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JettsPapa

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Everything posted by JettsPapa

  1. I agree, but contrary to what some people will tell you, you don't need to add root tabs. Many plants will do fine in inert substrates with just liquid fertilizer. That includes some that are often described as heavy root feeders.
  2. I don't know if any of my tanks are level. I live in an old house on concrete blocks, so a tank could be off level in one direction for a while, then it rains and it's off level in the other direction a week later. Having the tank on a flat surface is important however. If it's on a surface that's twisted it puts strain on the tank and can cause it to start leaking.
  3. A green tinge to water is likely algae, and is common in new tanks. It may get darker, or go away. If it's faint, and doesn't get darker, I wouldn't worry about it. If it does get darker (and I've seen it dark enough that I couldn't see to the back of a 5 gallon tank), you should be able to fix it with more live plants and limiting light to no more than 6 hours per day. I will respectfully disagree the the statement that there is always a green or brown tint to freshwater tanks. I use a white bucket for water changes, and the water that comes out of most of my tanks looks clear enough to drink.
  4. My house has copper pipes that were installed in 1989. Shrimp and other invertebrates do just fine. The small amount of copper that leaches from the pipes (if any actually does) isn't enough to cause any issues.
  5. In some ways it's easier than with terrestrial plants. When they aren't doing well it's usually either too much fertilizer, not enough fertilizer, too much water, or not enough water. With aquatic plants you eliminate two of those possible causes.
  6. You're not wrong, in general, but I got this one from my wife for Christmas 2021. I got it set up shortly before Covid hit.
  7. I've shipped it a number of times without any problems. Put a folded up wet paper towel in the bag with it so it doesn't dry out, and blow some air into the bag before you seal it so the plants don't get crushed. I've shipped all over the continental US from Texas using USPS Priority mail. They say three day shipping, and while it occasionally takes longer, it often takes only two.
  8. For a single guppy you could just do a fish-in cycle. Test the water often and do water changes as needed to keep the ammonia and nitrites low. You don't need the heater, assuming the tank is in your house. I don't have heaters in my guppy tanks, and the room temperature ranges from 60° at night during the winter to 75° during the day in summer.
  9. I've had the same tank going since early 2020, with ten turquoise rainbowfish, fifteen or so lemon tetras, and a shoal of green corys. I'm reasonably happy with it, and those fish have done well. At various times I've thought it needed a centerpiece fish, so I've tried angelfish twice, and a pair of Bolivian rams once, but neither lasted more than a few months. They might not like my hard high pH water.
  10. Since you started with the Skynyrd, here is one of my top 5 favorite songs, of any genre.
  11. Since you said they're tank raised, I assume they were raised by a hobbyist? If yes, I don't think I'd bother with quarantining them since they're less likely to be sick or have parasites. Much of that sensitivity (or maybe all of it) is due to most, if not all, of the ones available in stores being wild caught, and they often suffer irreversible damage to their digestive systems before reaching the store. After that they're just about bullet proof (or at least have been for me).
  12. Otocinclus aren't bottom feeders, so I'd cross them off, at least for the time being since they need established tanks with plenty of biofilm. I'm a big fan of corys, and you have room for a good sized group. How large depends on the species, since they aren't all the same size.
  13. On the other hand, I don't know if this applies to others or just me, but I seem to have considerably less algae in the larger tanks.
  14. Unfortunately, that's no uncommon for commercially raised guppies. I assume you bought them from a chain pet store? If yes, I'd suggest trying to get some from a hobbyist breeder, or a locally owned store that buys from local hobbyists.
  15. I don't know. All my tanks have inexpensive LED lights on 8 hours per day.
  16. I agree that a sword would get too large. I'm a big fan of crypts, and there are some varieties that get large enough to make good background plants. Cryptocoryne usteriana and Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia are my current favors, and both would be good choices.
  17. Here is a link to some information I put together for new shrimp keepers a couple of years ago that you might like to review. In any case, I'd encourage you to add more live plants, and give the tank more time to build up biofilm before adding shrimp.
  18. Some of the larger rainbowfish, like Boesmani or turquoise, may be effective on small fry. I don't think they would bother larger guppies.
  19. Unfortunately, commercially produced dwarf gouramis and neon tetras, along with guppies, are prone to health problems, and just not living long in general.
  20. So the gunk that came out of the filter media went back into the tank? That's what it sounds like. If yes, you should discard that water and add fresh water back into the tank. Most people rinse their filter media in a bucket when doing water changes.
  21. Unfortunately dwarf gouramis are plagued with health problems. I hope you can save the fish, but to be honest it would surprise me.
  22. Just to be clear, are you changing the filter media, or rinsing it and putting it back?
  23. It sounds like it has, assuming it was fully cycled to start with. Do 50% water changes whenever needed to keep ammonia and nitrites low, even if that means more than one per day (their toxicity depends on pH, but keeping the combined values below 1.0 ppm is a good rule of thumb). I wouldn't add any other chemicals or miracle bottles of bacteria (other than dechlorinator, of course). They aren't a substitute for water changes. Assuming your tank is fully cycled, rinsing both sponges shouldn't be a problem, but it might be best to only rinse one at a time until you get things under control. I assume you're rinsing them in water you've taken out of the tank? A quick rinse under a faucet isn't generally a problem in well seasoned established tanks, but you aren't there.
  24. My daughter-in-law had a 3-spot in a community that turned aggressive, and was terrorizing just about every other fish in the tank. She moved him to her African cichlid tank. He wasn't nearly as tough in there.
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