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Sounds like your tank cycled without you bothering to mess with it. I would say that's very lucky. As far as the API kit, I use it regularly because I continue to have ammonia issues, even though my tanks were once very well cycled. Problem with API is that some bottles require...

Oh and your photos are truly amazing - I mean that sincerely. But do we call this fish porn? (just kidding).

I'm not particularly well-educated about live-bearing species but I did find your post very interesting. But I think I (and a number of others) might appreciate a little dictionary of some of the more complex terms you use in your post - otherwise it may be a little intimidating to some people...

I have a fairly large number of dwarf gourami's and keep hearing about this so called virus or "disease". As far as I can tell NONE of my gourami's have ever been affected and I have yet to read about anybody else on this forum with a Dwarf Gourami that died of this disease yet people are...

As far as I know only Dwarf Gourami's have been known to carry a special virus - and it's not THAT prevalent any more. I've had a tankful of dwarf Gourami's for the last 8 months and none have them have carried a virus. To me the behavior sounds like swim bladder disorder. I actually have a...

I think it could be any of the above things you mention. Frankly, until recently I never noticed Cherry Barbs having any unique or interesting behaviors (isn't that unfair?), along with Danios, they were the first fish I ever purchased. Eight months later and all my Cherry Barbs are still...

One thing I might mention is that as big and long as they look in the pictures (and I know how deceiving that can be), they probably need to be in at least a 10 gallon tank so they can swim a more lengthy distance. Definitely upgrade if you think about getting more fish. The website I was on...

Wow I had no idea about plants using ammonia. When I was cycling my tanks (with ammonia) I had tons of plants in there - still do. I did successfully cycle 4 tanks only now to have the cycles destroyed by (presumably) adding too many fish at once. I have an absolutely horrible...

I am not that experienced with aggressive fish but I will relate what is going on in one of my tanks. I have 5 semi-aggressive Gourami's (very large) and one aggressive Cichlid (unknown species the owner of the local pet shop convinced me she was a Gourami due to the "spot" on her side). The...

The last time I was at a PetSmart and Petco there was a guy that seemed to be on the same quest - we each ended up at each store at about the same time. Both times he just took over the only sales associate there and I couldn't get any help at either store. Anyway at each store he confessed to...

Here is a GE timer I can even find this one at my grocery store. But it's more like 9.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P76URH8/?tag=ff0d01-20 They will need to be plugged in. I have so few outlets (and all but the safety ones I had put in are 2 prong so I have to use converters on some...

Judging by how few of Pet stores there are and how few fish the carry I don't think we have an Aquarium Society. Perhaps in a bigger city they might. So I get my fresh plants from azgardens.com - they say they sell to NASA, colleges, etc - they have a huge selection of plants all in top...

our Walmart still sells fish. If it's so old how did it get in to the "Active topics" group Well those people that stole from Walmart are probably collecting Social Security by now, so I guess I should stop giving them any trouble!

I've used nothing but the overpriced Seachem Florite. I got the original black clay and rinsed and rinsed to get the dust off. It's softer than gravel but harder than sand. Then I got their "dark" color which turned out to be a horrible ugly and unnatural looking beige/brown gravel. First...

I posted this a few weeks ago - at that time my Powder blue Gourami had swim bladder disease for about a month and had quit eating. The disease would come and go, sometimes I could feed her "Pea soup" mixed with Miralax to get rid of any constipation. I used a needless syringe - she wasn't...

I would love an electronic PH meter and wish they had electronic ammonia and nitrite readers. I get so sick of washing up test tubes. I also want a very large cave or slate to build one for my single cichlid that's in my tank of semi-aggressive Gourami's - she would love a respite from the...

I'm a Gourami fan and I would reconsider the Pearl Gourami - pictures don't do it justice. I didn't realize how much of a centerpiece fish they were until I bought two of them, then the online shop I use accidently sent me a Pearl when I ordered an Opaline. Pearls are one of the few large...

Swim Bladder Disease? Looks like she's swimming a little sideways too? That typically means they are constipated due to too many dry/low fiber foods. If you microwave some frozen peas for a minute or so then peel the skin off them and see it she'll eat them. The fiber in the peas is...

You sound and look like a super interesting guy. Any marriage proposals lately? (just kidding) But how do you keep all those tanks clean and keep track of what you are breeding? You must have some help! How do you manage the large broods livebearers tend to produce? Are you breeding for...

