FishObsessed

Welcome to the forum! How do your angelfish interact with your guppies? It's a combo I might consider one day 🙂

Is it a good idea to not clean algae off of the stuff in the tank then, except for the front glass? (Heater, filter, decor, fake plants, back and sides walls just let it grow?) And just keep substrate and water clean?

@Irene that clip of video was awesome, thanks!

@Irene thank you! That does help. I thought crushed coral might be the way to go but I found a Wonder Shell last night at a LFS and already see an improvement in the activity level of my tiger Barbs....that's encouraging 🙂

Should corydorasbe housed on sand only or is gravel ok? I've seen mixed opinions on this and wondered what the general consensus was here. This is what I'm currently working with:

I love this question! It does seem much simpler to add the dechlorinator to the tank first. I might need to look into getting a Python lol. I use the bucket method....2.5 gallons at a time, but I have a mid size tank, not a large one. One of my dechlorinators says it "works in seconds"...but I have gotten into the habit of swirling it around to mix it with bucket water before I pour into tank. I kinda like the idea of dosing the whole tank volume first though and then just pouring directly from tap....this would also assure you got all the chlorine out too. Hmm...food for thought. Thanks for sharing!

I've heard of putting crushed coral in the filter. I have an Aqueon quiet flow HOB filter. Do you just sprinkle the coral behind the filter cartridge or put it in a pouch?

That's a good way to look at it Brandy! I got a WonderShell tonight and we'll see what happens. If that, and other measures doesn't work, then I'll go for more fish like gcalberto mentioned. Thanks guys!

Hi fellow fish fanatics! My name is Kathy. I'll confess I'm not as die-hard into this hobby as others. I'm happy with just one fish tank and my fake plants lol. But I do love to see others fish tanks and what the pet stores are stocking in theirs. I currently have a 38 gallon Aqueon tank, with Aqueon HOB filter. It's stocked with 16 Tiger Barb's (8 regular, 6 green platinum, and 2 red GloFish) and 3 male platies. My tap water where I live in NC is SUPER soft...and by soft I mean close to zero, if not zero, gH. Ph is in the 6-6.5 range. Im looking to harden the water for the fish I have, OR get different fish entirely that will thrive in my tap water. Thanks for any input, and thank you for sharing your pics!

I'm back into the hobby after a long hiatus. Previously I had harder water, so I'm not used to current tap water which has little to no hardness at all. I have a 38 gallon tank stocked with 3 male platies and 16 tiger Barb's (8 regular, 6 green platinum, and 2 Starfire Red GloFish). I clean it once every 2 weeks, syphon the gravel, and do 30 to 60 % water change. The tank is almost 4 mos old. My fish don't seem to be thriving. I've tried an airstone, aquarium salt, a ph adjuster, and beneficial bacteria. The tiger Barb's don't seem as active as I think they should be (i.e....a handful of them just hanging out not moving much for large portions of time du ing the day, unless I get close to the tank). My question is, should I adjust my tap water to suit the fish, or get fish that are suited for my tap water? I feel like I have the perfect water for a Discus but my tank is too small. What other fish are good in water this soft and acidic ph (6.0-6.5)?