nabokovfan87

I mean... to be fair, the fish should feel better and have some more energy to use. 😂

In my experience, yes. Snails I cannot verify, but it's used by many and hopefully they can chime in. It may affect beneficial bacteria, but I have used it many times and never crashed a tank. Follow the directions on the box. You don't want to add one dose and "soak it" similar to the ACO med trio QT method. You're actively treating for something, so you'd follow the directions on the box. There are multiple videos in this series, but here is Steenfott treating his using the same med:

You'd have to inspect the shaft of the impeller. Send a photo and I can advise. Ususally noise in the impeller region is because something got in there and is causing it to grind. If it's an aquaclear, then it's literally grinding the shaft. I don't think any other HoBs have that issue. Replacing it will help, yes, but that is if the issue is the impeller and not the shaft / pump housing itself. Use some silicone grease to lubricate the shaft and make sure the water level is high enough, should be as quiet as you can get it. I would not recommend doing what this guy did, but the impeller should be located as he showed.

I can confirm the handle doesn't bend and it's a ridiculously strong steel rod. I do think powdercoated is the finish on there, so overall nice stuff. The tidals are frustrating. Results and details on there will be summarized and finished. I do like the product, but it does have some engineering issues. WHY it has those is a pretty clear reason. Yes, I do have a thread on them, but on the same side of the coin they are the only HoB I actually prefer right now because they work well, despite the issues. Yeah, that is just how it is. Hopefully you find what you need or how to get things to work for you. I wonder if they have a mesh thing you can just replace it with something...

Red / Rooibos tea is delicious! It's very healthy and tastes good with herbal tea ingredients. The next time you're at the shop, see if they have white tea. It's the other extremely healthy variety that is extremely light in bitterness. They usually have a vanilla/chamomile white tea or something like mint goes well with it also. I am working on a tea order, just send some to my mom for her birthday this week. You're right, rooibos needs to be on the list. The one I have now is blended rooibos, orange, and cinnamon, but I need to pick up some plain. 🙂

I don't treat them any differently than my pandas. They are corydoras and most corydoras are pretty robust fish if you can get them into your water and thriving. They are larger in size, so that is something to keep in mind. They aren't smaller in size like the pandas or dwarf corydoras. some of my favorites are black ricefish, black emperor tetra, or the black corydoras. For a 20L I would lean towards a fish with black on it instead of a jet black larger fish.... even though a black-tailed black shark is beautiful and awesome. Pandas fit that, rasboras, barbs, there's quite a few, but there are smaller species as well. White clouds, ricefish, etc. all should do well with a corydoras species. I would lean towards a pleco, oto, shrimp, or other nano fish in lieu of a corydaras in this tank. They like more floor space, that's all.

"blackwater"? This is what I see typically from the mopani alone with weekly WCs. Trying to amp this up a little bit.

Congratulations, very cool!

You might just need to condition them... As far as method, here is some videos that might be helpful. I believe these species spawn in the same way. What temp is the tank?

In general, I can't or don't have the space/tank to QT something. My fish have been with me for years and I use my QT tank for treatment more than anything. However, if I was to bring in something new this would be the method and how I would run things.... Tank size, 20L, 2 sponge filters, optionally adding on a tidal 35 for carbon or added circulation. Substrate in the tank with a piece of wood, moss. Fish arrive at the house, I would add them to the tank after acclimation (if need be) and then I would add in the med trio, aquarium salt, and some alder cones. Week 1: I follow the directions on Maracyn for meds, After each water change I would re-dose in Ich-X and Maracyn with a 50% WC. Week 2: Rest, monitor Week 3: Rest, monitor Weeks 4-10: Follow Odd_Ducks method for parasites to treat for internal parasites. ---->Day 1: Black out tank, dose in levamisole / Expel-P ---->Day 2-6: Water change, siphon gravel, dose in paracleanse... follow directions on the box. ---->Day 7: Rest *Minimum 2 treatments for internal parasites, 3-6 for a fish that shows a severe infection* I would then rest those fish, monitor, and make sure everything is doing well, then decide when to move them. When I do move them, I will usually rescape a tank to reset boundaries.

