# Sparky's 10 Gallon Setup and Other Stuff



## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I had dreamed of one day having a 20 gallon long, and had started to gather supplies for it, but life happened and those plans changed.

So, I returned anything I had purchased for the 20 and got supplies for a 10 gallon.

The idea is to upgrade my "king" betta, Furdinand, to the new tank from his 5 gallon. I don't think he's suffering in his current 5 gallon, I'd just like to give him the ability to stretch his fins a bit more.

The equipment:
10 Gallon Rimless Aqueon Glass Aquarium
Aqueon Hinged Glass Versa Top 20”x10”
Marina 20 Slim HOB filter
Nicrew AquaLux 24/7 LED 14W Aquarium Light
FreeSea 50W Mini Heater
Top Fin 10 Gallon Aquarium Stand in Sindoori Mango Finish

Hardscape:
Aqua Natural Midnight Pearl Aquarium Gravel
Zoo Med Spider Wood - Medium
CaribSea Exotica Black River Rock
Aqua Natural Betta World Mini Lava Gravel

Flora:
Ordered from Marcus Fish Tanks:
Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Green x1
Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Bronze x1
Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Red x1
Cryptocoryne Parva x1
Cryptocoryne (Unknown/Mystery) x2 (Only ordered 1 but was sent 2)
Tiger Lotus Lily Bulb (Nypmhaea Zenkeri) x2 (Only ordered 1 but was sent 2)
Banana Plant (Nymphoides Aquatica) x2 (Only ordered 1 but was sent 2)
Anubias Barteri x2 (Only ordered 1 but was sent 2)
Bolbitis Heudelotii Mini Baby Leaf x1

Fauna:
1 Betta
6 Panda Corydora
Possibly a mystery snail or some other type of invert(s)

More updates, and pictures to come...


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)




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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I’m sure I’ll fuss with the layout a lot as I move forward.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

The plants were well wrapped and arrived in good shape. I splurged for insulation and a cool pack since the seller, Marcus Fish Tanks, is located in Texas.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I had contemplated leaving any pest snails alive and letting them populate the tank. Then I found a freshly hatched live mosquito in one sealed bag, and a planaria in another sealed bag.

So, everything got an alum bath (1 tablespoon alum in 1 gallon of water for 4 hours) and chucked into a 5 gallon bucket with the aquarium light over it. After it looked like everything had survived the first few days I gave all but the lilies a second alum dip and now they’re in quarantine for a few weeks.

The lilies are in a different container.

I lightly dosed the quarantine tank with Nilocg Thrive S fertilizer this morning. 















BTW… I don’t take the presence of snails, planaria, or even mosquitoes as a sign of poor quality or negligence. The seller was responsive to my inquiries and honest in his replies to me. As the person who will be adding these plants to my aquariums, it’s my responsibility to make them safe.


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## Sbirtell (7 mo ago)

I can’t wait for the end result!!! 🙌🏻


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

That's awesome! Can't wait either ☺!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

No big changes, just small steps forward.

Started cycling the tank using Dr. Tim’s Ammonia and Seachem Stability.










Added a root fertilizer capsule to each of the potted plants in quarantine. I can’t remember where I learned that tip, it was in one of the hundreds of YouTube videos I watched while planning this tank.

ETA: It was a tip given by Cory at Aquarium Co-Op.









And I made a container for the loose “mystery” crypts so I could give them a fertilizer tab and hopefully build up their roots a bit. Used the bottom of a water bottle I pulled from the recycling bin and some leftover gravel from the 10 gallon tank.











I have to top up the quarantine tank a lot because I don’t have a spare cover and combined with the air stone there’s a lot of evaporation.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Still not much excitement in the tank.

I used Dr. Tim’s Ammonia Chloride to get the ammonia up to 4ppm a few days ago. Ammonia reading was down 2ppm yesterday, and down to .5 today so I added more Dr. Tim’s to get it back up to 4 ppm. Still no nitrites, but I did have some nitrates the other day which I’m attributing to the sponge I added from the established tank.

I’m still adding the Seachem Stability every day.










I’m going the fishless cycle route because I want to add the other inhabitants before moving Furdinand to the tank. Technically I could probably add him first, then remove him, add the live plants and the corydoras, then move Furdy back again after the corys have settled. But that just seems like more possible stress for the big guy so I’ll just continue as planned.

Fishless cycling is a lot less stressful and demanding, but I still think I prefer fish-in!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Getting close!

Dosed ammonia up to 4 ppm yesterday and it’s down to zero today. Nitrite is too dark to measure accurately but hopefully just a few more days until it’s also at zero. I’ll keep dosing ammonia to 4ppm until I add fish.

I know 4 ppm ammonia is probably higher than I would need for a small school of corys, but I’m a big believer in “anything worth doing is worth overdoing!”


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)




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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Looking good!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

18 days later and I’ve got a completed cycle!










I’ll do a series of water changes to knock the nitrate level down, while still adding ammonia to keep the bacteria alive until I add fish.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Looking really nice! I like that little cube one, I have been thinking of one for my desk at work.

Quick question about your fishless cycle (I have never done one.) Do you have to worry about a cycle crash when you put the fish in if the tank has been getting such high doses of ammonia? One betta makes such little ammonia in a 10, I was curious if it has an affect.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

BettaloverSara said:


> Looking really nice! I like that little cube one, I have been thinking of one for my desk at work.
> 
> Quick question about your fishless cycle (I have never done one.) Do you have to worry about a cycle crash when you put the fish in if the tank has been getting such high doses of ammonia? One betta makes such little ammonia in a 10, I was curious if it has an affect.


I haven’t done a fishless cycle in so long I honestly don’t know exactly what will happen.

The first fish in the tank will be a small school of corydoras. That’s why I wanted a good amount of nitrifying bacteria in the tank.

I’ll keep dosing ammonia at some level until I’m ready to add the corys. Then I’ll be watching like a hawk to make sure the cycle doesn’t crash on me.

After the corys have settled in for a couple of weeks I’ll put the betta in a breeder box to see how he reacts. Hopefully he’s ok with everything or I’ll have to figure out plan B.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

The nitrogen cycle is holding up so far and clearing 1-2ppm ammonia within 24 hours. I added some starts of Wandering Jew and some type of kalanchoe that I had sitting in a cup. I think they’re helping with the nitrates because they’re no longer climbing even though I’m still dosing ammonia.










This little red tiger lotus is putting out new leaves almost every day or two.










I just ordered my panda corys and hopefully they’ll be here next week.

Decided to try one of the Seachem Ammonia Alerts on this tank to see what I think about them.









That’s it for now.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I'm loving this journey! Panda Cory are so darned cute. 

