Sarina

Yeah I honestly love flagfish, I think they're cute and they're very beneficial 😊 For anyone wishing to keep them: if they don't have algae to eat, they enjoy repashy Soilent Green gel food.

They run from my phone because they're scared of it 😂 here's a really bad picture because I had to zoom in a bunch:

Yes, they pulled a lot of the moss apart, as well, but they picked the staghorn algae clean off of the whole tank, leaving plants intact. It took them less than 24 hours to eat every speck of staghorn, which is usually too tough and fibrous for other algae eaters to want to bother with. The moss will grow back, and quite honestly I have more than enough to replace what was eaten or pulled off the wood. People like to say that flagfish are nippy and aggressive, but that is only the case with the males. A group of 3 female flagfish makes an excellent algae management system and they are not territorial like the males are. A group of them will hang out together and they won't usually bother other fish. They're nothing fancy, just a plain little brown and green fish, but they are very active swimmers and they are fun to watch. I wish I had more pictures of the whole tank before I put them in, there was staghorn all over the place... Now it's sparkling clean!

They will be fine. Nice Bolivian ram!

Yes, methylene chloride is basically the super generic version of mek lol I guess I should have said something about pvc cement working just fine for this purpose.

It looks like the center brace is still intact, so just scab over the cracks with some 1/6" thick abs (you'll save a few bucks with thinner material) and you'll be golden!

Oh yeah as long as both sides of the cracked part are supported, you can do it however you like!

So, funny story, I used to be a composites fabricator, and I actually can tell you how to fix it without replacing the entire top frame. Order some 1/8" thick abs plastic online, cut two strips about an inch wide, and use methylene chloride to glue one strip on either side of the damage. If you want, for aesthetic purposes, you can even cut down the melty bits and cut a piece wide enough to cover both strips and glue that on top of the gap to cover it. It probably wouldn't look half bad and it would save you from having to strip and re-silicome the whole top of the tank.

Frozen mysis, crickets, mealworms, earth worms, black worms, and a staple food like Repashy Redrum or Omega One super color cichlid pellets. Bug bites also makes an excellent cichlid pellet. Just try to stay away from anything that has too much wheat, corn, or other grain fillers in it. Meaty food is ideal, and it's especially important to switch it up so they get all the proper nutrients and they don't get bloated. I would give your flower horn the staple pellet every other day, and then meaty frozen foods in between. You could also do dried insects if you don't like the thought of doing live. Reptile stores usually have them.

They're such fun fish to breed! I have them in my pond and the male is currently caring for a batch of wigglers. They make pretty good parents most of the time, I don't have to do much at all with them.

Lol flagfish can be jerks. I usually only recommend them in tanks with fish that can put them in their place. My male also likes to beat the crap out of anyone who enters his territory. The females are docile, though.

Thank you all so much for your advice, I think I'm going to begin referencing Cory's m&m video regularly, since he does a much better job of explaining these things than I do 😅 oddly enough, the kids I talk to seem to grasp the higher level science information better than most adults. I have yet to have to explain salt water to a newbie, that should be an adventure when the time comes lol. I will refine and simplify my diagram and probably use that as a tool, as well. I'm grateful to everyone for putting things in perspective for me! I feel like I've been chest-deep in chemistry and biology with this hobby for years now, it's hard to remember how to slow down and explain it clearly to someone who isn't living and breathing it every day.

Okay you're right, but I talked about metabolic function to a customer today and unfortunately just confused the crap out of them. Anaerobic bacteria aren't going to really exist in your average plastic gravel and fake plant beginner setup, either. Idk I struggle with how to pick out the important bits to help a beginner succeed and want to learn more. It's a balance, too, because you don't want to overwhelm people and scare them off. Do you think the metabolic function bit is super necessary for a brand new hobbyist? If so I definitely will work it in somehow.

