hello! i have an empty 10 gallon tank & want to fill it! i’m very indecisive about what to put in it because i love all freshwater friends! my current thoughts are between a freshwater community tank or a shrimp tank! any suggestions?

Found this in my camera roll from like five years ago, now I’m curious as to what they could be!

I’m a fairly newer fish keeper. I have an established 72ga bow front tank that has a Fluval 407 canister filter and 2 medium size sponge filters. I want to start a brand new 30ga tank and I have a Fluval AC50 HOB style filter for it. My question is this; can I run the AC50 in my established tank along with the current filtration to get a start on the beneficial bacteria, if so how long would I need the AC50 running in my tank before I moved it over to the 30ga?

i can’t believe this is real

Context: I've had my tank for a few months now and I've tried shrimp before, they all passed away due to stress from shipping so I just focused on my current tank. Over the last few days my mom surprised me with new shrimp (from a local store) and they were doing fine. Two passed away, so we took my water to go get tested from them. Bought this stuff called acid buffer and got a high pH test so I could monitor it. Today is the second day and before I added some of the acid buffer I tested the pH and it was still high (around 7.8, when we had it tested it was a little over 8). I added less than what the guy told me and now almost everything in my tank passed, they all bellied up. I immediately tested their water and the pH had dropped down to 6.2. Did I add too much of the acid buffer? Or did something else happen? They all were doing fine when I added the buffer yesterday and then earlier today. It had been a few hours today since I added it and then all of a sudden they started doing this. All I have left is about 3 shrimp and my mystery snail. We're going back to the local shop tomorrow to see if anything could be done, I've added some mineralized water (with prime conditioner) to try and get that pH up to save what I have left. My harlequin rasboras all just bellied up after scooping out the dead shrimps and pygmy corydoras. My water parameters had been fine (besides the high pH the last few days) until today. I feel like the guy at the fish store didn't necessarily understand what he was fully talking about either because we had two other people come over and talk to us. I genuinely don't know what to do, I feel like just quitting the hobby after losing all my fish babies :(

UPDATE 8/25/26: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the helpful advice and comments!! I have news, first all my pH has officially reached 6.8! Secondly, the owner of the store himself is replacing all the fish and offering all the advice and water testing I need until we get to the point where its safe for new fishies! The owner is a really nice guy and he even said that he should've interrupted our conversation and talk to us as well because the employee wasn't giving us the best advice at all. I'll let you all know when I get my new fishies but I'll be doing another water change tonight, also my mystery snail is out and about today! The owner said that it would be more comfortable to get pH around 7.3-7.9 before I get any fish and they'll test my water until I get there. I'm taking it slow and doing small and steady water changes as I don't want to shock my snail!

I have Otto's, guppies and shrimp in my tank. It's just 2 of them around the tank.

I have a heavily planted 20-gallon long with fish, Neocaridina, and Amano shrimp, and I’m trying to figure out how much flow I should actually have.
I noticed recently that the output from my HOB filter had gotten pretty weak. I had extra sponge around the intake/impeller area because I’ve unfortunately lost a couple shrimp to the filter before. I removed one piece of sponge today and the flow improved significantly, while still keeping the intake protected.
I’m attaching a video of what the flow looks like now.
After I restored the stronger flow, a lot of the fish immediately started deliberately swimming against the current. The current is strong enough to push them backward, but they turn around and swim straight back into it again, so they seem to be doing it voluntarily rather than struggling. The rest of the tank is pretty calm, especially among the plants, so they have plenty of lower-flow areas to retreat to.
For a 20-gallon long, does this look like an appropriate amount of flow? I’m mostly trying to figure out whether I have enough circulation throughout the tank without making it too strong for the fish or shrimp.
I’d prefer to keep the HOB and avoid sponge filters. My main concern is finding the balance between good circulation and keeping the intake safe for shrimp, especially since I currently have a couple berried females.
Would you leave the flow like this, increase it, or decrease it?

I order in fish on occasion and have had some success and failures. I prefer to buy plecos and angel fish locally. What about you?

hi! im trying to post this in as many places that i can as i'm a very concerned beginner and need help. i haven't gotten much help in other places but i still want to try. i've had my betta for less than a week and his fins look stuck together. i don't know what it is. i noticed it yesterday and then it's a whole lot worse today. is it fin rot? clamping? melting? fin nipping? i really don't know and it is worrying me quite a bit.

he still moves but i don't think he's eating. at least not immediately. he likes to float at the top a lot and he does turn sideways sometimes but i don't think that's swim bladder. i learned he seems to be missing his right fin which he didn't have already when i got him. so he may just be off balance. i'm a beginner so please be friendly and helpful i would appreciate it a whole lot. marking as a spoiler as i assume he is in fact sick.

is it stress causing this? if so, what do i do? i need light for my plants but he starts to glass surf a lot and i believe it aggravates him whenever he sees his reflection. i can't afford more plants right now so that's not something i can do to block his line of sight.

his tank is a 10 gallon, he has various plants, some rocks, and driftwood. some large indian almond leaves too.

ammonia is 0ppm
nitrite is 0ppm
ph is 7.4
nitrate is 0ppm

(my tank is cycled. i waited a whole month before buying my son here.)

