Kat_Rigel

What is the active ingredient in easy carbon? I cant seem to find it on the co-op site; just curious if its similar or the same as fluorish excel.

Are you seeing any behavioral changes? I also havs gold white clouds and they are a bit fat, but not quite as much as yours.

Hi all, I am having an issue with my shrimp. I have a 60 gallon, well established aquarium (over a year.) It contains guppies, pencilfish, corys, and cloud minnows. They all seem to be doing OK. For inverts, I have 2 bamboo shrimp, cherry shrimp, and assassin snails. Two weeks ago I had a thriving colony of neocaridinia cherry shrimp. See photo- they were all over the food, they were chowing down on the algae on the back of the tank, feeling happy. Yesterday, I went to scoop some out for a different tank and noticed they were hard to find. Today, my fears were confirmed when I looked in the filter- there's always a few that live in there, but this time it was just carnage, tons of dead cherries. I also noticed that my bamboo shrimp shed yesterday, but it has not opened its fans to eat. Just crawling around, not by the filter as usual. (See before and after pics.) I can't currently find the other one, but there are lots of plants. Only a few cherries alive. I want to say there might even be fewer assassin snails. The cories are also acting strangely. Usually shy and hiding, always on the bottom. They have been very active and sometimes swimming mid-tank, I actually thought it was mating behavior initially, but now I am worried it could be as symptom of something in the tank. Current tank parameters of this morning: ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, pH 7.8. Gh is 12, Kh 7, as of 8/5. No major changes to the tank that I can think of. 3 days ago I got a couple new plants from aquarium co op, I rinsed under water but did not quarantine. And about a week ago I got some mature bio filter out of the HOB for a different tank. None of that really seems like it should change anything. I lowered the temp 3 degrees (from 80 to 77) a few days ago but was careful to do so slowly to avoid shock. I have been dosing Flourish excel daily for the past 2 weeks per directions but will be cutting that out ASAP as sources are telling me it basically kills things. I also dose fluorish twice a week, which the plants gobble up greedily. I am worried perhaps there was a change in the water from the city? Like maybe added copper, since all the inverts are suffering? Unfortunately I don't have a copper test handy. Anyone know what might be going on? Should I turn the heat back up? This was a perfectly healthy, balanced tank just 2 weeks ago. 😕 I also keep magenta mystery snails in a different tank, use the same tap water, and they are all fine.

I am definitely ogling those platys. So cute!

Oh my, this thing is going to be an absolute GOLIATH if it turns out male! Haha i was going to ask you if your big endler ever bred, but I suppose that would be pretty tough to figure out. Interesting that two different people now have brought up Japanese Neon Blue Endlers in their examples. These Ginga Rubra guppies have a very endler-esque appearance and I suspect they have endler genes in there somewhere- I wonder if endlers are more prone to this?

While plants don't necessarily host fish diseases, I am concerned about adding them straight to my tank in case of hitchhikers. Does anyone here recommend quarantining plants? From what I have read online, 2-3weeks is enough time for any potential parasites/diseases to die off due to not having a host. I'm not concerned about snails because I have oodles of assassin snails; and I've never really heard of a plant killing the other plants in a tank due to some kind of plant disease. I suppose it wouldn't be too tough to set up something small to quarantine. Do you think it would be reasonable to have them hang out in an outdoor tub for 2 weeks? The plants in question are anubias nana petite and crypt lutea. TIA, I am learning so much on this forum.

I recently saw one of Cory's videos regarding this, I believe it was the "Making money breeding fish" series. He pointed out that you can breed multiple species in the same tank- for example, guppies, cherry shrimp, mystery snails, and hey, grow some Java fern too! I currently have a nice balanced setup with an established colony of assassin snails (they are VERY popular at the local fish club auctions,) cherry shrimp, tons of hornwort, and what I am hoping will be a breeding line of guppies. So I unknowingly had this set up pretty similar to what Cory suggested. I actually consider this my display tank, but hey, if you can make money off of it too, why not?

I didn't realize Sac had an aquarium club! I see they have posted their recent meetings online- I'll have to take a look! I am in the East Bay area, so its a bit of a drive but I see they meet on Saturdays, so that's do-able (well, once COVID blows over.) Plus there are a lot of people who commute that regularly (although y'all are crazy. 😲 ) Looks like we have a good bunch of SF and Sacramento peeps here!

