J. Holmes

Are all tetras aggressive? I have two community tanks each with a betta. One is a 40 and the other a 20. I have half moon bettas in them with endlers, snails, shrimp, and Ottos. The other fish I have are Cardinal tetras. I did research before setting up my tank thinking they would be peaceful fish to give my tank a pop of blue. But these are AGGRESSIVE! They torment my poor bettas and other fish. They chase them around the whole tank nipping their fins, pushing them out of plant cover. My poor bettas have both taken to hiding in holes and it’s a struggle to encourage them out to even feed. I’m going to rehome these guys, but I’m curious if this is normal behavior for all tetras? If I got some neon tetras, would they be kind to everyone?

They’re the zooMed feeding blocks. They contain: Calcium Sulfate, Plankton, Spirulina Algae Meal, Magnesium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate (stabilized Vitamin C), Thiamine Hydrochloride, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Beta Carotene. also: reran my tests today. PH is now 7.6. KH: 6 and GH: 12. Is this good? I was looking at getting something to raise my KH, but it mentions raising the PH as a side effect. I can’t go any higher on my PH. Suggestions?

I feed them the nano blocks. Is that enough? I know my PH, GH, and KH were too low. Working on fixing that.

I got some equilibrium to add to the water to help them. I had the nano blocks for them as well. I have dwarf lillies, tiger lotus, Amazon sword, Monte Carlo, val, Aponogeton Crispus, anubias, and Java fern.

Looking to add some supplement to my water for my snails. Their poor shells just cannot stay healthy despite food and wondershell. I was reading where plant KH and GH is different than what is recommended for snails. Where do y’all keep yours? I want to support my snails, but not kill my planted tank in the process. Thank so much!

Not that I recall

New to this plant… learning about it. This one plant has a leaf that going black from the tip inward. All other leaves seem fine… any ideas? I use root tabs, easy green, potassium, and iron. It is a little difficult to get a picture bc it’s the same color as the rock in front of it 🤦🏻‍♀️. levels all seem fine… nitrates we’re a little high after last change…around 20.

I’m new Nerite snail care. Do these guys need some wondershell to support shell growth or is this normal? I have an algae issue they’re doing a WONDERFUL job with. I just want to make sure I’m supporting them. Thanks!

Tank temp is at 75. It’s a 29 gallon. Using a fluval set between medium/high light. Lights are on for four hours in the morning and 4 at night. I use a sponge filter so very gentle flow. All these photos were taken on the same day which is about 2/2.5 months after planting. I can’t recall the exact date. Oh wow!!! I was only using about 2. Sometimes only 1. Good to know!

Planted these two about two/two and a half months ago. Been supplementing with root tabs and Easy green. The Aponogeton Crispus melted back after getting planting and then quickly grew these sprigs, but hasn’t grown AT ALL since. The Amazon sword melted to what you see now and hasn’t gotten any worse, but hasn’t gotten better. What can I do so support better growth? Thanks!

It is possible, but he never really went near it. And the heater is cool to the touch.

My hillstream just died. He’s been fine. Eating and moving around the tank. I fed him this morning and just went to feed my fish tonight and found him dead. Anyone seen this before? I haven’t had a chance to test my water yet.

What is considered a well planted tank? It varies based on what website you visit. What do you consider to be lightly, medium, or heavily planted? Pictures appreciated!

I do use the API liquid and I try to be super careful and precise. Good to know it does that though! We just added more fish into the tank, so hopefully that will give some higher #s. I use the Co-op root tabs. I’ll need to check and make sure they do have it!

I don’t have a way to test my water hardness. My nitrates are 0.

This is my first venture into higher light plants. My sword and Monte Carlo are about 3 weeks old… they seem to be struggling. I’ve put in LOTS of root tabs to try and help them out, but I’m not seeing any progress. What other things can I do to help my sword and my Monte Carlo grow.

I do have a 20 gallon she could live in. She is my plant assassin. She’s uprooted my new dwarf Lilly and tiger lotus several times. She does a great job keeping things tidy, but goodness she is rough on new plants. I like the idea of letting it float in a vase to get stronger. May have to try that.

I have a newly planted pennywort who is trying to establish itself, but my mystery snail keeps breaking it apart. Any suggestions on how to help it out? Silly snail keeps climbing it, bending it and breaking it in half. I’m afraid she’s gonna kill it!

I have a male dumbo who has been really healthy. Watching him yesterday I noticed this little white dot over his eye. I’ve read where sometimes those scales can begin to grow over their eyes. I’m not sure if he has that, going blind, or is sick. I just did a water change to see if that was the issue. Anyone dealt with this before? I added one picture of the side that is normal. The other two are of the bad eye. He still acts normal and feeding great. When I shine light on the eye, it does reflect the color of his scales. water: 20 gallon ammonia:o nitrites:0 nitrates:30 PH:7.4

Also, what’s your clean up crew? I’ve got a 30 gallon with 3 Ottos, 3 mystery snails, and a hillstream loach. Going to add some Nerite snails and shrimp.

Great insight. I have an already established lower light tank with Vallisneria, anubias, Java fern, and bacopa. Looking to add Tiger lotus, Crinum Calamistratum, Scarlett’s temple and Dwarf baby tears. I also have a betta I don’t want to cause stress to with too much light. Currently everything is getting 8 hours of light.

How does everyone keep algae under control in a high light tank? I’m wanting to add some plants that require more light but I’m afraid I’ll get an algae problem. I did have my lights on for 12 hours a day and had a horrible algae problem. How does everyone do it?

As first time fish owners, we are learning fish sickness the hard way. We caught an awful case of fin rot too late in our betta and are trying to save him. His fins are SLOWLY growing back, but he developed pop eye as we were treating the fin rot. We THINK the pop eye has resolved, but he seems blind now. He was a great hunter and ate well… now he misses the food we put right in front of him :(. Can pop eye cause blindness? Is he still dealing with pop eye or is he missing his food still due to his lack of fins (he lost his entire dorsal fin)? His eyes do not seem cloudy at all. Thanks for the input!

Poor buddy is still holding on, but in rough shape. Fins haven’t grown back and now has pop eye. Been in QT for two weeks. Continuing maracyn and added salt. Will his fins grow back if they rotted away completely? Can I cure the pop eye? Thanks!

I posted about 5 days ago with about my betta. Poor buddy has gotten MUCH worse. I’m afraid we may lose him! He definitely has fin rot and has probably had it a while and we didn’t know :(. It started with his dorsal… that fin is almost all gone now. It’s spread to his whole fin and he’s lost all energy. We’ve been treating with Maracyn 2 and an anti fungal. Going to move to treating with Maracyn 2 (all I have right now) and IchX. Anything else I can do for him!