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Well, it is the GH that is crucial to mollies, and the pH can only be relative to that. What are your GH, KH and pH of the tap water? Remember to let a glass sit for 24 hours before testing pH.

I fully agree with Naughts. The fact that one jumped out is indicative. There may well be other issues involved here, we don't have all the facts.

The API is a better product, end of story. The compounds in Prime are not needed, and my view is simply if you don't need it, better left out. My lack of experience with disease is, as another member once mentioned, probably why I don't have these things. Water is all fish need.

I'm not ignoring you, but I honestly do not know much about disease, and I so very rarely had any. Times were different then, obviously. I won't second guess others.

I got asked this question on another forum so I put together this explanation. The scientific name assigned to each living species is absolutely unique. Common names frequently vary so they are not reliable for identification. Every living organism has only one unique and internationally...

Scientific Naming of Fish I got asked this question on another forum so I put together this explanation. The scientific name assigned to each living species is absolutely unique. Common names frequently vary so they are not reliable for identification. Every living organism has only one...

I have had incredible success with Flourish Tabs. For 12 years. I would not use API, due to various reports.

Sorry, I was only pointing out issues between the fish species.

There are other issues here. First, the species in the genus Aphyocharax (the "bloodfins") are notorious for fin nipping. And unbelievably so. Barbs depends, they are generally more robust and active, which does not settle them well with less active fish. The Congo Tetra might have problems...

The only solution is to remove the tiger barbs. Otherwise when they finish on the cories, they will look elsewhere. I don't know how many fish you have, but TB cannot (or should not) be in a shoal less than 12+, and if this is the case they need a 30g (minimum 30-inch) base. Beyond this they...

I agree. I've taken exception to this site more than once, I don't bother any more, it is not worth trying to sort out the good from the bad advice.

Gasteropelecus sternicla. The photos were rather misleading with the colouration, but they gave this down the page so it is correct. Hatchetfish have a slender body with a deep "belly" and pectoral fins that are set high on the body and attached to very powerful muscles. These fins propel...

GH and pH have nothing to do with chlorine (or chloramine, do you have this added?). Look for the online site of the SF water authority and see if they give the numbers for general hardness, KH, and pH.

Agree, this is a natural behaviour of almost all characins. "Silver Hatchetfish" can apply to several basically silver species, and I have had all of them, which one do you have? Their are differences.

You also need to sort out what is in the water. It is certainly possible but not very likely that very soft water is very high in pH, so is there something they add? Or do you have a water softening filter in the house? Altering water parameters is obviously possible but takes extra work and...

Read the profile on Seriously Fish. The observations are indicative of how this cichlid lives. What we are talking about here is internal behaviours, and they have very little if anything to do with how the tank is set up, barring the obvious issues. The fish are the way they are. Now, some...

The habitat is not relevant, it is the tank space. My Bolivian was in a 5-foot (115g) tank, with a couple hundred Cories (around 60) and upper characins. The male ruled this tank, and every fish knew it. The female was just a bad experience.

From my experience this cichlid must select his mate. The easiest to get this is in the store tank, if a male allows a female to be near him, while he is defending "his" space, they probably will mate. I certainly would not put any female in with any male. My Bolivian Ram was in a 5-foot...

Yes on using this as a quarantine. [I take it you are only getting one ram, so that is fine; two might suddenly squabble.]

Temperature governs the fishes metabolism, how their internal processes function. Mammals like us have a set temperature. When it goes high we suffer, from fever or just exhaustion, and the opposite way from hypothermia. Fish are ectotherms, and there is plenty of evidence how just a few...

This is not the same thing, far from it. It is certainly true that fish live at different water levels, as the text from Heiko Bleher explained. And I noted in my larger tanks that there was a difference between water near the substrate and closer to the surface. But this is not the same as...

I have never had issues from the Congo Tetras myself, and I have had them on 3 occasions over the 30-odd years, but they do need space, and a 4-foot tank is absolute minimum. And they need a group of 10-12 (or more). Celestial Pearl Danios need a group of 20 and are best in their own tank.

I am with others here. There is abundant evidence (have a look at the Manual of Fish Heath written by four leading UK scientists) discrediting much of this. Temperature is a prime issue for tropical fish. It drives the fish's metabolism, and this when sped up (as in higher temperatures) wears...

First point is that all cories need sand as they are filter feeders. So it is one of whether or not you care for the fish to provide what they expect. We'll assume that is a "yes," so that brings us to the other issue with gravel mixed in with sand. A cory is not going to know gravel is...

Cheap rarely works. Nothing is much cheaper than play sand, if it is Quikrete Play Sand which you can get at Home Depot or Lowe's for about 6 dollars a 25kg bag which would more than work here. You mention cories, they must have this, dirt is too full of organics and bacterial issues.

No, I do not consider this wise. I had a group of this fish (male and female) back in the 1980's and even a catfish that came up to the surface to breath was attacked. This is a very serious predator. And most fish will come up to feed. That is a very delicate fish, and not something you...

This is no direct reference to ytou, but we all learn as we go through this hobby. This fish, Pantadon buchholzi: First, they absolutely must have thick floating plants. Left on their own, they will be severely stressed and likely not come out of the corners. Second, you cannot safely keep...

That is a lot of "ifs." The temperament of the betta is key, but none of us can read that unless it is extreme from the start. A betta after a few months suddenly takes after everything--or the smaller fish find it is fun to nip at the poor betta. It is simply not a good idea.

First off, you need to know the exact pH of your source water. When it "seems" lower and in a day turns higher, it is usually CO2. Let a glass sit for 24 hours, then test the pH (this only applies to tap water, not tank water which will already have out-gassed the CO2). Or chck with the site...

Ian Fuller who knows more about cories after 50 years of collecting them and spawning them writes that no cory should be higher than 22-24C. Including C. sterbai and whatever.

Pet shops do not usually know much of anything about fish. Do not rely on their advice, if you value your fish. Shoaling fish or schooling fish when it comes to freshwater species refers to a fish that lives in (usually) huge groups. They must have a decent group or they will be slowly...

Your first action should be to double the rummynose. This is a very tightly shoaling species and I would not go below 12.

The photos in the above post are not Farlowella, they are a Rineloricara sp. I'll come back to this "red lizard." The Farlowella are the smaller of the two genera, and include the lovely photos from TwoTankAmin above. The much larger "royal" Farlowella are in another genus. The...

Twenty is a decent number for this characin (Petitella bleheri, P. georgiae, or the almost never-seen P. rhodostomus). I have been down to twelve in a smaller tank (a 3-foot 40g, I would never go smaller with this fish) but had 21 in the five=foot and four-foot tanks and they were a sight.

The brown leaves, yes. But I would not remove the green.

The study focused on characins, cichlids (angelfish) and cyprinids. No cories were included. There were groups of three, five and ten in the different tanks. The groups of 10 showed no issues, whereas all the others had significant aggression increases and even a latency to feed. As for the...

Numbers do matter but with cories it is a bit different than needing "10" of a species or whatever. I always aimed for five minimum, though sometimes never got that many because I might find say two in a store tank. But my group of 60 representing 12 species worked well. The only real issue...

As I told you previously (I think), "problem" algae needs to be controlled, and that is easy with a balance of light and nutrients. The photos suggest another form of black brush algae, but it really does not matter. Get the balance between available light and nutrients sorted out, and that is...