CalmedByFish

I'd add to keep the current gravel and decor in the current water (separate container) while you work. That'll keep the bacteria on it alive. If you have enough containers for water, go ahead and set out water for the new tank the previous day. That'll let it come to room temp. I second @Colu's suggestion of hornwort. That stuff grows a foot a day in the right conditions! It's great for water quality, and about the only way to kill it is to throw it away. So if you do end up turning attention toward plants, know that there are some fool-proof options.

Pretty sure that if a tank reads 0, 0, and 0, that's a red flag that it might not have cycled (or the cycle crashed and needs re-done). I could be wrong. I do know for sure that plants need some nitrates though, so this is definitely something to look into. A tank that's epically balanced can often just do evaporation top-offs. So yeah, I'd put a pause on water changes, and keep up with the water testing to make sure nothing is going wrong. Sorry - that's all I got.

Way to go, Platy! Are there other fish in the pond?

@Angelfishlover I noticed that @SunBearQ's reference to you above didn't seem to actually link. So I'm just making sure you see it.

Well, backstory would help the size make sense: I have a kid with special needs, which includes bouts of extreme head-butting. They even have to wear a helmet and other gear. I have to keep all my glass tanks (and other breakables) away, which means I can't easily see them, and can scarcely even own them at all. The tank will be 29 gallons, made of 1" thick acrylic. The man who made it for me said "you could park a truck on it." It could have been made 40 gallons, but I'm trying to have a tank that I'll be able to keep through the entire rest of my life, and I need to plan ahead for having an old body. Anyway, 29 gallons, footprint is 35x15". Once I take down my faulty new 55 gallon, that will forevermore be my largest tank... just out of necessity.

I have no experience with tetras. But I can tell you that I think dithers are a good idea. My 1 angel has lived alone for years, and has become territorial and aggressive (biting my hand and such). If you can teach this one to share space from an early age, it'd probably be good.

This prompted me to grab a mirror and go look at the back seams of my recently filled Aqueon 55. Sure enough. Both back seams look like your second tank. [cuss cuss cuss] I wouldn't risk the tank you have pictured. I won't risk my new one either. Fortunately, I have a custom acrylic en route to my house right now. I'll just transfer the 55's stuff into it when it arrives. That was not my plan! But I'm so grateful you posted so I'd have a heads-up before there's water all over my floor. Aaargh for both of us.

I named my angel Harold. As in "Hark, the Harold angels sing..." 🤣 All I vote for is humor. That "Loonie" suggestion up there was kinda funny.

Well, I guess it's better than if you'd been getting cookies, not realizing you could've also gotten fish! 🤣 Not to be dismissive of your very legitimate desire for cookies...

I wish I couldn't relate to this! I think a lot of us found our way here because we were trying to figure out what was going wrong. Welcome!

Welcome, Rhamel!

Over the past 5 years, I've averaged 1-2 non-medical outings per year. One was to a Petco to get my angelfish. Other than that, everything's online. I don't even know if I have a decent LFS around here since I can't leave. So though urban, I'm effectively rural.

I actually was about to set one up, but knew I needed at least three categories, and honestly couldn't think of the right way to do that. I'm putting the "ner" in "nerm." 😂 (If any of you would choose a third category and want to educate me, I'll listen.) Good observation.

Best thread title ever.

I've only had one angel, but he's very slow-mo. When I was recently trying to decide between a few nano species, I searched videos of the different species on YouTube, and watched them swim. That gave me a decent idea of what it would feel like to watch them at home. I did notice that among a single species, fish in slower water would move slower. They also seem to move slower if they have a lot of plants to mosey in and out of, instead of just open water to hurry across. Though I haven't tried this out myself, I hear that fish will move more calmly if kept on the lower end of their comfortable temp range. So all those are things that might help you get the chill result you (and I) want. Edited to add: Sometimes females of a species swim more calmly than males do.

Not that it matters, but I'm curious. I just realized I often hear of wives who want their husband to stop getting more tanks, but not much about husbands who want their wife to stop getting tanks. (I realize not all partnerships are M/F, nor are individuals, but I'm thinking statistically here.) Is the aquarium hobby more often a guy hobby?

Don't make me want to buy more plants! 😂

This is one of the things I love most about the hobby. Life magically appears out of nowhere. ❤️

@Just Renee Bummer, but guppies tend to have another batch about every 4 weeks, right? Do you guess the medicating will be done by then?

Just an idea. Perhaps you could put in the teeniest speck of food as fine as flour, once or twice a day, so the fry can eat it but the adults can't. (I don't what med you're doing.) And as for hiding places, random plastic stuff totally works - whether aquarium plants or small things from the kitchen (but rub it with white vinegar first to get soap residue off, and rinse rinse rinse.) Or wait for the next batch to survive more easily. Either way, this is cool. 🙂

Looks good! That "and" sign makes me laugh. Like, "And this plant and that plant and this one and this one and and and..."

Everyone, thank you. You've given me good ideas. For whoever searches the forum for this topic later, I'm adding an ACO video I found.

I just found out I'll be moving to a place that's a 16 hour drive from my current home. Because I also have a young child to travel with, my water critters will likely be in their travel containers for ~4 days. (And yes, that does seem safer to me than mailing them does. Temperature on their route would be an issue.) I'll surely have more questions later, but what are your initial thoughts on how best to take care of them over a 3 day drive? I have one nano USB air pump with the weighted air stone. I can buy one of those rechargeable battery(?) packs that comes with it. I figure on giving each container of water several hours of air stone per day. I can let a Purigen bag sit in the bottom of each to help absorb ammonia, and fast them for a day beforehand. I can also either let a thermometer float in each container, or have one on hand to do temp checks. I'll have at least 3 containers: 1 angel, boy endlers, and girl endlers. I'll likely also have a separate container for snails, though my favorites could go in the previous 3 containers so I'm keeping a closer eye on their water. To keep some bacteria alive, I could at least add seasoned gravel to the bottom of every container. (There will also be some bacteria on aquairum plants I'm taking.) One of my biggest questions: What about my 1 African Dwarf Frog? She'll be 7.5 years old at the time. All thoughts welcome. I need to get my plan rolling.

Just clarifying: Do you work for ACO? I don't see anything about it under your username, on your signature, etc.

Others clearly have deeper thoughts than I'm having here, but one thing honestly seems funny to me. If the idea is that you shouldn't own things you can't carry up a few stairs together, wouldn't that mean you need to no longer own a bed, fridge, washing machine, and most of your furniture? 😂 Depending on your very specific relationship and circumstances, it might be a good point.