Troy328

Oh I can definitely do an airstone! I was under the impression that Hillstreams needed a circulator pump or a powerhead or something to that effect. My current plans for filtration involved a double HOB filter combo, and I wasn't sure if that would provide strong enough flow across the whole tank. But I suppose if oxygenation is the issue, not exactly the movement of the water itself, I might be fine? I guess I have more research ahead of me!

Wow, this is so funny, because I'm also setting up a 55 Gallon community tank, and I was also looking for bottom dweller suggestions! One of the best suggestions I got so far was Zebra Loaches. I'm still doing research on them myself, so I can't speak to how well they would do from experience, but they might be worth looking into for you as well, because our setups involve very similar fish (You have Gold Barbs, I have Cherry Barbs. You have a Pearl and Gold Gourami, I am planning on getting a couple of Honey Gouramis.) Best of luck with your tank! Seems like you have a great group so far!

Yeah, I am starting to lean towards loaches! I actually have some Kuhlis in my other tank, so maybe I will look into something else. Are there any species in particular that are forgiving when it comes to flow rate? My Kuhlis seem to do fine with lower flow, but I know a lot of other loach species are a lot more active. Wow, they do seem very cool! I think they might be a little too much with the tank plans I already have, but definitely something to think about down the road! I wish you luck with them! Zebra loaches seem like a good suggestion, seems kind of like what I was looking for! The question I asked to Lots of Loaches also applies here: how picky are Zebra Loaches when it comes to flow rate? The whole reason I ruled out Hillstream Loaches is because I was worried I would not be able to provide fast enough water flow for them. Are Zebra Loaches a little more forgiving? Or are there any other similar loach species that work well in a lower flow environment? Thanks for all the ideas guys, it's been very helpful!!

If I did end up going with a pleco, I think a longfin bristlenose would definitely be my first choice! Wow! I don't think I've ever actually seen Venezuelan Corys before! My personal favorites are false juliis :] I will keep these guys in mind if I decide to go with corys! Whoa, I have never actually heard of Kubotai Loaches either, they look striking! I'll have to consider them, or maybe some other kind of loach, perhaps some Dwarf Chain Loaches? I would guess that both species prefer a strong water flow, which is why I initially ruled out the hillstream loach, but maybe it would be worth it. Something to think about! Thanks for the suggestions!!

Hello, all! I am currently getting a 55 gallon community tank set up. My current stocking plans are: 6-12 Cherry Barbs 6-8 Platys 2 Honey Gouramis Since all of these species swim towards the middle or the top of the tank, I'm looking for bottom dweller suggestions for something that would get along with these species that would add some movement and life to the bottom of the tank. I know corys and smaller plecos will be automatic recommendations, but I'm looking for maybe something a little bit different or uncommon. I was looking into getting a small group of Panda Garras, but I heard they could be aggressive towards each other. I have heard mixed information as to whether you can only keep 1 or not. I was also looking at Hillstream Loaches, but I have read that they need a high level of water flow, and I'm not sure if that's something I want for this sort of set up. I know neither of these fish are strictly bottom dwellers, but I figured they would add a different kind of movement to the tank. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Hello, everyone! So there's a bit of a backstory here, so bear with me. 😅 I recently ordered some plants from Aquarium Co-Op. I live on the east coast of the United States, so the plants travelled all the way across the country. On the day they arrived, it was freezing outside! I brought the plants inside as soon as I could and dropped them into my empty 10 gallon quarantine tank. This is very unlike me, because usually I rinse off my plants first, but I'm really glad that I didn't, because a few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I notice a tiny little fish swimming around! It would have been rinsed right down the drain. I scrambled to do an immediate emergency water change (the tank had been empty and untouched for a long time, and while I deemed it safe for plants temporarily, I did not consider it safe for fish.) and by the time I was done, I found I had four baby fish swimming around in there! Somehow they managed to survive a journey across the country, which took a couple days, with hardly any water (basically enough to keep the plants wet) and they even survived the cold weather and the shock I unknowingly put them through by dropping them into a 75 F degree fish tank. Incredible survivors! This all happened on March 28th, so they have survived the first few days and the harsh transition, and still seem to be doing well! I reached out to Aquarium Co-Op and they were able to help me identify the fry as Siamese Algae Eaters. I have never had them before, but I am obviously doing research! I would appreciate care tips from anyone experienced with them. Ideal foods for them while they are still tiny (they are about the size of a grain of rice, maybe a little bigger) as well as foods they like to eat once they are grown (besides algae). If there are any helpful tips for how to raise fry in general, I would appreciate it, because I haven't had to care for fry since I was a young kid with guppies, and even then my parents were the ones doing the work! As far as long term habitat, my main tank is a 20 gallon with Cherry Barbs and Kuhli Loaches. It's a bit too small for them once they're fully grown, especially with the current residents. As I previously stated, they are currently in a 10 gallon tank which will get the job done while they are still tiny, but I just acquired a 50 gallon tank that I was lucky enough to get for dirt cheap at a thrift store, which will work great for when they reach full size. Any ideas on what could make good tankmates plus tips on what kind of environment they would prefer once they are grown would be nice. Are they big on hiding space? Do they prefer gravel or sand, or do they have no preference? How heavy do I need to go on plants? Will I need to get more than the four I have or is that ok for a group size? What would go well with them in a 50 gallon? I know that's a lot of questions, but I would love any tips or advice that anyone is able to offer up! And lastly I just want to extend my thanks to Aquarium Co-Op for having wonderful customer service, for hosting this wonderful forum, and for sending me free fish and helping me identify them 😊

