Jump to content

A real Newbie


Pattie
 Share

Recommended Posts

On 8/4/2021 at 9:15 PM, Hobbit said:

Welcome @Pattie!  Sorry you are having trouble with your tank.

The good news is (from what I can see) Buddy’s fins look good and healthy. That’s one sign that your water quality is good. 😊

To answer your question about the catappa leaves turning your water brown—that’s normal and totally fine. The peat will do that too, like @Gator said. If you look at @Streetwise’s tanks, you can see some are REALLY brown! But the fish love it.

I’m curious to know what’s special about Buddy’s corner. Is it the corner in the back of the tank? In the front? The darkest corner? The one closest to the light? There is a reason he’s choosing it and maybe there’s a way to make the whole tank just as comfy.

 

Hi Hobbit,

Good news on the water.  I got a Fluvel heater about a month ago.  It’s sits in the right back corner of the tank.  I have an HOB filter to the far left and a sponge filter in the center.  A basic new setup.

Originally, I had an air stone tucked under the rock substrate with a small kit heater, temp was factory set at 75, in the left back corner.  I had a bunch of silk plants throughout the tank with Mermaid decorations (stop laughing 😆). It was an “under the sea” idea.  Anyway, I have the HOB that came with the kit.

Buddy would hang around the filter and heater most of the time but, would come down to explore or chase a tetra and scavenge the bottom.  Then one day, Buddy was acting and swimming differently.  I went to YouTube … over feeding?  Possibly, but, he didn’t look blotted … the tetras seemed to be hiding more.  It was like the tank exploded and I didn’t know what to do…

I tried different remedies on Buddy  … the pea and Epsom Salt … he laughed at the pea … tetras gobbled them up and I sadly started to lose my little guys.

So, I started changing the tank, eliminating plants, decorations, lowered the gravel to about an inch and upgraded the heater, so that I can adjust  the temp.  Put Buddy in an tiny emergency tank ( he did okay, I hated it) and totally emptied the tank and started all over.  This adventure happened within the last two weeks of July.  Once the water parameters were good, Buddy went back to the tank and he now sits with his new heater in the back right. I added the sponge filter to help the HOB filter. (I thought that more filtration would help) yes/no?  
 

 When he swims to the front, he favors the right side.  I have adjusted the bubbles on the sponge filter.  I am unable to adjust water flow from the HOB.  Another upgrade? 🤷‍♀️  So be it, if so.  He might swim to the left to the HOB and then back to the heater.  He doesn’t explore, at all.  
I’m going to put back the tall silk plants to see that helps, until I get the real plants in.  The Catappa leaves he seemed to enjoyed, while they were on top.  

So that is the basic story … I realize that good bacteria hasn’t had a chance to grow and is one of the problems.  Plants and other changes are on the way.  I just hope that Buddy is patient and can survive 🙏

Thank you for all your help.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a mystery. Sometimes weird things happen in our tanks and we never know why. The good news is that Buddy is hanging in there!

And no shame about the silk plants and mermaids! 😄 The fish don’t care—go with whatever aesthetic you like!

It sounds like Buddy is favoring the heat and the low flow areas, and maybe the place where he feels like he has some cover.

You’ve already turned up the heat, so that’s good. I’d actually add some of the silk plants back in to see if Buddy appreciates the cover. You can take one or two out of their bases and let them float at the top so Buddy feels less exposed at the surface as well as in the middle of the tank.

In terms of water flow: If it were my tank, I would not use the HOB filter and just use the sponge filter. The sponge will offer plenty of filtration and aeration on its own, and gouramis like low flow as well, so they will be totally fine once you switch tanks. (Gouramis do fine with medium flow as well, so it’s not essential to get rid of the HOB.)

All that said, I know you’re already making plans to add peat to the HOB, so you probably want to keep it. Others who have more experience with HOB filters can chime in here, but I know some people put a piece of coarse sponge filter over the outflow just to slow the water down. It can be a pretty thin piece of sponge.

Here’s a thought. Do any of the aquarium stores near you sell live foods? Live foods like blackworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae are high energy and nutritious. It may give him an extra boost and a reason to try swimming a bit more.

If no one sells live foods, just take a yogurt container or tupperware, fill it with water, throw some dirt and old leaves in it, and set it outside. You’ll have mosquito larvae in a week. 😄 

Buddy may be feeling sick, and that’s why he’s favoring the places in the tank that require him to spend the least amount of energy. But he may also just be bored. Things were exciting when the tetras were around! It’s so hard to say with fish. It would be nice if we could ask them!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/5/2021 at 11:07 AM, Hobbit said:

Such a mystery. Sometimes weird things happen in our tanks and we never know why. The good news is that Buddy is hanging in there!

