Recent content by ArtistGardener

I can't seem to grow Hygrophila corymbosa to save my life. It is riddled with holes. I am dosing extra potassium besides using root tabs and Flourish. Every other plant in my tank looks great (swords, anubias, and crypts of several species, wisteria, and java fern), but this stuff is spindly and...

They should be happy as clams! :)

Is your tank cycled or is this fish-in cycling? If you did a fishless cycle and your water parameters are good, you should be able to add a small school right away, assuming your do regular water changes. Even if a fish-in cycle, you could probably add four more and just do larger than normal...

White clouds tend to be happiest in groups of at least six fish, mixed males and females. The males will spend lots of time trying to impress each other and the ladies, reducing the harassment.

You need to test for Nitrates in addition to ammonia and nitrites. How long have the fish been in there? How often are you doing a water change--and how much?

How long has the tank been running? A well-established tank is a must. What else is in the tank? I keep three in a well-planted 20 gallon, but the other fish are nanos and a betta. I feed them algae wafers every other day, and a blanched zucchini slice about once a week. I've had them for over...

They'll school together, but I personally prefer the look of a large school of the same color/species. I have a small school of white cloud mountain minnows and recently wanted to add to it but my LFS only had the "gold" whitish version. I passed for now. Just a preference. As an artist, I see...

Your nitrates are fine; just keep up with normal water changes to keep it around that level. Your ammonia does appear elevated, but not to .25. Do you have a dead fish hiding somewhere in there? Use Prime with your water changes and keep watching this.

I completely agree with the idea of getting a larger tank. A 20 gallon tank doesn't take up much more space but your choices will increase ten-fold and it will be easier to maintain. Frankly, a ten gallon is only good for the smallest of fishes, as a betta tank, or as a quarantine tank. Some of...

I completely agree with the idea of getting a larger tank. A 20 gallon tank doesn't take up much more space but your choices will increase ten-fold. Frankly, a ten gallon is only good for the smallest of fishes, as a betta tank, or as a quarantine tank. Some of the recommendations given are just...

Things aren't as bad as you think. You don't need your nitrAtes down to 0; readings of 10-20 are just fine and what you want if you have plants. NitrItes and ammonia should be 0 but you may be misreading your chart. Post a picture of your ammonia reading (with the tube and the chart) so we can...

The brown diatoms will go away eventually; in the meantime, get on a schedule of at least 25% water changes weekly--50% is often needed when things are out of whack. Your cold water should not be going through your softener and should be fine. You can either let it sit for a day or two to become...

Plant decomposition can reduce pH but of course can also create ammonia. The living plants themselves probably don't do much in the way of lowering pH. In a heavily planted tank with proper light, the plants use up the ammonia formed by decomposition. In a sparsely planted tank too many dead...

Assassin snails will take care of the problem. Even though others have said it isn't so, my experience is that they will also kill shrimps after they've finished off the snails, so keep that in mind. Another simple solution is to drop a piece of blanched zucchini in the tank. The snails will...

I have hard water too from a city well (varies from 8.0 to 8.4). I keep all kinds of soft water fish in my planted tanks and they are fine: glowlight tetras, neon tetras, harlequin rasboras, ember tetras..... ) Live plants and driftwood both help soften the water, but you would be surprised at...