SupersoNick95

20 long, have about 15

Two dead rummynose later I believe my Nannacara Anomala is the culprit. Each day I wake up to a tetra with a missing eye then the next day they are dead. Initially, I believed it to be some sort of disease but each tetra that has died has had an eye ripped out before death. I have seen the dwarf cichlid chasing them around, he gets extremely territorial in 20 long. This morning I found another with its eye completely gone. I later saw the cichlid doing a lot of chasing. I had 2 die so far. Another one is swimming around with its eye hanging off but also looks lethargic. Only a matter of time before it dies. Should I rehome the cichlid? I have never had a dwarf cichlid this aggressive... they are usually very timid.

Took some advice from someone and I have tried this on several crypts (regrettably on some pink flamingo as well🙃). The wendtii brown I have has begun to grow back but the leaves look stunted and small. Looks like a tissue culture now lol. I have been supplementing with root tabs. Still, growth is very slow. Pink flamingos have barely grown back after a month. On the other hand, I have a Wendtii that I put in without snipping and it has been thriving. Granted, this seemed to have been in its submersed state when I bought it. wondering if I should refrain from doing this.

I am currently running the Delta 60 in this jerry-rigged configuration with the inline Co2 diffuser. Unfortunately, this filter is not quite enough turnover for the 20 long. With the jet outflow, it is too strong but doesn't circulate well, and with the lily pipe, it flows much too slowly. I could have opted for a flow valve to lower the flow on the jet pipe but I figured I'd just upgrade the filter. I ordered a Sun Sun 302 Canister filter which has about 275gph. I've come to find that algae thrives in low flow, as the organic matter will settle on their leaves. I have experience with the Sun Sun 302. I have one running on my 40-gallon African cichlid tank packed with sponge and it is dead silent. Has been running flawlessly for 2 years. I'm going to install one onto this planted tank along with a flow control ball valve. This way I should have more control over the flow, especially with the lily outflow which provides great diffusion compared to the jet flow. Overall I've been disappointed with the UNS delta 60. Some issues I've run into: It rattles no matter how long it is broken in. This is a chief complaint about the Delta 30/60. Difficult to prime. Air takes ages to disperse. Leaks infrequently; No matter how diligent in getting a seal, it will randomly decide to leak on occasion. It also doesn't have any of the creature comforts I have come to expect of canister filters, especially at its price point. No priming pump. The SunSun priming pump makes it so easy to get rid of trapped air. No shut-off valve at the pump head for quick disconnects. Almost every filter at this price point has one. Huge mess every time I do tank maintenance.

Anyone have a hack or tip for scrubbing algae off of buce? My buce grows algae because they are unshaded. I was using a toothbrush but I feel it isn’t delicate enough. Works great but I fear damaging leaves. Maybe using a stiff paintbrush?

UPDATE: Unfortunately had a bout of ich and lost the apisto. No other losses and i have been treating for over two weeks as a precaution with daily water changes. I have also changed the filter to a canister and removed all the driftwood. It was shading and I suspect that is what was preventing it from growing as best as it could.

Even after keeping fish for 2-3 years, I'm still learning everyday. I feel like flow may be a factor. I was running an aquaclear 50 and even that was not getting enough agitation at the bottom. Lots of dead spots. I just re-installed a UNS 60 canister that had been frustrating me, but the flow is much stronger. Rattles like hell though. Same gph but the outflow creates a lot of circulation. Maybe the organics were settling far too much with the HOB? Anyways thank you for the insights, very very helpful reading. Now that I have this canister running I may try the crushed coral since i have some room.

Pretty heavy stocking: -18 rummynose - 10 corydoras (5, elegant, 5 slate) however, I’ve never had issues with ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. I even struggle to keep nitrates at 20ppm. I did until recently have two pieces of ghostwood, but I doubt this has been lowering the ph that much considering they’re pretty thin pieces but I could be wrong. Could it be feeding that’s causing the ph dips? I feed very small amounts once a day. if the uns buffers at 6.8 then idk what is causing the ph to dip. I do run C02 but all my ph measurements are done way before c02 comes on.

