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Brandy

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Everything posted by Brandy

  1. Brandy
    I think I have ~7 running too. Mine are mostly amazing, and I have only had one have trouble--still runs, but lost power, probably a punctured diaphragm. They have been running continuously since July, mostly. I do just keep a spare on hand, because for this price I don't think they will last forever. Still, sounds like yours has touble, hope you can get that taken care of!
  2. Brandy
    I suspect in both cases the detritus was not fully decomposed, and there was a lot of organic matter trapped in the gravel that was suddenly in the water column. This effectively becomes an overload situation. Your good bacteria is still there, it is just trying to catch up, as if you dumped 15 new fish in your tank at once. It will catch up, but in the mean time, you might want to use prime and water changes (both) to protect the resident fish.
  3. Brandy
    Sounds like a fun project! I think the trick with small organisms with a short generation is to use massive expansion followed by repeated bottlenecks. In other words, make your 18 shrimp into 180+ (until you run out of space, food, or patience), find the most colorful or interesting 18, cull the rest, and start over. I work with genetics in my lab job. What you are looking for is a spontanelusly arising mutation or recessive gene. The fastest way forward is a pure numbers game. Once you get something cool (any unusual color in this case) you THEN select toward that thing. Say you get one pinkish shrimp in your first 180. You keep it and your 17 healthiest shrimp. Then by the next 180 you should have several pinkish shrimp, and so you repeat. Once you have 18 healthy pinkish shrimp, you then choose for the darkest pink, etc. Your wild type shrimp theoretically contain the potential to deliver any of the colors known in neocaridina. It is just a matter of breeding an insane number, and watching closely for the odd balls.
  4. Brandy
    I agree with this, except that it sounds like the OP doesn't have a read on the GH and KH. So far it sounds like the test just reads off the chart? Maybe the test is not working at all, or maybe it is, and the GH/KH are exceptionally high? Without more information I wouldn't add anything to the tank.
  5. Brandy
    My go-to algae control and clean up crew is usually snails, shrimps, otos, and khuli loaches. I expect that the cichlids might eat all of the above, so trying to think of a little bigger sturdier fish. Admitedly the Synodontis was just because I thought it was cool and fell for @H.K.Luterman's Pooka--not because I thought it would clean up. The pleco or lack of pleco can be sorted out if and when I end up with algae. My objection to Plecos is their faces...I think they are great fish but am not a big fan of their look. I grew up with common plecos overgrown in every friend's cichlid tank, and they just creeped me out as a kid! We all got baggage.🤣
  6. Brandy
    I do the same, but sometimes I think they hang out in that little pot at the farm or store too long. I did order one bare root that arrived with a rotten rhizome, I got a refund on that. The ones in pots have never worked well for me though.
  7. Brandy
    You have an anubias rot thing happening. If the tissue culture doesn't work, try bare root plants, this has helped in my situation. (I mean purchase them bare root)
  8. Brandy

    Fallow tank?

    Brandy replied to howze01's topic in Diseases

    Yes, feed it I think.
  9. Brandy

    Fallow tank?