Did you know you can cut a lily when the leaf reaches the height you want to maintain? That's how people get bushes.

Have the Ammonia Alerts on all of my tanks. Amazon has them @ 3 for $20.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I'm loving this journey! Panda Cory are so darned cute.
> 
> Did you know you can cut a lily when the leaf reaches the height you want to maintain? That's how people get bushes.
> 
> Have the Ammonia Alerts on all of my tanks. Amazon has them @ 3 for $20.


I wish I had been able to do the 20 gallon so I could do a larger school of the panda corys, but hopefully they’ll enjoy their new home. I gave the habrosus cory serious consideration, but ultimately I just fell for the cuteness of the pandas.

I’ve been watching YouTube videos on how to train the tiger lotus so hopefully I’m able to keep it under control. I’m thinking of it as a fast growing plant that will give some cover as the crypts get themselves established.

I also added some lobelia cardinalis which is my first official “stem” plant. If it does well I’ll probably end up putting cuttings in several of my tanks.

I’ve never tried the Seachem Ammonia Alert before. I think I saw you mention them so I thought I’d give it a shot. I’ll order the 3 pack if it seems to work well. The true test will be when I dose more ammonia the next time. I like the idea of a quick visual check to keep the finned kids safe.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

My little panda corys arrived safe and well! They were moving around the bag so fast I could hardly count the little dudes.

I was pretty nervous about it, but I used Rachel O’Leary’s acclimation method. After putting them in the tank all 6 corys hid for less than 5 minutes but then they came out and started wiggling around their new home.

I added StressGuard to help with any shipping stress and some Stability to give the tank’s BB colony a little extra boost. 

This little one has already found one of the 4 pieces of Bug Bites Bottom Feeder pellets I dropped in for them.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Congrats!!!

I've used Rachael's method for five or six years and haven't lost one yet.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Congrats! That is great to hear! May I ask, what exactly is the method you used?


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## Feanor (Nov 13, 2020)

Adorable! I wish you a lot of joy with them - I‘ve always loved them.

@betta4ever!: You may google "Rachel O'Leary How I acclimate fresh water fish" and you‘ll find a great video.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

betta4ever! said:


> Congrats! That is great to hear! May I ask, what exactly is the method you used?


This is the method I used… 




As she says in the video, this is just one acclimation method and there are many other successful ways to do it.

I appreciate that she gives a very thorough explanation for why this method works.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Rachel used to import hundreds of fish every year. She had health issues so now only sells what she's bred.  I bought all of my fish from her (except Bettas).


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Rachel used to import hundreds of fish every year. She had health issues so now only sells what she's bred.  I bought all of my fish from her (except Bettas).


She’s had a tough time in the last year or so. I’m sorry that I’ll probably never get to order fish from her, but I learn a lot watching her YouTube videos.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I just need to add that PANDA CORYS ARE TOO STINKING CUTE!!

That is all.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Thanks Feanor and sparky! Got school now, but I'll watch the video later. 


sparkyjoe said:


> I just need to add that PANDA CORYS ARE TOO STINKING CUTE!!
> 
> That is all.


I know!!!!!! Lol. I'm glad you're enjoying them.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

sparkyjoe said:


> I just need to add that PANDA CORYS ARE TOO STINKING CUTE!!
> 
> That is all.


They have always been my favorite of the cories.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

It’s been five days since I added the panda corys to the tank.

5 of the little ones are doing great. They’re eating well, have colored up nicely, and are very alert and active.

But 1 little dude (or dudewas mostly staying off by himself and looked very pale. He also looked smaller than the others. At one point, while he was by himself, I managed to drop a piece of food less than an inch away from him but he never moved towards it. Then a few of the others came over, pushed him away, and took the food for themselves.

Yesterday morning I was very easily able to net him and isolated him in a breeder box with a crumpled IAL and a single pellet of Bug Bites Bottom Feeder.

After isolating him it’s clear that he’s very thin and pale, but I don’t see any sort of physical damage (no tattered fins or abrasions) or outward signs of illness (no fungus or discoloration) .

I’m currently feeding them Bug Bites bottom feeder pellets, Bug Bites Betta flakes, Hikari Vibra Bites, and frozen brine shrimp or frozen mysis shrimp.

The other 5 eagerly chow down on everything, but the little pale dude hasn’t eaten anything. 

Not sure the little one will make it, especially if he won’t eat, but I’ll keep trying.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Poor baby, crossing my fingers that he eats soon!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Have you tried bloodworm or daphnia? Live is best and my cories loved searching the leaf litter for them. Some fish and I don't know why I can only get eating live foods and have to wean them onto dry and frozen


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ratvan said:


> Have you tried bloodworm or daphnia? Live is best and my cories loved searching the leaf litter for them. Some fish and I don't know why I can only get eating live foods and have to wean them onto dry and frozen


I have not tried bloodworms or daphnia, either live or frozen. I’m prone to developing allergies so bloodworms are something I’ll probably never experiment with feeding. I’ve looked for frozen daphnia without any luck but never thought of live. No idea where I’d get them. Maybe I’ll make some calls tomorrow.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

I have not been able to find frozen daphnia for months. Live daphnia is so easy. You can get cultures pretty much anywhere that sells live or frozen food, I think even Amazon has some. They reproduce every three days so you will not need a lot of you only have a couple fish. Mine get live twice a week and I haven’t had a bloating issue in years.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Sadly, but not really unexpectedly, the little sickly panda cory didn’t make it. I found it dead this morning. Still no idea what was going on with it as there were no other symptoms beyond being pale and not eating.

Happily the rest of the shoal are doing nicely; they’re all active, eating well, and look great. Today marks one week that they’ve been with me.

I haven’t decided yet whether I should get a replacement for the deceased cory or not. Part of me wants to so they’ll have more friends, and part of me says to just let it be and maybe get a mystery snail or something.

I’m open to suggestions.


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## Feanor (Nov 13, 2020)

I‘m sorry for the little Cory. He was obviously already too weak the time you got him.

No real suggestions, but I‘d avoid to replace a single one. Quarantining a single Cory would mean a lot of stress and I‘m hesitating to put any new fishes to a schoal without quarantining before.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Feanor said:


> I‘m sorry for the little Cory. He was obviously already too weak the time you got him.
> 
> No real suggestions, but I‘d avoid to replace a single one. Quarantining a single Cory would mean a lot of stress and I‘m hesitating to put any new fishes to a schoal without quarantining before.


If I were to get another cory I’d probably get it from the lady I got the others from so they would be coming from the same source. She’s had them for a couple of months so they would have already been exposed to the same conditions and potential pathogens.

