Stef

Thanks @Guppysnail, your experience is invaluable. I know the 9 gal is not ideal, but its low stocked, has more driftwood and lots of hides...and no other plecos 😀 This is going to sound dumb, but with regard to catching the pleco, does their armor get caught in the net material? Their skin/armor looks kind of spikey and rough. I'm thinking of trying to catch him at lights out and scoop him out while stuck to his inner coconut hut to avoid the net altogether. This first two pics are when I first got them in Sept last year (compare their size to the cory). The last two pics were today post fight of the two larger ones. Are those sucker marks on the back/head area?? You can also see the bristles developing on the one in the background. The one on the filter has no bristles that I can see.

Hi Everyone. As I was feeding some frozen brine shrimp today in my 10 gal tank (it's a Dennerle Scaper's tank so it's short but deep), two of my 3 young BN plecos went into "roid rage" and were mashing faces and thrashing at each other under the sponge filter. The fight lasted maybe 2 minutes and I tried to separate them using the end of a net to break them up. They went into their caves but one came right back out and sought out the other and started fighting again. I bought these three "babies" on Sept 1st 2021 and they were all about 1-1/2 inches long (too cute). Two have gotten quite big already (the two that are fighting). Only one of the two bigger ones is getting his bristles which look more like stubble around the mouth area (not so much on the head yet). The third is still fairly small. All are healthy looking and have nice bellies. They get a variety of foods like green beans, flake, wafers, zucchini, blood worms and occasional Repashy morning wood. At the time I bought them, I was battling a major algae problem (too much light) in this tank and thought 3 BN's would take care of things plus it was a 3 for $ sale at the lfs so I said "sure I'll take 3". There is some drift wood in the tank and each has a cave (1 coconut hut, 1 ceramic cave/tube, and 1 natural rock cave I built by tenting two seriyu stones). I know 10 gals is too small and want to get a larger tank. Life is getting in the way of my MTS plans and I haven't been able to get my dream tank. So I thought either 1) remove one of the larger BNs to my 9 gal Fluval Flex which only has 1 molly and its 10 week old single fry), or 2) go out and buy an emergency 20 gal long and set it up to break them up. I don't yet have a stand or sturdy dresser for a 20 gal, tho could make do with a bakers rack/shelving unit. All my other tanks are 6 gal cubes or a 5 gal. Is there a chance I'm mistaking their fights for mating? If not mating, can they kill each other if I don't break them up? I'm not interested in breeding. I'm really more into small nano betta tanks but willing to make a move to a larger tank. I really like the BNs and they're a blast to feed and watch their behavior. They can sniff out food like nothing I've seen. I keep up on water changes as this tank gets quite poopy. Other occupants are a mean old betta, 3 panda corys, 2 amano shrimp and 2 nerite snails. Appreciate your thoughts on how best to split up the BNs?

Is it taboo to mix live and fake plants? I set up this new 6 gal cube with some mini rotala look alike plastic plants in the foreground. The tank also has a live rotala in the back right corner. I think/hope as the tank ages the plastic will get some algae and not look so pink and plastic-y. Curious to see your mix and match aquariums.

Thanks @Odd Duck and @RadMax8 the drawing and explanations are spot on. Would you make separate cuts for heater cord and air line tube or just make the opening for the light bigger to accommodate all three devices? My sponge filter and heater are on the right side hidden behind a tall ish seriyu stone and the light box/casing is on the left. Haven’t decided what would be cleaner looking. One of the tanks is on my new kitchen island. I have a dremel and a hacksaw and some regular fine grit sand paper.

Hi. I currently have 3 six gal frameless cube tanks that I’ve finally settled on the clip lights and their placement. I’d like to now custom trim that back plastic portion of the lid so it lays flat and the Finnex light, heater cord and air line tubing have a notch cut out. My question is what’s the best tool to cleanly cut through? Sharp scissors? Tin snips? Exacto knife? I don’t want sharp jagged edges and I don’t have any other pieces to “practice” on.

I need a big glass of milk. Works of art!

I’m fairly new to nerite snails but have read they cannot flip themselves over like mystery snails. Your pics show them on their sides and maybe they were attached to the glass at some point. Can you place them back on their foot? One thing I know is that snails smell horrible when dead. Definitely not something you’d misinterpret. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I can chime in. Good luck with them. They’re great cleanup crew.

I adore my small troop of 3 pandas. They love simple flake food since it sinks pretty quick. And you have to try frozen blood worms. Watching them slurp/chew on a “red spaghetti” is a hoot.

The euthanasia was successful and she passed quickly. Thanks again to everyone for all your advice and support.

Hi everyone, my molly is not improving. The fact that she hasn’t died makes me think whatever she has is not parasites. She’s just lingering, not eating. Laying on her side. If she tries to swim, it’s in tight circles in place. She cannot get up off the bottom. I bought “clove bud oil” that says 100% essential oil and the only ingredient is “Syzygium Aromaticum (clove) bud oil”. I’ve watched several videos on euthanasia and believe I have the right stuff. I’ve learned that clove leaf oil is not the same as clove oil. But is clove bud oil 100% clove oil? I don’t want to screw this up.

