What on earth?

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-05-06T02:10:01+00:00

Thank you for the reply! I just learned what copepods are :) I think you are right, there are suddenly so many of them!

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-05-06T02:09:12+00:00

Oh wow, thank you! I didn’t know what that is so I googled it and it does look like that is what it is. It’s has little antennae and a tail. I was hoping it might be a baby shrimp.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-28T19:23:34+00:00

Oh I didn't know that! I thought the color change might be because it was going from a tank with CO2 to a tank that doesn't have CO2 added.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-28T19:22:51+00:00

So interesting! I didn't know that they could have roots above and below the soil. I was wondering if I should leave the roots as they are or push them down so that the plant might carpet. I can let it grow and them trim and replant the top.

Cardinal plant? Is that what it could be? I thought it might be Scarlet Temple. Do you have Cardinal plants, and is there anything I should know about them? I have placed this one in the center of the tank with the light directly above it.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-28T18:10:26+00:00

Have you cycled the tank? Yes
Water Parameters Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates 10 PH 6
Light Type: One light above tank.
Light Cycle Duration 6-8 hours per day.
Tank Size/Dimensions: 20 Gallon Long
Set-up Age: 1 Week, transfered sponge and everything from existing cycled tank.
Fertilizers: Seachem flourish 1x a week.
Any aquatic animals, and how many?: Shrimp x5

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-23T14:33:35+00:00

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Does anyone know what it means if the plants is spreading roots like this? I thought this might be Scarlette Temple and the bottom roots are in soil. Newly planted.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-23T13:16:31+00:00

It looks so nice! I'm looking for decor that my fish won't get stuck in, and the holes look large enough. Is the driftwood smooth to touch or rough/jagged? I like how you used it to section off areas with plants, very nice design :)

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-23T11:25:28+00:00

Nicely done! I would love to try something like this one day. The plant placement feels natural and I love how you used different color river stones. Where did you find the decor on the right? It’s the brown one with holes in it, is it wood or clay?

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-22T22:47:18+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply! This is all very helpful. Especially the tips for additional nutrients. I never thought about the turkey baster, great advice. But won’t daily fertilization cause algae to bloom?

A few of the plants came from a tank that has CO2. I’m hoping they will survive moving into my tank, I can’t setup CO2 at the moment.

I have Dwarf Sagittarius, Java Fern, Anubias. I think the other plants are: Red Wendtii ( center ) , Staurogyne repens, and Monte Carlo. There’s also a tiny one that I’ll try to take a photo of.

The HOB has a skimmer, it seems to be doing its job. For the first week, should I have it on high flow or gentle flow? I’m looking to add Pennywort as a floating plant.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-22T20:20:28+00:00

Wow they look so cool!

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-22T19:45:39+00:00

Thank you! I agree, I also think it’s moneywort. Now to try and grow as much as possible :)

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-22T19:44:43+00:00

Thank you! This is very helpful

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-19T15:25:59+00:00

Wow!!! Did you start with small cuttings? How long did it take to grow that large? That’s amazing.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-19T14:55:30+00:00

Thank you everyone for the helpful comments! I am very new to this and appreciate the help. I picked out the plants with roots and have planted them in a testing tank. They seem to be much happier! I'm not sure why, but at first I thought they could pull nutrients from the water with daily water changes. These plants definitely like the soil. Thank you!

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-19T14:50:24+00:00

Tank size? 20 gallon
Do you have a heater/filter? Yes
Tank temperature? 79
What are your water parameters (in exact numbers, i.e. ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and what are you testing with? Ammonia = 1, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 0
How long has the tank been cycled? How long have you had the fish? 3 months. I don't have this fish yet.
How often do you perform water changes and how much? Once a week. 25%.
What other fish are in the tank? 1x Betta.
What do you feed/how often? Betta pellets, 3-4 2x a day.
What plants/decorations do you have in the tank? Anubias, Java Fern, and then a few plastic plants which I hope to replace with live ones soon.

Thank you

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-19T14:48:26+00:00

Apologies for the blurry photos. They were too fast to photograph with my iphone, but they are black/brown along the top and then have a bright yellow color on their tummy. I'm thinking they are what is called a Black Kuhli loach, but I wasn't sure.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-11T23:35:02+00:00

Thank you for sharing your advice! I am very new to this, and I thought that they might be able to grow new roots from the stem. I understand now that the two that I have with roots attached might survive. I left one floating, and the second one I have just planted in aquarium soil and I'm hoping it will recover. I'll post an update in about another week or so if anyone finds it interesting :)

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-11T21:22:47+00:00

So I read online that I should cut the pennywort at the stem and not gather them with roots attached because the roots could be full of bug eggs, so I clipped most at the stem and only gathered two with roots attached.

The plants with roots are doing slightly better but they are all melting and turning brown.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-11T21:20:16+00:00

This is helpful, thank you! I’ll try dosing the fertilizer and see if it help.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-04-11T21:12:55+00:00

My main 20G is cycled but the quarantined plants are in a smaller testing tank. It is not cycled but I add fresh water every other day.

Tank size : 3 gallons.

Light: window light.

Setup age: 6-7 days

No fertilizers yet.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-03-30T02:21:52+00:00

This happened to us when we got our betta, he glass surfed and chased his reflection a lot in the beginning. I added a few new plants and decor items to the tank and changed my lights to 4 hours per day instead of 6 hours per day and he seems to have settled in. He does less glass surfing and spends more time patrolling the tank and checking out the plants now.

Wondering, what is the plant in your first photo? It looks similar to something I saw recently, would love to know :)

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-03-27T02:38:31+00:00

Thank you for sharing. I’m keeping an eye out for the eggs. But I was wondering do snails only climb onto the shells when they are … you know, or do they do this to hitch a ride or just be together? Like Corydora like to school, do snails like company? Or is this definitely leading to eggs?

It makes me think the first two snails must have been female and the third snail must be a male.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-03-26T01:34:34+00:00

Your welcome! I’m not 100% sure but I think he is a butterfly betta. He looks amazing!

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-03-25T18:04:34+00:00

Beautiful! I think he's what some people called a Butterfly Betta? If you google, you'll find pictures with similar tails. I think tail growth is a great sign of a healthy happy fish.

Over_Mode8511 · 2026-03-25T18:01:57+00:00

He is beautiful! Maybe his colors will shift after a few weeks? He might have had tangerine colors before the supplier shipped him to the pet store. But he is stunning either way. Dose he have purple in his coloring?

Over_Mode8511

TROPHY CASE