[badboyscad]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

I did not introduce them to the pond, so it must have come when I bought some fish.

Mostly, snails get introduced when you get plants. Their eggs(semi transparent blobs) might have been attached to the plants.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Also, I don't want the house to be infested with snails. Any idea if they will come out of water (it doesn't look like that is happening) ?

Rest easy, there wont be any infestation. Some snails may come out when the water condition gets adverse, but still they just climb a few inches out of the water and mostly dry up.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

The snails are inside the filter and not in the pond.

Some tiny newly hatched snails might have gotten sucked into the filter and grown inside, i have faced the same problem with my canister filter too. Try to cover the filter intake with a slice of filter sponge.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Will the assassin snails survive inside the filter, and will they multiply, causing the same problem with a different snail?

Assassin snails need substrate to survive long. They bury themselves in the substrate and ambush other snails when they come near. Assassin snails don't reproduce asexually, so you wont have problem with rapid multiplication.

[V.Narayan]

Reviving an old and glorious thread a year later. My ~7-year old Oscar died while I was on an overseas business trip. It had grown to over 12 inches in length. As I was not around I lost the opportunity to weigh the fish. Going by past experience maybe it weighed 3kgs odd. My oldest is now a Red Devil who is 10 years old.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Reviving an old and glorious thread a year later. My ~7-year old Oscar died while I was on an overseas business trip. It had grown to over 12 inches in length. As I was not around I lost the opportunity to weigh the fish. Going by past experience maybe it weighed 3kgs odd. My oldest is now a Red Devil who is 10 years old.

Damn that's sad. Oscars tend to get attached to you and one dying that too after 7 years must be hard.

And That Red Devil at 10yrs old must be a beast now! You have to share pics now

After staying off the hobby for a few years, my 5yr old son has started me back again. His bedtime book is a book collection of Flowerhorn varieties
It's this one which i had bought way back in early 2000s
https://www.amazon.in/Ever-Changing-.../dp/986803602X

Two tanks and counting now! Nothing fancy, just for him to get used to taking care of fishes first.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

This is a 100 liter tank with a few guppies. Will assasin snails kill the guppies?

They don't attack live fishes while they can feed on dead ones... I have guppies, shrimps and other small fishes with assassin snails and they get along well. I read they will feed on shrimp eggs, but I am not too much concerned since the shrimp population is quite healthy now

[ZedMae]

My first attempt at a planted tank (20 gallon). It's been now 45 days after I planted the first batch of plants. Currently, the tank does not have Co2. Just a LED light fixture and ADA Amazonia soil as substrate and a hang on the back filter. Fishes were introduced after around 30 days of fishless tank cycling. Constantly checked Ammonia, Nitrite and pH parameters. Fishes introduced were 6 guppies and 10 neon tetras. Except 1 guppy, the remaining died within a week. All the tetras are doing fine. Plants are Java fern, anubias, crypt, arnanthera rendecki, water visteria, vallisneria, Amazon sword and java moss. Most of the plants are doing well, but yes with Co2 would have been better. And yes a bunch of snails sneaked in/ hatched through the plants. Have been observing algae growth - green spot and bearded brush. I plan to introduce some Amano shrimps a month later. And may be, if the algae doesn't go off, will explore the CO2 option.

[badboyscad]

Nice tank. May i know its dimensions?

Originally Posted by ZedMae

I plan to introduce some Amano shrimps a month later. And may be, if the algae doesn't go off, will explore the CO2 option.

Try to add a couple of Otocinclus.

[ZedMae]

Originally Posted by badboyscad

Nice tank. May i know its dimensions?
Try to add a couple of Otocinclus.

Hi,
The dimensions are 25 in (l)* 17.25 in (h) * 13.25 in (w).

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by ZedMae

And yes a bunch of snails sneaked in/ hatched through the plants. Have been observing algae growth - green spot and bearded brush. I plan to introduce some Amano shrimps a month later. And may be, if the algae doesn't go off, will explore the CO2 option.

