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Melinda P

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Everything posted by Melinda P

  1. Hello! I know nothing about CO2 set ups but wanted to try out the Fluval CO2 kit (I don’t have the space to the large set up that the CoOp offers). I have set everything up as the instructions said and when I first turned it on it seemed to work, but now when I open the regulator, the water level in the bubble counter increases (and even overflowed a couple of times). I can hear the CO2 so it must be going somewhere but I have tightened everything and cannot figure out where the gas is escaping. Any advice would be appreciated🙏
  2. Hospital tank is set at 84F (thermometer confirms). I have a Co-Op sponge filter for filtration and oxygenation/agitation. pH 7.1, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 5 My fish have always acted perfectly normal, except maybe a little pale.
  3. So I am at a loss; I have tried multiple times to keep German Blue Rams but have never been successful. I am careful not to stress them out, keep their water at their optimal temperature (~84), and quarantine them with the Trio. I have tried a couple of different places (both chain stores, online sellers, etc) but no dice. What am I doing wrong? I love this species so much and want to keep them, but I also don't want to splurge money and time to end up with dead fish. I know they are difficult to care for, but I don't know what I should change, or if it's my water or what. The girl I picked up today looked healthy at the shop (at high 70's temperature), and had gotten her colors back over the past two days since I brought her home. I checked on her an hour ago (in hospital tank) and she was fine; half an hour later, she's belly up.😞 Any advice would be greatly appreciated...
  4. Same! I feel like livebearers are like humans; they don’t need much to breed other than water/air😂😂
  5. I got my corys from Petsmart, which makes it that more shocking/awesome!😂😁
  6. Just like the title says; I happened to walk past my 20 long tonight and see these two little fellas (the rest of my pandas are full grown). They look about 2 cm long, which Google tells me (breeders, feel free to tell me otherwise) means they’re ~8 weeks old. It certainly surprised me, but it was a little bit of happiness in the last few weeks of my own personal hell. Never intended on breeding them, obviously, but makes me feel good that my corys were well taken care of enough to spawn and for fry to survive! Just wanted to share my little bout of ‘fish happy’ tonight 😊
  7. I am working on designing a new scape for a 75 gallon and ponderign about apsubstrates much like anynplanted aquarist (much more than normal people think I should🙃). I love the rooted planta like swords, but also prefer sand over gravel (I like the look better and I find its easier to clean). I was thinking of doubling up on substrate, with something like Fluval Stratum on the bottom (begin enough for roots to grow through) and Carib Sea sand (this the brand I have found to prefer). Would this work int terms of giving my root plants room to grow but also giving the aesthetic I prefer? Would Carib Sea sand just fall between the Stratum and not have a hard division between and just look like a mistake? These are the questions I ponder in all my free time….
  8. I would like to put a larger tank on the second floor of my house, on an inside wall, but I am concerned how big a tank I could *safely* put there. I obviously want to avoid a catastrophe if the floor cannot hold the weight of the filled tank and stand, let alone substrate, decor, etc. Does anyone have a number (X amount of gallons) where you should start worrying about it, or any other tips? I'd rather get a small tank rather bring in a contractor/other to reinforce the floor, but I'd want the biggest tank I could have. TIA!
  9. Thank you for the tips! I think I will wait until its closer to avoid the risk. Unfortunately, I will be flying home and all my furniture/belongings (including my 10g and 20g) will be shipped. It will take up to three weeks between me leaving and flying home to the arrival of my things with a moving truck, hence why I want a tank there already set up for any fish I choose to bring back. Follow up question: is the weight of the 125g something I should be concerned about? In that, I should place it in a certain place or level of the house or reinforce it? Or is it not big enough to really worry that the “regular” floor could take it?
  10. Thank you! Can I do something similar with a sponge filter or would the bacteria not survive that long?
  11. Thats part of it. The biggest moving part that I’m most concerned about if its possible/smart to cycle it multiple months in advance with nothing in it except filter media and plants.