Very understandable, I assumed that was the case but just wanted to mention it in case that was a factor here 🙂 . Ah interesting, maybe the contrasoil leeched ammonia and caused some headaches for you? Because you had the cyanobacteria, I would say just go ahead and to a treatment of maracyn in that tank if you need to. Should help with peace of mind if anything. I know the feeling of wanting to scrub / sanitize a tank due to issues, I've been there. I don't know who originated the expression, but "good food takes time." Your efforts have paid off and hopefully the tank is turning a corner for you. (knock on wood) Unfortunately, you have to make new memories, but it doesn't mean you have to erase the old ones. Time heals things, and hopefully in time you find a way to appreciate the tank, even it is always his tank. If PH is an issue, then hopefully the changes you've made and adding things like botanicals or wood to the tank help to drop it a bit. Again, you're doing everything right it looks like. Betta you'd want to keep the tank at 80 or so, for a bolivian ram I think you're at the right spot, the german rams are slightly warmer, and for shrimp I would drop temps which in turn does help with algae as well. All makes sense. The one that really matters of those is going to be KH and how stable the tank is. Just for the sake of clarity, this is an extremely helpful article that might be worth looking at just to clarify PH, KH, and GH! https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/ph-gh-kh I have to point you here.... and this photo. If you wish to inquire further, it's a fun read into shrimp keeping 🙂 That front carpet of the Hydrocotyle is just one of my favorite things!

Grabbed a new one just to see how it worked. Here are my thoughts. I snagged a photo of the long handled version on my 29 just so you could see the length on the handle with that tank. Hopefully helpful for you!

There has been some discussion of nets, preferences, and trying to find nets for a taller tank. I was ordering some food online, grabbed a few new nets to try out and I wanted to share some details. Ultimately, I haven't been able to find "good nets" locally and I tend to be perfectly fine with the "junk ones" that we are all familiar with. I have a black one that is imagitarium branded with a long handle and has been my go-to net ever since I purchased it. First, I want to mention that I paid under $3 for the smaller and under $4 for the larger size of these nets. They are both longer handled versions, fine mesh. As mentioned, I generally only will use the smaller of the two, but I do have one larger fish that would require the larger size. I do not understand why these things aren't available easily or why seachem has such an issue with pricing and availability in general. These are "new to the market" but released just under a year ago. I do have high hopes. I generally enjoy their products, but visually I do like this net design for my needs. I do like that the handle is thin, I like the idea of a long handle, and I need a net with fine mesh for the sake of some more sensitive creatures I have to catch like the otos and fry. Let's jump into it..... This is a 29G aquarium and this is how long the handle is. Very nice size and generally easy to use in terms of the shape. I also was happy to see that as the net gets bigger, the handle is a larger diameter and the end piece is a little longer. The hook loop is a good size and it will be easy to hang. The weight of the net itself is actually really nice. The blue rod is likely a plastic coated (probably powder coated) steel rod with a plastic (I think it could be an elastomer) end. I can try to bend it and see if it's similar to other nets where it can be bent, but I really don't wish to break it in the instance that it isn't meant to. Here is the side by side of the old standard compared to the new nets. Length, overall design is very similar in size and shape. The handle is slightly longer. but not enough to really say that variance could cause it to be better or worse. The twisted nature of the older net's handle does give it some rigidity and this does mean that the all black net is very sturdy and doesn't bend unless you want it to. This is good! It means when you're trying to catch a fish, the net is where you think it is and the end of the net does respond well to fine movements. I literally just used this net to capture out a black corydoras fry. No fuss, not hassle, I had the fish located and removed from the tank within 30 seconds. The fry had no issues getting out of the net and overall it was very easy to get this fry and to use this net amongst any obstacles or siblings. The fish is potentially blind (white eyes) and so that plays in my favor, but I just wanted to express that it wasn't a big deal to use this net first time. It felt just fine, natural, easy to use. This mesh is a bit more course on the classic net. You can see that it isn't a square bottomed net, but it is pretty nice to get fish into and hold them into the glass. Longer nets to have a bit of a hard time because of hitting the rim and causing parts of the net to lift up slightly as opposed to sitting flat on the glass. That being said, I do notice that the older/classic net is a slightly deeper basket. This is slightly annoying, but within tolerance of manufacturing and I'd expect some to be smaller and some to be larger baskets than the one I have. I do wish that seachem had a bit more depth, sure.... Dealbreaker, not at all. Here is the seachem net. The mesh is fine, as intended. It will scoop sand really easily. I imagine the course one could strain through some sand. My QT tank currently has the finest sand that Caribsea offers and it did not fall through the mesh. Think of the purigen bags, thats how fine the mesh is. Overall it's a soft material, which I do enjoy. I do want the net to be soft and to be a material where the mesh itself has a very difficult time catching on fish with rough skin or small barbs on their skin (otos, plecos, etc.). I do like the interface of the rod with the frame, I don't think it will ever have any issues. As mentioned above, I do think this is a molded part and that means it's permanently connected and the black elastomer, if that is the material here, is very likely molded over the blue rod. Now.... let's get into it. Am I ready to ditch all of my old nets and move on to these? Yeah, probably. I am not one to just throw nets away, but I am pretty happy to get rid of nets I just won't ever use. Ultimately, this means less contamination, I can always pull a fresh net, and it does mean I have a net I enjoy in my hand a lot more than the massive blue "basking shark" one I use on my panda tank. If these nets were $10 per, I'd probably be happy with the purchase and thing it is worth the added price for quality. There are some products from seachem that have been a miss for me, but this one... it's a keeper. If you do happen to see these in the shop, and you do happen to need a net, I would recommend it. Beyond that, hopefully the look at these is helpful for someone who happens to be interested in hearing about them. Sidenote: I don't recommend using a 5" net to catch a clown loach. Had to giggle at the artwork choice there Seachem. 😂