I probably wouldn’t bother with doing a separate quarantine in that case.

If I were to get it from a different source or after she’s introduced new stock to the existing group then I’d have to do a separate quarantine and that seems harsh for a single cory.

So it’s kind of a “now or never” situation.

It seems so much simpler with bettas. They can do a quarantine in a 1-2 gallon container without the worry of them getting stressed from being lonely.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Could you quarantine one in a container attached to the tank Shop from the Best Pet Supplies Store in Lindenhurst – Pets Warehouse.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Could you quarantine one in a container attached to the tank Shop from the Best Pet Supplies Store in Lindenhurst – Pets Warehouse.
> View attachment 1046568


That’s a possibility. At least they could see the other fishes? It would also allow for temperature control. I’d just have to change the water a lot.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I did daily 2 drops of Prime and 100% changes 3 x per week. And this was with a Betta. I also used strips and tested every day.

Or, you could get three more so they have company.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I did daily 2 drops of Prime and 100% changes 3 x per week. And this was with a Betta. I also used strips and tested every day.
> 
> Or, you could get three more so they have company.


Hmmmm… Would 3 more overstock the tank? That would put me at 8 panda corys and a king betta. The betta is bigger than my other adult plakat, but he’s not monsterous in size. 

I’d love to have a nice sized shoal, especially since it would give me a bigger buffer to that minimum of 4, but I don’t want to make them miserable if it would be too crowded. I also don’t want to grossly overstock the tank.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

8 is a better (nearly made a pun but restisted) number for the cories. With the Betta too you're at the limit for fish I would say, I wouldn't count snails amongst the bioload on a 10gallon


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ratvan said:


> 8 is a better (nearly made a pun but restisted) number for the cories. With the Betta too you're at the limit for fish I would say, I wouldn't count snails amongst the bioload on a 10gallon


Ha! Eight would be great! As long as it’s not too many? Or maybe just 2? There were 2 panda corys at a local big chain pet store yesterday and I was so tempted. But the whole quarantine issue made me pass. 

I won’t be adding any other fish except the betta. And I love the idea of a mystery snail, so maybe 1 of those one day.

So…. How many panda corys are ok in a 10 gallon? I’m sure many would say in already over the limit with 5.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

I'd also say 8. As long as you do your weekly water changes, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I’m in discussions with the lady I got the corys from about getting 2 or 3 more for the shoal.

I’m still undecided about doing a separate quarantine for the new ones.

The seller does a 2 week quarantine on all of her fish before selling any of them, and these would be from the same source, so she didn’t think a separate one would be absolutely necessary, but I’m still not sure. 

I’m open to suggestions.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I would still want to at least observe them before releasing them into my tank if it were me. You also have to take shipping stress or even the stress of getting caught and bagged and transported. 

I use an isolation box for anything I purchase, and is also useful for seeing how a new fish interacts with the rest of its tank mates.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Orders for 3 more panda corys and an isolation box have been placed. I hope the box gets here before the fishes, but I’ll be ready either way.

I appreciate the suggestions for using an isolation box. It will give me a better chance to observe that all of the newbies are eating and in good health before releasing them into the tank.

It’s so fun watching the little pandas snuffle around the tank. I hadn’t expected them to swim up and down the spider wood and hunt through the biofilm on the wood.
They are really peaceful, but at the same time they have no objection to shoving one of the others off of a piece of food and then literally picking up the food and taking it with them to eat elsewhere.

It’s also interesting watching them hunt for food. A betta will spot a pellet and chase it. The corys will seemingly look right at a piece of food but not recognize it as something to eat unless they touch it with their barbels. Then there’s that moment when they touch the food and they freeze in place. You can almost hear their little brains saying “processing….” and then the “Ding! Ding! Ding! It’s food!!” before they start enthusiastically hovering it up.

I’ve moved my resident nerite snail into the 10 gallon to work on the algae while I debate the merits of adding something like ramshorn snails.

It’s the beginning of the month, and a Monday, so that means water parameter testing for all of the tanks, in addition to their regular weekly water changes, so it’s going to be busy.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

The additional panda corys and some Amano shrimp arrived today. Everyone looks good so far; they’re all active and eating.

The shrimp were added to the tank directly, while the pandas are chillin’ in a 1/2 gallon isolation box with some StressGuard and an Indian almond leaf.








(The tank light was turned off after a couple of pictures.)








Unless they show signs of illness, I’ll probably only keep the corys in the iso box for about a week. For now it gives me a chance to more closely monitor them.

I’ll add that it was hilarious watching the biggest shrimp grab one of the cory’s bottom feeder pellets and drag it up onto a rock in a “king of the mountain” kind of move.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Oh man I love panda cory so much


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Just a quick update… 

The 3 panda corys in isolation are still doing well. I’m doing about 50% water changes every day and adding StressGuard. I dose Prime in the early morning, and StressGuard in the afternoons after their water change. 

The Amano shrimp are also doing good. At least when I can see them. They’re really good at disappearing!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

The 3 newest panda corys are out of isolation and have joined the original shoal. 

It’s only been a few hours but it’s really interesting seeing actual schooling behaviors in them. With 5 of them it wasn’t unusual to see them in groups of 2 or 3 with the others scattered elsewhere.

Every time I’ve checked on them since integrating the new ones they seem to be hanging out with almost the entire group together.

In other news, I finally broke down and ordered a small group of pink ramshorn snails. I’m both nervous and excited about it. I’ve never purposely added “pest” snails to one of my tanks.

And lastly, I’m dealing with a raging case of cyanobacteria in the 10 gallon. I seem to develop it in all of my tanks, no matter that I disinfect equipment with bleach or hydrogen peroxide after usage. It’s possible that it’s something to do with my water supply.

I’ve tested for phosphate and there’s none present in the source water or the tanks. In my 5 gallon it was dramatically reduced when I added a fast growing dwarf aquarium lily. In one of the 3 gallons, swapping out the super weak stock filter made a big difference.

I’ve been contemplating adding a second filter to the 10 gallon. I really like the Marina Slim 20 filter, but I think maybe I’d like some additional surface agitation.

Here’s a picture of the panda cory crew snuffling out their dinner.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

If the ramshorn population gets out of control it means an abundance of food for them, eventually they self regulate. 

Picture of the cyano please?


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I’m sure it’s cyanobacteria; it blankets everything, comes off in sheets, and stinks to high Heaven!

On the plus side, both of my anubias are either blooming or about to bloom. Yay??


