[What did you get done today?]

I've been at work all day today, but yesterday I reset one of my 10 gallon tanks.  The hair algae had gotten out of control, and I wanted to change out the substrate anyway.

I've been watching some Father Fish videos lately and I've at least sipped the Kool-Aid regarding deep substrates.  The last few tanks I've set up I put a layer of mixed dirt and old cow manure (probably mostly cow manure) on bottom, topped with 2" of sand.  Plants are doing really well in those.

I know it sounds like 3" of substrate takes up a lot of room in a 10 gallon tank, but I attach about as much importance to plants as I do the fish and invertebrates, so I don't mind.  It's not really that much anyway.

[What’s The Weather Like Where You Are?]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:16 PM, FLFishChik said:

Same. Friday had the a/c o, Saturday and today the temp was 32 F when I got up. By Tuesday we'll be back in the mid 70's again.

Here too.  This time of year I wear out the button on the thermostat moving it from Heat to Cool and back.  Below is a screenshot from the local TV station a few years ago.

[Moss I.D.? Never added.]

On 1/7/2023 at 8:03 PM, Gwallace said:

This planted 75 has been set up for roughly 8 years and planted for 1.  The only plants introduced were Swords, crypts, pogo, and JF Windelov.   No moss was ever introduced.  The moss shown here (or whatever it is) showed up a few months ago and has slowly grown.  Any idea what it is?

I agree that it's susswassertang.  There was probably a very small piece that hitch hiked on another plant and it's taken this long for it to grow enough to be noticeable.  It seems to expand exponentially, so you may see quite a bit in another month or so.

A few years ago I ordered some from a member on another forum.  I received a beautiful ball, roughly tennis ball sized.  It slowly faded away until I thought it was all dead, so I assumed it just didn't like my water.  Months later (when I had almost forgotten about it) I started seeing little bits and pieces, and now it's multiplied enough that I have good sized amounts in four or five tanks, and have sold some a few times.

[My LFS just got signed as a Co-op partner!]

On 1/10/2023 at 8:36 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Cory has also stated that it’s up to the individual store if they’d like to honor the member discount or not. Regardless, I wish I could pick up ACO products locally! Heck, I wish my LFS’s would carry Xtreme, lol

One of the stores I go to in Houston, 360 Aquatic, has ACO products, but they sold Xtreme fish food even before that.

[Urgent: New Plants arrived today New Tank still has ammonia]

On 1/9/2023 at 10:02 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Drain the tank halfway or further to plant.  You'll dilute the ammonia. 

If you're concerned about lingering ammonia we can look at your filtration setup and verify a few things.

Let us see the tank when you're done!

I assume you meant to then re-fill it with fresh water?  I'm asking because just draining it down halfway won't dilute the ammonia.  It will still be the same concentration.

In any case, I agree with the replies above about adding the plants without worrying about the ammonia.

[What's the easiest, lowest maintenance tank setup for a beginner?]

On 1/6/2023 at 1:39 PM, Darax said:

I wish I had started with a 55 gallon. Smaller tanks are more challenging. 

My first one was a 40 gallon breeder.

[What's the easiest, lowest maintenance tank setup for a beginner?]

On 1/6/2023 at 12:12 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I would do gravel not sand for a beginner.

Get them lots of rhizone plants that can be glued to rock or other hardscape. 

Gourami and Betta seem to be a set up for failure- they have a high enjoyment rating but a very high mortality rate for beginners - each species comes with their own genetic issues. 

I'd skip the heater as long as their house is regular temps (again heater failure rate) and get hardy species that are active and interesting like Endlers or Guppies (and only get males) some Cory (when the tank is well established and not until then- could even do a small sand "lake" in the tank for them later if you really wanted sand) and depending on the size of tank you choose a half dozen Ember Tetra (for a small tank) or some Rasboras or Neons (for a schooling fish). 

