Deku-Corydoras

I considered keeping Black Ruby Barbs and did a good bit of research on them, but in the end I went for Cherry Barbs instead because my PH tends to be higher than what is reccomend for them. From what I've read, as long as you have a large enough school, they shouldn't be an issue and should keep to themselves. For Barbs in general I think we should advocate for a minimum school size of 8 instead of 6 for this very reason. Larger numbers really seem to keep most of them in check.

I actually have 2 Paleatus females who lived well into adulthood and passed away, who's bodies are still in my freezer because I may or may not have forgotten to bury them before the weather got too cold. 😓 Sten measured 6.8 cm (2.7 in) and Amber measured 7.3 centimeters (2.875 inches). Sten was I think about 6 years old, and Amber was 9. Amber I'd say was at the upper end for the size of a Peppered Cory, but yes they definitely can get decently large, though they don't have the chunky physique of a Bronze Cory. Writing this is making me miss these two, I have other Peppered Cories but the tank doesn't feel the same without them.

My own philosophy is that if they've been kept in the same tank with fish at the store, I quarantine them. If they haven't, then I'm more comfortable not quarantining them.

I'm of course a big fan of Cories, and I agree with others that Peppered Cories have especially delightful personalities. It seems like they're always doing something goofy! I also have fallen a bit for Siamese Algae Eaters. I love how they lay on different surfaces to rest, and how they come up to the glass to beg for food when they know it's feeding time. Their little itty bitty whiskers and big brown eyes are endearing in the same sort of way Cories are. But if we're talking about the all-time winners of the water puppy competition, puffers are undoubtedly the champions. We all obviously know Murphy, and although I live across the country from the Co-Op, I do get to delight in my own local puffer. My LFS has a Fahaka Puffer named Sean, and I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible to visit the store and not say hello to him. His tank sits right next to the register so he gets to see all the people coming and going, and he's equally excited by each and every one.

I hear everything from "most of the beneficial bacteria is in the filter and there's very little in the rest of the tank" to "there is very little beneficial bacteria in the filter and most of it is in the tank." Honestly I imagine it varies a lot depending on the tank, filtration, and substrate, which would explain why there's such a wide range of opinions.

For well-rooted plants, I use a method where I start to pull them up, and when I feel resistance I stop. I then look to see where the largest roots are, and unbury them individually. Sometimes it's impossible to completely dig them out, and it's inevitable that you'll lose some of the root system in the process. But it definitely preserves a lot more of the roots than just yanking them out in one go. I've even been able to relocate crypts without them melting back using this method!

They aren't quite water puppies, but I've been surprised by just how personable Siamese Algae Eaters can be. People only ever talk about them as the fish who eat black beard Algae, and never touch on the other aspects of their behavior. They'll swim right up to the glass and beg for food when I'm by the tank, and they'll dart around at the top trying to get first dibs on food when I open the lid. They're pretty much always searching for food, so they're endlessly entertaining to watch. And they're way more cute than they look in photographs, when they're excited they remind me of Cories with how they wiggle.

I have a growing collection of stickers sent by different companies, both fish related and unrelated. I haven't found a good place to put them. If I knew they wouldn't get damaged by the water, I'd totally put them on my water change buckets.

Aquabid is in some desperate need of some modernization. It honestly probably hurts their revenue a lot, I imagine many people are turned off by it. Makes the site look unprofessional, and like you said, hard to navigate.

I'd say that the hobby definitely is male leaning, but I wouldn't consider it a 'guy's hobby' by any means. I think the beauty of this hobby is that just about everyone can enjoy it. I've especially noticed a huge amount of age diversity in this hobby, more than any other hobby I know.

