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Is a pH of ~8.5 too high to keep neon tetras, danios, or platys? My city water is very alkaline and I'm wondering what the best option is to lower it (if necessary). I've heard varying advice from "fish don't care about pH" to "keep them within their suggested range" so I'm curious.
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Jan 4, 2017 16:02
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| # ¿ May 18, 2024 16:20 |
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Alright, novice question here. Picked up some neon tetras yesterday and today found two of them dead, stuck to the filter. I'm afraid the filter is too strong for them to cope with if they get near to it, but I also don't know if maybe they died of other causes and the filter pulled them in. Is there any way to mitigate this? Here's the filter in question.
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Jan 7, 2017 16:36
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It's only a 20gal tank, I bought 7 tetras just to have a buffer in case a couple died (which they promptly did, of course). 5 is a pretty small school but I'll keep an eye on them and eventually buy a few more once I'm sure the tank can handle it- I don't think it's fully established yet so I'm taking it slow on stocking. The only other tank occupant is a male platy that I had to isolate from the two platy ladies (pladies?) due to the incessant bangin'. Aside from a little bit of fin-nipping they seem to be getting along fine- the platy just seems happy to have friends and he's constantly shadowing the tetras, which they don't seem to mind too much.
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Jan 8, 2017 01:00
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Oh, here's my two tanks by the way: 20 gallon with 5 neons and a platy(tailfin visible inside the house).  And a 10 gallon with two happy female platies.  You can definitely tell which one has a jury-rigged dark blue background made of fabric. I'm gonna apply it to both because I really like the way it looks. The really old fluorescent tube on the top has a very pink color to it compared to the pure white of the LEDs on the lower tank.
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Jan 9, 2017 01:31
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Get some assassin snails?
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Jan 30, 2017 14:33
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I've now learned that shrimp like to escape. They're not the brightest bulbs, are they?
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Mar 13, 2017 01:29
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Amano/Japanese algae eater shrimp are good for algae too in my experience- at least on any surface that's not the walls of the tank.
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Apr 20, 2017 18:23
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I keep finding the occasional shrimp on the floor- I think I need a better way of covering the tank, because I think they're climbing the air tubes or something. That said, it's absolutely adorable to watch one reach a leg up and scratch its back like it's a cat or something.
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Apr 29, 2017 14:12
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Today I found two of my cherries living in the filter- they had probably been in there at least a month? Both of them had lost a lot of pigment and were more of a light pink than the deep red they normally are- but they were moving around and seemed lively once I got them back into the tank. Maybe I need to be more careful making sure the water level doesn't reach the filter outflow 
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Jun 19, 2017 04:28
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I don't suppose anybody here is in the NE Ohio area and wants six Amano shrimp, five platies (four female, one male), and six longfin zebra danios? I'm moving soon and have to give them a good home, because I'm certainly not taking them with me across the country. Barring that, any suggestions on what I can do with them?
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Jul 24, 2017 18:43
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Axolotls are so cute, goddamn. If I didn't live in the desert and was home enough to take care of them I'd totally get one.
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Sep 27, 2017 15:36
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I'm considering a 10 gallon with three female bettas- I figure that's as many as I can reasonably put in there, to try and allow each to have their own territories and not to overload the tank because there's Amano shrimp in there too. That shouldn't be a problem, right?
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Oct 29, 2017 21:44
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Should I feed my otos fresh zucchini or cooked zucchini? There's not enough algae in my tank for the otos and shrimp to eat, and mine never touch the algae wafers (not that they ever get a chance to, because the shrimp and the bettas get there first).
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Dec 18, 2017 20:08
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Well I'm in an odd situation. My tank was stocked with three female bettas, plus five Amano shrimp. They've coexisted peacefully for several months now. I lost one of the bettas to an infection a couple days ago (wasn't able to get meds in time) and I'm down to two now. Yesterday, there were five shrimp. Today, there are zero. I can find no trace of them anywhere, aside from some moulted exoskeletons which are a pretty normal feature of my tank. They're not in the filter, they didn't escape the tank entirely (I've checked my entire apartment), and they're not hiding anywhere in the tank itself, because I've checked every hiding spot I know of. My hunch is that when I lost the one betta, one of the two remaining decided to show her dominance by going on a killing spree, but I can't really prove it except that she's spending most of her time in the lil house that the shrimp used to chill out in. I know that they tend to hide when they moult, but it kinda worries me that I can't find even a single one.
