Tony s

How about a pair of electric blue acara? Or threadfin acara? Something big, beefy, and beautiful. Can’t imagine you’re short on movement with the rainbows. 😁 I might possibly double the number of corys as well. You’d be surprised how much that would change their behavior.

How many were there. per type. Trying to stave off aggression. I can see multiples going after each other. Hopefully 1 of each works? Was planning on leaving the aggression to the angels 🤣 Only half joking. I've had some nasty angel pairs before

I haven't tried that combo before. But it should work just fine. I know for a fact they're good at controlling angel fry. And they have such small mouths and are non-aggressive, so they should be fine with the bigger amano shrimp. As for water parameters, I wouldn't hesitate about putting praecox in guppy water.

That's my moss exactly 😁

Yeah, I have all 3 sizes of those. and a couple of others. I honestly don't mind changing cartridges much. But i rinse them until they're starting to fall apart. Probably 2 months or more per cartridge. I usually run them over to the sink and use the spray wand on them. That seems to do the trick nicely. With the realization that I have no chlorine in my water. But, for just a quick rinse like that, chlorine is not something you should be worried about. Yes, it will kill a minor amount of bacteria. No, it won't kill enough to damage your cycle. And the bacteria also live everywhere else in your tank as well. so, no big deal.

Yeah, I got that. I just question the person that said only aerate at night. Unless you're pulling from a straight O2 cylinder, that makes no sense at all. Just by running a stone you're increasing gas exchange. Of all atmospheric gasses. I think a lot of people, me included, way over think this hobby sometimes

Okay. I'm a bit thick. @teambedell @JoeQ Took me a minute. Running an airstone will increase O2 and co2. You're pulling in air. Not oxygen. It will have the same composition of the stuff we're currently breathing. Both are more than concentrated than what water can carry. My apologies for whomever got you started down that tangent. keep it running. You're good

It might a bit, but I'm not sure it's enough to make a difference. On One of our Flex's it's full of kuhli loaches. I gave up trying to keep them out 🤣

Could be, could also be something like epistylis. @Colu hopefully has an answer. If it's on your kuhli's. It may be too late to cull the neon's. Hopefully something else. Any other symptoms?

Okay then, um, how many did you keep together? I have 1 of each and several angels together at the moment. and lots of small fish to break them up. Don't need no tank wars.

Nice setup. I like the flex. We have 2 for guppies. Would have never thought of putting the plant there. but it works. I don't believe dark respiration happens at all until it's quite dark. sunset dark or darker. low light plants are still going to photosynthesize in ambient light. But really, I'd just leave it going. It's not going to do any harm. And I doubt cycling like that is actually going to help much either. As for carbon dioxide, that is going to be a limiting factor, no matter what you do.

I run 14 tanks. I never aerate for the plants, only for the fish. Yes, there is a process in plants that occurs during the night called dark respiration. when photosynthesis shuts down, and standard respiration and growth occur. When they stop absorbing co2 and start using regular oxygen. But I real doubt the need to oxygenate the water for that. Now fish, on the other hand, always appreciate the extra oxygen

I usually only replace a cartridge when it actually starts to disintegrate. When it isn't any value in washing it again. And yes, for a new cycle it's counterproductive to change it. When your tank becomes established it's not a big deal. the beneficial bacteria also live on every solid surface in the tank. so, changing a cartridge becomes no big deal. Now, they also make a foam you can cut to fit your tank. and those you use in place of the cartridge. and almost never replace. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/filtration/products/sponge-pad-coarse https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/filtration/products/fine-poly-pad

corys would like the added footprint of a 20 long. More play area that way

I’m pretty sure we’re not actually certain what’s going on there. It does look bacterial in some respects. The only way we’d know for sure is if it spreads. And yes, columbnaria is contagious, but a lot of that depends on the health of the individual fish. Like most diseases. And can be fast moving as well. But it can look like that. But as colu said, it’d probably be dead already. you have a couple of options for treatment. You could put him in quarantine. Depending on size, a small tote with an air stone or 2 in it. Meds reduce the amount of available oxygen. And A heater if he needs one. Then run your meds course, following directions as per the label. If no other fish has symptoms, probably the cheapest way. Second way is to treat the whole tank. Expensive for 75 gallons. If using a tote, you may need a lid on top if he’s a jumper.

Welcome to the forum! Ask lots of questions. We like to help.

You can try a course of maracyn2 for fin rot ph down is mostly a gimmick. Your ph is up, I’m guessing because of the wondershell. Usually wouldn’t be that high for a kh of 3-4. But if that’s where you’re at, @EricksonAquatics has it right. If your fish are happy, you’re good. Not something to be horribly concerned about

The question is what is coming from your tap water. If it’s high. Then you probably want it to stay high. The question is not just about ph. But also your gh and kh. Which are measures of your water hardness. Most fish will completely adapt to hard water. Honestly kind of surprised you would have hard water. Usually around Seattle it’s very soft. Maybe something in the tank is raising the ph?

Right. I have done the same for my daughter’s betta. It didn’t do a whole lot. I have an electric blue acara with fin rot I’m going to try to bring back. starting tomorrow. I have been following colu for a bit. There is a whole lot to learn here. With kanaplex I think. Was going to use maracyn2 in @Colus feed recipe. Still not sure which

Another thing I might try next time. I’d probably use maracyn2 or kanaplex first. They’re stronger meds and more broad spectrum. Erythromycin does a good job on gram positive bacteria. Most rots are more gram negative. I know exactly how you feel. 🤣 my daughter won a fish at a fall festival a couple of years ago. They didn’t make it until morning. So now we have fish. And after 4-h this year. We also have bunnies. I went into both completely blind. 😂. But we learn.

Usually I see it on true geraniums. The ground hugging ones. Not the pelargoniums people call geraniums. They do eventually get back up to size. But takes a bit. What makes me think it’s just pruning is you don’t see deficiency symptoms. It’s only on the trimmed stems. On every trimmed stem. If it was a deficiency, you’d see different responses in different spots. Not a uniform response

If it truly looks like it’s suffering. It’s sometimes necessary. I personally have a hard time with it though. I usually fight as long as I can against it. We raise actual livestock. If I think there’s any hope at all, I give them every chance I can. Even a slim chance. Maybe it’s time to ask @Colu to see about an alternative in treatment plans.

Denser yes. But often with smaller leaves as well. And it may be a combination as well.

You have me thinking now. I bet bean inoculent would work just fine as well. Has nitrosomonas and nitrobacter in it. Could not agree with you more. Don’t sweat it. You’re good here. Sometimes we have strong opinions on things. There’s more than one way to cycle a tank. And a lot of us have screwed it up and had to finish with fish-in anyway.

@Beach Cruiser I’m actually wondering if this is not a nutritional thing at all. For terrestrial plants we often dead head them to produce more compact growth. I wouldn’t see why this wouldn’t work for some aquatic plants as well