Thinking about going bare bottom on my grow-out tank so I can do big daily changes without hunting for waste. I keep sand in my display and the juveniles just seem to grow slower when I skimp on changes. Anyone who switched, do the fish look stressed with no substrate or do they not care?
Nights are dropping into the low 50s F here and I still have a few tubs of guppy juveniles outside. Pic below of the tubs as they are now. Do you move everything inside once it dips under 55 or do you just stick a heater in the tub and keep going? Hate losing the end of the season growth but I don't want a cold shock either.
My neo tank sits at 150 TDS right after a change but is at 190 by day five with no new feeding or additions. Soil substrate, a few catappa leaves, sponge filter. Is that just the soil leaching and the shrimp waste, or should I be looking at the top-off water? I'm topping off with tap right now. Pic of my meters below.
cave is in the 10 gallon tub with a sponge filter, wigglers are all clustered on the cave floor with their yolk sacs, pic below of the clump. I count roughly 40 so far. Is some loss in the first week just normal, and do I do water changes at all while they're on yolk or leave them completely alone?
Watching a nice torch auction sit at zero bids with a few hours left and it got me thinking. For a high end frag, do you think a high start price scares people off, or do serious buyers just wait for the last hour anyway? I've seen plenty of my own auctions get all their bids in the final ten minutes. Curious how others read it.
Planted my amazon sword mothers in plain sand a month ago and the older leaves are going yellow with pinholes. Water column ferts only so far, low tech, moderate light. Thinking root tabs every couple of months but I've heard they can leak and feed algae. Anyone running tabs under big root feeders in sand without trouble? Pic of the tank setup is below.
The stems are pressed against the surface and the foreground is getting shaded out. Pic below of where it's at. I'm tempted to pull everything and replant, but the fish and shrimp are settled and I hate disturbing them. Has anyone done a big trim in place without a mini cycle or an algae bloom after?
My rotala in the 20 gallon is getting leggy at the top and I keep putting off the trim. Low tech, moderate light, no CO2. Do you cut and replant tops every two weeks or wait until it hits the surface? Mine seem to grow slower after each trim and I wonder if I'm doing it too often.
quick update on the cave from the other day. eggs have gone a darker orange and the male hasn't left once, i've seen him eat nothing. is it normal for him to fast the whole time? i dropped a wafer by the cave opening but he ignores it. pic below of the cluster.
Picked up a batch of ranchu juveniles from a new import line and I'm trying not to cull too early. At what age do you start trusting the wen development and back curve? Mine are about 4 months and still pretty flat headed, but a couple have the right topline already.
Day three in the 10 gallon with moss and a couple catappa leaves, thanks to the advice in the other thread. Most of the group is tucked into the moss and I only see two or three grazing at a time. Is that normal for the first week or should I be seeing more by now? Sponge filter running, soil substrate, TDS about 150.
Setting up a 10 gallon for the neos I just got and I can't decide whether to load it with moss first or go heavy on catappa leaves. Sponge filter, soil substrate, TDS about 150. What did you add first and did it matter?
Woke up this morning and one of my bristlenose males is sitting in the PVC cave with a cluster of orange eggs stuck to the ceiling behind him. Pic below. He's in my 40 breeder with the other bristlenose and some tetras. Do I leave him to it or pull the eggs? Never had a pleco spawn before.
Moved a big bunch of hornwort from my fry tank into a 40 breeder with harder water and it's dropping needles everywhere. Is this normal adjustment or is it telling me something? Lights are on 7 hours, no CO2, gravel is bare so it floats.
Spawn went well this morning, male is back in his jar and she is torn up a bit but alive. I usually do small live food feedings twice a day for a week. Curious what others use to get a female back in shape, especially if she's lost weight.