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Feb 28, 2018 01:49
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Hey all- just curious, have any of you ever had any issues with Flourish Excel killing fish? I started using it recently (~a week ago) and my betta passed away today, although she had seemed somewhat lethargic over the past few days and slightly bloated so I assume the excel dose was just the final straw. She was still moving around and active this morning, I did a water change and didn’t re-dose, left for a few hours, and when I came back she was dead. (10 gal tank, tetras and shrimp seem okay). I’m pretty bummed and I hope it wasn’t a mistake I made, but if so then I can add it to the very long list of “things not to do with your next tank”.
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Jul 26, 2018 23:33
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:How big of a tank should I go for my first one? Petco or PetSmart or one of those places has 60 gallon tanks with stands for 300 and some change. I know I'd still need to get a filter and other crap but I am thinking of getting some live plants and establishing them for a bit before picking up a bunch of black mollies or something. Maybe a couple of those freshwater shrimp and an algea eater or two. The general recommendation is to get the biggest tank that you can afford and have space for. Bigger tanks are less volatile and less likely to kill all your fish from a newbie mistake because there's a lot more water to buffer out small changes.
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Jul 29, 2018 23:56
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Not trying to discourage you, but worth noting- getting good plant growth requires more than you might think. Typical aquarium lighting is not sufficient to grow plants with- you'll need much higher intensity. Additionally, unless you're going all-natural with a Walstad tank, your plants are probably going to require the injection of CO2, and possibly fertilizers. Most aquarium plants also don't grow super well in gravel- they do much better with sand. This is not to say that they can't grow and be useful outside of these conditions; but if you want a lush green aquascape it'll take some effort. When done right plants provide a much more natural habitat for your fish, in addition to providing oxygenation of the water and helping to reduce nitrate levels and other toxins. Thriving plants are also really effective at preventing algae growth. That said, if you need plants immediately, surface plants like duckweed don't have most of those drawbacks. Just be ready to prune/trim on a regular basis, because duckweed spreads like wildfire.
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Jul 30, 2018 01:21
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I set myself up a shrimp tank. 5.5 gallons. I'll be curious to see how well this goes, it's my first attempt at a dirt tank.
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Aug 17, 2018 04:20
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Maybe this is just a normal new planted tank thing but I’ve got a billion tiny white worms (detritus worms?) swimming around in the water column. They don’t seem to be hurting anything and the shrimp/snail don’t care, so I assume they’ll disappear in time? I kinda wish I had a microscope to get a better look at them!
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Aug 20, 2018 17:38
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Stoca Zola posted:If you have a crappy old webcam that you don’t have drivers for any more, you might have a lens in that that you can use as a pretty decent magnifier! Webcam lenses take a wide view and focus it on to a tiny sensor so all you have to do is reverse the lens to make something tiny look big. No webcam lens available- but I did find the lens from an old photo enlarger, which makes a pretty cool gigantic magnifying glass. If I run across a cheap webcam anywhere I'll be sure to keep that in mind!
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Aug 21, 2018 03:42
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Probably the number one piece of advice for bettas is to ignore most of the store products for bettas. You don’t need “betta water”, and for God’s sake don’t put them in those tiny “betta aquariums”. I wouldn’t put a betta in anything smaller than 5 gallons- those tiny 1-2 gallon aquaria are like keeping a dog in a cage its entire life. It might survive, but its certainly not going to thrive.
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Sep 1, 2018 10:46
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So it's been about a month since I started this planted tank; it's dirt and a sand substrate (Walstad style). I tried not to make the sand too thick, but lately I've looked through the walls of the tank and seen what are clearly 'air' pockets in the soil. I was hoping it was CO2, but I poked the substrate to release some of it and judging by the smell there's no question that it's hydrogen sulfide, and thus the soil has become anaerobic. Is there anything I can do to ensure that the soil stays aerobic and doesn't endanger the livestock(shrimp) in the tank when the bubbles are occasionally released? Do I just have to keep an eye on it and release it manually by poking the substrate?
