Mattlikesfish36

@Colu thanks for this advice! You’ve helped me out a few times lately and I really appreciate it. I’ve got 2 Indian almond leaves in there right now but will add some more along with aquarium salt

@NikkiRae I love the name haha that is perfect. Thanks for all of the advice!

Thanks @NikkiRae and @Tony s. I hadn’t considered it being a scratch but that also makes sense. The male tends to chase her at times and there’s a good chance she may have caught her eye on a piece of driftwood or something. Is it worth dosing Maracyn or something similar?

I’ve had a pair of EBAs for about two weeks now and I just noticed this bump on the eye of one of them. They are in a 40 gallon aquarium with a bristlenose pleco as a tank mate. Temp is 78, pH is 7.6, very hard water (magenta on aquarium co op test strip), and I’m doing 25% water changes weekly. I did one round of paracleanse as a preventative treatment when they arrived but that is all they have received for medications. She seems to be acting/eating normally and swimming laps with her partner. Is this something I should be concerned about? And should I do anything to treat her? Thanks!

@Colu okay gotcha. Hopefully the crushed coral will help to boost things up. It was supposed to get here earlier but there have been shipping delays. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow

@Colu my GH is at the highest level on the aquarium co-op test strips but KH is on the lower side (4-5 degrees on the API test kit) I have crushed coral coming in the mail tomorrow which will hopefully help to boost things up. It’s just strange because they were all fine for 8 months or so but now they are all having issues. Is KH something that can change abruptly after being fine for several months? What kind of symptoms will show in African cichlids if they are impacted by KH levels?

@Colu thanks for all of this info. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me. Wish me luck

@Tony s update: I lost an adult fish and the others are still not really eating. I have noticed one of the males doing a strange shimmy so I’m thinking it may be an internal parasite of some kind. The masked julidochromis I have in my quarantine tank waiting to go in with the Shellie’s has also stopped eating and has been rubbing up against his small rock cave. Dosed both aquariums with API General Cure and I’m hoping for the best. I’m starting to think that maybe it wasn’t the pothos afterall, but some sort of parasite hitchhiked with the hornwort that I picked up from my LFS. This is a truly awful experience 😞

@Tony s it’s tough to tell. They have still been spitting brine shrimp but they are eating hikari vibra bites that I have soaked in garlic extract. They were showing breeding behavior and I haven’t seen two of the females ever since so I think they may be guarding eggs in one of the shells

I pulled it the other day and did a water change. Going to do another big water change tomorrow and hope for the best.

@Tony s I think I may have figured out the problem… my wife just told me that she had this rooting hormone in the mason jar where she was propagating the pothos that I put in the aquarium. I am so mad at myself for not thinking about that ahead of time.

@Tony s thanks I’ve been keeping up with extra water changes and feeding lots of live baby brine so hopefully everything will work out. Appreciate your advice and support

@Tony s thanks for checking in. The juveniles keep dropping off one by one which has been disappointing. But the adults seem to have resumed eating like usual

@Tetra Guy super old post so I’m not sure if this will get a reply, but did you have any issues with the water not being up to the minimum water line on the heater? I have the same one but I’m nervous to try because I don’t want it to crack or explode or anything

@Tony s uh oh… I didn’t consider the pothos. I’ve had some in a hanging basket on the side of the aquarium but it has been there for 2 months or so. I was wondering about the hornwort having something on it because I bought it at my LFS. I didn’t realize that pothos could be toxic because I see it in other aquarium photos all the time. I love the way it looks but I guess I’ll have to pull it if that’s the culprit. Thanks for your reply! I appreciate it

@Tony s just a handful of hornwort to help with soaking up nitrates

I have a group of 6 neolamprologus similis that have been in my aquarium for about 8 months with no issues until now. I’ve got them in a 40 and they have spawned twice (that I know of). I’ve got one set of fry that are about 3 months old and some others that just became free swimming. All of a sudden, the older fry have stopped eating as much and they have been spitting out live baby brine shrimp, which they used to eat like crazy. Have you ever experienced that before? I found one dead juvenile yesterday while doing a water change so I’m starting to panic a little bit. It has been a blast watching the colony grow and I am hoping I don’t lose any more of them. The only change I can think of is that I added floating plants two weeks ago but everything else has been consistent. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! pH 7.6 nitrites 0 nitrates ~10 hardness -magenta on co op test strip kh temp 78

@Tony s good luck with the breeding angels! That’s an exciting project. I’m raising some apistos and some shell dwellers that bred in my aquariums and that is the most satisfying part for me lately

@Pepere thanks for sharing your beautiful aquariums! @MattyM thanks for all of this! Definite food for thought. I appreciate all of your tips

@MattyM thanks for sharing, this is a beautiful setup! The amount of maintenance required that you mentioned sounds exactly like what I’m looking for

@MattyM thanks for this idea! What kind of light do you use? This sounds like exactly the system that I would like for my setup

Hey everyone, I’m curious if anyone else has ever felt this way. I’m feeling burnt out and I’m not enjoying my main “showpiece aquarium” anymore. I currently have a heavily planted aquarium with in-line pressurized co2 and a Twinstar light. Dosing EI and doing weekly water changes. It looks pretty decent and plants are growing fairly well while managing algae to the best of my availability. My co2 cylinder kicked the other day and I have been tinkering with the replacement, but it has been a pain getting it dialed in and running at the same bubble rate. I initially thought it was fun getting all of the high tech gear (canister filter, lily pipes, co2, fancy light, etc), but now the work to enjoyment balance seems to be leaning heavily toward feeling like maintenance is a chore. I am getting way more enjoyment out of my low tech tanks even though the plants aren’t as exciting. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I’m debating tearing down the high tech tank and starting fresh or trying to figure out a way to transition from high tech to low tech without a massive algae bloom, even if that means that I’ll have to sacrifice some of my plants in the process. Any feedback or advice is welcome and much appreciated. Thanks! Matt

@Lots Of Loaches I totally feel the MTS addiction haha. The shelves were around $150 which is more than the wood would have costed but the quick install and the 1000 pound per shelf rating made it worth it for me. Especially with a Christmas gift card which offset the cost.

@jwcarlson let me know if you find a paint that works haha that is my issue as well @Lonkley I love that idea but it makes me so nervous about the weight of such a big tank haha

@jwcarlsonhaha I was a little nervous about them without some plywood for reinforcement. I’m sure you could fit one in a smaller spot like that. I think they may have smaller sizes as well but I’m not sure about the weight capacity on the other models