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.

I looked up epistylis and it looks more flakey and rough. My fish has the small spots that look like ich.

Raised

Arent on the eyes, just near, and two tiny ones on his tail fin I just saw now. I tried getting a pic but he moves too much and I cant zoom in enough

Tank is well-established and has been running for 8 months. 0ppm ammonia or nitrites and has a decent plant load. Nitrates never seem to go past 20ppm. Last Saturday, (1-13-2024) I noticed my Apistogramma flashing against the wood in my tank and then twitching right after several times throughout the day and it continued into Sunday. I suspected it may have been gill flukes but I did not see any inflammation in the gills or heavy breathing. The fish have not exhibited any other signs of stress and the rummy nose are actually nicely colored up. Sunday I also noticed my corys and rummynose tetras begin flashing as well, many times per day. I then noticed a white spot akin to Ich on a fin of one of the tetras. In an abundance of caution, I began treating for ich. Dosed for my water volume and upped the temp to 82 over the course of a day and added an air stone to increase surface agitation. I have done 25% water changes every day before dosing again as directed by the Ich-X bottle. The cory and tetras stopped flashing after day 2 and the white spot on the tetra was gone. I am still continuing treatment. It is now day 4. Apisto is still flashing a lot, and today has begun acting very sluggish, dwelling at the top of my tank breathing heavily. The tetras remain active and are not showing signs of low oxygen or distress. Neither are the corys. I also do not see any increase in white spots on any fish. EDIT: I did notice a white spot by the apsito's eye/gils on the side he scratches most often. I have several concerns/questions: Could it be that the apisto is still dealing with the attached stage of the ich parasite? I know that ich can infect the gils. I know I am only about halfway through treatment. I have read that ich gets worse before it gets better. Could he finally have had enough of the higher temps after several days? I normally have this tank unheated and it remains at 76-78 degrees. I live in Florida so I usually never use a heater. He didn't show signs of stress during the first 2 days of high temps and meds. Are the meds just stressful for some fish? Could I have misdiagnosed? I am afraid of not continuing the ich treatment and causing a rebound in the ich population.

Hello everyone! I wanted to start a little journal of my high-tech planted tank. (More like medium-tech; these are all mostly easy-to-grow plants) Plants are val, dwarf sag, dwarf hairgrass, various types of buce and crypts, java fern and finally amazon swords. I used some cheap Mexican beach stones available at home depot/lowes for the island in the center. The wood is called ghostwood, which I believe is just sandblasted manzanita. Substrate is UNS contrasoil capped with some coarse sand. My goal is to get the val to fill a lot of the back half of the tank and float over the surface. I know the swords might be too large for a 20 long, but i feel that with adequate pruning i can get them to remain bushy. once they grow in they will hopefully shade the buce and prevent any algae growth on their leaves. The Dward Sag has exploded. the dwarf haorgrass is the newest addition and am hoping to get a decent carpet going. I wouldn't mind a patchy look in the foreground. I'm dosing nilocg Thrive+ and am running 1.5 bps off a small paintball tank. Took a while to dial in the needle valve as the Aquatek regulator has really bad tolerance. The CO2 diffuser is placed right under the intake of the aquaclear 50. So far, the diffusion has been excellent and I haven't noticed any issues with the impeller. I also swapped an impeller from my AC30 into the 50 to get gentler flow which the rummynose tetras seem to prefer. Stocking is an apisto hongsloi, about 20 rummynose, and 9 corys. Nitrates are consistently below 30ppm so I feel i can fit in some more fish. I'd like some nano Amazonian top dwellers; Pleas make suggestions! I was thinking of either dwarf hatchetfish or pencil fish.

I'm currently using an fZone drop checker with their provided indicator solution. However, This morning I wanted to re-install my Fluval C02 drop checker in my tank because I feel the white background makes it easier to determine the color. I went ahead and used the original fluval solution rather than the fzone solution to "double check" my c02 levels. I did all of this well before c02 and lights were on. NOTE: Both of these solutions are premade. They do not require mixing with a dkh adjusted water. Both instructions say to add directly to the checker. the fzone solution is advertised as 4dkh, while fluval never discloses whether theirs is 3dkh or 4 dkh. I noticed the fzone solution was lime green by the time the lights were on, but the fluval solution remained blue. It is still blue even 5 hours after c02 had turned on. Both drop checkers were in the same position in the tank. I decided to remove the fluval solution and add the fzone solution into the fluval checker. I can now see it slowly turning green within about 30 minutes. could it be that the fluval solution is a different dkh and affects the time it takes to make a reading? O r is it just bad/defective? Im currently riding at about 2 bubbles per second on my tank,. UPDATE: I have waited a while and the fzone drop checker has turned lime green while the Fluval checker is halfway between green and lime green using the same solution. I hypothesize that the fluval checker has a smaller entry hole and this is why it is taking much longer to show changes in co2.

I already have the stock sponge inside that has been running for several months.

I dont think they'd damage a carpet as long as it is rooted in there well.

Cant beat 10-15 Corys, one Apisto and some nice schooling tetras, about 20. That's what I have and it's perfect. I would add slowly as the fish load can shock the system. Considering you have bare aqua soil, the loaches and corys may not be your best bet. I have aqua soil capped with sand and my corys already sift incesantly. They could throw up a ton of aquasoil around lol

I am of the belief that once you get past about 30-40 gallons canisters are your best bet. I run a cheap sun sun canister on my 40-gallon Tanganyikan community and I barely need to clean it. maybe once every 4-5 months. I would love one of those biomasters though. The internal prefilter is a great feature