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I think this may be the most misdirection I've ever seen in a post. You ignored the OPs stated water quality parameters and then went on and on about lighting, which absolutely irrelevant given the problem description. It makes one wonder whether the actual purpose of your post was to help the...

You seem to have missed the part about the water flow being equal to (or greater than) two canister filters rated at 2000 liters/hour. The rate of flow is more than enough. Also, I want the power heads to be as high as possible. That way they are less noticeable and I can use the output to...

I would send this information, including photo, to the Jack Wattley folks. There was likely a problem in transport. I suspect ammonia/nitrite poisoning. Do you have any idea how long they were in transit? Was the water volume sufficient for 6 fish? Discus are much hardier than most people...

I’ve always had an appreciation for the elegant simplicity of under gravel filters (UGF). I used under gravel filters on my first two aquariums with great success. I owned both aquariums for two plus years each and never had a sick fish or cloudy water. After breaking them down, yes there was an...

Your arrogance is mind boggling. You spread as much misinformation as you "counter". I've linked some references regarding water hardness and the health of fish. Maybe you can learn something, though I doubt it. Guppies and Bettas Knowledgeable Biologist

Tell that to all the Discus breeders, and every other breeder of tropical fish.

Indisputable facts: 1) Procreation is the number one most reliable indicator of fish well-being; 2) Several reliable sources have reported successful breeding of hillstream loaches WITHOUT high, or even moderate, levels of water exchange. Go ahead and deny these facts. It's what is referred to...

Please provide references.

Please provide references.

You know who's just as dangerous and misleading? Pedantic know-it-alls like you. Most fish are highly adaptable, otherwise they would soon become extinct. While not perfect, Aquarium Co-op is an excellent source of information. Certainly better than most others. Bad mouthing people for reporting...

My aquarium is Amazonian also. Your neons are almost certainly farm raised, meaning it's almost certain they were raised in relatively hard water. It's simply too expensive to farm fish using RO water. I'm keeping wild caught cardinal tetras, and have no issues. I also keep discus, emerald...

RODI leads to more problems than it solves. Unless you intend to breed soft water fish, there's absolutely no need for it. I am not aware of any species of fish that cannot happily reside in water with a pH of 8.0 or less. I am also not aware of any species that cannot happily reside in water...

This is false. Bacteria require oxygen. Sand does not allow water to circulate, so the bacteria can only populate the surface. Gravel allows water to circulate to several centimeters depth depending on how coarse it is. A fine gravel substrate will provide greater usable surface area for...

W.C. Fields, an old favorite who is very quotable.

I came across the attached article and thought it was worth posting here. The subject is misinformation in the hobby, something I've touched upon in previous posts. The author of the attached article goes into much more depth than I did, so I think it's worth repeating.

Given the late stage of the disease, and the fact that no other fish are displaying symptoms, the death of this fish was almost certainly not caused by bacteria. While the recommended treatment is relatively safe, assuming there are no other species in the aquarium that might be sensitive to...

There is definitely something wrong. I don't think it's something that's contagious, so no worries there. Most likely, he is either dying of old age or as the result of some genetic deficiency.

I don't cast any shade from 5 meters. Seriously, your response is weak not to mention poorly informed and articulated. The point I was making is that animals are much more intelligent than people give them credit for. That we actually know less about animal behavior than everyone assumes. For...

Some people are ignoring the word "gilded" I used to describe our prisons. On another forum I compared the difference among aquariums similar to the difference between being in a prison cell and being under house arrest. That's probable a much better metaphor. In any case, I like your point...

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Fish are very much aware of their surroundings. My discus will watch me from 5 meters away. Gold fish were taught to "drive" a mobilized aquarium to specific locations within a room. When I lived in Seattle, there was an octopus at the local sea aquarium that...

My group of cardinals originally numbered 30. I observed no difference in behavior whatsoever. The larger the group, the larger the space they occupied. It's why I removed more than half of them.

In the wild, Bettas live in an optimal density of 1.7 fish per square meter, or roughly one fish per half square meter. Contrary to someone who stated they move throughout rice paddies, they never leave the small territory they occupy unless they cannot defend it or there is a lack of sufficient...

I don’t think most people give it a thought, but an aquarium is at best a form of gilded cage. Some poorly kept aquariums are more like a Turkish prison, overcrowded and polluted. Overcrowding is the rule, even among better kept aquariums. The old “one gallon per inch of fish” rule is wholly...

Misinformation. That includes this forum. There are some knowledgeable people here, but there is also a lot of pedantry as well as outright bad advice. For example, one "expert" on this forum informed a person with a sick discus that the cause of the problem was the use of a black substrate...

More photos, as requested...

In the beginning I had a major infestation of brown algae. I tried fighting it initially because it was much worse than I had previously experienced with other aquariums but I just gave up. Eventually it disappeared completely on its own, except for the plants. I tried several varieties of...

Yes, moving an L-shaped tank is something that must be done VERY carefully. I avoided that by building in place. The only time discus see any plants is when then move into the flood plains, and those plants are submerged terrestrial plants, not aquatic plants. Also, cardinal tetras can be found...

This was my first (and last) aquarium build. The only reason I built it myself is because I couldn't find anyone else who would. I live in a rural location in a third world country, so even getting something as basic as properly cut glass was difficult. I built both the aquarium and the stand...

Water hardness is almost never an issue, unless it's extremely soft, despite what many will say. If you have any ammonia AT ALL, your filtration still isn't right -- though I don't think that's your problem. It's more likely you've introduced a disease since you've been adding fish. Did you...

Seriously? Did you not understand "I removed and killed the bully. The remainder have been peaceful ever since." You may not like the term bully, but it describes the observed behavior perfectly. From Miriam Webster, bully: "one who is habitually...threatening to others who are weaker...

I agree with most of what you've said, but disagree about the tank size. Barbs are very active and require a lot of swimming room. A 3 foot tank won't provide enough. Although it's absolutely possible to keep a large number of fish in relatively cramped quarters, given adequate filtration and...

As others have stated, catfish don't use wood as a food source. They graze on its surface to consume the biofilm (aufwuchs). My Bristlenose apparently loves the black algae that recently started growing on my driftwood. The driftwood is a very dense hardwood. Subsequently, he deposits large...

You need to read more carefully. I stated quite clearly: "Most aquatic plants prefer ammonium but will absorb nitrate (even nitrite) as necessary." As for the rest of your post, you conveniently leave out how ammonia enters the plant's vascular system in the first place. It does so in the form...