About ready to give up this hobby...

[Alice B]

Baked clay is fine. Glazes contain lead - there are no true lead free glazes, so I avoid glazed pottery in aquariums and ponds. What you are using is fine

 

[Colin_T]

When you say "filter media", are you referring to the charcoal? Currently, my lingo is:
Charcoal = filter media (because it is a filter of bad stuff)
Biomax = ceramic pellets which grow good bacteria
Sponge = black spongy thing

Anything in the filter is filter media/ material. This includes filter pads, sponges, ceramic or plastic beads/ balls, carbon, zeolite, phosphate or nitrate removing substances. Basically, if it's in a filter and used by the filter for trapping gunk, holding bacteria, or removing things from water, it is filter media.

 

[FishyJoe]

Just an update. The molly and cory are swimming very close to prior to this incident. The major water changes appear to have worked. However, I'm not counting my fishes until they're hatched, so another day or two of water changes to be certain. But signs point to good. Thanks everyone.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I don't even know what stability is - I mean, in life, yeah. As a product, no. Any dechlorinator that also deals with chloramines is all you need.

And the stink is the smell. Sorry. Prime smells bad.

I like 5 gallon tanks for fry or small rogue individuals, but you can generally run a 10 with the same gear. You can't really create much of a community tank with less than 20 gallons though.

Stability is an aquarium BB kickstarter.

Used over the initial 7 days of a new aquarium at recommended dosage it gives an aquarium a basic kickstart but doesn't complete the cycle any quicker.

You can use it with an established aquarium post cycle but it really is not essential to do so. Again it is money effectively down the drain.

I have used Stability myself and as BB kickstarters go, its not a bad one, but it certainly is not the Holy Grail of kickstarters despite being another Seachem product (along with Prime and Pristine, it seems this fishkeeper has been steered to what are the upper end products in relation to cost but are not always any better than their cheaper equivalents...I suspect the vendor was earning more sales commission on Seachem than other equivalents such as Tetra etc)

Seachem are the "go to" products recommended by store staff and aquarists alike, but the fishkeeper should be given a choice of things to use by store staff and be advised better imho, especially when first starting out and easily bewildered and overwhelmed by what is out there. The higher the price tag does not always mean better, the marketplace for aquarium additives is a minefield, so good advice is essential and not just cos a product is more expensive than another but for suitability towards specific fish/snails/shrimps.

 

[Alice B]

FritzZyme 7, when fresh, is the holy grail of BB starters. Has to be fresh and not have gotten hot.

 

[Rxhart]

I was just expressing frustration. I did not actually mean to ban them. I'm against banning stuff. I know it has it's purpose. But I think like most people getting into the hobby (as I expressed in other threads), I thought: water + tank + fish. DONE! How ignorant I was.

EDIT: I do really appreciate everyone's feedback. It is welcomed. I would really like to continue the hobby, and I made the decision last night that if I can't save my two fish, I'm done. I'm trying. But ultimately I would like to have a larger tank (20g or more - we don't have the room now - which is why we have 5g), and get good at this. But after enough failures, one has to say to himself, is this for me? When are enough failures enough?

Hi FishyJoe, I hope you stay in the hobby. If you love looking at the fish and they give you that pleasure and satisfaction and even relaxation, you should try to stay. I don’t know what the issue with space is for you, but I have a 15 Gallon Aqueon high aquarium that I adore - something you might want to consider. It has a very small footprint in that it is 13 inches square at the base but is 24 inches high. I keep it stocked lightly with small fish like neons and glow lights and some snails to keep the algae away, and have it planted with a lot of Anubia plants. It seems to do very well. I give it a 25% water change most Sundays, and try to keep it simple.

 

[FishyJoe]

Hi FishyJoe, I hope you stay in the hobby. If you love looking at the fish and they give you that pleasure and satisfaction and even relaxation, you should try to stay. I don’t know what the issue with space is for you, but I have a 15 Gallon Aqueon high aquarium that I adore - something you might want to consider. It has a very small footprint in that it is 13 inches square at the base but is 24 inches high. I keep it stocked lightly with small fish like neons and glow lights and some snails to keep the algae away, and have it planted with a lot of Anubia plants. It seems to do very well. I give it a 25% water change most Sundays, and try to keep it simple.

We are going to keep in the hobby. I am currently looking at the Aqueon LED 20 gallon all-in-one kit, but not rushing in, because while it has many good reviews overall, I have heard that the filter and heater are maybe not totally adequate, so I have to research and decide on whether to get the kit, and then upgrade or try and purchase pieces separately.