BesidePeacefulWaters

Thanks everyone! After the initial flurry the first couple months I've gotten into a more relaxed enjoyment of the hobby, and currently loving the 10 gallon aquarium I set up. Mystic has his own 5 Gallon aquarium now full of Cryptocoryne, and he really loves it!

Welcome! I'm new to the hobby as well, and also fell in love with it. This forum has been really kind and helpful. Come on in, the water's fine!

I was referring to the red cherry shrimp sticker, but it makes sense that aquarium co-op carries them as well. Joe's has a good selection of shrimp and supplies. I also really love the Minneapolis based "Rivershore Aquariums" as well. There are some cool shops around the twin cities! My adventures are going well, and still learning a ton every day!

Welcome, Saspitite! I'm located in MN as well! Was that shrimp sticker from Joe's Shrimp Shack? I just stopped in there for the first time last week and loved their sticker selection. I'm a couple months into the hobby, and the Aquarium Co-op videos have had my back as well. New to this forum, but I have had good experiences so far. Hope your shrimp tank turns out well! 👍

Stopped by the LFS yesterday and bought 3 Glass Shrimp for the tank. They are really happy with the crypt melt!

Hmm not sure why the second video link didn't work. I just edited and added a photo instead. For the tank. I glued the anubias and Java Fern to rocks, and then put those below the soil. Tried my best to keep the rhizome above the soil in most cases. Yeah I definitely caught MTS haha. I currently have 3 aquariums after just a month 😅. Been a lot of fun, and also looking forward to just a couple weekly water changes and light maintenance. Thanks for the welcome! This seems like a lovely forum and I'm glad to be here.

Hi everyone, I'm about 2 months into learning about the aquarium hobby. Mid-may my parter and I made our way to over to PetSmart, and got a TopFin Essentials All-in-One Starter Kit. A 10 Gallon seemed manageable for our first one. I brought it home and started to design the layout. I had been watching a lot of GreenAqua videos, and wanted to try my hand at a planted aquarium with Aquasoil. After testing the water, we bought our Betta "Mystic" and added him to the tank! It was really a special moment for us! A couple days later, we stopped at a local aquarium shop and picked up 6 Diamond Head Neon Tetras. We lost 3 of them over the next week, which was very challenging. After spending some time with the tank, it seemed to stabilize. We added 3 regular Neon Tetras, so there would be a total of 6 again to school with. We call them "The Rainbow Collective." Since then there haven't been any problems or any more fish lost. Mystic started to flare at the neon tetras a lot, so he's in a separate aquarium now as we build him a 5 Gallon Tank of his very own! I have my own freshwater testing kit now, so I can test the water regularly and make sure it's still safe for our fish friends! Right now Ammonia is at 0, Nitrites at 0, and Nitrates staying below 20, with a weekly 20% water change. It was quite the first month in the hobby! Definitely some ups and downs after losing our first fish, but overall it's been a really wonderful and uplifting experience. I really love this hobby and looking forward to hopefully many years to come! Will keep this journal updated as I can. Nice to be at a point where I can just enjoy the hobby and having the aquariums around! Here is the final tank after that whole process, with only the 3 Diamond Head Neon Tetras, and 3 Neon Tetras living there now. I planted a lot of Anubias and Java Fern, so they have a lot of places to hide, and we have a lovely green aquarium to look at. They seem very happy. We are really happy too! A lot of fun to feed and look at them every day, and we love showing them to friends. Guessing there will be a lot more to come in this hobby. Glad to have this form to document and share the love with this community. Warmly, Jordan Edit: The second video link not working. Not sure why. I attached a photo instead!

A couple weeks ago I bought a Fluval Spec V for our betta named Mystic. He was in a 10 gallon with 6 neon tetras, but started to regularly flare at them after a couple days. I've been cycling the tank, and it's just about ready. I have to buy something for the opening gap on top, to prevent any worries about him jumping out. I'm thinking some sort of plastic mesh to place on top of it. I had some extra UNS Controsoil, and last week I bought a variety of Cryptocoryne to make a planted tank. A local fish store owner gave me some water from one of his cycled tanks, and then I added some FritzZyme 7 as well. When I lasted tested the water the Ammonia and Nitrites were at 0, and the Nitrates were around 80ppm. I did a large water change, and going to test again very soon. Mystic is alone in a separate aquarium for now, until this one is finished cycling. When the cycling is finished I'm looking forward to introducing him to his new home! Going to be on the very safe side with this one, as it's my third aquarium and I'm still new to the hobby. Feeling confident that after a couple more water changes the Nitrates will go down more, and it will be ready. Some of the crypts are still melting a bit, when that's finished I hope to add some final touches to the tank, and make it a home that Mystic will be happy to live in!

Thank you! Glad to be a part of it. Watched the intro video by Cory, and this feels like exactly the type of forum I'm looking for- a relaxed and kind environment to learn, share, and grow enthusiasm for the hobby. I have a feeling it's going to be a long and beautiful journey. Here we go!

Hi Everyone, Glad to be here! Two months ago I discovered the YouTube Aquarium Communities. I spent the next couple weeks watching tons of aquascaping videos. In a fit of finspiration, I brought home and designed a 10 gallon aquarium. Not long after, that my partner and I visited a local fish store, and came home with a Betta named "Mystic", and 6 neon tetras that we call the "Rainbow Collective" It's been over a month since then. A lot has happened. I now have 3 aquariums. Perhaps I'll save that story for a journal post someday. For now, I'm grateful to be a part of this wonderful community! -Jordan