AnimalNerd98

Got some Oto cats from the store last Saturday and put them in their own quarantine tank with some algae infested Anubias. Can anyone confirm if they look like Oto eggs?

Does anyone know if “industrial water” is safe for aquarium fish? This is the kind of water you get in Biology labs and I was wondering if it would be safe to use for an aquarium since there are only Deionized water and Industrial water in the room. I am leaning towards a heavy no, and I don’t have any water test kits (my main concern is heavy metals) in which case, I would just use use DI water and remineralize it with something like wonder shell. What do you think?

Sounds good to me! Maybe you can take a photo of it? I agree with @FishyThoughts, it may have caused an imbalance in the aquarium, allowing a certain type of bacterial bloom. But it sounds like you have it handled 👍🏻

Hi JT! I myself use the Med Trio in bare bottom tanks with a sponge filter from an established tank whenever I am quarantining or treating fish. I have sometimes noticed an unpleasant odor, but that may be due to other things that I am not aware of or familiar with. I would say: what are the water parameters like? Are nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia at safe levels? How do the fish look? Are they in any way acting differently: sluggish, seem to be gasping for air, blood red gills? If your fish are okay, I would give it some time/wait for advice from other people before changing out a bunch of water and possibly having to re-dose the tank. But, if any parameters are off or you see die-off/fish acting weird, I would do at least a 50% water change and make sure to add an air stone. If there isn’t an air stone in there already, I would put one in just to be safe, even if the fish look okay (keeps oxygen levels high in the tank). If the water parameters are fine, I would say the best way to mitigate the smell is to put a lid on the tank. You don’t need to do anything fancy, you can cut out coroplast or even put Saran Wrap over the top to keep it in. But leave a crack/air out the tank at least once a day. Maybe you could even add some floating plants! Good luck! I hope someone else can give you a more definitive answer, but my advice is to check your fish, check the water parameters, and do what makes you feel the most comfortable/at ease. If it means changing out a bunch of water and re-dosing somewhere down the road, by all means.

Luckily, I finished my last physics course in college so I understand the calculations. I was just unsure of how it applied to my situation, thanks for clearing it up!

14 tarantulas, 3 vampire crabs, 1 chubby frog, and 1 leopard gecko.

Red Devil Vampire crab: Geoseserma hagen.

Is there a space requirement that prevents you from separating the endlers from the platies? If you have something like a 10 gallon or larger, you could put up a tank divider (DIY or otherwise). You don’t have to put the endler’s into another tank either if you can’t set up/afford another aquarium. Depending on how many you have, you can throw them into a 5 gallon bucket with a sponge filter or plants + an air stone. If it is warm enough outside, you could also just set up a mini pond for them outside. Another option is to just rehome or return the endler’s you have (assuming you want to keep the platies more than the endler’s). That’s all I can think of for now, good luck! It’s never easy when your stocking options don’t interact like how you want them to.

Are they the only fish in the aquarium or could there possibly be something like a betta or something that goes after them when they are out in the open? How is the water flow? I am assuming that since it is heavily planted that the water flow is not too strong/whipping them around if they come out in the open. Have they been quarantined and had some meds put through them? Could they possibly be suffering from an internal/hard to spot disease that makes them feel unwell? I think the biggest thing that will help is getting some dither fish to put in with them. They will help by just moving about everywhere in the tank, letting the cories know that there are other small fish out, so it must be safe for them too. Watch this video by Cory: I would personally add some endler’s livebearers or guppies (if they are available). And if you don’t want a ton of babies, get only males (which are the best looking ones anyways).

Does anyone have experience hooking up multiple aquarium lights with a power splitter like this one? DC 12V 5A Power Supply Adapter with 8 Splitter Power Cable for Security Camera CCTV DVR Surveillance System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0772K7X4P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_8oj8Fb2KE4BYG I am not sure about hooking up 8 lights to the same adapter, but maybe 3-4? Does anyone have experience with hooking up multiple lights like this? I am just trying to see if I can reduce the number of plugs on my power strip, or is this generally not safe/recommended?

