Yeah, that's what I thought, which is why this conflicting info I've been reading is kinda weird. Low ppm, but stable pH? Those don't go hand and hand. I'm thinking, the pH can't be as important as the ppm. I've read it does best from pHs 6.8-7.4. So, I'm not sure. Maybe they're referring to the amo...

This is going to seem extreme, but I would like to have an aquarium that I can maintain below 50 ppm of dissolved solids in the water. pH isn't too big of an issue for me, but the closer to neutral the better. It definitely has to be above 6, preferably above 6.5, with 6.8 being the sweet spot. Righ...

Yeah, I think that's what it was. I haven't seen anymore, so I'm not too worried anymore. It's just weird that they showed up a good two weeks after I put it in. Goes to show that mangrove roots are terrible at becoming waterlogged.

Yeah, I knew they were terrible quality. But these shots actually aren't from a distance; a couple inches away from the front of the tank. My phone just sucks I guess. Also, still have not seen a live one. I searched around in the substrate a bit, but nothing. And lastly, I threw them out. It's stup...

Hey guys, I know this isn't directly about catfish, but advice would be really appreciated, as my catfish are in the tank with this issue. These past couple of days, I've discovered dead white bugs in my tank on the bottom. They're pretty big, about half the size of a nano Cory, so half an inch mayb...

As someone who's very jealous and trying to get ahold of these fish myself, I think those are indeed Hisonotus. I've heard they can range from green-brown coloration, and the intensity can vary depending on their environment (if they are in a heavily planted, green tank or a blackwater low plant tan...

A lot of cories change color actually depending on a few factors. I've seen that my cories change color depending on two things: health and surroundings. When cories are underneath darker substrate, they will try to camouflage by changing color slightly. I got a salt and pepper cory, corydoras habro...

What do you mean by bare substrate? The only substrate needs cories have is a soft/smooth substrate so their whiskers don't get injured or worn down, making sand the best option. Also, it depends on whether or not they have room to swim. If you clear a section of plants so they can have some open sp...

Last night, added mangrove roots to my tank and removed my plant and the fishes' favorite log. It took a long time, as I couldn't get the roots to sink right/fit. Stirred up a lot of stuff, lights were turned on and off a lot. I think I stressed out the fish a lot. Woke up this morning, another one ...

My cory with popeye passed today. He didn't look well, it doesn't surprise me that he didn't make it. I kept him in the same tank as his friends to keep him stress free as possible, but I don't think there was much I could've done. The lady at the pet store dropped him from a pretty far distance, at...

Ok, decided I don't want to mess around with my sand, so I'm going to stick to stem plants for the most part, might do one or two root plants and just stick in some root tabs if needed. Updated plant choice: Cabomba caroliniana 30-80 cm stem Hygrophila polysperma 25-40 cm tall, 4-8 cm wide stem Limn...

1. Water parameters a) Temperature range: 75-77 F b) pH: 7 c) GH d) KH e) Conductivity or TDS (if GH and KH aren't provided): 137 ppm f) Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite levels (Most LFS's will check your water and give a list of readings): 0 ppm, 0ppm, >20ppm g) Water change frequency: at least once a wee...

The only reason I hesitate with limnobium is I've heard their roots grow super long and can get caught in the filter. Can I use RRF as my indicator floater? The color ranges from green to red, so I assume it'd be a good indicator. Also, neither of the plants you suggested are South American, sorry t...

Sorry, had finals this week, no time for extensive fish stuff besides basic care. Anyways, my tap water, I suspect, is probably high in copper because the plumbing in my house uses copper tubing. Also, I know my water has about .25-.5 ppm ammonia in it. Plus, it's really hard, and that would kill th...

Well, Seachem Flourish can be expensive, and I'd rather not use it. My tank's carbon content should actually be a bit high, because I'm using distilled water. And if it wasn't high enough, I was planning on doing CO2 injections. So I guess medium-low tech is more accurate? Anyways, do I really need ...

