mynameisnobody

@Zenzo thank you sir

@jodirren You could always purchase a seeded sponge or sponge filter from ocean aquarium and squeeze it into your new aquarium. It’ll look a bit messy but that’s basically an instant cycle, then I’d slowly add fish. This is one of your options. Truth is, once you have 1 aquarium cycled, then it’s much easier to start new projects because you house the beneficial bacteria via other aquariums. Good luck

I love my platies, however it bums me out that they are by far the most genetically weak fish I have. I’ve gotten them from great sources, but 1 particular batch that got mixed in was questionable. As you know, if you have 1 weak fish with livebearers then they’re all weak. It’s a shame because they are one of my faves along with shellies, Goldie’s, and rainbows. In the next couple of months, I plan on starting a breeding project to try to get some beautiful and bulletproof platies. I’m probably going to dedicate a 110 gallon stock tank for the project. By the way, neon white platies are pretty incredible.

Ricefish

@Sleepy will do, I think I’m going with black. The images I’ve seen of them on either sand let’s me lean towards black, but I’m hoping someone that has done this chimes in.

@JettsPapa opinions

I would go with the gladiator racks. You’re going to want more than a little wiggle room when it comes to this sort of thing. I had a wire rack that became a spot to keep all my aquarium supplies, it works perfectly for that sort of thing. I wouldn’t trust it with true weight though.

@Zenzo Any suggestions? Thank you sir

Hello all, I have a dilemma, what substrate to use in a 40 breeder with gold Occelatus? I have my multies on tan sand because it brings out their best colors. I also have similis on black sand for the same reason. I think the black sand would bring out the gold Occelatus colors better, but I’m no expert. Does anyone have any experience with this?

@JettsPapa I think you’d be 100% correct if it wasn’t for YouTube. 10 years ago this was a valid excuse, not now a days. Of course there are outliers, but for the most part…

@jwcarlson Last time I was my LFS, I saw 3 baby Oscar’s houses with a school of larger zebra danios. If someone didn’t know, they’d think these 2 species could be housed together. Obviously this would end up being a pricey snack in a month or so. I think the best way to get people that actually care about what they are keeping is to keep the trends to a minimum. Trends attract the fad crowd. Most won’t take the time to do the research. Just my opinion.

Hello all, I’ve got a breeding pair of Blue Pinoy Paraiba Angelfish in a 75 gallon. I was thinking of tossing 7 Denison Barbs from another aquarium in with the angels. I also was tossing around the idea of 12 Pseudomugil Gertrudae or 15 long fin white clouds from another aquarium as well. I’m pretty sure the Denison barbs will be ok, but what if I went with 1 of the other 2 options. Since it’s a densely planted tank, I think I’d be ok with any of these options because of the size of the aquarium. Any ideas, tips, or suggestion are appreciated.

Of course they should be sold, potential keepers should do their due diligence. The LFS should be informed as well as inform, however their is a definitive boundary to their responsibility. Hopefully with enough documented information like this thread, all potential keepers can use this to move forward. This is just my opinion, once you start banning because of user error, you start creeping into some weird territory.

I’ve seen these being sold, but wasn’t sure how reputable it was. I believe they were also being sold as eggs from Japan. I’d love to get my hands on 6 of either of the above. I opted for red king yama blood medaka, they’re pretty neat. 😎

@jwcarlson I didn’t see a reason to reseal and the thought of getting the bracing off without a hitch wasn’t something I was ready or willing to tackle. Obviously it’s much better to take everything apart, but if there are no bubbles/issues in between the glass panes, then simply resealing is perfectly adequate. You can watch some fish tubers doing a tutorial, it’s fairly simple as long as you remember the direction of the glass. Good luck

Hello all, I’ve noticed a tiny tick up in my snail population in my shrimpy 10 gallon. I was thinking of adding an assassin snail and then remove after a week or so. Do they predate on shrimp or do they only assassinate snails?

@Ckline I just resealed a 180 gallon and it’s silicone looked pretty much like the photo above. What I noticed was that the silicone was a bit weaker in those areas. Does it mean you should break your setup down to reseal? No. I’d keep an eye on any leaks and take action when needed.

Did you try using a different air stone?

@Theplatymaster If you’ve had success with platies, then you’ll do just fine with guppies. Personally I have both and am always drawn to my platies, not so much the guppies. I wish platy genetics were better though, some are just down right awful and die for no reason. Still love them.

@DeadStang if it makes you feel better then you can do it. However there is only so much waste being produced and no matter how many filters you add, the beneficial bacteria will only grow to consume whatever waste is available. Another words, you are not building up a colony of bb to be able to handle an enormous load because the bb will only max out at where it needs to be to thrive, not maximize because of all the extra gizmo’s. Good luck and I would turn down all water movement or the occupants may feel like they’ve been living in a jacuzzi.

I opt for fancy goldfish, though they may be more derpy than cute. Derpy=cute

@DeadStang This depends on many factors. Truth is, there is probably nothing that can be adequately kept in that size aquarium that would need that much filtration. Also it’s kind of a waste of energy so you are probably racking up on your electric bill unnecessarily. Good news is, you have a bunch of extra filters for new aquariums. What lives in the 40?

@Cat23 Good luck on your journey, this is a great hobby. One thing I’ve learned over the years is just because you can cook a pizza with a match doesn’t mean you should. Stick to this and you will steer clear of numerous issues.

Hello @Cat23 There are many ways to tackle this, personally I prefer to stick to the simplest way. I only use tap water with water conditioner. I do not alter my water in no manner. I purchase fish from my area and I’ve had no issues. Once you start tinkering with altering water parameters, you will begin a long, endless journey in search of numbers. For most, this search leads them out of the hobby. I would watch as many aquarium coop videos and/or livestreams and you’ll hear @Cory repeatedly state that chasing water parameters is a recipe for disaster. This simplest also leaves time for enjoying the aquarium which is why we are in this hobby in the first place. Good luck to you

@Mark303 You seem to really be on top of things. This is one of those matters that has no real answer. I have a 110 outdoor stock tank with 9 fancy’s, orandas, ranchu’s, and short tail ryukin. They have a ton of above water plants for decor and filtration. You seem to be feeding fairly ideally, the only thing that remains a mystery are the genetics of the fish. I only purchase mine from 1 online vendor as they specialize in fancies. Because these are such sensitive fish, I have always felt obligated to spend a bit more per fish so that I don’t inherit a severe genetic issue down the road. Now obviously this isn’t bullet proof, but I have been fairly successful. I’m not sure if I can list the vendor here, but you can private message me and I will fill you in. I am in no way affiliated to them or anything actually, I’m just a hobbyist. I feed my fancies the saki pellets, nice pellets from xtreme, duckweed, any plant clippings, shelled peas, and unsalted green beans. I think you may feed out more veggies, more often than I do, yet I’ve had no issues. From my experience, I will never try to save money when it comes to Goldie’s or Rainbow fish. They’re both worth the extra spend to me. (I’m not saying you haven’t done this. It’s just my experience is all.) Good luck