School of Neon Tetras - FINALLY!

I'm back.

Since my last post, I've started up a 5 gallon Cherry Shrimp breeding tank with java moss and a small internal heater. I've bleached and re-setup my 29 gallon. It is in the process of cycling right now and my water is very cloudy (bacteria bloom?). I put a clump of bacopa and a giant anubias in the tank for now along with driftwood and a few rocks. I'm not sure what fish to add to my 29 gallon now. I wanted to give guppies another shot but it hurts to see them.

My 55 gallon looks fabulous now. The plants are all established and THRIVING! I doubled my dose of DIY CO2 (1 tsp. yeast + 2 cups sugar + 1.75 L water = miracle). I use an AquaClear 70 powerhead as a CO2 diffuser as well as water circulator and mini internal filter.

Current stocking level:

16 x neon tetras
5 x kuhli loaches

>>Algae cleanup crew <<

3 x (Giant) Amano shrimp
1 x Otocinclus (will be adding more soon)
2 x Siamese Flying Foxes (will be adding more soon)
2 x (Giant) Zebra Nerite snails
3 (or more) Red Ramshorn snails


My algae cleanup crew is awesome. Together they make my tank virtually spotless. The only thing they are not eating is green spot algae, but that's been diminishing since I added more CO2.

What they do eat: hair/thread algae, brown/red algae, green fuzz/beard algae, microorganisms...hydra???

My dream of keeping a large school of neon tetras has finally come true. And boy does it look magnificient. I love it when they are schooling together and swish back and forth across the tank. It's so peaceful watching them....

PS. Turns out my 10 gallon was NOT infested with velvet. Corydoras catfish NATURALLY have a golden "glimmer" around their fins/gills/body. I bought another False Julii Cory cat today. He seems healthy and energetic. Hopefully he'll stay that way!! :)


PPS. I FIGURED OUT HOW TO FEED BOTTOM FEEDERS WITHOUT OTHER FISH STEALING ALL THE FOOD FIRST!


The solution is simple really: tie the algae wafer or shrimp pellet or other "sinking" food onto a flat rock with a small elastic band. Make sure it's secure and there's no "wiggle room". Works like a charm. My betta is so angry he can't steal any food!!

*Remove any uneaten food*

Life Sucks

All my guppies are dead now. In fact, all the fish in the 29 gallon tank are dead. Medicine, heat, salt and melafix did not work. I'm at a loss for words.

What's worse, I only now realize that the cory catfish and my betta in the 10 gallon are infected with Velvet disease. Their bodies/scales are coated with the very indicative "gold dust" and they've become lethargic. I will pick up medicine soon. Thing is, the catfish can't tolerate the copper based medicines...I suspect all my other catfish died from velvet too...Argh, this is so frustrating. I'm no fish doctor...diagnosing diseases = almost impossible.

Now I fear that I've spread the disease to my newly set up 55 gallon tank. It's hard to tell. I added 6 neon tetras last night, but only noticed 5 this morning. Until I looked in the bucket I'd used to transfer them...the lone neon had accidentally fallen out of the net and survived in about 1/2 cup of ice cold, chlorinated water! What a survivor!

Algae & CO2

My new 55 gallon tank has been struck by an onslaught of at least 3-4 different species of algae.
I have (as far as I can tell), green spot algae, beard algae, fuzz algae, thread algae...blech.

But I found a cool website that talks about algae control. Check it out:

http://www.rexgrigg.com/Algae1.html