[Staghorn algae.]

@BIG GREENI also noticed staghorn after I started using Easy Green (liquid). I previously used Seachem Flourish and did a capful twice a week. I think Easy Green is stronger and I may be using it too often. I love how much my plants have grown so I will continue to use it; I just need to try some modification.

I have a 29g tank. I do three pumps (~30g equivalent) two times a week. I have a Finnex Stingray light on the tank which is on from 8am to 9pm daily. (Perhaps less light too?)

I am going to try the peroxide treatment, then only pump once a week and see if it makes a difference.

[Frustrated Fish Owner ready to give up]

@Mmiller2001WOW, thank you for taking the time to lay all of that out for us. I will print this out and go step-by-step.  At this point we are trying to save 4 fish. We really have nothing to lose. Your plant growth is AMAZING! 

[Frustrated Fish Owner ready to give up]

@Mike_Mthat is a valid point. The fish look very happy and healthy in the LFS where we purchase. Obviously coming home to our water is a shock for them. I bought an electric blue balloon ram from the same store and placed it in my aquarium (29g) after 15 minutes. 2 days later it developed ich spots. It is healed now but it was probably telling that it was the only fish who showed those symptoms. Definitely need to invest in a quarantine tank and medicate before adding to the general population like Cory recommends (just watched the video yesterday). Thank you!

[Frustrated Fish Owner ready to give up]

Justed tested the water with Aquarium Co-op Multi-test strips. (AND my husband corrected me. He had 5 black ruby barbs. Now down to 4. One jumped out of the tank.)

• Nitrates have risen to 50 ppm (just performed 30% water change yesterday before adding Ich-X)
• Nitrites 0 ppm
• KH is 0 ppm (Is that bad?)
• GH is between 150 and 300 ppm (top end of the hard scale)
• pH is down to 6.4
• chlorine is 0 ppm
• ammonia (API liquid kit) is 0 ppm

[Frustrated Fish Owner ready to give up]

@CalmedByFishThat is exactly the line of thinking my husband has. @ScottieBWe started the tank with water from our outside hose; we then began using the treated tap water because I have it in a 29g with no issues. @Isaac M, I am currently on a call for work. I will test gh and kh and take a photo after this call. Not sure if readings differ with Ich-X but I did treat yesterday afternoon. Also, temp was up to 88 degrees (trying to kill ich). I lowered the heater to 79 degrees this morning.

[Frustrated Fish Owner ready to give up]

My husband has a 20g long. In it he has eco substrate with white gravel over top, root tabs, live plants (java fern windelov, water sprite, aponogeton, anubias, moss ball, and some others), sponge filter in back left corner, airstone in center of the background, and a 30g HOB filter with an intake sponge. (HOB has 2 sponges and a bag of biomax rings in it.)

He has/had 2 powder blue gouramis, 3 black ruby barbs, 5 five-banded tetra, one albino pleco, and a mystery and/or pond snail (not exactly sure which). Parameters are 6.8 pH, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 chlorine, 0 ppm nitrite, 20-30 ppm nitrates, hard water. There is no lid on the tank. Unless numbers are off, he has been topping off the tank with Seachem Prime-treated tap water as needed. We have probably done 3 water changes and 2 filter cleanings in the last two months. We do bi-weekly doses of Seachem Flourish for the live plants. (I have added Seachem Stability as dead fish are removed also.)

He has lost everything but the black ruby barbs and snails (snails are multiplying - found 3 new babies this morning) in the last month. Are these types of fish extremely sensitive to water parameters? Is the lack of a lid problematic? He is so frustrated he is thinking of just shutting the tank down if the barbs don't make it. I don't want him to give up; I have suggested "easier" fish, like livebearers.

Any advice? I am currently treating the tank with Ich-X because I noticed one barb with spots. We are also taking a water sample to our LFS.

Thanks in advance.

[Ammonia in tap - Python water change question]

19 hours ago, GardenStateGoldfish said:

@Cody000125 Are you sure that your water source has ammonia? 

I highly suggest looking up your municipalities water source (If your in the US) Chloramine is a popular additive that is really a fish killer, Prime and Seachem safe work well, Chloramine is chlorine bound to ammonia, so a liquid API test kit will show ammonia when chloramine is present. When using a dechlorinator, make sure you use one that binds to both ammonia and chlorine/chloramine, this way when the chloramine is neutralized, the byproduct (ammonia) is also neutralized. Seachem Prime is great for this. When Chloramine is neutralized and the ammonia is also neutralized the byproduct will be Ammonium, which will still read as ammonia with your API liquid test kit however is non toxic. 