First, welcome to the forums! 🙂 Kind of reminds me of my tank and some stuff I dealt with for a while. How is your filter setup and what filter are you using? Test results of your water parameters? Cycled or not, when you see ammonia / nitrites above a certain range I tend to opt for a 50-80% water change. The following days I will monitor, try to locate the source, and then repeat up-to 50% WCs as need be. It is a good practice, but it really, really shouldn't matter. Yes they can! However, I don't think that is what is going on. It could be a contributing factor. There are a bit of variables on each tank. I can get a tank up and running in 2-4 weeks. I can get algae and things going pretty quickly. Some people use algae as a sign of a "seasoned" tank. Others view things as whatever you introduce could take hold and you'd want to limit what you introduce. Some things may or may not take advantage of those parameters. I imagine that someone like @modified lung could take some of his live cultures and copepods, greenwater, etc. and have a pretty robust ecosystem going pretty quickly! All interesting things. "Cycled" is a pretty vague way to say a variety of things. Fish safe, is that a better term? Plants are thriving, is that a better term? Robust ecosystem, is that a better term? All interesting perspectives.

Hatcher is resting on the lightbulb itself? Neat little design. IF/When you can, it would be nice to see how you use it. Someone else here made a fry tray with their printer, all cool things!

Very nice little hack. Saves the time to defrost food!

In a perfect world, I would love to have a 1" space for the tank to move if something happens. The pad and everything would be centered, the tank itself still needs to be supported on that overhang (some are, some aren't) and then you're looking into things like this where the tank fits into a cavity and is "held in place". Overhang: *there is one side to side, but not front to back. Cavity:

You shouldn't have any issues getting a betta from either Wet spot, ACO, or AH. Something else has to be going on, and so hopefully some people here can elaborate or review everything and chime in. It also sounds like the type of betta you're selecting is one that is beneficial to long term success. So those two things are really good signs. Please don't feel dejected, you're doing the right things, sometimes stuff just happens. I think Cory said it best, when you fail, it's ok. Just learn from it. We'll figure it out and this is experience, that's beneficial and we will do everything we can to help fix things. I wouldn't have any issue keeping a ram by itself in a 10. VERY TEMPTING NOW.... because I just setup a 10. Here is the Jimmy video: Just because we all love to see Jimmy take amazing video and fish photography... here's a bonus one. 🙂 It looks very nice. Genuinely, I can't see anything wrong with anything you're doing. The only thing that leaves is some sort of a parameter issue. Let me try to dig up those things and see if anything makes sense. It's a seriously well done tank. I like the detail of the pebbles in the middle and the piece of wood dragging my eye across the front of the tank and then back across the stone. Try to make a mark on the tank with dry erase (some people use a piece of tape or something on the side too... I don't think you have to do much in terms of siphoning the substrate given how you have the plants. If you don't overfeed, you're set up for a fantastically easy tank to have and admire. Changing that much water can be very stressful for fish, especially if that means that stuff like tannins you're considering are being removed from the water. You very likely only need to change water once every 2 weeks, but the only reason to change it more often would be for the plants themselves or if you see some issues with the betta. I would lean towards 30-40% WCs for that fish in question and I would try to keep things consistent longer for the fish. Depending on water parameters and temp, some shrimp might not want the ~80 degrees needed for a betta. I will let OD answer the question about contamination and tannins, but shrimp in a betta tank can be fun. It gives them something to interact with, but I wouldn't keep a primary colony in there. Something like a betta tank as a cull tank is good because if the fish gets a little happy hunting, you can always supply more. Larger shrimp like amanos should be fine, but just know that ghost shrimp and smaller shrimp will likely end up as a toy or bit of food. I was doing a bit of research papers on neocaridina shrimp and they had a study based on temperature, growth rates, and birth rates. They recommended 82 degrees, which would work well, but it does shorten their lifespan as a result (the shrimp). ......alright. I tried to find them in the previous posts. Can you please let us know your water parameters? Temp, KH, GH, PH Ammonia Nitrites Nitrates

