[Anubias brown]

On 9/21/2023 at 6:41 PM, Cinnebuns said:

The rhizome was my other concern. I did glue them to driftwood. Maybe too much glue?

I’ve glued mine to driftwood with no problem. As long as you keep the glue to the bottom and don’t cover it there shouldn’t be an issue

[Anubias brown]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:36 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I really hope this is just a nutrient issue. 6.7 gallon tank. Nitrates were low last I tested so I put 1 pump easy green in. Today it looks worse and like this. The tank is having other issues with a betta right now that's being covered in diseases so I'm really hoping this doesn't mean there's something more severe going on in the tank. They were doing fine in a previous tank. Both are low stocked and low nitrates. 

First is a 5 gallon with 3 mini rabbit snails. It got 1 pump of easy green several weeks ago and no fertilizer since. The 1 anubias that's been left in there is doing fine. It also gets very little light. 

2nd tank is 6.7 gallon half-moon with 1 betta and a handful of ramshorn snails. I put in 1 pump of easy green about 2 weeks ago and then another yesterday. It does get light. Maybe too much light?

Edit to add:  I just remembered I recently put salt in this tank at 1 TBSP per 2 gallons. It's slightly less now because I did a 30% water change. Maybe salt is the issue?

Salt is the first thing that I think of. With plants I put 1 TBSP per 10 gallons. Is the rhizome healthy?

[Bristlenose various questions]

On 9/15/2023 at 5:48 PM, Ben P. said:

I've bred plenty of fish over the years but never have attempted any of the various bristlenose varieties, never had much luck with them at all to be honest but I'm intrigued with attempting to breed them.  My tap water is ph 9.0+ and tds 300+ so I'm wondering if it is even worth my time to attempt? I have great luck with any livebearer, shrimp, African cichlids, ect.  I'm just thinking if I did a ton of water column plants and almost did blackwater with a ton of Indian almost leaves with minimal water changes if I could get my water to a place where they would breed?  I understand the concepts of them, but most people suggest water closer to neutral.  Any thoughts are appreciated.

You’d be better off using RO water that’s re-mineralized probably 

[Normal melting or nutrient deficiency?]

On 9/13/2023 at 11:27 AM, Supermassive said:

Like the title says I'm not sure if my plant is just melting or if it has an actual problem. It is a Helanthium Bolivianum "quadricostatus". I'm not really sure about the common name. I cant find much when I search this plant on google, mostly just places that sell it and they mention the growth requirements but I couldn't find anything about common problems or diseases.

I'm thinking it is just melting from adjusting to the new environment but I'm a beginner and just want to be sure incase its something killing the plant. My tank has about 20-30 ppm nitrates and I gave it 2-3 root tabs a few days ago. Its been in the tank for about 2 weeks.

Any advice or information would be much appreciated. Thanks.

If it’s only been 2 weeks it’s probably normal melting. If it continues then you can reevaluate 

[Trouble reading API nitrates]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:00 PM, Zac said:

Right. All I have are some snails, 6 Khuli loaches, an opaline gourami, and 4 Amano shrimp. I feed once a day and once every other day I’ll drop a small amount of repashy in the tank. Bio load is fairly small. I have a fair amount of anubias and the surface is covered with frogbit and duckweed. I think I’ll be okay. I do 20% water changes weekly and I’m usually fighting to keep it up. So I’m fairly positive they’ll be able to take it down within a week

 

On 9/11/2023 at 8:21 PM, Pepere said:

I use Easy Green myself.  I like that 1 pump adds 3 ppm nitrate per ten gallons of water.

 

very easy to add how many pumps needed to reach target level.

Me too. I add 2-3x the dose twice per week. Each time I dose I should be adding no more than 10ppm. Which is why I’m a bit puzzled as to why I’m at 40 when floating plants are nitrate busters. The co-op test strips said 10 but I don’t really trust those. Also I’ve read about api kits being inaccurate. I’ll test again in a couple days since there’s no immediate emergency and see where I’m at. Maybe I’ll cut the doses by half and dose twice per week or something 

[Trouble reading API nitrates]

On 9/11/2023 at 7:33 PM, Pepere said:

I work to keep mine in the 15-20 ppm range ish…

 

A 50% water change would drop you to 20…

depending on your biomass, feeding and plant mass you may see livestock/ feeding exceeding the plants ability to uptake nitrate.  
 

livestock and food can provide nitrates and phosphorus, but not potassium or trace nutrients.