And no shame about the silk plants and mermaids! 😄 The fish don’t care—go with whatever aesthetic you like!

It sounds like Buddy is favoring the heat and the low flow areas, and maybe the place where he feels like he has some cover.

You’ve already turned up the heat, so that’s good. I’d actually add some of the silk plants back in to see if Buddy appreciates the cover. You can take one or two out of their bases and let them float at the top so Buddy feels less exposed at the surface as well as in the middle of the tank.

In terms of water flow: If it were my tank, I would not use the HOB filter and just use the sponge filter. The sponge will offer plenty of filtration and aeration on its own, and gouramis like low flow as well, so they will be totally fine once you switch tanks. (Gouramis do fine with medium flow as well, so it’s not essential to get rid of the HOB.)

All that said, I know you’re already making plans to add peat to the HOB, so you probably want to keep it. Others who have more experience with HOB filters can chime in here, but I know some people put a piece of coarse sponge filter over the outflow just to slow the water down. It can be a pretty thin piece of sponge.

Here’s a thought. Do any of the aquarium stores near you sell live foods? Live foods like blackworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae are high energy and nutritious. It may give him an extra boost and a reason to try swimming a bit more.

If no one sells live foods, just take a yogurt container or tupperware, fill it with water, throw some dirt and old leaves in it, and set it outside. You’ll have mosquito larvae in a week. 😄 

Buddy may be feeling sick, and that’s why he’s favoring the places in the tank that require him to spend the least amount of energy. But he may also just be bored. Things were exciting when the tetras were around! It’s so hard to say with fish. It would be nice if we could ask them!

Thank you … very helpful … I will keep you posted, as I change things around  … 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, Pattie;

The only Alum that can be found anywhere around here is McCormick, so that's what I use.

I marked the bucket "Alum Bath" and keep it stored with other buckets, it's marked so I'll never confuse it with a bucket of bird seed, or anything else I have stored in buckets. I feed a lot of wild animals around here, but everybody enjoys seeing them.

If I choose to buy another plant, and there are three I'm looking for, I'll take the lid off of the Alum bath, stir the water, ease the plants into the bucket and let them sit for three hours. After three hours, I'll remove the plants, rinse them off under running water in a sink before placing them in my tank. I accidently left an Amazon sword in the Alum bath for 24 hours once, the Amazon sword suffered no ill effects and after I planted it into my 29 G tank, it sent out a runner that had 6 daughters on it.

Some people like having snails in their tanks, I don't, hence the Alum bath. Snails that hitchhike on our plants do eat algae, but they also breed very quickly and introduce parasites into our tanks, even the Nerite and Assassin snails introduce parasites. No snails, no parasites, no problem.

When your LFS gets a shipment of Comet Goldfish in, they usually come with tadpoles in the shipment. Tadpoles only eat algae to grow and the tadpoles with these shipments are the tadpoles of Leopard frogs which are native to the US so releasing them into the wild after they grow legs would not create an environmental hazard, but finding a nearby swamp or marsh to release them into can be a problem. Tadpoles and frogs can also introduce parasites into an aquarium.

Frogs, because they're able to breathe through their skin makes them a great indicator species of a problem with the environment, either in the air or in the water.

Oto's also eat algae so I went with them.

No, you're not replacing the activated carbon with peat pellets, you're replacing the activated carbon with bio-rings, and that's a good thing. Maybe I should explain.

OK, I have two 10 G tanks set up. The first of the two I set up, I bought an Aqua Tech 10-20 filter at Wally World and not sure if I made the right decision, I asked a Fisheries Biologist friend (I'll tell you more about him in a few) of mine about it, he said that, "It's better to have too much filtration than not enough," that was 15 years ago and I'm still using that same filter on the same tank.

Like you, I watched a Cory video about supercharging my filter using filter foam made by Fluval. I bought the large block of filter foam and using a very sharp knife, I cut a piece to fit behind the filter's own bio-filter, and I put a pre-filter on the filter's siphon strainer. the mesh bag containing the peat pellets fits between the siphon tube and the filter foam I added. My water flows through the pre-filter, up the siphon tube, through the peat pellets, through the filter foam, through the filter's own bio-filter, and back into the tank. 

