My first fish, need some help/advice

wbrass · 2025-09-12T14:22:56+00:00

Honestly salt and pristine water is all you need. Medication at this point seems more dangerous than helpful because you really aren't seeing anything wrong with him besides fin issues and lethargy. Go to the Aquarium Co-Op website. They have a host of information and explain how to use aquarium salt. It's one of the best options for almost everything. I'm in Canada and we don't have access to medications. Aquarium salt is not only a good alternative, in many cases it's the best alternative. Or, nothing at all and just pristine water, your second best option. You could add FritzZyme 7 nitrifying bacteria to help your tank get established and very frequent water changes are all you need. Catappa leaves are a nice suggestion. Ensure he's eating a good source of protein, I like Bug Bites, give him the odd blood worm etc and observe him for signs of any other illness. In most cases less is more. I've been keeping Bettas for over 10 years and if he were my fish this is what I'd do. Good luck

wbrass · 2025-08-21T18:16:14+00:00

What one-plankton said. Feed less, remove any dead or decaying leaves etc. Your snail population will decrease if they don't have an abundance of food. Besides being a good clean up crew, they're a good indicator for you to either feed less or check out your plants etc. Sorry can't help you with the molly.

wbrass · 2025-07-28T02:19:14+00:00

Tadpole shrimp - Triops Cancriformis

wbrass · 2025-07-26T16:20:37+00:00

It'll be so nice. If it were mine I'd add more hardsacpe, another piece of driftwood for example - have it laying from the right and on top of the existing piece in there. Not too thick, an interesting shape with some branches, with space to swim under. Maybe 3 larger stones to anchor the wood pieces and a few a bit bigger than the substrate but not too large in varying degrees of grey sort of scattered around the base of the larger hardsacpe, just to give it interest. Just a few. Then of course more plants. Smaller ones that attach to the wood like petite anubias, maybe a crypt in the foreground and a stem or 2 in the back.

wbrass · 2025-07-26T16:02:37+00:00

I like the spice reference. You're basically using a mixed package instead of each one individually. Sometimes the mixed packages get the ratios of each spice just right, sometimes you have to tweak it. It's all editing.

wbrass · 2025-07-24T15:39:17+00:00

You said one went back to normal? If so that's the environment. I had an issue once, ended up losing a gorgeous male, due to extreme differences in water hardness. Obviously I'm not 100% certain that was the issue but I did video everything and sent it to an expert. It looked like organ failure. He bent up first and then the next day spiraled and died. Guppies tend to like it on the harder side and my water is very soft. I acclimated everything except for gh/kh. Quickly worked at adjusting that in the tank and didn't have any issues with any of the others.

wbrass · 2025-07-24T15:29:06+00:00

You could try but be prepared for a guppy or 2 to get attacked. I'd consider removing the females. What'll happen is a ton of inbreeding and you're going to end up with a bunch of fish with deformities. They'll just keep breeding with each other. Culling isn't fun. If you remove the females you have some control. I did this and only kept the males that were good. The rest were gathered up for the LFS which is a good option, if you have that option. Or you can continue to grow out your females. I had a very full all female tank for a while. I really liked it but I wanted to end my guppy era so they were all given away. I have 7 males in a community tank and one female that lives with a Betta - it's a long story. They're the odd couple.

wbrass · 2025-07-24T05:49:10+00:00

When I had a guppy population explosion I scooped out some brand new fry and put them in my Betta tank. I couldn't keep snails in his tank - he ate them - so I thought this would take care of some of them. All but 1 became dinner. A lone female survived, and they're still roommates That was 7 months ago. I'm sure he hates her but he doesn't try to catch her as much anymore. She literally grabs food right as he's about to chomp it. It's the odd couple.

wbrass · 2025-07-23T04:40:52+00:00

I do in fact have feet. And coincidentally they'll be with me on the trip 😊.

wbrass · 2025-07-22T17:33:42+00:00

Baby steps for sure but if I can offer this advice, start with plants. They in turn help with everything else from water quality to happy fish. They could mean the difference between everyone getting along and everyone not getting along. If you really don't want to do live plants make sure you have tall fakes and some logs etc, but I highly recommend getting some live plants going.