There may be some contribution from Baxter AE (adding biofilm) to it if you are overdosing, but I think that as long as it isn’t harming anything (RIP your tissue culture plants), you can just leave it. Seasoned tank time really does even out a lot of things. I would only remove it if you absolutely hate looking at it/another plant is suffering because of it.

Ultimately, it is up to you and your husband, but here are some other things you may want to consider as criteria: 1) Temperature: Is the room warm or cool? How will this affect your stocking? Will you go with heated or unheated? Does the temperature fluctuate a lot? It will be much easier to keep an aquarium where the temperature is relatively constant (the garage may be an example where temp fluctuations will vary seasonally). 2) Natural light: Does the room get any other light sources I.e. from windows or lack thereof? This will be helpful to consider since a lot of ambient light might mean more algae growth. 3) Stocking: Planted tank or something else? Lightly stocked or heavily stocked? Are you going to need to perform several water changes in a week/month? This may help you decide whether it’s important for the tank to be near a water source or not. Here are my thoughts on your three options: Living Room: This may allow for the most viewing pleasure but I understand it may be a concern since there are young ones running around. This can be somewhat mitigated by having the tank elevated on a good solid stand so the vibrations from pounding footsteps are somewhat muffled/more distant. It can also just be a height barrier that prevents your children from being able to access/hit the aquarium. Also, if you are stocking the tank with fish that are not that skittish like some zebra danios or something, I wouldn’t be too worried about the noise/movement. Master: If there is limited access to view the tank, will you still get the same enjoyment out of it? The saying: out of sight out of mind really applies to aquariums. If it takes away from your enjoyment or ability to care for the aquarium, you might want to move some things around so that you can better view/access the aquarium. It may also be more quiet and allow you to house more skittish nano fish like CPD. Garage: Temperature fluctuations and water changes will be your biggest challenges. Dean however was able to manage a fish room in his garage at one point. There are other ways to also heat/insulate a tank in the garage (check out Steenfott aquatics, the video where the hobbyist uses a grow tent). So it is definitely doable, but you may want to ask yourself: how much work/equipment do I want to invest into this?

I have also had this issue before, not sure what it is called though. I got rid of it by just manually removing it and it eventually went away on its own as the tank matured (went away after about 2 months for me in a 5 gallon portrait tank with some driftwood).

I watched that video by Cinescaper as well! I only have a little experience with preparing hardwood for an aquarium. I had a Chinese elm bonsai that I got as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago that died when I left for vacation. I saved the trunk and branches until I got the inspiration to prepare it for an aquarium. I boiled it, soaked it, and dried it over the course of 2 months. A lot of sap came out initially and I just kept boiling and soaking it until no more came out. Whenever there was something mushy, I took it off. To test if it was aquarium safe, I soaked it in a bucket and first introduced rams horn snails (2 weeks). Then I added an air stone, changed some water, and added a couple of white cloud minnows (another two weeks). I saw that the fish and snails were not being affected adversely. After that, I felt confident enough to put it into my 10 gallon display tank. I would just soak it and take your time with your piece. Good luck!

To add on, sometimes you just need to step away from the hobby for a while. Burn out is real! If you don’t love the hobby, there is no reason to try and force yourself to keep going. If you have the tanks and the equipment, you can always drain the water and put them into storage (or sell them if you need the cash). Rehome your remaining fish and plants to someone that will find joy in them. You can always come back and buy things, but the important thing is that you do what makes you happy. Once a hobby causes everything but happiness, it just becomes a chore.