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

It certainly looks like cyanobacteria, have you done anything to combat this at all? Typically blackouts (fully block all light from aqaurium, I use a cardboard box that completely covers the tank) for 3 days give the tank a reset and can help resolve this. Other than that light period and intensity play a role, longer light periods more algae growth, high intensity lighting (LEDs one of the reasons I don't use them) you could try raising the lights or shortening photoperiod

More flow would help but would need to be directed at the areas of growth for it to be effective, might be difficult in a betta tank. One of the reasons I like an undergravel filter (and because I'm old school) 

Fast growing stem plants would also help out compete the cyano, the ramshorns can make a dent too and I think one of the few things that consume this in freshwater. You don't want to eradicate phosphates either as your plants consume them. I assume no CO2 on the tanks, not saying get CO2 but if you have it treatment varies vastly

And yay on the anubias, I've never managed to get one to bloom before.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I hadn’t been fertilizing the tank as I was waiting for things to settle a bit. I started doing a full dose of ferts last week which will hopefully get the non root feeders to start growing a bit better. 

As I’ve recently increased the bioload, I’ll be increasing the weekly water change amount.

I also have ChemiClean that I might throw at it and an air pump with an air stone I might set up to run at night to increase the oxygenation.

Oh… and I’m looking at changing the photoperiod. The 10 gallon has a 24/7 light that I really like, but it has a blue light that runs for about 6 hours that I think is too long. I’ve seen mixed opinions on whether the “moonlight” setting can increase algae growth. I’d assume, as a light source, it could also encourage cyano growth.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I doubt anyone is interested but I wanted to share my water change “prep” routine.

Because our tap and well water aren’t good for use in aquariums, I use Reverse Osmosis (RO) water for my tanks. But, RO water lacks the minerals that are needed by fish and plants, so I need to add minerals back into the water so it’s safe.

I use a product called Seachem Equilibrium to bring up the GH, and Seachem Alkaline and Acid Buffers to add KH and to set a safe and stable PH.

It’s way more chemistry than I ever wanted to deal with, but it’s the price I pay to keep fish.

These are pictures taken during the 2+ hours I spent today measuring out the ingredients that I need for 5 weeks of water changes for my current tanks.

It’s faster to do this about once a month so I can always be ready for a water change, whether it’s for their regular weekly change, or it’s for an emergency situation.

I measure out the dosages I would need for 1, 2, 3, and 5 gallon water changes.


























Oh, and I mustn’t forget that I have to draw the RO water that I’ll be using for water change day. I like to get it ready by at least a day ahead of time so it’s had a chance to off gas and stabilize before it gets used. The containers marked RO are, you guessed it, the water from our RO system.

The unmarked bottles with red and green caps are distilled and “spring” water. The distilled is for tank water “top ups” due to evaporation, and the spring water was used in the quarantine box for the new panda corys before they were safe to go into the 10 gallon.










I can’t tell you how much I wish I had access to safe tap water!


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Wow that's.... a lot


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

I sincerely admire the lengths you go to

I'll also never complain about having to repeatedly cross the house for buckets of tap water again.. lol


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Wow! I love the dedication! Good for you!


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## Rose of sharon (May 23, 2020)

This is very interesting and extremely informative!!! Love it!


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## TropicalFlow3 (11 mo ago)

Wow! That's Actually really Fascinating. That must take a lot of time


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Well, the pink ramshorn snails arrived and are currently cruising around the 10 gallon.



















I got a picture of the entire panda shoal, with a photo bomb by Zeb the nerite snail. Getting all of them in a picture together is easier said than done with those little wiggle butts.










There’s so much life in the tank with the corys, the snails, and the Amano shrimps. I think I’d almost be perfectly fine not adding a betta to the tank; everyone is so peaceful.

I’m almost getting a bit nervous about adding Furdinand to the tank. I really want him to have a good space. Hopefully he’ll find the activity interesting and not too stressful.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Decided to change the thread to include other things beyond just my 10 gallon setup.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

This little dude has been working on the ammonia alert tag for hours now. I guess it believes in doing a very thorough job.

I hope the whole ramshorn crew has the same work ethic!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Completely non betta related, but here’s this morning’s sunrise at our house.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

That's how the sunset at my house looks


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Betta Nerd said:


> That's how the sunset at my house looks


Maybe you live together but you don't know it


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Ohio is 2 hours away from me I mean I've been to Ohio before


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Every single time I feed the pandas, the big female amano shrimp darts in first, grabs the wafer, and hauls it away. 

Every. Single. Time.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Don't you love those fish the one that make you laugh each time


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Betta Nerd said:


> Don't you love those fish the one that make you laugh each time


Yep! It’s so much fun watching them.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

It’s been less than 2 weeks since I added the ramshorn snails and they’re already much noticeably larger than when I got them.

Haven’t seen any eggs or babies yet but I’m sure it can’t be long now before I do.

So far I’m still enjoying the pop of color that they brought with them. I’m also pleased with the work they’re doing on the algae in the tank.

























I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually considering adding some of the ramshorns to my other tanks. Of course, I won’t do that until I’m sure I have a stable population in the 10 gallon, and I know I can keep their population in check.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Pest snails get a lot of hate, but they're such cool little critters. 

Just wait till you're either looking at other morphs or even species. I mean, you've already got a foot in the door, why not take another step  
(Don't listen to me, I'm an enabler if you didn't already know )

And, glad to hear they're doing their job!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Eridanus said:


> Pest snails get a lot of hate, but they're such cool little critters.
> 
> Just wait till you're either looking at other morphs or even species. I mean, you've already got a foot in the door, why not take another step
> (Don't listen to me, I'm an enabler if you didn't already know )
> ...


Ha! I’ve contemplated getting a mystery snail for at least one of my 5 gallon tanks. But I’ve also looked at the Japanese Trapdoor snails.

I currently only have one 5 gallon, but after I move the king betta into the 10 gallon, I’ll be moving all of my other bettas to different tanks and upgrading one of the 3 gallons to a 5 gallon.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

sparkyjoe said:


> Ha! I’ve contemplated getting a mystery snail for at least one of my 5 gallon tanks. But I’ve also looked at the Japanese Trapdoor snails.
> 
> I currently only have one 5 gallon, but after I move the king betta into the 10 gallon, I’ll be moving all of my other bettas to different tanks and upgrading one of the 3 gallons to a 5 gallon.


I'm sure you know, but Mysterys produce a ridiculous amount of bioload. Japanese Trapdoors on the other hand aren't as bad surprisingly. 

Personally, I favour Mysterys a bit more simply due to the fact that they're easy enough to get a hold of and have several different morphs. 
Japanese Trapdoors are a bit harder to find (in my experience at least), and most are a mirage of green, brown, and white. 
Honestly though, both have snackable looking antennas to Bettas. But out of the two, the Trapdoors isn't as tasty looking. 