    Brandy replied to howze01's topic in Diseases

    Do you have plants in the tank? I would use salt depending on the plant situation, and leave the tank fallow for a few weeks. If you have plants you could put them in a jar on a window sill and use salt anyway, if there aren't too many.
  10. Brandy
    Having reevaluated this tank based on the astute observation of @JettsPapa, I think the Synodontis is a bad idea. I like the fish, but I will be better off sticking to my orignial plan of either one Green Terror, or 1-2 EBA. I can add a pleco for clean up if I provide pleco sized cover. I still am not a huge fan of plecos, but I can deal. I would put in otos if I didn't think they would possibly eventually get eaten and spike the cichlid mouth, causing the loss of both.
  11. Brandy
    Huh, you have a point. 36x18x17 (LxWxH) calculated at 47.69gallons. A standard 40 breeder is 36x18x16, but I thought they were taller than they were wide. HAH! my mistake! That is a much less odd thing. Teach me to trust a craigslist seller...😳 Ok. going to change the title, but not the OP.
  12. Brandy
    Well if the test never changes color, and you add drops and drops, doesn't that indicate the level is higher than the test can measure? I suspect your snails and shrimp are having trouble because the pH is flat-out corrosive. Seawater is typically 8.5...when pH is high or low it increases the ionic reactivity of other materials--which leads to degradation. Probably test the test, then use distilled water to gradually adjust your tank.
  13. Brandy
    @Alesha I got it off amazon...I think it is a rebranded thing, but it was called COODIA. Like it is probably sold under 6 names. It has a 5w light and a flow rate for up to 75g according to the listing. It barely fits in the height of a 10g, and the flow rate is intense in a small tank, but it could be diffused with a piece of sponge. I think I just searched for the smallest I could find, that didn't cost an arm and a leg.
  14. Brandy
    pH of 9 is very high though...
  15. Brandy
    Ok, you better tell me what your GH/KH are in numbers, sorry.
  16. Brandy
    It sounds like you have very hard water. To test the test kit get some distilled water, and test that. Should be very soft, low pH. I may be misinterpreting these results, because I use a different kit...
  17. Brandy
    It is pretty, just keep testing pH daily for a while, and you will find out if it shifts...What is your starting pH at the tap?
  18. Brandy
    I can't really answer all your questions. I mostly run Nicrew and similar lights. My solution to low light recently is just to double up on the slimline cheap lights for deeper tanks. I think Par is affected by too many factors to calculate straight across from "in air" to "in water". There may be a way to extrapolate the amount of par drop (caused by backscatter of water) per inch of water, but actual Par will be affected by your specific water clarity, and the albedo effect of your tank--how dark or light your background and substrates are, etc. Without a par meter I take all measurments with a grain of salt, much like MPG. If I were happy with the lighting in the 45, I would go with an upgrade to the 20, and just get the correct sized cheap light. For the plants in the 45 medium light sounds fine, those aren't demanding plants in general. Then if I felt I needed more light anywhere I would just get another cheap light. This to me has been the most economical and flexible. With wifi plugs I can even tweak the light levels thru the day.
  19. Brandy
    I have a small cheap in tank unit (basic light + small powerhead ~$30) that I move around at will to clean up algae blooms. I have one tank that catches sunlight on the corner at certain times of the year, and another that catches some in the summer. It has been a handy tool, and because I only use it breifly it doesn't need a new bulb and I don't expect it will for a while. I would happily use it for ich, etc, also. I think a cheap one used as a mobile treatment unit was a great investment, but I don't run it continuosly, and don't find that I need to.
  20. Brandy
    First, 48gallons, yes really. Weird size around here, but I found it used. (EDIT: I am not so smart: Do not trust a craislist seller's measurments--it is a 40 breeder) It is going to take me a week or two to get it set up and cycled. Plan is black sand and gravel substrate, rocks/caves, Valisneria, Tiger lotus, epiphytes like java fern and anubias, all secured to/by rocks. IMPORTANT POINT: this is a low wide tank, footprint is 36X18 inches, 17" deep (nope, 16"). It is actually bigger than the standard foot print of 55g: 48x13. I am set on at least one electric blue acara (EBA), which is the purpose of this tank. Stocking options are as follows: 1. 1 EBA + 1 feather fin squeaker (Synodontis Eupterus) 2. Breeding pair of EBA + 1 feather fin squeaker (Synodontis Eupterus) 3. Breeding pair of EBA My understaning is that the EBA will be about 6" when grown, and the Synodontis will be 8-10", so I am concerned that any amount of Synodontis might be too big in this tank. I don't WANT a pleco, but I realize that is a better option. Looking for opinions on these options from people who have kept both fish, or other very similar species. Thanks!
  21. Brandy
    Congrats on the new space. I am now dreading the move I will need to do in about a year...even while I imagine all the space for more plants and tanks! Best case scenario I move across the building, instead of across the city!
  22. Brandy
    I would probably not try to save a female in that condition unless I could keep her from breeding the rest of her life--it is likely to recurr, and is a defect. If you want to save her, I would move her to a hospital tank and try salt first. I know euthanizing fish is sad, but if you can't keep her from breeding that might be better. Not just because she could pass that trait, but because it will likely harm her. I do have a home for lady guppies that don't get to breed for whatever reason. They hang with some neon tetras in my kids' room.
  23. Brandy
    I also thought about putting daphnia behind a matten filter, with floss over the intake to keep them out, but ultimately I just went with a uv sterilizer. I have had fry tanks with green water that I wanted to clear as the fry grew, in that case I think daphinia would be amazing, with juvenile hatchlings being food and adults clearing the tank...and becoming food as fry grew.
  24. Brandy
    what about a breeder "box" that is a fine mesh? Penn Plax Deluxe Net Breeder WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM Separates Fry from Larger Fish Adjustable Plants for Cover Easy to Set up The Penn Plax Deluxe Net Breeder is an easy to use, lightweight baby saver - ideal for any livebearer or egg-laying fish. The floating net breeder comes with...
  25. Brandy
    Oh! sorry for the multiple posts but just thought of another thing. If you got mollies and/or platys in red/orange/yellow and kept the guppies in green/blue/purple/yellow, you would would have such a colorful tank! Angel in yet another color...dark substrate, maybe eco-complete or gravel capped with black diamond blasting sand? And a few albino cories or khuli loaches? It would look like a cloud of butterflies, lol.
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