[Why can’t I grow Vallisnaria?]

On 2/28/2022 at 9:08 PM, lefty o said:

some people just cant grow some plants. give me a stem plant, and its dead in a week.

I should have mentioned I can and have grown other plants 🙂

[Why can’t I grow Vallisnaria?]

I don’t get it! I’ve never had such a hard time growing aquarium plants before. I put it in my tank with a root tab and some easy green, a weight loosely tied around the plant so it doesn’t float, and it just melts away sadly. I’ve gone through two of them already!

What am I doing wrong? I wanna have pretty Vallisnaria in my tank. Apologies if I sound frustrated, I’m just confused. 

[Woke up to one of my female endler's staring out the corner with a white spot on her body, and fins clamped.]

To be clear, it looks nothing like Ich. It's one bump, and her feces is also clear and like a spiderweb. I don't know what's going on, but I think something else in the tank was aggressive towards her (probably one of the males). I can't really re-home her, I have a breeder box but that's about it (plus another one of my endler's is super pregnant and I might use the breeder box for that one). Is there anything I can do to protect her in the tank?

[Old Java Fern turning brown and black, am I trimming the dead leaves right?]

I don’t think I get how to trim aquarium plants. I realize that’s a super beginner question, but I have this Java Fern whose time has come. It still has some healthy leaves so I just trimmed the dead ones.

I got close to the bottom of the stems of the leaves, but it looks like I gave my plant a bad haircut! Some stem is still visible! Is that okay? Am I doing this right?

[I want to try my hand at a carpeting plant. Can I just put the pot it comes in in an easy planter?]

… or do I have to carefully tweezer individual bits into the substrate?

[Slime underneath where the light sites on top of glass?]

On 6/18/2021 at 6:10 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Honestly, just clean your glass lid periodically. All sorts of fun stuff grows on it. I've got a thick carpet of algae if I let it go too long. Also, Mystery Snail eggs I need to take down before they hatch on the regular. 

I was hoping it’d be that simple! Is there anything special I should clean it with?

[Slime underneath where the light sites on top of glass?]

This is kind of gross, but I have just discovered a slimy type liquid on the underside of the glass where my light sits on top of my glass lid. A quick google search says it’s something called “Cyanobacteria”? I don’t know anything about it and would love any advice on what to do. 

[Apisto pale after water change a while back]

I have an apisto that has turned really pale after a water change. This was months ago, and he’s still fine, but still pale. Typically I monitor for nitrates and only do changes when they exceed a certain point which is why it’s been a while

 

Aside from a little bit of algae due to it being summer, my tank is doing fine. Why is my fish so pale? I should mention his tankmates are all doing just fine. It’s strictly a one fish problem. He’s also still eating. 

[How can I clean terracotta decorations?]

No. Should I just boil it or something?

[How can I clean terracotta decorations?]

I have an apisto cave covered in algae and I don’t know how to get rid of it. Can I dip it in peroxide or vinegar?

It’s harmless but it’s an eyesore

[Otocinclus eating black beard hair algae?]

Just now, StephenP2003 said:

That doesn't look like BBA, but maybe there are different incarnations of BBA -- I'm used to seeing BBA start as dense little tufts of fine dark hair. Kind of looks like a staghorn or even diatom algae (though it's a little furry).  But anyways, otos eat soft digestible vegetation as well as biofilm, which is probably among the hair algae. I've seen them eat BBA once I've killed it, though. 

My algae very well could be a different kind, I was assuming it was BBA!

[Otocinclus eating black beard hair algae?]

I am dealing with an outbreak of black beard hair algae in my tank. This has been going on for a while, but has recently gotten worse due to me upgrading my aquarium light. Recently I noticed my Oto eating the algae though, which is strange because I didn’t think that they eat this type of algae.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with this type of algae, please feel free to let me know. But, it’s not as bad as I thought if my Oto is willing to eat some of it. Maybe all I need to do is buy another

 

[Trimming plants for the first time]

Hi,

I've never trimmed aquarium plants before. For stem plants, I should cut, remove the "top half", remove some of the leaves from the bottom of the "top half", plant the "top half" in the substrate (or throw it away if you want).

For root plants, I should just cut dead/decaying leaves. That's it. Do I have it right?

[Wonder shells???]

38 minutes ago, Sandra the fish rookie said:

Hi All~

 

I just put in a wonder shell. Is it supposed to fizz? its slowing down, but initially it fizzed.. is that normal?

Yes, totally normal

[What is the little snail next to my assassin snail and why is it ignoring the little guy]

I got this assassin snail to deal with a pest snail outbreak. Its not really working but today I saw him ignoring perfectly good tiny food right there on the leaf he’s on!

[One of my plant leaves looks like a "skeleton" or "spider web". Is that rot, or is something eating my plants?]