Like anything, there's downsides. But they're both great species. 
Also, I will happily oblige to attempting to talk you (or anyone) into keeping snails, so feel free to ask 


Do we get to see the tanks once your kiddos are upgraded? 
Had to ask lol. Have fun with that though!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Eridanus said:


> I'm sure you know, but Mysterys produce a ridiculous amount of bioload. Japanese Trapdoors on the other hand aren't as bad surprisingly.
> 
> Personally, I favour Mysterys a bit more simply due to the fact that they're easy enough to get a hold of and have several different morphs.
> Japanese Trapdoors are a bit harder to find (in my experience at least), and most are a mirage of green, brown, and white.
> ...


I’ll be sure to share pictures as I go through the betta relocations and tank upgrade.

I’m fascinated by the mystery snails, really like the looks of the magenta and the chestnut/albino color varieties. Just not sure if it’s the best option for me. Yet.

All of my tanks are fairly heavily planted, and generally under stocked with oversized filters, so I’m not worried as much about bioload as I am with proper care. 

My first snail was a nerite, which seems to be doing fine without any special care. I’ve just moved him around to my different tanks and he works on the algae. 

The ramshorns are really new but, again, I’ve done nothing special for them and they seem to be growing ok.

With their larger size, mystery snails seem like they might be a bit more demanding.

I know it’s been 8+ years since I kept aquariums, I just can’t remember ever really having any snails; pest or otherwise. It’s so weird since I’ve always preferred to have plants in my tanks.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

sparkyjoe said:


> I’ll be sure to share pictures as I go through the betta relocations and tank upgrade.
> 
> I’m fascinated by the mystery snails, really like the looks of the magenta and the chestnut/albino color varieties. Just not sure if it’s the best option for me. Yet.
> 
> ...


That's impressive. Mostly everything has pest snails anymore

The most I do with my snails is throw in a piece of cuttlebone for calcium and then algae pellets here and there for everyone but the Nerites. I've read, and found, Nerites to only ever eat algae. Everything else goes between algae and scavenging.

The cuttlebone I've never had an issue with, with anyone. The algae pellets will bloat Bettas for a day or so (if they decide to eat it), but I've never had any lasting or worse effects than that. Fasting solves it easily.

If you've got enough decaying plant matter of any sort and/or left over food from your fish, I wouldn't worry about extras for them. Most species are great scavengers and don't really need extra care.

That's my two cents on this lol
And, looking forward to seeing what you do with your tanks!!

Also, Russell would be a really good person to talk to as well in you're interested. I know she keeps/has kept Mysterys and other species.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Eridanus said:


> That's impressive. Mostly everything has pest snails anymore
> 
> The most I do with my snails is throw in a piece of cuttlebone for calcium and then algae pellets here and there for everyone but the Nerites. I've read, and found, Nerites to only ever eat algae. Everything else goes between algae and scavenging.
> 
> ...


I’ve chatted with Russell a bit about it but I’ll see what she says when she gets back from her break.

The KH in my tanks is usually in the 8-9 dKH range, but the 10 gallon has been running closer to 4, so I might need to see about adding some cuttlebone for the snails.

I’m currently sitting watching the neighbor’s flock of chickens. We found a stray rooster wandering around our house and our neighbor caught it and put it in with her big flock of hens until we, hopefully, find where it belongs.

It’s possible that someone dumped him, so if no one claims it they’ll probably keep him. Especially since she’s already named him! They lost their two old roosters this summer so the girls are used to having a rooster around to watch over them.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

🤣🤣🤣 I am hoping to get some chickens soon well chickens are better than gard dogs most atleast


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## Rose of sharon (May 23, 2020)

That rooster looks right at home, lol!!! 😀


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Rose of sharon said:


> That rooster looks right at home, lol!!! 😀


Have to agree😂


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

He’s a good looking Australorp. So far, he’s not nearly as rude as their last rooster was.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Water changes all around today.

This is the 10 gallon. Future (hopefully!) home of Furdinand.








The banana lily has grown a lot and has shot a leaf towards the surface. It should reach the top by tomorrow.









This is the 5.5 gallon, current home of “king” Furdinand.









This is a 3 gallon cube, current home of my halfmoon plakat boy, Francis. If all goes as planned, he’ll be moving to the 5.5 gallon once it’s vacant.









This is a 3 gallon rectangle, current home of my only long fin boy, Flint. There’s also 1 amano shrimp boy in here. If all goes as planned, Flint will be relocating to the 3 gallon cube once it’s vacant. Not sure about the shrimp yet.









This is a 2 gallon (I think?) critter keeper, current home of my plakat boy, Fynn. I set it up when I couldn’t leave Fynn at the store. Fynn will be upgraded to a 5 gallon once I have everyone else settled in their new homes.









I’m still debating which 3 gallon tank to tear down to set up the new 5 gallon.

The 3 rectangle is a better shape for a betta, but it’s in the only spot where the new 5 gallon will fit. I’ll likely tear it down and put the plants in the new 5 gallon and keep the 3 gallon cube.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I’m curious about thoughts on what color Fynn should be called. I was getting some top-down pictures of him today to check his weight and finally got some images that give a good idea of his coloration.

In person, he looks metallic gold, with red-ish dots on his fins and a few very light, almost sooty, patches of what looks like either black or red-ish color on his body. His fins have white on their edges.

His head/mask, as you can see, is the pink of a cellphone.

























Finnage-wise, he’s a plakat, without a halfmoon spread.

Is there such a thing as a copper cellophane? But maybe he’s a marble because of the sprinkles of color on his fins and body?

The last picture shows more of the pink/cellophane color on his body that you can only see in certain lighting. It also shows the sooty patch near his tail.

I know he’s nothing rare or spectacular, but I think he’s great.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

He's so cute I'm upsessed with bettas grumpy faces


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Betta Nerd said:


> He's so cute I'm upsessed with bettas grumpy faces


I love how clearly I can see his dark eyes against his light face. It’s always hilarious to see him look at me, then look up for food, then look back at me, then up again.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Beautiful boy!!!

I'm honestly not sure. To take a shot in the dark, gold? Maybe Bi-Colour? But he doesn't really fit that either.. 
Hmm.. You've got us stumped Fynn


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

sparkyjoe said:


> I love how clearly I can see his dark eyes against his light face. It’s always hilarious to see him look at me, then look up for food, then look back at me, then up again.


My bettas act all cute then as you said looks up for food and I tell them as much as I want to feed you and make you a little obese cute fishy it's unhealthy


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## Rose of sharon (May 23, 2020)

He's so cute....Fynn has freckles on his face and fins, lol!!!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

In case you ever wondered, snails are terrible interior decorators.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Cool sighting last night.. Most likely a meteor, part of the Taurid meteor shower. Also possibly a “fireball” which is a particularly bright meteor. I’ve wanted to see one in person for as long as I have known what they were.

