illconceivedart

So I've got multis in a 20long and they are spawning like crazy. 1. Is profilific breeding part of their identity? 2. At what size does a colony become too big for a 20long? 3. Fry/juveniles to adult ratio? I dont want them crowded, even if the bio load is managable.

Hello, I recently obtained 8 kuhli loaches from my LFS and noticed that two or three have really pink/faded sides, whereas the others have pronounced dark brown/yellow striping. I've read faded color on a kuhli can be caused by parameter issues, water changes, ect. My parameters are solid, and I do a weekly 25-30% water change. My question is: Why would only a couple of them have this discoloration? Is it age related, genetics, or something else I may be overlooking? At first I thought it might be because I got two different types of kuhli loaches, but all of the patterns and sizes reflect the standard Pangio Kuhli that is most common in the hobby. Please take a look at the attached pic and notice the difference in coloration between the two.

Awesome, great advice and explanations! Thanks. I really appreciate the help, I'm only about a year into seriously keeping fish so I'm always second guessing my decisions!

I was watching Prime Time Aquatics and they have kept Apistos in higher ph. Anyone else have advice / thoughts? My LFS is holding them for me but I only want to get them if they will be healthy and thrive. Breeding is not really the focus here fyi.

Hello, My LFS has apistogramma panduro and I was considering getting a pair. However my pH is around 7.8-8. Is this too high for them? I was looking for a fun, colorful centerpiece fish for my 20long community tank with Celebese rainbows and kuhli loaches. I've also heard they may not go great with other bottom dwellers like kuhli's. My other option was a german blue or bolivian ram. However I do not want to increase my water temp from 76 up to 82 (so that rules out the germans). Any other suggestions? Thanks,

Thanks Beardedbillygoat! Yea, I plan on using stems and some swords. Is there anything to consider when scaping for Apistos? I know they are bottom dwellers. I dont plan on trying to breed or anything, but want to scape it for their best comfort. I'm doing a dirted tank capped with sand and larger pebbles/rocks around driftwood.

Hello, I recently got 11 Celebes Rainbows that I'm currently quarantining. They are about 1inch so far. My plan is to put them in a newly scaped 20Long. It will be planted with driftwood. Seeing as they get from about 2-3inches as adults, is a 20long still ok for long term housing? Or as they reach maturity will I need to get a larger setup? I was also flirting with the idea of housing them with a pair of Apistos (cockatoos). Does anyone have any suggestions on scaping the tank? I know they like planted tanks but also need a lot of open swimming space. Thanks!

Hello, I was regularly dosing Flourish Comprehensive and Excel in both of my planted tanks. I recently switched in the last 2 weeks to dosing Easy Green and Easy Iron. In the past few days I've noticed my Swords (melon) in one tank melting on a couple leaves and my Hydrocotol Japan in my other tank really flattening out and the leaves look quite a bit smaller than usual. My 33gal with the Swords is about 4 months in and pretty well established. My 20gal with the Hydrocotol is about 2.5 months old. Could switching ferts cause issues with plants? It's making a change to the water chemistry so I'm assuming yes. Has anyone had this happen? Any advice? Fyi, I'm still dialing in how many pumps and how often. Maybe I'm overdosing? I'll get some before and after the switch pics after work if that helps with troubleshooting. Hopefully it's normal and the plants will adjust. I'm just nervous about the issue. Thanks!!!!

Hi all, My tank community tank just recovered from a bout of Ich and everyone was looking happy and healthy. Now today I spot this stringy thing coming out of my Cherry Barb. She's the only one out of all the fish in the tank that has this. Is it some kind of intestinal parasite, poop, or something from laying eggs maybe? My male barbs have been displaying much darker reds lately, so maybe there's some mating going on? Hoping it's nothing too serious.

Hi everyone, I'm going to add some red root floaters to my quarantine tank, and my question is "Is dipping a new plant absolutely necessary if putting it in a QT setup?" I really don't care about hitchhikers like snails. I've read conflicting things and I know a lot of people don't dip their plants. I've done bleach dips on some of my plants but dont really want to as the plants seem better off when I don't dip them.

Thanks for the advice Guppy! Much appreciated. How about something like a biological booster? My local petco caries something like this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-biological-booster Would this be beneficial to boost the cycle? I've really never used the bacteria in a bottle type cycle, but I've heard it can work.

Problem is my only fully established tank just had ICH (reason why I'm setting up the 10gal as a QT tank). Is it ok for me to squeeze out that media, or would it be risky since I had ICH recently?

I got some cheap lava rock, anubias nana and clipped some pothos for the back. Best way to cycle a tank like this?

Hi guys, I have a 33long and 20tall tank, and recently got a 10gal to be used as a quarantine tank (I had my first case of ich, and I want to prevent this in the future). I'd like to scape it as I want it to be a permanent quarantine tank and not be an eye sore. My options are: A) Scape it with substrate, hardscape (dragonstone/driftwood), and some hardy plants. B) Leave it bare bottom, and just a few pieces of hardscape. Anyone have good or bad experiences with scaping a QT tank? Which option would you do, and why?

I got home from work to find the Pleco had succumbed to the parasite sad to say. However a couple of my tetras who had shown early signs of it seem to be recovering well (no more spots). Losing the pleco is rough, I feel like I could have caught it sooner but they like to hide and by the time I saw it the poor fish was covered head to tail. I'm bummed because it was my first time buying a "fancy" pleco and I was pumped to see it mature and color up. Hopefully the fish store will give me instore credit or something, since it seems pretty clear that the pleco was infected prior to bring it home.