Greetings everyone!
I've been in the aquarium hobby off and on for about 15 years. At one point in the distant past I had five tanks from 75-20 gal, full of African and S. American cichlids. After all those tanks' inhabitants died of old age I took a break from the hobby for many years. In 2017 I started up again with a 5.5 gal housing a Betta and a couple Nerites. When the Betta passed away in 2019 his tank started to crash - it needed a fish in the ecosystem. I restocked with three Ember tetras and that did the trick!
The past couple months the tank's been looking sad. With the exception of my Anubias, all my plants have died off. One of my two Nerites has passed away and it looks like the second is not long for this world. (He's barely moved for the past week, and he's almost three now.) It's time to replenish, replant, and restock!
Yesterday I did a deep clean on the tank. I emptied it but retained two gallons of the existing water, added new substrate as I'm sure the old stuff is exhausted, and put in some fake plants as placeholders. I've ordered 2 Bacopa Carolinia Red, 1 Ludwiga Senegalensis, one Cabomba Aquatica, and a golf ball of Christmas Moss. I also ordered 10 Orange Pumpkin Neocaradina.
I've never kept shrimp before, so any tips and tricks on those guys would be greatly appreciated. Other than that I look forward to swapping stories and advice with all of you!
I've been in the aquarium hobby off and on for about 15 years. At one point in the distant past I had five tanks from 75-20 gal, full of African and S. American cichlids. After all those tanks' inhabitants died of old age I took a break from the hobby for many years. In 2017 I started up again with a 5.5 gal housing a Betta and a couple Nerites. When the Betta passed away in 2019 his tank started to crash - it needed a fish in the ecosystem. I restocked with three Ember tetras and that did the trick!
The past couple months the tank's been looking sad. With the exception of my Anubias, all my plants have died off. One of my two Nerites has passed away and it looks like the second is not long for this world. (He's barely moved for the past week, and he's almost three now.) It's time to replenish, replant, and restock!
Yesterday I did a deep clean on the tank. I emptied it but retained two gallons of the existing water, added new substrate as I'm sure the old stuff is exhausted, and put in some fake plants as placeholders. I've ordered 2 Bacopa Carolinia Red, 1 Ludwiga Senegalensis, one Cabomba Aquatica, and a golf ball of Christmas Moss. I also ordered 10 Orange Pumpkin Neocaradina.
I've never kept shrimp before, so any tips and tricks on those guys would be greatly appreciated. Other than that I look forward to swapping stories and advice with all of you!
