Chad

I like my nitrates at 20 ppm or higher for happy plants. Not sure what algae that is exactly but lowering light intensity or duration is a slow process of experimentation that every fish keeper goes through. Try something, watch it for a week or two, adjust, repeat. As for cherry shrimp, I love them. They absolutely eat algae, unfortunately I’ve never experienced them eating a noticeable amount. Enjoy them, but don’t expect much algae removal.

Green neon tetras have been a great addition to my guppy and swordtail tank. But I would also second @T. Payne's recommendation. Cory's seem to go with anything, as far as I can tell.

I don’t think you’ll have shrimp wall to wall @Little Guys. Shrimp don’t seem to populate a tank like some snails might. But maybe I’m wrong, and let’s say they did. You want to have blue velvets? Unless I’m mistaken, everybody wants blue velvets and you should be able to easily sell or give the extras away if their population explodes. Seems like a great problem to have. All that said, I do personally recommend fish in a shrimp tank. Some things that can bother shrimp are simply food to fish. Better minds can chime in here, but I’m thinking of detritus worms and maybe hydra or planaria.

Hello @jodip, I’m located in central Iowa. Try joining the “Iowa Aquatic Hobbyist” group on Facebook. Good folks who can point you in the right directions locally. I have tons of Amazon frogbit. Bought it online, and as @jwcarlson mentioned, mine shipped poorly too. But once what survived got comfy with my water it went haywire.

Like @Tony s said, panda Cory’s are great. Mine have been bullet proof. And they really are a lot of fun.

I think you can get fish to help with this but I’ve kept guppies and tetras that all claimed to take out shrimp babies but did very little to stem the tide. For that I’m thankful because, for me, I needed those extra shrimp. You’ll need to cull more shrimp than you think once they get rolling to keep their colors looking nice. Also, what is overpopulated to you? For me, my tank is likely overpopulated, they’re everywhere anyway and it’s had no adverse reaction to my tank. No crashes, no die offs. Just lots of amazing little red shrimp to look at.

Phew, sadist 😉

Oh, so you have 1 Nerite snail too @Guppysnail?

Snails! Nerite Snails! This is a quick aside for the post above but I forgot about these little dudes until now. I never took pics of them but when I got the guppies I bought a couple nerite snails. I figured they'd be great algae eaters and I thought they were pretty. I'd heard mystery snails were no good for this kind of thing, and again, the nerite's shells wowed me. But, I hated them. They don't reproduce so easy to control and they're small enough to get into cracks and crevices. But, I hated them. Why? The eggs. For me, I found the eggs (think sesame seeds dipped in epoxy) impossible to remove. I still have driftwood and glass with scars from those eggs. Glass I'd scraped with a real razor blade. They were everywhere too. If they're your thing, then cool. Just not my cup o' tea. Also, and I might ruffle a few feathers here, but I don't think snails are that great at algae cleaning. Don't get me wrong, they do eat algae which is good. But I had misunderstood the level of "cleaning" they did. For instance, a half dollar size of brown algae on the glass would still be there but now had several little tracks through it where the snails had been. I have no idea how many snails you'd need to get crystal clear glass, if possible I never came close to those numbers. In the end, a scrubber or plastic razor blade with some wet forearms has done the trick. Snails for algae didn't do it for me. But later, I did get some mystery snails and they were one of the top good surprises for me in fish keeping. But that'll have to wait for another day.

Welcome to the group! Lots of better minds here can share insight regarding the Diatoms if you’re concerned. As for me though, all I can say is “hello”. There are a lot of fine and helpful folks here. Crazy talented too.

Welcome to the group! And share a pic or two when your tank is up and running.

I had success feeding my pleco at night, after the lights had gone out. I fed her algae wafers sometimes but always French cut canned green beans. She loved it. If your plecos hungry, snails are no match. I got rid of my bladder snail problem by using long tweezers and picking them out one by one. It didn’t happen in one swoop for sure but over time. I could grab them faster than they could reproduce. If you have several tanks I could see how this would be tough. But one tank. Not that hard, and simple. That’s how I’d recommend lowering your snail population.

I learned several things quickly with this set-up. First, guppies aren't bullet-proof. I bought these from a lfs and then a couple more from Petsmart. I was mainly to blame for the troubles that ensued. The lfs had a big aquarium of guppies, all sorts and sizes. I found several including the prettiest one, a shy yellow, orange, and blue beauty that didn't want to come out and swim like the others. He'd sit and hide in the back, but my keen eye spotted him and he had to be mine. I won't go on any longer and will simply say, DON'T EVER BUY THE SHY FISH. Unless of course you plan to nurse that poor soul back to health immediately and you really know how to do it. In a fish store, shy fish are sick fish. He was dead the following morning. Another gentle soul, just resting on an anubius leaf for a day, followed where the first had led. I bought more from a local PetSmart. Knowing what I know now please be very careful and know what you're doing if you buy from big box stores. They can be healthy, but too often they've got something. Usually Ich, which is easy to deal with, but it's no fun in your main tank. In this particular case, the guppies (and endlers) I bought from PetSmart were actually far healthier than the originals. So yes, it can happen and be a great experience. What I learned almost as quickly was how a group of male-only guppies can get along. I'm not saying don't keep a male-only guppy tank. But I will say don't keep 9 male guppies in a 9 gallon tank. Especially if a couple of those gallons is for the filtration in the back of the tank (again, Fluval Flex 9). One of the yellow tiger guppy/endlers and the tuxedo guppy (both Petsmart purchases) took it to every other guppy in the tank and were quite aggressive. Those boys need room to run, and hide, if you want this set up. Personally, I wouldn't do less than a 20 gallon long if I ever tried this again. In the end, I took what was left of the group (the two I mentioned above) to my lfs. While all this was transpiring I had watched another Cory video, one where he visited a guppy breeder/seller. I knew what I needed to do: get a pair from a quality source, make a family, and fill a tank with guppies.

