nabokovfan87

I don't think the height on the tanks is different to cause something like the light settings being a major issue. Considering the newness of the smaller tank, potentially there is just a bit of a transition on the plants mixed with the soil trying to establish itself. I would be intrigued at the GH/KH of both of those tanks. With regards to both of those setups what is your normal maintenance routine, how long have they been setup, is there any major filtration differences? I assume, but I just wanted to clarify. Is the smaller tank made up of trimmings from the bigger tank or is it new plants?

If you can't have someone feed the fish 1-2x during the separation then I would either avoid food during that time (fish will be fine) or go ahead and use something like repashy right before you leave and it will give them food for a little bit. An autofeeder is also an option. As for the lights.... I would honestly just leave the light off and call it a "blackout" of sorts. Depending on what is going on with regards to you plants and their needs, if you have any sort of algae issues it would just knock the algae back a little. I just mention it as an option. There's no harm in leaving the light off. The videos above are a great reference and it's awesome to have things like that to point people towards.

Yeah, they are out there. 🙂

I have had some BBA issues, but I attribute that to my substrate most of all. It likes the wood surfaces, but I've had wood in other tanks, once I changed the substrate things went bananas due to just a plethora of issues. I soak my wood before adding it to the tank. I swap out the water daily or every other day for about 7-14 days as need be to let it leech out a bit of the tannins. Ultimately no. I've not had any issues with biofilm or with mold. I do keep clown plecos, otocinclus, and amano shrimp.

These are two of the bigger breeder setups I've seen.

I'll likely end up doing minimum 4, up to 6 treatments if need be. Not sure how long you plan for. I definitely want to get rid of all of this before I do any culling or anything.

I got to measure my Amano, Gojira. She's doing good being the new nanny in the tank. The kids are behaving themselves. 😂

I was trying to find out where I posted it.... I think your situation and method is probably pretty easy as far as moving the tanks. A. Drain all the tanks to about 80% to reduce weight. B. See if you can move the stands out of the way at once. C. If it's too much, then move one of the tank to somewhere else and move all of the fish with an air stone into that tank. All the plants go into a bucket of water. All the hardscape moves to where it needs to. Towel, trashbag, whatever it is. D. Then you have the two stands out of the way and you slide in the new stand with the new tank. E. Remove and clean the substrate. Keep it wet and it'll have whatever need be in terms of biological after rinsing. If you go the route of new substrate, a bit less stressful and you can take your time cleaning out the old tanks. F. Add in the hardscape, add in the plants, fill it up, run it for a few hours. G. All your filtration biological media was kept wet right!!!! Add it to the new tank, make sure what you have fits or just toss the ceramics to the bottom of the tank near the flow of the new filtration. Let that run for as long as you'd like and add back in the fish. Optionally add in some bottled bacteria starter, definitely not required if you keep things wet. It is a jump in bioload that's the only reason I mention it. You're combining, so that gives you some leeway. Plan out the fine details, have everything set to go, and give yourself a good 3-4 hours. It might take longer but that's just up to you and your process. The first time I moved the tanks I setup the big tank first, added stuff in. The most recent time I did it again, I had to move 3 tanks an annoyingly amount of times to make room, move a dresser (with a tank on it) and I had stuff running to the open space in the room while I worked on the big tank setup. One electrical issue later, got the tank setup and now I've got the main tank, QT/plants only, and my shrimp colony.

😂

They would get along just fine. They may not school together but they won't bother each other. I keep one corydoras per tank though. I just don't want them to crossbreed. We discussed that aspect in this thread and in sure others who do mix corydoras can chime in with their experiences. One big tank and a divider in a 20L for the Bettas? Your big tank plans definitely sound exciting and like there's a bit of setup, as you mentioned. Talk about a big tank! Bigger space, lots of plants, the gourami might be a bit calm because it'll have its own "territory" so to speak. You might see a bit different behavior from the fish too, which is cool and interesting. Bettas for me would always have their own tank just from a flow and care perspective. Best of luck figuring it all out, excited to see it!

