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Had to share a pic of one of my cories... After a hard day of play, s/he is fast asleep... VERTICALLY! Alphie, the betta is coming to say hello. Cories never cease to amuse me :lol:

Thanks everyone. I will consider the rasboras as an alternative. My son's daycare has a tank full of endler babies... so cool to watch the wee ones :-) I am hoping that my rams will be successful in raising some fry! I'll have to pass on the loaches as the dwarf variety are almost $30/fish...

Good suggestion, I'll keep it in mind for the next tank... unfortunately for this one, I've already put the dirt and sand in and removing it would be very messy! Perhaps I should downsize my rocks...

Thank you both. I will do only one dwarf gourami (or perhaps a slightly bigger variety to avoid DG disease) because it's safer than trying to pick 1M,2F. Is it cruel to keep only one of a species? No buddy sounds a bit lonely, although I'm sure this is better than being stressed out with...

Seeking some stocking advice for my new 30 gallon planted. I plan on having a pair of dwarf gourami and a pair of bolivian rams. I'd like to add a school, preferable with a bit of colour or some sort of pizzaz, that would be compatible with these pairs. Anyone have any favorites that could...

I'd like to use some large rocks as part of my hardscape... should I be worried about the weight of the rocks and substrate putting pressure on the glass and seams? Don't want to cause any leaks over time. I'd estimate about 40 pounds of substrate and maybe 30 pounds of rocks. It's a 30...

Update on my dirted tank Well, I finally found some organic miracle grow... first obstacle overcome :)Added some red clay and calcium carbonate (due to soft water) And I rinsed my play sand for what felt like hours. I think it's too fine a grain. Set up in the tank looked pretty decent when I...

Loaches won! Well, my little loaches have proven un-catchable. They hide amongst the plants, rocks, and driftwood, and can fit into very small places. I can't even "scare" them out into the open to catch. I tried coaxing them out with some food, but they are very alert to changes in the...

Any advice from members about what to do with my juvenile Burmese border loaches? They are awesome little fellows, but they are eating my amazon swords... I tried feeding peas and lettuce, which they ate at first, but then went back to the swords. I was looking forward to watching the loaches...

Hi again, Well, I seem to be having trouble locating organic potting soil, if you can believe it. None of the hardware stores carries the organic version of miracle grow, and the closest thing they have is a brand which includes perlite. I am concerned this may float around or get stuck...

Thank you both for your advice. It is so nice to be able to tap into other people's experience. Mine will be a low tech setup. I thought soil and clay might provide more nutrient than just gravel with fert tabs (which is what I'm currently doing in my first tank). How deep should I go with...

Hi folks, I am planning to start my first dirted tank (top soil + sand as substrate), and would like to know what the implications would be of using a standard HOB filter (aquaclear 70) with filter media. The Walstad method apparently does not use chemical or biological filtration. Also...

I just ordered a new 30 gallon tank and am looking for some stocking advice. I'd like to have a pair of German Blue Rams and am wondering if I can add any other dwarf cichlids? apistos or yellow lab? I already have a pair of bolivians in my 28 gallon and can interchange them with the GBR...

Cories make me smile. They are such exuberant little souls... and useful too! Can't imagine not having them!

I owe it all to Alphie, the betta fish. Finding a better home for him led me to discover how cool fish really are. Now he lives in a 28 gallon tank, very peacefully with my tetras and cories. He's only ever flared once (during feeding time) and has never tried to nip or make any aggressive...

Here is my tank... As an aside, my cories are more often swimming all over the place than resting or foraging on the bottom. Maybe they're just young, but I've never seen such exuberance in a fish! LOL.

I'd really like to add the rams if possible. From what I've read, they are quite peaceful, and I don't think my friendly little cories would mind their occupying some space in the bottom of the tank. I'd be more worried about adding a centre piece fish which might invade some of the bettas...

Thanks all. Just wondering if putting small rock corals in the tank would do the same trick? I have them on hand from my holiday rock collection... I'd like to try to avoid adding another conditioner with every water change if possible. Seems like the fish aren't troubled by the soft water...

Our municipal water supply is very soft. The guy at the LFS said we have zero KH / carbonate (?) and that this could affect the pH stability, which may be bad for fish if it swings too much. I am also wondering if this will affect my plants (amazon sword, annubias, and java fern)? Do they...

Thanks for the input everyone. It looks like frequent and "significant" water changes are generally more favourable. I didn't know if it would upset the water chemistry or affect the good bacteria...

I have heard many different opinions and approaches to the frequency and amount of water changes for a freshwater set up. I know this depends on stock, but assuming one is not overly stocked, how frequent and how much water should be changed? For the last month, I have been changing about half...

Hey all, So, I do believe my tank has cycled and I’d like to get some thoughts on how many extra fish I can safely add. Current stock is: 1 male betta, 7 neon tetras, 5 black neon tetras, 6 albino corydoras. I’d really like to add 2 bolivian rams (M+F). Would I also have space for a few more...

Hello fish folks, It all started with my son's first pet--Alphie, the betta fish. So happy that Alphie has moved from his unheated betta bowl into my "big" tank. I am learning as I go... He now has some fish friends--7 neon tetras, 5 black neons, and 6 albino corydoras-- and everyone is...