Search results

Don't you love those overconfident FB guys?!:beer:

In a fishless cycle, I would not change water for a while until the plants (if you have them) require and do mostly 30% WCs. Its not so much that bacteria lives in the water, its more letting the biofilm grow and keeping things undisturbed for the bacteria to settle in. Depending on the...

Second the use of timers. I've hard slow growth & algae on my low tech and co2 tanks when I was manually turning the lights on and off. When I started using a simple mechanical timer switch (5$ off Amazon) - things started to look better in a matter of couple of weeks. Like other organisms...

Really sad to hear about midnight's passing. You have done all you could but this was unavoidable. Stay strong.❤

Yes cattappa may not work as fast as formalin based meds but they also dont stress the fish like those meds. Double down on cattappa leaves. Keep temp and water quality stable. Do not feed him anymore. Next time you feed him after 2-3 days at least, ensure that its peas. If its bloat, it is...

Yes, we are doing all these to gently help him come back to his health. But as with anything in this hobby patience is the key (that's what I learnt so far). I dont think you need to buy a new heater. 78 is ok for now. Heating pad is not a good idea as it makes the temp higher then lowers as it...

From my experience cattappa leaves work slowly (give it at least a day or two).. being natural, it releases tannins and other beneficial nutrients slowly. If the water color is the same after a day, you can leave another leaf in a bowl of hot water for an hr or so and make a tea. And add it...

If you've been using stress coat, that's perfectly fine. Do not spend too much on these products. Slime coats usually work as a protective layer for them. I usually boil the peas to make it mushy along with some crushed garlic. Most fish go crazy over the smell of garlic, so they will eat it. So...

The tannins in the water is an easy problem to solve. Your fish won't mind it at all - it is merely an aesthetic issue for us. I've used purigen or a cheaper alternative, activated charcoal to clear the tannins with great success. Don't worry about that.

You did the right thing by going for cattappa leaves. Terrific advice. I fully vouch for its effectiveness. My female dwarf gourami had a similar problem when I got her, I did not want to treat her with meds without knowing what's wrong with her. Added 3 leaves in to my 20 gal and raised the...

That's very helpful to know! I would not go for fish in cycling by choice - its obviously much easier to wait and let things happen naturally than watching fish suffer. In my case, it was a mini-cycle triggered by a filter change. Appreciate you taking time and sharing your thoughts.

Fully agree. Sorry to deviate from OP's topic, in fishless cycling how do you keep up with ammonia supply once you are in the nitrite phase? I ask this, because ammonia wasnt easily available and fish food was causing snail problem. But i guess the best bet is a pinch of fish food everyday to...

I do agree, nitrites should always be zero. In my case, too many WCs were slowing down my cycling process. So I went with Prime-Stability on alternate days (As recommended by Seachem on its website) but I did know it's a bit of a risky pursuit.

Here's what I did with my volatile nitrite levels. Clearly, for me the reason my nitrite levels persisted was because of too many water changes. Do WCs only weekly if you can - only when there's supply, there'd be demand. Keep the nitrites high and long so that the nitrobacter consume it &...

Thanks Essjay. Appreciate this post. Yes I had moved out the fish but to keep up with the demand of the bacteria I've been adding a bit of fish food. Nitrites did go up a bit again, so as you've correctly pointed out, cycling isn't done. I'll start adding back the hardiest ones slowly. Also...

So it's safe to say the most likely reason my nitrite went down without a WC, is the bacteria. Like Barry mentioned I read some plants do readily take up nitrites (while most take either ammonium or nitrates) I wasn't sure mine did that. If it is indeed a sign its entering the final stage of...

Thanks Barry. I hope it's the first one.:)

I've had a tragedy with one of my tanks, which is fairly new (1.5 month old). Sudden nitrite spikes! Killed 2 newly introduced guppies. I removed my sensitives fellows to another tank, except some juvenile shrimps whom I can't catch. I did 2x 30% water changes in 24h. 2 days later nitrites...

Thanks a lot, Utashfish. Sorry for the delay in responding. Somehow didn't get any notif. Good point on the lighting. I've now reduced light to 10 hours with a target to 8h later. Just want to watch out if the plants take it positively. I was kind of avoiding adding any more chemicals into...

I have a tiny (hitchhiker) Ramshorn snail who hops around my plant gorging on algae, but he is unable to handle the workload - i wipe the tank glass and siphon gravel but i don't want to disturb the plants - there are often some algae on them. (I do run my lights 12h and fert a bit generouslyfor...

Amazing. Thanks a mil Naughts. I really loved BP Tetras. Cant have Corys (though I love them too) due to my rugged gravel substrate. Really appreciate the thoughtful suggestions.

Thank you for your reply. Your guess is spot on. I have a low ph (6.5) and soft water. I really wanted to add a black resident... would be a good addition to the colors in the tank now. I considered black rainbow shark but that too seemed unsuitable. Any other suggestions considering the current...

Well planted and cycled. 20 gallon. Current residents: 5 peaceful Cherry barbs, 2 gentle honey gouramis and 3 cutest amano shrimps. :) Would a single black molly be happy here? Always loved this gorgeous fish but I do not have space for more or their future gens.. hence the question. In the...

Thank you guys. This is certainly a sound advice. Will introduce a few more hiding places and hope that settles it! Thanks Aily, I hope mine too learn to live in peace! I love WCs but my temps stay around 24-25 - I've always heard they like cooler temps.

Platys are out then. I guess these are the perils of stocking large community fish in small tanks. Mine is a 20g high so I feel anything above 6 cherry barbs they would feel constrained. It's hard to watch females gasping for air as the alpha male chases her around all the time. I got cherry...

Thank you! Yes, I do have soft water. I'll reconsider adding platys in this case. AilyNC - off the topic a bit - I'm facing dilemma with my cherry barbs. One alpha male seems extra nippy and tiring out the females. I can see a rather docile younger male also learning to do the same. Do you...

I have a small school of cherry barbs (2m, 4f) in a fully cycled 20g tall planted. Thinking of adding 3 platys (2f, 1m) because I love how beautiful they look. I feel all males might make it a war zone and only females, they might be just sad. I'm aware I'll have a population explosion in a few...

Thanks guys. Very helpful. For me how colorful they look are less important - just want to ensure I have the right gender balance. To err on the safe side I might add a female or two a bit later :)

Thanks Fish48. Here are a couple of photos. Quite hard to take pics given they are pretty active. I suspect they could be all washed out males looking at the aggression - but I'd love to know if you could spot at least one female based on these pics. I can't have all males- and certainly not 1-2...

Got a new 20g tank recently and its still not 100 pc cycled. But I read ammonia almost daily and do the water changes when I see even a slight spike. I have 5 cherry barbs. I absolutely love these little guys. Its been a week they are in there, but I can't be sure what they are doing is normal...