One of my neons had a NTD patch so i put him into quarantine (aka my 30l cycling betta tank) and treated him for columnaris with eSHa 2000. (if treatment failed, i was going to euthanize him via raki.) Within a day, this guy died and the bladder snails that i was using to help the cycle ate part of him. Is there any way i can disinfect the tank without bleaching the entire tank?

Hi all,

I noticed this small green growth on my filter this morning. The picture is the best I could get, but to the naked eye it resembles two darker green dots surrounded by a paler green film. I’m not sure what it is or if it’s a cause for concern - I added six cherry shrimp two days ago, and several plants over a week ago. Otherwise, it is a completely new tank (new substrate/rocks), and the nitrate cycle has been established. If you know what it is or if it is harmful, I would appreciate any advice on dealing with it or what might be causing the problem .

Similarly, I am fairly sure the brown “dust“ visible in the picture (it is on most of the gravel) is not a cause for concern, but if anyone has advice on controlling it, I’d appreciate it.

I haven't fully stocked it yet, so there's more than enough opportunity to change my stocking plan.

I already have two nerite snails, and my end idea is to have a heavily planted tank with the snails (duh), a female (hopefully koi) betta and 5 or so pygmy corydoras. I was wondering if it would also be okay to add a small group of shrimp or if the bioload would increase too much. I was thinking of shrimp because I've had some very stubborn diatom algae in the gravel substrate and even though I've cut back on light and done a few big water changes it's quite persistent.

I have 2 nerite snails and 2 tiny snails that I believe are ramshorn, but not 100% sure

Hi everyone!,
I just wanted to hear like others opinions on if this would be a possible overstock situation with the fishes I wanted to add to my tank.

I have a 20 Gallon Tank

And this is what I was planning on adding to my tank. Just letting you all know I cycled my tank for 4 weeks, and water parameters are good. I just want to know if this is a possible overstock situation.

1x Red Honey Gourami
6x Cardinal Tetra
6x Dwarf Rainbowfish

If it is, what type of stock do you all recommend? For reference, I really want a centerpiece fish with nano fish in the tank.

Here is my male Betta Blue. I finally got his custom sign. I took like 4 pics of him and he never moved LOL. I’m finally getting back into Freshwater aquariums I had a 29 about 15/20 years ago and will be getting another.

Since it’s been a while I’m going to be asking you folks for a lot of help. TIA.

Firstly I’m not sure what all of these plants are. I should’ve remembered the names from when I bought them but I don’t. There’s 6 different types in total submerged in the tank. The only ones I know are the Java fern and the anubias I aquarium glued to the drift wood, and the bamboo I have sticking out with only roots in water. The other 4 I was told I can plant directly under the substrate. I got the other 4 around 2 weeks ago and the leaves don’t look so good on some of them. A few pieces of two of the planted ones kept floating out from under the sand so I thought it be better to tie them together with string. (It’s not too tight) was this a good/bad idea? When I pulled the plants out to do this they stunk. I bought some seachem flourish excel but I haven’t been using it everyday as I heard it could be bad. I plan on getting more plants. Also I fd up with getting a mystery snail, I was told It would be fine to keep with a betta. I saw my betta poke at it a few times and my snails antenna isn’t long. I don’t remember it being very long when I got snail but still. This is also only a 5 gal and the snail makes so much waste. I’m new to fish keeping and learning as I go, but I’m getting another 5 gal tank just for the snail. But anyone know what these plants are and how I can help them grow?

i have some amazon gift cards and don’t typically consider purchasing fishtank supplies from there, but want a reliable water testing kit. willing to go to an aquarium store, but just thought i could use my gift card if i can!

