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Yeah see mine live with cories so it's trying to keep a balance where they're all happy, but I think now that its getting marginally warmer here the tank is getting a little hotter unintentionally.

I'll be honest I keep mine a bit higher than that, the tank is at 25°c/77°f. I've never noticed any issues with it at that temperature but then again, don't know exactly how such issues might manifest. I could probably do with turning the heater down a tad.

I probably wouldn't fully trust a test kit that old but given you're doing a fish in cycle it's good to just do the water changes every couple of days regardless while you get yourself a new one. And the sooner you can return the incompatible fish the better (for them and you), it'll also reduce...

Not familiar with these tests as I use liquid kits but it seems you have water on the harder side. Your best bet is looking up which fish go well with hard water and plan your tank around that. I'm not sure how you ended up with your original stocking but if the shop misled you about...

It's the weirdest thing if you ever see them mid-shed, they take their skin off starting at the back and then use the back legs to push it over their head, kinda like taking off a jumper, except then they shove it all in their mouths! They're such weird little guys.... How do they get on with...

Agree with what others have said, you've got some incompatible fish unfortunately, which is how it goes sometimes as fish stores don't tell us they're not compatible! I know your wife likes the betta but either he or the gourami are likely to end up seriously injured or dead unless you separate...

Welcome! I have found this forum incredibly helpful with any and everything fish-related!

Let's hope so!

Haven't updated on this tank for quite a while. I got the green algae well under control by adjusting lighting, everything has actually been really good in this tank until the last couple of weeks. I've started to get an outbreak of the dreaded cyanobacteria (see pictures). My filter isn't...

I'm really sorry but this tank is far too small for any fish to live healthily for any length of time. I'm not sure where you are based but perhaps see if you can get hold of a secondhand tank you can use, then follow the cycling instructions on here. In the meantime keep up with those large...

Where are people randomly getting all this xanax from?! This is the second thread I've seen on this in recent days! Isn't is a prescription drug? Outside of that, yes, extremely unethical to do this on purpose and don't really see the need. There was something in the UK a while back about...

I found this myself, had much harder water than I had thought and have soft water fish. I started doing a mix of RO and tap water to lower the hardness. I did buy some minerals just in case I needed to increase the pH but it doesn't seem to have affected my pH much, if at all. I do about a 75/25...

I can vouch for the API ones but also recently got some NT Labs gH and kH at a much more reasonable price! They both have a good rep so I think it's mainly down to price/preference tbh.

I agree with others, you're better off doing a fishless cycle and adding your entire shoal when you're ready. Fish-in cycling is stressful and if the fish are weak you may lose some/all throughout the process depending on how it goes, I don't think you will find many members of this site who...

What you are describing is a fish in cycle, the link above is for a fishless cycle, which takes more patience but is overall less stressful on the fish. The API test kit is still really helpful for testing everything else and overall more accurate than strips, it's definitely a worthwhile...

I feel you, I dabbled (poorly) in the hobby for the past few years, realised my husbandry left a lot to be desired and started addressing that a year or so ago via the help of this forum. I have lost fish, sometimes almost immediately after adding, other times following random onset of illness...

If you've not done a water change since adding fish to an uncycled tank there's no way your readings could be 0. Test strips are not very reliable, liquid kits are much more reliable, definitely have a read of that link, you need lots of big water changes any time ammonia and nitrite go above a...

How big is your tank out of interest? The fish you sadly lost are all quite big once fully grown so I wonder if overstocking was part of the problem?

I've never done a Blackwater tank myself but just happened to watch this video yesterday where he does just that. Not saying this is the only way to do it of course but thought I would share. He does have plants, they look like pretty low maintenance ones but he didn't mention doing it as a...

I'm sorry to hear this, Byron has been a real help to me when I've dealt with issues, and he has so much knowledge he's probably forgotten more than most people like me will ever know! Sending my condolences, I hope he is comfortable and surrounded by those who care for him at this time.

If you have naturally hard water cories wouldn't be the best choice as they need soft water, when you say you have naturally hard water do you know what the parameters are? You can check your utility company's website to find out. Side note, I'd always recommend testing your hardness yourself...

Liquid tests are always more accurate than the test strips, they do have rather specific instructions but they work well if they're used correctly. I'm hoping you've already tested based on your other thread 🤞

What were the initial symptoms and when did they start? If he is gasping at the top it may be an issue with lack of oxygen, you could try a water change without medication to see if it improves but if you think he's suffering it may be best to euthanise.

Your tank unfortunately isn't cycled. You really need to be testing the water daily and doing large water changes as others have said. If you haven't done any changes yet since you set the tank up your ammonia and nitrite are potentially going to be really high. Whether this is contributing to...

Welcome, awesome tanks!

Welcome! You sound very knowledgeable with all that experience :)

Would love some baby cories, but sadly not! I stopped using those tabs as they cause more problems than they're worth when my cories snuffle around and disturb them.

Ah no I should've said, I put some root tab type things in a little while ago, I forget the brand, they look like a pill capsule with little balls inside and the cories have dug a couple up. I remove the little balls whenever I see them on the surface of the substrate.

Thanks. I admit I tend to forget its there but have sorted now. I think other than that I have relatively good balance in my tank, I only get tiny specks of algae on my glass here and there, I don't even bother cleaning them.

Hi Colin It's on the glass, I've had it once before in the same area. I will get it wiped off ASAP, I don't have cyanobacteria anywhere else in the tank, am unsure why it is in that specific area. I thought I should mention the flash as it looked weird to me as well!

Tried to get some pics while feeding the cories this morning, apologies they're not the best but they were very busy snuffling for their food! Apologies for flash on last picture. I'm aware I have some algae growth between the substrate and the glass, need to clean that off at the weekend but no...

Thanks all, I've been out at work all day today and lights are off, I did observe the tank this morning and all looked okay but I'll get some pics tomorrow and upload. Just to clarify the fish was definitely removed as soon as I found it, and this is a relatively established tank (9ish months)...