Recent content by beepboop

While everyone has valid points, I had this problem without any live plants in a cycled tank. I got Chemi-pure elite and it cleared up my water.

I have a molly that chases my platy, but gets along with my dwarf gourami. Those are the only fish I have in a 10 gallon. I also have two ghost shrimp. He hasn't hurt the platy, but has driven it into hiding. I got them all at the same time, so one wasn't newer than the others. I tried...

Hello, We all know about the one inch of fish per gallon rule. My question is, does the same apply for invertebrates? I have a couple ghost shrimp, each about one inch long and I wasn't sure if the same rule applied, so I understocked the tank. But, if they aren't a big bio-load since they...

Speaking simply, yes. Speaking specifically, not necessarily. Can they, yes. Will they? Maybe. You'll have to check how to breed them. Some fish like specific temperatures, water parameters, etc before they'll breed.

I have a molly that chases my platy around after I feed them, and if I change anything on the tank (move anything in the tank, change the lighting, or if anything hits the tank and startles them.) But, he doesn't do anything to my dwarf gourami.

I have tried a lot of different fluorescent bulbs and non of them look good. I've tried Zoo Med Floramax, which is too red. I've tried Zoo Med Ultrasun, but that had almost no red and way too much blue. Then I tried Coralife Colormax. It wasn't great either. It was harsh and gave me...

I had that problem. I had to get a canister filter and put the intake over the side. I also had to make a custom top. They have thinner versions (less than 1 inch) and you might be able to use that with a HOB filter. Alternatively, You can bring the background forward a little, drill holes...

I soaked mine in water with lye until it stopped leaching. Then I soaked it several more times until the ph came down to 7. Then I put it in the tank and put sand above the slate bottom it had. If you don't have a slate bottom on your driftwood, then just put it wherever you want.

I had a 10 gallon and one of them dominated and wouldn't let the others ever go into one side of the tank. They also get two inches long each. I'd recommend at least a 20 gallon. I gave them away because I don't have room for a larger tank and I didn't like how much they chased each other.

Do you mean the neat 3d internal backgrounds that look like a real rock and are made of foam? I got mine from here: Designs by Nature

Forget the 2d flat background. Get a 3d internal background. They look a lot better. I got mine here: Designs by Nature A few other places sell them too.

There are bacteria that break down nitrates into nitrogen and oxygen. Lava rock is often sold for aquariums to house the anaerobic bacteria that consumes nitrates. As long as you're still dosing the tank with ammonia, it's not a bad thing. It's likely that by stirring up the substrate, you're...

I've used real landscaping rocks. I boiled them first and never had a problem.

If you don't mind spending more on lighting, electricity, getting CO2 tanks, buying extra equipment, regularly trimming the plants, learning all about plants, etc, and you love the look of live plants and hate the look of fake, then go with live plants. If, like me, you want a low maintenance...

Try adding some salt to the water. I find it helps reduce stress in most fish. One Tablespoon for every 5 gallons is good (that's what I use). My platy is swimming around actively. I also keep the temperature at 80 F.