CalmedByFish

Welcome to the hobby.

Hang on, guys. I think you don't hear yourselves. You're talking about intentionally causing animals to suffer. Justify it all you want - there are good arguments to be made regarding the benefits to the offspring. But you're still talking about intentionally causing suffering. Shift gears. The question is: How do we bring about disease resistance ethically? Having varied genetics, instead of inbreeding, is an excellent starting point.

Cute tank! I have yellow and red neocaridina, who have finally just started having babies. 🙂 For what it's worth, mine act most excited when I sprinkle a teeny bit of Bacter AE on their java moss. I'd suggest at least considering those 2 items, or similar things.

Last time I ordered, I got an extra air stone for that purpose. I'd been occasionally adding an airline tube without a stone to a tank, but the BLUB-BLUB-BLUB makes whatever container it's in vibrate rather fiercely. A mere air stone makes it still. I guess there are quite a few things it can't hurt to have 1 extra of.

I'm sorry for your loss, Mahi27. I'm always half-afraid that will happen when I change water, mainly because it's sometimes hard to know what exactly caused it. Were you at least able to figure out the cause? I'm guessing they'd say they have more memories from the year of getting fat and sassy, than they do from their last minutes. ❤️

@Beardedbillygoat1975, that gives me usable guidance, so also some peace of mind. Thank you. I'm copy-pasting that into the qt instructions I keep.

By the way, I check a check valve by blowing in it the same direction the air is supposed to flow, to see how hard it is to push air through.

I got cories for the first time about a week ago. I'm trying to make sure I understand: Are the red gills visible in those last 2 photos?

A 1 milliliter syringe has markings on it for each 1/10 of a ml. That's what I use. They're easy to find on Amazon.

🙂 What species is the greenish one that looks like an alligator-stegosauras hybrid?

For me, a stink is usually something gross on the lid. If you can, I'd say to walk across the room with the lid and smell it. (Bonus points if somebody you don't know sees you do it. 😂 )

Could it be that the anubias is stretching to get closer to the light?

An avocado pit or schefflera might be fun. No clue about toxicity though.

This is almost on par with advice like "patience" and "research." Bingo.

Welcome!

Sounds like a cat. As of yesterday, my new gourami hurries to the front wall when I approach, waiting for food. Once yesterday, I just stopped to stare at him from above. He hurried over, didn't get fed, and I'm pretty sure he started spitting water on purpose. He might've just been grabbing for invisible food, but now I'm curious. (And yeah, it worked, I fed him. 🙄)

I'm new to cories, but they seem to be perkier in the mid-upper 70's than they are in the low 70's. I'd guess that also correlates to being healthier.

I know there are a bunch! I don't have experience with them myself. If you want, you could search the forum for a thread on the topic, or just start a new thread to ask. Edit: I just saw your post about it. Nvm!

The first time I tried plants, the back wall of my tank was caked in thick algae. It's actually perfect for adding plants, because the plants can eat the same stuff the algae is, which decreases the algae. I started by putting pothos sticking out of the lid, with the roots in front of that algae-covered back wall. Pothos is great, since it can stay healthy in low light. It's almost impossible to mess up.

Cherry and Garcia. 😂

Thanks for the info @Fish Folk. For me, taking care of blackworms would be overcommitting. Sounds fun though.

@Fish Folk That was way cool. Thank you. Key take-aways I caught: My little cories might benefit from a small piece of a catappa leaf (I can add it tomorrow), and they need to be more than a year old to breed. Correct me if I'm wrong or you think I missed something. I suppose I need to be more concerned about their current health than their future growth! @lindabee53 So yours have grown roughly 1/4 inch per 4 weeks, right? (I saw someone else online say that, but I also saw someone say 1/4 inch took 3 months.) Both of you: The main thing I need to pay attention to, regarding growth, is that they not look thin? And I suppose it's okay that they gathered at the surface tonight, bobbing quickly up and down, as if kissing the surface of the water? I've seen them do that in pet stores, but I don't know what they're doing. @CorydorasEthanThat's helpful! Thank you! So I suppose my new 1" peppered cories are roughly 5 months old? (By the way, I wrote the above before seeing your comment.)

I recently bought Corydoras paleatus (Peppered Cories.) They're only an inch long. I'm finding mixed answers about their growth rate and breeding age. How old were your cories when they got to adult size?

That one looks like @Zenzo!

Thank you. I don't know how I missed that. I've learned about how the nitrogen cycle works, but I really don't think I ever heard that it can crash without there being a big change to the tank... which doesn't mean it wasn't said. Thanks for making me aware.