1 hour ago, Calvin said:

As Lefty asked, Do you have a pleco or something similar?  They have a soft spot for Amazon swords but if you keep them well fed with veg that usually gives them enough to leave the plants alone. I feed mine a piece of zucchini at least once a week and sometimes other things if have them in.

https://plecoplanet.com/feeding/veggie-list-for-plecs/

Just be warned, broccoli can get reallyyyyy messy! 😆

I do have an Oto but he seems happy with algae and never eats my vegetables so I never thought anything of it. He’s got a round belly and has kept himself alive so far.

But it totally is an Amazon Sword that he might have eaten. I’ll try again with the vegetables. My snail and Oto do not seem to know how to deal with them at all!

[One of my plant leaves looks like a "skeleton" or "spider web". Is that rot, or is something eating my plants?]

Hi. I woke up the other morning and one of the leaves on one of my sword plants suddenly looks like something ate it and left all the "bones" of the leaf. It doesn't look like any rot or plant nutrient deficiency that  I've ever seen.

I can't post a picture at the moment but hopefully someone can visualize what I'm saying.

[What can I put in my tank that will eat pond snails and leave my mystery snail alone?]

1 hour ago, James Black said:

I believe mystery snails would be too big for a pea puffer and yet the pond snails may be small enough. If you have a empty tank or bucket you could just remove the mystery snail and setup a snail trap. Pretty much just a container with like cucumber or zuchnni in it.

I actually tried that, none of my pest snails were interested. 
 

I’m thinking about ordering an assassin snail and removing my mystery while he does his dirty work. But then I wouldn’t know what to do with him if it meant I couldn’t keep both snails 

[What can I put in my tank that will eat pond snails and leave my mystery snail alone?]

The common recommendation is clown loaches or assassin snails but a quick google tells me they think all snails are delicious and not just the tiny annoying ones. I have a mystery snail that I'm very fond of. I'd like it to be unharmed while dealing with my pest snails

[New fish for the week of 1/4-1/10]

Do you guys take fish that need to be rehomed? I have an Apistogramma that I recently found out was a second male (sneaker) and I don’t have the tank space for two males.

I’d love to trade it for a female if possible. 

[Trying to breed Apistogramma Agassizzi]

20 minutes ago, FrostiesFishes said:

A little late to the party but I think they’re both males, typically that purple stripe on the back is a sign of a male, and you’ll see that much earlier then the typically color change and large fins of a male. But I had a pair spawn like crazy for two months, moved them into a larger tank and it stopped. And they haven’t spawned for me in months at this point. So if you did in fact have a pair. They may just be stubborn. A lot of times the biometric pressure and the amount of time the light is on also can effect them.  I’d try some cold water changes maybe shorten the lights on time, you could also use a mirror to try and stimulate the male. I’ve heard of this working from lots of research but it hasn't done me any good yet. And lastly let me start by saying I do not recommend it unless you’re on the more experienced side. But You can allow the water level to drop and the water quality to go down and then do a water change. I know this tactic has been known to work by some well known breeders. 

Oh my goodness, I’ve never noticed that every other female I’ve ever seen didn’t have that purple stripe. You’re probably right, my female is a sneaker male

[Trying to breed Apistogramma Agassizzi]

Just now, Fish Folk said:

Ok. The brighter, longer-finned Apisto is definitely a male. The smaller one is likely a female. There's the possibility as Robert says that it's a "sneaker male." But that's tricky to tell. If it is a male and female, sometimes they just do not pair up. 

It looks like they're in a 10-gal tall aquarium. If it were us, we'd separate them -- move the (assumed) female out to a sand-bottom 20 gal. long, and get her really well adjusted. Some leaf litter is nice, along with a well-planted tank. The apisto caves are good, but many pistols like really small holes. Sometimes we jam a rock close to the hole to close it off. Feed her really well on quality foods. After all is well -- about a month -- bring the male over and see if he takes to her then. 

It’s a 20g tall! I’d consider my tank to be moderately planted, but no leaf litter. I’ll look into that. Same thing with the houses, I’ll look into some with tiny holes (like the ones from the co-op, this one is from my LFS). There’s a coconut behind the wood too. 

[Trying to breed Apistogramma Agassizzi]

2 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

We've never kept these particular types of Apistos. But we have observed, with others, that non-dominant males sometimes will take on the "look" of a female coloration in order to avoid getting bullied. On the other hand, we've watched females really get territorial with each other too. 

Here’s a video: https://share.icloud.com/photos/01GUQ3Hd3uNveIu4UE_Z6XdQQ please ignore background noise!

[Trying to breed Apistogramma Agassizzi]

Just now, Fish Folk said:

Not sure. Can you post a 1-2 min video? Watching them live may help elminate unknowns.

I can’t post video but I just took these two photos. Female is the smaller one hiding in the plants, male is the brighter orange one. I’ll find a way to upload a video and link it here  

 

 

[Trying to breed Apistogramma Agassizzi]

27 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

May be two males. We’d just order a confirmed female to add to the set up. Once a pair clearly forms, remove the third wheel. 

My LFS is knowledgeable and I’d usually trust them to know a female, but I’ve called and they’re out of stock at the moment! You think that would explain why he chases her a lot?