I started working at a local fish store recently (yay!) and I’m finding myself struggling with explaining the nitrogen cycle to newbies. I feel like I tend to over explain things and intimidate/confuse people, so I’m trying to come up with a simple-ish explanation and diagram to guide the conversation. This is a very rough draft, and I need input before I finalize the design and actually make it look artsy and nice. I am usually a good salesperson, but I feel like I’m already failing at this job because people’s eyes glaze over when I begin to talk about the components of aquarium ecosystems and water quality and whatnot. Is this normal? I feel like this is vital information for the wellbeing of an animal and I find it really unnerving that people seem to not care. Any advice about this would be welcome, my confidence in my position has taken a bit of a hit because of the interactions I’ve had recently. Copy/paste of text portion for easy editing: Beneficial “nitrifying” bacteria grows on all surfaces in your aquarium where water flows, including decorations, substrate, plants, and most importantly: filter media. Porous media such as sponge and ceramic make excellent homes for these beneficial bacteria, which convert toxic ammonia and nitrite to much less toxic nitrate. These bacteria colonies take time to grow in a new tank, from 3 to 8 weeks, and this initial bacteria development is known as “cycling a tank.” High nitrate levels can still harm fish, which is why water changes and/or live plants are essential to keeping a healthy tank. Testing your water regularly to keep track of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels can help you understand your tank’s ecosystem so you can keep your fish healthy and happy! Always wash dirty filter media in used tank water. Chlorine from tap water can kill your beneficial bacteria and may cause your tank to “crash.” A crash happens when there isn’t enough bacteria present to convert ammonia and nitrite, so the concentration of these toxic compounds rises to harmful levels. (Side note I just realized I need to write out “carbon dioxide” next to CO2 for consistency, I’m sure that’s not the only mistake I’ve made)

Yeah it's always frustrating when you keep getting fry that don't survive, I hope giving them a month off helps.

Sometimes a pair just doesn't produce strong enough fry for good survival rates. I had a pair of German blue rams that would have fry that would even get to the free swimming phase and then slowly they would all die off. It may not be you at all, it may be the pair you have. Try dropping the temperature and giving them a break from breeding for a month or so, bulk them up with some high quality foods, and then try again, maybe? As long as the fry are eating and you're not getting fungus, they should be surviving without much issue so I'm not sure what else it could be.

Well judging by your Kh, your pH should be around 7.2-7.6. It's always a little difficult to tell in photos, but the test strip kit needs to be done in a very specific way for accuracy. Unless you took the photo at 1 minute, as the instructions state, the reading may be off. I recommend retesting with both if the ph number is crucial. If it's not that important, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Swings of 0.2 in either direction from the average aren't really anything to worry about unless you're keeping the most sensitive of wild caught species.

Most leca isn't heavy enough to hold plants in, and a good portion of it will actually float. It's a great biological media, but it's probably not the best choice for substrate.

I think most people use "no planaria" to get rid of things like leeches and other unwanted squiggly unfriendlies.

Alex talked about this a few weeks ago on a live stream, super fascinating subject! As for your betta, I think it's totally possible to have an intersex betta, however you really can't know for sure, since appearance can be so deeply varied. The only way to truly tell is to have a genetic test done... Difficult on a small fish, for sure.

It's actually not substrate at all, it's something called safe-t-sorb, which is calcined clay meant for absorbing oil and chemicals. It's incredibly cheap, but it has a good CEC capacity. Only downside is you have to "charge" it by soaking it in fertilizer for like two weeks before you plant into it. It's not very beginner friendly, but it works well and looks great 😊 it's actually capping worm castings in this setup and it grows plants quite well.

I have to warn you, I tried those for succulents and was terribly disappointed by them. They began to burn out and dim within about 3 months.

Oh yeah aluminum cones will be perfectly fine. I hope they work well for you!

Here is a video from @Bentley Pascoe that explains how anoxic and anaerobic bacteria works, including some other links that explains it further. As for your question about gravel, in order to create a deep enough bed to create an anaerobic environment, you'd have to have pretty deep gravel and quite a bit of mulm. Sand tends to compact and create that anaerobic and anoxic environment better and more consistently than gravel.

My favorite light for this situation is the GE led balanced spectrum bulbs. The "seeds and greens" version will be closer to natural sunlight, more of a white light that leans a bit on the cool side. The "fruit and flower" bulb looks warmer in color, but will be less likely to produce algae and may actually trigger flowering in some plants like red root floaters. Either option is 9w, so easily gives plenty of light off for a nano setup. The cheaper option, for whatever reason, is usually the fruit and flower one. The best part? These bulbs fit into a standard desk lamp with E26/27 threading. You can find the bulbs here.