Maggie

Good luck! They sure are pretty, and even the female seemed to glow once the male was put in with her. I couldn't help but notice the adorable angels in the grow out tank, too! 😁

I have yellow neocaridina shrimp and blue bolt caridina shrimp. I lost several shrimp after they arrived, too. Then one shrimp had babies and only 3 of those survived. Another shrimp had babies but i don't know how many are left. I think any fish big and fast enough to nip at them will do so. I've seen my harlequin rasboras go after the blue bolts, who are juveniles so they're small, but still, the shrimp are way too big to fit in their mouths, yet they've tried many times. My dwarf danios are in with the yellow shrimp, and the shrimp are larger than the fish(!), so only the babies have to worry. Eventually (hopefully), the shrimp population grows and reaches a point where losses are unnoticeable.

Don't tell the tax assessor!!

Shrimp!

I wish I had gotten a 55 gallon and not the 45 I have. It's too tall for me and on its stand, it is very difficult to access the bottom. A 55 is 3 inches shorter, but a whole foot wider and I think 4 inches longer. Those 3 inches would be the difference between standing regularly and standing on my tippy toes. Plus more fish!

API water conditioner states it removes chloramines. The amount to add is quite a bit more than for just chlorine/heavy metals (5 ml per 30 gallons, compared to 1 ml per 20 gallons).

Yesterday I did another dry run setup after all the silicone was set. It didn't look right, so I added more decorative rocks. Here is my final dry run setup. I also ditched the shiny blue background and put up plain black poster board. Today was the day to rinse the plants from Aquarium Coop of their alum solution. Three snails were at the bottom. I didn't see any eggs but am confident they were destroyed. I cleaned off the roots the best I could - all the dark in these pics is the material they wrap them in, and it will loosen up for removal after soaking a bit. I can't wait to see if betta will rest on that giant anubias leaf. The roots all look and feel healthy and strong. The plants are now sitting in fertilized dechlorinated water in a lighted area. I did move them to a larger container where they're entirely submerged; they were just in that small container for the photo. Tomorrow or Saturday I will attach the anubias to the hardscape (this is the scary part), plant the crypt, fill the aquarium, and turn on the filters (adding filter I put in other tank a few weeks ago to seed). I'll feed with a touch of food until betta arrives, which I am currently planning for Monday. Waiting for dwarf water lettuce to arrive and undergo its alum treatment. It should be here today. Plakat bettas are striking! I wish they'd show more photos online of what they look like when they're not flairing, because I watched a vid of one swimming around calmly, and ooh-la-la!!! They have larger bodies and their tails look more like wild bettas'. I've heard they're also more aggressive and active than long-finned. I'm going to see what they have of plakat and veil, and see who "speaks to me". Anubias golden (I got two in the pot!) Anubias barteri Cryptocoryne wendtii

Wow, what are the other dimensions of that tank? It must be gigantic! Good luck with your selection- I've only ever used regular gravel or river pebble gravel.

Mine get micropellets or flake in am, and then live baby brine shrimp or one of my three frozen/freeze dried foods (daphnia, blood worms and brine shrimp are on hand now) in pm. I don't keep super close track of what days I feed what, except on Saturdays I replace the am feed with spirulina flake.

@SWilson the things that came to mind were spot treatment with Easy Carbon for black beard algae, and picking up snails off the substrate and shrimp dish. Not sure how well they will work. I can also keep one in my purse just in case I'm out and about and get a soda, so as not to need a single-use straw.

When Seattle Aquarist comes online and sees his/her notifications 😲

I saw this on one of those hanging displays at the grocery store and immediately thought "I might be able to use this in my aquarium, and have reusable straws, too!" It even comes with a convenient cleaning brush!

Trigonostigma heteromorpha (harlequin rasboras)

This would have been a lot more fun if we'd had to think of a fish beginning with the letter. Scientific names only, or it would have been way too easy. Just sayin...first thing I thought of when I saw "a" was angelfish.

Here is a short info page from rhe USDA on this seriously dangerous snail. And they can carry a nematode that causes meningitis! One woman put 3 in her Florida garden, which quickly turned into 18,000. They not only demolish gardens, crops, and all kinds of plants, they also destroy stucco and plaster structures! https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/giant-african-snail/gas

Not just in the individual states - there's also a federal ban as they're extremely invasive.

My rasboras are very frisky this morning! (In other words, it's a day ending in "day" 💘). The 12 "newcomers" (not really new anymore) have really shaken things up, so to speak!

Cory has mentioned using paper towels, a single sheet at a time. There's a video I think, too, or he demonstrated it in a livestream.

And it's so exciting when you think you've counted them all and discover a new one!

@OceanTruth I got a bag at my LFS for like $25 and got 7 smooth rocks like that. They can be found for free, but I don't know rock identification or what could change my water chemistry, and I have a really bad back, so I paid for them.

Have you considered using an aquarium salt treatment right away? Aquarium coop has an article about it on their blog on the store website. It seems it might be worth a try if you are planning to wait to medicate. I think the recommended starting dose is 1 tablespoon per gallon, and you can increase it if your barb doesn't improve.

I've got one on the wish list for my betta tank and can't wait to see what it can do - I HATE my other lights, but they were way too much $$ to just replace now.

I use about 2 cups of aragonite, which I thought was the same as crushed coral, in my 20L. I haven't recently tested GH or KH but my pH is consistent at 7.4. This is for my dwarf emerald danios and neocaridina shrimp. For comparison, my 45 gallon does not have aragonite, and its pH is about 6.6 and soft. This is for my harlequin rasboras and caridina blue bolt shrimp. I do add wondershell for extra calcium. Out of the tap my water is soft and neutral - pH 7 and low GH and KH.

I siliconed the shorter hardscape piece to the rock, and added edging stones to hide my mess. It's now setting up so I have to wait till tomorrow to set it up in the tank. I also ordered these pretty silk plants (made by BiOrb) and they arrived today. I am adding these for "plant volume" until the lily and other plants take off. I threw them in the tank just for a photo op - they aren't staying where the pic shows them.

Well I have no idea what happened but I appear to now only have 4 fry left in the breeder basket this morning. They swim in the middle where it's really hard to see on the phone cam (impossible to focus), so there could be more. I haven't added any new ones from the tank though there are always several in there. Here are four of them in the tank.