Nice first attempt!!Don't bother about snails. They are part of planted ecosystem.

To tackle algae there are lot of other things you can try before dosing CO2(unless you really want to add Co2 to give that extra boost). Few things that mostly work for me is reducing light intensity(by increasing its height or taping a few strips on the led), and frequent water changes. Amazonia is nutrient rich and hence frequent water changes would help reduce the pileup of nutrients. Thirdly adding lot of tank cleaners like cherry shrimps, amanos, siamese algae eaters would also help.

I got hooked to planted tanks in Jan this year and since then have setup 4 and on my way to 5th. This is a great hooby to keep your mind at peace and have a piece of ecosystem in your living room. Sometimes I just sit for hours watching it.

[Maverick Avi]

Has anybody had any experience with Mycobacterium in their fish tanks leading to frequent fish deaths? Seems like I am having this in one of my tanks with mountain minnows as they are dying one after another. The only sign they show of illness is getting very lean.

What I have read is that it has no treatment and is quite contagious to other fish in the tank. Moreover new fish might not show signs even after a couple of months so keeping them in quarantine is not useful method to avoid this. This has got me puzzled as it seems a common illness but not heard many aquarists talk about it.

Any insight from anybody having some experience with it would be highly appreciated.

[deathwalkr]

Curious as to how you diagnosed the situation. Fishes getting lean due to loss of appetite could be because of a lot of causes.

Do mention your tank size/volume, type of filtration, water change routine and of course the number of fishes you have.

And sorry i have not had any experience with Mycobacterium (And i hope i dont) but from what i know, fishes should get lumps/rashes and such on their body.

Edit: This fellow decided to pose for a bit today

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Curious as to how you diagnosed the situation. Fishes getting lean due to loss of appetite could be because of a lot of causes.

Do mention your tank size/volume, type of filtration, water change routine and of course the number of fishes you have.

Most of the fishes that have died recently have had no rash, fin rot or any other visible sign of illness other than getting extremely lean. Went through an article regarding Mycobacterium by Diane Walstad and could find some correlation.

Tank is 10 gallon(45x30x30cm) planted with only 5 white cloud mountain minnows and around 25-30 cherry shrimps. I have a basic hang on filter with mentioned specification of 300l/hr but I would not go by it as its some chinese brand. I change around 25% water twice a week. Sometimes miss the mid week routine but never went beyond a week.

I started off with the hobby at start of year and got so hooked that I have already setup 4 tanks. I have never been in a hurry to add fishes in any of my tanks as I wait for plants to grow well first. Its only after 5-6 weeks that I think of adding the fishes. So having fish deaths even after following most of the due protocols is getting a bit disheartning. Plant growth has been great in all my tanks though.

Some pics of my tanks below.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Some pics of my tanks below.

Your tank is beautiful. Your fish bowl is superb. Where fish go my policy over decades has been that the less we humans interfere the better they thrive and the longer they last.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Edit: This fellow decided to pose for a bit today

What a handsome specimen!


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Seeking suggestions from experts -

Other than my main tank I have always kept a fish bowl. Forgive me
@deathwalker. Diameter 15 inches. For some years it had two tiny gold fish - one black one orange. Both about 1.5 inch in length including the tail. Water is changed 33% twice a week. Now after a few years the orange one had died. What other fish should I put in there:-

(A) One small gold fish - same species factor

(B) One black gold fish

(C) Two tinier goldfish - the bowl might be able to cope with that. Might.

(D) Some tiny tropical fish that will give off less ammonia/stool etc and thus load the bowl's bio capacity less.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Most of the fishes that have died recently have had no rash, fin rot or any other visible sign of illness other than getting extremely lean. Went through an article regarding Mycobacterium by Diane Walstad and could find some correlation.

Tank is 10 gallon(45x30x30cm) planted with only 5 white cloud mountain minnows and around 25-30 cherry shrimps. I have a basic hang on filter with mentioned specification of 300l/hr but I would not go by it as its some chinese brand. I change around 25% water twice a week. Sometimes miss the mid week routine but never went beyond a week.