 

I have 1 tank that the plants take up more nitrate than the livestock, feeding produce.  1 tank that the plants and livestock/ feeding are in balance, and one tank that nitrate production exceeds plant uptake…

I vary my fertilizer dosings per tank, but all three tanks see a 50% water change weekly and then dosing ferts to bring nitrate back up to 20 ppm…

Right. All I have are some snails, 6 Khuli loaches, an opaline gourami, and 4 Amano shrimp. I feed once a day and once every other day I’ll drop a small amount of repashy in the tank. Bio load is fairly small and plant mass is far more than fish mass. I have a fair amount of anubias and the surface is covered with frogbit and duckweed, I have some crypts and valisneria too. I think I’ll be okay. I do 20% water changes weekly and I’m usually fighting to keep it up. So I’m fairly positive they’ll be able to take it down within a week. I just know to add less ferts next time 

[Trouble reading API nitrates]

On 9/11/2023 at 6:57 PM, Pepere said:

With the API liquid test, it is sometimes helpful to mix half a cup of tank water with half a cup of water that has no measurable nitrates in it, and then, test that water if the first test of just tank water is somewhat ambiguous…

you make a 50% dilution and see what that tests at…

 

for instance, 10 and 20 ppi are hard to distinguish between.  If it was hard to tell the difference 50% reduction shows 5 ppm, you know the original was 10.  If a 50% dilution doesnt show much of a difference, it is more likely the original was 20 ppm…

 

 

 

 

Here’s the diluted test. Looks to be between 10-20. I’m guessing the original one was around 40. Although I know anything up to 80 is safe, 40ish is a bit higher than I’d like it. I do have a lot of floating plants though so I’ll probably wait a week before dosing any ferts and see what happens. I thought I had a good schedule going but I guess I’ve been dosing too much😅

[Trouble reading API nitrates]

Hey all,

what would you say this reading is? I was thinking 30ish. It’s a little darker in person 

[went overboard with hornwort]

On 9/11/2023 at 10:23 AM, HelplessNewbie said:

Got a little carried away with my local fish club auction and ended up with too much hornwort. What can I do with the extra to use around the house or garden? Would rather not sell it, as I am pretty much house bound and I don't think it will ship well.

Is it safe to just put some on the top of my potted terrestrial plants' soil?

I think it should be able to grow on the soil as long as it’s damp and humid. You might be able to put some outside as well

[Wonder Shell vs Crushed Coral]

On 9/10/2023 at 9:18 PM, Elyse Douglas said:

My kH out of the tap is 0-2, so definitely should start using some crushed coral huh...oh dear. 

I would. A low KH is a risk for pH crashes

[Wonder Shell vs Crushed Coral]

On 9/10/2023 at 9:02 PM, Elyse Douglas said:

So I've started noticing some signs of calcium deficiency in some of my plants. Was planning on trying some wonder shell to help with this but the kH and pH are also still pretty low so I was thinking of using crushed coral for this. My water is very soft with about 6.5 pH. First question, what is the major difference between wonder shell and crushed coral? Second question, are they safe to use together? 

Wondershell only adds GH. Crushed coral increases pH and KH. Crushed coral only adds a little bit calcium I think. It mainly replenishes the buffer system in the water to prevent pH crashes. I’d say if you want calcium wondershell is a better choice. If you haven’t been experiencing any pH stability issues your KH should be fine. Mine hovers around 5-6 and I don’t have any issues. If it’s below 3 you may want to add coral as well

[LARRY]

On 9/9/2023 at 10:15 PM, Guppysnail said:

I think

Larry is awesome. Such beautiful color. 

Thank you!

[LARRY]

I was bored and felt like posting some pictures of Larry that no one asked for😄 

[Giving Larry Friends]

Hey all,

I’d like to put some Cory’s into my tank with Larry my opaline gourami. However I’m a bit hesitant because he’s been very aggressive towards his own reflection. Like…really aggressive. This is pretty new behavior I’ve noticed over the past week or so. He’s really healthy though. He’ll still eat and stuff but he’s always at the same spot throwing hands with his reflection. He’s by himself right now in a 29 gallon planted tank with snails and a couple Amano shrimp.

My worry is that if I add cory cats he’ll start acting aggressive towards those guys.

What are your thoughts?

[Lethargic Dwaf Gourami]

On 9/4/2023 at 2:50 PM, AndyR said:

Thanks so much Zac! I’ll give the divider a shot I think 

If separation doesn’t help he may need treatment of some sort. But without any other symptoms other than lethargy it’s hard to say. Are your pH and hardness within a normal range? 

[Uncured PVC Glue, fish dying, help!]

