40 gallon / 155liters - silent cycle - green or red? Stocking suggestions please!

[Byron]

KH is 7 dKH and GH is 7 dGH. These 2 have not changed at all throughout November.

That is not too bad, it is in the moderately soft/hard range to use a subjective term. The pH in the aquarium as it becomes established over the initial few months may lower. It depends upon the organics. You could quicken this by reducing the GH/KH through diluting the source water with "pure" water, but as the other thread makes clear, this is not as simple as it sounds.

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

My organic load is probably on the low side, I have 14 cardinal tetras, 9 red cherry shrimp and a colony of snails. I have a ton of plants.
I'll be more specific, I understand logarithmic growth and I know my current pH is a bit too high and I read here that high pH can lead to stress and ich and seems very similar to what happened in my aquarium.
After 2 weeks of high heat to get rid of ich, my fish still seem more shy then they were in the beggining and I'm reluctant to add more fish ... I'm thinking another ich outbreak would be too much for my cardinals.
Next on the list are 3 pearl gourami and 5-6 otos... I don't even know if LFS has them....
Any advice please?

 

[Byron]

My organic load is probably on the low side, I have 14 cardinal tetras, 9 red cherry shrimp and a colony of snails. I have a ton of plants.
I'll be more specific, I understand logarithmic growth and I know my current pH is a bit too high and I read here that high pH can lead to stress and ich and seems very similar to what happened in my aquarium.
After 2 weeks of high heat to get rid of ich, my fish still seem more shy then they were in the beggining and I'm reluctant to add more fish ... I'm thinking another ich outbreak would be too much for my cardinals.
Next on the list are 3 pearl gourami and 5-6 otos... I don't even know if LFS has them....
Any advice please?

I would agree that the pH is higher than you/we would like given the fish. As I said it may lower over time, and regardless a stable pH is less stressful to fish. I am only giving an opinion to this next point...but I would not think it very likely that a stable pH around 7.7 is going to be so stressful that it causes ich to break out.

The gourami should be OK. I would hold off on otos though.

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

@Byron thanks a lot!

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

Sadly I lost a fish on Monday and now I have another one that's about to die... it has a swollen belly that looks like it's going to burst and the poor guy is gasping for air...

I need advice please... should I start treating for parasites?

 

[Colin_T]

its most likely an internal bacterial infection, there not normally any cure but maybe anti-biotcs, altho I don't know what is available and have no idea which to use

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

its most likely an internal bacterial infection, there not normally any cure but maybe anti-biotcs, altho I don't know what is available and have no idea which to use

Thanks so much @Colin_T, I appreciate it! I can use garlic and hope for the best.

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

Garlic is magic... my fish are again doing better! They're not particularly crazy about the garlic but they are doing great now. Which is making me wonder... is it possible that the water changes I'm doing stress the fish? I'm changing 30L out of 150L every week. I use Tetra AquaSafe as de-chlorinator. Should I modify my water change plan?

 

[Byron]

Garlic is magic... my fish are again doing better! They're not particularly crazy about the garlic but they are doing great now. Which is making me wonder... is it possible that the water changes I'm doing stress the fish? I'm changing 30L out of 150L every week. I use Tetra AquaSafe as de-chlorinator. Should I modify my water change plan?

Water changes, provided the parameters are basically the same between tank water and fresh (tap or prepared) water, are always more beneficial than not, and less stressful compared to not doing them as frequently or insufficiently in volume. Parameters here means GH, pH and temperature (KH is of less issue, and tends to follow the GH, generally speaking). Under such conditions, you really cannot change too much water.

As for stress from water changes, the "stress" from changing the water itself is non-existent because providing cleaner/better/fresher water is always beneficial to the fish and not going to cause stress. "Stress" from the physical act of the water change, meaning your entry into the tank to vacuum out water and detritus, is extremely minimal by comparison to the overall benefit to the health of the fishes.

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

Thank you @Byron, I'll carry on with the normal schedule then.

 

[itiwhetu]

Be careful that if you are going to do large water changes that the quantities of dechlorinator you use is accurately measured and that the temperature of the new water is correctly adjusted and that nothing has interfered with the water coming out of the tap (Things like works being done on the water supply line). My preference for small water changes is that if one of these things isn't right then the effect on the tank is going to be minimal.

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

Thank you @itiwhetu , I'm careful indeed. I'm guessing that if I stick to a 1 time per week water change, 20% would still be preferable to changing only 10% for example...

 

[Byron]

Thank you @itiwhetu , I'm careful indeed. I'm guessing that if I stick to a 1 time per week water change, 20% would still be preferable to changing only 10% for example...

Both 10% and 20% once weekly is almost not worth doing. You need to do greater volume to be effective (per change), or do many more changes (still not as good as one significant change). You can read why this is the case in my article on water changes posted at the top of this forum section (Tropical Discussion). But here is the link.

Regular Partial Water Changes

Byron Hosking November, 2010 (rev April 2021) Nothing is more important when it comes to aquarium maintenance than regular partial water changes. The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” certainly applies here. One frequently reads of products that will reduce the need for...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

Both 10% and 20% once weekly is almost not worth doing. You need to do greater volume to be effective (per change), or do many more changes (still not as good as one significant change). You can read why this is the case in my article on water changes posted at the top of this forum section (Tropical Discussion). But here is the link.

Regular Partial Water Changes

Byron Hosking November, 2010 (rev April 2021) Nothing is more important when it comes to aquarium maintenance than regular partial water changes. The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” certainly applies here. One frequently reads of products that will reduce the need for...

www.fishforums.net

I've read the article before and I thought it's really more intended to convince the "no water change" camp to do water changes - I understand the benefits but I'm not sure on what "the more the better" translates into actionable water change volume and frequency of changes. I know all aquariums are different, but I think some examples would go a long way.

20% was the wrong percentage for me to mention, I probably have 120L of water because I need to take into account the substrate and the stones + wood. I was doing 30L water change, that's about 25% and I've just did a maintenance and changed about 48L, so about 40%. I'm happy to do better, but I need clear guidance.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Cmdr_DASh]

I've removed a bunch of floating plants and trimmed some of their roots with the last maintenance as they were getting out of hand, covering too much of the surface, but also too many and too long roots. I also notice quite a few hair algae around the tank...
And a new invertebrate critter that I don't know what it is... looks like some sorf of a leech:

https://imgur.com/a/EExFFKH