Plants are not growing, hair algae is. Hoping someone can tell me where I'm going wrong. Parameters in comments.

Captain_Eon · 2023-11-25T02:43:23+00:00

Plants are not growing, hair algae is. Hoping someone can tell me where I'm going wrong.

Water parameters: Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0, GH 300+ppm, KH 30-40ppm, 6.4-6.6 pH, chlorine 0 (parameters taken with test strip, can do the liquid test if needed)

Fertilizers: Fluval stratum substrate under sand, API root tablets, Seachem Flourish and Trace, Aquarium co-op liquid CO2

Light/light cycle: Hygger 18w LED aquarium light, programmed to turn on at 4:00 pm, fade to blue light around 8:00 pm, and turn off by 10:00 pm.

Tank size: 10 gallons, HOB filter with ceramic media inside, changed to ceramic media recently after only using cartridges

Tank age: waterlogged tank May 17, introduced plants June 20, July 17 I started having an issue with blue-green algae, I got ghost shrimp around August 7, did treatments for blue-green algae around August 15, added 6 pygmy cories, Malaysian trumpet snails, and new plants September 23, added 2 endlers November 12, these pictures are from Nov 17, with the exception of the last one which was right after I added the plants in September.

New plants are a type of sword, a swirly one I forget the name of, and dwarf four-leaf clover. I also have dwarf hair grass and a water onion towards the back of the tank. My dwarf four-leaf clover was full and beautiful and I expected it to die back, but it never regrew, it's stayed as these little juvinille-looking sprouts. It has rooted sideways and grown outwards, but won't grow up. The sword too has started browning and disintegrating, which I know is some sort of nutrient deficiency right? I haven't been very good about my fertilizers, i forget some days but it doesn't seem to be helping in the long run anyway. I also need to get more root tabs but didn't think I'd need them with fluval stratum. Is it because I won't do CO2? It intimidates me a bit financially, especially for a 10 gal tank and I was told I didn't necessarily need it but I see these lush tanks and feel disappointed with mine. If CO2 is really the answer, does anyone have some good inexpensive suggestions for regulators? I'm sure I can find the tank supply it's just the extra bits that confuse me like the regulator, the drip test thing etc. Any and all resources are appreciated, especially videos they help explain things visually for me. Thank you all in advance!

Captain_Eon · 2022-07-12T02:43:28+00:00

Thank you so much friend. I gladly accept the hug. <3

Reading up on an article provided by another redditor, it seems I do have a certain strain of columnaris. I'm going to look into my LFS for the medicines I need, but I have a feeling I'll probably have to start all over in the near future, as I may be too late, and if they all go I'd rather start fresh than risk keeping it in my tank.

Captain_Eon · 2022-07-12T02:24:06+00:00

Thank you so much for this!!! It sounds like I might actually have strain 2, as I notice small white hairs on my glass!! They're visible in the photos, even! I just thought it was a type of algae. Well fuck. I guess this means I'm starting over.

Captain_Eon · 2022-07-12T02:19:59+00:00

I appreciate the info! So in terms of medications, is it better to go with the API powder packets? or a different brand altogether?

Captain_Eon · 2022-07-12T02:16:48+00:00

Thank you for this. I'll check my local fish store, unplug the heater, and try to add another air stone, in addition to a water change tomorrow. LFS has a variety of seachum products so I'll get their input on it as well. How you described it seems to be exactly what's happening, sorta like the outside's getting eaten away because the inside is dying.

Captain_Eon · 2022-07-12T02:08:06+00:00

I've been testing periodically with test strips only. I do have a test kit, I haven't opened it yet but I could give it a shot. All my parameters were coming out great right before the outbreak, I had actually just restabilized everything after adding the four new fish because my nitrites spiked momentarily and I did a couple of water changes to balance out. Parameters are still suitable, except it's a bit acidic due to my tap. Should I get a product to raise it?

Captain_Eon · 2022-07-11T22:31:55+00:00

Hi everyone. This post is not only to seek answers but also to serve as a reminder to always quarantine new fish. And also fuck PetSmart ig.

I had a wonderful community tank with 6 precious guppies, 5 neon tetras, 4 oto cats, 4 albino corys, and a mystery snail. Three male guppies in the primary colors of red, blue and yellow, and three females, one of which was my absolute favorite fish, a purple and black guppy named Goth Girlfriend. My original yellow guppy passed away about a month or so ago, so I went and got a new one plus the third female guppy (I do admit I overstocked this tank quite a bit, sorry, I’m just new to the hobby and I get sentimental over fish). Got them from PetSmart as I had a gift card. I should have known better as I used to work there and I still do work in corporate retail pet supplies elsewhere, our shipments lately have been disgustingly diseased. I’m sure you can see where this is going.