The chances I woke up, let the dog out, and was looking at that exact spot at that exact time are, well, astronomical.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Wow I heard dogs can sense natural disasters


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

What direction of the sky are they in?

I saw the orionids a few weeks back, didn't realize there was another going on!
Also, that's _so cool_!!!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Eridanus said:


> What direction of the sky are they in?
> 
> I saw the orionids a few weeks back, didn't realize there was another going on!
> Also, that's _so cool_!!!!


It was really neat!

There’s a website where you can report suspected fireball sightings and it looks like someone else recorded the same event, so hopefully it gets recognized as such.

In the northern hemisphere, you would be looking south. Meteors in the Taurid shower will look like they originate from near the constellation Tarus. Since the great hunter, Orion, is chasing the bull, Tarus, you can use the more familiar (to most) Orion as a reference point.

Here’s a good article about the Taurids. 
| EarthSky


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

sparkyjoe said:


> It was really neat!
> 
> There’s a website where you can report suspected fireball sightings and it looks like someone else recorded the same event, so hopefully it gets recognized as such.
> 
> ...


Hopefully so! That's cool that someone else got a video of it too. 

And thank you so much! I'll certainly check it out.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

The first ramshorn eggs I’ve seen and, in an ironic twist, they’re getting covered in cyanobacteria.










I’ve seen improvement in the cyanobacteria after some physical removal, larger water changes, shortening the photoperiod, and the addition of the ramshorns. Hopefully I can eventually kick it out completely.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

And, just like that, we have baby snails roaming the tank.








So it begins.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Baby snails are cuteeeee! I have a billion of them in my tanks 😂 l'm positive over 90% of the bioload is the snails🤣🤣


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

betta4ever! said:


> Baby snails are cuteeeee! I have a billion of them in my tanks 😂 l'm positive over 90% of the bioload is the snails🤣🤣


Hopefully I can keep them under a billion!!


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

I could keep them under a billion if l gave some to my lfs... they'll happily take them... but they're mineeeeee 😂


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Eridanus said:


> Hopefully so! That's cool that someone else got a video of it too.
> 
> And thank you so much! I'll certainly check it out.


It’s official!
American Meteor Society


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Are these the rashorns you made a whole thread being scared about or are they other snails just so you all now I will never get an aquatic creature that will never leave your tank and I mean never!!!!


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Betta Nerd said:


> Are these the rashorns you made a whole thread being scared about or are they other snails just so you all now I will never get an aquatic creature that will never leave your tank and I mean never!!!!


Yes it's the ramshorns...


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

They're cute and all but no absolutely not getting ramshorns


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Betta Nerd said:


> They're cute and all but no absolutely not getting ramshorns


I can respect that opinion. Actually had the same feeling about them myself until recently.

I’m still a bit nervous about the whole situation, but I’m hopeful I can keep them from getting out of hand.

There are many hobbyists who believe that “pest” snails are an integral part of a planted tank. 

If their numbers start to explode, I will know the tank is out of balance and I need to address it.

There’s also the option to introduce an assassin snail to help control the population or I can use trapping methods to reduce their numbers.

So far I don’t regret the addition of the ramshorns to the tank. They’re a pop of color, and they’re doing a pretty good job with the algae in the tank. 

Hopefully that remains true over the coming months.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

sparkyjoe said:


> It’s official!
> American Meteor Society


Yes!! That's great!!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Water test day!

With 5 tanks to check (4 actual tanks and 1 temporary setup) it takes me about 90 minutes to do the tests and record all of the data.

I made the mistake of dosing ferts today before I remembered it was testing day so some of the nitrate readings might be a bit off, but nothing was too high.

In fact, the 10 gallon barely registered any nitrate, it might need bigger or more frequent fertilizing.

I should mention I also use test strips for spot checking as warranted.

















Now to get it all cleaned up and put away.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

That's a lot of tests


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Betta Nerd said:


> That's a lot of tests


It is! I’m hopeful I can get moving on the betta relocations soon so I can finally tear down the temporary setup I have for one of my boys. 

He’ll be so excited to have more space to explore!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Well, you never know what the day will bring…

Apparently my boy, Francis, isn’t feeling well this morning. Didn’t come up to greet me and had no interest in his breakfast.

All the water tests yesterday looked fine, although the PH is higher than I’d prefer on all of my tanks.

It has turned colder here, and his tank temperature was 76.6 when I checked it earlier, so maybe he’s just too cool. But he did look the slightest bit bloated so I’ll probably fast him for a little while to see if that helps.

It’s always something!

I’m off to do water changes.

p.s. I’ll create an emergency thread if he doesn’t start looking better.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Ι hope it's nothing to worry about!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Water changes done on all tanks.

I added some rooibos tea and StressGuard to Francis’s tank.

I also decided to go nuclear on the cyanobacteria in the 10 gallon so got a bunch out with the water change, then I hit it with erythromycin.

I’ll be watching both tanks carefully over the next week.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Hope your little guy starts feeling better soon!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Sadly, little Francis didn’t make it.

I’ll miss you Francis


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Ahh why is life soooo short!!!!!!!😭


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

In honor of my boy, Francis, I did some “retail therapy” yesterday. 

I now have a mess of cherry shrimp and 2 mystery snails (magenta and chestnut) on the way from Aquatic Arts, and some calcium chips, shrimp sticks, and several samples of various shrimp/snail foods on the way from Crayfish Empire. 

Since there’s no real cause of death for Francis, I’ll let the tank sit for a bit, maybe moving my nerite snail in to keep a source of ammonia. Then I can move Flint (long fin) into Francis’s old 3 gallon cube. 

That frees me up to get the new 5 gallon set up for Fynn (plakat) who’s been in a critter keeper for months. I’ll be using the plants from Flint’s current 3 gallon tank and a few from my other tanks in the new 5 gallon.

Since there’s now no urgency to move my HMPK “king” betta, Furdinand, from his 5 gallon into the 10 gallon, to free up his 5 gallon so all of the other betta relocations could happen, I figured I’d get the cherry shrimps into the 10 to hopefully get established.

I currently have plans to avoid all pet stores with bettas for the foreseeable future!!!

There’s also the slight chance that if Furdinand proves too aggressive for the 10 gallon, he may find himself back in the 5 gallon and I’ll keep the 10 gallon with just the panda corys, shrimp, and ramshorn snails. It’s an entertaining tank to observe, especially at feeding times and after water changes.

