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It's not that I'm seeing "opposite things", I've never kept angelfish so I haven't really observed their behavior. But from everything I've read, the older they get the more territorial (anti-social) they become. Maybe that's false, like so much Internet drivel. But if true, it's the opposite of...

This is the number one problem. The number two problem is inadequate filtration. Removing ammonia and nitrite is the easy part. Keeping heterotrophic bacteria in check is more challenging. Sufficient biofiltration will do the trick, but I'm fairly certain the majority of fish keepers do not have...

The juveniles I have are now more than 1" long (SL) and they are still actively feeding on micro fauna in the water column. They are absolutely voracious. I'm afraid my cardinal tetras are now going to lose one of their favorite sources of food, at least until the angels get a bit larger.

Not just angels. I had a discus that would pick a fight with a female discus every hour of every day over a period of 3 months. I finally had to remove it.

I was never really interested in angelfish. Mainly because I didn't care for their natural coloration, and compared to discus even the color morphs are boring. Also, they don't have the complex interrelationships that discus have, which I why I find discus so interesting. Still, I do kinda like...

I stand by what I said. Some of the comments made here are simplistic and misleading. The wording is ambiguous at best. For example, exactly what "toxins" is the poster referring to? It's as if he's waving a magic wand to support his (false) statement in addition to ignoring simple logic...

Again, misleading. This depends on the quality of the water source. The part about "nutrients" is simply wrong. There should be no nutrients in your water supply, unless you are referring to calcium which fish require for skeletal development. As for "toxins" whatever toxins you are referring...

You are probably right about 20% not being enough, but your "math" is simplistic and misleading. The size and frequency of water changes is primarily dependent on bioload. The quality of the water source also may be a factor. For a very lightly stocked tank, 20% may be enough. On the other hand...

Guppies have a very short life span. It's possible they were nearing the end when you purchased them.

If it's chlorine, there's no need to use water conditioner if you're using the bucket method for water changes. Simply pouring the water into the bucket with enough force will cause all the chlorine to evaporate. I did this for many years with a 55 gallon tank and never had a problem. Save...

Everyone has their own value system. The only Eheim I could find (Eheim Pro 4 + 600) that came anywhere near the specs of a Sunsun HW-704A e.g. cost 4X as much. The maximum rate of flow for the Eheim was 1250 liters/hour with a maximum lift height of 1.8 meters. Comparable numbers for the Sunsun...

I should mention that the built-in siphoning mechanism on the Sunsuns doesn't work unless the canister is full of water. When cleaning, you need to fill the canister completely before attempting to siphon water through the intake hose. Also, don't bother with models that have built-in UV. The...

I believe that's true. At least, I've read that elsewhere. I've never owned a Pond Solutions canister so I can't absolutely verify that.

I just purchased 7 juvenile angelfish and have been impressed with their appetite. I feed them 3-4 times a day and they practically leap out of the aquarium when I start to drop some food in. I feed them 3 different brands of granulated food and freeze dried blood worms and they eat all of them...

The best canister filters for the money are Sunsun. I've owned the 702A, 703A and 704A models. Aside from costing less than half the other popular brands, they hold more filter media. Except for the largest model, they all run silent. Also, they are MUCH easier to clean than Fluvals. There's a...

Can you please point to any scientific studies that show this? There's only one study that I came across and it only included a few species of fish. One of those species was Betta splendens. Ironically, that study found that Betta splendens fry had a higher survival rate in hard water. As I...

I really don't understand why people get so overwrought about water hardness. Unless you have really hard water (over 400 ppm) the only time it's an issue is with breeding. I have a community tank with discus, wild caught cardinal tetras, corydoras, and 3 other species of dwarf catfish. I've had...

Sadly, that's the truth. When I was young, I was an optimist. I believed people were rational creatures, but they are not. I thought most problems were due to ignorance, which was due to a lack of access to education and acquired knowledge. In the early years of the Internet I was convinced it...

The title of your post is "How may fish?". If you already knew the answer, why pose the question? As I said, your fish may survive with your stocking levels, but you've never witnessed their natural behavior. You haven't left any room for that. I realize my opinion won't be seriously...

First of all, if you're adding plants your tank will no longer be 200 liters. In truth, even if it was bare bottom it would hold a maximum of 190 liters since you can't fill a tank all the way to the top. I assume you already have substrate which will further reduce the volume. Driftwood, rocks...

