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I go to the printed sources with plants. I'll mention what I consider the two best books below, just noting first that there are aquatic plant forums too, and I have belonged to Tom Barr's, Diana Walstad's, Rhonda Wilson, and another I forget who owns (or owned, these were about 15 years back)...

This is good to hear, there is no way to tell how an individual fish may itself react to "x" but when it seems to work out, consider yourself fortunate. Things may change though...has any of them spawned yet? This is when the peace and tranquility can really be tested. :fish:

First quetion, when testing tap water pH are you remembering to out-gas the CO2? The level of dissolved CO2 in tap water can be surprisingly high, which is not in itself bad, but you have to out=gas it by letting a glass of water sit 24 hours, or brisly agitating it to drive out the CO2. The...

Sounding good. Agree, a thin layer of sand is preferable. Add any floating plants you can, including the cut stems, good. Get all of the rasboras at one go, good. Shouldn't have any trouble.

OK. Sorry for so many questions, but the parameters are closely connected and can be influenced by several factors. You should find out about the softener, I am thinking that Florida might have hard water and your house might have a softener...just something to check as it ipacts fish...

Presumably all numbers (GH and KH) are in ppm. So the source water GH is 25 ppm and the Alkalinity is 120 ppm. pH is 7.2 --are you using tap water, not softened, or something else? By "softened" I mean is the water going through an installed water softener?

I assume these numbers are now, what were they before? And do you have the GH?

UK members use Argos brand, this one here does not look like that brand... ?

"Too low" doesn't tell us anything, please post the numbers. And what these were originally too, since I assume they have lowered from that level. It would also help to have the GH, as the three parameters GH,KH and pH are closely connected. One leaf isn't much, what is the tank volume?

There are some issues affecting fish in this, worth keeping in mind. First is, definitely you want to acquire the full intended group of a species together. This makes quite a difference; the more there are, the less stressed, and that means less chance of ich. Second poont, you do not want...

Might be red blotch, but others will have to confirm, I have no experience with fish ailments and won't guess.

The species is Tanichthys albonubes and there are several strains but all are the same species, so the strains will consider themselves one species, so to speak. So the total number is what counts for having sufficient of a shoaling fish.

I will assume this is just a mix-up of words...Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium gives it its full name. You may be thinking of Flourish Excel, a very different product I would never use.

That makes sense, I guess most tannin issues are with fish in the tank, and you do not want to be adding baking soda then. I know, some say it buffers, but Stanley Weitzman said don't so I wouldn't.

It is quite a learning curve, your first aquarium. Expect some difficulties, but be determined, you can get a hold on much of this. Colin will know the actual issue, but you do have too many fish in this small a tank (they will grow), the goldfish might be a real problem. And what is the blue...

More questionable "information"... I've not heard that baking soda removes tannins from the water, that dosn't seem too likely. And all wood does not have fungus, and be glad yours does not. Only once have I had this, and it was a toxic fungus that killed fish. The bubbles are not ammonia...

It seems to have something, but Colin will know. And I agree on providing more data on the tank and fish.

You are in the UK, so look for Argos Play Sand. From past threads, this seems to be safe play sand, other brands may not be. Sand is overall the best substrate. Plants grow well in it, and it does no harm to fish (you won't have huge fish in this tank so no worries). Anaerobic zones will...

Do you mean the bubbles around the perimeter of the tank? Or the blotches that I cannot tell if they are reflections or something else? Why baking soda? Don't understand this. Is the type of wood one that has fungus? It is not common on all wood.

Corydoras have some defense strategies, the first and major being "safety in numbers." They live in groups of hundreds, all the same species. Being alone is undoubtedly causing it serious stress. [BTW, the species here is not Corydoras julii but Corydoras trilineatus, and the majority of...

Members here care about fish, and about your fish, and you asked concerning dead fish. And how do we know what you know--we don't. Many things impact fish health, and ich is due to stress so if the gourami brought the ich with them, and the barbs (Bala Shark are barbs) contracted it, it means...

