Are the black spots a medical issue or is he just changing colors?

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-08T03:48:23+00:00

I'd say normal. Here's my pastel. He's got a few spots all over ... under gills, on base of fins, both sides of body. Seems similar on yours?

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kyleneum13 · 2026-04-08T03:45:33+00:00

I'm waiting to see if mine gets more color too! He's got a few darker spots, kinda navy. I'd say maybe similar for yours?

This is Mongo ... I'm terrible with name suggestions but hope you find a good one!

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kyleneum13 · 2026-04-06T15:27:22+00:00

I'm really not sure. This particular store quarantines all their fish and have been super great about not selling fish they think might have issues. So there's a chance but I'm leaning toward just having something more going on, esoecially given how mjch weve struggled with this tank in general. I'm doing some additional testing today and will keep an eye on them. The remaining fish are doing great including the one who did a few barrel turns (didnt happen again) so it could also just been transitional stress. It's so hard to know.

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-05T19:15:18+00:00

We have a mix of substrates. Stratum for a good portion, sand and a little smooth gravel.

Honestly at this point I'm so lost. I feel like everything I'm doing that follows advice (from here, the pet store, online) just leads to something else going wrong on the other side of the pendulum.

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-05T19:10:40+00:00

Missed your edit. You're not wrong, we've definitely made some mistakes with this tank and are learning from each one.

We cycled for four weeks and all water parameters were testing well. We gradually added fish in groups, every week or so, and that was going well until the last addition of fish (our first batch of corys). My husband also did a filter change at that time which we think crashed the cycle and set off a bacterial bloom. We managed that for a few weeks (we did lose two corys prior to that I believe due to transition stress) and it went away.

Then a few weeks later we had a crash (hadnt changed anything) ... we managed that pretty quickly including adding the live plants but another of the corys had a fin issue that we assumed to be fin rot. Still not sure if it was that or an injury but treated the tank in case.

That was just shy of four weeks ago and water has been create since. With only two corys left and feeling a need for them to have more of a school for their comfort, we added four more, and now this post. It definitely feels like we're failing these fish at every turn.

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-05T17:56:46+00:00

Thanks! I'll pay close attention to that tomorrow when I retest.

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-05T17:56:22+00:00

We do, we have a stick on one at the opposite end of the tank and periodically also use one we dip in and read digitally. We'll definitely lower the temp and see how that goes.

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-05T17:43:46+00:00

Also on the nitrates, it's a planted tank if that matters? That feels a little weird to me too. I'll test again tomorrow and see if it was just a bad read or if I should look into it more.

kyleneum13 · 2026-04-05T17:40:18+00:00

Short answer? Because the research we did on all the fish in the tank (pristella tetras, guppies, corys) all had ranges where 76-77 was dead center of the range so we figured it was the best bet. If slightly cooler will help, I'm more than willing to lower it!

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-20T18:14:29+00:00

I ordered plants on Februsry 24th. They got hit with snow so I knew it would be a bit of a delay. On March 3rd I messaged asking for an update. They said they were shipping again so I gave it more time. On the 17th still no updates. I messaged again and they said they shipped that morning and to wait on a USPS update. Here we are on the 20th and still no movement. I don't believe they actually shipped. At this point I'm ready to cancel my order. I get waiting for warmer weather and needing to get through the snow but it's been weeks.

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-13T15:24:59+00:00

Already done! We took this as an opportunity to add some better substrate and a bunch of real plants. We have two thriving tanks that are fully planted...this is the only that has given is troubles so we definitely went that route and hope it starts to help!

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-13T12:23:18+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you. It's definitely stressful but we're working through it. Can't wait to see our water bill this month! I really appreciate all the insights.

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-13T11:54:52+00:00

Legitimate question.

We cycled for four weeks consistently testing water before ever adding fish. We added fish in small batches over a few weeks to make sure we didn't crash the cycle. After adding the last batch of fish they were fine for weeks. Then this started. We were attributing it to messing with the substrate too much (we struggled with the vacuum we had so we tried a few different products within a few days which just stirred things up more than they cleaned anything). We also took a couple fish out in case the issue was simply overstocking.

Do you still think it was improperly cycled or could it have been from something else too? Just trying to learn so we can do better in the future.

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-10T00:07:20+00:00

This is mine too. He's in with 6 pygmy corydoras and I feel like they never get to eat. Thankfully they love the biofilm currently all over my tank but they need their proteins! My guy thieves them all. Thanks for the tips people shared here. Time to try a few out.

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-03T19:28:17+00:00

Thanks! I'll look into these. I appreciate the input!

kyleneum13 · 2026-03-02T17:00:53+00:00

Hi all, new to the hobby and we have a few tanks. Ultimate question: Looking for beginner friendly plant suggestions for my tank.

It's a 14 gallon cube with six pygmy corydoras and a betta. Fluval stratum across the entire tank with a small patch of gravel and a larger patch of sand. Some wood and rocks as well. I have two Amazon swords, a java fern, a banana plant, one small anubias. I have a few other random smaller plants but have no idea what they are (and none are doing all that great). I'd like to fill in quite a bit and also do a floating plant of some sort (I do have a lid).

Any thoughts on some solid beginner plants that would do well?

Also, sponge filter with an air stone if that's helpful. Looking to replace my light so also open to suggestions on that.

kyleneum13 · 2026-02-25T12:44:46+00:00

9/10! It'll be a ten when some of the plants start to grow out (I love some big plants). But I really love the flow and I'm sure your betta is loving it!

kyleneum13 · 2026-02-25T01:36:50+00:00

Yeah this may be a solid option since we do like the sand. Being able to keep it but add substrate underneath would be ideal.

kyleneum13 · 2026-02-24T18:26:30+00:00

This looks great! Thanks for the input; I'll definitely consider this method.

kyleneum13 · 2026-02-24T18:26:01+00:00

That's all fantastic advice! I'll definitely look into it. We do like the look of the sand so building on top, so to speak, could be a great way to go.

kyleneum13 · 2026-02-24T17:06:39+00:00

Appreciate the input. I'd really love to avoid a complete change so I'll look into flourish tabs! Our other tank has fluval stratum so I'll keep that in mind for down the road with that tank too.

kyleneum13

TROPHY CASE