You could use a bigger tank, or you probably could do more frequent water change and be just fine with your pleco - I have some kind of pleco in every tank, none of them seem to realize that they are vegetarians because they eat carnivorous wafers like crazy. They also eat the middle (algae...

Pythons come in 25 ft lengths - I was farther from my Kitchen faucet to reach it so I had to have the extension to 50 feet (I really only needed about 35 feet total but I had no choice) - after I'm done with changing the water I have to get the leftover water out of 50 foot of hose. That can...

YES YES YES - that's one of the reasons I stopped using the python. Not to mention I needed 50 feet of hose to reach my kitchen sink and I had to turn it on full blast to get the right amount of suction, then the sink would start to overflow (it did once, what a terrible mess on my hardwood...

oh and I don't have any water access in the basement so I'd be trying to tote large buckets of water up and down some very steep narrow stairs - and I'd probably die in a fall. But I may have a construction friend of mine come out and see if my main floor could handle the weight - but then...

The only thing I don't like is the stand - I like stands that are several inches bigger than the tank, then you have some place to set your food, or cleaning tools etc. But if you have a small table you can put next to it you can put all your stuff there.

Just buy it - it's a good deal but you might want to have an engineer type person come in and look at the supports under your floor and see if it can handle the weight (Unless you're putting this in a basement). I would buy this in a heartbeat but the water changes would kill me and I rent a...

The pictures are a little close up to see all the planting you've done but it sounds good so far. Since you are so into plants almost more than the animals, my recommendation is just to start thinking of your aquarium as a painting (with some moving parts) - most paintings of landscapes have...

I agree you got some really bad advice. My dear daughter was at Petco yesterday and was also talked into purchasing some fish that are not appropriate to the size of her tank, plus she's never cycled it. Do read the article on Cycling on this website and you'll learn a lot about how important...

I have a huge issue with snails, I'm pulling about 100 per DAY out of one of my tanks. I realize that they can be very beneficial but while they eat the excess food left in the tank, they also add waste with their own poop. I'm so sick of getting rid of snails every day - no matter how many I...

So many of you think it's ok to lie and rip-off Walmart because it's so easy to get away with? That type of attitude troubles me a lot. It's just wrong and it's not funny just because you can get away with it. And if you feel the quality of fish at Walmart is so bad then why are you...

Wait and see? It could just be pure shock or you could have injured her internal organs when you grapped her so roughly (I understand how that could happen so don't blame yourself). She just may need some time to re-group on that near death experience or she may pass away. Does she have...

Most of the fish I've had die, have died the same day that I put them in the tank. Sometimes they are already lethargic in the plastic bag, sometimes not until they hit the water. I too turn off the lights, let the bag acclimate for 15 minutes to the water temperature then every 5-10 minutes...

I can't even begin to count the number/type of foods I have - I have some frozen food that I've tried to feed once or twice and nobody ate it and it was a smelly mess to remove -but maybe I need to try soaking it in garlic extract and cutting them up in smaller pieces. In my tank of...

essjay - I had no idea that Flourish Excel was so toxic. I've been using it every 1-2 months since I first set up my tanks, the plants grow greener, faster and have fewer dead leaves, I've noticed no harm to the fish - what should I be looking for? And what is a good fertilizer alternative? I...

First of all your levels are NOT that bad. That high of NitrAtes isn't particularly good but it means your tank is dirty and you need to do a water change. Many of us on here advocate 50-75% water change weekly. If you do that once, then test the next day and the NitrAtes are still high then...

So am I understanding that you want to get rid of the shrimp because they are breeding so heavily? You may have to just make an effort to catch them one at a time and remove them, just like you might do with snails. I don't know if you could purchase shrimp traps for a tank rather than in the...

And really you need more like a 5 gallon tank at least for a Betta this large. Two gallons is just going to cause a high concentration of ammonia and nitrite and eventually kill him. Purchase a water test kit from API and start daily testing the water parameters. Ideally you should have zero...

Oh and if you can get the fish un-constipated with peas then the outlook tends to be good. Unfortunately, if they continue to refuse to eat the peas or the constipation doesn't get resolved the outlook is not very good. I still can't believe mine has gone such a long time without eating yet is...