@Coraline22002 I have a male betta who will lay on top of any algae wafer and guard it from everybody. He’s such a ham!

@eatyourpeas I don’t know how old she is. I got her this past July from my lfs. She only had a single fry found on Oct 10. Not sure if there were others that got eaten. The tank only has another male molly, no other tank mates. She was totally healthy up until a few weeks after birthing. Appreciate all the advice everyone. Hate when things go wrong

Quick update. The molly has been in qt since Tuesday 11/30. She's mostly been laying on the bottom breathing hard (sometimes on her side, sometimes upright). She's not eating the medicated food (mix of frozen daphnia, Omega flake with Focus, Garlic Guard, KanaPlex and MetroPlex). I later tried with a single frozen bloodworm that was unmedicated and she ate just one worm. I was using forceps and dangled it right in front of her mouth. Today I tried with medicated version but with frozen brine shrimp. She ate three separate brine shrimp, but then spit them out one by one. My question is should I start medicating the water and skip with the medicated food? She's in a small 2 gallon tank with a spare seasoned sponge filter from a different tank and a little heater. The water in her qt has 1 gal from her original tank and 1 gal of fresh dechlorinated water with 1 tablespoon API salt per 2 gal. I've been using turkey baster to remove uneaten food. Also, I'm not there yet, but if using clove oil to euthanize, is the general guidance to put her in a small cup with a few drops of clove oil, wait until she's anesthetized, and then add more drops of clove oil? I'm not sure how many to add to actually euthanize her. Never done this before.

Mystery snails are very peaceful and if you’re planning on having other tank mates (fish), they should also be a peaceful variety. Snail antenna can be tempting for aggressive fish to nibble on. Also a tight fitting lid to prevent any escape attempts. The co-op has YouTube vids on mysteries. This is a good one from PrimeTime aquatics on mystery snail care:

@Coluthanks, will pick up some garlic guard today and set up qt.

@Colu No more babies. But a week after the one surviving fry was born, she was in a hiding spot but I could not find any other fry after that. Since that week after the single birth, she has not returned to her hiding place. Filter intake has pre-filter sponge.

@Colu no visible parasites, no flashing, no stringy poop. She does seem to have rapid breathing for not swimming as actively as the others. I also notice when she swims forward, her body is in a tail downward position. Kind of like an airplane taking off. Otherwise she lightly swims or swims in place near the middle and upper half of the tank in a normal horizontal way. The male isn't pestering her too much but does swim under her and occasionally nibble/nudge her underside.

Hi everyone, any idea what’s going on with this female molly? She’s been slowly deteriorating after a birth on October 10th. Only a single fry found/survived and he’s been doing great, now at 7 weeks old. The tank is a 9 gal Flex and its only inhabitants are 3 mollies (mom, dad and baby). She’s skinny, not eating great but still eating and swimming. Her gills seem hallowed out but I’m guessing this more lack of a plump belly creating this gap. The gills are not red. This morning I fed frozen brine shrimp and she ate some but also spit some out too and swimming kind of stiff. She doesn’t hang at the surface gulping air, but her mouth moves rapidly. The other two mollies look, act, eat normally. water parameters: ammonia: 0 nitrite: 0 nitrate: between 10 or 20 GH: 9 KH: 4 temp:78 I have several meds but haven’t treated with any yet. I have ParaCleanse, Maracyn, Kanaplex and Metroplex and Ich-X. Any guidance much appreciated.

I like the Finnex Stingray Clip light for these frameless tanks. They only have two light settings, tho. My easy plants are doing well. I also like the flexible arm. Looks sharp.

Love her 😍. I have 5 males rescued from big box stores. All varying in their feistiness. So much fun to see them thrive after being in their filthy cups.

@Brandon pno real downside so far. It’s a little lighter in color than I wanted. Sort of an off white but not bright white. I like that the sand particles are bigger (less fine) than actual sand. Doesn’t get sucked up in the gravel vac like basic sand. I think if you have mystery snails or plecos that are pooping machines, the poop is going to stand out against the light color.

I bought this same CaribSea sand to set up my 6 gal cube. I rinsed it really well (pretty easy to do for a nano) and had almost no cloudiness from the get go. I used a very small amount of the bio-magnet clarifier that came with it. Not sure if that made the difference in water clarity or it was the rinsing. The sand was pretty dusty in the bag.

Hmmm, I’m wondering if one of my three BNs might be a common. Got them from my lfs (3 for sale). One seems to not have as many spots as the other two and is growing a little faster. All 3 are under the 2” mark. Is the one on the left common? None have bristles yet.

Do you have a cat or a counter surfing dog? Any inner area of the lid/light where he may have jumped and gotten stuck? I’m jealous of your sword.

Picked up a pair of tiger nerites recently myself. The coconut hut was completely green. Not anymore! I love the grazing trail left behind. They’re amazing little creatures 😍