Friendly neighborhood SAE enthusiast here! So the thing about Siamese Algae Eaters is that there are multiple nearly identical species within the genus that are sold under the name. Some of them are better at eating Algae than others, and some species are known to eat plants. There's a lot of unknowns and conflicting information when it comes to the different species, but there are some things known. That being said, the only species I've seen that has been described as eating plants is Crossocheilus Atrilimes, but yours is definitely not that species since it is noted to lack maxilary barbels (The little whiskers you can see very clearly in the first photo.) and they have a much thinner black stripe than yours. It could be entirely possible that other species do eat plants, but it just hasn't been documented. I believe yours is Crossocheilus Langei, the most common species of SAE, which isnt known for plant munching, at least with live plants. On a less scientific note, SAE's, regardless of species, are what I lovingly call fish-shaped garbage disposals. They'll eat just about anything if the mood strikes them. It would not surprise me in the least if one developed a taste for plants. It could be that the crypt leaf was just starting to die and he decided to speed up the process. Or maybe he just decided crypts are yummy. Mine will snack on dying or dead leaves if it happens to catch their interest, but they usually loose interest pretty quickly and return to eating algae. My suggestion would be to offer some boiled vegetables, or maybe even stick a piece of lettuce in. Changes up their source of nutrition, and gives them something that will take a while to eat, which might fill him up and distract him from eating leaves.

Finally got around to gluing some of the Java Fern I've had floating around onto a piece of driftwood I bought a month ago. Adjusted the scape in my tank to make room for said driftwood. Cleaned off the lids, since they accumulate hard water stains and some cyanobacteria after a while. Replaced the battery in the digital thermometer, and may or may not have gouged out a small bit of my finger when doing that. (It's ok, just needed a bandaid!)

So apparently the secret to breeding loaches is neon rainbow gravel. 🌈 The more you know!

Yes, it is safe! To add personal evidence, I did multiple rounds of Prazipro treatment while also using Easy Green, was dealing with some nasty gill flukes.

This is making me think. Humans have waterparks, so would fish have airparks? 🤔

I relate so much to the title. My 75 gallon is in my office/studio and I quite frequently end up staring at the tank instead of getting work done. Does it decrease my productivity? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Totally.

I've found that Cories are very playful in large groups. They love to dart around and swim together in between searching around for food. My Siamese Algae Eaters also play sometimes, but mainly two of them just get chased around by the dominant one, who I have lovingly named Richard. 🤭

Honestly I'm not sure if it's possible to kill PSO. I had it in a gravel substrate with no root tabs, only 6 hours of light, and liquid fertilizer, yet it still grew like a weed. Only problem was that the Black Beard Algae grew better. Here's what mine looked like in its prime.

Now I'm thinking of an accurate biotope aquarium using (safe) garbage as decor. Which was just a comedic idea at first, but now that I'm thinking about it, that would be a great way to promote environmental awareness if it was set up at a public aquarium. 🤔

Wanted to share this since it's relevant and helpful. Someone shared this care guide with me a while ago, it contains up to date and accurate information on Pea Puffers. It has information I was completely unaware of beforehand, like I had no idea Pea Puffers were actually shoaling fish! https://www.pufferfishenthusiastsworldwide.com/post/c-travancoricus

I'm the type who hates using fish to fix a problem, but I really tried everything to get rid of my BBA. The only thing that was effective were Siamese Algae Eaters. I have 3 in my 75 gallon, which is probably overkill but I wanted them to be in a group. They've kept the tank spotless from BBA. I'd make those fish the main benefactors of my will if I could.

I'd unironically love that series.

I think a problem is that they're extremely overbred and inbred. Think about all the line breeding that must take place to develop the different varieties, and then to produce enough to start selling them. I highly doubt a lot of the fish farms that breed Bettas are concerned about making sure their bloodlines are genetically diverse.

What I did was take out the intake sponge, rinsed it, and then dried it out completely by putting it in front of a fan for a while. (Made the room smell wonderful. 😵) It killed almost all the BBA, except for in one spot where it hadn't quite fully dried. My Siamese Algae Eaters and Nerite snails picked off all the dead algae. But yes, I think letting it sit in a bath and then rinsing it afterwards would be fine, I doubt the trace amounts left would harm the vals.

Seems like it's just Canada. Ohio hasn't stopped selling fish at all. But that isn't surprising to me considering that Zebra Mussels are absolutely everywhere in the Great Lakes. Worrying about them coming in on moss balls would be like closing a gate after the horse has gotten out, except it was a whole herd of horses and they escaped through a massive opening in the fence instead of the gate. I'm not trying to dismiss the precautions that are being taken though, preventing the spread of them is incredibly important with how ridiculously invasive they are.