• I will respectfully disagree about gravel instead of sand.  Uneaten food and other gunk can get down into the gravel where it's difficult to remove.  It will lie on the surface of the sand, and as @Biotope Biologist mentioned, it's better if your friend decides on corys.
• I agree wholeheartedly about the livestock recommendation.  I wouldn't recommend a betta or dwarf gourami to an experienced fish keeper, and certainly not for a new one.  Guppies would be a great choice, or a shoal of one of the hardy tetras if you want to add a heater.
• I also agree about the larger tank, and if you do go with a 20 gallon tank I'd recommend a 20 long, if there's room.  They have more surface for gas exchange, more horizontal room for fish movement (because they spend more time swimming from one side to the other than they do swimming up and down), and they're easier to work in.

[Neocardinia Tank Cycling]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:30 AM, Guppysnail said:

Things like cholla wood or moss or sponge filters are great. They like to release their babies into it. 

A handful of dry hardwood leaves piled up in one corner is a good option too.  They provide hiding places and a food source.

[Neocardinia Tank Cycling]

On 1/5/2023 at 8:03 PM, PerceptivePesce said:

. . .   A few days ago I decided I needed to add shrimp to my nerite cleanup crew, but I had temporarily forgotten their temperature requirements. 😬  Currently, my 90g heater is set at 78*F.

I have shrimp doing fine in a 78° tank.  I've been keeping them for several years, and as far as I can tell they don't really have "temperature requirements."  While of course they can't stand water that is too warm or too cold, there's a wide range where they're fine.  I have some in tubs outside that do just fine with the top of the tub iced over for several consecutive days, and I've also seen reports of people keeping them in 80°+ water.

[Shrimp nets]

I also like the small nets with the telescoping handles from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087614NSC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1), and have several (I like them for catching small fish too).

However, I bought a cheap set of four that I don't like (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0948ZMFBD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1).  The netting material is too soft and flexible.  I prefer the ones where it is stiffer and doesn't collapse as easily.

[Cherry Shrimp newbie]

Hello,

I've been keeping neocaridinas successfully (most of the time) for several years.  From my personal experience, and reading posts from other shrimp keepers, the most important advice I can give for a new shrimp keeper is to be patient and wait at least 90 days after setting up a tank before adding shrimp.  Neocaridina shrimp graze on biofilm constantly, and it takes time for that to develop.  I won't say you can't be successful adding them sooner, but it's less likely.

About feeding them, @TheSwissAquaristis right about feeding them sparingly.  There are a number of shrimp specific foods available but they will also eat any commercial fish food.  And yes, they are similar to amanos in that they don't really need to be fed (assuming there is an adequate supply of the other stuff you mentioned).

On second thought, some time ago I typed up some basics for another new shrimp keeper.  I might as well post it here.

• Neocaridina shrimp (Neocaridina davidi; red cherry shrimp and the other available colors) are one of the easiest ornamental shrimp to keep, with a wider range of suitable water parameters than caridinas. Their parameters do overlap, but it's a narrow range, and not something I'd recommend for inexperienced shrimp keepers. I don't have any experience with caridinas (at least not yet), so I won't address them here.
   
• 6.8 to 8.0 pH is usually the recommended range for neos, with Gh from 6-12 and Kh at least 4. There are supplements you can add to the water to raise the hardness if yours is low. They will tolerate a wide range of temperatures, but around 72° F is generally considered best. At higher temperatures they will grow faster and breed faster, but they will also not live as long. Basically, higher temperatures accelerate their lifespan.
• Shrimp are sensitive to copper in the water, though the small amounts in commercial fish and shrimp food won't hurt them.
• Sponge filters are usually recommended for shrimp tanks. If you choose to use a hang-on-back instead be sure to cover the intake, or shrimp will wind up inside the filter.
   
• If you’re curious about how many to start with, the answer is as many as you can afford, but if money is a factor (which it often is for most of us), you can get a nice colony going with 10 or so. Of course, it will take longer than if you start with 25, but you’ll still probably get to 100 sooner than you expect.
   