  12. Backstory: I am currently in school on the west coast, but will be graduating soon and returning home to the northeast. I currently have a 20g and 10g tank that I am bringing back with me, and a 36g bowfront I will be selling. I would like to set up a larger tank at home, almost certainly a 125g given the dimensions of space I have. I have never kept a tank this large, nor have I ever been in the situation of having aquarium supplies (filters, plants) that I want to transport across time zones. So my questions are: Can I use sponge filters in a tank that size or do I have to use a cannister? If I can use sponge filters, I would want to seed the new tank with the cycled ones I have with me. Has anyone ever shipped filter media like that via UPS/FedEx/etc and how should I go about doing it? Same question as above, but regarding plants. I do not want to dispose or give away my plants and would like to bring them home with me. How should I go about doing it? Can I set up the tank multiple months (up to a year) ahead of time (aka scape and add filtered media) and just let it sit there? No one in my house will maintain it, but I don't know if I can just throw plants and a filter in there and expect them to be alive if there's no nutrients being added. My reason for this is determining the timing of sending filter media/plants, whether I should do it a few weeks before I move or if I can do it far ahead of time (more convenient) without losing the plants or integrity of the filter. If I ship fish home, I would have to put them in this 125g since I have no other tanks running at my home in the northeast, so I want to ensure it's cycled before my final move. My dream fish is German Blue Rams. I know it's a very common fish but as I have not been fishkeeping for decades, it's a fish I've always wanted to keep but have been afraid to because of their sensitivity. My graduation gift to myself is this tank and getting this fish, of course after cycling it. My thoughts of stocking/scaping for this large tank are similar to the anesthetic videos seen on the Co-Op channel (a moderately planted tank with cherry barbs, neon tetras) plus maybe some type of cory, plus 3 GBR's. I love the look of these former two species and have found that, though very common and some may feel mundane, I absolutely love the way they look, especially against plants. I would also like to add the spiderwood/driftwood and smooth river rocks I already have in my current tanks as I like the look. So, given that information, my questions are: Is this combination workable for the temperature I need to keep the GBR's at (84-86F)? I have heard sterbai cories are good at that temperature, and from what I understand, the barbs and tetras can be kept at that temperature if appropriately acclimated, but I want to hear from more experienced people than I Could I also keep my clown pleco in there to help with algae/cleanup? Do I need to add anything else for GBR's, like caves? I would imagine the plants plus rocks/wood would provide coverage for territory, but I am not sure... The majority of my fish now would not be coming with me cross country; I can drop them off at a LFS a few hours away so they can be adopted out or resold. I may keep just my pleco and my pepper cories (paleatus) but I don't want to put them through the stress of shipping them to the east coast if they won't do well. This was a very long post, so thank you SO much if you got this far! I appreciate any suggestions/ideas/tips on any part of the situation I've explained above! 🙂
  13. The title kind of summarizes it but long story short: my cat broke the lid for my TopFin 5.5g (fat feline thinks the fish tank is his pedestal, but that’s another issue). Since this is a betta tank, I quickly found the dimensions of the tank and found an Aqueon lid at my local Petco that was for a 5.5g. I knew there was a probability that the lid wouldn’t fit because it’s not the same brand (and of course, Petsmart doesn’t offer replacements for any of their TopFin products) but I felt kind of pushed for time because I didn’t have much that I could use to cover the tank to keep my betta from making a suicidal jump to the fishy underworld. Unsurprisingly, it’s not an exact fit, but it’s pretty close (pictures attached). It measures a little less than 3/16” off. My question is: has anyone done some DIY mastery thing to increase the width of a rim of a tank whereby I could shimmy this in? Or am I out of luck and should try something else? Or should I simply leave it sitting on top and secure it there (not preferable as I live in the atrium to Hell a.k.a Arizona and top off is a major chore if I don’t have a sealed glass lid)? Many thanks in advance🙂
  14. I picked up a few (alleged) Harlequin Rasboras at my local Petco a couple of months ago; all of them are healthy but this guy (left) does not look like a Harlequin; from my Google search and what I know, he looks like a purple rasbora. I know it's a bit blurry but it's best image I could get without him being blocked by his tankmates. Her hangs out by himself and seems to be outcompeted for food (always struggling to catch up with the other rasboras). I just want confirmation that's what he is so I can hopefully find some more of his species to keep him company. If so, does anyone have any recommendations on where I could find some purple rasboras online (my LFS are only big box stores)? Thanks in advance!
  15. Thanks! I have everything else I need for a sponge filter (airline tubing, air pump, air stone, etc), just not the filter itself 🙃
  16. So the motor unit on my AquaClear died. I don’t have a back up filter (I know shame on me) to use while the Co-Op order with a sponge filter comes in (To replace the motor was $20-30 plus shipping, while the sponge filter was $7.....you can do the math) Will my tank/fish be okay for the couple days without a filter? What should I do to tide it over until my order arrives? It’s a 20g long with 15 neon tetras, 6 ember tetras, and a school of panda corys. Fully cycled and partially planted.
  17. I’ve always been told Cardinals are astronomically harder to keep than neons, the latter of which seeming to be the staple beginner fish to get. Is this true? If so, what exactly about them make them hard to keep? I wouldn’t consider myself a beginner, but not an expert by any means. Both species are gorgeous regardless but I was just wondering about what exactly it was that made the difference
  18. @Cory This is the entire tank, the area on the right side is where the first picture was. Full Stocking: 1 female betta 3 platies 5 panda cories 9 cherry barbs No pleco
  19. Hello! Relatively new to keeping live plants, but I was very excited to rescape my 36g bowfront with a large plant order from the Co-op. I added everything on Saturday, and my fish seemed to enjoy the coverage and natural environment. But this morning when I went to feed, I notice that some of my Anubias leaves have gigantic holes in them, as well as have the entire leaves seemingly ripped off their stems. My Water Sprite and Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus also seem to be smushed to bits, but it's only on the right hand side of my tank (the left side has water sprite and Octupus as well that looks fine). I cannot imagine this is a natural adjustment, especially since it's only happening on one side of the tank. I have small schools of cherry barbs, panda cories, as well as three platies and a betta. Water chemistry is fine (0,0,20) and I dosed with Easy Green and added Easy Root Tabs on Saturday. The only culprits I could think of is my cories, but I have another school in my 20g long that has live plants and they never touched them. Any advice or insight would be appreciated! I don't want to get more plants if they're just going to be turned into a very expensive snack.
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