To gross ya all out.. I've read of some hobbyist using human urine to provide the ammonia... (will I be banned/chastised for this?).. Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

I don't have vinegar. I have lemon juice though-- is that a strong enough acid?

It's striped dark grey and white, rough but no visible pores, a few shimmery spots (possibly evidence of a crystalline structure?) are visible

All right. I guess I'll pull out the cotton thread and tie down that Java Fern.
I'll see if I can get my cheap camera to work so I can get a shot of the mystery plant for you guys.

It's the plant in the foreground. (That ugly thing in the back is really dirty filter media from another tank. Yes, my anacharis looks odd at the moment. I'll move it later.)

I know the old filter media is helpful, but it's not exactly the most beautiful thing in the world.

A tiger lotus? Okay, how do I take care of it?
(I don't think I ever remembered what that poor thing was, so sorry about the mis-naming)

I tested my water two days ago and found a slight trace of nitrites. Not enough for a numerical reading, just enough purple to be above 0ppm.

I didn't test it yesterday, but I tested this morning. Ammonia was around 2ppm, so I added 4 drops of ammonia to the tank. I got a pretty high nitrite reading, somewhere between 2 and 5 ppm. I'm happy that I'm getting nitrite readings so quickly; I just hope it keeps going at this pace! I know it probably won't, but wouldn't that be nice?

My anacharis is not doing well. I don't know what's wrong, but all of the strands are droopy and turning brown. My other plants seem okay, but I'm worried. Help?

You could get some endlers there so beautiful!i just ordered some from susankat

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Ill be a fish fanatic till i die!

Bettas can cohabitate with a number of species (other than their own...) and oto's are one, i have two otos with my betta, however be mindful that oto's seem to produce A LOT of poo considering how little they (noticeably) eat from the tank and they spend a lot of time eating organic plant life...


If your tank is big enough you can mix tetras with Betta's just watch the interaction in the first few weeks, i have a small school of neon tetras in with the others above and they seem to keep to them selves. the only problems i have had with the betta is having to remove certain rock types from the setup because his fins were tearing on the,.

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When you pay that cash or swipe that card you are making a bond with that animal that you will treat it with love and respect, and its needs will be met, first and foremost (unless you have kids...) I don't care if you have to eat ramen noodles or nothing at all to feed your cat dog fish rat whatever. That's the bond you made! Life is precious!

Well, now that ApplestoApples and ZachZaf bring it up, maybe I should start considering fish choices so I can have it all figured out before I start introducing fish to my tank.

My water has a pH of around 8.0 out of the tap. I don't have a way to test KH or GH at the moment, but I'll see if I can find test kits the next time I go to my lfs. I would estimate that my water is on the harder side, judging by my hair (not a very scientific method XD).

I've been told that most fish can adapt to many water conditions, as long as everything is consistent. Therefore, I'm not planning on using chemicals to lower my pH. I'd rather just use less delicate fish that will adapt quickly and be happy in my rather basic water.

So, here's a list of things I like:
Panda Corydoras (I want these the most)
Otocinclus
Cardinal Tetras
Neon Tetras
Zebra Danios
Guppies and other small livebearers
Glass Catfish
Cherry Barbs
Harlequin Rasboras
Dwarf Frogs
Bettas (not likely for this tank)

I am, of course, open to other suggestions.

I know I can't have all of these, and not all of them will be compatible with the other fish I've listed and/or my water conditions.

Help me out please?

Thanks!

Add to the list: platys. I've changed my mind on them.
Remove from the list: cardinal tetras. Apparently they're a little fussy about water conditions.

So far, I'm thinking a handful of Panda Corys (is ~5 good?) and a small school of Otos (6+).

I'm stuck on neon tetras, zebra danios, guppies, and platies. I really don't know what to do there. The livebearers like high pH, but I'm having a hard time giving up on danios and tetras.

By the way, I tested my water hardness: 89.5ppm KH, 161.1ppm GH.