Great question and one that is full-on opinion based. This is purely about what you want the fish to look like and each fish responds differently to their environment. So, I like the black background and a lighter colored substrate. The lighter substrate brightens the tank as the light reflects off it more. It also brightens up guppies, imho. I first had dark substrate and for the longest time was worried my guppies were sick. Seriously, where I thought they'd be silvery on their bodies, they were instead dark and dingy. Again, to me that's how it felt. I've heard it said that a darker substrate makes them color up more, and I guess it does, it also makes them darken up more.

A New Hope, Almost. When Ponyo passed away, I was done with bettas. The harlequin rasboras were doing great. So I began to realize that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't me or fish keeping in general but bettas and me that are the problem. I started doing more research, started watching youtube, and found Cory and Aquarium Co-op. His vids had lots of helpful info but also carried the same message: fish keeping isn't hard, we make it hard. He was defining me and my mistaken approached towards this hobby to a tee. I honestly can't recall all the advice I gleaned in this time. But it was pivotal in changing my approach and expectations in fish keeping. I saw that relaxing and finding the simpler methods actually yielded better results too. I was hooked. Oh yeah, I said I was watching Cory right? So while doing so I became hooked on guppies too. It's all your fault Cory! 🙂 So I took the rasboras back to the fish store and came home with 6 male guppies! Alongside them, I bought my first real plants from Aq-Coop too. Nothing could stop me now.

Sorry, I should explain. The bullying issue wasn't between the two species but within their own groups. One ricefish started bullying another ricefish, and then another... Same thing with the kubotai's. Again, I believe both were issues of overcrowding AND group size. Unfortunately I did them wrong on both counts.

I can't speak to your situation with certainty, only with what I've experienced. They say a school of six at a minimum and you should be fine, but I've had problems personally with those numbers. Then again, overcrowding is likely a bigger deal that turns on the aggression. I would say a longer tank for these fish is better, but that's also a personal preference of mine regarding tanks so take it with a grain of salt. Again, watch out for bullying. These are docile fish, but I'm being honest, I've seen docile fish (specifically these fish) become nasty when the tank is overcrowded and they're on top of one another. I have a fluval flex 9 that I no longer use for this very reason. The Kubotai's got aggressive in there. I've also seen them be fine in other peoples tanks of similar specs so who am I to say what will will and will not work? All that to say, I'd try the 12 long set up and do not worry about the shrimp. I've never had shrimp cause overcrowding in a tank. Or ammonia spikes, etc. Have fun, and go crazy with shrimp. Also try the groups of 7 each, just keep an eye out for nipped fins, or more likely, a fish that hides/driven into a corner and then dies a week or two later. Then another fish that starts the cycle over again. That's how it went for me with.

Oh heck yeah @EnvyDontKnow, kubotai's and Ricefish are a fantastic combo. I've kept both, medaka platinum ricefish to be specific, and they'd be perfect together. Almost the exact same temperament as I recall too. Oh, but definitely get groups of both. Personally I'd recommend a dozen of each. In both cases, I got a group of 8. In both cases, a couple would die and I did notice bullying and a whittling down of numbers when at a group of 6 or below. But that could just have been my experience.

I think they’d be fine together, similar temperament, mild. Just make sure you have groups of each

As others have said, I’m so sorry for your loss. You’ve come to the right place to share and grieve, we all feel your pain. This hobby is full of highs and lows and we’re all pulling for you. And as has been said already, don’t punish yourself or look inward too harshly. You did what I would have done, what any us would’ve done given your situation. We’re all simply trying our best at making our little slice of this place a bit more fun and enjoyable. I thank you for your candor and honesty in sharing this with us. It takes courage to do so, glad you’re here.

Amanos have been great for me. They're very hardy as far as I can tell. There are several things about your tank I can't speak to but one thing I can, the nitrates. I have yet to see nitrates bother these amanos. I've had nitrates get to 50-60ppm (maybe higher) with no troubles whatsoever. I do not have CO2, a water softener, and I don't salt my tank. I've never heard of CO2 being an issue for them but I can't say for sure. As for the other two, the water softener and salting of the tank, I hope better minds chime in here and share their thoughts. To me, it's something specific to your tank. Them dying in a day or two is the tell, as is the previous history of keeping them fine in another tank. Personally, I wouldn't salt the tank, but that's just me. I keep guppies too with similar water parameters and they have no problems and no salt. I've never had temps above 80, and have had temps as low as at 68. Good luck!

Well thank you @Rube_Goldfish, I stand corrected. 🙂 I also appreciate the chance to learn something new. Fascinating.

That's fantastic!! He looks great, I'm so happy for you and that little tough guy 🙂

Ponyo. And here's the centerpiece betta to that tank. Ponyo was another eBay betta purchase. From a different seller at least, a female, and a veil tale. I was hopeful for better genes since it was an older tail type. I was also hopeful for better temperament since she was a female. In the end, unfortunately, my hopes didn't pan out. I don't remember if she arrived with popeye also or if it came on later. But she had it. Same story really as before, healthy behavior, though aggressive. Most aggressive betta I kept. She was meant to hunt. Also had the most personality. Thankfully the rasboras were far quicker than she was and other than one nipped fin they were fine. Her decline started with some fin rot and grew into general listlessness that sadly ended the same as the others. Meds were administered, I've forgotten which and how often. She lived longer than her predecessors, 8 months, but that's the best I could manage.