CalmedByFish

I think all the practical help I could offer already has been. The test kits are super key. I guess it was less than a year ago that I learned Nitrates exist... which led to learning about ammonia, then not chasing pH... you get the picture. I think most of us have been in some situation where we're having to rapidly figure out what in the world is going on with a tank. You'll make it through, and you've got empathy here.

I'll try the light trick. I'm actually wanting to completely empty the vase. 1 less body of water to think about.

I have the same junk on java ferns. Whichever of you said it's called "gross" is the right one.

All contents are actually from my tanks. It's just that the micro fauna thrived, so I'm hoping to keep the increased population. I never would have thought of that! I've heard that plants absorb oxygen overnight, and I guess algae is a plant, so it makes sense - but I wouldn't have realized. Thanks. It's a good idea, but I don't have anything similar to a BBS sieve.

I'm guessing a paper towel wouldn't suffice. Yeah?

Don't have one. Is the idea to find something that catches algae, but lets the critters through?

I have a small vase that I was keeping in the bathroom window. It has a good population of micro worms and micro crustaceans, which I'd like to dump into tank(s) with fish. The catch is that the water is pea green, and I can't simply pour out the water and keep the critters, since the crustaceans stay in the water column. Pros and cons of emptying the critters and green water into a tank? Or maybe splitting it between multiple tanks?

Really gorgeous. Sorry about your black bar colony though.

@Beardedbillygoat1975 Superb blue! Is that just the pic, or is the blue actually that vibrant? BTW, I just noticed your signature. Cardiology has been of help to 1 of my kids. On behalf of all the parents out there, thank you!

I've heard there's at least 1 species of fish (or shrimp?) that's good at eating it. Might be worth researching.

Genius. Like the kind of folder that has 2 pockets and holds paper, right?

Ooh! Fill me in on this info, please! My endlers have had about 25 fry who are now old enough to identify the boys. There are only 3. The tank's temp range is 74-77. I've heard that if you remove males, they'll make more to even out the population, but the only male with them is the dad. So what's this temp info? Edit: correct temp range

At least make sure to do your research first. It'd be a bummer if you looked back in hindsight, and realized you'd caused yourself to lose something that's in your best interest to keep. Snails aren't in the best interest of *every* tank, but I'd dare to say they're in the best interest of *most* tanks.

If I hear you right, you're wondering if it's a hybrid? My N and P class endler males sometimes show orange for a while before showing black. Although the amount of orange on his tail looks guppy-ish to me, the tail seems small, so he might start showing some endler-style black in the next couple weeks. My best guess is that he's got some of both, but I'd say to give it at least 2 weeks to see what the colors do. Regardless, he's pretty. 🙂

Thinking about the mobility issues. Since you might want to not add a tank, maybe you could order a tank divider online. I haven't seen them lately (haven't looked), but a divider I used to have for a 10 or 20 was basically a stiff sheet of plastic, with many tiny holes in it, and some kind of in-tank frame to hold it in place. You could have an endler tank and a betta tank, without having another tank, and without even getting in the car. (Your filtration could go right beside the divider so both sides of the tank get decent filtering and air.)

Yes, thank you for making sure I know. I'll be moving soon, so needed a way to simply pick it up out of the current tank and easily relocate it. It's my hope to have my tanks truly set-up, with plants in substrate, sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed.

In case it helps: I planted my regular Amazon sword in a sturdy plastic drinking cup. (Rubbed with vinegar first to make sure it didn't have soap residue.) Been a couple months, and so far, so good. So I can at least tell you that using some kind of little "pot" should be fine for a while - even though I don't know about terracotta. Stick some root tabs at the bottom of the container though.

Doesn't look at all like a snail to me. Search for images of "limpet." Might be it.

So fun!

Just a heads-up that the medaka are likely to reproduce, so you'd need a plan in place. Glad to help.

At the least, I would put a couple inches of gravel between the rock and glass so that if I didn't set it down as gently as intended, the force could disperse a bit. Full disclosure: I've never put a large rock in a tank. I just know my tendency to lose my grip on heavy things.

The algae wafers might have ingredients that don't benefit the snails, since they tend to be made for fish. If so, the snails wouldn't be getting as much good as they could be out of their time and energy spent eating, and the unused ingredient(s) would add ammonia to the water too. It might be better to use a food intended for snails or other animals with shells. I also second the idea of putting a piece of cuttlebone (or wonder shell?) on the bottom of the tank. I do that, and notice a young bladder snail sitting on it about every day. The time it takes for the eggs to hatch (and snails to mature) can probably be sped up using their ideal breeding temp range - though I don't know what that is. Might be worth researching. The only other thing I haven't seen here is the mention that they do need to breathe air, so make sure they have about an inch of glass above the water line to go hang out.

Eh, I'm not confident a 5 gallon is *really* big enough for some of those species. I'd say to narrow it down to the smaller species, and then just a small number of the species you choose.

So basically you're a Scrub Jay. 🤣 Seriously though, I love this.

Just an interesting side note: I live in a place that regularly drops below 0*F during winter. The colder it gets, the more diligent I am about throwing out seed for a big flock of sparrows. Always, 1 will come alone, land on the seed a second, fly up to a bush or roof, and start singing at the top of his tiny lungs. A few sparrows at a time, then dozens at a time, rapidly come swooping in and onto the seed. Then the "scout" also eats. Only now is it occurring to me that the endlers are similar - though I think they're more "monkey see, monkey do," rather than intentionally helping each other.