On 9/4/2023 at 8:08 PM, Veganville said:

Totally thought the pvc glue was cured after 24 hours in the summertime. Rinsed the thing a couple times, didn’t smell anything, so installed it. Ran the thing for a while, and started smelling glue. Now fish are dying. Doing a big water change. Anything else y’all recommend?

That sucks I’m sorry. Maybe remove what had the glue on it if you’re able to and hope for the best. Some people say wait well past the cure time just to be safe. Like a few days past 

[Fritz ParaCleanse]

On 9/4/2023 at 1:09 PM, Jim T said:

Why is aquarium co Ops Directions for Fritz ParaCleanse different than the one on the package. What is the benefit of doing it Aquarium Coops way?

I think their’s is more of a preventative measure if you’re dosing all 3 meds in the trip and are unsure of what disease you’re dealing with. 

I only did one dose of Maracyn with the same instructions and kept my water clean and all was good for me

[Lethargic Dwaf Gourami]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:18 PM, AndyR said:

Hey everyone!

I have a Dwarf Gourami in my tank that I’m a little concerned about. Lately, in the past few weeks, it’s been hiding in my swords and sitting at the bottom of the tank (sometimes a little lop-sided). It also appears not to be eating well either. There is another Dwarf Gourami that has has been a bit of a bully over the past 7 months since I setup the tank but, this is the first time I’ve noticed any major behavioral changes in the submissive fish. No signs of visible lesions and the water appears to be in good condition after doing a test strip this morning. Any thoughts? 

Test strips are okay but liquid test kits are more accurate.

It could be stress from bullying that lead to some sort of disease. I’d try a tank divider first if you’re sure there’s no water quality issues. They may need separation

[5 gallon hair and green slime algae]

On 9/2/2023 at 4:44 PM, LoudMouse1 said:

I've recently upgraded from a 3 gallon to a 5 gallon.  In all of my tanks I've had a hair algae and a green slime algae problem.  I think it's a water quality issue that might be causing it, but I'm not 100% sure.  

 

Onto the issue, due to a shellfish and mussel allergy in the home I can't keep just one betta and one snail like I originally planned.  I'm thinking about trying to put just 3 otocinclus in the tank, but I don't know how well they would do with this type of algae and water quality issue.  

 

Is there anything I could put in this 5 gallon that isn't a shellfish or mussel that could keep the algae under control and also live comfortably.  Would 3 otocinclus work or should I try some guppies with a couple dwarf african frogs?  Please help!

 

I've been doing so much research and watching so many videos and I'm getting really frustrated with all the conflicting information I'm getting and was hoping I could get some input here.

 

Edit: I forgot to mention I have a layer of bio rings under aqua soil that combine to make a 1.5" thick substrate, one nano sponge filter, and have all fast growing plants.  Currently I have two 3-stripe corydoras in the tank, but I plan on bringing them back to my LFS or give them away if possible.

 

Also, I noticed my water quality was better and more stable with more dirt, which is why when I upgraded to this 5 gallon I put so much dirt and bio rings in.

You could do some shrimp at most. You can’t really keep any fish in a 5 gallon. Maybe 6 ruby or ember tetras but that’s it 

[Larry’s Head Injury]

Hey all,

My opaline gourami Larry seems to have an injury on his head (see photos below)

Ammonia is 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate <40ppm

Ph 6.6

This seemed to have happened overnight. I’ve noticed it for a couple days now. It doesn’t seem to be HITH. It almost looks like a lump (rather than erosion) and my waters very clean. He’s all alone in the tank other than one guppy fry I couldn’t catch and a small Amano shrimp somewhere. My guess is maybe he scrapped his head trying to eat one of those tho guys.

He behaves very normal, eats great. I feed him omega 1 flakes, pellets, frozen brine shrimp, sometimes repashy, and once a week I give him some of a deshelled pea to prevent constipation. He’s very active and making bubble nests every night almost. He’s even started to make bubbles on the outer rims of the tank. He seems very healthy to me. 
 

So far if only added a double dose of API stress coat yesterday to help repair damaged tissue in case it is an injury. It doesn’t look infected or like HITH. I’d be surprised if it was because there’s no stress factors that I can think of in the tank or in the surrounding environment.

Any advice on what this could be or what should do would be appreciated 

[Should I get rid of my ember tetras]

On 8/22/2023 at 3:48 AM, beastie said:

So, for the past 2 years I have had in my 360 liters around 50 ember tetras. I added in span of half a year or more by 15 and there have been some deaths, so my guestimate is, I have around 40 now

Other inhabitants from the beginning were hatchetfish, sterbai corydoras, bamboo shrimp, for past half a year a group of 18 rummynose tetras and 5 bolivian rams.

