[Greetings from the East Coast]

Six cory cats it is, then! Thank you!

[Greetings from the East Coast]

Hi everyone, I'm Maggie. Like so many here I recently became re-interested in fishkeeping after being out of it for many years (fam, job, cost, etc). I don't exactly remember what sparked my interest again, but first I read up on and looked at photos of what kind of fish I wanted. I watched several of Cory's videos to hear the descriptions and more about the fish. I knew I wanted a peaceful community tank but didn't really want tetras or guppies. It turns out I really love harlequin rasboras, so I built my dream tank around them, hopefully to end up with around 15 or so. I have a 45-gal tank that is now fairly heavily planted. My showstoppers will be 2 or 3 pearl gourami, and I love the peppered cory cat (planning on 4),  but there are several other adorable cories, too. My tank is about 3/4 done with fishless cycling using ammonia. Algea started growing 2 days ago, nitrates are finally rising, up to almost 20, ammonia and nitrites have been steadily high w/dosing. I am at that "I can't wait" point right now!! I have some trumpet snails that came in on my plants and am wondering how they are still surviving the ammonia bath. I just know I'm going to want a 10 gal for some cherry shrimp, which I've heard are expensive snacks for gourami, so I need a separate tank for them. Then they'll need some fishy companions in the form of (maybe) green kubotai rasboras and a few cories. I am looking forward to learning a lot from everyone and sharing fish stories!

[Welcome to the C.A.R.E Forum - Look here first.]

Hi Cory! I'm a new aquarium owner, but had a betta and algea eater in a small tank many years ago. I'm currently cycling my 45 gallon tank with ammonia, bacteria starters and lots of plants. Some trumpet snails came in on my plants last week, and somehow they are still alive, even with ammonia and nitrites at ~2-4 ppm consistently (just wanted to throw that out there since it seems very strange they could survive in that!). I watched your show last night - interesting! I want to end up with 2-3 pearl gouramis, 10 or so harlequin rasboras, and 6 peppered cory cats. Wish me luck - my LFS carries all these fish but it's hit or miss on whether they're in stock. I feel like I'm going to love this and get more tanks. 🐟

[Maggie]

Hello! I am doing a fishless cycle on a new tank (1st time) with ammonia. My ammonia and nitrite levels are high, nitrates slowly rising. Tank is heavily planted. Got algea growth today!

My question is, how are the baby trumpet snails that came in on my plants last week still alive? Will they survive this toxic environment?  Thanks!