laritheloud

It looks like excess slime coat production/mucus to promote healing. So that, I think, would point to some sort of wound/laceration on the head...

Absolutely! Wait until both nitrite and ammonia read 0. Then do large water changes to reduce nitrates — after fish less cycling I had to do two 75% water changes in a row to reduce nitrates to an acceptable level. After that it’s safe to add some fish!

That's what I'm hoping for. It'll be a test of restraint for me, both with plants and with stocking! 😂 I could stand to work some minimalism after completely just shoving all kinds of plants in my 29g! I'm putting together a list now and I'm going to wait for a good sale on the larger tanks to start assembling everything! This isn't something I want to rush.

Look at them!!! I love this! And I have no doubt it'll be my favorite tank. My husband had to work on me to convince me to want goldfish for our next tank, and I have to admit, I'm pretty sure he's spot-on. I got into this hobby to occupy myself and help out my lifelong anxiety troubles, and sometimes I take a hit more often than I relax. Goldfish have the exact temperament and goofiness I want in a peaceful, pretty tank, and I figure a bigger tank and conservative goldfish stocking for the size will ensure ease of care and let me enjoy them. I have water lettuce in one of my tanks right now and it's exploding. I was hoping to get some red root floaters or something else floating for them to nibble on and 'control' the growth up top. I'll add water wisteria to my planning list, too. Maybe I'll try some bigger Bolbitis! I have a mini one that's settled nicely in my tank, and I like the look of it better than my Java Fern (which is finally starting to look good after 3 months in the tank). Smooth rocks are on my hardscape list, and I'm not sure if driftwood is worth the risk.

I am absolutely dreaming of starting a 75 or 90 gallon goldfish tank for our next aquarium project, and luckily, my husband is completely on board. I'm thinking 3 or 4 fancy goldfish, pool filter sand bottom (or bare?), and an Attempt at some tough, sturdy plants. I'd love some adorable orandas and ranchus for my tank (I am not interested in telescoping eyes or bubble eye goldfish), and I'm debating whether to add hillstream or dojo loaches for the bottom. I'll probably throw in mystery and nerite snails, maybe some bamboo shrimp (fully grown ideally), but the goldfish will be the main focus. Who has experience with fancy goldfish? What works for you, and what plants/hardscape/substrate should I consider with these cute guys? Some enthusiasts advocate a species-only goldfish tank, some say you can add a few other tankmates in with them. Most sources say to research a goldfish breeder, but I think I'd definitely have to order online because I can't find many within reasonable driving distance.

Looks great! I doubt you'll see a decline or much of a change in nitrates, since the test kit doesn't get very granular after 80ppm and it's a huge leap between 80 and 120 (is that the highest on the test? I've forgotten). It's normal for Nitrites to skip around while the bacteria colony is building. The ammonia-consuming bacteria are produced first, keeping ammonia levels undetectable even with added ammonia, and then the nitrite-consuming bacteria have to build and catch up.

Hmmm I don't think that looks like worms. Does it look more like scales/skin peeling off or excess slime coat?

We have corydoras elegans, and I've totally caught them slurping up eggs as the tetras scatter them, lol!!! That was actually our first signal that the tetras were laying eggs. They were having a party beneath the water sprite fronds, eagerly eating up all the eggs. We have also two honey gouramis and a female sunset thicklip gourami (that... was a mistake, but it turns out we love her and want to keep her instead of changing her out for a third honey) in the quarantine tank right now, and they'll go in sometime in mid to late June if all goes well.

I don't *THINK* it is, but we are in a very old house with poor insulation (house was built in 1810). The HVAC thermostat is in the room the tank is in, and we have it set to 71. I'll have to test that!

My babies are growing fast by the way

It seemed like SOMETHING of a solution as a backup to internal heater thermostats, and it was about the same price as purchasing an additional heater. I should get it from Amazon by Saturday, I'll keep you updated!

I purchased a temp controller from inkbird to back me up, and I'll make sure to get a new backup heater just in case. Thanks, we'll see how this goes! I've been trying to lower the temp in my tank this week so I can try and encourage my mystery snails to lay a clutch of eggs, but no luck yet!

I have a Fluval as a backup right now, do you have a recommendation for a reliable heater?

I've actually been working on slowly dropping the temperature, but for some reason the tank is still reading 78 degrees fahrenheit no matter how much I adjust my EHEIM heater down. It's set at 74 right now (I'm aiming for 76 fahrenheit) and I'm waiting to see if the temp will drop. I already did a round of calibration, so I'm confused why the heater won't quit. I might need to seek a replacement if it won't readjust.

So my Diamond Tetras are breeding at a rate of at least once per week. I'm either doing something really right or I got some intensely frisky tetras. The thing is, I definitely do not have the space for lots of babies! I can always take any grown fish that I can't keep back to my LFS, but it'd be much easier if I just didn't have them at all. I had two survivors from the first spawn, and I have so many plants I'm convinced I'll continue to have a few survivors every now and then at the rate they're scattering eggs. Any tips to prevent this from happening or should I just enjoy my crazy-frisky fish? 😂

Completely agree with this. I'm actually looking forward to our two Diamond Tetra fry joining the school, it might help our alpha male to calm his butt down. He's in breeding mode at least once per week, it feels like!

Tetras do this, especially when competing for breeding rights. My "alpha male" diamond tetra is absolutely relentless against the others. Never bothers any of the other creatures in the tank, just his fellow tetras.

That's a good sign that your plant is growing! Floating plants are great for that. I'm sorry about how long your cycle is taking, it sounds so exhausting to manage. I would just let the tank be for now and stick with weekly water changes so long as nitrites don't climb above 1 ppm. I know you said you were adding bottled bacteria to help.

The nerites don't really add to the bioload, and 4 corydoras in a 20 gallon is not tremendous at all. Did you measure how many PPM of ammonia it climbed to throughout the cycle? If the fish food was not producing enough ammonia to accommodate the bioload, a mini-cycle will still occur. If you're changing water very frequently and adding a dechlorinator like Prime, it could stall the cycle a bit.

I'm treating my quarantine tank with internal parasites. I gave them API General Cure starting on Monday last week, treated for the week, and this week I've been letting them rest. I'm going to start the next course after the next water change this weekend and let it go for another week. I think this is a good way to ensure you have no more parasites, but there's a lot of conflicting info out there about how long to wait between treatments.

do you use fertilizers in your tank?

So we are keeping our thick lipped “accident” and naming her Lady Marmalade. 🤣 two honeys and a thick lip. Should work, right?!

I hope so! I was looking for a pair!

Dang. I got a 'pair' of honey gourami from my LFS (plus a baby from another one) annnnnnd I realized that instead of the pair I thought I had, they mistakenly gave me a honey gourami (definite female, I think) and a sunset thick-lipped juvenile. So now I'm in the position of "Do I keep my baby honey and my female sunset honey gourami and return the thick-lipped" or just keep them all... Nothing wrong with the sunset thick-lipped, it just wasn't what I set out to purchase.

At what age about can you reliably sex a honey gourami? Is this still too young to tell?