jwcarlson

Looks like some stuff grown on it. I suppose it could be a sponge? I would try cleaning it off with a razor blade if it's crispy/crusty. Is it still soft at all? If so you might be able to brush it.

Got it filled. Not the permanent setup, but will see what pairs up hopefully. Shipping was rough on them, winter storm delayed them and they showed up at about 64 degrees. They were all pecking at a bit of brine shrimp tonight, though. And they seemed to perk up with a little salt. I've never kept rams before so we'll see how this goes. One gold and five pitch blacks.

Hey, easy plant diagram that way though.

If you net all the fish out of that setup will you take a video, @Mmiller2001? I want to know if it's just me that can't catch fish. 😄

Sounds like detritus worms maybe. Do they look like this? (not my picture)

You're going to be waiting awhile on a couple of those. That said, I think good books are almost too common anymore! Sooooooooooooo many things to read.

It could be from the stress of transport/transplant if it's the older leaves. I think they're kind of neat when they start growing more little java ferns from the leaves. But I agree with, @JettsPapa... I don't know how much stock I'd take in most YouTubers plant advice. Those people are setting up and tearing down tanks left and right.

This type of pleco gets enormous and isn't really fit for most home aquariums.

@BIRD0887 The pleco needs to go for sure. Common plecos shouldn't really even be in the hobby, in my opinion. The goldfish in a 75 it might be ok for... one of them? Maybe two? Someone with goldfish knowledge will have to comment, I have never kept them on account of how huge they get. The tank you have them in now I feel isn't good for any goldfish longterm. What filter is on the tank? Bottom line, you will have such a.huge bioload that you're always probably going to struggle with nitrate and maybe even nitrite. The tank isn't fully cycled OR the filter isn't capable of keeping up or both. Without knowing what filter you have, it's tough knowing what to suggest. Definitely change water and definitely start getting rid of fish.

@BIRD0887 Is this the same tank from this thread? If so, what filter are you using?

Hi, @BIRD0887, first off... welcome to the forum! A couple of observations, some of which you might already know. Safety first, you're going to want to relocate your power strip in case anything drips down the cords or if you splash a little around and swamp the thing. It would probably be easiest to fasten up the wall a little ways. There's a bit of bubbling remaining at the top, this can indicate ammonia building up. Or possibly you have some medication in there, that can also cause it. I don't see a filter on your aquarium, but maybe I am just missing it. Is there a filter that I'm missing in the picture? The pleco and both of the goldfish get BIG. The pleco can get probably close to double the size he is now (up to about 24") and both of the goldfish can get probably 10-12". Unfortunately, this aquarium isn't big enough for any of them, even alone. And they all produce a TON of waste. And the strictly vertical footprint can make stocking a little difficult as there's not much swimming space. But at the moment, what are your long term plans for the fish? They look healthy and happy so far, just want to make sure you've got the best chance for that to remain the case! 🙂 Editing to say that I misread and that you actually have five goldfish. There's way way too much in the tank.

Petco around here takes surrenders and I think they even might quarantine them. At least at the local one. I bought some kuhli loaches awhile back and just wasn't enjoying them. I also had 15 swordtails that were getting close to breeding age and I want nothing to do with live bearers. I contacted the LFS that I usually purchase my fish from and told him they were his fish and all I did was QT them and feed them for months and that I didn't want anything for them, but he said he doesn't take them. I kind of get it... but to me all I did was feed the kuhlis BBS daily and change a bunch of water and fatten them up. They would have sold in a heartbeat. So I called Petco as I needed a lid anyway and they said they do take them. It feels bad, no doubt, but I think it's inevitable that someday some of us are going to have fish that we either got in over our head on or maybe "rescued" from someone else or maybe your life circumstances change drastically. I rehomed three male apistogrammas a few months ago through a local fish rehoming Facebook group. So that's a possible opportunity as well.

I'm surprised you could get flow through that melamine at all!

Also, I ran into bad hatches when I wasn't scrubbing the hatcher out after each hatch. I was rinsing it really well, but wasn't using the brush. With small hatches the build up on the bottom isn't really visible, but now that I've built up to more eggs, it's really obvious that I wasn't getting it clean enough.

I've got two of the Ziss hatchers, they're hanging on a piece of 1x10 that holds my electronics and whatnot for a water aging/heating setup. I just use rigid tube with a small piece of flexible airline to connect it to the lid. Even the rigid tube occasionally get some salt buildup, but I always rinse it off after a hatch so it's not too big of a deal. With the film (molts?) that coat the bottom towards the end of a hatch I would think the airstone would get yucky. At least the way I hatch.

@Katherine to quote one of my posts from earlier in this thread...

No, it's just not full yet. Ran out of water!

My sterbai surprised me with about 25 eggs today. No complaints here. 🙂 Got my 55 cleaned out and ready for the next inhabitants which should be here tomorrow if this massive snow storm doesn't delay them!

I bought six cherry shrimp when I first re-setup an aquarium a couple of years ago and at varying times I thought they had all died. When I tore the tank down to relocate the fish and plants and everything all six adults were still alive AND there were like 40 shrimplets. Turns out the ACO course sponge filters are basically shrimplet hotels. While all of your shrimp might not still be alive, it's possible there's still some. I don't know if it's worth going crazy trying to tear the tank apart. I'll also say that I have seen my kerri and cardinal tetras eat adult shrimp. So there's that to consider.

Yay! In two months they'll be 30% bigger and you'll only be able to tell if you go look at old pictures. 😄 I'm only semi-exaggerating. They're pretty fun to watch. My adults are really secretive, but the fry seem to be almost personable, at least for awhile. Best of luck growing them out! 🙂

Yeah, you'll know. Consider wearing gloves or using tweezers.

Take them out and sniff them. They're probably just "clamming up" because they're a bit stressed.

Sounds like a dechlorination issue. Lots of factors as to why just the corys would show evidence of it, but that's the best bet. I'm sure we've all done it. I've done it on my discus and almost killed them. It's pretty easy to forget. I will say that fish might seem "off" for quite awhile after that happens.

Welcome! I set up my CPDs last night so I should have a batch of eggs this afternoon. Like @Guppysnail says... they grow SOOOOO slow! It's easy to get impatient and overfeed (from personal experience). Good luck!

First batch of fry moved to an upgrade last night. Feeding this morning: