Jennifer V

As @nabokovfan87 mentioned, peas are touted as an easy fish because of lack of trimming. I made the mistake of getting them as my very first fish ever and boy was I lucky but it's very hard even after two and a half years of having them. I just lost one and it broke my heart. She just stopped eating one day and was gone the next. So I know what you're going through to an extent. As I said before, I hope you try again. Now you know what to look for and you'll do great with the next batch. Sending you good fishy vibes! 🐡

Just to add to the fun here, I tried shrimp several times by buying from a LFS and it never worked out. I got frustrated and waited a year to add new ones to the tank. When I bought some culls from a local hobbyist, it worked out very well. There are almost too many shrimp in the tank now. Even when I went out of town and the tank got neglected and resulted in an ammonia spike, the shrimp were fine. I don't have a TDS tester, so I rely on my KH/GH liquid testers. My GH is high and KH/PH are low but with added crushed coral, the parameters are stable. I tried to chase numbers for quite awhile and settled in on being happy that the parameters in this tank stay consistent although not perfect. I change the water once or twice a week by slowly removing ~30 percent and slowly adding water treated with Fritz Complete back in. It's a 5g so I can get away with using a cup to do WCs and a turkey baster to suck up the gunk from the sand. Not ideal for you, but placing a Tupperware lid on top of the water and then slowly adding the new water on top of that will prevent splashing and ensure that the water gets added slowly. I feed the shrimp 1/4 of 1/8 tsp BacterAE once a week so the shrimplettes have easily accessible food. The directions from the company use far too much, imo. I did a ton of research before buying the stuff and settled in on that quantity. @Guppysnail was a huge help there. I also like Sera shrimp food because it starts out as heavy pellets and then breaks down in the water so even small shrimp can get to it. As with anytime else, it's easy to overfeed but my tank also has snails I feed to my puffers, so I don't worry too much about that. I just test the tank frequently to make sure I'm not feeding too much and if the nitrates are high, I do an extra WC. I really want to try the shrimp lollies too, just as @Chick-In-Of-TheSea mentioned. I also feed the shrimp Fluval Bug Bites and Hikari Shrimp Cuisine and am waiting on some Xtreme Aquatic Shrimpee food and I fast one day. It's probably overkill to feed so many different kinds of food but it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for them. All of this is purely anecdotal. Although I've again done a ton of research, every tank is different and I may just be lucky that I have such a thriving colony.

Thank you for the suggestions! I didn't even think about getting some fast growing plants and I love the look of the PSO. I haven't had any luck with stem plants yet, but every tank is different and I'm up for trying anything. Same with anacharis but again, every tank is different. Good to know about the lid. That was a big question mark for me. Customizing a lid feels a bit above my pay grade at the moment. Is a lid required for cories? I would assume so if they're very active and I like the benefits of having lids. With the sponge filters and HOB, I may end up needing to customize the lid so the HOB can sit on one side or the other. Did I get that right @nabokovfan87?

What does Crystal River look like? I'm thinking of mixing something with Jungle River to lighten it up a bit color wise. What are the benefits of something like Contrasoil versus something like Eco Complete? Does is break down into fine soil? My vision is to have something capped with heavier gravel along the back and halfway up the sides so I can plant larger root feeders back there and a finer river of substrate running through the middle and sides in the front so the cories have sand to play in. Hard to describe but I don't have any photos to illustrate what I mean. It might be too complicated in the end. Sometimes things work on my head but not in real life.

Looks so beautiful! I'm just getting around to buying the tank so I have no idea what the setup will be yet.

I'm thinking of getting a Seachem Tidal 35 HOB. Thoughts? What else do I need to know about running a HOB? Never had one before.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. Maybe they're eating and it's just a small amount. They are pretty tiny. Fingers crossed they fatten up.

Oh that's great news! I was hoping to just keep it a cory tank. And I looked up the gravel sand and really like that too. That cartoon was literally me thinking about my substrate! Ha! I might go with the sand gravel and mix it with some sand to lighten up the color a little bit, so both! Beautiful tank! Thank you so much for sharing. This is very helpful!

Fabulous info! Ok, you sold me! I'll get sand and just plant root feeders around the sides and back. What other fish do you suggest to liven up the tank? I just adore cories but I may be willing to try a mix of fish. My tanks right now are one pea puffer tank and one snail/shrimp tank so I've never had a variety.