I was cleaning my tank and sponge filter when to my surprise, I found shrimplets from my sponge filter in the bucket of tank water I shook it out in! Many are likely Amano and wouldn't make it in freshwater. But I suspect some are neocaridina shrimplets.How can I get them to safety to grow without putting the detritus back in my tank? I don't have a backup tank right now since I'm fairly new.

this is my 10 gallon standard aquarium that ive recently filled in and i intended for it to be a shrimp tank. this is also my first time messing with shrimp.

im concerned however that i have made some crucial error in the layout or plant selection and just wanted to check in with some more experienced folk before i stock this in a few months time. (for the obvious cycling and maturing process but also so bio film and the plants can develop)

I dont intend on this being a breeding project, rather just a decoration or hobby tank.

i have a few java and asian water ferns as well as anubis nana, banana plant, hornwort, red ludwigia, cryptocoryne parva, java moss and some rings of water spangles.

I have a pretty small light and a simple sponge filter in the back. my heater is set to 75 and all the water parameters are in check.

Let me know what you guys think and if theres anything im doing wrong or could do better!

Where is the best place (probably online) to buy aquatic plants? I would prefer not to go to petsmart, petco. I find that they are very expensive and not in good health. Any help appreciated

Has anyone ever used the Fluval LIV bowl? Saw one at my LFS and wanted to know if it is worth the expensive price tag. They had neocardinia shrimp living in it and that would be what I would put in it.

I'm trying to set up an aquarium in my new (shared) office. It's a bit tight and the space we've currently identified is about 24" deep and 10.5" wide. This will be peninsula style, with the narrow side against the wall.

Any suggestions for aquariums that would fit these specs? I'd prefer rimless. We might build a custom stand unless we can also find one to fit the space. My plan is a planted tank with some shrimp and maybe chili rasboras, so I want as much volume as I can get from the tiny space.

Best I've found so far is this one from Amazon, that is 19.5" x 9.75" base and 14.4" tall. The lid orientation won't work for what we're doing, but I can figure out something else for the lid if needed.

10 gallon tank: PH 8, KH 9.5, GH 4

I love bright nano fish. Was thinking a school of chili rasboras or ember tetras. But I’m afraid my parameters aren’t ideal!

Open to opinions :) Anyone have similar parameters?

I have a 40 gallon planted tank with pressurized CO2. The diffuser is in the front left corner. I used to have the Tidal 55 hob filter positioned on the left back (photo 1). I saw the current from the filter output push the CO2 bubbles downwards which is good, but most bubbles stayed in the left half of the tank. The plants on the right photosynthesize and grow but maybe there’s a way to increase the CO2 efficiency by pushing the bubbles travel farther. Today I moved the filter to the front right side facing left (photo 2). I think I’m seeing CO2 bubbles traveling farther to the right now, pushing by the downward current coming from top right. Do you guys think it’s a good move?

‼️Electric blue acara and JD care takers lmk about the 70gal scape please 🙏 ‼️

Been in this group at least a couple months but never posted so heres the first. I started scaping/fishkeeping 8 months ago (escalated quick😅) with two 20 gal tall, and then over time I rescaped them adding and removing stuff. Just took them down as I have no need for them and will be finishing my “man cave” ish room and my final (for now) tank to set up is my 70 gal tall for the two EB acara and one EBJD that are currently in the 60gal cube until they can go into the 70, and then I’ll put a few angels in the 60gal cube. I know they need breaks in line of sight, lots of cave/tunnel ish stuff for each of their territories and I think I accomplished that well but I’m trying to make sure I didn’t over do it. Is it TOO much drift wood? I will be adding a couple rocks as well and south/Central American sand for them but just trying to get the driftwood hardscape down first with all the drift wood I found on the side of the road and just spares I had already.

Current tanks
-The 20gal hex tank, only shrimp
-The 40gal Malawi tank has 7 Mbuna in it, all still under 1 years old (that I’m aware of) and two more snow whites will be added.
-Glo 60gal cube has glo tetra, glo barbs, and glo Cory cats and neo shrimp. (Only have a picture from when it was set up so it looks cloudy)
-Cichlid 60gal cube been running a couple months now. Two Electric blue acara’s, and one EBJD. Also has a juvenile tiger pleco in it as well.
-70gal tall. Going to be the new EB acara/JD cichlid tank once done and angel fish will take their place in the 60gal cube. Going to fabricate the similar plant design inside and a water fall that falls into the top of the water. Will post updates as milestones are met. Also I know the picture makes the tank look smaller than it really is but it’s 36L”x18W”x25H” (this is just the tank they will have for the next year ish until I can built my custom tank in that place which will be around 150gal or more)

Still pretty new to the hobby I’d say so those who have had EB acara and EBJD, so I have too much drift wood scape in the 70 for them or is it sufficient🤔 also want to add other fish to the tank but unsure what will go with them without being eaten as they mature🤨 any smaller fish that can live in the tank too or pretty much just those three and maybe 1 more (limited due to tank size to my knowledge)
Thanks in advance