Hello, everyone. So, I've been quarantining 8 Cherry Barbs in a 10 gallon tank for two weeks now. In the first 24 hours, I unfortunately lost two fish, with no notable signs of any illness, and replaced them with two more the next day to keep the group at 8. So technically it's been like 13 days since the last time I added fish. I believe what happened is my cycle crashed, or it was not ready to handle the new fish, because I noticed a jump in nitrites shortly after I added the fish. This would also explain why the first two passed without any noticeable issues beforehand. Fortunately, everyone else has been doing well ever since. The cycle has been repaired, I have no ammonia or nitrites, and the nitrates are building back up again. I actually watched two of the barbs spawn, I saw them scatter eggs and everything! Very exciting stuff. But now there's a new problem. Lately, the barbs have been showing aggression towards each other. Specifically, there's one male that is aggressively chasing the other male and 6 females. The others will sometimes snap at each other, and while there's hiding space in the tank, I know a big issue is that they are in too small of a tank. It doesn't seem like the mating behavior I initially observed, it seems like they are becoming territorial. The tank they will be going into has a lot more hiding places, and it's a 20 gallon. It only has a few kuhli loaches in it. I want to do this quarantine thing right, but the barbs seem to be chasing a lot and stressing each other out, but otherwise appear to be in good health. Lots of energy, good color, nothing wrong that I can see externally. I'm worried about them stressing each other out in such a tight space, though. I wish I had quarantined them in a bigger tank, but the 10 gallon is all I have besides my main tank. Any tips on how to help with their aggression? At what point is it better to end quarantine early to save themselves the stress? Is two weeks alright? I'd appreciate any opinions on the subject.

Thanks for the info! I like to know how other people go about these types of things. Another quick question: If quarantining for a week or longer, when do you begin feeding the fish in quarantine? I know fish can go a good while without food, but if I end up quarantining these guys for let's say two weeks, when should I give them their first pinch of food? Should I feed them during the med trio?

Just found this picture of my old Dwarf Gourami named Tetsuo ❤️

I plan on picking up some Cherry Barbs today! I have their quarantine tank all set up (10 gallon quarantine for a 20 gallon display), and I also purchased the med trio from aquarium co-op. I am very excited to get these little guys, but I wanted some advice first because I have never actually used the med trio before! I am getting the Cherry Barbs from a reputable fish store, but they also have a massive selection of fish, and things are constantly changing in the tanks, so I'm honestly not too trusting of what they will have been exposed to prior to me picking them up, which is why I want to quarantine. That being said, I'm not too sure how long I should quarantine the fish for and if/when I should start them on the med trio. How long do you guys usually quarantine your fish for? For those of you that have used the med trio, did you put the meds in right away, or did you wait a little while? And if you decided to wait, did you wait because you were looking for symptoms to appear or did you wait because you wanted to give the fish time to acclimate first? And did you dose the meds one at a time or all at once? I would like to know what method people have found the most success with! I know Cherry Barbs are known to be pretty hardy, so I imagine they could take all three medicines at the same time and handle it pretty well, but I'd like to hear more from people who have actually gone through it. I am ashamed to admit I have not been the best with quarantining fish in the past, but I want to try and do everything right this time. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

reddish brown is a pretty unusual color, so I understand the concern. Is food going uneaten? Are there any fish that seem to have less of an appetite? Or as Colu has suggested, is there just more waste than before? Water tests might be able to help answer your question as to whether it is coming from fish waste/excess food or something else. There's only a few other things I can think of that would turn water that color, and that would be tannins or iron. I'm pretty sure you would know if you had put something with tannins in your own water. Iron is also unlikely, but still possible. There could be rust in your pipes, or if you have a well, there could be more iron coming up from the groundwater than usual, although you would probably notice that your water throughout your home is discolored, not just the fish tanks. Regardless of the cause, doing some tests, cleaning the filters a little, and continuing to do water changes can't really hurt. Best of luck!

