Recent content by SwampeastMike

Neons can be boring--especially in small numbers. The more you get the more active and flashy they become as they begin to school and shoal. Tetras of different breeds do not school together however so you need to add more neons before you consider adding others. A male/female pair of...

The description mentioned outdoor ponds so I suppose that means "wild".

The proper answer to your question is, "As infrequently as possible." Why? Because no matter how delicately you clean you're removing biological filtration ability. This is particularly important when the filter media is new as it [seems] to take much longer to establish a bacterial colony...

Found that there's a BIG difference in suppliers of neon tetras! I was ordering from the only local fish store and wound up with 60%+ death rate on two different orders. Ordered 50 from supplier in Florida via ebay and every one survived the 48-hour quarantine and I believe all survived the...

Appears to be some sort of lichen. Likely harmless in small quantities.

I had the same problem with my first two batches of neons. About 75% loss in a week :( They were bought from a local fish store and were nearly microscopic. Decided to buy some from an ebay seller in Florida. MUCH larger and every one of the 50 lived has lived for more than 2 weeks now :)

I'm an old time aquarist now with a new, large (180-gallon) planted tank with an unusual community of fish. Have about 80 neon tetras and they definitely school among their larger tankmates. Despite their reputation for not caring for light they regularly "play" in the lighted intense bubble...

Nothing like the black beard algae. Tiny perfect spheres like the "glue" on spider silk. It almost looks like miniature duckweed but instead of on the surface connected to the hardscape.

Like tiny lime green cotton balls on dark rocks. When looking very close you see they're on teensy threads. Guppies and other browsing fish seem repulsed by them. Also some growing on gravel where it looks slightly like moss. Syphoned most of it away but sure some is left. What is it?

180-gallon. 3 weeks with a lemon bristlenose pleco and I've only seen it in this "invisible" crack--many times. Only once did it venture out to the light stone for a few seconds. It's about 4 cm long. Do I have to wait for it to outgrow the crack to ever really see it?

I have to agree with the fewer species, more of each suggestion. Definitely some schooling fish. Tetras are ideal. Don't neglect the good old guppy! Add a few fancies and soon you'll have a group. They swim at all levels of the tank and are fair algae browsers/plant cleaners. Do...

There's nothing so good for surface agitation as gas bubbles breaking at the surface. No air stones/bars? Did your plants get to mature size in a 50-liter aquarium? If so a radical pruning may have stunted them severely as may vigorous growth pruned radically before the plant is truly mature.

Just using the basic table showing ph, temp and theoretical co2 concentration. Nothing fancy at all. Know it's just an approximation even if I seem to have found a nice balance where all of the fish are very happy (ph 6.7 - 6.9) and the plants are OK. Having never had water like this...

Carbonates in the local tap water https://dnr.mo.gov/ccr/MO4021532.pdf is around 250 ppm so I can't I easily use it to add the needed carbonates? I've normally been using about 1/3 tap water during water changes and the 3kh/5gh levels were consistent for months. Did two large changes with...

Is the kh of 3 that I always measure adequate? Just checked the water in the rain tank and it's 6.2 with all zeroes thereafter. That's the norm. The "black" water was from vegetable matter released by both conifers and deciduous trees.