Okay, so water hardness/pH aside, would you choose platies, guppies, danios, or tetras or a combination thereof? I want your personal opinions.

I recommend platys for a first tank. I just let the population build up.

After the tank has be establised a few months then danios. they are hardy and active.

IME I could never get platys and guppies established in the same tank. Once one dominated the other suffered.

I do fine neon tetras to be a bit sensitive for the beginner. But when I use peat moss in the substrate I find they do very well.

still just my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Danios are one of the most recommended fish out there for a new tank due to how hardy they are - I've never had them. I like Platies over Guppies. Most of time you get Guppies you risk that they have been overbred and have weak immunity lines. Neons/Cardinals are not hard. If they make it through the first 10 days in your tank they will be fine and are actually fairly hardy fish from that point.

I don't suppose I could do both platies AND tetras... could I?

Yes, just add slowly whatever you do. The Tetras are more soccial and do better in groups. Just keep that in mind when setting your stocking limit.

My nitrites are spiking at the moment, so hopefully they'll start declining soonish.
I may have another few weeks to go. We'll see.

When I do start adding fish to my tank, which ones should I add first? Here's what I've read-- add slowly so as to not overload the bacteria, add less aggressive/territorial fish first, try to add whole groups of social fish at one time so as to not disturb a hierarchy later. So, who goes in first?

Just keep change the water at least 25% / 50%

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55 Gals. Plants Anubias,Amazon Swords and more. Tetras: 6 Sarpaes.4 Red Eyes,5 Black Skirts,4 Giant Danios,2 Lemons, 2 Emerald Cory,4 German Blue.
10 gals. tank : Plants, Full of Guppies; 20 Gals. Tank planted Full of Guppies: 1 gal tank filled with Guppies

I can't make up my mind! I like all of the fish!

However, I think I'm going to remove otos from my list. They're cute, but I've heard they can be a bit delicate and I don't know if I can handle that. I'm thinking about adding in some red cherry shrimp and/or a snail instead.

I have also discovered dwarf and pygmy corys (not sure what the difference is, really, but they're both adorable!), and I really like them. But I've read that they like sand, so I don't think that's a good choice for me. I have eco-complete and some gravel, which might tear up their tiny barbels.

Platies still on the table, as are tetras of multiple varieties.

I found a list of suggestions for how to stock a tank, so I thought I'd post a few.
Here's for a 20 tall:
- 4 platies, 6 neon tetras, 4 corydoras, 1 snail
- 10 neon tetras, 10 pygmy corys, snail
Here's for a 20 long:
- 5 zebra danios, 6 neon or cardinal tetras, 4 corydoras
- 3 swordtails, 6 larger tetras, 4 panda corys, snail
- dwarf gourami, 6 neons or cards, 2 platies, 4 panda corys, snail
- dwarf gourami, 8 neons or cards, 4 panda corys, snail
They also posted some for 5, 5 hex, 10, and 29 gallon tanks.
Here's one of their suggestions for a 10 gallon:
-honey gourami, 6 harlequin rasboras, 6 ghost shrimp, snail

Obviously, I'm having a hard time making this decision. I really don't want to mess up and end up with fish I don't like or worse, a bunch of dead fish.

According to AqAdvisor, I can keep a trio of platies, 5 panda corys, 6 pristella tetras, and a handful of red cherry shrimp and be fine. This is my tentative plan for the tank.

When it's done cycling, I think I'll add the platies or tetras first. Probably platies, unless they get territorial. If the tetras can handle any stress that may come with a newly cycled tank, then maybe I should add them first.

Should I add a couple more tetras? I'm a bit hesitant about it because I don't want too many fish.
If the platies breed, will the other fish eat the fry?
I'm aware that the rcs may breed, and that's okay with me. I'm assuming the other fish will love shrimp fry, and I could always quarantine the shrimp if I want babies.

So, suggestions, comments?