• There are many color varieties, and they will readily breed with each other. The results will generally be brown or clear after a few generations (though you may get some interesting shrimp in the process). For this reason, if you want to maintain a specific color it's best not to mix them. Even if you do stick with a single color you'll need to remove undesirable colors occasionally. The amount of culling you'll need to do will likely vary depending on the purity of the shrimp you start with. From my personal experience my red shrimp need a fair bit of culling, while the blues ones need very little. Many people do keep and enjoy mixed colors, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. If you do cull, you can have a separate dedicated tank for them, or add them to tanks with fish. Even in tanks with dedicated shrimp hunters you'd be surprised how many will survive, especially given adequate hiding places. I occasionally see one in my 65 gallon tank, and my big angelfish just loves shrimp.
   
• To get the most enjoyment from shrimp, keep them in shrimp only tanks, or just shrimp and snails. You don't have to worry about predation, and they'll also be more visible if there aren't predators in the tank with them, even if the predators are too small to be a threat to adult shrimp.
   
• Even if they are the only things in the tank, they will feel more secure with hiding places, especially when molting or when a female is releasing babies. Dense plants are a good option. Java moss, guppy grass, Süßwassertang, and pearl weed are some good choices. I like to have two kinds of dense plants; one at the bottom of the tank and another floating to provide hiding places in both locations.  A pile of rocks, sized so that the shrimp can crawl inside, is also a good idea.
   
• They are sensitive to changing water parameters, so most experienced shrimp keepers recommend limiting water changes to around 15%, and the new water should be close to the same temperature. If you do larger water changes, it’s even more important to temperature match the water.
   
• Since they need biofilm to graze on, and are very intolerant of ammonia and nitrites, it's usually recommended to let a tank run for at least 3 months before adding shrimp, and 4 months is better. You might get by with adding them sooner by adding a sponge filter, plants, substrate, etc. from an established tank, but you still aren't likely to have as much success as you will if you're patient and let the tank "season" (I know this from first-hand experience, and not just once; I'm apparently a slow learner).
   
• In addition to the biofilm, they will also benefit from being fed. There are several commercial foods especially for shrimp, but I've also given mine several kinds of fish food, and they've eaten all of them. While there are mixed opinions about it, many people believe they also benefit from blanched vegetables once or twice a week. I've tried several things, and mine seem to prefer zucchini and spinach, followed by sweet peppers. I usually feed those late in the evening and remove any uneaten portion the next morning. By the way, shrimp just LOOOVE freshly crushed snails. Mine will swarm all over one.
   
• If you use CO2 in shrimp tanks keep it around 10 – 15 ppm, and definitely below 20 ppm. They often can’t tolerate the pH swings and/or elevated CO2 levels at higher concentrations.
   
• Of course, if you want to establish a colony you need males and females. Females are usually larger, and have better color, so when selecting them in a store you can get all females if you aren’t careful. It’s not difficult to tell them apart, even on shrimp that are the same age. The abdomen (the rear half) of females is larger than males, with the bottom line sagging down. Males’ abdomen is thinner, and it’s pretty much a straight taper from front to back.
   
• As females reach maturity they will develop a “saddle” on their back. This saddle (usually yellow) is the unfertilized eggs showing through their shell. They're ready to breed when they next molt, after which the fertilized eggs will move down below their abdomen where she will constantly “fan” them and juggle them around with their swimmerets to keep them aerated. Unlike some shrimp, neos don't have a larval stage, so they’ll hatch as very small fully developed shrimp after about 4 weeks.
   
• If you suddenly notice the shrimp swimming around the tank more than usual, it’s probably nothing to worry about. When a saddled female molts she releases pheromones signaling she’s ready to have her eggs fertilized, which gets the males swimming around trying to find her.
• If you notice a shrimp with a lighter colored lateral line on top that's called a "racing stripe", and is a harmless feature that's common with some color varieties. It will typically get wider, with the edges more ragged, as the shrimp gets older. It's very common on yellow shrimp, somewhat common on red ones, and I don't think I've ever seen it on blue ones.