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Sep 12, 2018 02:00
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Stoca Zola posted:I have tried Malaysian trumpet snails to stir the substrate in some of my tanks but they have a maximum depth that they go to (about 3/4”) and for a walsted tank this might not be deep enough. Lots of people poke the substrate with a plastic chopstick to remove gas pockets. You don’t need to stir it up just methodically poke around to release any build up. There are people who claim that the gas can’t and doesn’t hurt anything, since it bubbles up and leaves the tank too quickly, and other people who claim that they’ve seen livestock suddenly drop dead from being in an area where they believe the gas has passed through the water and made the water bad. I don’t know what to believe as I haven’t really had tanks with deep enough substrate to see this sort of thing. I don’t think it can hurt to remove the gas though. I don't have any MTS (although a friend of mine has a massive infestation and I could certainly get some from her), just bladder snails. Aside from the nasty smell the shrimp all seem fine, so I'll just pay attention to it and poke it occasionally. The only thing I've heard is that my tight glass top might pose an issue because H2S is heavier than air and will just sit on top of the water if there isn't enough air circulation; I have a sponge filter in there but if I see anybody gasping for air I'll be sure to look into it.
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Sep 12, 2018 03:12
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It kinda looks like biofilm to me. Tends to be common in newer tanks or ones with little to no water movement. Ugly but harmless. For an update on my shrimp tank: thread title is in full force. Bladder snails apparently gently caress like the world's ending tomorrow. I'd like to control the population naturally, but I don't want to get an assassin snail and then have another mouth to feed once the snails are gone. Guess I'll resort to the lettuce trick.
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Sep 20, 2018 04:06
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How sensitive is the API master kit? By that I mean- do I really have to shake for exactly thirty seconds and wait exactly five minutes and all that jazz?
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Oct 13, 2018 17:31
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Shrimp tank update: Took these pictures last week, before and after pruning:   I've also run into a problem; all my red cherries died. Because of how heavily planted the tank is I didn't notice them gradually disappearing until yesterday when the last adult (of four) died. I've had them roughly a month. I wondered if it might be due to the Amanos bullying them away from the food. But there's so much detritus and plant life in that tank I would think the cherries would have plenty to eat; plus when the Amanos are done with the algae wafers there's usually plenty left over, which ends up going to the snails. Water tests (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate) all look totally fine, and the baby cherries that hatched before the parents passed away are growing and seem happy as can be. It was suggested it might be due to soft water, but total hardness here is ~350ppm so I doubt that's the problem. Any thoughts?
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Oct 17, 2018 05:25
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Two of them were actually berried when they arrived; I bought them online so I honestly would not be surprised if the shipping was the source of stress that caused the decline. I'm probably going to tear down my 10 gal and turn that into a Walstad too, so I'll have a lot more room and can keep the Amanos in there instead where they won't be so dominant over the cherries.
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Oct 17, 2018 05:59
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STAC Goat posted:That little shell I found in my tetra tank yesterday is now crawling up my empty 5 G tank. I wonder where the hell he came from. I hadn't added anything to the tank in weeks (except a silly Halloween decoration). If I'm not noticing any serious problems (besides algae) should I worry too much that there might be more hiding? See thread title... In all seriousness, that snail probably came from snail eggs, which is why you didn’t see them until now. Most pest snails (Malaysian trumpet snails (MTS), bladder snails, pond snails, ramshorn snails) are self-fertilizing and/or hermaphroditic. Where you see one, there’s usually already dozens of eggs hiding in your tank. If you post a picture we can give a definitive identification. That said, although snails are unsightly they’re usually good for the tank- they eat uneaten food, detritus, algae, and various other microorganisms. MTS burrow into the substrate, which helps aerate it. They’re ugly but helpful. But if you want to stop an infestation, you need to get it out ASAP- the one snail I saw when I just established my tank is now hundreds, even with two assassin snails in the tank.
