SpiritLiefe

I have given my rabbit snails (2 adults, 3+ babies) and otocinclus (3 adults) a whole baby carrot on a fork. My tank ate the whole thing in 4 days and it wasn't getting funky or anything so I just left it in until it was gone. The carrot shouldn't decay as fast in the water so it might be a nice bit of variety for him?

I had my frogs in a 20 hex and just moved them to my brand new 10 gallon because I wanted them to have an easier time getting to the surface. I'm pretty sure the new substrate dropped a pH a bit. I also accidently filled the tank with 85° water when I moved it across the room 2 days ago then fed them bloodworms later that night. There's only a betta in there with them. I knew I had a male and a female (just by chance, I figured out their sex way after I got them over 2 years ago.) I got up early because I forgot to take out the trash this morning and found this. Total accident but maybe the drop in pH triggered mating. Or just them being almost alone in a tank did. I'm basically also here for advice since this is a first for me. Only other thing I accidently bred was rabbit snails I have had for over 2 years now.

In some places collecting rainwater is illegal. I'd would also look into local and state law just to be sure you won't get in any trouble.

I will preface this to say that he appears to be fine. He's got a scratch where he got scraped by the plastic from me pulling him out. It definitely happened overnight so it's good I check my tanks every morning. I came in and he was just sitting in the tube flapping with the bubbles. I assumed he was dead so I pulled the plug for the whole tank to retrieve him and he wiggled. So I pulled the filter out and started disassembling it. I considered pushing him back through and decided that would probably hurt him more. I didn't want to twist him and injure him or break him in half. So I just gently tugged his tail and he immediate dove to the bottom of the tank. I'm sure he's not very happy but he's alive and unstuck. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I can't be the only one. Picture of the sponge just for reference I was too busy worrying about my fish to get the picture of him stuck in there but it crossed my mind and I decided to just hurry up and help him. He's on a leaf now so he seems like he's going to be okay.

If you're breeding anything you can use it for fry. The shrimp idea is cool too.

Hi my name is Amy, and I too, have a problem. Only 2 tanks currently but on the way to many more once we move in about a year. Your pond/tub looks so cool! I have been in GA and it would have been so nice to know about back when the pandemic started so it could have been my project. I assume they are low maintenance but is there anything you'd say is vital to having it outside?

I added my Fire Red Cherry Shrimp this afternoon! Got them from my local fish store AND they were on SALE. I paid $50ish for 10 +1 free shrimp and a package of shrimp king complete. They were $3.99ea. They were $5.99ea last time I looked back in the beginning of October. Definitely working on that algae problem but I think the shrimp will be well fed for quite a while on it. I cut back lights to 6 hours a day and fertilizer once a week. Maybe less if it gets worse. I drip acclimated them after I added shrimp salts to get the TDS, pH, GH and KH as close to the water they came in. It worked out very well. They're all eating and looking happy. Creme Brulee and the guppy are back in their 20 gallon and the betta is being a bit reclusive but that's about normal for him anyway. I'll be keeping a close eye on them the next several days just to be sure they're adjusting back to their tank well.

My pet peeve is when someone buys fish THEN does research on it. Or when they are too lazy to test their water or follow advice that they asked for. You know these people the "that's too much work" or "it's just a fish" type of people. It drives me crazy. I used to work at PetSmart and as much as I loved it I hated it in equal measure because of lazy or irresponsible people.

I would bring it home. Worst case you move it a couple times but get the peace of mind knowing everything is good with the tank AND get to enjoy it while you're home.

I was just looking at the tank and I realized that I already need an update picture! It has been 12 days since the original post. I have grown some algae in the past many days and I have cut back on fertilizer. I'm going to try one dose a week and I have ordered a timer for my lights. I also gave up on the cycling "experience" and switched sponges with my established tank 10 hours ago. It's now ammonia free like magic. I don't know how I ever lived without sponge filters. My friend is deciding on shrimp because I was only allowed to get the tank if I sold it before we move so she's picking shrimp colors so she has a say in what she has later on. I'm going to do a water change and scrub some of the algae off and do another test to see where the pH ends up since the substrate is keeping it around 6.0. She really wants neocaridina shrimp so I have all the stuff to make the water ideal for them. I'm still trying to convince her to switch to caridina shrimp because we would not have to do anything to the water except dechlorinate. Her tap water is about a ph of 6.6 so there wouldn't be too much trouble there and the water here is very soft.

Oh man. I'm in GA. If I weren't moving in less than a year to the DC area I would be all over the sales right now. I'm having a hard enough time staying off facebook marketplace lol I even had to fight my husband to fight to set up a 10 gallon that I agreed to sell before we move before I even got it. Next year my goal is to be like you. Driving off with 3 brand new tanks to play with. Preferably a 75, and a few 20 longs and a maybe a 40 breeder. It's a shame I only have a 20 hex and a 10 right now. Obviously my new house goal is to have a fish room. Lol

I'm working on my planted shrimp tank right now. I still don't have shrimp because it's still cycling but it's a lot of fun so far. My goals also include a fish and plant room. Basically I want a jungle with fish tanks. We are moving soon so hopefully we will be able to afford my dream room lol If your betta allows you could definitely add a few african dwarf frogs to your tank. My betta gets along with my frogs very well. Then you can call it the start of the animal room.

