nabokovfan87

Maracyn is DEFINITELY fine and recommended by Flip Aquatics. They do recommend not following the directions on the box however. I would opt towards their methods and their proven techniques for shrimp only, in a "fancy shrimp tank". I have use the med trio many times with my amano shrimp without any issues, normal dosing per the directions and with the soak for 7 days (ACO method) without any issues. Let me try to grab the flip aquatics video for you and try to get you those details. (only references maracyn, I'd email if you want to ask about any of the others). Salt just follow the normal ACO directions (Level 3 or level 2 should be sufficient). Ich-X is the only real one to clarify, again, I'd try to research into that more directly. It should start at the bacterial meds part. You'd want to look into Caradina shrimp or dosing your water to match the parameters you need.

This is ridiculous! What a breathtaking thing to look at. Well done. I love the style and the different textures, patterns, and colors. You have a lot of skill with the camera and it's lit just right! What kind of sand is that? What a difference time and growth makes. If at all possible, try to get some manzanita. It'll accent that redness with the dark mahogany type of tones and will just work in this tank. Really well done! You must have a pretty rigorous dosing regime? Share your methods!!!!

More photos please! I would say it's a flatworm potentially. Planaria?

Venomous.

Yep, 100%. I tend to err on the side of slightly more. Speaking of salt in general, not for BBS. If you have a refractometer, maybe that helps, but just keep in mind that you'd add slightly more for chunkier salt. Fritz salt (Cory's video) is extremely fine by comparison to something like API salt. Ice cream salt and some rock salt isn't pure, so just keep that in mind as a potential issue there as well (it's literally on the box, "not safe for human consumption". You'll get there. We'll sort it out. Method is fine, we move on to the eggs and start a fund to get you a new tin! 😂 see above, buyer beware! https://www.poison.org/articles/ice-melt-products-harmful-to-pets-and-kids

That's AWESOME. I was extremely excited for you when I saw the thread title, hoping for photos. Nice work, congratulations, and clearly they are doing well already so they are in a good spot! I would recommend repashy soilent green powder for them. That is what I fed mine day to day and they did well on it. For fry, you'd turn everything off and dose in a little bit of powder, letting it sink, then turn the filtration back on in 15-20 minutes. When they get older and can graze properly, just use normal repashy with a little extra water in it. Spirina tabs is also another route to go. they break down and turn into powder but will have a little pile for them that does really well with bottom dwellers. Just double check that the first ingredient is actually spirulina! Sounds right! Tons of air and circulation, nice setup. 🙂

I have not a clue! Where did this moss come from?

Photos? @KittenFishMom

Neo aquaria actually sells diffuser stones for air. Might be something to help with that project. They are white as opposed to the tan/brown for CO2.

Yep. I can record at 120 FPS on my phone, sample it down to 60, essentially slow mode but it's butter smooth. Then it has a tool to pull screenshots or just use the normal phone ---> screenshot function.

Disassemble the sponge filter, take some photos of everything, check for fod/flack and make sure the air pathway isn't obstructed on the green plastic. There could be some calcium you might need to chip off or a piece of plastic from manufacturing causing some issues for you. Hopefully we can get it figured out.

Salinity looks pretty straight forward and separate from whatever QTY of eggs you're hatching. I'd start with the normal amount of water, heat it up, then add salt + 1 tsp of eggs, run it for 18 and check progress and just do a sanity check. If you're still having issues, maybe your eggs got some humidity or temp damage. As long as method is good, then we know that's not a variable to "fix". Here's another, if it helps at all then it's worth sharing. Nearly identical in terms of method. YOU GOT THIS JW!

I can't say it will help, but... can we hit reset? Try these directions out to the letter and see what happens? @jwcarlson When Cory says "room temp water" I think for most of us that means 74-78 degrees. I would set the heat to around there and just follow the rest of everything he mentions and see what happens.

Alright well... I think things are "mostly done" in terms of this one. Waiting to place the order still, but for the most part I have what I need in place, it's here, and I can get it started the moment things arrive. Alder cones have arrived and are soaking. I'll need to add them in a batch, then add the second half following those water tests. I don't intend to rip on / put down the company in question for these, but let's just say I wasn't expecting what arrived. I don't know why IALs and these things don't come in packs so we can use them in bigger tanks. You're talking something like needed 250 per order just to feel like you have a "good amount" on hand. Directions specify to swap these out every X weeks, sometimes it's 2 weeks, sometimes it's 2 months. Ultimately you're not ever going to remove them, but that's just the state of directions and information I have. All of the botanicals apart from wood are new to me. It's what I would describe as a "budget blackwater" when you just drop in a lot of Mopani and call it a day. It's been a frustrating weekend and I'm sure that soured my reception of these, plus the delays on everything. IF you have a store that sells botanicals be sure you take photos with a scale showing what on earth the size of things are. If you pack something and it says "DO NOT CRUSH" on the package, it probably should say that on the mailing slip as well (thanks amazon for that). If things shouldn't be crushed, bubble mailers, hard plastics, something to stop the action of an item being crushed (like a cardboard box) is probably a better option that a paper envelope. And finally, PLEASE sell in bulk so prices can go down and it's manageable for something that isn't a nano tank. Ultimately, a lot of us want to use these things and learn how to do so. We're speaking different languages and the best I can describe it is trying to order tea in another language. Yeah it's all good, it'll all end up good, it'll be a fun experience, but I do want to enjoy it! (and understand what I am drinking at said tea shop)

