Tony s

That’s completely up to how you want it to look. If you’re wanting a focal point. Or if you’re wanting a rock wall in back. If you’re building sort of a rock spire. I’d make sure it’s well anchored in the substrate

Great question. My wife likes the tanks. Mostly. She likes the fish that interests her. Like angels. I made her a 75g angel tank that she says good morning too. It’s got angels and dwarf rainbows and corys. She’s actually liking the new electric blue acara I recently added as well. Not as much into lots of little nano fish. But… she wants a discus tank next. I’m totally intimidated by discus 😂

Yeah. For the moment I’d stay with traditional keeping methods. Father Fish works fine. But it is a highly regimented method. To have success you have to follow the rules almost exactly. Just take some time and figure out the basics that work for you. You’ll get it. There’s a learning curve. It’ll come. And, unfortunately, you’ll still make mistakes. That’s normal. That’s what we all do. We screw up. Then we do better.

Yeah, i hear that, I’m not seeing that in real life. They put out less bioload than they consume. Like everything else. They just eat a ton. At one point I had 40+ in my 75g. With its normal compliment of fish. (Accidental clutch hatch, but very cool to watch. And I gave half to my lfs). Never saw any signs at all of ammonia spikes or excess nitrates. Bit more detritus to clean. That’s it. I think they get a bad rep for some reason. Same thing I think for the bristlenose. They’re more beneficial than harmful to ecosystems. Amanos don’t clean spot algae well. But do an excellent job of cleaning hair algae and other forms that rise from the surface.

Yeah, that’s the beauty of a cycled aquarium. Use to be you’d completely take apart and scrub clean the stuff in an aquarium. With a cycled tank, you really never do that. You use algae eaters and they help keep your surfaces clean. You’re really building a self inclosed ecosystem. The majority of bacteria live on the surfaces of your tank. So it’s self defeating to scrub surfaces. You’ll have to learn about algae prevention. Remembering that most algae in some ways is beneficial also. Even brown algae, which snails love and disappears over time.

Yeah. That’s really the key. There’s a couple of steps to the cycle. Ammonia to nitrite. Then a couple of weeks later. Nitrite to nitrate. It’s possible to do it with live animals but takes a lot of water changes. Keeping the nitrite down is key. I believe it’s more poisonous than ammonia. I use mystery snails. They’re so much goofier than nerites. If you keep one you’ll be fine. If more than one, they’ll breed. But just pop off the clutch and discard. to aid in cycling I use fritzyme7 bacteria starter. Seachem stability also works. Takes about a month for most tanks to cycle. Unless you know someone who has one running. Then you can put your filter material in their tank for a couple of weeks. When you add it back to your tank your tank is almost instantly cycled. But keep testing and use prime when needed

The other thing to think about. The sand may not be the only thing being blown around with an fx6. Have you ever given any thought about a spray bar hookup. Should slow the water flow enough for discus. Plate size fish blow around easily. John Hudson at kgtropicals ended up using a rather coarse sand/ fine gravel in his cichlid tank. Helps suck up some muck and keeps the surface looking cleaner. You could even use some plants in pots with soil. Capped with sand. Easier to grow than in sand solely.

Just one more thought if I may. I know it stings now. But up until then you must have done a really good job. Not many get baby hill streams. Even the big boys have tank crashes. Every one does at some point. So miss your guys for a while. Take a break if you want. It’s okay and understandable. But remember you’re like all of us. Still learning. When you’re ready you can try again

That’s a good thought, but I’m not sure having anything in the bag with the fish would work well. Even if your shipper is being extremely careful, there’s still going to be a lot of jostling and movement in the bag. Very possibly too much chance for injury. The water by itself not only provides the environment for the fish, but also acts like a great shock absorber and prevents damage.

Yes. Supposedly it binds up the ammonia and nitrite and makes them less toxic. Sounds like your sales girl was trying to be very helpful. At least you have an idea what’s going on now. When I started I had no clue. Had to learn all this the hard way. Didn’t even know anyone to ask questions. YouTube is great for learning new things. Coop has a great channel. So does Primetime Aquatics and Kgtropicals. Girl talks fish also, but she’s taking a break for now.