I love me some corys ! I used to keep pepper corys and my personal favorite, julii corys. I would be a little worried about them stealing all of the sinking food from the kuhlis, but maybe after I add some cherry barbs I could look into some smaller corys as well! That's also good stuff to know about white cloud minnows. I love the way they look, but I think I would wait until I have a colder tank set up. It's good to know they can handle warmer temperatures, but I think I'd rather keep them in something they are a bit more accustomed to. Maybe I could convert my 10 gallon quarantine tank into a nano setup with some white clouds in the future. Anyways, thanks for all the advice!

Thanks for the advice so far! I'm glad to know Cherry Barbs will probably be safe based on what has been said so far! I really appreciate it. This seems a little extreme to me, and I'm not to sure I fully agree with this, 😅 but it's good to know that 8 kuhlis and 8 barbs would be ok! It's a 20 high, I should have mentioned that! 24inchx12inch footprint. I'm curious as to why you don't like Zebra Danios, does it just come down to personal taste, or something else? And as for White Clouds, I have always wanted to try them, so that's a great idea! But don't they like even colder water than Danios, or am I misremembering? Would they be comfortable in the same water as the Kuhlis?

Hello, everyone. So, I currently have a lightly planted 20 gallon setup with only a couple of Kuhli loaches in it, but plenty of cave space for them to explore. I plan to add some more Kuhlis to get their numbers back to around 8 or so. However, after that, I'm wondering what to add next? I would love to add some type of shoaling/schooling fish. I was initially thinking Cherry Barbs, but I'm worried that I couldn't get a good enough group size without overstocking the tank. Would 8 Cherry Barbs and 8 Kuhlis be too much in a 20 gallon? I was also thinking about some type of Danio, either Longfin Zebras or some Celestial Pearl/Emerald Dwarf Danios if I feel like dropping some extra cash. However, I know that Danios usually like cooler water than what the Kuhlis prefer (I have mine at 78 F) but I'm not to sure how much that would matter to them. I also think Zebra Danios would probably run into the same problem as the Cherry Barbs, where a bigger group would probably be pushing it. If I went with a smaller Danio species I could fit more of them in there and have a larger school, but from what I have heard they aren't as hardy as zebra danios are, and I'm a bit nervous to try something with an intermediate care level, the Kuhlis were about as adventurous as I am willing to go. 😅 I would love to hear some input on if any of these options could work and how many I should keep of each in order to have everyone be happy! I am also open to other suggestions! I know lots of fish can go with Kuhlis, but I am particularly looking for something hardy that will group together. Thanks! 😄

Hello, everyone. I just had a quick question about pH and I was hoping I could get some help. I moved out of my parent's house recently, and got my first apartment, which is exciting! The fish handled the move well, which is good. I think it was harder on me than them! I have a group of Kuhli loaches in a 20 gallon, and I'm looking to add more loaches and new species to the tank soon. However, before I can do that, I noticed a problem I didn't account for when I moved. You see, my parents lived on a well, and so the water came out of the tap at a pH of 8, and while I never tested the hardness, I know it's probably hard water. The new place I moved into has municipal water, so it has a pH of 7 and is much likely going to be much softer than the well water. My question is, how do I transition the water in the tank from the old water to the new water? In the short term, I can always just fill up jugs of well water to use for water changes. But going forward, should I mix the new water with the old water to slowly bring down the pH? I know people usually recommend to not "chase pH", and that it is often better to leave it alone, which I have agreed with. But in this case, where I will have to change the pH eventually no matter what, how gradually should I do it? And what about the hardness, should that cause any issues? I know Kuhlis are sometimes sensitive to changes in water quality, how careful do I need to be with them? Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

Very unfortunate news, actually. Leo passed away overnight. I set up his hospital tank Tuesday night, and moved him into it Wednesday/yesterday. He seemed to take the adjustment pretty well, and he actually seemed to perk up a little bit, acting a little bit more like his usual self. I went to sleep last night feeling optimistic. When I woke up this morning and checked on him though, he was already at peace. Thank you to everyone who tried to help me with giving him care. I didn't have Leo for too long, but he made a very strong impact on me. It's sad to lose him so soon, but at least I was able to try, and I loved him the entire way. I'm attaching some of my favorite pictures of him to this in order to honor him. R.I.P. Leo 🐠🌈🐉

Thanks for the continued advice, everyone. I'm getting a 10 gallon hospital tank set up tonight and hopefully by sticking the heater in overnight it will get up to 80 and be ready for him tomorrow. the closest dedicated fish store was closed today, the two petcos I visited in the area were not excepting debit cards today and I only had eight bucks on me, and then the pet smart didn't have aquarium salt or any of the things I needed. So I had to settle for Walmart versions! Surprisingly, they had Tetra Lifeguard when none of the other pet stores did (I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing) and I was able to get some aquarium salt (not API but hopefully it will work all the same?). It suggests 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons much like quikv6 suggested. I'm still feeling a little iffy on this tetra lifeguard stuff, but I wanted to grab it anyways. There is a warning on the back about how it is not good to use for new aquarium setups which I'm a bit worried about because technically that's what the hospital will be? I might just start with the aquarium salt tomorrow and hope for the best and then use the lifeguard stuff if that doesn't work.

