Dancing Matt

Got some Co-op plants that came in. Plopped them in tanks waiting for my next build along with dropping in some much needed root tabs (also recently acquired).

More messy foods will require more cleaning than less messy.

I understand, I separated my loach and corydoras after a while concerned it was not getting enough though I did notice it on the glass after I turned out the lights. One thing is you can put food in a spot that is visible to you and watch (maybe from a distance) to see if they land on it.

I also feel like hillstream loaches get rounder in the "love handles" aria vs. the belly like other fish. If it looks happy...

How long have you had the loaches? If you have had them for a while and they are still alive you are prob okay. I have fed my hillstream hikari sinking algae tablets. I'm pretty sure it has eaten my repashi community blend and I am fairly positive it eats baby brine shrimp. When ever I feed BBS it comes out and goes crazy. If you can I would say live baby brine shrimp is a good one for that tank, every one would go bananas for it (and it is fun to watch the bettas hunt them). Break up an algae wafer and put pieces in a few different parts of the tank so the loach can find a piece away from the cory cats if you are concerned about them not getting enough. One thing to think is maybe feed when they are most active so they are likely to get food.

I was think the same as @Ben_RF, of you like your substrate, don't change it. Add plants and fertilizer (root tabs for root feeders) cory is always talking about how basic gravel is one of his favorite substrates because of how easy it is.

It may be too late but Tevye from fiddler on the roof. There are some good names for girls like Chava, my favorite name, one of Tevye's daughters.

Cool, It kind of reminds me of a sky. I personally prefer black so all the fish and plants pop the most. You could find some cheap construction paper or foam board to test and see if you want black without a big investment.

Awesome, I am drooling over that tank. Such a great display setup.

I love that cholla wood/zip tie combo. I have been thinking about getting a floating log for my betta but... That is also a really cool drawing! Love the art. There is a "fish art" thread in here that would enjoy it.

Also what kind of light do you have and can you post pictures of the plants and setup?

With stronger lighting I would get browns and almost red on my crypts. I second the paying attention to yellowing.

Mine has this, my shrimp think it is tasty. The Lily sprouted fine.

I had an issue with an overstocked goldfish tanks after I did a filter change-up. I was doing weekly water changes to keep the ammonia down. I added bacteria but didn't notice a change so I just kept doing water changes and feed them less. It has been over a month and my ammonia test yesterday came back 0ppm. In the end it just took time. I also only feed them every other day for now.

Have you had your fish before the 9th? Were they getting fed by you before or come in from the store? If you want to feed them, your prob just need to do a water change after. Or a few more in the near future.

Medicine can cause stress. My understanding on the quarantine trio is you dose all at once and leave for one week, don't dose again. This is a safety measure to make sure no one is bringing in disease. If a fish is having an outbreak then you treat that "thing" (fungus/parasite/bacteria/infection, best you can tell) as per instructions. My understanding is that corydoras can be susceptible to fungus (and your description seems to agree this is a case of fungus) so target treating that is likely best. If you are concerned about them dying, stopping could be fine for now, you would just want to watch them and if their behavior changes for the worst or they have an outbreak, that you treat them. I would check to see if the belly up one is dead, that could lead to ammonia+stress. Keep up the good fight. We have all had these moments. As sad as they are, what is best is to learn from them. You can become a better/more informed aquarist and your future fish and hobby will benefit.

Here is a great visual guide to air pumps, #1 is the basic set up I use: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-airline-accessories

You do need and air pump, the usb nano from Aquarium co-op is nice. I have tetra air pumps (i bought off amazon) that work fine but a little "louder", not truly loud but definitely make a little sound. Bettas could eat the shrimp so if you do want to mix them I would make sure there are spaces they can hide and prepare your self for possible shrimp snacks. I had a female that went fine with Amano and cherry shrimp then one day I noticed one missing... I later added some "ghost" shrimp and confirmed that she was the culprit, 10 dead in one night. She ate well those couple days, she got a tank all to herself after that. I have heard that with big enough tanks (and/or older bettas) it can work fine but she hunted them down in about 35 gal of water (granted i didn't have places for the shrimp to hide). I called her a tiny freshwater shark after that. I would go for some easy plants (low light, no CO2) and maybe some big leafed. One thing to think about is what is your PH. If you have an extreme it may affect what plants you can keep well. My picks are: Christmas moss (favorite) or Java moss (not favorite), Anubius, Crypts, valisaneria, aquarium lily, frog bit. These are ones I have and can recommend. I will be transferring my betta to my 20long in spring and will be using these. I am planning on trying some java ferns and amazon swords (in a taller tank) in the future, I hear they are fairly easy.

Any update? My overstocked goldfish tank finally cycled and i thought about your tank.

I would try and dial in what is making the water cloudy. If it is green water it is likely not harmful. Combating it could require change in lighting and possibly extreme filtration. A bacteria bloom could resolve it self, I'm not sure if it would be harmful or not (my gut is likely not). How long is your light cycle? It may also be good to investigate why the aposto died. It may not be related to the cloudy water.

Second on the shrimp plus white cloud combo. The white clouds didn't bother with my cherry shrimp and both have done fine in my 20L without a heater, they get down to 64 in the winter in my house so far.

Worse doesn't mean impossible, you would likely have to work harder to make it carpet. I have a crypt in fine sand that hasn't grown well (I ran out of root tabs, maybe it got one at the start) and its roots are growing into the water column. I have other crypts that I planted in flourite that are growing fairly well, they started with a root tabs and CO2 but haven't had anything in a long time. Both are living but the one in sand is not doing as well and I am lazy with my plants so in the future I'll be avoiding sand.

Java moss or Christmas moss (my preference) do well with low light, can survive no light. You can get them in floating moss ball form. My first betta loved the one I got her and would sleep in it.

One idea to add substrate is to have it in a container (cup) and lower the cup into the water and pour out the cup as it is near the bottom, instead of pouring substrate from the top of the tank, to minimize any clouding.

I will say that if you go with sand, light sand will show any mulm build up easily. I have two types of light sand in two tanks and if I don't up keep on the gravel vac it looks kinda gross, especially my tank with fine sand.