Ken Dyer
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Posts posted by Ken Dyer
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20 minutes ago, Daniel said:
and the good fish store is still an hour away
you forgot "and uphill both ways" 😉
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47 minutes ago, CanadaAmanda said:
With plant growth, and first signs of algae on the decor items, the cycle *has* to be happening right?? But why is my water clouding and I'm reading ammonia, even with the reduced bioload
New tanks can be a pain, but you'll come out of it as time really is the secret sauce for setting up a new tank. The cloudy water would make a ton of sense as it could well be a bacterial bloom as the bacteria tries to replicate to catch up with the abundance of food (ammonia). The ammonia would also be a great fertilizer and fuel the plants/algae growth as they consume it.
With time the bacteria will stabilize, the plants/algae will slow down as the plant mass exceeds the production of ammonia and you'll start to settle in to a seasoned tank. Think of the cloudy water as a sign that you are one step closer to the end and not as a set back 🙂
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I find water changes to be soothing, so they tend to happen when:
- I see an issue with a tank or its inhabitants
- I need to catch fish out of the tank
- I am stressed out and need to chill
- The water temp is climbing/dropping outside of the range I want (rare but has happened and helped)
Not sure all of these are the best reasons, I would love to add "when the water tests indicate I need to" but I tend to be a lazy water tester unless something seems off or I am curious as to how "that tank over there is doing after a year"
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You should be safe to remove the rock wool from the plant (that green stuff the plant is in inside the pot) I do for most of my plants unless using a Co-Op easy planter. And yes you can cut the rhizome (tuber) on a java fern to divide it. Just be careful to get a clean cut and not to mash the rhizome as I have had that set back a plant and lead to some rot.
Welcome to the wonderful world of live plants, they were a terrifying mystery for me at first and I still struggle with some plants in my water but overall once you find plants that like your water and style they are pretty easy and really do look amazing 🙂
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That does look like damage to me as well. Would suggest making sure he has low stress (dim the lights for a bit and make sure the water temp is good) and clean water. I don't have a lot of experience with salt and a betta so I would do some research and if it looks safe would also add some aquarium salt after the water change.
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The blessing and curse of multiple tanks. Surprise babies being super cool, paying close enough attention to catch an issue early being a challenge at times when my focus is spread out across the fishroom.
Congrats on the babies! 🙂
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Yup! Definitely turns a round of checking tank temperatures with the thermometer gun into a game. Have noticed different fish react to the laser differently, amazed how aggressively some smaller rasboras or tetras can be trying to chase/attack the light and how my angels only seem mildly interested in it most of the time. Would have thought a cichlid would be far more aggressive with it and would have pegged the emerald rasboras as peaceful softies.
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I would make sure I keep the water clean and observe for any changes. If it gets worse water changes and or a little salt would be where I would start out. But if no negative change then good food and clean water as normal 🙂
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Have never tried these, but have toyed with the idea a few times to get more light at the bottom of a deep tank. In the end the price just wasn't worth the experiment to me. But if you do give it a go post the results as I'd love to hear 🙂
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Yay! Sometimes the bulbs just take their sweet time to do anything. Don't they know I am impatient and want growth (but not so much that I have to trim often!) 😄
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I wouldn't think the MTS would bother the val, but would help keep the substrate from compacting. I have never had great luck with val or dwarf sag spreading well in sand while for me both thrive in eco complete, crushed coral and stratum.
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Similar to @Andy's Fish Denbut I add in some crushed coral as well. I find the mix to do quite well for me and my water.
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Looking great! I love my also recently added office tank. So far it is 2 khuli loaches and a few snails but already it is helping reduce work stress 😁
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Same, I think it has more to do with there being a twist in the tank than being purely level. But I also assume I am one rupture away from changing my opinion on that at any time 😉
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Also a big fan of the coop root tabs and the big 60 count bag. Definitely notice that my crypts get bigger and sprout more leaves when they are getting well fed 🙂
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So much room for activities! 😉
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Any talks from the speakers would be awesome to see if at all possible.
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The seem to have fry about every 30-45 days in my experience, less often if you really want the strain to thrive (perhaps perception bias) 😉 The babies are very small for some strains and pretty helpless at first and tend to get picked off without enough cover (old picture below of a guppy fry on a piece of hornwort for context). You can end up with as many as your tank and maintenance routine will allow.
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I would think (scary when I start thinking) that a 50 watt would be sufficient for a 5 gallon, but it will depend on what you mean by a cold room. Are we talking a Californian's idea of a cold room or a Minnesotan's idea of a cold room 🙂
Any way you slice it, it never hurts to have an "Oh carp!" backup heater so I would do the 50 and if you end up wanting more swap it out and save it for emergency use.
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Awesome! Sometimes fish just need some time to settle in and it sounds like your ladies have decided it is too much work to stay upset with each other for long 🙂
Once there is a spawn or two in the tank there will be too many distractions for them to even remember what each other looks like as they get lost in the crowd 😄
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Sounds like you are on the right track, I would just continue the observation and make sure they keep improving. As for the vision impaired shiner if you add him back with his school I would just try and make sure he isn't being out competed for food with his challenge.
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Have used the Jager trutemp in 20 gallons before, but not in a 5 or 10 gallon. They seemed to do the job just fine for me. Can't speak for their longevity past 1-2 years though as I moved to heating the fishroom and unplugged all but 1 or 2 of my heaters.
If you are heating tanks in a cold room I would over size a bit as smaller heaters can struggle to maintain temps in a cold room.
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All hail the Emperor! 😁
He's a stunner!
Anchorworm?
in Diseases
Posted
Sounds like that or a gill fluke from the description, have a picture? (Goldfish are famous for cleaning up anything they can so could be as simple as a plant root or piece of string that didn't go down right)