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1moretank

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Everything posted by 1moretank

  1. 1moretank
    Many times I have seen the recommendation to buy the biggest tank you can afford/fit when you start. Such good advice. I have kept mollies in very soft water, soft water with crushed coral, and in hard water (I moved). If I had to go back to soft water, I would add crushed coral because I think it makes the water quality better for all fish, but mollies and guppies will definitely appreciate it and it won't adversely affect the tetras. In my experience, some of the bigger mollies can be a bit of a bully to smaller fish, others never bother smaller fish at all.
  2. 1moretank
    Having endlers with shrimp or snails works fine in my 10, 20 and 29 gallon tanks, but be aware that your endlers may reproduce as fast or faster than guppies, which may be a problem in a 5 g. In my experience, if the endler population gets too large for the container, it may crash and you can lose all or most of the endlers.
  3. 1moretank
    Repashy, any flavor, spooned or squirted into a tank instead of mixed into a gel is loved by all my fish, from adult angel to white cloud fry. The co-op fry food is amazing, I put some in almost every tank almost every day, and every fish seems to love bug bites.
  4. 1moretank
    Test the new one outside for leaks, then @lefty ois correct, move everything from the 29 to the 75 at once. The bacteria will be enough because you aren't changing the bacteria needs of the tank, would not add new fish for a while, then add a few at a time to let bacteria keep up. Congrats on the new tank.
  5. 1moretank
    It looks identical to a very small Amazon sword I have. I cut it off the stem of a bigger plant when I was first learning about amazon swords. It had almost no root and should have been left on the stem. It struggled a long time in the substrate, then I tried letting it float, but fish picked at it. I replanted it and it struggled (no root system). Eventually I gave up and glued the side of a leaf and the place where it should have had roots to a rock about 1/2 the size of a golf ball. Then I used the rock to hold it right on top the substrate and prevent fish from moving it. It took several months, but it did eventually grow some roots and tether itself into the substrate. As a gardener I believe it could not survive buried because it had no root system it needed to be above the substrate to start a root system - just like it would have if I had left it on the stem. After almost a year mine has finally started to grow new leaves. If gluing it worked for you, let it be, no plant likes to be moved around. Good luck.
  6. 1moretank
    I've only had regular colored bristlenose, but even the 1-2 inch ones will uproot anything not very well rooted. Big ones move everything. Otos IMO are only more delicate getting them home & healthy, once they are acclimated to my tank, no more delicate than any other fish, it seems to me they are great for keeping the plants clean - not sure about the glass so much. One thing yo did not mention is pro/con how much do you see them. Plecos in my experience the happier & healthier they are the less you see them. Otos are really fun & playfull in my tanks, they flit all over, play with guppies and are overall really fun, we play "Where's Waldo" with them in our 55. I have never had the hillstream loaches, but you can bet I will the first time I have a chance, they look amazing and don't appear to hide either. Your tank is gorgeous, please keep us updated as it grows in. Good luck & have fun.
  7. 1moretank
    @KaitieG I have 2 angelfish i 2 separate tanks, bought one dime sized 4-5 years ago, bought he 2nd one about 50cent piece size about 4 years ago. Bought from soft water, lived in soft water for about 2 years, then moved to hard water, 2 years later both angels still seem fine in their respective planted stable tanks. IMO maintaining clean stable environment is more important than hard or soft if you are not trying to breed. Good luck.
  8. 1moretank
    @dan94 I believe Cory recommends less than 40, when my tap was soft water, I couldn't keep my nitrates that high so I varied between 0-40. Now I have hard water and my nitrates are at the top of the chart but my plants & fish are doing well. I have not fertilized in months, so my fish must be doing a good job. I have dwarf sag with new flowers on it nearly every day and at least 5 tanks with anubias flowering today. IMO watching your tank and its population is much more important than the test kits, once you get everything somewhat stable. I like the "take it slow" approach to everything in my tanks. Maybe aim for 30 ppm instead of 20 for a month and see what happens? Good luck and enjoy the journey.
  9. 1moretank
    My understanding of Java Fern is that the plants create plantlets from the leaves as an attempt to "spread its seed" when it thinks it is dying. I'm not an expert and can't tell you what nutrient(s) it is lacking but I believe the plant is telling you it isn't getting everything it needs to survive. I would guess that @Brandyis seeing healthier plantlets because of her new supplementing. Good luck.
