xXInkedPhoenixX

Let the games begin....

Yes it goes away as the tank matures and your snail will chew on it. Don't forget though- Mystery snails DO need to be fed check on @Guppysnail's threads for good food ideas.

For cool and different aquarium backgrounds look on something like Amazon for "window clingfilm" easily cut and applied with a little water and smoothed out with a credit card they are great ways to add interest, you can go with all one color or hundreds of designs (for designs though you have to take into consideration what side it's facing as some don't translate to backs of aquariums (they are reversed). The films are often very inexpensive (some can be pricey) and I find that I have plenty of leftovers for other projects/tanks.

From what I'm gathering your tanks are new, if the "white algae" you speak of is growing on glass/wood etc it's likely biofilm not algae, this is a natural progression to a tank. It's not algae and not harmful at all, just looks funky. You can brush it off areas you don't want to see it or add yourself a Nerite snail they like that stuff. 🙂 Also some ambient sunlight is not going to hurt, and likely help your plants. It's when they are right up against a window that it can be a problem.

@Odd Duck yeah I didn't have enough forthought to soak the piece for days before the set up but I thought it'd probably dry out anyway. I did soak it some but clearly it's not waterlogged. Didn't think about mold but when I saw it I shrugged, it's logical to be there. If nobody else answers up today I think I might hit it with a toothbrush and peroxide and see what it does just for giggles.

Awesome! Yeah I'd leave it out personally. There are lots of other cool rocks out there you can use. Put it in your garden or in a planted pot scape! 🙂 Love your Google doc! Cool to see your progress yea? Congrats!

Firstly, why not? Of course they change color with moods. My Punk for the first days he was with me was nearly colorless because of stress. How do you express stress without, for lack of a better word, "emotion". Some might say health- well sure we don't look good when we're sick either. He didn't change color because of water quality or illness. He was moved from a giant tank to a tiny QT (after a very bumpy 45 minute ride in a container) and was in unfamiliar turf. Wouldn't swim and just sit at the bottom of the tank though entirely capable of swimming (as evidenced later) and faced away from any action in the room. What do you call that? If fish didn't have something similar to "emotion" then he would have just been stupidly swimming around because "that's what fish do." That's my two cents. (I simultaneously answered your question @Guppysnail, yes Bolivians do that too! 🙂 )

I second @Guppysnail's post. I prefer Plakat Betta for this reason- they have less of an issue swimming and the flow doesn't seem to bother them- in fact they seem to like it. My longer finned buddies have a problem with it and it could potentially tear their fins but they seem like they want to like it sometimes. The fins are a big hinderance. Plus consider a lot of Betta illnesses start with fins so I think Plakats or female Betta which are typically short finned anyway, have less health issues at least stemming from fin issues.

Alright, I didn't really think about it but logically this would happen. @Odd Duck @Patrick_G or anyone else dry starting a tank ever have to deal with moldy wood? What should I do about it? I thought about toothbrushing it off (maybe with some peroxide). I've thought about leaving it (but it will likely just get bigger/worse). I thought maybe when I fill the tank I'd plop some bladder snails in and let them work on that. Is it a problem or not? Looks like I have a few different types growing. (pay no attention to the white line between the trunks that's just string.

I'm personally not seeing anything of concern. If I had my druthers I'd take it out of the tank and take a look at it, try and scrub it off with a brush (like a toothbrush or dishbrush) and see if it budged. It might be rocks just rockin' 🙂 Others might have an idea and post though. @Chick-In-Of-TheSea advised me (and I've seen it before but thanks for reminding me friend) that if you have the liquid test kit you can use Nitrate bottle #1 and put a drop on a rock- if it fizzes it's not safe for the tank. If you got it at an aquarium supply store it's likely safe anyway but ya never know. I only tested rocks I found out in the "wild".

@DaniV I'd wait a bit longer before adding a Nerite but when you do, you'll love the little thing they are great tank cleaners. When you say crusty, what part of the rock are we talking about? What's the crusty part look like?

@Patrick_GThanks, I'm really liking it so far too! Yes I just kind of let the plant split in the areas that were easy (same with the Repens). I'm ok with it not spreading fast more concerned with it just rooting because I'm hoping to fill the tank in a month (fingers crossed). I think it will make it easier to keep it growing in the designated areas as opposed to everywhere. I dunno, still an experiment to me! Thanks! On my list!

@Odd Duck that's a good idea, too late for me to set that up for when I'll need it. Ya got a recommendation or link for something like that? I might look into it anyway. I think it will be ok whenever I do leave the house I'll just wrap it up more than it is. It generates quite a bit of humidity all on its own (as evidenced by the pic on my post above). Here's hoping!

I''m not a goldfish keeper but I do love them. When I got into the hobby and heard 1 goldfish per 50 gallons (I realize this is probably at the least a slight exaggeration depending on several factors) I knew that this is probably a serious thing. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is, do the set ups you have now have any maintenance/water parameter issues. My understanding is goldfish are HIGH polluters, if you add to a high maintenance tank you're going to reach that tank's threshold. If you're not even close eh, I would try it but that does not mean that I would immediately then change the empty tank to a saltwater. I'd wait- and I'd probably wait quite a while before I knew whether or not that set up worked well - that the fitration is correct, that the fish have enough space to move around and they are healthy and the tank doesn't go over my preferred maintenance levels. I'm a rebel. I have 60+ Otocinclus in a 20 gallon. Per ALL of the internet this would be wrong. But my tank is triple filtered, I do daily light maintenance to clean up foods and weekly water changes. The fish have plenty of space to move around, are healthy and spawn. So. Maybe I'm wrong but some things are just crazy enough to work. It's a high risk though. So beware.

