nabokovfan87

I can't say for certain but I think that gravel / substrate is going to be an issue for them, it looks pretty sharp. Can you show the full tank so we can see what's going on with filtration and decor? Please add an airstone for oxygenation if you don't already have one. The temperature for them would be 72-74 preferably. (21-23C) As far as the fin issues, stuff I'm seeing I would treat for bacterial right now and potentially add some salt. I just did this for mine and I did the level 2 treatment for mine. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish I'll grab a photo of my substrate and try to clarify on how it could be causing damage, but I don't think that's the whole story here. EDIT: This is seachem flourite dark and it's about as "sharp" as I would say is advisable for corys. It's a very soft material in general, it's a clay based product. It isn't hard in the sense of sturdy / stiff and they tend to do ok with it. They don't like it, but they do ok with it. Moreso, the edges are a blunt edge as opposed to a thin/fine/sharp edge. Sand is advisable, fine substrate in particular. The stuff I see in your tank looks like small gravel size pieces of lava rock. If that's what it is, then I think it's very very sharp stuff and will very likely cause cuts and injuries long term or cut their barbels.

I would suggest treating the tank with neoplex. For fin rot it was mentioned as a method for treating some gram negative bacteria. If that doesn't work there are some other meds you can try. Essentially, depending which is causing the issue (which bacteria specifically) you're trying to find the right med to treat that specific one. Sulfaplex is the last one I would try. https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/24356-still-struggling-with-my-betta-and-fin-rot-need-advice/?do=findComment&comment=225132

No it wouldn't matter what kind. They graze on the surface, hide in it, etc. If you have pleco caves as well that usually makes them pretty happy to be there. Clowns and plecos like that will eat wood. Others will focus on other foods, but I think generally they all graze a little when we aren't looking!

Yeah I would think so. It's much more about what's in there, and how intense the demand is. I have 2-3 different stems but for the most part I have very slow growing, low demand plants. You can look at the tank and see a lot of plants, but it's nowhere near close to what I see a lot of other people having in their tanks. For instance, the two above are very much a jungle style scape to me.

The solution is likely to stagger feeding, but I think something like a feeder cone would help, some sort of feeding device to allow the certain fish to feed in a specific way that makes them more comfortable with the chaos around them. I had a tiger barb tank and there was the very active fish compared to others. I fed the tigers on one side a very small amount at a time. Some of the tigers would lag and others were feisty. I tried to give the fish time to realize what was going on and over time they learned what was up. Once I fed the tigers, then I would feed other foods that were for the bottom feeders.

Empty tank, I would just fill it with vinegar, diluted, and then let it sit. I've also seen people take vinegar on a more difficult area and soak a paper towel and let that sit on the affected area with a paper towel for a few hours. Flip aquatics has a video on one and the dude from BRS (sorry, I just don't remember his name) on his old channel. I'll try to grab those for you. As far as day-to-day and how you maintain a tank with hard water, the biggest issue is the rim, lid, filter, and any cables. It creeps up on you, can block out light, and using something like an airstone makes the situation exponentially worse because you're tossing that stuff everywhere in those regions. Once a month, whenever I get annoyed by it, I'll go ahead and do a deep clean in a sink. I use a sponge and clean the plastics, paper towels (only with water) on the rim/tank itself, and then scrap any glass with a razor or use the sponge and hot water to clean it. No soaps, no chemicals, no nothing. Here is the new tank filled with diluted vinegar. Here is the other method.

I got the gang valve from amazon, aquaneat or something is likely the brand. Aquarium co-op sells all of the stuff now. Ziss airstones, metal gang valve, and they all are what I run. LOL one of these days I promise I won't try to move the bottles out of the way so I can see the color chart. My dyslexia has me doing comical things trying to get the color chart order in line with the bottle order in line with the vial order. I saw the one above and just had to giggle. "nah, I can't tell". I think the values are "within range", but just keep an eye out. You're definitely making progress!