A pH of 8.0 is perfectly fine. An RO system is not only unnecessary, it's wasteful. It's best to just ignore all the recommendations you read about pH. It's simply not important unless you're breeding.

What Aqua67 said, though I personally believe a 40 gallon long would be a much better option. It's less about volume than actual swimming space, and a 40 gallon long provides that.

Snails are for life. Once you have them you'll never get rid of them (without sterilizing your tank). The best you can do is control them by reducing the organic matter they feed on. This means not only reduced feedings, but removing any dead/dying plant matter and vacuuming the substrate...

Depending on the species (there are several), jewel cichlids can be extremely aggressive. Your tank is perfect for a pair of them and nothing else.

Algae can thrive under any lighting conditions. I'm guessing your tank is relatively new. The first thing to note is that algae can never be entirely eliminated. Algae tends to take over ecosystems that are out of balance. The key is creating a healthy microbiome. Unfortunately, our...

It's been a lesson learned over time simply through observation. Every time I see a new species/variant become available I'm tempted. Then I think about how it would affect my existing community and the desire fades.

^^^^ Absolutely this. The "minimum" tank size or gallons/fish rules that are routinely posted online are abhorrent. IMO tanks smaller than a 40 gallon long are simply unacceptable for most fish species, and fish larger than 6" shouldn't be kept at all unless you're operating something on the...

If you read carefully, I didn't say ALL fish, I said most. That's just a fact, not an opinion. You're absolutely correct in that you have to provide places of refuge for smaller fish, like neons or tetras. That doesn't mean it has to be plants. I've attached one link to a video of smaller fish...

Thanks for the plug. I agree. Corys are a wonderful little fish. I'm also very fond of the cardinal tetras, one of my favorite tetras. Another really nice species that seems to be overlooked is the serpae tetra. If I didn't have the cardinals, I'd have serpaes. For some reason they've gotten a...

Thanks for plug. In my opinion, planted tanks are more for the keeper than the fish. Most people find plants very attractive. Most fish couldn't care less. In the aquatic world, plants are the exception not the rule.

It's weird. It's like you're not really paying any attention to what I've said. I tried plants for nearly 2 years and they were colonized by brown algae (in one case, black algae) as fast as they put out new leaves. That included 2 species of sword, 3 species of anubias, and vallisneria. Both...

I can grow plants OK. The problem, as I stated previously, is that they've all been algae magnets. The problem may be that my lighting simply isn't intense enough for truly healthy plants. I spent a year and half trying out different plants and experienced the same problem with all of them. I...

I understand your suggestion with respect to lighting. Howver, as I explained, plants are out of the equation as far as I'm concerned. They're simply too much trouble. Also, for whatever reason, the camera picks up on the reflected light. There is no "glare" detected by my eyes, nor as far as I...

These fish have no requirement for plants whatsoever. The species are discus, cardinal tetras, emerald corydoras, red lizard catfish, and two hypancistrus species: bristlenose and white spotted.

Plants are out of the equation. Although I find them attractive, IME they've been nothing but algae magnets. Also, it's worth pointing out to those who think the fish will benefit that most Amazonian habits are mostly plant free. My Corydoras splendens have no problem with warmer water...

Just thought I'd post this video. I apologize for the quality. The video is overexposed and the colors are washed out. I've tried numerous settings, but the end result is always the same. The setting is low light but the light colored gravel reflects the LED lighting and I haven't figured out a...

I installed the first UGF just over 4 weeks ago. I installed the second UGF 2 weeks ago, just over 2 weeks after the first one. Initially I covered both with a bit more than 1" of 3-5mm gravel. One week after the last filter install I added a bit more gravel to bring it up closer to 1 1/2"...

It was a tedious process to be sure. Regarding your comment about plants and sand, there is another fellow on this forum who apparently has an aquarium consisting of one half sand and one half gravel. He claims that all of his plants are noticeably larger and healthier in appearance than the...

I used a handheld angle grinder to cut the slots. I'm willing to update if there's any interest. UGFs won't work with sand. You need to cover the filter plates with some type of mesh fine enough to keep the sand out and this not only reduces flow considerably, but will lead to clogging. As I...

If your fish are lying on their side, they're hardly in a condition to eat. Don't worry about feeding them.It's not unusual even for healthy fish to refuse food for several days after being transported. The real concern should be whether or not they were subject to ammonia/nitrite poisoning...