I don't know the dimensions, but I did the exact same thing. The casualty of my moves was my beloved Bolivian ram because I had no idea he needed a warmer tank. I miss that dude! So... I'll just mention, double check that you have compatible fish. I think you can go one of two ways, both work well and I recommend either one. A. Keep two tanks. In my case I had a passion project of my own and it was one single 29G tank off to the side with my black corydoras. I already had pandas en masse for the big tank and so I opted to just keep that species only tank. Ultimately I rehomed the pandas and it's all in one tank now, but I do love that option of having an emergency setup or just this other tank if a fish needs a break from the group for recovery, for fry, etc. If this sounds like the route you like, I would recommend a single 20L pushed to the side of either a 40B or 60B/75G tank. B. Keep one family tank. I moved 5-6 tanks all into a single 55G tank. This was also my first real attempt at a planted tank and doing some sort of a "design" for the sake of visual beauty. Ultimately a big tank gives you a ridiculous amount of options and it's this perfect canvas to work on. Everything is easier and it's something I can't express enough. The work you put into a single 10G tank is pretty much the same as a big tank. The only real change is plant care and the amount of chemicals, food, etc. that you use. If you go this route, I would recommend a single 40B, 60B, or 75G. This is mainly because of the way the lids are for aqueon. The 40B and 75G have seriously nice lids available. The 60B uses the same as the 75G. I can't wait to see what you decide and how it all goes. Simply Betta had a similar issue. There's a video of her being gollum (from LOTR) and bracing the floor under the house.

This style they had. 😍

I definitely agree, shrimp are delightful little things. I can't imagine having a tank and not having some anymore. I pulled out as much moss as I could from the bottom of the tank, the little bits that were there. I'll feed tomorrow? I want to make sure they get some calcium for molting basically. So far I've seen two with the confirmed SJ. It's unfortunate, but I just want to feel like I'm seeing this stuff disappear and not like I'm just struggling against it like the worms and everything else. 😞 I feel so bad for the little shrimp, especially if all those culls I had in the box were literally just sick. I mean, it was right after the water changes and all that. I was definitely not feeling it. I shook it for a long time though. Set it down to move the stool or bucket or something, shake again a bunch. Repeated doses and we'll see I guess, right?