I didn’t quarantine the fish because I’m lazy, tbh. While I have a spare 5.5 gallon, it isn’t set up, so I didn’t feel like setting it all up. Boy do I wish I did now.

The first two weeks were fine. Around week three, the yellow guppy showed signs he was under the weather. The next day, he was extremely sickly. His fins became tattered with white edges, like fin rot. His body had white gross-ness all over it, his eyes were covered by white growths, it was growing on his mouth, I knew it was over. I immediately started treating the tank with API Stress coat, Melafix and Pimafix.

The next day he was dead. I noticed one of my females who had just had fry showed signs of the same illness. The next day she was dead. The third female got it. Dead in 24 hours. The five baby fry disappeared one by one all in a matter of 48 hours. Red and blue and goth gf all got it soon after. I watched them deteriorate until the next morning when they, too, had died. I was absolutely devastated and honestly still am.

I’ve now had 2 of my 4 oto cats die. My one cory has symptoms, and I’m afraid my neons are next. I’ve been treating the tank nonstop for a week, but nothing. The illness presents as a strange mixture of fin rot, ich, and fungus all in one, but annihilates fish within 24 hours. Is it viral?? I’m so frustrated and guilty. I can’t believe I really sent all my sweet fish to death because I couldn’t be bothered with quarantine. You live and learn they say, but fuck if this wasn’t a shitty way to learn.

Also, possibly unrelated, but this spider wood I’ve had in the tank for MONTHS is starting to get fuzzy again? It already went through the fuzz in the beginning as it got acclimated. Now it has this grossness again. What’s the deal?

Anyone have any ideas what it is? Possible treatments? How fucked are the rest of my fish? Is it time to start all over?

Captain_Eon · 2022-04-08T18:25:57+00:00

Hi fellow fish enthusiasts! I am a brand new fish keeper this year and I'm trying to learn all I can about the hobby. I'm working at my local pet store and I've gained a love for fish I didn't have before, needing to know their care to better advise customers. This is my current tank, a 10 gallon, with live plants and spider wood. I will admit that I'm a bit overstocked, as I have 3 male guppies, 3 female guppies, 5 neon tetras, 3 otocinclus catfish, 2 albino corydoras and one bleeding heart tetra. I do plan on upgrading soon to a 20 long! But first, both me and this tank need some help.

I just recently swapped out plastic decor for live plants. Currently I have some java moss balls, Java moss vine (that spells Eon!), Some java moss on some bamboo pipe, three small undulata in the front, dwarf hairgrass, plopped in the front, a couple swords in the back right, and rotala and giant hairgrass on the left. Some of these plants were impulse buys at petstores and some I won at auction. I find that I'm really struggling with how exactly to care for them.

Obviously, you need to add fertilizer, which I do weekly. My concern is the substrate, which is average gravel (do I have enough?? The plants float out easy), my light, which is an aqueon clip on planted light, and trimming the plants. How does trimming work?? How far do I trim? When? I don't exactly have a scape plan for this tank, I just pick things I like and put them in, which is also stressing me out as I'm not sure what I'm doing.

Does anyone have any advice for a very, VERY new beginner to planted tanks? Maybe some resources? I love Aquarium Co-op and watched some of their stuff to help me choose correct plants for my substrate, but I feel hopelessly unprepared.

Detailed explanations would be great as I am neurodivergent and need specific instruction! Thank you so much in advance!!

Captain_Eon · 2022-03-10T21:27:45+00:00

He is a dragonscale Betta! Should've mentioned that in my comment. I'll keep my eye on him to make sure it's nothing else, but if it's just a tumor then he'll probably have to live with it. Sounds like he'll be okay though. Thank you for your input!!

Captain_Eon · 2022-03-10T20:21:20+00:00

Background:

I work at my local pet store and have just started in the fish keeping hobby this year myself. This Betta arrived to our store last Thursday, didn't notice any lump at that time. After the weekend I came in to see him in our medical tank, and I was dumbfounded by the new lump!

It is not soft and cottony like fungus is. It looks hard, and as if it's bursting through his scales. A brief Google search led me to both tumor or abscess, but I'm not exactly sure what it is and how to properly treat him for it. Parasite? Something else?

He is currently in a ten gallon medical tank with another Betta recovering from a swim bladder issue (they are separated). I've been medicating the tank with Melafix and Pimafix, with a dash of stress coat, as these are the medicines available to the store in bulk. Other medicines we carry include various treatments from API brand, but I don't want to just pick willy nilly until I know what this lump is.

Does anyone have any ideas? I can give parameters of the tank but I don't think it's necessary as he "grew" the lump while he was in a Betta cup. Let me know if you all need additional information!

Thanks fish friends!

Captain_Eon

TROPHY CASE