My filter foam and your bio-rings are then colonized by the beneficial (Nitrifying) bacteria and the more Nitrifying bacteria in an aquarium, the healthier the aquarium, and that Nitrifying bacteria is colonized on everything in your tank. I'm sure Cory mentioned all of that in the video you watched.

A friend of mine decided to buy a bigger tank so he gave me the 10 G he was replacing, I didn't like the filter so I replaced it with a brand new Aqua Tech 10-20 filter like the one I already have. I filled the filter up with water, placed the bio-filter that came with the filter in its' place, pulled the bio-foam out of the old filter, placed it in the new filter, placed the peat pellets from the old filter into their place in the new filter, cut a new piece of bio-foam for the old filter, as well as new peat pellets for the old filter.

By placing the filter foam from the old filter into the new filter means that the new filter is already cycled. The old bio-foam kickstarts the Nitrifying of the new filter's bio-filter.

Yep, you're good so far.

Pearling is when a thin line of bubbles goes from a leaf of one or more of your plants to the surface of the water, it's really cool to see, but it doesn't happen every day and it doesn't happen very often. My Fisheries Biologist friend said that it means your tank is in sync, the right bio-load for your plants, the right water parameters, the right lighting, but that it doesn't happen very often. It's not something that you can make happen, it just happens, but if you see it, marvel in it, be fascinated by it, be one with your tank.

Is Buddy hanging out in an area of your tank where there is very little water movement? The rivers in SE Asia where these fish, Gourami's, and Paradise fish come from are very slow moving, almost to the point of being stagnant, which is why they're able to breathe atmospheric air, but the slow moving water also ensures that their bubble nests aren't going to float away from them.

Should you ever decide to breed Buddy, let me know and I'll let you know what you'll need, and what to do.

Sincerely

gator

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Gator,

Thank you for the reply … I hope, one day, I will be able to see Pearling.  Okay, so the Alum bath is for new plants … anything else?

 I turned the flow of water, from both filters, to almost nothing.  I am ordering an intake sponge, from Cory, for the HOB and I put  an extra sponge in the output area to slow the flow.  It’s seems to be working. My order for the lighting and the peat pellets should be delivered in the couple of days.

 In the meantime, I did a little water change, nothing came up from the gravel.  I put in a few silk plants, to make Buddy feel secure, again, hopefully, and until I can get my live plants ordered and delivered.

Everyone has been so helpful and I appreciate all the advice.

Breeding?  Feeding live?  Whew … oh yeah! 😉.  Future projects … loving it!

 I have a bunch of awesome teachers to help me get there 😉

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/5/2021 at 8:49 PM, KentFishFanUK said:

Just thought, have you tried a 'betta hammock'? I've seen lots of pics of Bettas sleeping in them, very sweet!

I just ordered one last night.  If it helps, Buddy will be getting a few.  It’s a cute idea for the betta world.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/5/2021 at 5:57 PM, Gator said:

Hi, Pattie;

The only Alum that can be found anywhere around here is McCormick, so that's what I use.

I marked the bucket "Alum Bath" and keep it stored with other buckets, it's marked so I'll never confuse it with a bucket of bird seed, or anything else I have stored in buckets. I feed a lot of wild animals around here, but everybody enjoys seeing them.

If I choose to buy another plant, and there are three I'm looking for, I'll take the lid off of the Alum bath, stir the water, ease the plants into the bucket and let them sit for three hours. After three hours, I'll remove the plants, rinse them off under running water in a sink before placing them in my tank. I accidently left an Amazon sword in the Alum bath for 24 hours once, the Amazon sword suffered no ill effects and after I planted it into my 29 G tank, it sent out a runner that had 6 daughters on it.

Some people like having snails in their tanks, I don't, hence the Alum bath. Snails that hitchhike on our plants do eat algae, but they also breed very quickly and introduce parasites into our tanks, even the Nerite and Assassin snails introduce parasites. No snails, no parasites, no problem.

When your LFS gets a shipment of Comet Goldfish in, they usually come with tadpoles in the shipment. Tadpoles only eat algae to grow and the tadpoles with these shipments are the tadpoles of Leopard frogs which are native to the US so releasing them into the wild after they grow legs would not create an environmental hazard, but finding a nearby swamp or marsh to release them into can be a problem. Tadpoles and frogs can also introduce parasites into an aquarium.

Frogs, because they're able to breathe through their skin makes them a great indicator species of a problem with the environment, either in the air or in the water.

