St. Louis Cardinal Tetras

I know it isn't, I just used it as a precaution to buy me some time. I was worried that they might have something else on top of the camallanus worms. I found some fenbendazole at my local farm and fleet. Im going to get that in the morning.

Thank you for your help. I spent all day trying to locate levamisole around my area to no avail. I ordered some Fritz Expel P from Amazon and its supposed to get here Wednesday. Its main ingredient is levamisole. I payed $10 for expedited shipping and all my Amazon orders have been getting here in one or two days. So I'm really hoping it gets here monday. But for the mean time I treated the tank with General Cure and aquarium salt.

Hi, I got 6 guppies for my 29 gallon tank yesterday from LFS. This morning I went to check on them and I saw one had this string looking thing hanging on him right behind is anal fin. Is this a parasite or just poop? I just lost one of the guppies. I’m testing my water parameters now. Last night I checked them before I went to bed and they were 0 ppm ammonia 0 ppm nitrites 5 ppm nitrates.

Update: I just ended up ordering the Morning Wood and Community Plus. I am going to rotate them. The community plus might just be a once a week treat. I got 6 guppies today and they are loving their new tank. I’m not sure if I want to get a pleco next or the cardinal tetras

That’s interesting. I read that corys like the vibra bites from Hicari but I want something that’s mainly for my pleco and corys. I don’t want the other fish eating it all before they have a chance to. And I want my pleco to get all of its nutrients so I’m leaning towards the morning wood. I’m also going to feed zucchini and other fresh vegetables. But I doubt the corys will be interested in the morning wood. Maybe I’ll just see how feeding goes. I will have plenty of other foods that are great for corys so they shouldn’t go hungry.

I haven’t really been able to find driftwood around here. The only ones I come across are the huge pieces that would go in 55+ gallon. All my other fish will have food to fulfill their diets such as freeze dried bloodworms and brine shrimp, Xtreme flakes, Vibra Bites. Also I’m getting some algae wafers as well. I’m putting together a big food order now. I’m mainly just concerned about my Plecos diet getting fulfilled. I’ve also heard corys can be a little finicky at feeding time, so something that they can eat as well just in case they ignore everything else.

I was wondering which repashy food would be best for my tank. It will have cardinal tetras, gold dust mollies, albino corydoras, guppies, a pleco (hopefully bristlenose but will have to see what LFS has) and possibly a betta. At first I was leaning towards community plus but then I thought I should get the morning wood because I have no driftwood in my tank. Will the corydoras eat the morning wood? Or should I just go with bottom scratcher or community plus? I know plecos like to snack on driftwood but how important is it for their diet? I added pictures of my tank. I know a couple people on here wanted to see it. I’m going for a Bermuda Triangle/ shipwreck theme. First batch of fish is going in today, 6 cardinal tetras with established filter media of course.

I was originally going to get a 20 long but they were out of stock at my pet smart. I wanted to get a starter kit which I regret now because I know I’ll have to replace the filter and heater probably within the next 6 months. But I got a sponge filter to help out the HOB it came with so when it does go out I’m not screwed. And I’m sure that switch to the 125 will be a lot of work but it will be SO rewarding! I can’t wait to see pictures!

I’m fighting the urge to just get a 20 long to have a dedicated live bearer tank. I do love all the varieties of mollies. I just don’t really have the room and I’m not sure if my girlfriend has the patience lol. I have like 6 months in my lease at my current house and I’m already looking at houses with finished basements so I can have a fish room. This hobby is so addicting. Isn’t that the first symptom of multi tank syndrome? Not even having fish in your first tank yet but thinking of setting up another. 🤣🤣

I’m the same way as you. I want my fish to be healthy and happy. It can just be so confusing sometimes. When I watch the channels I trust on YouTube, they’ll be talking about a random fish and say usually this fish needs this but we have them in this tank without and they seem to do fine. If I get them I will keep a close eye on them and if I see that they aren’t as lively as they should be I’ll return them to my LFS.

Thank you two so much! After a week and 4 google pages, you two have given me far more information in an hour!! I love this forum and I love how helpful everybody is in this hobby. I can’t wait to get my tank stocked so I can post pictures. I’ve had my tank for about a month now but I want to make sure I know and understand everything before I just go throwing fish in there.

Yes that is exactly what I was thinking about it only being important if you are breeding them. I was planning on getting all males anyway just because I do not want a bunch of fry. And that sounds like an amazing tank! I don’t know what it is about platties but i have yet to see one in person that strikes my eye. But like I said not much of a variety around here.

Thank you. Yes I know livebearers like hard water but from what I’ve read it seems like guppies and platties are more tolerant to soft water than mollies. But then I’ve seen a lot of people that say that their mollies do fine in soft water. I also read that a lot of the problems that mollies have are attributed to them being in soft water but are caused by other things like how they are cared for, bred, or just poor care from LFS. I might just scrap the idea of mollies and order some raspboras. There’s not a very good variety of those around my area but there are plenty of mollies which originally led me to want them. And my girlfriend loves the gold dust mollies because she says and I quote “it’s like having my favorite outfit in a fish” lmao. Her favorite outfit is a black romper that has gold shimmers on the top. Getting her as fired up for this new hobby as I am has proven to be a task so I was hoping the mollies would interest her more.

