My 30L journey

Good day, fellow glass box enthusiasts!

I have been in the hobby for almost a year now and have joined TASA months ago, but never made a thread about my tanks except to ask for advice. I enjoy reading about everyone's tanks and seeing the pictures and thought it's my turn to make a thread. Hopefully this will help me keep track of what has happened and as always any tips and advice are very welcome. Beware, long post ahead.

I have a different tank that had Platys and when they starting having lots of fry (over 100!) my LFS owner sold me this tank for R100, to use as a grow out tank. I have since then scaped and rescaped this small tank several times and learned valuable lessons along the way. So using @A new day 's format, and advice. I will try and log my journey so far...

Tank:
It's actually just under 34L, if my math didnt fail me. I've always treated it as 30L though, because of water level, hardscape, gravel and equipment inside the tank. Its also a nice round number for dosing meds and dechlorinater.
Dimensions: 46 x 32 x 23cm

Hardscape:
I started out with Black gravel and white Quartz stone. The plants were cuttings and Java moss from my other tank.

June 2020

I planted the plants only in the gravel but I needed nutrients in the water. After seeing MD Fish Tank's Ikebana Style scape on YouTube, I decided to try this method with plants and added more cuttings.

Sept 2020

I used random bowls and a teacup that I filled with potting soil and capped with gravel. This made gravel vacuuming very easy, since I could just take them out for clean up.

Then got a great deal on driftwood (Second hand, R600 for 5 pieces) and another rescape happened.

November 2020

I also donated all the Platy fry to my LFS, to make home for new inhabitants.

I added new fish and used it as a QT and then I had an Ich outbreak. After 2 weeks of meds, I cleaned the tank thoroughly and replaced the gravel. Most of the plants struggled with the higher temperature, added salt and meds and though I tried to rescue the plants I could, most didnt make it. This gave me the perfect excuse to try new and different plants. Leading to my latest rescape over the weekend.

January 2021

One piece of driftwood and about a cup of potting soil, capped with black gravel.

Stocking:
After the Platys, I got 2 Dark Knight Rams online. I wasnt planning on the tank becoming their permanent home but used it as a QT. One Ram jumped a week later and didnt make it (Think I got 2 males and he was the one that got bullied). I then got a Female Ram and 10 Ember Tetras. They went into quarantine with the Male Ram. He still had 2 weeks of quarantine to go. Mistake! I got the new fish from the same guy and assumed his water parameters would allow me to quarantine them together. One of the new fish must've had Ich and a week later both my Rams were covered in white spots. They died a few days later as well as 2 Tetras. (Lesson learned). Currently the tank is home to the remaining 8 Tetras and I've added Rams horn snails for algae control.

Water source: Dechlorinated, tap water. Cape Town

Filter:
I started with a small corner filter and an air pump, but soon added a small Sunsun canister filter (75L/h) to help with the bioload as the fry grew. Recently, I added a bigger Sunsun Canister filter (180L/h) running with the smaller filter to get it cycled. I also added an airstone since I've removed the corner filter

Temperature:
The heater (50W) is normally set at 24. I increased the temp to 30 while treating Ich but back to normal now. With warmer days the temp hovers around 26. The heater is currently off and the temps dont seems to fluctuate.

Light:
It's a cheapy. Nubios LED clamp light. 8000K. Bright white. Photo period of around 8 hours a day. Longer over weekends.

Products:
Seachem Prime, Paraguard.
Aquarium Salt

Testkits:
I've used Tetra and JBL test strips in the past. Currently I'm using Sera test strips and liquid test for Ammonia.

Food:
I make my own gel fish food (Mostly veggies, suspended in gelatine). I also feed TetraMin flakes as well as small frozen foods as treats (Daphnia and Cyclops).

Plants:
Currently: Anubias Barteri
Amazon swords (Not sure what type)
Heteranthera Zosterifolia (Star grass)
Hygrophila Polysperma
Rotala Rotundifolia
Hydrocotyle Tripartita
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Brown
The Crypts are slowly melting but I'm already seeing new growth.

Fertilizer:
I dont use any ferts. The tank has about a cup of potting soil (baked and sifted), capped with black gravel.

Algae:
Just white fluff on the driftwood but the snails will sort that out. Nothing else at the moment.

PH:
My tap water's PH is around 6.4 and stays the same in the tank. I'm not too concerned about the PH being too low (should I be?), as long as it doesnt change.

Ammonia:
I was under the (wrong) impression that Nitrate and Nitrite levels are indicative of Ammonia levels. So I've only started testing for Ammonia a few months ago. No spikes that I noticed and levels remain at 0.

Nitrites, Nitrates and Water changes.
When I had the Platy fry, I had to do a WC almost every second day to keep levels down. Especially when they got bigger. Now that the tank is no longer over stocked, its only necessary for once a week. I test my water once a week and do a WC accordingly. I usually add a quarter teaspoon of salt to every 10L of water that I change.

