Anjum

I've only recently begun using crushed coral, but yes, that's my understanding: it works slow & steady. While it raises pH a bit, it's purpose is to buffer the pH so it can't swing drastically. I believe the calcium is beneficial to shrimp & snails as well.

@nabokovfan87 I hesitate to put the SAE back together. The "mean" one was relentless to the other, and got really fat while the other stayed skinny. The other has sized up quickly now that the "mean" one is gone. Technically, they'd be fine, size-wise, in the 29, but then that would really limit my stocking there and I've got plans in mind. So one or both will eventually go back to the LFS or rehomed.

Dang dude, I'm sorry 🙁 I'm afraid of the shrimp learning curve, I haven't gotten any yet. But from everything I've read/seen, they're extremely sensitive to fluctuations of any kind. I'd think small water changes & let the pH stabilize. Your KH is on the low side; are you using crushed coral or some kind of buffer? That'll help keep your pH stable. But it can take a couple weeks. Can you delay your next shipment of shrimp?

Yeah, 😕 I don't think I'll be able to keep either SAE long term.. I did poor research & got 2 for my 10g. Don't know how I missed the memo that A) They get upwards of 6" long and B) They do ok alone or best in groups of 6+, but definitely not 2. And I just want to go in another direction with my "clean-up crew". But for now, each of them will help start my 29g at home, and now this 20g at work. Thanks for the compliments on the aesthetics ☺️ I own a small furniture/mattress store & since I've become obsessed with the hobby recently, I size up all pieces of furniture for potential tank stands 😅

MTS is real y'all. 🤣 This is my 5th tank. In my defense.. I have 3 male guppies & my "mean" SAE in a 5 gal. It was supposed to be a QT tank, but then my husband's daughter begged me to take her guppies when she killed the rest of her tank. And I really wanted to set up a tank at my work. So here we are. This is my new shop tank, a 20gal Long. And these are going to be the new inhabitants once its all good to go.

I had started watching lots of Aquarium related videos on YouTube, and reading blog posts, in an effort to figure out what to do about my ailing 10G & ultimately how to do better with a larger tank. ACO's content was always solid & informative while still being easy to understand for a novice. I was consuming their content for a while before I figured out they're local, bonus! I joined the forum when I needed some answers specific to my situation. I haven't been a part of any forums in many years, but I used to be very active on a dog forum. I found this forum to be a refreshing change to the dumpster fire that is social media & am enjoying the sense of community again ☺️

Aww I loved the stickers too! Always a fun surprise. I'll cherish the ones I have. 💙 Now I'm really gonna have a hard time deciding where they go 😅

I had my Betta with harlequin rasboras, pretty similar I believe. I ended up separating the Betta out. When he was doing well, he'd flare & chase them around more than I liked. And he would gorge himself on food & they would be too timid to get their fare share. The betta ended up getting too fat & now I think he has permanent swim bladder issues. Now, Bettas are highly variable. Some are very nice in a community setting. But having a Plan B option is smart. Differences in my setup: I only had them in a 10 gal tank & I only have 5 rasboras. It's possible it would've worked better in a larger tank & with more rasboras. I don't have any experience with kuhli loaches. Hope that helps! ☺️

That's terrible about the SAE arriving dead! I'm so sorry. Hopefully you can find them locally, or a better vendor.

Great! Thank you! I do love them as well, they've really grown on me. A larger school will look so nice in the 29. It still needs more hardscape & plants, and to stabilize. But this helps me to formulate a game plan.

I'm going to move my 5 harlequin rasboras to my new 29g once it's good to go. I had planned on getting more so they could be in a larger group. But last time I was at my LFS the ones they had were so tiny, must've been juveniles. It got me thinking.. would mixing old & new fish be a good idea? Would they form one cohesive group or would they stay segregated?

Yep plants are fine! I know I've seen videos or articles on cycling with plants specifically. I think it can alter the cycle a bit because the plants can use up the ammonia/nitrites/nitrates during the process, so you might not see exactly the same pattern as a cycle without plants. You could also add a beneficial bacteria product to help get it going. You're probably seeing ammonia because you don't yet have enough of the bacteria that break it down into nitrite then nitrate. It'll happen naturally over time; your plants likely have some of the beneficial bacteria on them, it just needs to multiply. But you can give it a boost with a supplement.

