Rookie issues

[Mark C.]

Here are the results from my water tests today: I didn’t do PH or KH today. 
 
Ammonia: maybe a slight hint

Trites: they are gone yay

Trates: very low amount, but some. 
 

Given the amount of Trites I have had for the past few days I think this is positive. 

[nabokovfan87]

Awesome!  So now you have the second stage of bacteria in there.  I would test Ammonia towards the end of the day and see how things are going.  When you tested ammonia, how close was this to your feeding for the day?

[Mark C.]

On 5/29/2022 at 7:41 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Awesome!  So now you have the second stage of bacteria in there.  I would test Ammonia towards the end of the day and see how things are going.  When you tested ammonia, how close was this to your feeding for the day?

It was shortly after I fed the bloodworms today. 

[nabokovfan87]

Cool.  I generally test before I do anything, but it's a valid test either way.  If I ever see ammonia, I'll test every 12 hours or so. 

Hopefully next time it's the same / reduced.

[Mark C.]

I just tested Ammonia again and it’s zero. I need to slow down on the testing. These bottles are starting to get low. Especially the Trates. Where can you get just the individual bottles? From API?

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/29/2022 at 6:59 PM, Mark C. said:

I just tested Ammonia again and it’s zero. I need to slow down on the testing. These bottles are starting to get low. Especially the Trates. Where can you get just the individual bottles? From API?

Honestly, I'd just get some strips from the ACO!

Up to you.  I do find it easier to read the Tetra ones, but the ACO ones are a steal with how many you get and the ability to test so often.

As far as the fluid itself, you can get the bottles by themselves in individual tests to refill your setup.
https://www.amazon.com/API-130-Test-Freshwater-Saltwater-Aquarium/dp/B0002566TC/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3URZDXC1G8DBS&keywords=api+ammonia+test&qid=1653884503&sprefix=api+ammonia+t%2Caps%2C697&sr=8-2


If you're seeing 0, you're good to slow down.  Especially 0 ammonia is a big one.

[Brian]

I agree I would and do use Aquarium Co Op test.  I find them to be accurate as any other test.  So much of that depends on storage over a longer time period…..  and with the container they come in that shouldn’t be a problem…..   

Good Luck 

[Mark C.]

Well I found my Clown Pleco dead today. I saw him yesterday acting kind of funny. I think he was just sick from the start. He is the one that got ick as soon as I put him in the tank. Also, that male guppy isn’t doing very good again. 
 

Water parameters are still good. Zero Ammonia, Zero Trites and some Trates. My PH has been stable around 7.2 or so since I put the coral in there. 
 

Just strange that he died. The other fish seem to be thriving. The female guppy is about to burst with fry. Maybe that Trite strike a couple of days ago had an effect on the Pleco, who knows!!

And Aquarium Coop has great stuff, I just find it hard to pay the $7.99 each time. I have to get a good bit of stuff to make it worth wild but I rarely get to the level where there is free shipping. 
 

So the test strips are good? I saw Irene cut them in half, is there still enough to read if you do that?

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/1/2022 at 6:01 PM, Mark C. said:

So the test strips are good? I saw Irene cut them in half, is there still enough to read if you do that?

Yes there is.  I personally don't cut them but it's totally possible. Just make sure you have very good scissors.
 

On 6/1/2022 at 6:01 PM, Mark C. said:

And Aquarium Coop has great stuff, I just find it hard to pay the $7.99 each time. I have to get a good bit of stuff to make it worth wild but I rarely get to the level where there is free shipping. 

I'm the same way, I totally understand

On 6/1/2022 at 6:01 PM, Mark C. said:

Just strange that he died. The other fish seem to be thriving. The female guppy is about to burst with fry. Maybe that Trite strike a couple of days ago had an effect on the Pleco, who knows!!

Could've just been a time thing.  There is wood in the tank?  All I can think is the fish was struggling and it just took time.  Smaller plecos can be really torn up by water issues.

Thankfully, once they settle, they are pretty hearty.

[Mark C.]

