fishdogs

I have been using seachem equilibrium to try and help the GH. There are some mixed reviews on whether or not KH is important which I feel like it is. I really don’t want to spend another $100 to have more solutions to add to the tank everytime I change the water. Is there any specific remineralizing agents that work best for RO water?

I did forget to mention that I use RO water as the tap water here is a little sketchy. My tank has been running for about a year and the mollies have been in it the whole time thriving. I do have a small anubias nana and some floating frog-bit hoping that would help with some ammonia/nitrate levels but I’m still not sure why the levels are higher.

I am on my SECOND batch of Pygmy corydoras in a month. The first round (6 of them) introduced ich to my 20H tank. After treating, 4 of them died (it sounds like the medication Ich X is really bad for cories?). I recently went to get 6 more Cories two weeks after ich was eradicated for a total of 8 in my 20H with 3 mollies. The mollies have not been aggressive at all towards the Cories. Each batch of fish are from a different reliable aquatic store. Current water parameters: GH: 0 (trying to fix with seachem equilibrium) NO3: 0-10 (apparently ANY ammonia AT ALL is lethal to pygmies?) NO2: 0 Cl2: 0 KH: 0 pH: 6.4-6.8 Temp: 76*

If you're curious about my history with neons: I had two separate rounds of neons. First time I bought about 10 of them from a Petco about an hour away and they all died (so I figured the long drive was too much for them). I went to my local Petsmart and bought six of them again, and this batch seemed to hold on for a couple of months and then I replaced my filter. They began to look sick and one of them became pale and its tail was broken (not sure how). I noticed the other neons were becoming pale and developing a fuzzy appearance. After doing some research I learned that neons are very sensitive to filter changes and they can develop NTD. In the end, I will still hate neons...... As far as mollies and such. I did have a few fry at different points in time but they never were alive for long. So I'm after some Cories (likely pygmy or false Julii). Yes, I am a semi-broke college kid yet. I found the floating plants are extremely easy to take care of. I am taking an interest in the plants like Anubias and java fern that don't/can't be put in the substrate so I can save myself some money from buying root tabs, etc. I just bought this Anubis nana from PetSmart for $8 so its not a big loss if something happens to it.

I like all of the input! I am fairly new to the aquarium hobby (~a year of trial and error and lots of money spent). These were things I never really considered before! 😊 Panda cories look cool!

Well thank you to everyone that has responded to me. This forum is much more efficient than reddit 😂. I think I’ll try looking for some crushed coral and/or some equilibrium next time I’m at my LFS. I can update you with the results.

In terms of stabilizing water.... I have heard mixed reviews on the use of WonderShells, SeaChem Equilibrium, coral, etc. Is there something that works better? I suppose I don't use the tap water because it is essentially treated well water with a bunch of iron in it and I don't want to use it. RO is the next best option instead of constantly buying water from the store.

I get water from a RO water facility (unfortunately I cannot test that because I'm out of water right now). I did hear that a little baking soda can raise KH so maybe I could try that. I have been looking at possibly getting some Cories of sorts but they are almost all 2+ inches (besides pygmies) and I'm concerned I won't have enough room for a school.

I have some floating frog bit and I just added a single Anubis nana a couple of days ago. So mostly plastic plants but hoping to get to a planted tank within the next year or so. GH: 0 (sometimes it goes up to 100) NO3: 0-10 NO2: 0 Cl2: 0 KH: 0 (Its always been at this) pH: 6.4-6.8 (Usually on the lower end) Temperature: 78 Degrees F The tank has been up and running for about a year. I don't remember exactly what bacteria I used to cycle it but I believe it was "TopFin Readistart Nitrifying Bacteria Starter"

I currently have a 20H tank with 3 mollies in it. The mollies are thriving in this tank but I've had issues with most other fish. I've had a school of neon tetras (that died from NTD, and now I hate neons). I just bought a school of pygmy Cories about two weeks ago but they introduced ich to the tank and died (possibly from the treatment? I've heard mixed reviews if they are sensitive to Ich X or not). I think I'd like more of a bottom dwelling fish. I do like Cories but am unsure if I will try Pygmy's again or maybe False Julii Cories? Any opinions or new fish ideas?