Ouch! Yeah, know how you feel. My daughter just lost her year old dog. She doesn’t know what happened to it, it was just gone. I do know, I just can’t… Next outside dog comes with kennel attached

Coop recommended a 20 gallon. Her’s are in a 15. With the blue gravel they’re usually visible. The main problem with them is they can be very shy and often bury themselves. But not in bright blue gravel 🤣

Yeah, that’s what I notice, I’m good with my strips until something gets off. Then I’m back to the drops

Back when my youngest brother had fish, there was no guide. Now we know more. I honestly did the same in several tanks when starting. Including my wife’s big angel tank. Dosing prime and doing water changes is about the only way to work through this. But as long as the nitrites stay down the animals should be safe.

Oh, for a kids tank, it’s very cute. Right up my daughter’s ally. But she decided on a fake tree and blue gravel. She had a beta and snails also. Then she added kuhli loaches. Her squiggle noodles

Sorry for your loss. It’ll be okay in a while. We all screw this up at some point. We all lose fish because we mess up. We learn, and then we do better. It really hurts more when you’re emotionally attached to your animals. Losing schooling fish is one thing. Losing wet pets like big Oscar’s or goldfish or fry you’ve raised from scratch hits a lot harder. Sometimes instead of rushing something from lack of time, it’s better to just wait for the right time. Patience is a hard lesson that this hobby can brutally teach. As for the water temperature, that happens. Unfortunately hillstream like cooler water to begin with. So no, you haven’t done anything new that nobody else has done. But for now, it still sucks. Sorry.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea @Rube_Goldfish @EricksonAquatics @gardenman I almost missed the last test. Anybody got an idea on the difference between the strips and drops. My first thought is to trust the drops. And the snails may be hiding. @j2Raptor I think you’re going to be fine, you may just have to test more often for nitrites and change water when you see anything. I think you’re only partially cycled at this point. Your ammonia is converting to nitrites, but your nitrites haven’t been changing to nitrates yet. It will. Just going to take time. Water change and prime will get you through this. Oh, by the way, I have been caught doing this as well. It’s quite common, especially when petco/petsmart tells you that you can add fish the same day you buy a tank.

@j2Raptor okay now I’m confused. Those tests show different levels for nitrites. Your strips say you’re fine. You’re too high in the drop tests. I’d try and keep the nitrites lower on the drop tests to be safe. Then dechlorinate with prime if you have some. It helps bind up some of the toxins

@j2Raptor I think they’re still fin give them a couple of days to a week to adjust to your tank. If they pass, you’ll know. They really stink to high heaven. Just check on them a bit each day. You’ve got good water for them. Okay I take that back, your nitrites are definitely too high. You need to change water a couple of times to get it down. It may actually be that they’re hiding from bad water quality. There isn’t a safe level of nitrites. Sorry if I was confusing there, I should pay closer attention.

I could see that happening. You've going from hard to very hard more than likely. Wondershell will dissolve right up to the point of saturation. I'm guessing your gh went from 150 to closer to 240-300. Your corys should be fine. you may be pushing your congo's a bit.

plants are supposed to have a supply of the bacteria with them. which can start a cycle. sometimes it doesn't, but then sometimes cycles fail just because they feel like it. you did not ask Oscar. I'm very sure he does like plant. they're either salad or play toys 🤣

If you’re ammonia is zero you’re exactly in the middle of cycling You’re doing fine. But now in the middle of a fish in cycle. Requires constant water changes to keep your levels safe

Yes it does it’s a different species than ammonia bacteria. Plus it’s starting behind

you need to be a bit careful here. Nitrites are more poisonous than ammonia. It means you're partially cycled. For you, no such thing as too many water changes. bacteria live on the tank surface. water changes won't do anything to them. but you got to get the nitrates way down. If your going to be gone all weekend do as many water changes as you can before you go. then dechlorinate with your prime

More than likely a tumor. That’s getting rather common. Especially the ones from big box pet stores. But we buy them anyway. To improve their lives at the minimum. My daughter just lost one of hers 2 months ago. It lived for at least 6 months with it. No problems. No pain. You can tell if you watch them move. It’s like us. Something hurts , we don’t do it as much. Absolutely nothing you’ve done wrong. Sounds like you’re doing well by him.