My crytocoryne wendtii green melted completely except for the roots which still felt firm. I left the roots planted and it's pushing up new leaves after a few weeks. Idk about your Anubias maybe get some shrimp to snack on the biofilm? I feel like the one in my tank is doing the same thing right now. It looks like it's breaking off and getting filmy just above the root. I plan to leave it in the tank just in case it decides to get all new leaves or something but I'm just going to wait and see. My last tiny Anubias died very slowly lol this one is Anubias Coffeefolia ***Edit to say that all the leaves have totally fallen off this plant this afternoon. I left the roots in and we will see what happens.

There is such a thing as too many plants but you're nowhere near that for sure. Your tank is lovely btw.

The only thing I can think of is that if all the conditions are generally similar but some plants thrive in some and die in others there must be another variable involved. Natural sunlight, spacing between plants, aeration in the particular tank, or do the other plants in the tank utilize the same resources? There is probably a reason I just don't know what it could be but maybe get a list going of differences in your tanks and try to narrow it down? Good luck. Wish I could offer more advice.

@Phill D I have definitely found that bettas have very unique personalities. I haven't had any be overtly aggressive to other community fish personally but I always keep an eye out on them when they're new to the tank. This particular one is SUPER shy and hidey. Here he is hiding in the "tree roots." I had one many years ago called Erlkonig (elf king in german) who would chase a laser pointer if he saw it. We were playing with the cat and it hit the tank and we saw him react so we started playing with him too. He might have been aggressive but at that time I only had a 5 gallon tank and he lived with only a mystery snail.

Thank you! I've gotten a bit obsessed lately. I spend the majority of my free time watching YouTube videos on fish and aquatic plants and aquascaping. I'm shocked at how quickly the plants are growing. I am using iron and plant fertilizer but it's still shocking to see the difference day to day. I will definitely be updating once it grows in!

My substrate is Aquavitro Aquasolum black humate in the 10 gallon. I really wanted to do something good for the plants and shrimp. It's a buffering substrate so it lowered my pH to 6.0 or possibly lower than that. I haven't looked for a lower pH test yet. The fish aren't acting funny so I'm not overly worried about it. My 20 gallon has eco complete substrate. I have heard good things but have no personal experience so I decided to try something inert instead. I really need to look into root tabs but since my substrate is so new I'm pretty sure I have some time before the nutrients are low/gone and I'll have to actually use them.

I will now that I'm learning that my tank can handle a bit more bio load that a gallon per inch. Especially since I'm running a H.O.B. and sponge filter in there and do my water changes regularly. I'm off work on Sunday and will get him a couple buddies. I obviously got the one without researching their social habits first. I won't be making that mistake again. I do give them algae wafers. Whenever one is gone I drop a new one in. I was thinking of getting sinking bottom feeder pellets too. Creme brulee doesn't seem to bother anyone. I even caught my shrimp grabbing his tail once. He did not appreciate it very much but didn't do anything about it and moved away.

If you buy one that you can set the temp for and have it turn on and off as needed to maintain the temperature then you can always move it to the 10 gallon later. Assuming it fits in the 2.5 gallon and can be used safely there. I just got one on Amazon for $10 or so for my 10 gallon tank.

If you haven't done it yet add some Seachem Stability or API Quick Start to boost the bacteria in your tank. Maybe add some to the tank and some directly to the filter to get that going faster. I'd definitely take out any dead plant matter you can. That's a really unfortunate thing that happened to you. I hope it improves soon.

These are my two tanks. My 20 gallon hex was just recently converted to a fully planted tank a few days ago. It houses a betta, named Creme Brulee, 9 neon tetras, an otocinclus, a guppy, two African dwarf frogs, and a ghost shrimp. They all seem to get along very well, even the shrimp that I thought I would kill immediately with the frogs or betta. I've been binge watching every video I can on aquascaping and aquariums in general. This is my first real attempt at aquatic plants. I feel like I've gotten pretty good at houseplants over this year due to the pandemic and this was my next step in the hobby since my husband said I couldn't get anymore plants since we will be moving soon (GA to the DC area) and he doesn't want to move them.I have had fish tanks since 2011 and worked at pet stores with fish for 4 years so I have the basics down but want to expand my knowledge and maybe someday have a room in my house just for my fish and plants. The 10 gallon tank is a tank I'm cycling for cherry shrimp or crystal shrimp. I have all the tests (TDS meter, Gh, Kh, freshwater master test kit) to see which species based on my water parameters. I have very soft water with a low TDS (under 100) so I'm leaning towards crystal red shrimp since they would require fewer adjustments. I'm hesitant to call it my first attempt at aquascaping but really that's what it is. Lol The plants on the right (Rotala indica) should grow nice and tall to hide the heated and filter nicely. They melted back pretty hard but the new growth I replanted makes me pretty confident that they will be just fine in a few months. I even have a crytocoryne wendtii green that completely melted and the roots seemed firm so I planted them in the tank and they seem to be regrowing new leaves as well! I'm really having some fun with it and I'm definitely getting the itch to get another tank. I'm trying to convince my husband to just let me upgrade the 20 gallon to a 75 but no luck until we move again.