• Don't worry about your tank becoming overstocked. They have a very small bioload, and a 10 gallon tank can hold hundreds of shrimp without becoming overcrowded.

[Mystery fish]

On 1/4/2023 at 10:30 AM, Theplatymaster said:

can you provide a picture?

. . . and tell us what other fish are in the tank?  That should narrow down the possibilities.

[What sand would you use if you werent planting?]

It depends on which color you want.  I have either pool filter sand (which needs little to no rinsing) or Black Diamond sandblasting sand (which needs quite a bit) in all of my tanks.  Both are relatively inexpensive.  I do have plants, but it doesn't matter.  If you want a light color you can use play sand from one of the big box home improvement stores, which will be even less expensive than pool filter sand, but like the sandblasting sand it will need quite a bit of rinsing.  I'm at the position in life where I will spend a few dollars to save some work.

Speaking of pool filter sand and big box home improvement stores, I saw some pool filter sand at one of those stores.  It said it had some special additive to make it better, but didn't elaborate on it.  The brand name was Clorox, so I decided that mayyyyybe I didn't want to try putting it in a fish tank.  I get mine from swimming pool supply stores, and only get pure sand.

[Blasting sand]

On 1/3/2023 at 1:52 PM, Scaperoot said:

    Thank you all for the replies:) It took quite a while, but I was finally able to get the sand in. I should have spent more time cleaning it. I decided to add it in slowly so I wouldn't have to move the fish., but it was still messy and stressful. They were stressed, but I took breaks and tried not to disturb them too much. A day later, and the water is still cloudy. The transition to fully planted will be a slow one, especially since some of these plastic plants look so good on black sand. I added 50 lbs of black sand, a few medium Seiryu stones, and some new decor. Once the water clears a bit, I'll post a pic. I've added some filter padding to help absorb some of the excess sand that's floating. The fish ate and seemed to be fine. Am I missing anything? 

It sounds like you didn't rinse it well enough.  I put a layer in a wide fairly shallow container outside, fill it with water, then keep the hose going in the container while continuously stirring the sand.  Keep doing that until the water running over the edge is clear (I put a rock or something under the edge closest to me so the overflow is on the other side).  When I do this it doesn't cloud the water at all.

[Cardinas and Neocardinas living together mass hysteria]

I haven't tried it (I have rock hard high pH water), and don't plan to.  I've corresponded with one or two very experienced shrimp keepers who say that the overlap between parameters is so narrow that it's very difficult to make it work.  At least one of them tried for a while and eventually gave up.

[Background Plants for 10Gallon Tank]

I hate to disagree with a fellow member, but I wouldn't recommend jungle val for a 10 gallon tank.  It can easily get 3' tall.  Cryptocoryne spiralis (https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/live-plants/products/cryptocoryne-spiralis) would be a good alternative.  It looks similar, but won't get as tall.

[I'm trying to figure out the best method for shrimp tank water changes.]

On 1/3/2023 at 12:05 PM, Aiden Carter said:

See my problem with that (being a super anti social high schooler) how am I going to acquire such a thing? Am I going to ask my mom? Am I going to ask my parents to order them online? I feel that it is a going to be a super uncomfortable conversation for every involved party.

If it's any consolation, that will likely get better.  You will get to a point where you care much less about other people's opinions.  I was a very socially awkward teenager, but this discussion reminded me that I've worn panty hose under my jeans to stay warm when I was outside all day, and I don't care who knows it.

Now that I think about it, not everyone makes that change.  I can remember that when I was 19 or so (so 40 years ago) I got brave enough to start asking girls I didn't know to dance when I'd go out, and it definitely got easier after the first time.  Some of my friends never reached that point.  They'd say "What if she says no?"

My reply was "So what?  Go ask another one!"

[I'm trying to figure out the best method for shrimp tank water changes.]

On 1/3/2023 at 10:53 AM, Patrick_G said:

@KittenFishMom, I think @Fish Folkhas the best idea with the panty hose material over the siphon, but placing a net over the end works well also. 