The mystery snails will be going into the 5 gallons as long as there’s no antenna nipping by the betta resident.

Too many tears yesterday. I’m ready to look to the future.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

The first round of antibiotic treatment for the cyanobacteria was completed yesterday.

When I pulled off the blackout cover and turned on the lights it was like a snail apocalypse! There were baby ramshorn snails EVERYWHERE!!!! 😱

I knew there were several clutches of eggs but I rarely actually see any of the babies. I guess they felt more comfortable with the darkness and were out partying until I showed up and ruined their fun.

I’m not going to panic.
I’m NOT going to panic!! 😳

I knew they would likely get a bit out of control because of how far out of control I let the algae get before adding the snails.

Hopefully their numbers will stabilize as the available algae supply dwindles.

I was fascinated by the plants when I turned the lights back on. They were all reaching up and looked bigger than they did when I covered the tank.

I did actually increase the liquid fertilizer dosage for the tank. So it might be a combination of the plants getting more food and they were “reaching” up for light.

Before:









After:


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

"Reaching for the light" That got me  

Good luck with your babies too! 
Also, as you're deplenishing the main food supply, most of the babies will likely die off. 

And that's cool about the plants. I've never seen them do that!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

These fish are gonna be the death of me!

Feeding Flint tonight and he’s missing chunks out of his tail again! Same as last time, there’s just almost square chunks missing from his tail, in the exact same place it happened before. 

Argh. I don’t even want to think about what I went through with him last time this happened.

I’ve added StressGuard and rooibos tea. I’ll open an emergency thread for him tomorrow.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Oh man, poor kiddo. And poor you too! 

Hope he gets through it with as little problems as possible!


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Ramshorn apocalypse!!!!!!!!!! Ok my mind is definitely made up!!!!!!!!!!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Anxiously awaiting my shrimp and snail arrival. 🥶


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

It will be fine but what's the temperature


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Flint is still acting fine but I have started an emergency thread for him. 

Missing pieces of his tail… Again

I’m just completely confused about what’s happening with his tail.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

We have new shrimps and snails in the house!!

I ordered 20 cherry shrimp. There was 1 that was DOA. The others were moving too fast to count.

I ordered 2 mystery snails; 1 magenta and 1 chestnut/albino. They sent an extra chestnut/albino. Ack! I hadn’t planned for that!

Was going to put one mystery snail in the existing 5 gallon and one 10 gallon until the second 5 gallon was ready. But now there are two in the 10 gallon. I’ll have to leave one and move the other to the new 5 gallon when it’s set up.

The original names for the snails were going to be Maggie (magenta) and Chester (chestnut). Not too original, but descriptive and easy to remember.
Now I’ve got to name the surprise chestnut snail.

Tres, Trip, Ender, Chess?
Should I think of different names for the other two snails and name them as a trio? Argh! Names are hard!

So far, Furdinand is being curious, but I haven’t seen any aggression. 























I ordered food for the shrimps and snails from Crayfish Empire, but I just discovered that the seller is dealing with health issues and it might be a substantial wait time until the order can be fulfilled.

Anyone have a favorite calcium rich shrimp and snail for they prefer??


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

They were having a tussle over who had first shot at the food wafer. The shrimp was winning.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

This is hilarious


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Update on Flint:

Not the best picture, but it clearly shows the healing of his tail.

It also shows the strange “dots and dashes” I previously mentioned. 

I really have to wonder if they’re possibly areas of weaker structural integrity. They’ve always been present in his tail so it’s not something that recently developed.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Glad he's doing better sparky! Cant really comment on the ''dashes'' though....


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

So my cherry shrimp have looked really healthy so far. Then, last night, I spotted a shrimp that I thought was berried (carrying eggs). Unfortunately, after a closer look it’s actually a parasitic infection called ellobiopsidae. Sigh.

I reached out to the seller, Aquatic Arts, and they got back to me within a couple of hours. It was a very informative response that was reassuring, and they have offered me a few options on how they can compensate me for the situation.

I’m very pleased with their reaction so far, and it has made me feel better with them as a company.

Sadly, I’ll be euthanizing the infected shrimp, but hopefully the rest of the cute little critters will be safe because it’s a relatively slow spreading parasite.

Fingers crossed!!

Its hard to get a good picture of something so small, but it’s easy to tell these aren’t eggs.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

ellobiopsidae.... l hate it. Killed my little shrimp Late (her name)


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Glad Flints doing a little better! 

Sorry to hear about your shrimp kid too. Crossing my fingers for you that it hasn't infected any of the others!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Welp… I still haven’t been able to work up the courage to euthanize the parasitezed shrimp. He’s in a little container by himself with some Java moss.

Then I found a dead cherry shrimp in the 10 gallon today. It looked like a failed molt. Sigh

And… I lost one of the mystery snails. Well, it’s probably been dead a couple of days at least. It never moved after I added it to the tank. The other two are still ok. Thankfully it was one of the 2 chestnut snails that I lost and not the only magenta one. Sadly it was the prettier of the 2 chestnuts.

The tank is really looking nice now that the cyanobacteria has been knocked down. It’s improved to the point where I can’t really see any of it anymore, but I can still smell it, so I know it’s still in there. But the plants are looking much better without their blankets of green slime!

I ordered some Glasgarten Mineral Junkie from Amazon for the shrimp and snails since the stuff I had ordered for them is delayed.

Photo dump. No particular order.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Great job! Looks very nice!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Flint continues to show improvement on his tail.
















The shrimp and snails seem to like the Mineral Junkie supplement. I’ve been adding a piece of it to the tank every couple days.

















I’ve been feeding the corys in the same spot for a while now. It gives me a chance to do a daily head count. Some of them have started arriving in that corner around their regular feeding times.









And Big Momma shrimp is still Queen of the tank.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

So glad to hear Flint is doing better!!!!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Furdinand was tired of being left out of my photos.








Thankfully he doesn’t seem to be too interested in his new mystery snail roommate.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I’ve watched my king boy, Furdinand, staring at a spot at the top of his tank fora while now. At one point he even launched himself from the bottom of his tank and jumped up out of the water all in a sudden rush. 

I finally went over to see what might be in the plants at the water’s surface. I thought maybe a bug had gotten trapped that he was after.

That’s when I saw that I had dropped one of his morning pellets on the top of the glass lid! It was one of the Hikari Vibra Bites that are red and worm shaped. Apparently he was stalking it for most of the day.

Here he is “blending” as he stayed motionless for several minutes.










He’s now cruising the top looking for any other stray bits he may have missed.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I love feeding time on the big tank. It’s always fun watching the corys, cherry’s, and Amano’s tussling over who gets access to the food.