I think it's something all plants do, honestly. There's probably a name for it, but I don't recall the term. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_defense_against_herbivory These things.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allomone

Yeah it looks like that prefilter you had got sucked in from the pump and just wasn't happy. If you see a sponge like that it's probably restricting the input too much and could damage the pump. Hopefully the new stuff works a bit better though! Whenever I see a sponge like that I just clean em to make sure it's not clogged and stopping the input from working. I wouldn't drill any additional holes. ACs have a fairly direct input that's open and shouldn't need any added mid-skimmer or anything like that. They do have baffles for bettas, things like that on etsy that a few have used on the forum and work really well. It gives a sort of spraybar output. Looks really nice.... eventually someone will make a manufactured one with that piece!!! I like your solution, it works. Gives use for the hooks on the basket. It's an easy, nice, elegant way to handle that. To your question/statement about decreasing of flow. It spreads the output over a larger area, but it doesn't decrease it. You are correct there! 🙂 Marina / Fluval / whomeverownsitnow actually makes a version of the thermometer that doesn't float and sits on the bottom of the tank. Shouldn't affect anything, but just be careful with that interior of the thermometer sliding around and giving you a false reading. 🙂

I don't think they'll mind that at all!

Agreed. I think the daphnia is good. Worst case I would try to find some spirulina flake or something to add into the rotation, just make sure spirulina is the first ingredient on the label. This might just be a nutrition thing and then eventually they are succumbing to not having certain nutrients. Could be, I'm not saying it is. The listlessness is what I was mentioning it for. Daphnia helps keep them clean, but usually when you see fish laying on the bottom or unable to swim I move towards internal issues. 😞 Depending what was going on with the source, water here (Southern California) is usually hard, but lower PH. 7 or below. I just wanted to mention it in case that information helps at all.

Remove the heater asap and then replace it. Worst case is you have a backup, best case is you save the tank. I would send photos to the company, get a replacement. Something isn't right and that's not normal. If you attribute this to the CC, then you likely need to just do a siphon, change some water and whatever residue will be removed. CC shouldn't, doesn't, but I can't guarantee isn't the reason for this. I have added CC to a few tanks, no issues. Rinsed or not rinsed, never seen anything like this.

This stands out to me.... I'll keep reading, verify some parameters. PH issues usually means flashing. I'll look into that, but again, something to mention. Welcome to the forums, genuinely, let's get this figured out and glad to have you here. In terms of food, are you feeding anything like frozen foods? Frozen spirulina brine specifically? The hikari algae wafers have algae but are mostly fish meal. Same with a lot of the other foods listed. Flake food, krill or spirulina flake might help to rule out any sort of internal bloat issues. If you can, try feeding frozen spirulina brine once a week at least. I would opt towards starting with 30-50% water changes. Get the water clean of everything right now. A few of these now might be what the fish need to clear up and perk up. PH I am seeing up to 8.0, some up to 8.5, but as low as 6.5. Usually for me I shoot for the midrange as a target, which means 7.3-7.5 is the target. Temp, again is all over the place.... https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/endlers-livebearer-care-guide Another Source specifies warmer temps: I would try to keep nitrates below 15. Specifically below 10, but if you're talking a very small fish, like these, then you should be able to keep them pretty low nitrates and have the plants do well... The nitrates you see from testing should be specifically from dosing in ferts, not from fish waste.

There have been some bettas here brought back from the brink.... It's been amazing to see the recovery. Unfortunately Bettas are one of the most stressed fish in the hobby and it's difficult to get around some of their issues. There are good sources. There are good setups. But sometimes stress happens and it's a matter of genes and that can't be avoided. Things like short fins, certain types, those will increase success. Honestly, I'd recommend the trip to ACO to pick one. Barring that Jimmy (channel is Jimmy Gimbal) has a video on YouTube about his Bettas I really think you would genuinely appreciate and admire. Finally, I wanted to specifically mention a journ of someone here and their Bolivian ram. The conversation started with an issue, and led to a very heartwarming, fun, interesting journey with their fish and trying to get that fish more comfortable. It's worth a look just to see the start to finish and progress. @Chick-In-Of-TheSea There are a lot of fish, but I would say once you have a tank you like (fish aside) with plants and you're happy, then worry about fish. If you're specifically looking at Bettas, the members only Betta talk was one of the first on the channel and is extremely useful for their care. I can't recommend it enough if you happen to have access to check it out.