xXInkedPhoenixX

Hi @DawnE. Common Otos are much more active in the evenings and early mornings. So this just them doing their thing. The more you have the more natural this behavior would become (Otos are shoaling fish and do very well in bigger numbers). I have 70+ in my 20 gallon tank and they are always moving during the times I mentioned and pretty mellow during the day.

I used to think that too @PeteK (temps 76-78 were good) but the more I've learned (and sadly lost) about Bettas is that in order to get the high humidity they require for breathing (they are labyrinth breathers)- to keep a Betta fish at OPTIMAL temperature it's actually 80-82. I have found GH not to matter too much unless you're keeping livebearers or discus (well and shrimp and snails). Most of our aquarium fish will do fine - especially if you get them from local sources that use the same water. I didn't personally see a crazy spike in GH (and I have hard water) after adding the coral. Yes you can use Alkaline Buffer (and I have- usually far less than they recommend does the trick by the way) but again you're chasing numbers there you don't really need to chase- especially now- focusing on the cycle at the moment is desirable. Personally I've been making IAL tea that I add to my water changes (boil a couple of leaves in a stockpot and divy it out into my water change bottles). It has not effected my tank water in a negative way. My tanks run in the 7.0-7.6 ph range (before and after adding the tea) with crushed coral in the substrates. It only has a very slight tint that you won't even really notice. It's antibacterial and great for your fish. It's even helped me to heal fish in the past. I was skeptical about it (though I drink a whole lot of tea myself so I should have known better) when people would talk about it being a must in Betta tanks. IF I were to keep a Betta again (which I won't) that is definitely on the list. @Brian does have a point though. Tank isn't even cycled yet, while gh will probably stay mostly the same that ph is going to waiver a lot before it settles in especially without kh. I am willing to bet you'll see both of the last 2 numbers go up on their own once the tank is cycled. It might be best as you mentioned to leave it for some time until you know more. But I still recommend the crushed coral- far more stable way to get higher ph.

They will when they get desperate. I do see Guppies do it far more than Endlers but they do eventually. I think the flake will help. Brine shrimp is fun because it stays in the water column longer, you can get it frozen in small blocks and feed over a couple of days if it's only a few fish.

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Accidental Oto Tank Baby Otos: Stupid cuteness, level 10: Oto baby 1: Oto baby 2: So I caught the older one today mid poop. I'm always happy to see this function because it tells me things are going ok- my personal motto, if you can't eat and you can't poop then life isn't worth living! Here is the older one near a penny for size reference- it's coloring up fast/well....different than others I've seen.... could it be a Tiger? Wouldn't that be cool.... only time will tell! Ever see an Oto baby eat? It's ridiculous, short google video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DRyn3ivxyTpt12jf9

My Endlers prefer flake and frozen baby brine. They have a hard time eating bigger things even micro pellet and seem to appreciate foods that float longer though they will pick things off the substrate/plants later. I would suggest getting a good quality flake and even then crushing it up into tiny pieces.

Hi there @PeteK welcome to the forum. I would suggest added crushed coral for sure, that will help with buffering and bring your pH up- it's a better and more consistent way to do this than with chemicals and won't be as wonky. The thing with Bettas....to properly keep them they require a temperature of at least 80 degrees, that kind of makes it uncomfortable for some species like Cory (though some of our Cory experts can weigh in maybe there's a species that can handle it well). I would also HIGHLY recommend Indian Almond leaves for your tank, this will help keep the Betta healthy. Despite popular big box store belief Betta fish are very hard fish to keep (just search on this forum, sick or dying Betta and you will see). Not trying to talk you out of getting one, I'm just telling you BE PREPARED. Personally I'd go with small tropical schooling fish- Ember Tetras for example are a great choice- you could get a school of 10 and still not have a big bio load and they will tolerate tank temps up to 84. Adults are usually less than half an inch and when happy are a very pretty bright orange. That's just one consideration. Some of the other species get bigger so you'd have a smaller school of 6 or so. ALWAYS do your research for required water parameters for all fish involved in the tank. Maybe others have ideas for a clean up crew or bottom feeders, most that I keep like temps around 78 or less (75 average) even snails.

Looks to me to definitely be a Mystery Snail, possibly a "blue" or "green". Mysteries come in all different colors and combinations. They do eat vegetation (dying typically) but if they get desperate they will eat live plants so their diet must be supplemented. Most of us blanch veggies for them, like zucchini, greenbeans and supplement with snail food (food for shrimp or crabs also works). Also, welcome to the forum @Marc Dane

☺️ They're not hard @Atitagain but I have found they do like to have fertilizer when growing in water- so that's probably why being in an HOB works well (and using Easy Green or ?). I have a baby spider in my Accidental Oto tank and it's alive and growing (roots dangling in the tank) but not like my Scapes From Scraps Spider baby which is frankly an "adult" at this point - but it has organic soil (with bat guano) and a few drops of easy green to help it along. I wait to cut babies off my parent plant until they have their own good looking "root" system- multiple and longer the root usually the easier and faster the baby will grow, for example the two below are ready: Some spider babies only have stumps like this one: Not to say that one wouldn't root (because it absolutely can) but the other ones have a better chance and trust me- your spider gets mature enough like mine you'll have hundreds of babies to pick from. Just cut it off the plant and I then just stick the roots in water for a week or 2 so the roots get a bit longer- then plop it in wherever I want it to go, soil usually. If you're going to just put it in an HOB or similar you can just do it that way. It was only recently I started trying them in my tank water. The research I did said they aren't huge fans of being grown in the water but when they are they DO require ferts. My plants are proving that to be correct.