@nabokovfan87well a bunch has changed in a few days lol. The guppy that I thought was about to have babies ended up dying. Water parameters are great. Zero ammonia and Trites and about 20 ppm Trates. 
We have two mystery snails and our angel fish has bit the little feelers off of both of them. I guess she thought they were bloodworms because when I put some of those in there she goes nuts. 
Looking for something else to help with algae buildup. You had any experience with Otocinclus? Thinking about getting a couple for the 29 gallon but I hear they are very sensitive. Or should I just get a bristlenose?

[Brian]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:01 PM, Mark C. said:

And Aquarium Coop has great stuff, I just find it hard to pay the $7.99 each time. I have to get a good bit of stuff to make it worth wild but I rarely get to the level where there is free shipping. 

Is it possible for you to wait and order maybe just once or twice a year and hit the free shipping amount?  Or, maybe…. You get together with a couple buddies or members of a local fish club and combine orders?   
just a thought..

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/8/2022 at 5:06 PM, Mark C. said:

Looking for something else to help with algae buildup. You had any experience with Otocinclus? Thinking about getting a couple for the 29 gallon but I hear they are very sensitive. Or should I just get a bristlenose?

Depends on which type of algae you're talking about

On the glass, I've used everything. In my water I have had success with bulldog plecos over bristlenose.  Otos I have now. I prefer amano/otos.

 

[nabokovfan87]

Honestly, there's a use case for having all 3. Just depends on the tank

 

[Mark C.]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:22 PM, Brian said:

Is it possible for you to wait and order maybe just once or twice a year and hit the free shipping amount?  Or, maybe…. You get together with a couple buddies or members of a local fish club and combine orders?   
just a thought..

I wish we had a local fish club or buddies that are into fish. We are a pretty big city but there isn’t a lot of fish scene around here. No other fish stores except Petco, PetsMart and Pet Supermarket. 
But yes, I will just have to try and hold off on some things and then when I do place an order just throw in a few things I may want to have extra on hand of. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/8/2022 at 6:04 PM, Mark C. said:

I wish we had a local fish club or buddies that are into fish. We are a pretty big city but there isn’t a lot of fish scene around here. No other fish stores except Petco, PetsMart and Pet Supermarket. 
But yes, I will just have to try and hold off on some things and then when I do place an order just throw in a few things I may want to have extra on hand of. 

yeah, I'm right there with you. I don't have anything. I had to order from aquahuna just to get amanos.  I'll probably have to do so again as well so I have enough for both tanks.  Otos, same thing.

It's a weird issue to have especially given I am in a pretty big / populated state.

[Mark C.]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Depends on which type of algae you're talking about

On the glass, I've used everything. In my water I have had success with bulldog plecos over bristlenose.  Otos I have now. I prefer amano/otos.

 

All the Amanos I have seen around here are super tiny and I think my Angel would eat them. They are too expensive for that to happen. I picked up a Hillstream Loach, mainly because they are cool, but they are supposed to do great with the surfaces. But I want something to help with the other surfaces and driftwood and stuff. Not sure how long the mystery snails will live after the angel bit off their long feelers. We have had some ghost shrimp in there but they didn’t seem to do a great job. Maybe I didn’t have enough of them? They are just so cheap, so that’s appealing. 

On 6/8/2022 at 9:06 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

yeah, I'm right there with you. I don't have anything. I had to order from aquahuna just to get amanos.  I'll probably have to do so again as well so I have enough for both tanks.  Otos, same thing.

It's a weird issue to have especially given I am in a pretty big / populated state.

Yeah I looked into the online places but dang, $30 for shipping? I totally understand the costs but geez. 
But like I told my wife, we may have to go that route to get what we want or need. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/8/2022 at 6:08 PM, Mark C. said:

All the Amanos I have seen around here are super tiny and I think my Angel would eat them.

Agreed.

Otos / Rubbernose Pleco (bulldog) pleco makes sense for that. 

Otos will keep the plants clear and rocks and stuff. The bulldog will be very peaceful (weird name) but it's mouth is specifically designed to polish algae off the glass.

In my experience ghost shrimp won't do much for algae.

The hillstream / borneo loaches they liked to hang out on glass as well as on pleco caves and stuff and just sort of relax in the flow. If you have a lot of flat river rocks and stuff, that's where hillstream loaches do well.

Rubbernose / rubberlip / bulldog pleco.  There's two varieties I've seen. Spotted and not spotted. You should be able to find one at petco.

