JettsPapa

I've occasionally had the little opening that the air goes through on the top plastic piece get clogged up, but since you said there's a good stream of bubbles that's unlikely to be the problem here.

I'll be on vacation next week, where I plan to spend a lot of time relaxing and reading. I'm trying to decide what books to take. It's been quite a while since I read any John D. MacDonald, so I might revisit the Travis McGee books. A bunch of Louis Lamour or Elmer Kelton westerns is another option, and I'm keeping an open mind in case anything else occurs to me.

Like @Chick-In-Of-TheSea, I rarely if ever vacuum mine, and when I do the pool filter sand or Black Diamond sandblasting sand is heavy enough that it falls back down, even if I stick the end of the siphon tube an inch or so down into the substrate.

I'm not familiar with that plant, but with other stem plants I've had you can cut the stem below those roots and plant the cut off portion. The original plant will sprout new growth from the node below the cut. I assume the same is true for this one.

There's nothing wrong with that plan, but you will greatly increase your chances for success if you let the tank run for three months before adding shrimp or otos. While some people report success with introducing them to new tanks, they're in the minority. I've even tried with a well seasoned sponge filter and a good supply of plants from established tanks. It didn't matter. I still lost most of the shrimp in the first week.

They do more foraging up higher than other species, but they still spend most of their time at the bottom. If you like them by all means get them.

I'm waiting for the report on your experiment trying to get rid of it.

About 25 years ago I was working in a small town in North Dakota. The local bar had a small 3-sided building out back that they used for barbecuing or something. It had a hornet nest in one corner. One afternoon the bar owner and a few of his friends, after spending some time sampling his product, decided this was the day they were getting rid of the hornets. One of the brave souls soaked the nest down with wasp spray. Then, just to be sure they got them all, one of them suggested lighting the nest on fire, so they did that. Apparently they didn't know, or didn't remember, that wasp spray is highly flammable. They burned that shed right down to the ground. The good news is they got the hornets.

. . . or just a group of honey gouramis.

Then it probably is tannins.

All mine get is what they can catch. I toss a few live snails in the tank once or twice a week, and they jump on them pretty quick. I assume they pick off a juvenile shrimp, or maybe amano shrimp larvae, but I don't know for sure. Apparently that's enough because they always look like little spotted footballs with eyes.

I don't see why not. Be aware that they may not all get eaten, and will establish a colony in the tank. I assume you'd be okay with that. My turquoise rainbowfish are all over it when I put culls into their tank. I usually empty the container out near some floating plants so the shrimp have a chance. The ones that swim toward the plants are okay, but the ones that head for open water just failed the shrimp intelligence test.

That might be green water algae, though if that's what it is I'm surprised it showed up so quickly.

Here's some basic information on keeping neocaridina shrimp I posted a while back if you'd like to take a look.

Intentionally? (I hate the stuff.)

Eight or so serpae tetras might be another good option. Their colors contrast nicely against green plants and they're hardy fish.

I haven't tried frozen bloodworms in quite a while, but when I did one of the pea puffers would eat them (if it could sneak in and grab one before the other fish got them all), but the other one never did.

Different genre, but here's another one to get your feet moving.

Hello. I don't know what you think of this idea, but for a tank that size I'd go with just a school of either of the rasboras. You could try adding a betta, but when you think about it that means there's room for two or three fewer rasboras. The longer I keep fish the more I appreciate fewer kinds of fish in a tank, with more of each kind. I wouldn't even consider a dwarf gourami. The health issues they're often plagued with would be reason enough, even without the frequent aggression issues as they reach sexual maturity.

Twelve pearl gouramis, along with 8-10 or so each of serpae tetras, pristella tetras, and Corydoras trilineatus.

What kind of tetra?

I have two in a 40 gallon breeder tank. As you said, they certainly keep the snails under control. The tank has plenty of plants for shrimp to hide in, so they've maintained a population, but I assume the pea puffers pick off a juvenile once in a while. There aren't any otos in the tank, so I can't address that. I haven't noticed them interacting with the other fish at all.

As long as you don't use a very fine sand that shouldn't be a problem.

That's a good plan. I won't say that isn't correct, but I haven't seen it. Someone else may have more information.