The problem is feeding. The corydoras, now the bolivian rams too and the hatchetfish are slow eaters. I have to feed in various zones, floating for hatchets, falling down for corydoras and rams. In order to effectively feed the whole tank, I have to overfeed a smidge, mostly because of the tetras. Be it rummynose or embers, they will gobble up the food on the surface, they will catch all in the middle of the tank and then they will swoop down to the substrate to eat the sinking food.

Most of the embers are fat, like super fat, especially females. They suffer from internal fat, I have at least 5 that are staying at the surface, gasping for air, almost bloated ( but not) from how fat they are. The rummynose, why also large, do not suffer from the overfatness, because they are active swimmers, zooming from one side of the tank to the other. The embers just sit and get fatter. The overfeeding also causes me to do more often maintenace and overall is not the ballance I wanted.

Would removing the embers help with the feeding of the other fish?

 

PS I feed once a day, one day in the morning, the next day in the evening to make larger breaks between and I have at least one, but more often two feeding day breaks in the week.

Could you provide an image of the fish?

You could always put a tank divider in as a temporary solution

[How to Feed Goldfish Lettuce]

On 8/22/2023 at 12:02 PM, Dudie419 said:

Can anyone tell me how to prepare lettuce to feed to my 2 Black Moors?  I've read to just put it in tank using a clip, which I have.  I've read to put it in hot water for several minutes or just run it under hot water.  Not sure how to proceed at this point.  Any help would truly be appreciated.  Thanking you all in advance.

Anna Marie

You can boil it for like 30 seconds and then put it in ice water. This process is called blanching. You can do it with other veggies too 

[Is this BBA or something else?]

On 8/21/2023 at 8:25 PM, Mattlikesfish36 said:

My dwarf sag has taken a nose dive out of nowhere after doing well for several months. I’m stumped on why it is melting all of a sudden and wanted to see if this is BBA or something else. The only thing I have changed is bumping up the co2 slightly. There is some BBA on my driftwood but it is more tuft-like. Any help would be much appreciated! 

It looks like black beard algae to me. But it’s weird they’re melting so much even with the algae on it. My suggestion would be spot treating with excel and maybe adding some root tabs 

[Larry…A Before and After]

On 8/21/2023 at 7:08 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I love me a story of a healthy gourami!  Looks like you are doing well with him!  I've gotten fish, including gourami, from petsmart before so don't be ashamed!  I will say I don't like that they stock opaline though because most people don't realize how large they will get. Same issue with goldfish and plecos. But you seem to be doing a great job!

Thank you! They do get a little larger (5-6inches from what I understand). That’s another reason I wanted to get rid of the guppies. He’d have more space that way. He’s in a 29 gallon currently with lots of plants. He’s always darting to the front of the tank when I stand up, he’s always exploring, etc. I’m going to limit stocking to make sure he has enough room for himself. 

I’m going to end up getting some sort of bottom dwellers and potentially a small school of peaceful tetras. I’m a little hesitant on the tetras but I’m not too worried about getting bottom feeders since they’ll be out of his way mostly

If I have the space I will probably get a 40 gallon but as long as my current tank is lightly stocked I don’t foresee any issues. Especially if he doesn’t get any bigger than 5inches 

[Larry…A Before and After]

Hey all,

Just wanted to share a before and after photo of Larry my opaline gourami I got from pet smart (I usually don’t buy from there but I was impulsive😅). This is a before photo at the beginning of July when I first got him.

 

He was a little beat up when I got him. Also brought ich into the tank and then a bacterial bloom caused a secondary bacterial infection. He was in a tank with guppies but recently I’ve gotten rid of the guppies as there was nipping and aggression going on (plus I want to try some new fish soon anyways). There’s just a couple guppy fry left unless Larry eats them…Anyways it’s been a wild ride. A whole tank rescape, disease, guppy aggression, etc. I also added some smaller Amano shrimp against my better judgement because I thought they were big enough and he ate them…oops…guess I’ll have to order large ones next time. This is him today:

His fins have grown out and he’s very energetic, curious, and always making bubble nests. He’s definitely living his best life. I’m sure all those tasty Amano shrimp gave him lots of nutrients😅

Eventually I’m going to add either Khuli loaches or corys (haven’t decided yet) and some non aggressive tetras or cherry barbs.

Hopefully Larry will be able to love a long and healthy life 🙂