kept them in a number of tanks over the years. Some large and some small. What I can say is that the never act right, for me, in groups of less than 8. That is to say they are timid in smaller groups. In larger groups they don't always stick close together, but they are out and about more. Weaving in and out of leaves and feeding from all levels. Rather than hiding behind the plants or hardscape coming out only to eat. I have never had any issue with them nipping at the snails etc either. As someone who had tried and failed a number of times to get a planted tank going, I totally understand not wanting to tear it down and start again! As an aside, ember tetras would look good in your 10 gallon too and they are easy to find.

How would y'all suggest I go about culling? Like, what to look for in keeping snails? I've noticed that some simply aren't growing so I'd guess those are a target for culling. Aside from that, any defects to look for? Other than simply keeping what looks good to me?

I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get whatever I can find locally for one of the nano tanks. Probably the Dwarf Spots as they are easy to find. Or order some come spring.

Cool fish. I don't hear about these ones often. People always seem to talk about the other micro rasboras. Mostly the chili but sometimes the Pheonix. Less so these and the dwarf. The only micro rasbora I can find around here are the Dwarf Spot Rasbora and I swear they only ever have two or three at a time. Then again, the only local fish place I have is a petco.

Okay, let's give this a shot with the cell phone photos. So, after some careful watching I seem to have 5 of these guys in my 10 gallon. They are all clear atm but those two have some blue hue to them, one has like dots/spots and the two I can't seem to get a photo of are straight clear with a pink body. It amazes me how cute these things are when they are growing but turn dull when they are larger, lol. My Blue Ramshorns in my other tank are almost a grey color and the pinks are whiter, lol. This is the first generation produced in my tank though.

I've not used the new shipping, but I normally got my packages on the other side of the country within 3 days from the co-op with USPS.

From my perspective none of it is easy and it is all tedious, lol. But if I had to raise live food it would be daphnia because I can raise it with something like snails and or shrimp. Keeping just a food culture alive, to me, is a chore. But add plants and inverts and it is a project. So, for me it is a matter of perspective. That said, I did BBS a few times and it is not too bad, but I'd still rather hatch and freeze as needed, lol.

I wouldn't do water changes with RO. Top ups, yes. Changes, no. Unless I was remineralizing it and for me, that is more than I want to do when my water is fairly decent out of the tap (also well).

This. I know some people like strips, but I have a very hard time reading them, regardless of brand.

If I had any nitrites in my tank, I'd do a 50% water change as soon as the test was completed. I'd test again the next day and repeat until there were zero nitrites. Just how I have always done it. As for nitrite spikes, I only have ever seen this when I add new fish to the tank OR if I remove filter media and reduce the bacteria level. Or if the tank is still cycling. As for why your nitrite levels spiked, I couldn't say.

I used acrylic and it peeled after some months. I could have done something wrong, or there could have been a scrape and water got underneath it, idk. I ended up going back to poster board on that tank as it is so close the wall it was the easier solution. If I had to do it again, I'd use another type of paint.

Doesn't seem to be compatible with the nano sponge but it looks like the new nano comes with one. Might have to check it out anyway. Not sure what is different but the unit as a whole is cheap enough to find out, lol.

Ah, cool thanks. I am looking forward to watching them grow. Maybe I can get a decent photo of them in the next week or so. They are growing noticeably now.