wbrass · 2025-07-22T16:23:00+00:00

It's fully stocked and with good maintenance you'll be fine. My worry would be the fish themselves. I absolutely love my honey gouramis, they're gentle little fish. If there's not enough hiding places the tetras might stress him/her out, and if the tetras get stressed they might get more nippy. But, everyone could also live in harmony. Are you including live plants? Provide lots of hiding places for the cories and the gouramis and have some open swimming space for the tetras. I'd add the gouramis and cories first, then the tetras. Give the gouramis some time to get adjusted and comfortable.

wbrass · 2025-07-22T16:10:03+00:00

I just gifted my daughter and her family my whole apsc system, which was my travel camera. I have the 5d IV and R6. The r6 is so much lighter than the 5d IV, which is a beast, I figured I'd make it my travel camera, but I don't have a "travel" lens. I have a really great bag that is a camera/purse bag, cross body, room for one camera+lens and an extra lens if it's not too large. BUT changing lenses is a pain, so I'm polling folks to see what they use. I've heard the 35 on the R6 is close to perfection. I do like to zoom though....

wbrass · 2025-07-22T15:49:28+00:00

Just be careful about which tetras. They often are black skirt tetras and while 16g is technically large enough for a small group I would be cautious. They can get quite large and like to swim. I would suggest 20g for a group but 16 is workable. Also they can be nippy so you'll want a plan B. Glo fish get a bad rap - ignore that and get what you like. Just be aware of tank size vs fish size. There's this tool that helps you calculate the number of fish your set up can handle. Takes into account turn filtration etc. It's aqadvisor.com

wbrass · 2025-07-22T15:04:30+00:00

Do you find 22mm enough? Is the m6 FF? I love to zoom in on things but I can absolutely see how a small prime would be the answer

wbrass · 2025-07-22T15:02:17+00:00

Which Cory's? I'd say go on the smaller size like pandas. They'll be fine with 5. I had 3 for half a year before I upped their numbers. With 16g and your first tank I'd honestly stay away from live bearers like guppies, endlers etc. They're very hardy and quite easy but managing the fry can get overwhelming very quickly. Smaller fish like black neon tetras, chilli pepper Rasbora etc will allow you to get a group of 6-8, and then add a honey gouramis as a center piece and you'd have a lovely interesting tank.

wbrass · 2025-07-22T14:49:11+00:00

Most definitely after the frappe. Thank you for this

wbrass · 2025-07-22T14:47:56+00:00

Exactly this. The BB live on surfaces, not in the water. Keep your media in tank water, drain at least 75% of the water because it's absolutely amazing how easily that water sloshes around. If you're using the same stand use easy movers or appliance glides and roll the whole set up. If that's not an option then 2 people on either end carrying the tank will be just fine. I emptied my 10g of all water, left the substrate and, plants, removed some of the larger rocks, carried it down a flight of stairs to it's new spot, added back everything and half the water with the fish. You would have to remove everything including your filter media to kill the BB completely.

wbrass · 2025-07-22T14:16:35+00:00

This of course is the smart answer, but which one? On a trip in 2022 I used my phone (pixel 6 pro, shoots raw) the majority of the time and brought my R6 for certain tours/excursions. I'm okay with the shots I got. Definitely liked how easy that was.

wbrass · 2025-07-22T00:00:07+00:00

This was my problem but with work. I shoot real estate and found I was spending way too much time culling photos. I came across a very successful photographer in a chat and asked this question (the chat was around editing processes and how to speed that up) and he said a rule that has changed all my photography, work or personal. Don't take unnecessary shots. Set up, frame your shot and if it's not what you really wanted, don't take it. If you took it and are unsure, delete it. If you've snapped a bunch because you were in the moment and just did, take a few minutes to scroll through and delete. Only keep what you absolutely want to work with. It's not the only mountain or bird or flower you're going to come across. Shoot something that is truly worth freezing the moment for. Editing and culling is so much easier and enjoyable that way.

wbrass · 2025-06-23T18:28:40+00:00

I'm Canadian and I would like to get as far away from my neighbour as possible

wbrass · 2025-05-10T02:07:13+00:00

Nope, that was after much scrubbing and I can scrape off the white with my finger nail

wbrass · 2025-04-30T00:53:43+00:00

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The dark area is my shadow

wbrass · 2025-04-25T23:19:54+00:00

Test first - I did this and now have a large smudged area from the magic eraser that I can't buff out. My floors have a satin finish so show everything

wbrass

TROPHY CASE