  10. 1moretank
    If I am reading this right, you had new plantlets at first, so your plant nutrient "needs" are higher now than in December, but you haven't changed how much fertilizer you dose? So I would think your plants are no longer getting enough nutrients. Try more fertilizer, maybe one squirt 3 times a week, and see if you get some new growth. If you get a little, but not as much as you expect after a month of 3 squirts, you can always bump it again. Good luck.
  11. 1moretank
    I think I have to agree with @Streetwise , my tanks that have /had hair algae all get light from a window. I tested this theory by making a brown cardboard "curtain" to cover the top, sides and front of the aquarium that received window light. I left my tank light on the same schedule, but covered the tank with the cardboard curtain - only taking it off if the tank light was on - the hair algae completely disappeared in a few weeks. I have one tank that gets lots of window sun in the morning before the tank light turns on in summer but not an issue in the winter at all, since I don't want to move the tank, I try to remember it's "curtain" before I go to bed. Good luck in finding your solution.
  12. 1moretank
    I have been keeping fish for many years and I have never decontaminated a plant. I usually do a short quarantine more because of timing than concern. When a plant comes in I usually rinse it under cool water in the sink, then set it in a small bucket I keep with fish supplies so it is completely underwater (bucket is 1-2 gallons that ice cream comes in). My true purpose is just to hold it until I have time to plant it, but it does serve as a quarantine for observation. In all of my hobby, I have had only a few snails, a few snail eggs I saw/found and 2 hitchhiker fish eggs (2 Daisy rice fish I wish I could have bred) and the fish were from a ziplok baggie of plant i purchased at a local plant swap. I think the risk to the plants of an actual chemical decontamination procedure is much higher than the risk of any likely hitch hiker to my fish, but like everything else in this hobby, how you want to handle it is what makes you feel the best about your hobby. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
  13. 1moretank
    An algae eater I just love is the otocinclus - they are small, reasonably priced and amazingly not shy once they adjust to your tank. They seem to do a good job of cleaning plants and glass. I don't love snails, but I find they reproduce fast & readily in the tanks I am overfeeding to grow out fry and they die back to almost zero in the tanks that are well balanced (no excess food) so I don't worry about them anymore, if I see an increase in population I reduce my feeding schedule a bit. Val does great in coarse gravel and pea gravel in my tanks and I only give it root tabs if it happens to be near a plant like amazon sword that I feed on purpose. My val & anubias tank has never had a root tab, only easy green, and the val has nearly engulfed the 29 gallon tank, funny thing is the anubias has kind of been lifted by the val and is flowering, floating in the val in the middle of the tank. Have fun!
  14. 1moretank
    In my experience Val grows tall enough to float on top of a standard 75 gallon tank (I have leaves reach from one side to the other so 2 ft tall then 4 feet long). I also tried dwarf sagittaria, it grew to the top of my 20 long, a few leaves are twice that long. I moved some to the 75 and it reached the top quickly but hasn't gotten much longer. I have trimmed both to be about 1-2 inches under the surface. The newly cut ends usually suffer some shock, dead mushy ends, and such but I've never lost a plant, only occasional entire leaves. I'm going to try micro sword next because I really wanted 3-4 inch tall wavy grass in the front of the tank. As @Lifeisgood said, Val runners try to go where they want, if you don't stay on top of it, then when you pull up one that got away and had time to develop roots, you make a BIG mess. Plants are fun, good luck.
  15. 1moretank
    I've read many times that goldfish will dig up plants. I only have goldfish in a 100 gallon tub overwintering from my pond, and I just planted Val in pea gravel in the little pots Co-op sends plants out in, then put the little pots about 1/2 inch down in the substrate - so far no problem although I saw one runner floating - that happens in tanks with no goldfish too. As far as the 'growing' part of plants, Cory said the ones that grow slow also deteriorate slow, so you have longer to correct situations. That fits completely with how I like to grow my plants. Add plants, watch and test your water. After things settle in start adding fertilizer, watch and test. Adjust as you notice changes. Personally, I think everything needs time to adjust to change before it will start growing, so unless your water has no nutrients, I would not add fertilizer for at least a week after putting them in your tank. Last thing I can suggest is test your tank before and after the first couple water changes. It's helpful to know what is being changed. Good luck and have fun.
