Phinny

@nabokovfan87 @Biotope BiologistWhat kind of rasboras are appropriate for cold water (~65F/18C)? Based on all the above advice I’m considering: One or two paradise fish, 6-8 long fin rosy barbs, 6-8 odessa or gold barbs, with a dojo loach and/or hill stream loach. Does that sound like a reasonable mix?

Hello - I'm planning a 40 gallon cold water planted tank and was deciding between a pair of paradise fish or a group of long fin rosy barbs. Now I'm wondering if it would be wise to consider having both paradise fish and rosy barbs in the same tank? Would this be asking for trouble? Thanks in advance!

@Beardedbillygoat1975 Are dojo loaches appropriate for a 40g tank? I thought they get large?

Hello, I'm trying to come up with stocking ideas for an unheated, planted 40g breeder. I'm considering rosy barbs but don't know what type of bottom dweller would be appropriate for this size tank and temperature range (65-70 F). I was thinking of cherry shrimp as a bottom dweller, in which case I would probably go with White Clouds and/or Medaka Rice Fish. Any ideas/thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello - Are rosy barbs generally safe with plants? Are there any plants that work better and any that should be avoided? Thank you!

@ange at what point does the male:female ratio not matter so much? I have a group of juvenile guppies (5 males: 4 females) that I'm hoping will colony breed. Do you think I need to improve the ratio in favor of more females? If so, by how much?

How long does it usually take for guppy fry to grow to a size where they won't get eaten by the adult fish?

Will a single full size platy school with a group of dwarf platies? Will a mix of full size and dwarf platies school together?

New to fish keeping/breeding. If I keep different color platies (e.g. blue, red, gold) in the same tank, will their offspring be "mutts"?

Hello all, I have a colony of cherry barbs that I'm looking to breed. I am starting an infusoria culture in preparation for potential fry. My LFS said cherry barbs can be conditioned with just dry foods - can anyone confirm that? Can anyone offer advice on frozen foods? I'm looking for one type of frozen food that would be appropriate for both conditioning and for raising fry as well. I've read about how great live baby brine shrimp are but I'm not in a position to invest the time and equipment to hatch them on a regular basis. Thanks in advance!

Hi @Seattle_Aquarist - As you suggested I dosed my tank with iron and epsom salt over the past month. I noticed some more robust root growth after the first week but chlorosis has not improved much. Should I continue with the iron and epsom salt? Is it time to try dosing with a more complete fertilizer such as Easy Green? Thank you!

New Jersey

Hi @Seattle_Aquarist, My GH is currently about 300ppm. Is Seachem Equilbrium appropriate for such hard water? I have Easy Iron on hand. Is it worth dosing some of that to see if it helps the chlorosis? Thanks!

Hi @Seattle_Aquarist Nitrates are 20-40ppm. I would dose with fertilizer but generally don’t because nitrates are already high. On occasion if I do a heavy water change I will dose with Easy Green. pH is 7.2

I have dwarf water lettuce that isn’t quite thriving. Some of the leaves turn yellow and slowly disintegrate. According to the aquarium co-op nutrient deficiency graphic, it looks like the issue could be nitrogen deficiency or phosphate deficiency. Nitrates in the tank are generally quite high even without fertilizer (20-40ppm). So that would suggest that the issue is a phosphate deficiency? From the Co-op blog, it says phosphate deficiency is uncommon especially if I don’t have any phosphate absorption and I feed flake food to my fish. In addition, all the my cryptocorynes are doing well, bacopa caroliniana is green but new leaves are tiny, water sprite is turning brown and fading. Does phosphate deficiency make sense in this case? I did have a lot of brown diatom algae growth that some new otos cleaned up last month. Could the BDA have depleted the phosphates to such a degree?

@Fish Folk GH is 300ppm, KH is 180ppm. If the water sprite doesn’t work out I will consider wisteria. Thanks!

@Oakenstein - I added a couple of root tabs earlier today. We'll see what happens.

Hi @Fish Folk - Thanks for the info. I realize that nitrates are not the only nutrient required. My issue though is that nitrate levels in my tank are generally high enough that I can't dose with Easy Green to address a potential iron/potassium/phosphate deficiency. I suppose I can starve the fish for a week while dosing Easy Green to see if that helps the water sprite.

I bought a pot of water sprite from Aquarium Co-Op. At first some of the leaves and smaller stems melted off and I thought it just needed time to get acclimated. But it’s been 6 weeks and still looks dull green and brownish. It’s in a 10G tank (8 cherry barbs, 3 otos, danio, 2 kuhli loaches) and nitrates are relatively high 20-40ppm so I’m not sure what the issue might be. I’ve been hesitant to dose Easy Green because of nitrate level. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm new to the hobby and am unfamiliar with variety of frozen foods out there - brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops, bloodworms, etc. Is there a resource/blog article that explains what types of food should be used in which situations or the pros/cons of each? Thanks in advance.

My oto's feasted on the brown diatom algae (BDA) in my tank but then refused to eat anything else after all the BDA was gone. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to grow brown diatom algae? I know most people are trying to get rid of the stuff. I read somewhere that people have grown BDA on rocks in a separate tank and added those rocks to a tank with otos.

I got my nitrate level down to 20ppm 3 days ago. As of today, the cherry barbs are a little more active and eating but still somewhat sluggish compared to how they were a week or two ago. Is harm from high nitrates reversible or will they be permanently impaired?

3 weeks ago I introduced 11 juvenile cherry barbs (~1") into a planted 10 gal tank. Up until a few days ago they were actively swimming around and eating whatever I fed them (flakes, nano pellets, Repashy, sinking wafers, zucchini). The past few days I've noticed they are mostly grouped around the center of the tank and hovering, not swimming around much. They also show much less interest in food. I have a gold danio in the tank but she mostly ignores the barbs. She has been feasting lately because the barbs haven't been competing with her for food. Water parameters have been consistent throughout (0 NH3, 0 Nitrite, 40ppm Nitrate, pH 7.2, temp 76 F). Any ideas what might be going on?

@RovingGinger Perhaps I’m underestimating my children as an excuse to get more fish 😆

I have a planted 10 gal tank with 11 cherry barbs, 1 gold zebra danio, 1 otocinclus, 2 kuhli loaches. My children have shown interest in assigning names to the fish but that's only possible for the danio and oto right now. I'm looking to add a centerpiece fish (or two) that my children can name, preferably something that will occupy the top/middle of the tank. So far I've come up with dwarf gouramis and possibly bettas. Any thoughts or suggestions?