I certainly agree with Colin and Gary--never, never, never use any medication unless you know what the disease is and the medication is the safest and most effective for that issue. Sometimes we do have to guess at what a problem is, but seek advice from members here who know fish ailments...

I thought the bala sharks were all dead...have you bought more? This tank is no where near sufficient space for this fish, it must have a group to develop its social structure (which is quite pronounced in this species), and it attains 14 inches (some report 16 inches) and is very active. An...

Hyphessobrycon bentosi are nice, a group of 12 (or more). @Essjay mentioned the ram temperature issue, their range is 27-30C/80-86F which means they do best in the middle of that. This is much too warm for your cories which are in the 23-25C/73-77F range. Temperature is a crucial factor for...

Well, there is no way I would feed this stuff to my fish. I though it had been mentioned, but doesn't hurt to repeat. Thinking here only of the cories, and the Hikari sinking carnivore pellets. First, the protein is 47% which is too high. Bug Bites as an example is 34%, much, much better...

@Magnum Man, I have stayed out of this discussion in older threads, but you keep repeating something that is just not true. The facts we are mentioning are scientifically proven and they are facts. Biologists have studied numbers for shoaling fish, and the results are what many have maintained...

Your point about conflicting information is one of the real dangers in this hobby. There are reliable sites, but there is a host of inaccurate and misleading information that is not worth even reading. Seriously Fish is good information. There is also Planet Catfish, Loaches Online, and...

Just posted in your "ich" thread, so obviously that issue needs resolution before any further stress like moving tanks. As you cannot set the new tank in a different spot, you will need to move the existing (obviously) but that means moving the fish to a smaller temporary tank. I always do...

@Colin_T can confirm it is ich, there is another issue that looks similar to me, and I won't guess. Colin will also have the correct treatment. Whatever it is, it is bad. Colin and others will also want to know the data...how long the tank is running, how long you've had the fish, etc, etc...

No. Have a read of the profile here; it needs fast flowing water, a longer tank, and gourami are not suitable in these conditions. https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/schistura-cf-balteata/

OK, now we can consider fish better. First, if you go with gourami, it depends upon the species. Some are incredible aggressors, and very territorial. These would limit tankmates to other slow sedate fish. On the other hand, a group of two of larger tetras may provide more interest...

I really don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but a forum exists to help, and that is what we try to do. This comination of fish will not work. First, there is a difference with GH/pH, as @BettaFishGirl noted, and second there is a temperature difference. Mollies need significantly...

This is not easy to answer, because most substrate fish have a close tie to the substrate itself. Cories and loaches are out (the smaller loach species will have problems too). There are some loricariids (pleco, whiptail--but only the vry small species, some get huge) perhaps.

What fish species?

It is too large, sorry. The sharpness can be an issue, but not the only or major one. Gravel allows food to get down, the cories dig to get at it, and this causes erosion of the barbels because they are built to sift through soft sand. The bacterial issues are worse than just roughness. And...

I'm curious as to why you are not happy with the plastic tubing on the filter you have (presumably)? I never had issues with this, on my three large canister tanks, and I liked the fact of being able to easily cut the lengths (of the intake in a shallower tank) and drill additional holes in the...

What are the dimensions, particularly length and width? The fish you have are not active swimmers, but some you are considering are, so length especially is important. Do you have plants, especially floating species? Welcome to TFF. :hi:

Presumably the current 125 liter is cycled, and fish are present (which species and how many, and for how long)? Are there any live plants? Do you intend live plants in the larger tank?

Of course they are, that is their inherent nature. You see this in most if not all species lumped together in the polyphyletic genus Hyphessobrycon, some species more than others. But the decent number means it will be confined within the group, and as it is their normal interactive behaviour...

Post some photos, clear ones please, so we can ascertain the issue. And what are their symptoms--spots is only one of these, and sometimes not even observable. Never treat fish for any issue unless you are fairly certain what it is. Over 90% of all aquarium fish disease issues are caused by...