nabokovfan87

Cool, thanks!

Woot Woot. I am very excited for 48 hours from now and getting the magnifying glass out.

I see a lot of rams without the light/powder blue when they are stressed. Redness also. Could be a genetic line thing, but I totally agree. Rasboras? Plecos? I think they do that too. ORD 😍 Very well said! Oh... red-tailed black sharks and SAEs do it as well.

sandpaper it? LOL.... I am noticing a trend. Everyone donate a $1 to Geppetto.

That's awesome to hear! The one time my tank had ich, I struggled so hard to get the temps above 78. 😞 Oooooh. Awesome tip. Yeah, 100%. From my experiences learning some of the EE side of things in college, it's likely just the exact same thing but thicker gauge wire. Slightly modified circuitry but that's how you would, theoretically) get the heat up easily. More heat, more flow, but beyond that.... less on/off and current knob turned to 11.

What is this, how do I do it!? LOL. Spent the week terrified the pup ate a pine tree needle or something. Why is it that I always feel like I'm the only one picking trash up off the floor so the pups don't get it.....

Some stands are RIDICULOUSLY tight. No idea why. Overall the stand has really good quality to it. I see good things with the way the corners are supported well. I would make sure you add a yoga mat or some other pad to the top before you fill that thing up! I think you're OK because the corners are supported and the top face doesn't have a massive overhang. If you're talking more than 1/2" from the leg to the outside of the rim, then I would slightly have concern. Weight difference on a 40B vs. a 75G is..... 458 vs. 785 lbs. Always funny how you can buy a stand from X and then they use 0.125-0.250 inches to make you feel locked into that tank brand.... I couldn't even tell you when / if marineland even has 75G tanks available. Aqueon: 48.5 x 18.5 x 21.125 Marineland: 48.375 x 18.375 x 21.0

Agreed. I think I need something like ~70 watts with good flow. The little 15W nano heaters didn't even go up one degree when I had one of those! 😂 Same as you, I was trying to sort out whether it's 3-5W per gallon based on what I was using previously. Either one of those scenarios I think is for 10 above ambient and would work for a 10G. I'll definitely feel a lot better with this shape of a heater compared to trying to get a giant one on its side next to a sponge filter.

There was also a talk on the members side, I believe september? maybe October, but Cory mentioned it on the last live stream as a major talking point of that presentation!

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea has some ram competition. Beautiful photo of the corydoras! Based on that clump right there, I vote they are corydoras! We'll see, exciting stuff 🙂 Best of luck with a fantastic hatch.

It's a blur, but I can't remember if it was the pandas or the black corydoras that had similar behavior. Lack of sleep I guess and I just can't remember! Sitting here drinking coffee and it's 11 PM. (long story, lol) I have seen two main behaviors, not constantly, but the bigger the herd, the more often I've seen it. In the 55/75G in the sand they would "hoover" pretty much all day. They get food, but tail in the air and they literally just do that all around the tank. That was definitely the pandas at that time. In the newer setups that I have now they are a lot more reserved, but I have seen them do that same thing when they are fed a food they really, really like. Doing that 24/7, I could only imagine how fun and goofy that species would be in a massive herd on some sand. I am glad I randomly stumbled upon this thread. I absolutely LOVE to learn more about these species and this type of fish. No idea why, but I just really, really enjoy them. Just curious on what they layed the eggs on? I see the photo, but not sure what the black thing is. Sidenote, You had mentioned in the OP and some of the initial posts how there isn't a lot of information available. I spend the weekend watching a livestream / auction with someone that might be able to help with some information. They did auction a species very similar to the one you have. They also mentioned how they are much, much more active than corydoras generally. The person in question is Anthony Mazeroll. Let me grab the details for you. https://www.amazonresearchcenter.org/ amazonresearchcenter@gmail.com was the email they listed for questions / inquiry on the stream. The research center is focused on peru, listings I am seeing for this are: https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=384 From brazil. I would imagine given the crossover this person might be able to shed some light or something, very knowledgeable and helpful from what I saw on stream over the two days!

Very sorry for your struggles. One step at a time, one day at a time. It sounds like maybe salt or something on the brine shrimp, or some other form of contamination maybe? To your question though, the only other method for tank sanitation (can't say it's effective) is flip aquatics using vinegar on their shrimp tanks to prep it.

Just do what you do @Mmiller2001 ! I totally understand holding yourself to such a high standard. I also will always be reminding you how great the work you do is. It's seriously impressive. Jokingly I think any of us would cherish the clippings from any tank you keep. The plants always look great to us. This reminds me of a movie where a guy writes something on the piece of paper and carries it around in his pocket all day. At the end of the day he has to make a major choice and instead of going with emotion or going with the conversation in the room, he pulls out the paper and does exactly what he said he would that morning. I imagine your piece of paper, tape it to the wall, whatever you would do with that note.... "hit submit on that application". The result is going to be whatever it is going to be. I hope, and I am pretty certain you do, that you appreciate the journey as much as the result. Sometimes we can't capture the story behind a photo, but that is usually what speaks volumes. You, and all of the amazing aquascapers here inspire us.... every time you post. Just remember that. (cc @gjcarew @Seattle_Aquarist , I'm sure I am missing many others that have that same affect on the group here )

Oh man. That's an awesome tank. I will have to do research if they crossbreed? I'm assuming because it's a growout tank is why they are mixed right now. I need to pick your brain about your black Corydoras! Are you having success spawning them easily? My update, the little ones are ALMOST black corydoras. If you don't look to close they are. 🙂

The fish is likely trying to get more flow. Add an air stone. What temp is the tank at? Hillstreams will very much enjoy highly oxygenated water. Mine were always on the back glass (camouflage) or on top of pleco caves. You can get clay pot bases from the hardware store and stack them like slate, that would be great too. Very good note!