Yeah, it sounds like your tank and plants just need time to find their optimal balance. I would keep an eye on those water parameters, especially nitrates (keep it between 20-40 ppm). As long as you don’t mind the algae too much, you just have a waiting game to play while adjusting your lighting and dosing schedule. Just as an aside, mystery snails also take a dedicated effort to feed besides just the algae growing in the tank. They need some calcium and protein in their diet as well to keep their shells and themselves happy and healthy. They are almost like having pet fish in and of themselves because of how much they eat and how much waste they produce (their poop is great for fry tanks though). It sounds like you are on the right track! If it were me, I would probably just move the tank away from the window just to be safe and just use the grow light you have with a timer. A north facing window usually receives the least amount of light (of the four directions), but even still, the aquarium may also face temperature swings being near a window, so just keep that in mind. If some of your plants die back, I wouldn’t be too broken up about it. I think I can safely say for many people in the hobby that they have killed their fair share of plants and fish & inverts. Learn about the plants, their requirements, and how you can improve for next time. Find the plants that work the best for you, in your water, and in your care. Good luck!

Here are some things you may want to consider: Lighting: Is your brand of light the correct size/brightness for your plants? Have you seen reviews of the light where people have been successful with it? Aquarium next to window: Which direction is the window facing? A southern facing window receives the most light. In general, aquariums grown next to windows are susceptible to algal blooms. I’m not sure whether this is due to the strength of sunlight vs grow lights or the variability of light coming in due to weather conditions (ex. Cloudy and rainy vs clear sky). Some people do give their aquariums access to natural sunlight through a window, but for a beginner, it is definitely more difficult. I would suggest moving it away from the window and just have the light on a timer between 6-8 hours. Plant Requirements: Things like Java Fern, Marimo, and Anubias have low light requirements. Dwarf hairgrass has medium light requirements while dwarf baby tears have high light requirements. This may be why some plants are struggling since their light requirements are not being met (along with nutrient requirements). It’s best to do research on each of your plants to see what they want (I just look them up on the Co-op website and see what they say). Algae is almost always attributed to an imbalance between light and nutrients. So try to find the balance and wait. Cory says that as a rule of thumb, it takes about two weeks to notice any changes in the plant if you yourself have changed something in their environment or care. Substrate: It looks like you are using a very coarse sand which is doable but more difficult than something like gravel. The reason is that it can get compacted and the plant roots cannot penetrate deep enough to access the root tabs. You may not need to change substrates just yet, but something to consider. Seasoned Tank Time: How long has this tank been set up? If the plants and/or tank are all new, they might just need time to establish, especially if they were grown out of water before you bought them. Sometimes it just takes time for everything to even out, and this can take not weeks but months. Once the equilibrium has been established, it will look terrific. Whew! Sorry, that was a lot of info. You may also want to watch Cory’s planted tank series on YouTube. Everything I said above is just off the top of my head from what I’ve watched from the Co-op, so I defer to anyone else who has more experience or insight.

My platinum male betta just got done with treatment for popeye (albeit just one eye was looking bad). I moved him to a 10 gallon hospital tank with aquarium salt (one tablespoon per gallon) and Maracyn. I kept the temp at 78 and performed water changes every 2 days. I fed him sparingly every couple days after he perked back up and his swelling went down. He started looking better after a couple days and made a full recovery within 3 weeks since I put him in treatment. It sounds like you are doing everything that you can, I would give it some more time. Also, I noticed the decor in the photo and wanted to point out that it would also be good to make sure there is nothing rough or pointy in his hospital tank that can further injure/irritate him. When my boy was in treatment, I just threw in some guppy grass for him to hide in, but it did not do so well in the salt 😬. Anyways, good luck! He looks like a fighter!

I’m not an expert either but it sounds like it may have died due to bloating or constipation. I have heard of bloodworms eventually leading to digestion issues for fish (I think I also remember Cory talking about that during a fish room tour), but I am not sure how much of it applies to ADFs. To be on the safe side, I feed my ADFs and my fish brine shrimp primarily and give frozen bloodworms as a treat once or twice a week. I agree, you should definitely set up a species only tank for the rest of them. They just don’t seem to do that well when kept with fish. I only keep Ramshorn snails with my ADFs as a clean up crew. I feel for you, I once lost two ADFs back to back within the same week without me ever finding out what it was. I’m sorry for your loss, I hope the rest of your froggies will be okay!