FreshwaterFacet

Thank you so much @Odd Duck! Sometimes I think to myself, “do I need to quit the hobby? Am I just not cut out for this?” I am likely an over feeder too to be entirely honest so I’m glad you mentioned that! Cutting back the lights & feedings hopefully will help! I’m also going to strongly consider some snails. I’ve heard their benefits far outweigh their “problems.”

Thank you for your help! So I have a Rubberlip pleco and salt and pepper corycats! I’ve considered nerites but hate the thought of eggs all over the glass. It might be worth the gamble though. My water parameters are pretty steady at 7.8 PH, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and between 5.0ppm - 10ppm Nitrates. I’m newer to the planted tank side of the hobby so I keep feeling like I’m flopping with all this algae!

I appreciate the help so much!! This has been a battle! I’ll post updates soon with progress (hopefully)!

I’ve got an electric blue acara, peppered cories, rubberlip pleco, and some tetra! I actually always have the curtains closed (except in this picture ofcourse!) We took the screens out so we had the curtains open. Here’s another picture.

I need some advice! I have been battling green hair algae for a couple weeks. I’ve decreased the lights to only about 8 hours a day. The only fertilizer I use is root tabs from the co-op. I keep removing it but it comes right back!! Its a 40 gallon breeder with a Hygger 26W light Any suggestions?

Hello! I am newer to plants and have never seen this before .. is it an algae? It seems to primarily be on my Amazon Sword. It’s so strange!

Not on this particular figure! It’s entirely plastic! I popped an arm off for that purpose. Hahaha

@Odd Duck Yes! I’ve heard this also! I haven’t known anyone to actually do it though. I might experiment with it out in a bucket and/or do a little more research.

I’d love to add this little Stormtrooper to my Starwars scape but I’m hesitant! Has anyone had experience with this before? I have done some research and it’s hit or miss. Some say it would be an absolute tragedy and others say in small amounts, it’s hardly noticeable (if at all) in terms of changing water conditions. Thoughts?

@Guppysnail Thank you for the feedback! I really appreciate it! So the celestial pearl danios help keep the copepod population down? I was really shooting for a shrimp only tank but I am kind of obsessed with keeping my tanks crystal clear and clean... the copepods might just be enough to push me to get fish in there. I have been suggested and have seen in different articles that people suggest chili rasboras as well. Would those be a contender to to take care of the problem as well?

@tolstoy21 hahaha ya got me there! Mine don’t seem to care much about the dish yet. They are very young though, and small still so I am hopeful that they will begin to utilize it eventually! I recently found what I am pretty positive are Copepods in my shrimp tank. I know they aren’t harmful but I hate that they are in there. I’ve never dealt with any like planaria, detritus worms, copepods, etc until now. There are only a few copepods that I could see after examining for what my husband claims was “hours.” Haha Shrimp only tanks seem to come with so many different challenges than my other tanks. My immediate reaction was water change but I know shrimp can be sensitive to water changes also so I’ve been doing them sparingly & slowly. Feeling a little defeated but they are so cute!

Thank you @tolstoy21! I appreciate the thorough information!! I really do! I also have fine sponges in my shrimp tank for filtration. I was worried they’d wiggle their way into the holes and I’d squish them during cleaning. What is your favorite food? Also, this may seem like a silly question but do you feel like the shrimp start to go to the dish more as they realize what it is? (Haha I hope that makes sense)

@Streetwisedo you keep a seasoned bucket? Or do you always have it filled? Did you have fish in it at one point? I’d love to know more!

Thank you so much @JettsPapa! I really appreciate!

Thank you @Guppysnail! That is super helpful!! @Casual aquaticsOh man! I guess it didn’t upload. I apologize! I added it again. I did clean it well before putting it in. All of the edges are nice and smooth.. pretty well made actually!

A little over a week ago, I purchased some juvenile blue neocaridina shrimp and I love them but being my first shrimp tank I have a few questions. I’ve never had planaria in my tanks.. atleast that I’ve seen, who knows, maybe my fish have eaten them. I saw one very small planaria in my shrimp tank just days after getting them.. assuming maybe a hitchhiker. I immediately removed it and ordered some panacur-c to treat the tank. I have not seen another planaria since even after really studying it. Should I still treat the tank? Second question, since planaria can occur when overfeeding, I purchased a shrimp feeder dish and tube like in this picture. I really like it & plan to use it in conjunction with feeding small amounts across the tank as I know they love to scavenge around but how long can I leave it in the little dish with a food before removing it? I don’t want to over feed and encourage planaria or other pests and/or foul the water because I know small neo shrimp don’t love big water changes but I also don’t want to underfeed them! 12 very small, juvenile neocaridina shrimp, sand substrate, driftwood, mossball, some floating plants, one medium Indian Almond leaf, and two small, cycled sponge filters.