I setup a QT for my Corydoras affectionately named Riddick now. (the one that has some eye stuff going on) I got my order of botanicals on and in expecting something that is of volume. I ordered the "bigger pack" and it's supposed to be 50 cones. They are supposed to be 1/2"-1" in size. Supposed to be 5 -8 used per 10G. Well. I imagine I'll toss in the entire pack and it won't do much. I splayed these out on a plate so I could sort them, about 1/3 were crushed entirely, about 1/3 of them were extremely small and not what I was expecting. I have about 15-25 that are what I would call "what I actually expected and can use". Just frustrating the disconnect between customer, website images, shop details, and what you get as a result. I had the same issue with order IALs and they were basically mush in a matter of days. I ordered these because everything tells me they will last, are a lot more substantial, and will do the same thing. I am going to have to find a different supply and try them out in lieu of these ones.

Caribsea Crystal river specifically is a larger grain size.

I'll update this a little later after maintenance. Checking on the fish this morning and saw some fun stuff. Amazon and Corydoras checking out the moss on the rock. This photo has 4 amano shrimp in them and they all are about as big as you'll see them. Still waiting for the moss to grow, some signs of growth but it is a slow process.

Please list out specific species so we can better advise. What is the substrate you're using in the tank? (Looks like black gravel) What is the PH, KH, and GH of your tank and your tap water? Second to that, aerate a sample of tap water for 24 hours with an air stone so we have an idea of what off gasses, then test KH, GH, and PH again. Once we have the basics, then let's dive into what is recommended and what method to use to achieve that.

Some pictures from the night check in. I found another one with a really torn dorsal, so two that I'm keeping an eye on. Again, not much in terms of stress signs or behavior. Only thing that has changed in weeks is the replant and reglue of the moss on a large portion of the tank. Definitely could've been an issue... 😞 It's a little difficult to see, but the analogy here of what I'm seeing is like when you look into a dog's eye at night and you see the crazing, that is what I see under the blue light. When the white LED is on it's a very intense dark white. We'll just have to keep an eye on things. Amazon decided to delay my alder cones and then emailed me saying "if it doesn't arrive just tell us because it's delayed now" so I'm confused by that. Just a tough day today. Hopefully everything is ok. Reminds me of Riddick.

Air bubbles popping on the impeller. Turn it off. Rotate it side to side to disrupt the air. Then use the pump to drain water from the tank into the canister to try to push out the air. Do that 1-2 times. Turn it back on, then rotate it again while its on.

difficult to tell the orientation of the log, having that "cave" or hole on the substrate might be a better option. To give you an idea on the piece of wood I have with this shape, I can lay it a variety of ways, but right now its: This was an older position I had it in. Similar to what I think yours might work in. I've also had it with the short end up, leaning against a surface and that other longer "C" shape gives a hide for the fish on the substrate.

I have some alder cones coming today, will add those in. Tomorrow I am going to go get a QT tank and set that up, let it set up and then decide if I move the fish or not so I can better monitor and directly treat. Thanks Colu for the advice. I'll toss in some carbon, let that run in the tank for a little while too. If this has anything to do with the glue, that could explain water quality issues that don't show up on the substrate.

If you change water weekly, you'll basically never have a real issue with tannins in the water. If you DO have an issue with tannins, you just need to give it time to leech out and then slow down the release of those tannins. This can be done in a bucket or in the tank. Warmer water = you leech more tannins out than a piece of wood soaking in cold water in a bucket somewhere. The wood you have is very likely some form of malaysian driftwood, ghost wood, or pacific driftwood. All of those are fine and will work well for your aquarium. As long as they look nice, that's all you really need. Shrimp, plecos, otos, clown plecos, and a lot of fish will appreciate the aufwuchs and films that the wood produces. Don't think of this as a failed impulse buy, think of it as you're touching a toe into blackwater and a tank with botanicals in the water. Not a bad thing at all, provides benefit with the humic acid in the water. From brightwell's website, but a good breakdown of what is happening.

I have a piece like that! You'd be surprised 🙂 It's meant to be a bottom piece, sort of has a C shape like it's a cave. I lean it up against other pieces to try to give it just a little more room underneath. Is there a way that looks like to you visually leaning it on top of that log? Leave them attached, There is a way to remove it without damaging the plant, for sure. Given what you said about it above, no need to do so. It won't harm or impact the anubias to move it slightly or gently lift it up.

Old growth is not happy 😞 . Stuff like this is why I wish we all had magnesium, manganese, iron, and potassium test kits on some sort of a "planted tank" test strip. I'll re-read the above. When was the last time you gave that plant specifically root tabs?