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Starting up a freshwater tank and need advice

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There are five recognized species in the genus Ceratopteris. I'll copy text from a profile I wrote a few years back to explain, and it will be technical in places but some may be interested.

The leaves, or more correctly fronds since this is a true fern, can be somewhat variable in shape due to light, nutrients and water parameters. This can make identification of this species difficult, and Ceratopteris cornuta is sometimes encountered in the literature/stores under the names Ceratopteris pteridioides and C. thalictroides, although both these are now accepted distinct species. C. pteridioides has blunt-lobed fronds (leaves), while C. thalictroides has fronds that are deeply pinate with tips more slender than the subject species. There is some uncertainty over the taxonomy and distribution of Ceratopteris thalictroides and C. cornuta with some botanists considering these as one single species.

Subsequent genetic analysis has shown the Ceratopteris species to be clearly allied with those in the genus Acrostichum, and Ceratopteridaceae is the family name for the clade that is now known to include these two genera. Some authorities place these two genera within the Pteridaceae family. At the time of writing (revised, 2018) there are five species recognized as accepted by The Plant List: Ceratopteris cornuta, C. pteridoides, C. richardii, C. succulenta, and C. thalictroides. Six other species names are synonymous with one of these, and there are three unresolved species names.

C. cornuta tends to do very well floating, more than when planted in thee substrate (it requires much brighter light when planted). I have not kept the other species which are said to be better planted, but that does not mean they will not grow nicely as floating, so go for it.
 
Sorry, I have to chime in regarding youtube. Youtube is a nice thing for seeing certain behaviors and at times can be a great source for information, but it can also be a great source for misinformation... or simply missing information. I would never rely on Youtube for fishy facts.


Places like this forum will give you a chance to get feedback about your particular situation and have a nice give and take.

Other places, like seriouslyfish.com amongst others are great sources of information for how the fish act in the wild, and how they are best kept in the hobby. In the case of corydoras, planetcatfish is a great source of information for corydoras.

Corydoras in the wild... from youtube. ;)

These fish are HIGHLY social fish that really do require to be kept in as large a group as possible for their best displays and life.
 
My last posting (#137) was resonding to post #136 and I missed the earlier issues. But essjay and eagles covered them and I agree on the cories and plants. I'll just mention about thinning out Ceratopteris.

Never cut roots, this can kill the plant. As this plant grows, adventitious plants will develop on alternate fronds. If you leave the plant(s) alone, the parent plant will spread and the adventitious plants will grow and in no time the surface will be thick with the plants. Which can be good in some situations, like a spawning tank or with fry that are more light sensitive. But in most tanks you do want to thin this out regularly. I do this at the water change.

I carefully pull thee larger adventitious plants off the leaves. Depending how many, I may then discard the parent plant into the compost and thee small plants will begin to grow. They can be similarly thinned out as you need.

When introducing this plant, give it time to settle as they do not like being moved to a different environment. Even when I move plants from one tank to another they tend to slow down, some leaves may even break apart, but left alone they will rebound. The Flourish Comprehensive Supplement (pictured in post #131) will get them growing again and keep them lush.
 
Yes obviously you would not want to take any guy with a camera on YouTubes advice.
But if you find reputable fish store owners, fish breeders, you'll find there more than willing to pass along excellent advice. I would suggest you look at how many subscribers they have and see how many thumbs up or thumbs down even read through the comments... It's better than getting on a forum. (in my opinion) they're awesome sources for information but! anyone can tell you anything and not have to worry about the reputation or how many subscribers they keep or have on s form. just my opinion and it's been very helpful for me over the last few years... And I've been raising fish since the late 70s..
As far as picking fish I would try to find some local breeders they're much more Hardy, and most have been quarantined for a week or more,and have less chances for disease as your local pet store.
not just been plucked out of the wild. Much easier to care for as a beginner. That goes for snails as well. And I think snails are awesome you can throw five or six in a tank and they will clean the algae up within a few days. You're going to go through an algae bloom with a new tank so I would highly suggest you find some nightrite typip snails hopefully tank raised so you don't have to worry about parasites or diseas.. good luck hope it helps.
 
I agree that all 'sources' of knowledge must be vetted before taking them seriously. And yes, on a forum, you can have any number of people saying any number of things, but there's much more 'fish knowledge' collectively on a forum like this, or a specialized forum like Planetcatfish.com. A member or two may be way off base, but the collective of the group will normally get to what is currently considered 'best practices'.

Choosing a Youtuber based on upvotes versus downvotes or subscribers seems like a poor basis to me. Most youtubers are about entertainment, not education. That said, there are some very good youtube videos out there that shares good information, but there's an even larger number of videos out there that are either flat wrong, or are perpetuating old husbandry techniques. In the forum, more eyes of people up on the hobby will see what's being posted and focus the discussion towards current understanding.


And the biggest problem with a new person to the hobby using youtube as a resource is that generally speaking, folks new to the hobby don't know what they don't know. And fish, unlike a dog or cat, have a very hard showing that they are being kept improperly until the damage is already done and its too late to do much about it. Further, the fish can 'look' appropriately kept in a youtube video, as I've sadly often seen... with bala sharks side by side with neon tetras and mollies. And for a short period of time, its all hunky dory. But, does someone new to the hobby know that? They look 'fine'. But, the bala shark (honestly, shouldn't be in the hobby) requires a tank that's at least 8 feet long, preferably longer... should be kept in large numbers... and without small 'bait' fish... mollies should be in hard water, neon tetras in soft water. But... for a short period of time, while the balas are young, while the mollys are fighting to adapt to the wrong water... before the 'shimmies' set in, it will look good. Its a great display to have a ton of fish in the tank, but its also not sustainable over the long haul.

Youtube is unfortunately, as bad for the hobby, as it can be good for the hobby. Which is why I suggest going to some sources that have fish profiles available to learn what each fish species requires for proper keeping, than just a Youtube video which could be a very hit or miss proposition.
 
I agree with eagles. The benefit of a forum is peer review; a member posting "x" will have "x" reviewed by other members who can then agree/disagree with reasons, and this is the basis of scientific discovery and advancement. When it comes to a non-forum site of "information," you must have confidence that the individual owning the site has the necessary qualifications/knowledge/experience to be an authority. This is a scientific hobby, like it or not, and without understanding or recognizing and accepting this fact, one is not going to be successful keeping fish. Fish surviving is not the same as fish thriving.
 
You can ignore the high range pH - it will show the lowest colour on the chart regardless of how low the pH really is. Use the other pH tester.

We can only say how the cycle is progressing if we know what you've done so far.
How much ammonia have you added - and how do you know how much ammonia if you've only just got the test kit?
Or have you got a lot more plants are intending to cycle with plants rather than add ammonia?


Test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as this will tell you how much, if any, of the tank readings came from your tap water. For pH, test a freshly run sample of tap water then leave a glass of water to stand overnight and test that 24 hours later. You'll probably find they are different.

Just to make sure - you are shaking nitrate bottle #2 like the instructions say, if not longer, then shaking the tube as they say? Failure to shake is the main cause of false nitrate readings. One of the ingredients in bottle #2 isn't soluble and it settles on the bottom. All that shaking is to get it thoroughly mixed in to the liquid.
 
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