HH Morant

Paradise fish?

I us potting soil in pots for my plants with some gravel on top. That way I don't dirt the whole tank and the plants get the benefit of the soil.

Wow, Fish Folk, you have a lot of electric blue acaras in there!

Tastes like chicken

Cycling and reading. Fishkeeping probably takes the most time. When I read about fishkeeping I am getting a two-fer. I have not read about fishkeeping while cycling. That is probably best.

I agree that beneficial bacteria, once established, is durable enough to survive with the minimal care which Bobbie suggests.

The ph does not cause an ammonia problem, but if you have a high ph it makes an ammonia problem worse because a bigger percentage of ammonia is free ammonia. I have my doubts about Fritz Zyme 7, which I have voiced on this forum before, but mine is the minority opinion. In your situation, it probably won't hurt. When I used it I got a bacteria bloom in the water column - not beneficial bacteria, which grows on surfaces - and I associated the bacteria bloom with the Fritz Zyme 7.

That is good advice about doing the API tests correctly. Water changes are the best way to deal with ammonia that high (4 ppm if your testing is right). I would do 50-75% water changes to keep the ammonia below 2 ppm until the filter starts working properly. There are 2 different kinds of beneficial bacteria. One kind converts ammonia to nitrites. The second kind converts nitrites to nitrates. For some reason, it seams that you don't have enough of the first kind. How much of the ammonia is free ammonia (the toxic kind) depends on your ph. The higher the ph, the bigger percentage of the ammonia is free ammonia. You can find charts on the internet to determine how much free ammonia there is at your ph. The charts will also tell you what level of fee ammonia is toxic to your fish so you can make judgments about what measures are necessary to protect them.

Yes, and even when you feel you have to clean it, don't clean it too thoroughly. The urge is to get it clean, but bacteria does not like a clean environment. Kind of the opposite.

When you do water changes, do not clean your you're sponge filter. The beneficial bacteria in the sponge filter Is not well established, And you do not want to wash it away.

I like my 3 albino hoplo catfish. I like them because they don't hide. They swim around where I can see them and they have a lot of character. Like corydoras, they also dash to the top for a gulp of air every now and then, as you can see from the pictures. They also stand on their heads, digging for food for an hour after feeding time.

Do you have a test kit to test for ammonia and nitrites?

Neon tetras need clean water, so it is better to add them after the filter is more established.

I agree plants are good. They don't care if the water is not perfectly clear. Sorry that Buddy does not look so good. How long has the tank been set up?

Try feeding the big fish something that is too big for the little fish to swallow, like large pellets.

I don't use a submersible pump. I use an Extraup utility pump, 0.1 HP, 330 gallons per hour. Of course, the true flow rate is not anywhere near 330 gallons per hour because of head pressure. But it is powerful enough to suck up detritus.

The foam is sold at www.swisstropicals.com It comes in rectangular or square sheets (and various thicknesses) and I cut it to fit my filter.

The foam is sold by Swiss Tropicals. www.swisstropicals.com They sell it in various rectangle or square sizes and I cut it to fit my filter.

Flashing is a nonspecific symptom. It can be flukes or other external parasites like ich or epistylis, or it can be a bacterial infection. Or it could be a passing itch that had to be scratched. You can take a shot at a treatment for whichever malady you think it is, or you can wait to see some other symptom that helps you figure out what the problem is. I know that is not much help, but that's all I've got. I hope one of the more knowledgeable folks can give you more helpful advice. I would try antibiotics in the food, given that you have already treated with praziquantel and ich-x.

If they are eating you might consider medicating food rather than dosing the water column. I agree levamisole is a good de-wormer, even better if the fish swallows it. There are different methods of medicating the food: 1. Using Seachem Metroplex and Seachem Focus, with Garlic-Guard as a flavor enhancer. There are videos on YouTube showing how to do this. The Focus is said to "bind" the medication to the food. I have used this method with Metroplex, metronidazole powder, and also with Paracleanse, API General Cure, praziquantel, and levamisole. 2. Using the medication and Garlic-Guard or water without Focus. There are Jack Wattley Discus videos on YouTube showing how they do this with "100%" metronidazole powder that they sell. The guy who does the video for Jack Wattley Discus does not think Focus is needed. He says ingesting the medication is 10 times stronger than putting it into the water. I have also used this method (with Garlic-Guard, not water) of making medicated food with all of the medications mentioned above. 3. On the aquariumscience.org website under the title "Making Medicated Food" a method of making medicated food is described using hot water and gelatin. I have not used this method yet, but I intend to try it. The author of this website does not believe that dosing the water column has any effect on internal parasites (see his article "Fish Don't Drink" on the website), so he says the only effective way to kill internal parasites is with medicated food. Good luck, and I hope your fish make it.

Looks like a snakefish to me.

Glad to hear he survived! Now he's a cat-fish!

Water changes are your best weapon. Keep testing and keep changing water to keep the ammonia level down. Getting a seasoned sponge filter Is a good idea if you can do that. I understand the urge to use products that claim to detoxify ammonia and bacteria-in-a-bottle products in an emergency. I have done it. Many people believe that those things work. But if bacteria in a bottle really worked, nobody would ever cycle a tank any other way. Everybody would just pour a bottle of bacteria into their filter on the first day and then put the fish in. But people don't do that.

I would not paint the sides. You get some viewing through the side panels. I let algae grow on the side panels to help water quality and give the plecos something to eat. If you paint the side panels, less algae (or maybe none) will grow because the light from outside the tank is blocked, light that the algae would otherwise use. Also, my paint job on the back of my aquarium is a little sloppy. It does not look good from the back. Fortunately, nobody sees the back of my aquarium. But you can see the sides. If you want to try blacking out the sides, use something that is easily removed - like black paper or plastic. If you decide it is beneficial you can paint it later. You might also consider using black plasti-dip rather than paint. It is easier to apply and easier to remove if you change your mind in the future.

I treat the water outside the tank, but I have seen water changes in pet shops where they put the dechlorinator in first and then run tap water into the tank. I have also seen them put the dechlorinator in while the tap water is running into the tank