laritheloud

Checked on the tank this morning. No signs of white spots, no flashing, everyone's eating ravenously (because of course they are 😂). I'm developing a bit of protein film on the surface of the water that I'm working to remediate, but I really think I've just been over-fertilizing for a couple of weeks without checking my nitrates very closely. I'll keep watching, tomorrow is a fast day. Once my gouramis are out of quarantine, I'll be adding some water lettuce to my display to try and help alleviate some of the nutrient build-up. My 10 gallon has gone from 5 to 10 nitrates + fertilizer to 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrates by the end of a week, and most of the plant mass in there is floating!

This is one of my juveniles by the way! The older adult male is scarred in the face from a bit of mouth rot, but it’s healed.

Also as a note: I noticed I might have put in too much fertilizer and actually water changed about 50% two days in a row to bring nitrates down to around 20ppm. Before it was at 40 to 50 and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving it that high. thanks @Fish Folk I’ll watch and worst case is I add in some ich x

Is it something I should just treat in case? I have shrimp and snails but I believe the meds are invert safe. I’m watching but I’m not really seeing anything yet and I haven’t caught them doing it again now that the co2 is off. I will check again tomorrow.

So my two diamond tetra fry are flashing a little. I notice it after the injected CO2 turns off for the day, and I noticed it after a water change last night. No other fish are flashing except for the 1 inch young tetras, and nothing has been added to the tank. Parameters are Ammonia 0, Nitrite, 0, Nitrate 20 to 25 PPM. Is this something I should watch closely, or is it just fry being curious fry? Is it worthwhile to try a prophylatic treatment on my display tank? I have pretty much every med under the sun, and if anything, I'd use PraziPro and/or Ich X... but I'm not seeing any other signs. Thoughts? Should I leave it be?

oh, that's really good to know. Thank you for the advice!

My honeys in quarantine looooove baby brine shrimp. I have a batch hatching right now for them. I have noticed my youngest gourami also chews and spits a lot before successfully eating her food, so it might be a maturity thing if they are quite young. In the past week she seems to be eating much better even with pellets.

You and @GardenStateGoldfish both recommend King Koi and Goldfish, so I'll likely be looking to them for ordering my juvenile goldfish when the time comes. Also, Hi, Neighbor! Also South Jersey here!

Your water looks cloudy. Do you have a reading of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I know you said your water parameters look good but any info helps.

Ah, thanks for that!

Oh, I'm going to follow this. I'm also in search of quality goldfish sellers. Here are ones I know of, but I can't vouch for quality or service: East Coast Ranchus Goldfish Island Zhao's Fancies Not sure if you want to groom them up or purchase mostly grown. I kinda love the idea of getting juveniles and watching them grow, though I definitely won't be using traditional grooming techniques and would just give them a healthy, happy home.

I don't know if there is an effective treatment without the appropriate meds. It looks like the active ingredient in Sera Nematol is emamectin benzoate, which google is telling me gets used to treat sea lice effectively. It can work with camallanus worms, but there are some reports of resistance to it, not sure if there's any stock in that. Sounds like the Nematol med is your best option, it's apparently very gentle on the fish and the bio filter. I hope it comes in quickly for you!

I really like it! Does the site automatically remove out of stock listings from the page? I noticed that out-of-stock listings are no longer available. (Also, I've been hankering for a banana plant for months -- are there any plans to restock banana plants in the future?)

I haven't used the med, myself, but I have heard that fenbendazole 100% kills snails, and that you will be unable to house snails in that tank for at least six months to a year after treatment.

I ordered shrimp and snails from Flip and had no issues with overnight shipping and drip acclimation. They say not to add an ammonia neutralizer unless there is a death in the bag. There is a youtube video where they explain their acclimation process. I don't know if it's the same for their nano fish, but I've had six of their Amano shrimp for about three to four weeks with zero casualties. In any case, never float breather bags. I don't think you absolutely need to drip acclimate fish, but you can temp acclimate slowly by putting them in a bucket or container and adding your tank water in little increments at a time.

I keep hoping it becomes more clear with each week but I just get more confused. I’m convinced I have two females now and I’m trying not to get my hopes too high for a pair! On the bright side, everyone is healthy and thriving 🤗

Did you find your pea puffer? I'm sorry, this must be so stressful!

Did the shrimp look chewed up, or was it something else? How did you acclimate the shrimp, and how long were they in your tank?

Also, do you have a favorite sand you like to use with planted goldfish tanks? I don't mind a splurge if it's safe and looks great with the fish.

It isn't constantly on. I see it cycle on and off. Right now temp is reading as 77.4 fahrenheit.

"GardenStateGoldfish" -- Are you in NJ, too? This is tremendously helpful. I've been looking at all the fancy goldfish sites from Dandy Orandas, to Coast Gem, to Zhao's Fancies, King Koi and Goldfish, Goldfish Island, East Coast Ranchus. Glad to hear you have a good experience with King Koi! Their fish are absolutely beautiful. I'll keep them at the top of the list. I already have Anacharis/Elodea growing in my quarantine tank as a floating plant! It's so sturdy and I'd be happy to transplant some of it into my goldfish scape. I can put the elodea along the back, get some bolbitis/anubias/java ferns for midground. I don't think I need or want a carpeting plant for my goldfish. Thank you so much for your input. I'll be taking my time building this tank, but already I'm so excited to just start getting everything together and having it ready to go.

I did not but this is stunning! Totally goals for my future goldfish tank! Restraint is going to be tough for me 😂

I'm going to firmly say 'somewhat,' lol! I have had my diamond tetras for about 3 months, and Alpha Male has claimed one side of the tank as breeding grounds. The fish do swim all over sometimes, but when they 'chill out' it's usually on the other side (including Alpha Male). It depends on the time of day and whether Alpha Male is in the breeding mood. He usually allows the female(s) he's courting into the area but often chases away his competing males. Tetras are just like this. It's interesting to watch and usually limited to within the tetra group. I've never seen my tetras bother anything else in the tank with this behavior.

New question! For a quarantine tank for goldfish, would a ten gallon be too small? I'm thinking I should pick up a 20 long for a goldfish quarantine to accommodate their size.

Agree with @tonyjuliano. No need to do any water changes until your cycle is complete, then the goal is to bring nitrates down to between 10 to 20 ppm via water changes. I wouldn't worry about pH. It jumps around during cycling and it will stabilize to where it will stay once cycling is complete. Keep pH stable once cycling is complete, don't bother worrying now.