Well, I will say I have a 4.12 gallon Aquatop cube with 2 small Hygger sponge filters, it is very well planted and I keep 1 Nerite and 10 CPDs (and a bunch of bladders snails). It might be considered overstocked but it's a very stable and happy tank (1 of the 10 is a fry so they can't be unhappy - suspect everyone else is getting eaten if there were/are more fry). May be possible to put a couple female and a male CPD in there, but I'd have backup plans for them.

@Guppysnail it's really pretty to me- what a beautiful green! My hair algae is always brown! 🤢 If it was that color I'd leave it! Slice of Nature there!

Oh my the poor thing. I'm with @lefty o and the simple solution. Just wait, keep the water super clean and watch the wound. Make sure he get some good food. If you have some Indian Almond Leaf, make some "tea" out of it and use that for water replacement.

KITTYYYYYYYYYYYYYY 🥰 ....I write a lot of reviews on a side gig and I have issues with that from time to time. They've yet to make their public debut though- I end up deleting those. 😄 In this case totally appropriate.

So sorry! Try this thread my friend for help: Camallanus worms in 2 tanks.

I'm with @Its Hutch big time. Patience. Patience. Be prepared BEFORE you get fish (have a first aid kit ready before not after you get fish). Have a QT. Do your research BEFORE being tempted to buy that pretty fish at the fish store. Cycle your tank BEFORE adding fish. There are so many things, and you'd be surprised how that patience can really pay off in the end no matter HOW torturous it is at the time. I've just taken to finding joy in the preparation and research.

Correct, roots will not work glued to rock. Only rhizone plants and moss glued will work....I'm thinking in some cases tying moss might work better. Most moss I've purchased on something is usually tied- but for whatever reason I can't get moss to grow in my tanks so take that information with a grain of salt. It seems to ME being a low tech tanker, there are VERY few red plants (only root plants I can think of) that will grow without co2 with a bright red. I do ok with Ludwigia Super Red but it's not as colorful as say in @Mmiller2001's set ups. It also does better with really bright light. I'm not even sure if there ARE red rhizone plants.....

Would never scold you but the thought of treating a 125 gallon tank with meds makes me 🤢

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Accidental Oto Tank: Morning Roll Call Well folks I've spotted #2! Seems maybe a day behind the other Oto. I did a pretty good inspection and haven't seen more. I'm not sure where they were laid though normally it would have been on the underside of the Amazon leaves. I moved it about quite a bit when retrieving all the Otos out last week and did some pretty aggressive cleaning/detrius vacuuming so honestly I'm surprised we have 2 survivors!

I don't mean to hijack this from @Beardedbillygoat1975 and the other organizers... 'Scapes from Scraps https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/20389-scapes-from-scraps/ ...but I'm curious to see how our little projects have come along. Mine is going nuts! the water is super dark a la @Streetwise's tanks but the vase plants (mostly the Bacopa) are still doing well (thinking about putting some sort of light at the base as the Spider plant is taking OVER). I can't believe how huge my Spider plant has gotten since the beginning, it has officially reached the Hiro light. I'd love to see how other participants' scapes are doing! This comparison was from beginning to April 1st: THIS was taken today (1 month after the "now" photo above)!:

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Accidental Oto Tank: After Dark Still just the one fry. Night pictures look like Sasquatch photos....

Not Freshwater, But Fascinating Yep, a lot of us following the story. Lots to love about Leon!

I have done the substrate thing and I've put it in media bags (like they sell for filters) also I have put them in small containers. My 4.2 has a sake cup with coral in it!🙃

I run sponge in my tanks however I'm currently using two HOB for extra filtration- they are both Aqueon Quietflow 10- I am extremely abusive to them (probably don't clean them as often as I should) and they are workhorses. The pump always starts right up after a power loss or unplugging. My water is super clear with really messy Otos. They're easy to clean/unclog, inexpensive, easy to modify, quiet and since they've done so well for me I've never bothered trying anything else.

That is the only thing @Jeff I do know, Breeders Award Program and Horiculture Award Program

@modified lung 😐 That's unfortunate. It's one thing to do it "old school" and be relevant and quite another to refuse to change and let the club eventually just die out all together.

Welcome to the forum Shane 🙂 Beautiful tanks. You'll find lots of good peeps here to trade stories and info with.