I had this same issue @Nick H.! I ordered it from Amazon after finding one small Planaria in my shrimp tank last week. I was told that the No Planaria bags are supposed to come with an actual little measuring spoon. I never heard back from the company what the conversion was so I got Panacur-C because I’ve seen several videos & knew what the conversion would be.

I appreciate the feedback from everyone! Considering the information I’ve gathered here, Id like to plant them in my display display tank considering they will likely do better & won’t have to re-acclimate again! What’s the best route to take? I’ve read some people cut them back, plant the roots, apply root tabs and hope for the best.. others plant the melted plant, gross leaves & all. What have you seen work best?

Could be? I’m a new plant keeper so I don’t have a ton of experience with them. I did do that with my first three plants I had previously in quarantine and I was amazed at how they perked up afterwards.

@Mmiller2001 yes! I knew these plants were root feeders and being a QT tub with no bio nutrients, I like to use root tables. I knew they suggested root tabs in the Co-Op Easy Planters so I did the same thing here.

These are crypts! The plants are from another fish store but the root tabs are from the Co-Op. I am assuming you are correct as they do seem to have “melted.” Know I’m unsure of where or not I keep them in quarantine or place them in my main tank. I feel like that may put additional stress on them but I’m unsure. I have had them in quarantine for a week today (Sunday). I have seen no signs of snails or eggs just looking at them but I know they can be difficult to find sometimes. Should I take a chance and plant them now that they are pretty well melted back? Or keep them in quarantine?

I realize this is an older forum post but wanted to show these before & after photos of the benefits of recycling old tank water. I wish I had a photo from the very beginning of the summer when we potted these plants but they were not full and beautiful so we didn’t take any photos. We were super behind and didn’t get the plants purchased or planted until the 2nd week in June (and what was left for us to purchase.. wasn’t the greatest but we hoped they’d bounce back). I had heard Cory mention it on a live stream about recycling water & immediately started using it on these sad looking plants.. the results shocked even my farm raised parents. The plant on the top is the same exact plant just showing its growth from June 17 (after one dose of aquarium water) until now July 17th). Below is two photos taken on the same day but they are different plants that were purchased from the same tray on the same day BUT one was watered with used aquarium water the other was not! Insane!

I quarantined two Amazon Swards and a Crypt a few months ago. I really don’t want snails. They are now in my display tank doing great. Never really had any die back and seemed to transition well! This second batch of plants is another story. I did as I did prior - put treated water (with Seachem Prime) and some aquarium water in a vented tote with an air stone. I had ordered some root tans from the co-op and pressed one in each of them a few days into quarantine. I have done a small water change on it also. This is how they look now. Kinda sad and almost slimy/mushy.. the one more than the other. What am I doing wrong? *Disclaimer, for about 4 days, the plants only had natural sunlight for around 5 hours a day from a window and ambient light in a room. Could this be a contributing factor? Is this the “if you see it die back don’t panic and throw it out, it will likely come back” scenario?

Thanks @Ozymandias! That is a really good point about flatness. I think that would definitely be a contributing factor to the strength and reliability of a stand. I know typically in the past I have worried more about leveling the stand for purposes of water level. I can absolutely see though how the torsion of a piece impacts the integrity of the piece which also contributes to the stress on the seams/seals of the tank.

I agree with @Scott P., our stands look just like yours Henry C. When my husband built them, he took it out to the drive way and literally jumped up and down on it.. all 6ft, 220 pounds of him to make sure it had no flex. Haha! I like how Scott mentioned to about how much 2x4's can hold considerable weight and then when you add compression of additional boards, that number only increases. I have heard a number similar for him and I totally get his reservations about going for anything less sturdy. @Fonske, thank you for your comment on your experience. I think that definitely attests to the reason for going for sturdier pieces of furniture. I guess my biggest thing was wanting furniture for tank stands that didn't necessarily look like tank stands.. if that makes sense!