...and it's led me into a few questions floating around. I think we all can relate to having a day, doing research on something, or just watching all the fish community videos on the hobby. Bouncing from one topic to the next or letting the youtube robots point you towards something interesting from the creator you're currently enjoying. It's all good stuff! (I'll just leave this here for your future enjoyment) This is the video I'm on currently. I loved the beginning where he shoved a hose into the tank, swirled the substrate all around to release all the gunk, and then cleaned it as best he could. I bet it was a lot of fun. Anyways, it's been a day of watching people stand in front of a tank and pluck plants in. It's been a day of watching rocks and wood get set into a tank, paintbrushes at the ready to smooth substrate around the surface or into a crevice. It's been an enjoyable day, a calming day, but it's also been a day that has led me to a few questions and a few thoughts I wanted to share. Some of these are definitely my own, while others were statements made by those aquascapers. One of the more interesting things is the perspective of purpose.... Why do you want to have an aquascape? Is it a centerpiece tank? Is it a community tank that is aesthetically enjoyable for you? Is it a tank intended for plants that happens to have some fish or livestock? Are you trying to have a certain style of tank or simply putting together something that "looks good"? In the video above, about halfway through Filipe mentions that he doesn't like to have a plan. He puts the hardscape in and just goes with his intuition and what feels to make sense in the moment as he is doing the work. I think that is the same way I tend to work on my tank as well. There are so many rules and calculations for something that may have been intended for a much different mindset. I woke up listening to a technical talk about the 3:2 rule and talking about golden ratios. The next conversation was about how you must plant a certain way or the tank will have no depth and isn't visually pleasing. When I spent the day watching all of these technical works I saw the same thing over and over. There is so much effort put into form, which I understand, but there is also a certain.... tightness that comes from that mindset. It reminded me of the philosophy of absolutes and speaking in certainty vs. uncertainty. Granted, there are certain techniques that we can trace back to conversations with Takashi Amano. There are styles that define "rules" that are a guideline for a scape. Does an iwagumi really need to be a single plant species for the sake of simplicity and beauty? Does it really need to be 5 stones of specific sizes or is the intent really just to feature rock based hardscape? There is a term for a rocky hardscape and there is a term for a wood based aquascape. There is a term for certain formations and designs. Personally, when the focus is on defining something and trying to fit everything into a box, figuratively, you sort of miss out on the enjoyment of the thing staring right back at you. There is a popular discord and it has a "critique my aquascape" channel where you can post a photo and get some feedback. One of the notions during a particular video of the day was people trolling others via feedback. But, one of the main requestst to the viewer from the aquascaper was for critical feedback about the tank as a whole. It was mentioned that without the critical feedback that the artist couldn't learn or grow in their craft. I'm a writer at heart. When I write, of course it would be nice to hear that it's good and enjoyable, but I don't write something with the sole intent to go and ask for someone to rip it to pieces. My hope is that the reader can appreciate the meaning behind the words, that they make sense, and that it tells the story. When it comes to tanks, maybe the purpose is for that gratitude an admiration of someone's work. One of the important questions to ask yourself, I think, is why are you trying to create an aquascape? What is the purpose of this specific tank as you create it? The answer to that question says a lot and I think sometimes you can tell by the end product. During a few of the videos there was this constant pressure of time. The process was done to a schedule, at a specific pace, and the same steps were followed every time. I can understand why that make sense in some ways. I can appreciate the correct procedure for building something. I can also appreciate the sentiment that sometimes it's going to take days or much longer to finish a project. Sometimes there is a beauty in using what is available to complete a task as opposed to waiting for everything to be perfect. It might take a week or a month for the tank to be at the right starting point with certain methods. The comment at the end of a lot of scapes was, "it will fill in and then..." It was sort of this automatic notion that the tank isn't ready to be viewed. At the end of so many aquascaping videos on youtube the last few minutes is often a video of the tank, weeks after completion, showing the tank acting and looking like a normal aquarium. The plants are pearling, co2 is bubbling, the light is on, the fish are swimming around, and it's this quick hit of dramatics. I've watched someone scape a tank and the video was 10-20 minutes long. I've also seen someone scape a tank and it's a 7 part series of 35 minute videos. I've seen builds of IAPLC tanks that took months to construct. I just go back to that comment above about criticism from the creator and it floats around my head and makes me wonder. It makes me think about this notion of asking what people think and in that same moment expecting refrain because it's not there yet. Because it's a glass boss of limitless potential and that ultimately the trim on the plants, the conditions for the plants will determine so many things about it's value? One of the creators mentioned pushing towards this perfect moment where you have a fan blowing on the surface of the water and you're waving your hands to get the fish to react a certain way for a perfect photograph to post to the social media platforms. One of the last things I'll mention was one of the most striking comments made by the aquascaper. It wasn't meant in a negative tone at all, but it was an honest and direct response to a question posed. When asked about balancing the need for the aquascape vs. the aquarium needs the creator responded, "this isn't an aquarium, this is an aquascape. It's not meant to be that sort of a thing." The explanation went a bit further and elaborated that you can build a tank many ways, but in this aspect there are two considerations. Do you want to choose plants that make sense for the fish (like a discus tank) or do you want to choose a fish that makes sense for the environment you're building? One of the common things shown is having one or a few small schools of nano fish to go with your aquascape. Essentially that you don't want to have too much traffic to obscure the view of the artistry. I'm not sure how to think about that, but it's something that stuck with me. I see a few dozen plants opened to put together a tank. I see bags of soil being dumped in. I see that ever constant, "sponsored by" disclaimer during the scape and the list of equipment. "This isn't a cheap hobby, but it is a rewarding one." I think we can all agree that cost is relative sometimes. I just sort of was taken aback by some of the differences in how tanks are enjoyed in different locations. There's something to be said for a rack of plain, bare bottom tanks that brings you a lot of joy. There is also something to be said for that perfect cut of nature that makes you feel calm and at ease. The therapeutic benefit of the hobby can be this powerful thing. There is that mindset of a tank being finished when it's done being aquascaped and it's time to go start the next project. Ultimately, it's not a post about trying to say that there is one way to enjoy a tank or the method of putting together that tank, but I was left with a few lingering thoughts after my day watching that style of content.

