Tonik

We loved this book as kids. I've read it countless times to my own sons. Then I had to explain that no, the fish won't grow if you dump ALL the food into the tank, but you will see mommy's head spin around. lol

I do cool water changes but my tank has been at 74-76F for most of the time I have had this group. I think that they are laying the eggs in a tall patch of java/christmas moss, not on the glass which makes it impossible to see or to get the eggs out. I noticed one of the big females practically rolling around in there on Sat. night and did some research. I thought she was having swim bladder problems but then I noticed that she had her bottom fins clamped together as she swam into the moss. Apparently they deposit one egg at a time! Fascinating!

I keep looking... maybe they’re taking turns coming out! 😁🤞🏽

So cool!!

UPDATE: I got my test kit on Tuesday and did the KH and GH tests. KH was 3 drops/0-50 ppm. GH was 8 drops/140-200 ppm. wednesday: added large Wondershell. Sunday retested: KH-4 drops/50-100 ppm GH-8 drops/140-200 ppm A slight increase in KH and no change in GH. But, on Friday I found a tiny panda Cory hiding out in the java moss. That means the fish are reproducing which is a good sign of a healthy tank! (Which is what you guys already said! 😊

@Ken Burkei have a little patch of java/Christmas moss and that’s where the little guy hides out. I did catch a glimpse this morning, phew! I thought about trying to catch him and feed him up really well but he’s fast and the other fish get super interested in any area I start working on.

I was half heartedly trying. I noticed the male cozying up to the females so I thought I’d try the cooler water change and fattening them up with bloodworms but I never saw eggs so I figured it didn’t work. Honestly the best part is knowing that the tank is healthy enough to support spawning! Your baby Sterbai are so cute!

I have baby Panda Corydoras!!! I was hoping they’d spawn and I did everything I read here... good food, cool water changes, and here they are!!! I’m SOOO excited!!! I never saw eggs, just a super cute surprise! ❤️

I will concur that the relaxation and the communion with nature aspect of the hobby is very satisfying. I enjoy finding something different every day, and noticing how the animals use the environment I've provided for them. It is one of the more rewarding parts of my day.

It looks a lot different than the ones I have. Maybe I'll look into them again. I love your guppies... that is my dream tank! 🙂

@KBOzzie59 What is the food they're nomming on? I tried the Sera O-nip but it made my tank cloudy and it was really crumbly.

I do really like the measuring aspect; I think it reinforces the feeling/illusion of being in control, plus who doesn't love lining up test tubes and watching the reactions! lol. I will try the Wondershell and I should be able to measure the changes more accurately with the KH test kit that should arrive this week. I'm glad to know that either the WS or the coral would be mild interventions; I think that is what I most wanted to know!

That's exactly right... I feel that I'm going in circles with the understanding if it! I am glad to hear that the coral didn't change GH. It is out of stock at the Coop right now, but I may try some Wondershell. I worry most about my shrimpies!

Good morning all! Recently I watched one of the Coop's video's where Cory was talking about why we do water changes, and he mentioned "fear" as one of the reasons. That resonated with me because since starting this hobby in July 2020, that has been my motivation. Anyway, after watching that, I decided to get some test strips and stop fanatically testing my water every two days and to try to enjoy the fish more than stressing about parameters. It was an anxious time, but I finally learned that the ecosystem in my 29 is actually doing really well without me messing with it. I learned that I can wait to change water for about two weeks instead of twice a week - that was a feat of willpower.😃 But..... I have researched and watched videos about the relationship between pH, gH, and kH, and read the posts on the Forum that are related, but I still have some questions... My main tank is 29gal with sponge filters and it has been set up for about 6 -7 weeks, using media from an established tank. It is heavily planted (and has cholla wood and various river rocks which I have had since July) with a substrate of eco-complete and a black sand cap. I use Easy Green 1 time per week and root tabs once at the start and once last week - the corys and swordtails dug them up though. I have a bunch of hitchhiker snails, 3 Mystery snails, and 4-5 Amano shrimp. I also have 5 Panda and 6 Pygmy corydoras, 6 Black Neon and 10 Ember tetras, and three Swordtails, 2 F,1 M. It seems like a lot of fish, but I had to consolidate two tanks on the fly, plus they are doing great. My numbers are regularly 0-ammonia, 0 -nitrite, ~20 - nitrate, and pH of 7.8 - 8.0. My water is hard, GH of 180-300, and at first, the KH was around 120 (these values are from test strips; I've a kit on order). Within the last week or so the KH has been testing at around 40. Why has it fallen? Is it because I'm changing water less frequently and thus replenishing the minerals less frequently? The pH and GH are the same as before though. Are the plants, snails, shrimp and/or fish depleting it, and if so, should I use Wonder Shell or crushed coral. I've read that crushed coral raises pH and hardness, and my water is already very hard and the pH is quite high. Will messing with the KH affect those parameters? If I leave it alone, will my shrimp and snails suffer? I've read both to do something and to do nothing. If I'm adding something, how much should I add and how often? I should get my Gh and KH test kit this week and then will have more accurate numbers.

I floated a clutch in a tupperware container just below the lid in the QT, now baby snail, tank. I sprinkled a little water in every couple of days, not really knowing what would happen and they hatched! I was not adequately prepared for the number of tiny snails that hatched there must be at least 100! 🤪

Y'all are making good progress! I love love love all of the wood!

Thanks! The snails aren’t shy though! 😂😂

Why do the fish always hide when the camera comes out?? This is the 29g I had to set up on the fly after my kids destroyed my 20g with an abundance of food. It’s been 3 weeks and I think we’re closing in on the magical ecosystem status!!

I obtained a lot of hitchhikers with my COOP plants, and I was alarmed at first when I saw all the tiny "seeds" on the walls of the tank! Since then I have really enjoyed watching them, especially the Ramshorn, which float around and almost look like they are "walking" across the top of the water upside down. They are a really pretty orange. I have come to accept that they are a part of the ecosystem, and all of the tiny seeds never made it to adulthood so they are somewhat self-limiting. I like seeing them patrolling all of the plants now and I haven't noticed that they add to the bio-load.

I ordered yesterday... forgot about the new planters until I saw the video last night. Oh well.... time to start another list! 😄

@ItsHutch Congratulations on quitting for a year! That's fantastic! 🏆

Definitely agree on the slowing down part! And it's soooooo hard to do!!!!

Hello and welcome! I am a pretty new fishkeeper myself, so I can't give a huge amount of advice. But... I think you made a great decision to get a bigger tank for that lovely betta and the new tank looks very nice. I too have gotten a lot of hitchhiker snails on plants, and while they have helped with an algae problem I had, there are a LOT of them. People have suggested assassin snails which will get rid of the little snails, and others have said that they will naturally limit themselves if there isn't enough food in the tank. My shrimp tank has a lot of snails because I haven't found that happy medium yet and I am not ready to assassinate them. I think you will find a lot of help here, and much nicer help that in some of the FB groups, IMO! 🙂

I keep buying these too! I think my most purchased items, besides airstones, have been the sponge filters and PLANTS! I am now too spoiled to be able to buy any plant at my local big box.

I haven’t yet... I checked ammonia and nitrites three days ago and they were still high. Since then I got most of the slime algae out and the water is super clear, it smells normal, the plants are showing some new growth, and having this little guy appear has been encouraging. Tomorrow is water change day so I’ll check everything and go from there! It seems like once I stopped messing with it all the time, it was able to get back closer to balance, if that makes sense?