Pwnedn00b

Bacter AE. Not because it's a bad or totally useless product, but because it's really easy to overdose it and kill fish instead of speed-starting biofilm for aufwuchs eaters. Ask me how I know. One container is also way more than any normal fish keeper would need.

Glad to hear you've got a backup plan, and a bit jealous that you've got the time and space for them. I'm currently a bit limited in that regard (mine are in a 20). I've only seen the ultra aggressive shellies in species only tanks, but always wondered if I could get away with a larger julidochromis, or synodontis lucipinnis, eretmodus, or adult calvus in a 75 (since they should occupy different areas of the tank and either move a lot or are tough enough to hold their own). At least with my Meleagris, I've found they don't stay in or over their shells unless guarding fry, instead they occupy all areas of the tank. On the plus side, they don't really rearrange hardscape much compared to multis or similis, so it's possible to have a bit more of a scape that stays. They'll only move shells and the sand around them during breeding.

I've heard that closely related shelldwellers with similar morphologies, like (Gold ocellatus, black ocellatus, blue ocellatus, and meleagris) can crossbreed and should be kept separately. The Tigripictilis looks very different, so I would bet the chances are low. I'd honestly be more concerned about your tank becoming a vortex of death than any potential crossbreeding. I currently keep Neolamprologus Meleagris, and I can tell you that they are meaner than snakes. They have killed each other off when the colony numbers got weird, they will eat each others babies, and have nipped me a couple times. I've heard the gold occies are even worse. Even if you have a very large tank and footprint, a backup tank is a good idea.

About a month ago, I noticed by Anubias Coffeefolia had sprouted some new baby leaves at the 'dead' end. At that time, I decided to try and propagate it into a new plant, I used a razorblade to cut the rhizome and put it in a new tank (7 gallon shrimp tank). Despite dosing 3-5 drops of easy green daily, and doing 10% water changes weekly, I've seen almost no signs of growth. I know Anubias are slow growers, but I'm wondering; is there anything else I can do do make sure the cutting grows into a new plant?

I like what does well in my water and is also low maintenance: Subwassertang, Christmas Moss, Red Tiger Lotus, Italian Val, Bacopa Caroliniana, Pogo Octopus. When I lived across the country I adored crypts, but I haven't had success with them in South Florida.

I may copy your approach and only have the UG cover 2/3 of the aquarium, using the other 1/3 for the heaviest rocks in my scape. I currently have 2 kids 3 and under, so no time for failures or re-do's in my hobby. I do wonder if I could use egg crate over the UG to spread the weight out a little more, or if it doesn't really matter because the gravel will distribute the weight of most rocks, because they won't be 30+lbs. I had a (failed) hillstream tank rock scape from a few years ago that I'll probably try to replicate. . In terms of substrate, I'm just going to keep it simple stick with 3-4 inches of gravel. I'll use undemanding root feeders in the beginning, and then consider adding more as the mulm accumulates. I've noticed anyway when looking at many hillstream style tanks that the plants play more of a supporting role, with the hardscape being the star of the show. No matter what I do, where I plant, or what plants I use, I never seem to be able to hide my filtration. Maybe this time 🤞. Have you considered cabomba or parrots feather? They're both a bit 'fluffier'.

Pleco eggs may be somehow different, but I put medaka eggs in a shrimp and ramshorn snail tank until they hatch. The shrimp will eat any infertile eggs and fungus that grows on them. The ramshorn snails don't seem to touch them. I've only seen ramshorns eat dead fish/shrimp, leftover food, and brown diatom algae.

@AAE Hopefully you have better luck with the Pogostemon this time. It's really strange that it did poorly for you, I've found it basically un-killable (in vastly different water parameters). The coolest thing about it is that the leaf shape and color will change depending on the light available. The leaves will get shorter and broader if put in a very low-light area (ex: under a tall anubias in a corner), it will also grow more compact. If shaded out almost completely (under a thick mat of algae), it becomes tiny and purple. @HelplessNewbie That's a very impressive collection of plants, and they look to be doing well. I read that plants thrive in UGFs because oxygen is continuously being pulled over their roots, and they love it. Side note: If you dislike the 'leggy' look that pogostemon gets, check out my comment to another poster above. When it comes to cleaning, one major selling point of a UGF to me is that it shouldn't require maintenance if set up correctly. If I ever have to do that, I'll restart the whole thing. I also won't be able to see underneath to check. My experience with the really coarse sponge pads that the coop sells is that the pores are so large they never accumulate debris and don't impact flow at all. I've had a piece in the front of a HOB for a year and a half never cleaning it, the flow is still very strong. Additionally, the Lees UGF linked further above has a hunk of carbon in front, which I bet is a lot denser than a sponge pad.

If the Amano are very large, you could probably get away with Bolivian Rams. I've heard they're pretty tolerant of harder water. If the Amano are smaller, I'd go with Scarlet Badis.

@AAE Thanks for sending that article my way, it's extremely detailed, but I think that's a good thing. I haven't been in the hobby that long, but I've found that lots of research and planning tend to prevent a lot of issues. The plants in pot + rock wool idea are a great idea. I also thought about putting aquasoil in a small ceramic pot and burying it in the gravel to give my stem plants a jump start while I wait for some mulm to accumulate. As sort of a side note: Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus is so undemanding I was able to shove stems through broken shells in my shelldweller tank (sand substrate), and it has thrived from the start on only easy green. Since I have Neolamprologus Meleagris, the plants don't get moved either. I really like the color and grain size of the gravel you used in your 100 gallon, would you be able to tell me the brand or send me a link? @Dacotua That makes sense, it does seem like it can be an issue in very long power outages though. And they certainly won't run for 12-16 hours continuously through a power outage (nor would any HOB). I've also heard horror stories about entire tanks emptying out via a broken canister filter. A sponge filter would, but I have one in my 7 gal shrimp tank and don't like looking at it, and cleaning it, and really dislike the amount of real estate it takes up. @Pepere Your plants look spectacular. Is there any concern about the safety of these fabrics in an aquarium? Do you know if there's a way to tell if they've been treated with anything that might harm fish?

@AAE Thanks for the insight. I'll probably try to hack into it and block with some sponge pad, since it looks a bit cleaner that way. Good luck with your 100 Gallon experiment! P.S. Your brichardi tank is lovely. @Dacotua I had considered a small canister filter, since I like the seamless look and high water flow. I decided against it because I don't want to maintenance a canister on a fully carpeted floor (I have no other options) and risk a spill. I also live on an island in hurricane alley and lose power 4-5 times a year even without a major storm, re-priming and restarting the impellers on my aquaclears every time this happens is bad enough. I'm leaning towards UGs because all I would ever need to do for maintenance is gravel vac. I could also use the coop battery backup air pump and never concern myself with this tank next time the power goes out. I've heard mixed info about rooted plants with UGs, so I'll probably use plants with shallow root systems (Italian Val, Bacopa, Pogostemon), plus a bunch of epiphytes and mosses. As far as the outlet tubes: isn't water pushed out of these, VS sucked in? If the water is pushed out with a normal air-driven setup, I doubt eggs would be sucked in and hatch. @Guppysnail Good to know. My main goal with this tank is a display community, not breeding. But obviously I don't want fish getting caught and dying inside my UG. It seems like regardless of how well I block the plate and outlets, small shrimp should be avoided all together, which is fine.

@Guppysnail That's really good to know. I think you're talking about the tubes that stick up out of the plate, and not the plate itself? I'm planning to hot glue gun some kind of geotextile fabric over in case I ever want fish that dig, I also have no idea how small loach fry are, or whether they could navigate through a few inches of fine gravel. I definitely want to keep them alive if I'm lucky enough to breed any of them. @AAE Since you have the Lee's Premium, could you tell me if it would be possible to jam a cube of coarse sponge pad in the area inside the uplift tube slots where a carbon cartridge appears to be in the photo below? I can't tell if it would be easy to modify. The slots do look pretty narrow, but I want to cover all my bases, and I definitely want to avoid the issue @Guppysnail described.

I think Cory said on a recent livestream that Blueberry snails only eat mulm or decaying matter? I may be misremembering, so I would do some additional research on their ideal diet if you haven't already. In terms of calcium, you could try adding crushed coral to your tank or filter media. If you already have hard water you could increase water changes. I personally like to add hard water buildup (I know, gross) from one of my HOBs to my shrimp and snail tank as a free way to get them the minerals they need, since the tank is heavily planted and I only do infrequent small volume water changes.

I'm interested in converting my 23 gallon Fluval Vista from an Aquaclear to an undergravel filter. The stocking will likely be peaceful hillstream species small loaches (rosy loaches, barbucca diabolica, maybe a couple gastromyzon or similar species), 1-2 stiphodon gobies, plus some white clouds or danios. As a result, I would like to add some larger rocks in my scape to promote grazing and other natural behaviors, and I've never seen a setup like this. Many of the products I've found online also look a bit flimsy. Has anyone done anything similar? Or do you have recommendations for some rigid and sturdy models? I'd also like to add some geotextile fabric on top of the filter to prevent any fry from finding their way in. Does anyone have suggestions for aquarium safe and small quantity fabrics?

Medaka are perfect for outdoor ponds, even small ones (5-10 gallons). They are bulletproof and bred to be viewed from above. I live in Miami and keep mine in a 30 gallon no tech planted trough. I hear they actually do better in areas with seasonal changes, since many parts of their native range does have large annual temperature swings.