It's a pretty difficult question to have a straightforward answer. My gut reaction was to say something like a "heavily planted tank" meaning that the majority of the tank is covered in plants. Something like a Dutch style aquascape for instance. But, then I start to think about what type of plants, growth rates and load. If I had a tank with 1 anubias per gallon, it's a pretty big mass of plants, but might not necessarily be a big load of plants. If you twist my arm and want me to try to phrase it, a heavily planted tank would be something where the tank itself is pretty covered through a jungle or dutch style aquarium design. Moreover, I would argue that any aquascaping style can be a "heavily planted" tank if those plants are high demanding plants, require CO2, high light, a lot of fert dosing, grow very fast, etc.

I just got a specific variety of Bacopa (purple) and Caroliniana is one of my favorites! I'm excited to see it flower one day now. Amazing stuff. I've only ever gotten anubias to do it for me.

I just want the fish healthy and happy. I am fine with "an ecosystem" but just want to make sure I'm paying attention to things that can affect me. Snails, algae, worms.... I just don't want things to take over and try to keep things in balance a bit.

Only if you have something to eat them.... If you know what they are..... AND if they are not something that can harm me when caring for the tank! Very cool video though 🙂

Hello! Welcome to the forum. May I ask what your logic is for wanting to add this? I think you'd be better with 1-2 airstones as opposed to a wavemaker. A lot of times some species get marked as "high flow" but what they really want is very cool, highly oxygenated water, in addition to normal tank flow. If you were to try the wavemaker I'd ask what GPH it is and trying to make sure it's not too strong. I would also suggest something to make sure fish can't get into the grille.

Wow! That's amazing. I need to get mine to do this!!!! Very beautiful photo.

Mine always are pretty happy after water changes. Depending what type of shrimp is involved I think it's more or less applicable. I ran a test on the water just to see what was going on. Flow seems fine, aeration seems fine. Temps are swinging from 68-82 today. I don't think my tank is getting down to 68 right now, but I checked and it was about 74 this morning with the AC running all night. Nitrates were sub 10, everything else seemed fine. There might be some weird massive drop in GH, so that's water before it gets to me being altered. I also saw PH at about 7.4 as opposed to 7.0-7.1 where it normally is. I'll keep an eye on it, but I don't think this has anything to do with the parasites and such going on.

That other thread I had mentioned to verify it wasn't planaria. It looks like those (rhabdocoela) I can't tell if it's just because I'm not awake, haven't slept, and no coffee yet! 😂 ....or if it's detritus worms. SO..... to answer the question with "how" they show up. 1. Introduced on accident somehow. 2. They were always there and conditions let them show up. I would be sure to verify your equipment, make sure the impellers on all your pumps are clean and working at full bore. Also, add an airstone if you don't already have one running in the tank.

Woke up to another lost amano. I'm guessing its due to temp. It was one of the younger ones, may have just tried to molt and couldn't. Tank has prazipro in the water right now.

Looks good to me. I think your water oxygenation should be fine.

Odd Duck is probably right. They look like they have a flat body shape to me though. Reminds me of that terrifying photo you sent me in my thread from some store or something with those giant worms in that tube.

They look like some kind of flatworm to me.....

Pygmy Corydoras I would think fit the bill. I was going to joke and say "baby panda corydoras!", but yeah.... I think one of the two mid-level pygmy corydoras would work! White clouds are also pretty robust when I had them. Once they get through acclimation they are a pretty easy fish to care for.

@TheSwissAquarist Do you keep those by chance?

Sorry, I missed the whole "attacked by a betta" part. My mistake! This one hit my dyslexia hard 😂

^^ I would like to see the tank setup if possible. I wonder if their behavior has anything to do with filtration / aeration at all. Temp is often tied to the oxygenation and flow requirements for the fish as well. If you're concerned with stocking and setup, temps, I would also recommend using AqAdvisor as a tool for a sanity check. Generally speaking, Tetras and goldfish don't like the same temps. Here's a video on the topic and how 1-2 degrees can lead to massive issues. Welcome to the forums, it's great to have you here. Please feel free to ask any questions and talk through questions you may have!

@Cinnebuns do you have any of those hang on breeder boxes? If you are wanting to get rid of the QT tank for space or something those are a pretty good option, especially for the betta. I would try to give them more time to make a full recovery. If there is any gram negative stuff remaining somehow it might spread or cause some further issues for you. If you're confident that isn't an issue, then I would just give them 2-4 more weeks just to recover and give yourself an easier time to monitor them.