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Oct 18, 2018 21:21
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Yup, looks like a bladder snail or pond snail to me. Check whether their shells are dextral or sinistral. As seen from the bottom (the side facing the glass) with the apex of the shell facing upwards, the opening is on the right- this is dextral, and if the opening is on the left it's sinistral. Bladder snails (Physidae) are sinistral, but very few other snails are, which helps make them easily identifiable. I'm fond of my bladder snail infestation, honestly- I made a half-gallon jar just for snails to keep them in. Something about them is just fun to watch- the way they float up and down, and their violent twisting of the shell back and forth when something gets attached to it (like another snail).
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Oct 19, 2018 03:09
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Changing the filter cartridge is your problem. A significant portion of the beneficial bacteria live in there; if you change it out for a fresh one, you're suddenly cutting your aquarium's biological filtration capacity. Despite what the filter manufacturers would like to tell you (so they can sell you more filter cartridges), you shouldn't change your filter media unless it is literally falling apart. When you do a water change, take it out, swish it around in the old tank water to loosen any debris, and put it right back in. If it's brown and gross looking, great! It's supposed to look like that.
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Oct 22, 2018 01:55
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The bad smell is almost certainly from dead snails; in a small jar a single dead snail will foul the water so badly that the others will spend all their time above the waterline. My first attempt at a snail jar was ruined by this exact situation, and water changes did nothing; I upgraded them to a half-gallon container and replaced with totally new substrate and they’ve been much happier since.
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Nov 15, 2018 06:54
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I use one of those little magnetic glass thermometers. Relatively cheap, decently accurate, and can be repositioned easily. Don't even bother with the heat-sensitive sticker thermometers, they're completely useless. As for temperature, I keep mine somewhere in the 76-80 range; it's hard to keep tanks cool in the summer around here so I let them get a little warmer during that time of year.
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Nov 16, 2018 18:46
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RE: nerites: I’ve had bad luck with nerites that have been around for a few weeks just suddenly dropping off the glass like that; all three times it’s happened I’ve given them days to recover and all three times they were actually dead. I don’t know what the problem is, as my water parameters are stable, but its kinda upsetting because I really like those lil guys.
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Nov 23, 2018 18:46
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I’ve found that an afro pick is really handy for removing duckweed, if that helps.
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Nov 29, 2018 19:36
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I’ll also recommend getting a sponge prefilter for any sort of filter intake. Cheap and grabs a ton of gunk, plus stops ill/injured/small fish from getting hurt or killed by the intake. When you do water changes just wring rinse it out in some old tank water and put it back on.
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Feb 12, 2019 21:36
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Bulky Bartokomous posted:Assassin snails are awesome. They are ruthlessly efficient. I wish I sill had some but I guess they weren’t as good at eating stuff that isn’t snails because my population rapidly multiplied then died out when they killed all the garden snails. I'm literally getting to the point where I might have to find some alternate food, because they've obliterated almost my entire bladder snail population in two separate tanks. I have a friend with a Malaysian Trumpet problem, how good are they at eating those?
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Mar 21, 2019 17:03
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As with all pest snails (bladder/pond,ramshorn,trumpet), leaving even one in is a recipe for an unkillable colony. I personally like snails, but unless you know that you want them then you did the right thing.
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Mar 29, 2019 20:57
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Wait, I was always under the impression that neon tetras are nearly impossible to breed under captive conditions and almost all of them are wild-caught. Has that changed or am I thinking of something else?
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Apr 4, 2019 22:16
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drat, that's a gorgeous setup. I should post some pics of my (low-tech) shrimp tanks when I get home.
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May 16, 2019 20:33
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| # ¿ May 18, 2024 16:20 |
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Shrimp Tank: 5.5 gallons. A bunch of red cherries, a single Amano, and an irritating number of bladder snails. Plants trimmed a few days ago. Other Tank: 10 gallons. A single neon tetra, survivor of many mistakes. Also some shrimp, a bunch of Amanos, more bladder snails, a nerite, and an assassin snail.  Lighting looks funky because of the ever-present duckweed.
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May 17, 2019 03:10
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