Oto's also eat algae so I went with them.

No, you're not replacing the activated carbon with peat pellets, you're replacing the activated carbon with bio-rings, and that's a good thing. Maybe I should explain.

OK, I have two 10 G tanks set up. The first of the two I set up, I bought an Aqua Tech 10-20 filter at Wally World and not sure if I made the right decision, I asked a Fisheries Biologist friend (I'll tell you more about him in a few) of mine about it, he said that, "It's better to have too much filtration than not enough," that was 15 years ago and I'm still using that same filter on the same tank.

Like you, I watched a Cory video about supercharging my filter using filter foam made by Fluval. I bought the large block of filter foam and using a very sharp knife, I cut a piece to fit behind the filter's own bio-filter, and I put a pre-filter on the filter's siphon strainer. the mesh bag containing the peat pellets fits between the siphon tube and the filter foam I added. My water flows through the pre-filter, up the siphon tube, through the peat pellets, through the filter foam, through the filter's own bio-filter, and back into the tank. 

My filter foam and your bio-rings are then colonized by the beneficial (Nitrifying) bacteria and the more Nitrifying bacteria in an aquarium, the healthier the aquarium, and that Nitrifying bacteria is colonized on everything in your tank. I'm sure Cory mentioned all of that in the video you watched.

A friend of mine decided to buy a bigger tank so he gave me the 10 G he was replacing, I didn't like the filter so I replaced it with a brand new Aqua Tech 10-20 filter like the one I already have. I filled the filter up with water, placed the bio-filter that came with the filter in its' place, pulled the bio-foam out of the old filter, placed it in the new filter, placed the peat pellets from the old filter into their place in the new filter, cut a new piece of bio-foam for the old filter, as well as new peat pellets for the old filter.

By placing the filter foam from the old filter into the new filter means that the new filter is already cycled. The old bio-foam kickstarts the Nitrifying of the new filter's bio-filter.

Yep, you're good so far.

Pearling is when a thin line of bubbles goes from a leaf of one or more of your plants to the surface of the water, it's really cool to see, but it doesn't happen every day and it doesn't happen very often. My Fisheries Biologist friend said that it means your tank is in sync, the right bio-load for your plants, the right water parameters, the right lighting, but that it doesn't happen very often. It's not something that you can make happen, it just happens, but if you see it, marvel in it, be fascinated by it, be one with your tank.

Is Buddy hanging out in an area of your tank where there is very little water movement? The rivers in SE Asia where these fish, Gourami's, and Paradise fish come from are very slow moving, almost to the point of being stagnant, which is why they're able to breathe atmospheric air, but the slow moving water also ensures that their bubble nests aren't going to float away from them.

Should you ever decide to breed Buddy, let me know and I'll let you know what you'll need, and what to do.

Sincerely

gator

 

I wanted to give an update about my tank and Buddy.  I, also, want to thank everyone for your suggestions and help.  
THE TANK HAS CLEAR, BEAUTIFUL WATER!!😊. Buddy is swimming better.  He hangs out with the HOB most of the time.  He is swimming more, although, as a betta, he keeps to the top.  He is eating very well.


I made some positive changes, thanks to all of you, to the tank … Temp - 82  

Slowed the water flow to almost nothing. 


Added peat gravel to the HOB - Ph - 6.2

Lighting with a timer and dimmer.  It has blue/red/white and four settings.  It’s pretty cool 😊

I also added API Stress ZYME+ within two days … clear water 😀

l have more to do with getting plants and getting setup with proper medicines and miscellaneous supplies, before getting Buddy some roommates.  I am sure that he is bored.  I don’t want to be unprepared, as I was when I lost my little tetras.

Again … I can’t thank everyone enough.

 I know that I will have more questions in the next stage when I get plants.

 I wish everyone the best 😊

  • Like 1
  • Love 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pattie;

If you choose to get more Tetra's, they're going to love the higher temp, the lower pH, lower lighting, and the peat pellets just as Buddy is loving them 😊.

I forgot to mention this before, Alum is found in the spice aisle in grocery stores as it is a pickling spice, and this is the time of year for home canning.

Sincerely

Gator

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/10/2021 at 6:43 PM, Gator said:

Pattie;

If you choose to get more Tetra's, they're going to love the higher temp, the lower pH, lower lighting, and the peat pellets just as Buddy is loving them 😊.

I forgot to mention this before, Alum is found in the spice aisle in grocery stores as it is a pickling spice, and this is the time of year for home canning.