The contrasoil is capped with sand. Would you say the acid buffering is still at full effect? That’s the only explanation I have for it being so low. Again, I have barely any kH/gH to begin with from tap, it’s basically R/O water lol. It sucks for human consumption too because it has no taste, or minerals. Tastes like Dasani. I already have salty shrimp here in the fish room so I might try it at half dose and see how my kH does. I did notice when I increased my pH a bit the Vals did much better. My goal isn’t to raise the pH that much. Just make sure it stays at 6.5. Right now, no matter how many water changes I do the pH remains at 6.0-6.2. I am dealing with Ich so I’ve been doing large water changes daily and while my tap is 7.0, it never stays there in tank. Always drops. Maybe I should try the crushed coral but I have no room in my filter for it and putting it in the tank would look unsightly. thanks for the recs on the diy salts! I might do it once the salty shrimp is done.

There is no need to raise Ph to cycle a tank unless you're using vinegar in your water changes. 6.7 is pretty normal.

I have very very soft tap water. Aquarium Co-op test strips indicate a gH of 0-25 and kH of about 0-40. the pH is 7. It is basically almost RO water However, when added to my tank it seems to drop to a pH of 6.0 over a period of several days. I have some UNS contra soil which over time makes the water acidic. I noticed the low pH has caused issues for several of my plants, especially valisneria and crypts. I've tried adding a snail or two for algae control but they all die in a couple of days due to the soft water. They thrive in my African Cichlid tank, probably due to the harder water parameters. I would like to know the best product for maintaining pH-gH-and kH. I'd rather not use crushed coral because I'd like to have more control over dosage. I change water about 25% once a week and it is a high-tech tank so I am comfortable doing the measurements. I currently have three products: Salty Shrimp gh/kh+ I have not tried salty shrimp but I've heard it's great as an all-in-one additive. Raises ph kh and gh. Advertised dosage is one level measuring spoon (approx. 2 grams) per 10 liters (about 2.5 gallons) of water is sufficient. Seachem Alkaline buffer Alkaline buffer raised my kH and pH but the advertised range is too high, buffering between 7.2 and 8. dosage also needed to be cut quite significantly. However, this product does not affect gH. Seachem Neutral Regulator Works well in rasing pH however it is advertised to precipitate kH and gH in the water. I wonder if this is doing more harm than good. Also, it is phosphate-based so it poses a risk of an algae explosion. I'd like to add a supplement to 5 gallons of water that will slowly help increase water hardness and buffer. Would Salty Shrimp be the best option?

8, they are the Concolor Cory, aka slate cory

I’m sure he pokes at the corys here and there but I’ve never seen it. I doubt that’d be stressing him out to the point of an Ich outbreak. I have a hard time keeping nitrates high for my plants. Water quality is always great. I don’t think it’s overpopulated tbh.

It’s a 20 long, 20 rummies and only the sole apisto. I don’t like breeding pairs in a community because they get really stressed. My water parameters are excellent. Which is why this is so frustrating. I’ve noticed apistos have given me lots of issues. I rarely ever get fish deaths and every apisto I’ve had has died prematurely. The rummies are very healthy, eating normally and the Ich x has seemed to held get rich of their flashing. They are nicely colored up as well so idk what could be stressing out the apisto.

Update: It is now day 6 of treatment. I am 95% sure it is ich, i spotted more of the little dots on one Cory. All the corys are beginning to flash again. They also do the gulping air thing very frequently. I lowered the temps to normal (79) and increased surface agitation. The Apisto is still not eating and remains at the top of the tank. He ventures down to the bottom now and again but hides. Upside, he has not flashed for about 2 days. I suspect the ich is primarily in the gills of the fish. This would explain the heavy breathing and top dwelling. I know the trophonts are not affected by the ich x until they become free-floating. Could it be that they still have not shaken off the trophonts? I know the life cycle is about 3-6 days, so they may fall off soon from the gills. Hopefully, all fish will improve soon.