Tony s

Sorry to hear about your fish. I have 6 angels at home now. Haven’t had to deal with this yet, but here’s my best advice. Okay, number one, make sure he has pristine water while fighting this, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, low nitrates. Just make sure he’s not fighting his water quality and his disease. Keep him warm and comfortable. Temp around 78. Floating in colander or breeding box with air stone is an excellent idea. You really have 2 options. Try fasting for three days. then feeding small amounts of easily digestible food, small amounts of frozen peas if available. Helps to clear out his system and hopefully eliminate what’s bothering his swim bladder. Or option 2, as he may have a bacterial infection, feeding the pea mush mixed with antibiotics Something like kanaplex or Maracyn 2. That way it goes directly into his system. These meds are available on line or local fish store. Not the big box stores. There are kanaplex feeding directions online. 1 part kanaplex to 1 tablespoon food paste. Or if he won’t eat you can use the in water dosage. Swim bladder is not easily treated and success rates are kind of iffy. So good luck

Yeah, I was looking at the front facing plugin. The older ones are on the side and a bit of a pain These look much easier and more compact

They also make wire brushes, anywhere from toothbrush sized to hand held. Think something like a grill brush, but many shapes and sizes. Can get them from a big box home store or online. Online will have different sizes and shapes. I’d clean them really well before using just in case. No soap, it may not come out Could even order food safe versions just in case bristle hardness anywhere from soft to really rigid.

Possibly, but haven’t physically had that issue before or since. Have got 6 different species and have had no issues with acclimating corys

I farm, I’m lucky if I have time to worry about it

I agree with jwcarlson, I love the natural look. A lot of people think algae is bad. For the fish it’s really good. Supplies oxygen, uses up nitrates, and can act as food. It’s just algae on the glass where you look at your fish that causes a problem. Ie… they’re harder to see

That is a fantastic idea

I just use the old rotary timers from a big box store. Nothing fancy. And dirt cheap. Especially with kit lights, that’s really all you need huh, I just looked at the kasa, doesn’t look half bad. I may need an upgrade

I just use the old rotary timers from a big box store. Nothing fancy. And dirt cheap. Especially with kit lights, that’s really all you need

Very cool. My wife really wants a discus tank. I’ve been trying rams first, and failing

I've seen apistos, severum, geophagus. oscars in hard water. not for breeding. but, unfortunately no rams or discus.

And that's the best way to do it. you can drive yourself nuts trying to chase ph gh kh. with the exception if you want to keep sensitive species. but there are alternatives to those as well

especially the hornwort, is a floater. grows really fast and you just tear pieces off

I also split some of mine and reuse them in other tanks

Not sure if we’re allowed to say with forum rules. But a lot of my come from lfs

In Indiana here, same water. Haven’t had any issues with plants. Most plants prefer the hardness. More calcium and magnesium. I only went to RO water because we have iron bacteria in the well. It turns everything it touches (and I mean everything including grass) rust red. That said I’m sure there’s something I can’t grow, but haven’t found it yet.

The Cory venom thing could be an issue. I once had 6 skunk corys travel 2 hours home with me. Lfs is a relative thing. After acclimating them, I did a bit of tank maintenance while I was at it. The arm I had in the tank broke out in hives within 15 minutes. From my ears to my fingers

No, the only remedy for mts is another 20g😂

So you’d want something tiny, say around half an inch. All guppysnails would work beautifully, I’d add the dwarf Rasbora as well. Possibly 1 Dario Dario. Possibly a few of bigdogs white clouds. Possibly 1 peapuffer, not sure with the snails. If you want schooling fish, then the 3 rasboras species would be great. You could do 7-10 in a 5g. Tiny fish need higher numbers to be seen. The chilis get a vibrant red. Pygmys would be cool but they’re very active and need much more space. Guppies and endlers are too active and big. and the last option goes back to the best option. Another betta. Depending on how you’re doing about losing yours. Unfortunately bettas don’t last as long as we would like. Supposed to be up to 5 years, but they get lots of abuse along the way. So, usually anywhere from 4 months to 2 years. More if you’re lucky. I keep 6 currently in various community tanks. The other fish are fine, the betta usually passes first. Then we go out and find another. I figure, they’re going to be breeding them anyway, so I help them when I can. Maybe a different type than before. Maybe a female. Not the long flowing fins, so more active

the obvious one for shrimp is java moss. can be attached to anything. will take the form of what it's attached to. moss caves, moss bridges, moss trees. has a tendency to grow algae. shrimp love algae. java fern as well, a bit of height would be good. anubias nana petite for rounded leaf. all of these work well in kit lighting and are water column feeders. so, no root tabs

everybody was a beginner at some point. Mine was only couple of years ago. My daughter won a goldfish from the fair. it didn't make it the night. Next day we went and got our first tanks. No idea about cycling or anything else. Made tons of mistakes. But we screw up and learn things. but I remember very clearly the feeling of being new and panicky

i use cheap timers, around 5$ (maybe 5$, can't remember) or less. that way if they need replaced it's still cheap. haven't had to yet, though. standard rotary timer with the pull tabs for the time

If it's a kit light, you've got what you've got. Mine are fine with kit lights. but i'd stick a cheap timer on it and only run the light 8 hours a day. pick a time when you're around so you can enjoy the scenery.

You're good for the moment. both of those plants take nitrogen from the water column, so no root tabs needed either. and nothing wrong with fake plants. Do what you think looks good. Your opinion will change over time as you gain experience. I have tanks that have fake driftwood (it doesn't break down) and fake rocks. Big cichlid guys often use fake plant because real one get eaten

My wife and daughters favorite kind of fish! I took a 36g bow front and turned it into a dark tank with a blue light so the fish just shine. Danios, corys and black skirts. It actually does look really cool. Next step is adding some of the neon green corys 😀