I really like your half & half male @Cinnebuns, but I'd make the same choice if I was breeding, to pick a stable pattern & breed for it. I haven't gone down the breeding road yet, and I was thinking to get some females for the 3 male guppies I have. But now I've developed an interest in the Goodeids since I just learned about them,so I will probably hold out for that.

This is the most succinct explanation I've heard of GH/KH yet. Thank you. I've been struggling to wrap my brain around the subject for a while now. I've been having similar issues of low KH, higher GH & low pH. @AquaAries definitely NOT 2 SAE 😅 I made that mistake & now they're each in their own tank. I've read they do well singly or in groups of 6. Mine have only been separated a couple weeks, but they seem to be doing great alone. They're in with other fish & don't bother them at all. My tanks also run on the acidic side, 6.3-6.5, and the SAE seem unbothered & are growing fast.

They're gorgeous!! 😍

That's so cool Diane! The more I get into this hobby, at this stage in my life, the more I'm attracted to the rare, unique & ecologically significant fishes. As opposed to the bold & flashy *coughbettacough* 😅 can't hate though, it was an impulsive betta purchase that got me back into it. But I could see dedicating a whole biotope tank to these fish, and maybe the other Goodeid mentioned in the article, the Golden Skiffia. Another rabbit hole to go down!

@Cory you read my mind! 😂 Thanks for all the suggestions!

I also wonder, but for the opposite reason. The basic hood that came with my tank has a glass or plastic cover protecting the florescent bulb. But that's going to cut the light output of an already weak light. So I'd like to remove it if possible.

I dig it 🌳

huh, yeah, it's kinda a weird product. I guess I'll use what I have, but in the future I plan to go w/ the ACO's suggestion of running extra sponge filters in my tanks that I can use to cycle new set-ups.

Timely post, as I just got all my test kits & was running through them last night. There were a few where I really wasn't sure if I'm reading the colors accurately, but I'm going to try all the suggestions listed. I did notice that some of the color charts have a barely perceptible difference between one step & the next, but hopefully over time my eye will become trained to the subtle differences.

huh, so the product page on Aqueon's website makes it sound like they're not supposed to dissolve right away 🤷‍♀️ https://www.aqueon.com/products/water-care/pure-aquarium-gel-balls In the interest of not over-complicating things, I think I'll just leave it alone & monitor parameters closely. I did put in some plants & decor from my other tanks, so that should've also introduced some BB.

Oh shoot! It did look like it was still intact yesterday.. I'll add a different liquid bacterial start up product to my shopping list for tonight. I could use it in the 29 gal I'm about to set up too.

I know 😅 this has been a roller coaster. I've always had a hands off approach. But since I've moved this tank, everything's gone sideways. But I've learned a lot about how seemingly small changes can have large impacts, so I think I'll be better prepared in the future. But I feel bad my betta boy has had to suffer through my learning curve. I did forget to mention, I did add an aqueon pure beneficial bacteria ball when I 1st set up the qt tank. I'll leave the pH alone now. It should slowly come down with the plants & botanicals. I do have crushed coral on my list of things to look for tonight. It would be good for all my tanks. Thanks to you both!

If this Betta makes it through me trying to "help" him, he's a survivor. He looks good today though. Ate 2 pellets & was swimming around a bit. Got home from work last night & the water temp was up to 85°F. This poor fish endured a 10° temperature fluctuation in one day. Ugh. Took out a gallon of water & slowly started adding back in clean cool water. Also added 1 tsp of salt to replace what I took out. I think I have the heat dialed in now; it's stayed at 80-82. But I'm going to pick up a 50w heater tonight. I'm finding I have to oversize my heaters a bit, assuming because our house is on the cooler side, around 65° these days. I also did some water testing & everything looks good except the pH is staying at 7.5 or so. I'm going to see if the LFS has IAL tonight. I don't want to do anything too drastic, lest it stress him out more. But would changing out a greater volume of water, say 2 gallons (in the 5 gal tank) be too much?