This shows their slightly different sucker shape. so they are great at glass specifically.

On 6/8/2022 at 6:08 PM, Mark C. said:

Yeah I looked into the online places but dang, $30 for shipping? I totally understand the costs but geez. 

Keep in mind the co-op has the coupon / promo code.

My biggest thing, was trying to get something that had a better chance of survival than something from petco/petsmart.

[Mark C.]

@nabokovfan87yeah I saw a Rubberlip at Petco today actually. Are they good for other than just the glass? I just don’t want to over load it and then have nothing to eat and then I’m having to throw algae wafers in there everyday. If I have that Hillstream Loach and I pick up a Rubbernose, could I still get some Otos? 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/8/2022 at 6:24 PM, Mark C. said:

yeah I saw a Rubberlip at Petco today actually. Are they good for other than just the glass? I just don’t want to over load it and then have nothing to eat and then I’m having to throw algae wafers in there everyday. If I have that Hillstream Loach and I pick up a Rubbernose, could I still get some Otos? 

Mine hid all day, at night they cleaned the glass. Otos I pretty much always have in my tank.  The Rubberlip they'd go on wood and rocks and caves and stuff too.  Very similar to the hillstream but they cover big areas a lot easier.

Rubberlip prefer cooler tanks, just a think to note. high oxygenation, etc.

72-74 is where I kept mine.

[Torrey]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:04 PM, Mark C. said:

I wish we had a local fish club or buddies that are into fish. We are a pretty big city but there isn’t a lot of fish scene around here. No other fish stores except Petco, PetsMart and Pet Supermarket. 
But yes, I will just have to try and hold off on some things and then when I do place an order just throw in a few things I may want to have extra on hand of. 

It used to be $59 in the order got free shipping. The post office did multiple fee hikes, and the Co-op didn't budge until this year when the hike was pretty significant. I want to say it was a $15 increase/box, just this year on top of 3 price hikes over the past 2 years.

Honestly, I prefer an increase in the minimum order size to the flat $40/box shipping fees many other places have.

Since I used to order every couple of months by adding my order to a FB friend nearby/adding to my sister's order in another state and then she combined with other items to send to me (before I got a membership), it's not a huge deal to limit myself to ordering once each quarter so I get the free shipping. It just requires a little more planning and a bit less instant gratification on my part.

It also means I sometimes get awesome sales, because I am setting aside the money each month for a future order. If a sale happens after the first month but before it's time for my quarterly order, I luck out on the sale. If the sale happens 2 to 5 weeks after I made an order, I miss out. Over all it balances, though.

[Mark C.]

On 6/8/2022 at 9:26 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Mine hid all day, at night they cleaned the glass. Otos I pretty much always have in my tank.  The Rubberlip they'd go on wood and rocks and caves and stuff too.  Very similar to the hillstream but they cover big areas a lot easier.

Rubberlip prefer cooler tanks, just a think to note. high oxygenation, etc.

72-74 is where I kept mine.

Hmmm. I keep my tank around 78. Not sure if I should drop it down that low for my Angel?

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/8/2022 at 6:37 PM, Mark C. said:

Hmmm. I keep my tank around 78. Not sure if I should drop it down that low for my Angel?

The range says you should be fine. But I think it makes sense to go BN instead of RL if that's the case.

[Mark C.]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:38 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

The range says you should be fine. But I think it makes sense to go BN instead of RL if that's the case.

Here’s the issue with a BN. I would want a male with the “bristles” on his nose instead of a female without them. However, I’d be concerned that our angelfish might bit them off like she did the feelers of the mystery snails. 

[nabokovfan87]

Agreed.  I understand it.  The angelfish we had was named Logan in honor of Wolverine. So yeah....

The BN I had didn't have anything but the only real thing I can say, I'd you have wood, hides, the BN are generally nocturnal.

Most plecos. Most catfish.

Edited June 9, 2022 by nabokovfan87
autocorrect

[Mark C.]

@nabokovfan87so I found my Hillstream Loach dead today. We have had him right at two weeks. No idea about that one. Took it back to Petco and swapped it for a Rubberlip Pleco, I like the name Bulldog Pleco better lol. 
Just hoping he works out for us.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Mark C.