Sincerely

Gator

 

Gator -

Thanks for sharing the tip on Alum.  Since your recommendation, I have been doing some reading and watching videos to get an understanding about Alum.  (I am not much of a canner)🤷‍♀️ However, Alum is the best way to keep plants clean without stress or killing them. There are a lot of variations and opinions about taking care of plants.  Whew 😅     Plants will be ordered and delivered in a few weeks.  I am really looking forward to a plant garden in the aquarium.  It’s basically, the same concept of the garden on my patio … right? 😂

Thank you …

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pattie;

I'm glad to help you with the Alum to prevent snails in your tank.

I've never canned anything in my life, but I remember my Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, and Aunts doing it every year because that's the way they grew up on farms. When they were growing up, that's how hey made garden vegetables last through to the following fall, and then they'd do it all over again.

They also milked their own cows, made their own butter and cheese, even in my lifetime. They butchered their own hogs for the various meats we get from hogs, and made their own sausage from the meat scraps. These are ways that they triumphed over the food rationing of WWI, the Great Depression, and the food rationing of WWII.

They also saved seeds from year to year because packaged seeds were hard to find, but saving seeds is actually better because if you saved the seeds from a ripe tomato you grew this year, next year that seed will have a memory (?) of your local climate and will produce more, faster.

In a way i guess an aquarium garden can be like a flower garden in a flower bed. You'd want the taller plants in the back, mid-growth plants in front of them, the shorter plants in front of those, and the shortest plants in the front, you wouldn't want any plant blocking light to any other plant. Also, pay attention to leaf shape and color, you want a nice contrast between plants, but leave room for your fish, they need swimming room, and expect some species of fish to hide while the lights are on.  

The more plants you have, the more likely you're going to need CO2, and the only supplement I use is Flourish Iron, the fish provide the rest.

Just don't expect your aquarium plants to provide you with tomatoes or peppers, but you may see flowers from time to time, and it's really cool to see one or more of your plants pearling. Pearling means that the sun, the moon, and the planets are all in their proper alignment for your plants.

Sincerely

Gator

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome from a fellow betta owner in Chicago!

My guy lives in a 15-gallon tall tank, and although he occupies the entire space at different times during the day, he spends most of his time at the top, hanging around in the plants. Some are tall and overgrown, and some are floaters. This might be what Buddy is missing; I noticed that your plants are all around the same height, and none of them reaches the top. Some bettas also enjoy a floating log toy, but if you use one, remove it when you clean the tank to avoid injuring your fish. (I speak from an unfortunate clumsy experience.) 

Regarding silk plants, they are pretty and fun, but over time, they shed threads like crazy, and I eventually got sick and tired of having that stuff all over the place, so I switched to live plants only. As other members have noted, you'll just have to try out different plants until you find things that are happy in your particular tank's environment. Fortunately, this is not at all difficult, and once your plants have established themselves, you'll be surprised at how fast some of them grow.

If you don't have a LFS that sells live food, frozen food is a great alternative, and even the chain stores sell it. Just shave off a little on a saucer with a paring knife, and you've got a seafood sno-cone for your finny friend. Yum! If you're worried about leftovers, you can get some shrimp and/or snails. I recommend nerites because they can't reproduce in fresh water, so you won't have an overpopulation problem, and they're good algae eaters. I have Amano shrimp too, and they make peaceful and entertaining neighbors. 

One last piece of advice: I've seen a lot of newbies crash their tanks over and over again, obsessing about water parameters and changing water several times a day. The best advice I've received, and the best that I can give you based on my own observations and experience, is to be patient. When I started out as a teenager (in the 80s), I made the mistake of keeping my tank TOO clean, and I lost a lot of fish that way. Nature knows how to take care of itself, and sometimes the best thing you can do, in your aquarium and in life, is nothing at all. Take care, good luck, and all my best to Buddy! 🐟

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Theresa,

Thank you for your suggestions and sharing your experiences.  Buddy seems to be doing better.  I have replaced some silk plants that he explored, before I started changing things around.    I am sure that he is appreciates my efforts.😁. In a few weeks, I will start to switch over to live plants.  It’s going to be awesome. 

You have a 15 gallon?  May I ask, what roommates are with your betta?  I want to make a nice community tank but, I don’t want to over stock.   
I was thinking:  Buddy/4 Black Neon/4 Harlequin Rasbora/3 or 4 Panda Cory Doras … thoughts?  Too much?