Big Momma Amano finally dropped all of her eggs and she’s saddled again. Lots of the female cherry shrimp are also saddled. Hopefully I’ll start seeing some of them carrying eggs in the near future.

Here’s a photo dump from tonight’s dinner show.












































More and more I’m thinking that this might just end up being a peaceful cory, shrimp, and snail tank. 

I’d like to see how big Furdinand does with everything, but at the same time I know that adding a predator would likely affect the behavior of the current residents.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

So I tried treating the shrimp with the green fungus, ellobiopsidae. I did several salt dips with him and the fungus was actually mostly gone, so I introduced him to Francis’s old tank but he didn’t make it. I guess it was just too much stress.

But in better news, I have a cherry shrimp that’s berried!

















This time I’m sure she has eggs and it’s not a fungus.

I’m really pleased with how this tank is looking. I just went back to see the new setup pictures from when I first got it planted and I’m shocked by the amount of growth in just 3 months!

I don’t have any of those pictures on my phone now, so you’ll have to go back to the first page of this journal to see the “before” pictures, but it’s pretty shocking how much it’s grown.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Found a second berried shrimp this morning. Woot! I’m very excited to see them settling in so well.

Many years ago I tried RCS but they were added to an established betta tank and they didn’t last long.

I finally got my Crayfish Empire shrimp and snail food order. He was very generous with the “samples” I had ordered. I’m adding the new stuff to my feeding rotation. The “mystery snail pellets” are a HUGE hit with everyone, even the cory kids chow down on it. I also got their calcium and spirulina chips.

I just added a bit of mystery snail cookie to the 5 gallon tank and Chessy has already found it.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Well, Valentine (aka Valley) got into a bit of a pickle today.

















Poor little dude kept releasing bubbles to try to sink but he was wedged between the plants in such a way that he wasn’t going anywhere without some assistance. 

He scampered away as soon as I moved the stem so he could complete his descent.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Noooooo!!!!!!!!!😭 poor Valley


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

We’re battening down the hatches around here as a big arctic blast is headed this direction.

Biggest threats are the temperatures and high winds.
Temperatures are expected to drop from where they are currently at around 43F down to -1F later today (approximately 6C to -18C).

Wind chills are expected to be down to -35F (-37C)

Winds are expected to occasionally gust up to 45mph (72kph).

We’ll get rain first which will rapidly change to ice in the frigid cold, then anywhere from 1”-4” of snow. (2.5-10cm)

I’ll admit the thing that concerns me most is the risk of a power outage. Our infrastructure isn’t really made for high winds; add in ice and it’s a recipe for downed power lines.

Hopefully it isn’t quite as bad as the forecasters are predicting.









In aquarium news, everyone is doing well. I added one of the Crayfish Empire shrimp lollies to the 10 gallon today and it seems to be a hit.









And, to keep this somewhat betta related I’ll include pics of Furdinand and Flint.















They also hope we all stay warm!


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Oh wow, hope you guys stay warm enough up there. Seems like everyone's getting hit with colder than average temps from Elliot. 

It'll be in the low 30s for us down here during the day with temps dipping into the teens at night. Nothing to you northerners, but unheard of here. 

Glad to hear everyone's doing great though!! Flint's fins look like they're continuing to be on the mend, I hope?


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Yeah. I have family in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina so I know that those types of temps are very unusual for the Southern US. You also don’t have the equipment to deal with snow and ice like we do up here.

I have a feeling this might be rough winter.

Thanks for asking after Flint. Yes, he’s still growing out that latest section of tail loss, but at least he’s improving!

I’m really close to transitioning him over to Francis’s old tank. Once he’s settled there I’ll be ready to tear down his old 3 gallon and use the plants in that tank for the 5 gallon I’m setting up for Fynn, who’s really outgrown his temporary setup.

I’ll be so glad to get those moves done so I can have one less tank to maintain.

I’m about 99% sure I’m not going to be moving Furdinand into the 10 gallon. Sigh.

I just sat watching that tank today and it was so neat seeing the cherry shrimp swimming around and the corys just doing their thing. I don’t want to destroy their peace by adding a predator.

But, plans change and as my husband pointed out, the tank will change too so who knows what will come of it.

Thankfully I don’t think Furdy is suffering in any way in his 5 gallon. He and Chessy the mystery snail are good with each other. I’ll just have to see what happens next.

Stay warm down there!


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Not at all, it'll be interesting to see how it's handled at least.

Hopefully it's not too rough or ends up at least average for everyone.

Yay!! Glad to hear he's improving!

Everyone's gonna love the upgrade, I'm sure! Excited to see the end results on this end too, best of luck with your transitioning plans!

That's good that Furdy and Chessy are getting along at least. 

We'll do our best, y'all stay warm too!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

One more update before the year changes.

I decided that the 5 gallon tank I found on Facebook Marketplace was not going to work for my upgrade of one of my 3 gallons.

When I was cleaning the used 5 gallon I did a bleach soak. But my plain old bleach was actually something else because it started frothing and bubbling like crazy. I knew something was off. It didn’t even smell like plain bleach. Since it was a cheap-o store brand apparently it wasn’t critical to have an accurate ingredient label. Sigh

I’m just too concerned about possible detergent residue to be willing to use the tank for one of my beloved bettas.

So, I took advantage of the 50% off sale at Petco and got a new 5 gallon rimless tank and a lid.

I wanted to wait until I had done a water test before moving Flint to Francis’s old 3 gallon and I’m glad I did. Apparently the parameters got out of whack and the tank has the tiniest bit of nitrite showing.

So I’m going to wait until they get where they’re supposed to be. I chucked a young ramshorn into the tank and I’ll go back to basics with Prime and Stability.

To be continued… now it’s time to get dinner.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

To continue…
I hate the delay in moving Flint, but I won’t risk his life for the sake of expediency.

Any-who…

I had a “helper” on water change day. He’s of the opinion that if it’s on the floor it’s fair game.










Meanwhile in the 10 gallon, here’s an example of my crew’s food preferences.

On the far left you can see a square of KatsAquatics calcium that’s been in the aquarium overnight. On the right you may be able to see a piece of Crayfish Empire’s Snail Cookie that I dropped in today.

I’ll let you decide which one you think they prefer.









You gotta appreciate Valentine’s feeding strategy of surrounding the food with your foot and chomp!
















Well, that’s it for now.

Happy New Year! Let’s hope it’s a good one!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Just a quick update. I was doing water changes yesterday and was impressed with the change in Chessy’s shell since getting the mystery snails.

Chessy is a chestnut/albino mystery snail but the new shell growth is much more purplish than the original shell color.

I just thought I’d share.


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