MDoc

Two quick (possibly ridiculous) questions: 1. You said you add 8 drops of the Ammonia test. But did you mean 8 drops from each bottle? The API test kit has 2 separate Ammonia bottles that you have to use to test for ammonia. 2. Do you use a dechlorinator? You mention that you have city water, but nothing about using a dechlorinator. I realize this may be a ridiculous question, but wanted to cover the bases. What size aquarium do you have, and were you using any sort of fertilizers for the plants?

That one snail absolutely living the life. 😂😂

Like Cory mentions, I just make sure I have a lot of plants in my tanks. Commonly recommended plants for in the tank: hornwort, najas grass/guppy grass, water sprite, water wisteria. You could also try floaters such as frogbit, water lettuce, or (gasp) duckweed. Also, put some pothos growing out of the tank (it's non-fully aquatic, so just dangle some roots down in the tank or into the hang-on-back filter if you have one). Basically, for me, the more plants the better. I like the complete jungle look though, so that's going to be up to your own preferences.

Valcour = Val coeur French for Vallisneria lover, I'm sure. 😃

I've always considered mystery snails to be more of an ornamental snail than a worker snail. I believe I've read that their radula are much weaker than say a nerite snail which is why they have a tougher time scraping algae off glass and decor. They are beautiful, but they don't seem to be all that good at keeping algae at bay, etc. More of a pet than a pest.

Easy Green analysis says 2.66% Nitrogen Seachem Flourish analysis only says 0.07% Nitrogen So if Nitrates are your only problem, you could try that. However, Flourish also is lower in phosphate, much lower in potassium, and lower in a lot of the micronutrients as well. It is higher in iron and boron though. A bit of trade offs with either. 1-2 times a week of Easy Green may just be overkill.

Sounds like a good plan. The baby tears may struggle without a decent substrate (or at least root tabs) and decent lighting, but overall, not a bad selection of plants. The white film sounds like hard water stains (lime/calcium buildup). You could try a product like CLR, but you might be able to get away with plain old vinegar. Just make sure to rinse everything super well after cleaning. There are videos out there about how to prep an old tank for use. Personally, I don't acclimate plants. So as long as the tank is cycled, you should be able to add the betta whenever you're ready.

@Squeegee79When I click that link it just takes me to my wishlist. 🙁 I shared it to my friend as well: "Still blank." I just upgraded to the latest version of Edge, and that seemed to take care of the account login issue. Thanks for that reminder.

I can't seem to find a good email to use, and I feel like I am taking crazy pills. 😂 I have tried multiple browsers and had several friends try and click the link, and it almost always comes up blank (with the exceptions being if I am already logged in to my account). I have tried sharing it from Chrome into Chrome, from Chrome into Edge, from Edge into Chrome, in incognito mode and several other options. Would someone mind clicking this link and just telling me if they see a blank page or a bunch of items I threw in there? Here is me sharing the link in a message to a friend, and my friend's resulting blank page (in Chrome): And here is the "Sold Out" (but not really sold out) bug in the wishlist from the account page (in Chrome again, with a bit of a weird scroll): Wow, apologies for length. Also, new issue: I can't seem to access my account page in Edge. I signed it, but instead of seeing the Order History, Saved for Later, Wishlist, Account Details, My Rewards tabs, etc., it just kicks me back to the sign-in page. So instead of aquariumcoop.com/account, it flashes my account page for a second and kicks me back to aquariumcoop.com/account/login?return_url=%2Faccount Chrome works fine for the account page. I have not felt this technologically inept in years. I swear I am better than this, I swear. 😂

One important thing to remember (if it was indeed a bad cycle) is: don't feel bad. We've all made mistakes. Most (all?) of us have killed fish before. All of us have dealt with fish that have died unexpectedly. Try not to beat yourself up about it. Use it as a learning experience. There are people who do fish-in cycling (where the beneficial bacteria colony is built up while fish are present/ammonia is produced by fish waste). It might not work with all/sensitive fish, but it's done fairly frequently. It sounds like you are doing your research (a huuuuge step in the right direction from many people just starting out in the hobby). Even the fact that you made an account and asked is more than some people do.

You mentioned you are at "No nitrates". Have you ever seen nitrates in your testing? Because I'm worried it sounds like it wasn't fully cycled to me.

I was just battling this issue the other day. This solution is so simple. I can't believe I haven't thought if this before.

I was going to say the opposite, that they looked like leaves. 🙃 Regardless, I would be hesitant to just turn it and stick that side down in the substrate. Probably not much harm in letting it proceed as-is for another week or two to have them grow out further. I don't have a ton of experience with dwarf aquarium lilies (only ever had one), so maybe someone with more expertise will chime in.

Did the wishlist sharing feature break/go away? I was trying to get my wishlist to share, but when I share the link via the button and you click it (in an email, etc.), it just takes you to a blank page. This was from the main wishlist page. Also, when I go to my account and click on the wishlist tab (https://www.aquariumcoop.com/account#wishlist) it says basically everything is Sold Out. 29 of the 31 items are listed as Sold Out in the orange button. But on the main wishlist page (and on the product pages themselves), many of these are in stock and I can add to cart. Any ideas? I'm happy to take this conversation to email if more details are needed or if someone can't replicate what I am seeing. Thanks @Cory

😁😅

I don't know, but since it's Cory and the Co-op, you can bet it will be clean. 😉

And make sure you push it all the way down to the bottom of the substrate.

Good news! After 2 treatments with Ich-X (according to label directions), all Easy Planters have come out unchanged and unstained. Victory!

Long thin ones in the back look like Vallisneria (there are several similar plants with various common names: "jungle val", "italian val", etc.). EDIT: it could also be some sort of narrow leaf java fern. But the picture is a little too small to see exactly. Either really would give you a similar look. The broad leaf ones look like an Anubias species. Anubias barteri or nana variant. Both are sold by Aquarium Co-Op. Both are fairly easy plants.

Also, much of it depends on your plant load/types of plants. Slow growing things like Anubias won't need as much as fast growing stem plants or whatever. And how much lighting you are providing.

Seeing the speed of growth it is no wonder that many Azolla species are considered invasive/banned species in many areas.

Well, it's in. Will let you know if I notice anything. And if they're stained, hey, I was thinking about getting a bunch more anyway! Even my wife (who tolerates my hobby) thinks they look great. 😁 Thanks.

@CoryJust curious if you've done (or know of any) product testing in this regard. (Very sorry to tag you. If that's out-of-line or against the rules, please feel free to remove.) Appreciate it.

Does anyone know if Ich-X will stain Easy Planters? The bottle says it might stain decor, and I know some silicone will be stained. Some people have had mixed results with driftwood. I can't seem to find anything about Easy Planters though. Maybe it's too new of a product to have a lot of use cases. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.