Scapexghost

Blue tetras are worth looking into. How long have you had the cardinals?

I have similar similar water parameters and have never had trouble keeping tetras or plecos. Specifically I've kept neons, silver tips, and rummynose tetras and I've kept bn plecos. This is the way I think about it: 85-90% of americans have hard water, so if a fish could not handle hard water, it would never become popular in the U.S. Therefor, all of the most popular fish will do fine in hard water. Also, your lfs would not carry fish that cannot survive in the local water since it would make a lot of angry costumers. Very few fish keepers bother w/ r/o systems, especially novice fish keepers which make up a majority of sales for a lfs. If your ordering rare fish online, that's a whole different story. One interesting observation from my lfs that is applicable: they carry most of the common amazon fish; angels, tetras, cories, plecos, rams, and even discus; and all are kept in ordinary tanks no different from the livebearer or african cichlid tanks, with one exception: apistos. My lfs carries apistos however they are kept in a blackwater tank. My theory is that the apistos cannot handle the high pH. My local chain stores also do not carry apistos, yet they do carry all the other common amazon fish, even rams and discus. Tl;dr common tetras, plecos, angels totally ok, rams and discus should be fine with caution, apistos and rarer fish may need extra care. Edit: i should mention that this logic does not necessarily work in the reverse; as in, a lfs may sell hard water fish which cannot handle the local water unaltered. This is b/c raising the hardness of a tank is much easier than lowering it.

Dwarf water lettuce will struggle with a glass lid but otherwise it is a very easy plant.

In general neocardinas are hard water shrimp while cardinas are soft water shrimp, but there are plenty of exceptions. For example cardinal shrimp are cardinas but they require hard water. Neocardinas are generally easier to care for and to breed. Do you have any specific cardinas in mind? Amano shrimp, crystal shrimp, and cardinal shrimp are all cardinas but have wildly different care and breeding requirements.

By "non-african cichlids" i mean fish that are not african cichlids not just cichids that aren't african. I know other rift valley fish are kept with cichlids as are one of algae eaters like plecos. But im more thinking of community style set ups w/ 3-4 species with one or two being an african cichlid. Im interested in hearing what combinations you all have tried, and what worked and what didnt.

If you want to tone down the aggression you could consider adding some female endlers if you have the room

Red tail sharks are good algae eaters, I would also look into picking up some sort of earth eater.

Not sure if a power head is what should be used in this scenario, but if they are how do you know which one is strong enough to pump up water a few feet are the correct rate in the case of a sump or refilling a tank?

Hard to say w/o a picture, although I understand getting a good picture of it would be difficult.

Looks more like nipping than fin rot

Thats possible but unlikely considering the weekly water changes

Acidification by nitrification is very slow process so if you are changing water weekly it isn't the cause. I have to ask if you recently added driftwood or started injected co2. Elsewise it's likely an issue with your water source.

How often do you change water? When bacteria break down ammonia hydrogen molecules are released as a byproduct and the water is acidified. I would recommend small water changes to slowly increase the the pH back above 7.

Since you lost one in the bag i assume it is some sort of disease. Maybe ich or a bacteria infection. Do they show any symptoms?

Hornwort and guppy grass can both be found in Canadian waterways so im guessing theyll be fine. Youll surely get some die off but they should come back pretty quickly come springtime.

It really depends on the fish and the symptoms. In general i quarantine 3 weeks and treat with a small salt dose (1 tablespoon per 3 gallons) and dose with PraziPro twice. This is assuming no symptoms. If they did start showing symptoms i would either increase the salt dose or treating with a med, depending on the fish and the symptoms.

This probably sounds silly but how frequently is frequently? When they do flash, do they flash multiple times in succession or just once?

In an old DIY video Cory used a soldering iron to put holes in a plastic bottle, so that is what i would suggest. You would be able to smooth the edges while putting the holes in. That does give me an idea though. I wonder if i could create a one way fry trap, as in the fry could get in but not out, by making the holes smooth on the outside but sharp on the inside. I know some mouse traps are designed this way but im not sure if it would translate to fish. The trickiest part would be getting the holes the right size.

If your tanks nitrate levels are lower than your tap, then there is little reason to change water at all l, at least not frequently. Do smaller water changes less often. Maybe 5-10% every month or two just to prevent a pH crash.

I see your thinking. Maybe if i used something made of thicker plastic like a reusable water bottle rather than a disposable one there would less risk of injuring the fry. The sliding case idea is interesting idea although I'm not sure how to implement it. Maybe if i use a rubber glove or a water tight sock as a sleeve to cover the holes. Perhaps a could get a water bottle with a sleeve and slide the sleeve over the holes when i move it.

There are a lot of fry trap designs out there but a wonder if anyone has one that can be used to transport the fry. As in the fry swim into the fry trap, and then you can move the fry trap along with the fry to a nursery tank. My current idea is a weighted water bottle with holes only on the top half.

Its not any disease i know of. Many bettas change color over time so my guess is that this is the beginning of his color changing.

I would go with vinegar eel, banana worm, and micro worm cultures as well as live baby brine.

Guppies and other livebearers all look female until the reach sexual maturity. Males aren't born with a gonopodium but rather the triangular anal fins that females have.

My guess is the hardness and pH is the issue. Thats what usually causes shimming. Mollies also shimmy right before giving birth, so it the female was shimmying and is no longer shimmying, that would be a possible explanation. While those levels should be okay for mollies, or at least not instantly kill them, if they were raised in harder water or brackish water the shock could have killed them. It is also possible that you're water is very low in calcium and very high in magnesium, so while your water tests hard enough it may not be suitable for mollies. It does not appear to be a swim bladder issue. When mollies have swim bladder issues, they will swim at a 45° angle at the surface of the water and will not be able to right themselves. Swim bladder issues also wouldn't kill the mollies. Regardless of the cause i would treat w/ one tablespoon of salt per gallon of water. Mollies are very salt tolerant so this doss will be less stressful than any med would be. If fact, it should relieve stress. It may already be too late for the male but this should give him the best odds of survival. My main focus would be on the fry. They have the best chance of adjusting to your water long term. I would keep them isolated until they are large enough to not be eaten by other fish. I wouldn't treat the fry with salt. They should spend their entire lives in the same water parameters, so match the parameters of whatever tank they are raised in to the display tank's.