Your setups looks good . Fish choice for the tank size is also ok. I hope the hang on filter has bio media in it. If not please add that. Increase water change frequency (50% once a week) and use Seachem prime.

Since you are invested in the hobby i suggest you get a water test kit from API. It really helps. Anytime you think something is wrong first up you can see if it's because of bad water parameters and do remedial measures. If water parameters are good and still the fish is sick then you can move onto medications and such.

UV seems to help in controlling mycobacterium if that is the case. There are hang on filters with UV available.

Be patient and sadly the hobby is such that we have to accept that fishes will die.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

What a handsome specimen!


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Seeking suggestions from experts -

Other than my main tank I have always kept a fish bowl. Forgive me
@deathwalker. Diameter 15 inches. For some years it had two tiny gold fish - one black one orange. Both about 1.5 inch in length including the tail. Water is changed 33% twice a week. Now after a few years the orange one had died. What other fish should I put in there:-

(A) One small gold fish - same species factor

(B) One black gold fish

(C) Two tinier goldfish - the bowl might be able to cope with that. Might.

(D) Some tiny tropical fish that will give off less ammonia/stool etc and thus load the bowl's bio capacity less.

Heh heh i have always been a strong anti bowl man for a long time. Goldfishes have no business being in a bowl sadly. They love being in good sized tanks/ponds and will reward you for that by growing up beautifully.

Get a betta for the bowl if you really want to hang on to the bowl

And thanks for the comment on my Texas. He swims in my dining room 55Gallon tank and is indeed a lovely fellow.

[Maverick Avi]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Your tank is beautiful. Your fish bowl is superb. Where fish go my policy over decades has been that the less we humans interfere the better they thrive and the longer they last.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seeking suggestions from experts -

Other than my main tank I have always kept a fish bowl. Forgive me
@deathwalker. Diameter 15 inches. For some years it had two tiny gold fish - one black one orange. Both about 1.5 inch in length including the tail. Water is changed 33% twice a week. Now after a few years the orange one had died. What other fish should I put in there:-

(A) One small gold fish - same species factor

(B) One black gold fish

(C) Two tinier goldfish - the bowl might be able to cope with that. Might.

(D) Some tiny tropical fish that will give off less ammonia/stool etc and thus load the bowl's bio capacity less.

Thank you! Am glad you liked the bowl. It has been scaped by my son and he takes full responsibility of it.

I started with the planted tank using Walstad method where the entire focus is on building an ecosystem and balance of flora and fauna. Unfortunately things were not working out. My plants failed to grow. Slowly I added a filter, fertilisers and all stuff that is out there in the trade. Things then started to get complicated. PH, high PH, GH, KH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates, temperature, light, light intensity and the list just goes on. Thankfully I got the balance right and am able to grow plants successfully now. But post adding livestock things have again begun to get complicated. Wish I could actually let nature do its thing and not interfere. Hopefully things would get better as I gain more experience with these beautiful creatures.

Though am no expert but option of having mountain minnows in a fish bowl can also be explored. They are pretty small and thus have a negligible bio load. They are cold water fish and might happily survive the Delhi winters without heater.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Wish I could actually let nature do its thing and not interfere. Hopefully things would get better as I gain more experience with these beautiful creatures.

We cannot let nature do it's thing and not interfere in a small confined fish tank. You are not allowing for nature to work it's magic. Fishes crap in it, uneaten food, waste leaves all add to the bio load and well that is also natural i guess

So we make do with bio filtration, regular water changes and what not.

Mind you, there are people who have succeeded in what you aspire but i am not confident enough to try that out.

That said, I have a 10ftx4ftx3ft pond in my house and there i do let nature run its course. It's unfiltered but i do random water changes to clear the muck from the bottom once in 3 months or so.

Lillies, water lettuce, red rooters, valesneria etc are the flora and guppies, tiger barbs and red swordtails make up the fauna in that.