  16. 1moretank
    That's a nice piece of moss. You said nothing has changed so I am understanding that you dosed the same fertilizer before and after you added the moss? If that is the case, then I agree with @DSH OUTDOORS you most likely need to increase the amount of Easy Green since you increased how much is being consumed. I like moving slow, so I would increase that return to 30% water changes & not add new fertilizers until I had watched for changes for a few weeks. As a side note, everyone warns that plecos will chew on amazon swords but I see my small ones rasping on nearly any leaf big enough for them to put their mouth on - not suggesting the pleco caused this, just that it might make the damage worse now that it has holes in the leaves. Good luck.
  17. 1moretank
    I tried cutting a plantlet & piece of stem with visible root off a parent plant stem, and planting it - plantlet died. 2nd time, I laid the stem over and used hardscape to keep the plantlet roots pushed gently into the soil, waited until it stayed down when hardscaped was moved (I think 1-2 months, it was a while back). After the plantlet was rooted into the gravel, then I cut the stem and that plantlet lived, I pulled it up and moved it well after cutting the stem connecting the 2 plants. I use this method with house plants and in the garden, which is why I tried it. I would think any time after the plantlet has visible roots you could start the process. I'm sure there are other methods - this is just what I have done. Good luck.
  18. 1moretank
    Lots of good advice given. Beautiful hardscape. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is the right one. Maybe stop changing water and lift the java fern and banana plant out of the substrate a bit. Test your water after a week and just watch. When the plants start getting nutrients they will grow. When they grow I think they might help clear up the tannins some or at least make it less obvious, plus the tannins will fade on their own. Good luck.
  19. 1moretank
    I normally feed really good for a week or 2 before leaving, that helps 2 ways - it fattens up the fish and it builds mulm and 'stuff' in the tank for them to eat. I have planted well stocked tanks 10 to 75 gallons. I have also used Nano Blocks for shrimp as a slow release food - I tested them while I was still home and they last 3-6 days depending on how many blocks and how many fish, but that takes a 2 week vacation down to one week unfed. Auto feeders also work well, feed less but every day and they will easily last more than 2 weeks on my 55 s.
  20. 1moretank
    Please do! I haven't read the Walstad book, but I wonder if the only real difference between the dirted method and a gravel bottom tank with plants and no traditional filter is that I have to wait for the mulm to build up and provide nutrients, while the dirted tank starts with nutrients already in and the mulm revitalizes the nutrients?
  21. 1moretank
    I use old Betta cups to catch many fish, from guppies to baby plecos and cherry shrimp. Moving slow with the cup seems to not stir up the same stress and hyperactivity that the net does, and I don't have to ever have them out of water. Even in heavily planted jungle val tanks the cup usually works better than a net.
  22. 1moretank
    The cloudy generally doesn't hurt anything, and doing nothing is a very good start, tanks will very often self-regulate after changes all by themselves. From your photo, it looks like your tank might be getting external light from all sides? If a week of doing nothing doesn't improve the tank clarity, you might try cutting down the external light. A background of cardboard or construction paper would be enough to test if it helped. Good luck.
  23. 1moretank
    It doesn't solve the potential population explosion if you can't find the little snail, but as long as you don't overfeed, any population will eventually shrink itself if there is nothing to eat.
  24. 1moretank
    My experience, valisneria grows well in gravel (small or pea sized or a bit larger) but it can grow TOO well and take over the tank if you don't pull up unwanted runners, and it can float and cover the top of the water (something to think about). I would recommend Anubias, they also grow in soft or hard water (like Val) but they don't need any substrate (can hook or glue to wood, rock, suction cup, or plastic decor) and they grow slow, so no maintenance in over a year, mine have done well with and without Easy Green, even flowering. My experience Platy babies stay near the bottom of the tank and Angel fish or an African dwarf frog will easily control fry. Guppy babies tend to stay near the top & an Angel is much better for controlling fry than the frog, A betta in a 55 can do a fairly good job of fry control also. If you aren't excited about plants, stay with fake ones, I like to think of plants as reducing tank maintenance, more plants = fewer sponge cleanings and gravel vacs.
  25. 1moretank
    @will billy, i love the pothos holder, great idea. I have super healthy hornwort in about half my tanks, jungle val is covering the top of most of the others. I haven't used pothos in several years. I don't change water normally, just op off, and there's quite a bit of evaporation even in tightly closed lids- I believe do to the hole necessary for auto feeders. Those nitrate readings are capped at 200ppm by the test strip. All the most recent test readings were after a month of no easy green. Sounds like for now I will withhold easy green, let the hornwort get a bit thicker and just test and watch. With everything still looking and acting healthy, I don't want to start a heavy water change program. If I can find some cheap pothos, I'll add those. Thank you both for your help.
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