I'm going to be leaving for the pet store in a little over an hour to pick up a new filter for the hospital tank and some medicines. Does anyone else have any recommendations to chime in with concerning Tetra Life Guard vs API General Cure? I did some research and it looks like they treat similar things, but actually use different ingredients. Also, does anyone have any advice on how to use aquarium salt? I've never actually had to use it before. And how do I know if I'm getting the right kind of salt? Is there a brand I should look for?

Thank you so much for all of the advice and help! I think I have a 10 gallon lying around in the basement, so I think that will work. I just need a filter for it. How much filter media should I take out of my current filter to keep things going in the hospital without screwing with my main tank? Or if I were to set up a sponge filter in the hospital, how could I bring over bacteria? I guess I could use quick start? I am thinking I will also fill the hospital tank with some water from my main tank to keep things consistent as well. Yeah, I have been looking for some good daphnia-based foods at my local fish stores and petcos but haven't found any yet in person. He was initially eating Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets and Fluval Bug Bites. Once he slowed down eating I switched to Hikari Betta Bio-Gold (which is what the fish store was feeding him) which he has been able to eat 1-2 of each day at least, but it takes him effort and he seems uninterested. Sometimes he spits it out and sometimes he will actually miss the food, like he will try to bite it but miss, and then gives up. Takes some effort to get him to eat. He will still sometimes eat Bug Bites but he jas given up on Omega One despite loving them at first.

Thanks for the advice! Sorry to hear about your betta too, did your betta end up turning around and getting better? Also, do you think I could treat the whole tank with those medicines, including the loaches? I'd prefer to not move Leo if I don't have to, and I don't currently have a hospital tank set up. I also figure that if Leo has something wrong, it might be worth treating the whole tank just in case the loaches have it too and I just can't tell?

I am attaching some pictures for reference, to show that there is no change (unless I'm missing something). The first one is what he's doing right now, and the others were taken before the floating-at-the-surface behavior started. He may look a little different, but it's mostly because of the way the light is hitting him based on where he is in the tank.

Tank Information: - 20 gallon tank with a male plakat betta (his name is Leo) and a small group of kuhli loaches. I have had Leo for two months and the loaches for two years. I also have some anubias in there and some caves for the loaches. I have a baffled Aqueon Quiet Flow filter and a Aqueon heater. - pH is 7.6-7.8 - Ammonia is 0 - Nitrite is 0 - Nitrate is also 0 (was around 5ppm when I first added him, not sure when it became 0 to be honest) - Temperature is 76 F Background Information: Leo is a dragonscale plakat betta that I've had for two months now. However, I have noticed a very worrying decline in his activity level and his willingness to eat. about two weeks ago, he started laying on plant leaves a little more frequently, which I took as a sign that perhaps he was getting more comfortable with his habitat. Then, however, he started eating less. Even then, I didn't think much of it, bettas are sometimes picky, right? I considered the possibility he was getting too much of the loaches' food at night and that he was simply not hungry or had overeaten. I also considered that maybe his dragonsale genes were covering his eye and making it harder to actually see his food (apparently that is a thing.) I was continuing to get him to eat at least 1-2 betta pellets per day, except skip days, but it takes a long time for him to eat or be fully interested in the food. I have tried switching brands and that has not helped. I have also tried fasting him for potential digestive issues from eating too much loach food and that hasn't worked either. Current Situation: Leo over the past few days has gotten worse. Instead of of laying on leaves and being just a bit lethargic/lazy, he now floats at the top near corners or behind the heater. It seems like sometimes he has labored breathing. The problem is I haven't noticed anything visually wrong about him besides this. No ick, no velvet, no bloating, no tumors, no white tufts, no injuries, not even fin rot. I am getting very concerned. The kuhli loaches seem fine (when I get to see them, that is, but it is very normal for them to hide, so they seem fine) I bought a new heater recently, about to install it, to hopefully raise his tank temperature up from the 76 to 80-82. The lower temperature is the only thing I can determine that might be causing the lethargy, but I don't understand why he's not eating much or floating at the top despite having nothing else wrong with him, at least from what I can see. What could be the problem? What else can I do to help, besides raise the temperature? Is it possible there is something internal like parasites?Which medicines should I have on hand, and are there any I should start now? Are my low nitrates to blame? Is it possible he has some type of blockage or swim bladder issue without showing any bloating or any other visual signs? Sorry for so many questions, I just want to do what's right for him and get to the bottom of this! - Troy