I have a few ideas that I want to do.  It’s that money thing that always gets in the way. 😏

Thanks again 🙏

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/10/2021 at 11:10 PM, Gator said:

Pattie;

I'm glad to help you with the Alum to prevent snails in your tank.

I've never canned anything in my life, but I remember my Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, and Aunts doing it every year because that's the way they grew up on farms. When they were growing up, that's how hey made garden vegetables last through to the following fall, and then they'd do it all over again.

They also milked their own cows, made their own butter and cheese, even in my lifetime. They butchered their own hogs for the various meats we get from hogs, and made their own sausage from the meat scraps. These are ways that they triumphed over the food rationing of WWI, the Great Depression, and the food rationing of WWII.

They also saved seeds from year to year because packaged seeds were hard to find, but saving seeds is actually better because if you saved the seeds from a ripe tomato you grew this year, next year that seed will have a memory (?) of your local climate and will produce more, faster.

In a way i guess an aquarium garden can be like a flower garden in a flower bed. You'd want the taller plants in the back, mid-growth plants in front of them, the shorter plants in front of those, and the shortest plants in the front, you wouldn't want any plant blocking light to any other plant. Also, pay attention to leaf shape and color, you want a nice contrast between plants, but leave room for your fish, they need swimming room, and expect some species of fish to hide while the lights are on.  

The more plants you have, the more likely you're going to need CO2, and the only supplement I use is Flourish Iron, the fish provide the rest.

Just don't expect your aquarium plants to provide you with tomatoes or peppers, but you may see flowers from time to time, and it's really cool to see one or more of your plants pearling. Pearling means that the sun, the moon, and the planets are all in their proper alignment for your plants.

Sincerely

Gator

Hi Gator,

Yes!  No snails 🐌.   My grandmother was the canner in the family.  I guess that I picked up some of her wisdom, years ago.  It is amazing how our grandparents survived the Depression, WWI and WWII  My grandmother told me stories that made me appreciate everything that I had, as a kid.  She grew up in Ohio on a farm.  The family moved and settled in California bringing their farming knowledge with them.  I picked up, keeping plants alive in the ground and in pots.  So, I am not afraid of plants.  I want to get the best ones for the tank.  There is a lot to learn.  I am enjoying everything about this hobby.

May I ask, what kind of tank/tanks do you have?  Okay, what is the use for CO2?  I am going with the easy plants that will require Root Tabs and Cory’s All-in-One liquid fertilizer, for now.  Thoughts?

Thank you,

Pattie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, Pattie;

You don't want snails, I don't blame you.

My Grandparents on my Father's side came here from Grayson County, Virginia in 1922, the part of Grayson County they grew up in is still very rural even today, and Grayson County, Virginia is the birthplace of a style of music we now call Bluegrass. These Grandparents are the ones who canned, froze, or preserved everything they grew until my Grandfather passed in 1987.

My Grandfather on my Mother's side was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1906, came to the US in 1912 after the Titanic sinking. My Grandmother was born in Danville, Virginia in 1916 and moved here six months later, to the best of my knowledge, she never canned anything in her life, but when she passed in 2001, she had a net worth of 40 M in cash, stocks, bonds, rare old coins, gold, and a lot of land.

I have four tanks set up, three of which are set up as blackwater tanks. My main tank is 29 G with a Marineland C-220 canister filter, one rather large Amazon sword, eight Crypts, eight tall Sagetteria, two Hygrophila polysperma, one Hygrophila difformis, eight Bacopa, six Rotala, one Anubias nana, and one Java fern.

Fish in this tank are what I originally thought was three Cories, but now I have five so two were hatched in this tank, the Cories laid eggs a couple of months ago and I guess two survived predation.. I have six Oto's, four Yoyo loaches, and two Bavarian rams. The heater in this tank was accidently set at 84.9 and it wasn't until recently that I came across an article by the MNDNR that said that 85 degrees is the ideal temp for the health of our fish. 

The other two are 10 G tanks, one of which has 18 Oto's and two Cories, the other just has three Cories in it.

I've used CO2 in my main tank, but I wasn't happy with the results so I gave it up. CO2 injection is best for large (55 G & ^ ) where you have a lot of plants with very few fish.

I don't use Root tabs, read the ingredients, you'll see that they contain Phosphates which is the main cause of algae. I use Flourish iron only, it's good stuff, fish waste provides the rest of the nutrients my plants need. The Amazon sword in my main tank was pearling for three days in a row recently, WOW!

Sincerely

Gator 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...