Future Stocking Ideas:
I'm trying not to over stock the tank (again) since it's so small, but I would like a couple more Ember Tetras. Some of them seem shy and I think a few more will help them come out of hiding. I also have my eye on Blue dream Shrimp. Just want to make sure about water parameters after cycling the new filter, before making an expensive mistake.

Long one! Thank you for reading, if you've made it all the way down here.

 

love this scape looked really awesome with the wood coming out the tank

 

Hi @Hendrik Bergh.

I love how in detail your post is and your tank is absolutely stunning. With regards to quarantine, I've suffered that same fate a long time ago and to be honest nothing feels worse.


@A new day it seems you're quite the inspiration around here hey.

I would also like to know why you add salt. I thought plants can't tolerate salt

 

Thank you everyone.

@Shabir and @A new day. Regarding the salt. A LFS owner once told me he puts in a handful of salt in with every water change. Even in his tanks at home. He said it helps with gill function and promotes "slimecoat" production. I was never good at science but a "handful" is not a measurement I remember and I wasnt going to kill everything that I had going. So I went on the internet...

Fresh water should be less than 1000 ppm. I add a 1/4 teaspoon to 10L new water. My kitchen scale sometimes weighs that amount of salt as 1 or 2 grams. So heres my attempt at math. I worked on 2g salt to 10L water. This is 200mg/L or 200ppm.

I've been doing it for a while in both tanks and havent seen any negative effects on the plants, fish or snails. It apparently also helps with osmoregulation, and I thought every bit helps to keep them healthy. Please beware. Salt does not dissipate by itself and can only be removed by doing water changes.

When it treated the Ich out break, I added 1 tablespoon to the tank and could see the plants melt after the first week of treatment.

What do you think? Am I wrong in doing this?

 

I dont see the benefits of adding salt to a tank personally. When treating ich without the use of meds, cranking up the heat gradually until around 30 for a week or so always worked for me. This, coupled with extra water changes is my go to method. Granted this is dependent on the temp tolerance of your fish. Most can and will handle the increased temp. Just be sure to add an airstone or increase surface agitation for oxygen exchange.

 

I love all the different versions of the tank.
So cool having so many opportunities to try new things

 

The tank on November last year looked absolutely amazing. And the crypts look so good in the new tank. Well done

 

Good day

Just a small update

Firstly, I want to thank @A new day, for gifting me new plants and mosses, last week. I went to her home and only wanted a piece of fissidens and Baby Tears but she surprised me with extra plants, which included floating plants, and other mosses. If you ever get an invite from her to go and visit, you should definitely treat yourself. She is a lovely and kind person and her tanks is a sight to behold. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you again!

New Plants:
Vallis Nana
Pearl weed
Baby Tears
Salvinia
Duck Weed

I still need to add the moss. The driftwood is kept from floating by a stone that's taking up space where I want the moss. I bought 2 pieces of spider wood on Sunday that I'm also soaking. Thinking of attaching moss to the spider wood before adding that to the tank

Moss:
Fissidens
Christmas
Java
Cameroon



Currently

I also got 10 Blue Dream shrimp over the weekend. They seem to be happy. Swimming around the tank and not paying any attention to the Ember tetras. They are juvies (around 1 cm) and still need to colour up.


Over the weekend, I went looking for more Ember Tetras, but only saw them at one store. They were tiny and a few had Ich. I didnt want to play that game again, so I left without buying any. Hopefully soon...

Thank you and hope you have a great week!

 

Tanks are looking good.

Just on the plants - duck weed you are going to hate. It speads quickly and is a pain to get rid of. Same with java moss. Once its established in your tank you will never get it out. Not that thats a problem if you like it.

You should try breeding your own ember tetras - its not difficult. You have the moss, you just need a breeding tank (mts ) and you are good to go. Its very satisfying breeding and raising your own fish

 

The tank looks awesome!
I think @Lucky01 had Ember tetras for sale last time I was there. He's in Kuilsriver.

 

Thank you @TheGrissom and @A new day. I'm liking the duckweed at the moment but keeping an eye on its growth. Also dont want it to get out of hand...

@HugBug thank you for the advice. I bought my previous Embers from @Lucky01 and got 4 more Embers from him yesterday. He is a very nice guy and also has great looking tanks!

 

Looks absolutely great @Lucky01

Love the detailed way in which you have started and continued this thread

 

Update time

I've been treating one of my new Ember Tetras for, what I think is Dropsy. Nicknamed Big Bertha, she was really fat when I got her 2 weeks ago. She was also breathing rapidly, didnt colour up like the rest and hid often. I thought it was because she was still adapting to the new environment and friends. She also has a bulge in front of her belly. Almost like a double chin. At first she came out when it was dinner time but didnt eat much. On day 4, she stopped eating all together. I got out my spectacles (they are really tiny, even when they're fat) and on closer inspection noticed her eyes was bulging and her scales were raised.