Hi, I am setting up a community tank in a 29 gallon. The fish I want to have in it are cardinal tetras, guppies, Cory cats, a pleco, and gold dust mollies. I have done extensive research on each species and have all their water parameters written down. My question is how important is water hardness to mollies? I have read through so many articles and forums and they all go back and forth. When I first started I got a lot of my info from Prime Time Aquatics and KGTropicals on YouTube. They have taught me so much and I respect their opinions. But after watching both channel’s videos on best community fish and stocking options for 29 gallon tanks, they both recommend mollies. From what I can gather on the internet is their is a lot of confusion around the Molly species from people saying they can only survive in brackish water, and some say they do completely fine in fresh water. Similarly people say they can only survive in hard water environments, but then other people say their fine in soft water. My water out of my tap is soft. Now this is perfect for my cardinal tetras(possibly my all time favorite fish) but will the mollies be ok? Essentially, do you guys have mollies with tetras or in soft water? If so, are they healthy? Did you use an extensive acclimation process? I was thinking about going with platties instead but not a very good variety in my area.

Thank you guys for the advice. I just tested my tap water. My ph is around 7.5, my general hardness is 1.7 dGH and my carbonate hardness is 2.2 dKH. So I’m thinking about getting some wonder shells or something. I didn’t know my water was so soft. I think I’ll start off by adding 6 guppies and test the water everyday.

Hi, I was just wondering how many fish I could put in my new 29 gallon aquarium. I am going to have established filter media in the tank so there will be BB present. The list of fish I have that are going in this tank are cardinal tetras, gold dust mollies, fancy guppies, a pleco or two, and Corey cats. I was thinking about putting one or two of the tetras or guppies in but was wondering if I could get away with putting 6 of the cardinal tetras in as I know you should keep them in groups. Also, which fish is the hardiest? This is my first tank but I completely understand the nitrogen cycle and how to test water and everything.

Thank you all for your suggestions. It’s funny you mentioned using a USB air pump because I have one coming in the mail should get here Monday. But yea I figured it would be fine just in some tank water.

Hi, I am going to be getting some established, disease free filter media from a reputable LFS but it is 40-60 minutes away. Does it matter how I transport it or can I just put it in a bag with some tank water? I don’t want to get home and all the BB be dead.

Yea I got a game plan set up. After I put the BB in the tank I’m going to add a pleco or a molly to get it going. I’m not sure why she would tell me that though. She is an older lady so maybe she’s just old school and has never tried cycling with established filter media. She is the owner and has ran this LFS since I was a little kid. It does kind of make me concerned to use her filter media just because I’m not sure if she quarantines her fish or not and she uses a sump for the majority of her tanks. Her comment made me lose a little confidence in her to be honest. I’ll ask her if she quarantines when I go back next before I get her filter media. I’m going to call some other really nice LFS in towns surrounding me. She is just the only LFS in my town. What would be the best way to transport the filter media if I’m traveling 40-60 minutes? Like should I put it in a bag with water so the BB doesn’t die?

Yea the one rated for 20 g was the one I was leaning towards. Do you know if the usb nano air pump would be sufficient for the 20 g sponge filter? I want a complete back up for if my HOB breaks or if my power goes out. We get a lot of storms here during spring and we lose power very easily.

Thank you for your advice. When I fill the tank I will test to see if there is any ammonia already in my water. If not I’ll add some to get it to maybe 1 ppm to start off, then maybe go up from there if I start seeing nitrates. Do I need to let the bb acclimate to my tank? Like wait a week to add ammonia or does it matter? I do not have intentions of putting any live plants In anytime soon. I want to get the hang of the basics first. Maybe if I have problems with nitrites making me do to many water changes I’ll look into it.

Hi, I have a 29 gallon tank that I am going to be cycling soon. I did a bunch of research on Fritzzyme 7 and turbo start but no store around me carries it and a lot of reviews I read said the BB was dead because it wasn’t shipped/packaged/ stored properly. So today I went to my LFS and asked the worker if I could possibly get some filter media from one of her established healthy tanks to speed up the cycling process. She told me I could but even with the cycled media it would still take 6-8 weeks to fully cycle. Is this true because it completely contradicts all my research if it is. Also, after adding the cycled media in my uncycled tank do I need to add ammonia to the tank so the BB doesn’t die? And if so what form of ammonia should I use? I’m wanting to do a fishless cycle. Thank you!

Hi, I have a 29 gallon tank that uses a HOB filter. The HOB I have is sufficient to filter my tank by itself, but I would like to get a sponge filter as a back up since the HOB came with the tank in a starter kit. I’m not sure how reliable it is. Also, to help with gas exchange instead of just an air stone. I would also like to know how big of a sponge filter will the usb nano air pump run? I could just get 2 pumps and connect them with a tee but if one will run a medium filter effectively, then I will have no need for 2. I haven’t stocked my tank yet. I still need to cycle it. I’m finishing building the stand for it. Just want to get all my ducks in a row. Thank you!