I had talked with caribsea about this and ran into the "nope, totally not possible". Then I actually learned a lot about both the use of salt in freshwater and actual saltwater tanks.... I'm not an expert by any means but this would be my method. 1. Use white vinegar to clean everything off in the tank (flips aquatics has a video where they add it at a certain ratio to clean a tank) 2. Repeat that same process with the tank full and use bleach. Run all of your pumps and equipment both times so that you can remove salt from that equipment and then sanitize everything. 3. Rinse it yet again, let it air dry. Then fill it up. Then you would just use a big dose of dechlorinator and let it run for a week or two. 4. Change water, rinse and repeat. Note. A lot of saltwater substrates have coral and that might over buffer your water. I would often suggest getting rid of the substrate unless you're specifically using an inert sand. If that's the case, then I would go ahead and use bleach, rinse, etc. When you have the tank full of bleach, use a rake or tongs or your hands and massively disturb the substrate.

If you can, drain the tank slightly and take photos without distortion of what you're seeing. I would suggest reaching out to the manufacturer of the tank, even out of warranty. They may have a product issue or recall notes or something for a specific batch of adhesive that is relevant. I would also ask if the tank had ever been resealed. If I squint real hard, I would say it's a marineland tank with nerite snail eggs. But, I can't say that with any sort of confidence.

I give it 3 weeks before you see little panda fry. They have to be loving the plants.

@Lester Any idea on hardness? Maybe the test got contaminated from water on the other pads? (see below) we've all been there, don't worry! It's a great group, very helpful. Might take longer than sitting in front of the tank chatting, but it's a great place to get some guidance.

If I was trying to suggest a tank for you, I would start with a bolivan ram (or 3) and then I would add some schooling/shoaling fish like silvertip tetras.

I would point you toward's @Chick-In-Of-TheSea's journal for her Bolivian Ram! It's a very awesome, personable fish. You will get that similar personality but open yourself up a lot easier towards a nano community tank type of scenario. Betta's would do a lot better in a 20G compared to a 55G or 40B because of the flow you need in bigger tanks. Just something to note. Ram's, they just want the right temp and will be awesome. In my case... my personality fish of choice is the RTBS or Rainbow Shark (either one). My red-tailed black shark does greet me every morning. She doesn't do backflips or tricks or anything, but she's an awesome fish that I really, really adore. Another option for you might be a solo tank with a puffer (mentioned above) or even the big brain fish what are they called.... flowerhorn. I don't know if they will do well in that tank long term, but it's an option as well for a very interactive fish.

Yeah, totally looks like juvenile flagfish. I can see it!

Beautiful tank. I will take 3 please! 😂 @NotDaleGribble does this look like your mystery fish?

I had an issue with mine (powerhead, non ACO version) where the output had a spraybar and it had issues priming. I have to remove the bar, let it push the air out, then it's fine). There wasn't noise, but it wasn't functioning well and you could hear the air / pump wine a little. I would encourage you to check the impeller, then go ahead and turn it on and when it's underwater rotate it all directions to dislodge anything. If you still have news, then work through it with support.

Question for everyone who has one of these. I had an old eheim jager and it got stuck in the "nope" mode and was very difficult to get to function correctly. I generally try to get a heater with a certain wattage / precision, but I just don't trust a lot of the "made for a 5 gallon tank" style of heaters because of my experiences with them. Here's my dilemma. I have a need for a QT tank and I need a heater that will keep it a certain degree above ambient. For most heaters, the range I need is slightly higher than the normal 10 degrees above ambient limit. So I almost always upsize the heater. Doing that, means it doesn't usually fit the 10G tank height too well and that leads to the constant "low flow" warning. I have purchased the 100W version and it's on its way. I fully expect winter temps to get close to the low 50's/high 40's in the house (bad insulation, thin walls, really cold nights) and on my 29Gs I am running 200W heaters to try to keep those at 70-72 degrees. At the old house, I was running two 300W heaters on a 75G to keep those temps relatively stable without killing the heaters on full. (or a 200 and a 300) Has anyone used the ACO heaters in such a situation and have an idea of how high above ambient the 100W heater can take a 10G tank? I fully expect it to work, I just want to ask if anyone has run one in a similar situation. Secondly, does anyone recall what the watt / gallon "rule" was when you were sizing heaters for a certain degree above ambient?