I am so happy to read this because my tank has had 4.0 ppm+ ammonia the entire time I have had it (4 mths); however, all other levels are fine. (Tap water alone registers 2.0 ppm.) My fish are thriving and reproducing (livebearers). I test with the Master API kit. My city's water report says they use Chloramine year round except for late March to mid-April when they switch to chlorine. I treat all tap water with Prime prior to adding it when performing water changes.  I may begin to triple dose based on what I am reading here.  Thank you!

[The power of mossballs]

I just removed the ball from the aquarium to place it in the window (my male molly was not happy; he was eating off of it). Turns out, it is kind of green! YAY! 

[The power of mossballs]

There are no green spots that I can see. I will try the window sill method.

Thank you so much! The good news is, they aren't that expensive so it could be a "Live and Learn" lesson that didn't break me.

[The power of mossballs]

My tank is 78-80 degrees. I have not added any fertilizer to the water at all. I do roll the moss in my hands with each water change.

I am ordering root tabs today and possibly some Easy Green liquid for my stem plants.

The ball was green when I bought it.

[The power of mossballs]

I have one and it is completely brown. How do I fix this? 

My fish are definitely moving it around.  This is the third location since I added it. 🙂

 

 

[Overfeeding Help]

@Mitch Norton, thank you. I recently switched from flakes to bug bites. I didn't feed the fish from Friday to Monday am while I did the twice a day water changes. It was my hope that the ammonia would reduce to 0.

I did feed them last night because the ammonia had dropped so much.

I do have Prime so I will add that. I don't think I added it in the last 50% water change I performed yesterday.

[Overfeeding Help]

Well, ammonia is back up to 1-1.5. I am struggling. Should I perform another water change or invest in an ammonia treatment?

My 8 gallon tank is all livebearers: pH is 7.6; temp is 75-78; nitrite is 0; nitrate is 5.

The water did measure as "Very Soft" on the Tetra test strips. How do I fix that for my mollies and platy?

[Overfeeding Help]

I tested water all weekend (12/12-12/14) and did not feed my fish until this evening. pH, nitrite and nitrate measured within great ranges. Ammonia, however, started at 8 on Saturday morning and is between .5 and 1 today. I did 50% water changes twice a day for two days and once this morning. I will test the ammonia again in the morning since they had food and will produce some waste overnight. I may not feed again until Wednesday, depending on the result.

[Newbie things I learned doing my last water change.]

What a gorgeous setup you have! I cannot wait to get a larger tank.

[Overfeeding Help]

I thought my female black molly was pregnant because her belly was so large. However, I notice that every morning she is "thinner". During the day she gets larger and poops.  A LOT. And the strands are long. (Today my male platy and molly ate her poop twice.)

I am feeding 2 mollies and 2 platy. I put in enough food that it is gone within 3 minutes.  However, I notice that the female molly stays at the top of the tank swimming around, skimming the surface with her mouth open. The platy fish who come up to the surface about 30 seconds after I place the food in the tank barely get any of the food. 

How do I change her eating habits without starving the other fish? Should she be separated? I only feed them twice a day (8am-ish, and 6pm-ish). I am afraid she is going to eat herself to death.

(I have attached a picture of her at 2:40 pm today. She has not eaten since 8 this morning. But she has had repeated long strings of poop.)

[Constant Heater Running or No?]

Thank you, all, for your guidance!

[Constant Heater Running or No?]

@Daniel, I placed a couple of fingers in the water.  It is nowhere near hot. It was actually kind of cool.

[Constant Heater Running or No?]

Thank you Daniel. It is, unfortunately, a thermometer with a preset. It cannot be adjusted. It simply cycles between heating and dormant if I am not mistaken.  It is this model: TopFin Compact Heater, CH50. Sounds like I need a more advanced heater.

[Constant Heater Running or No?]

I have two small platy (less than an inch) and two 1-inch molly fishes. I have a heater inside the aquarium with a setting of 78 degrees. If the water rises to 80+ should I unplug the heater or allow it to cycle? The light on the heater is green, indicating a cool down cycle; however, the water temp reads 82.9 degrees. One of my platys is sitting at the top near the bubbles from the air stone. Is she is gasping for oxygen?