She was also swimming diagonally, with her head down as seen below.

(This was taken 2 days into her treatment and the swelling in her belly was already going down.)

None of the other newbies seems to be affected. I made a quick hospital tank out of a 10L clear plastic container, with an easy access lid. I added the tiny Sunsun filter from the tank (having a cycled filter, ready to go, makes me feel like a pro). I also added a heater, thermometer and airstone. For hiding places I added 2 pebbles with java moss attached to them. I filled it with 8L mature water from the 30L. 8 liters is a weird number but helps with treatment measurements in US gallons, if needed. I was going away for a couple of days and didnt want a dead fish polluting the tank water and a hospital tank was the perfect solution.


Then I hit the internet... Most sites and forums say Dropsy is difficult to treat since it is usually a symptom of another problem. This can be anything from poor water quality, stress, bacterial infections, or organ failure. It is usually fatal once the fish stops eating and their scales starts to pine cone. Some people advised to spare the poor thing by euthanizing it, but others have had success in keeping their pets out of the toilet) These results was usually obtained while treating Bettas or Goldfish. Here is what I've done so far.

Treatment
1. Raised the temperature slowly to 28°C.
2. Seachem Kanaplex - As per instructions. I treated the water instead of making medicated food, since she wasnt eating.
3. Epsom Salt (ES) - This helps with constipation as well as swelling during if there is organ failure. They mostly suggested dips and baths but I didnt want to put a small tetra through an unsupervised medical treatment and after more reading I came across a mild bath dosage that can be used to treat a whole tank for long periods if time. 1/8 of a teaspoon for 5 US gallons. In other words, (Math, dont fail me now!)I needed 0.25 grams of ES for my 8L Hospital. My kitchen scale cant measure those small quantities so I added a tiny pinch and monitored her for the next day.
4. Aquarium salt - Also helps with decreasing the swelling. I read that the 2 salts dont interact with each other and can be dosed together. The NaCl dosage is 1 tablespoon for every 3 gallons. In other words I needed 2 teaspoons NaCl. I was concerned that this, combined with ES would be to much stress on her, so I dosed 1/2 teaspoon NaCl.
5. Garlic tonic - Hopefully stimulates her appetite and help to boost her immune system. Has Anti- bacterial properties. I made mine using the Tonic recipe from TASA (Thanks, @CharlZA) but added 2 Rooibos tea bags to the water while it cooled. I added a few drops of this with every Kanaplex dose.
6. Almond and Guava leaves - releases tannins that also has Anti- bacterial properties and hopefully builds a good layer of biofilm for her to snack on. I boiled them and let the water cool over night before adding the leaves and tannin stained water to the hospital tank.
7. I add half a boiled pea every morning in the hopes she would munch on that, I remove it in the afternoon.

I didnt do any water changes but siphoned the bottom of the tank for debris and replaced that amount of water. I did this before adding a new dose of meds. I checked water parameters regularly for any spikes, but the water appears normal except for raised water hardness, due to ES
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - 0
Ph - 6.5
Gh - >6°d (usually its <3°d)
Kh - between 3 and 6°d
Cl2 - 0

I've finished the 6 day Kanaplex treatment last week and today is day 12 for her in hospital. She's still going. The swelling has gone down around her belly and behind her eyes. She still has the bulge and I havent seen her eat yet. She swims better but still goes diagonal at times. I also noticed that her scales are still raised a bit. These were taken yesterday

I'm not sure if I've done anything to improve her condition or am I fooling myself and prolonging her suffering? Im concerned about stressing her further, since she has no buddies to school with and I havent seen her eat yet. It seems like a lot for one tiny tetra, but would rather try and treat her and hopefully not have to euthanize.

How would the knowledgeable people have gone about treating her? Should I repeat the Kanaplex and how long should I wait between treatments? Any other suggestions regarding meds or treatments? Lastly, if I have to, at what point do I euthanize?

Any advice is welcome as usual. Thanks for reading this long post.

 

@Hendrik Bergh , I think you have done well, not much else you can use on dropsy

There is definitely a marked improvement on her and seeing as she has had a week's break from the last treatment, i would repeat the treatment again
Normal salt is usually used for the raised scales and it does work but im not sure about mixing it with the Epson Salt so maybe just repeat what you did for another 6 days

Good luck.. hope she pulls through

 

Oops @MariaS. I did add aquarium salt too. Just forgot to add it in my post. Will edit and include that step. The Aquarium salt and ES dont react with each other and is safe to dose together.

Thank you for the advise. Tomorrow is day 7 since the last Kanaplex dose. Will try a second treatment and keep you posted.