@Cinnebuns we need your gourami experience! A lot of gourami are kept as a centerpiece. I would definitely keep it as a one gourami tank. Given that it's a 5G I don't know that I would add any more fish honestly. That's just me personally. Amano shrimp (1-2 of them) might be a fun thing to add in there. Not at all. I think it's human (and in some cases animal) nature to want to have a sense of a "home" and the things that go into it. I would focus on a happy environment and treat it like a betta setup. Ultimately, if it's a good place to be for the gourami and it's visually pleasing for you, I don't think you can ask for much more! Also, welcome to the forums! 🙂

You can always use repashy powder itself (without turning it into a gel form) and that's wonderful fry food. you would want to feed at least 2 times a day, preferably 3-4 if you can keep up with maintenance. Feed less than you think, but feeding a few times a day is the key to get them growing for you and make sure they are eating. One of the first time I saw someone feed fry food they dipped the very tip of a paintbrush for watercolor paints into the food and then dipped that into the water. If you feed more, the main thing is just to make sure you keep the breeder box or container clean. BBS would be a good food as well. It might day a day, maybe up to 48 hours for the fry to become free swimming. They just have to use up their egg sac they have already. Congratulations though, that's awesome! 🙂

you can use something external to the glass on a microcontroller (arduino type of thing) on the glass. They have stuff that is based on infrared or laser based sensors. It's a common type of sensor used for things from measurement all the way up to alarms. You could also look into a flow sensor on the uplift tube.... think, watercooling parts for a PC. Off the shelf, something for water monitoring though, I'm not sure. Maybe conductivity?

I've never used spiderwood, but I hear good things! Cost being no concern I have two favorites. Keep in mind that depending on who is selling it, wood is listed under so many different names. First one for me is Manzanita Wood. Second one for me is Pacific Driftwood. (Malaysian driftwood is pretty cool too, but I appreciate the "log style" of this stuff) There's a ton of interesting bits of wood. I've got a tank full of mopani. It's slightly difficult to make something "nice" when combining a few pieces of mopani though. I have a stump sort of piece of wood and that's cool, but if it's not this amazing looking piece, then it's just a big block of wood! I have 2 pieces of mopani and they are really cool looking, I just wish I could make something really nice looking and also be able to just pluck it up to clean easily. It's a great utilitarian wood for breeding setups! In my big tank this is the wood I selected. I didn't go with manzanita because it can be a bit thin. I selected a piece to try to fill the space that looked great, but alas.... lost in shipping!!! 😠 This is Ghostwood, it's either a sandblasted version of manzanita or it's a sandblasted version of pacific driftwood.... just depends who you ask I guess.

Definitely the fuzzy fuzz we just call biofilm. You can use a toothbrush and gently knock all of that stuff off. You can also just stick it in a bucket and do it in the yard. Some types of wood are more prone to this. Entirely safe, just unsightly. It's either a bacteria or something growing on the wood as it acclimates to being underwater.