Hi! If it was the first time I'd seen them do it I'd probably get them to come out (just to make sure a-ok). Then if I saw them in there again, I'd let them stay. Maybe he/she has a lack of a hiding place? They do like little hidey holes so if your tank doesn't have a "suitable" (to them) option you might consider trying a few.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea nope- @Patrick_G suggested it as an easier way to root carpeting plants. Since I failed at carpeting plant before I figured why not give it one more go. I know there may be issues later so I'm not dead set on it staying, why? Well my understanding having watched some videos is most of your carpeting plants do a whole lot better with co2 set ups. I'm low tech and will not be doing this any time in the forseeable future. Right now the plants have all the co2 they want because they're exposed to air. When I put water in a low tech tank I've basically cut off their supply. This is when it may get shaky. (in a co2 set up they turn up the co2 for some time once the tank is full then dial it back little by little) Trimming the plants so their roots are exposed is supposed to help some once the tank is full so they continue to get light. I guess this will depend on how long I let the plants go before I fill the tank and how big they get too. I want to be able to see some of the roots under the surface of the substrate growing before I fill the tank. Hopefully by then the Java Moss will have also anchored itself. Really @TeeJay there doesn't seem to be any great trick to it other than an abundance of patience (and potential for it not to work when the tank is full- I've got some $$ invested so far so that would be a bummer). Some of us lack this (patience), but I get it. I'd love to have the tank ready now to start moving fish and get them out of QT but I'll use my patience power.

A few days in the rooted plants seem to be doing well, the Repens has perked up a lot, standing upright. I'm not seeing any dieback. It's quite humid in there with the plastic wrap on: I'm just a little bit concerned for the moss because of upcoming short trips. I'm spraying it a couple times a day on the "tree" since the spiderwood isn't totally saturated yet it does lose moisture- however as I said it's pretty humid in there so hopefully the moss is getting the water it needs. Weirdly enough the moss I placed on rocks and even the Arch seem to be doing fine though I've sprayed the topmost moss. Everything alive so far!

@Arodack welcome to the forum! Lots of knowledgeable people here and a great place to document your journey if you so choose!

Yeah she's right, different position- but overall going to be a great tank!

I agree with @lefty o- get a Nerite HOWEVER your tank looks rather clean of algae (probably because it's still pretty new or it's just not showing up on the pic). If that's the case wait for a bit until you start seeing the short algae come in. Nerite snails are pretty notorious for not eating commerical or prepared foods so gotta make sure they have something to munch on. Once you do add one though- they are priceless!! I agree, this might be an interesting pick for such a tall tank! Some of the Anubias get rather tall too, like the Barteri.

Yes, I've boiled water taken it off the heat THEN put the sponge in. I can tell you from experience the bases don't survive that so just wash that really well. 🙂 Don't worry about the above at all- I was only clarifying because @Aiden Carter rightly pointed out for misinformation's sake in case you didn't know or others come to read threads and see Dropsy as a "disease" -personally I don't think it really needs that much clarification unless the situation warrants it. Sometimes it's good to clarify that and advise people they are treating symptoms not the root of the problem- which sadly we don't always know/realize what that "root" is until it's too late. Those of use with experience (and this isn't a great badge to wear and I wear it) treating Dropsy know what it is and what's probably going to happen. This is exactly it- we don't really know for SURE what causes fish to get to this point. Sanitizing DOES work. While most think it's a bacterial issue- bacteria can easily be killed by proper cleaning and time- even sunlight. Some people use vinegar, some use peroxide, some use dish soaps (I will only use Dawn if I go this route). Just rinse all equipment REALLY well after doing those. Boiling definitely works. I would also recommend checking out the forum's Reverse Respiration page (sanitation for plants with seltzer water which I've found very effective- just search Reverse Respiration in the forum and you'll bring the thread and instructions right up!). I would like to repeat, @GisheryGoodness, I'm really sorry you and your fish went through it. It sucks. I totally feel for you.

Awesome! They look incredible! Loved the soundtrack, perfect 😄

Well when answering the question "how heavily stocked" that's a loaded question. Is it stocked with 5 guppies then yes, if it's stocked with 4 goldfish (or even one) you're in trouble. So here's hoping you, @dmurray407 understand what that might mean! 🙃

I'm very sorry for your loss @GisheryGoodness- I know it's hard but as I said, Dropsy is very hard to cure and as @Aiden Carter pointed out and I already knew- Dropsy itself is not a disease just a symptom of other issues and by the time these symptoms (bloating, pineconing) manifest it is already too late, sadly. Even if you manage to get the symptoms down-- organ failure is often already well on its way. (I've managed in the past to cure the pineconing/bloating but my Betta didn't make it either). I threw away the tank I had my Betta in. After that I personally didn't trust it- it was the sort of tank that had its own internal filter and though I have a Fluval Flex9 now with a similar filtration system I've added a sponge to it. I had a feeling the filtration was part of the issue and maybe why my Betta got the infection to begin with. So I'd say yes, sanitize the tank- if it doesn't hurt toss the substrate. You can sanitize filters and hardscape by boiling it and leaving it in the sun to dry. Plants can be saved. Wash the tank and make sure it's rinsed well and dried. I've said it several times on this forum- Betta, despite what the industry says, are VERY hard fish to keep. Frankly I don't find that they are "beginner's" fish at all. They have a lot of specific requirements and because of the demand for more colorful, longer finned, specialized types of Betta they are bred for these features and NOT for health. They are sensitive fish- even the best of fish keepers struggle keeping them. This isn't a great thing to know nor is it something positive but it's something you can take a little comfort in. You did what you could.

Looks great!