I'm not sure I agree.  I've seen reports of small fry or shrimp being crushed against the panty hose material, which is why I siphon into a bucket, net them out, and put them back in the tank.  They don't seem to be harmed by the trip through the siphon hose.

Of course if using a Python system this may not be possible, in which case the panty hose or other material over the end of the siphon might be the best option.

[Giant Platy! Freak of nature or just big boned?]

I've seen pictures of platys posted by a prominent livebearer breeder in Europe that must be 3" long.  It happens.

[I'm trying to figure out the best method for shrimp tank water changes.]

I've been keeping shrimp for several years.  I typically change 25% of the water, but I don't gravel vac.  I just siphon the water from the middle or top of the tank, and siphon into a white bucket instead of directly outside or into the sink.  I get the occasional shrimp (or guppy fry) in the bucket, but the trip through the siphon hose doesn't seem to bother them, so I just net them out of the bucket and return them to the tank.

I definitely don't drip back the replacement water, but I would recommend making sure there isn't a big temperature difference between the fresh water and the existing tank water.  I'm in southeast Texas, so I use the straight cold water, but if I was farther north, or up in the mountains, it would need to be mixed with some warm water (the first time I went to the mountains I was surprised at how cold the water is straight out of the tap, even in warm weather).

[The Odd one Out: Schooling Fish that are the same species, but just a little different]

• There is an albino variety of pristella tetras (Pristella maxillaris).  The body is yellow instead of the off white of the others, and the fins are lighter colored.
• Black and white skirt tetras are all the same species, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi.
• Gold, blue, and opaline are all 3-spot gouramis (Trichopodus trichopterus).

[Pearl Gourami]

On 12/22/2022 at 9:47 PM, Cinnebuns said:

. . . Anyway, back to the gourami. Since pearls are larger than the dwarf gourami I'm not confident of putting 3 in there regardless of the guppy situation but idk. What do you think?  

If you are anything like me you appreciate a visual of the space being used when deciding stocking. Here's a short video:

https://youtu.be/_oEqEjfPyrs

I think three pearl gouramis would probably be okay in that tank if you're asking about room.  With all the guppies I won't address the bioload.

[Pearl Gourami]

I have eleven of them in a 40 gallon breeder with corys and tetras.  I keep the tank at 75F.

I would definitely recommend adding more.  While they aren't schooling or shoaling fish, they are social, and do best in groups.  While it's certainly possible that your fish will be more outgoing after more time, it would still benefit from more tank mates of the same species.

[Are these plants acceptable for a 10 Gallon Tank?]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:44 PM, Paul R said:

. . . . Plus with its height the duckweed may get entangled in it, but that’s duckweed with any plants that I have had lol.

. . . and in your net, and on your arm, and . . .

Speaking of susswassertang, if you get it from a source with different parameters than yours it may die back pretty severely, but don't give up on it.  I got a beautiful ball from a member on another forum.  It gradually faded away until I thought it was all dead.  Months later, when I had almost forgotten about it, I noticed a few bits and pieces, and now it's done well enough that I've started selling some.

[Share an unknown talent]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:24 PM, MattyM said:

Have you ever mistaken hair algae for beard hair? 

Not yet.  There's a pretty distinct color difference.  In any case, the long beard is gone.  I took that picture the morning before I had it trimmed.  When I got home that afternoon Jett took one look at me and said "Papa, you got a haircut on your face!"

On 12/21/2022 at 12:24 PM, MattyM said:

Guitar and drums here!

I can barely play a radio.

On 12/21/2022 at 12:24 PM, MattyM said:

On 12/21/2022 at 12:24 PM, MattyM said:

I also love to bbq, and am a former home brewer, but still a consistent beer drinker. I swing kettlebells to keep somewhat in shape. 

I like to eat barbecue, and am also a consistent beer drinker.  I do 12 ounce curls to keep somewhat in shape (I only drink beer in glass bottles, so that's more of a workout than you'd think since they're heavier than cans).