The meds are definitely doing exactly what they are supposed to. I did every step, shook it like 5 times. Then on the back it says, in addition to dissolving it for shrimp, to pour it directly where the filtration is so that it pushes it all over the tank. I split it over all of the filters. I grabbed more photos. This is a female, similar thing on her "nose". Hopefully one of these is clear. I also took video, you can see her freak out when what I think is the SJ moves. (this is apparently a confirmation that it is indeed an SJ I'm seeing in the location I'm seeing) I took 2 videos, the second one, right at the end (end of the entire video) you see her get really upset. She's stressed and so whether I need to dump in some paracleanse (prazi+metro) or salt or Ich-X/paraguard, I'll do whatever need be to try to get this stuff off. I don't like seeing the female stressed like that. The malachite green (Ich-X/Paraguard) I found an article that links to specific studies on it's use and a variety of other substances tested to treat vorticella and it mentions specifically the type of parasite it works for. I need to check to verify that SJ falls under that category. I'm also going to go back for my own reference and potentially reach out to Flip Aquatics. I've gotten my amanos from them as well as Aquahuna and they mentioned a few times if you reach out they can tell you what they do. I am trying to avoid the big, intense salt dip and go for something that works well. @Odd Duck for Prazipro on the website it specifically mentions that if it's stored correctly it shouldn't expire. Is this something where, in your experience, I should just try a fresh bottle? Mine is a year past expiry date. Hikari mentions this as a "nominal date".

Look look look! ☝️ @Chick-In-Of-TheSea Love the wilds. 🙂

For sure.... It's one of those things. I am confused at how resistant and strong some of these smaller organisms can be to all of the salt, meds, and other things. The copepods are my favorite 🙂

Yeah.... I'm not worried about it. Just as long as it's not the shrimp SJ scooting around while I'm literally treating for said parasite. 😩 It looked too big to be that, but when I first noticed it moving on the glass it was all scrunched up. That's what I thought too. Unfortunately. I would've expected it to fall off by now or something. It doesn't seem to be affected.

Flashlight is the best tool for seeing what I can't see for me. Apart from the dark net. The white of the parasites and stuff "pops" with the contrast, especially on the dark shrimp. In the photo below, this would be how I would visually with my eyes look for eggs inside the carapace. Using the light across the surface of the sand to cast a shadow to see for molts and baby shrimp. (Same thing I do when I look for them after WCs in the bucket). I would not be able to keep shrimp without the light, honestly. Found a worm on the glass, then a lot more. Rhabdocella looking things. This is my "inspection table" of sorts. the net is splayed open as best I can and there is water for the shrimp. He scoots around trying to find out where to settle, but it's a male shrimp so they just NEVER sit still. I can then use the magnifying glass, phone, lens, whatever to try to see what I can see. Using a flashlight and turning off the tank light helps too! (I did this towards the end to try to help the camera focus). There's about 15 blur shots where the camera or shrimp moved and I thought I had a perfect shot of the thing on it's nose. This is just demonstrating a visual inspection, net against the inside of the glass so I can say "yep this is the right one to look at". I learned that from Cory's netting video. I can then wait for the shrimp to go to the back of the net (thank's MST) and then pull the net up to the surface. A lot of blur, I apologize. Hopefully in one of these we can see something. This photo below is probably one of the best shots of the thing. I can't tell what it is, placement is super weird. The white string looking thing here is just dog hair in the netting that I'll remove. I tried to get a clear shot to compliment the one above. You can kind of see it in the blur here, knowing the location. I don't think that's antanae and you'd expect it to have dropped off the shrimp by now, right? Zoomed in a little:

Posting on the red's journal. I dropped the net on the floor accidentally, almost crushed the poor guy. I think I got decent photos. Tell me if you think it's SJ or not please! I'll try to point on a chart or something where I'm seeing it. it "wiggled" again. 😩 Oh. and we have MORE WORMS. Pretty sure these are newer types (dif species) but who knows at this point honestly. At first I was concerned it was one of the parasites scooting around on the glass.