Greetings! Right now I have some Ginga Rubra guppies- found them cheap on aquabid a while back and thought they were so pretty. I also like albino red delta tail guppies, but have had terrible luck breeding them... and keeping them alive. 😢 The Ginga Rubras are treating me MUCH better. Then again, I have a lot more experience now.

Very interesting! I have never heard of guppies repressing their hormones. I'll have to look up that video!

I'm also a fan of white vinegar, and you can use some baking soda to give it some extra oomph if needed for tough spots. Just rinse well.

Hi all, I have recently had succes breeding my Ginga Rubra guppies (admittedly accidentally, but Ill take success when it comes! Haha) I now have several big, fat, healthy adult guppies to be the basis of a colony. However, I noticed that one the females has not gotten pregnant and has an unusually shaped anal fin. The coloring clearly indicates this is a female, but the anal fin is long and slender like a male. I was able to get a semi-decent picture but its still difficult to see- but you can clearly see its very different from the smaller male. Is it common to get intersex guppies when breeding? I am very nervous about culling too much and just ruining everything. But I guess if this one isn't breeding anyway, I don't need to worry. Very interested to hear everyone's insights.

I have noticed that almost all pygmy corys that I see listed for sale are wild caught. Specifically, I am thinking the corydoras habrosus, but I think its about the same for corydoras pygmaeus. Is this because they are difficult to breed in captivity, or perhaps they aren't popular enough for fish farms to deal with (they don't make enough money?) Or is it more cost effective to collect from the wild? I have kept habrosus before and they sure were cute little buggers! However, there was no breeding activity, and I have never really bred any corys in general. Where my cory people at? Whatcha think?

Awesome, thanks for the advice, all! Was able to find this informative video from Cory too: Initially I had wanted to go with plates but it seems like white clouds is the way to go. Thanks!

...bump 😢

I have had good luck with fluorite, although I know it is unpopular with many due to all the "dust" when you first put it in. It worked for me the first time so I never saw reason to switch over. 🤷‍♀️

I panicked when snails infiltrated my planted aquarium, so I bought assassin snails. Jokes on me; they are a sustaining colony now and I will never be able to remove them all. 🤷‍♀️ I wish I had just let them run their course so that I could put my mysteries in there now, but hey, live and learn (Not interested in risking my mysteries.)

Hi all! I was recently watching Cory's videos on outdoor tub ponds and felt inspired! So I set up a little something on the balcony (perfect because my one bedroom apartment doesn't have a lot of space for tanks 🙃) Now I am at the point where I need to stock it, but I'm afraid! The temperatures seem so drastic! For example, I have my happy, established tank that sits at like 78/79*F all day and night. My outdoor temps right now are 85* high and low of 56*. I have been monitoring the temp today and it has risen from 58* this morning to 66* (which is less of a change than I expected- I thought it would get hotter.) It seems like such a temperature swing! How can I put fish in there?! Cory's video also said he was thinking of adding mystery snails- but it seems too cold! I am located in Northern California, and usually it is a bit hotter right now. Should I avoid the livebearers I was planning on and go with cloud minnows? But what if it heats up? Am I too late in the season to start? Oh my. Such uncertainty with outdoor ponds! Lol Advice appreciated, especially if you've had any experience with outdoor ponds. Pond is a 20gal tub with sponge filter and airstone, hornwort, a dying something or other plant, and rotala.

I'm surprised that the metal tubs don't leach harmful metals/chemicals, but if the fish are happy then it must be fine! I only recently found out that horse owners will keep fish in the horse troughs- I love it!

Hey there! I'm excited to join this forum and get some new fish info, since all the club meetings have been canceled recently. 😞 I like freshwater, livebearers in particular. Oh, and did I mention that I love snails? I love snails! 🐌 I currently have a 10gal tank of magenta mystery snails that have been breeding like crazy (they need an upgrade but I'm space limited,) and a 60gal with "Ginga Rubra" guppies (I don't have much info on them, but they are happy,) Beckford's pencilfish (under-advertised!), gold cloud minnows, bamboo shrimp, cherry shrimp, assassin snails. I love 'em all, although I could do with fewer of the assassins. 🙂 Sorry for the long intro, just really excited to be here!