Hey there! I just posted about a 20g long setup. How did you set yours up? Lights, heaters, type of substrate, etc? Looks like we might want to keep some of the same inhabitants!

Love the idea of getting bandit cories instead. I've never used a HOB so that'll be a fun dive into R&D. Think I should go with fine gravel instead of sand? Sand is so hard to clean.

Hi All! I impulse purchased a 20 long -- know the feeling? Ha! I have no idea how to cherry pick the right parts and set it up. I haven't set up a tank from scratch ever. I've only used those kits that come with everything. So, my question is, what's your setup? Or even better, what is your dream setup knowing what you know now? Lights, filters, heaters? I'm planning to make this a cory tank, hopefully with pygmies and maybe pandas, shrimp and snails. Looking for suggestions there too. Here's my current list: Filter: two medium ACO sponges with air stones Pump: ACO dual outlet Lid: no clue Heater: two ACO 50 W heaters and an ink bird. Want to keep the temp around 74 degrees. Light: ACO 30 inches? Planning to have mainly lower light, lower maintenance, "beginner friendly" plants -- swords, crypts, anubias, buce, maybe some susswassertang. What else is cool to try for a tank that size that doesn't require CO2? Timer: ACO Substrate: Eco Complete in the back capped with gravel -- have had a lot of luck with us -- and sand in the front and middle. On the fence about the sand but I keep reading it's great for cories. Maybe the fine gravel @Guppysnail recommends instead? ~ 40 pounds, ~ 2-3 inches of substrate How am I doing? What should I change? I've done so much research over the past year and a half or so that I feel totally confused. Thanks for your guidance! Appreciate you all!

Ok perfect! Cannot wait to show you. I appreciate you!

How are they doing?

Do you think I should stay away from lanceolata because it might get too big for a 5g? The coffeefolia is already kind of taking over the middle of the tank. But I do want a look similar to that in the video you shared. Kind of a jungle of anubias varieties.

@nabokovfan87 what a stunning tank! Thank you so much for sharing! I'm so excited to keep going with my rescaping. I couldn't find any Nangi to buy but I did find a few other varieties I'm curious about -- congensis, lanceolata and minima. Ever heard of them?

Fabulous suggestion! I'll look into Nangi to maybe change up the look a little bit. It's going to be a great little tank I can enjoy again when I'm finished. Yay!

Don't give up on peas! They did come in pretty thin, so maybe it was going to be an uphill battle from the start. They are so rewarding to keep and you know you have what it takes to keep them. Maybe just try a different supplier next time so you know they're coming in fat and happy from the start.

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I started removing the dead java fern from the back and took out the moss from the front that was hiding the coffeefolia. I had no clue how big it's gotten! Makes me glad I chose anubias for the back. I think I'll try nana in the back and see how it does and some nana petite in place of the moss in the front under the coffeefolia. Pictures don't do it justice but here is the coffeefolia after round one of the new scape.

Hi All! I have some java ferns that line the back of my 5g shrimp/snail tank but they aren't doing well. I'm thinking of taking them all out and replacing with more Anubias, which are all doing very well in my tank. 1. Will pulling out that much plant mass affect the tank parameters? 2. Which Anubias varieties should I pick to use as background plants in my tank? Planning to get at least three good sized plants to line the back. Included is a very poor image of the tank. I'm not the best photographer!

I'm so sorry for your loss! I just lost my first one about a week ago after having her for two and a half years. It's never easy! Funny how attached we get to these little guys. Don't beat yourself up about not deworming them immediately. It's all a learning process. Your other peas might be just fine. They can really disappear even though you look everywhere and then suddenly there they are again. Just a side note, do you have any Vita Chem? You can add it directly to the tank once you're clear of deworming, one drop per gallon, to make sure they're getting some vitamins. You can also soak food in it so they get vitamins that way as well.

I named my peas after cheeses too! Love this!

Wow! That's very cool! And it adds a whole new layer to aquascaping that kind of blows my mind.

Chemical warfare?! That's truly interesting. Do you know if certain plants are more prone to that than others? Stem plants maybe?

Looking good! For the root tabs, if you pop them with a pin to let the air out, they won't float.