I'm a step ahead of you when it comes to what plants I want. Actually, I thought the same thing you did, as I want a low tech aquarium, so almost all of the plants I picked were listed as easy plants. Going for an Amazonian biotope-esque tank, I picked: Hygrophylia polysperma Dwarf Amazon Sword Stau...

I know, I just find understanding all these little intricacies so interesting! But anyways, I agree, that should be enough; when it comes down to it, all I'm trying to figure out is how to make my own solution to remineralize my water for my fish and a fertilizer for my plants. Cos the stuff they se...

Very, very interesting. So, the sulfate and nitrate are practically useless add-ons to get the ions I need, and could potentially be harmful. Plants produce phosphate as it is, so not sure why I'd need to add it. I really like your suggestion, Bas Pels, so I think I'm going to try that alongside the...

Haven't gotten the sterilizer yet, and the fungus came back on one of my recovering catfish. I'm dosing my whole tank with rid fungus, Melafix, and Pimafix. A lot of the fungus on my catfish seems to have disappeared, but he lost his whiskers. I feel terrible about it. He also lost a lot of his tail...

My only question is, is the salt solution safe for the Cories? I've heard they don't handle it well. Can I just exclude NaCl from the solution? Do fish need Na+ or Cl-? I feel like they really wouldn't for the most part, but this is just me thinking out loud, I have no real idea. Here's what I'm usi...

Continuing my updates, the Pimafix and Melafix are actually helping. My False Cory's eye looks better, but I think my tank is still infected. Awesome.news though: I'm gonna get a UV sterilizer! That should fix this whole thing right up combined with some meds, right?

I use distilled water for my 20 gallon tank. I don't trust my tap water, as I know it has heavy metals like copper in it which will not be good for my Cories and chloramines/ammonia. I'm trying to create an Amazon-esque biotope, not perfect but some blackwater elements like staining and decor/plants...

So I've been feeding my catfish Thera A and I've started dosing them with Pimafix. All of my fish seem to be acting weird, and its driving me nuts because I can't tell with 100% certainty whether they're sick or not. They all seem kinda lethargic/skittish, and also seem to have trouble breathing. Th...

I don't think mine had the band or the yellow/brown discoloring, but the one who died definitely had a whitened back, and it was very sudden. Also, I've definitely seen white around some of my fishes' mouthes and some fast breathing that I couldn't pinpoint. I was confused because there aren't a lot...

Figured it out; turns out my nitrate test wasn't accurate. Now I test my nitrate twice every time I do it to be absolutely certain. I can't figure out why this is though, because I follow the instructions to a T, but oh well, problem solved with minimal casualties.

So, to start this off, I'm an idiot. My tank's nitrates spiked one day to 80 ppm and one of my catfish became sick. He would not close his mouth, and was sticking it out so that I could see it. The area around his face slowly turned whiter and whiter, and he swam in a disoriented fashion(it seemed l...

To clarify my previous comment, I had to look it up. When we're talking about depths like those in aquaria, UV light penetrates just fine - there is some loss, but not enough to call it safe. That said, of course, there are different ranges of UV light, A, B, and C. UV-A is the least harmful, and t...

I thought UV light was harmful? Perhaps I am mistaken. I would guess they mean near-IR. Even it it was near-UV, that doesn't penetrate water very far, does it? I don't know what's available as a tank light. Light in fish tanks seems to be a very undecided topic among aquarists on what works and wha...

Oh, and one more important question: When I had a ghost knife fish (which is nocturnal) I used a UV light in his tank so he would come out during the day. He couldn't see it at all, and it worked beautifully. I'm thinking of getting woodcats in the future, and I was wondering if they also can't see ...

If you search through these forums for the words corys and hybrid, hybridize, and/or hybridization, you will find lots of posts where people discuss this. In the aquarium hobby, there are generally two groups of breeders - people who want to keep the fish in their tanks as close as possible to the ...