KevinVA's 75gal Journey in Planted Tanks

**KevinVA** · 02-12-2013, 12:16 AM

When it rains it pours... I just saw a Serpae tetra with ick. I wonder if medicating for fungus stressed him out and he developed ick. lol FFS... I swear, it never ends.

In other news, my 10gal Betta tank is doing well and my Nerite snails are all alive/well. *sigh*

Honestly, I just saw my SAEs grazing on the wall. Maybe I should just give it a week and see how things go. I should get my new filter in the next couple of days, which will create more flow and hopefully aid in the fight, plus keep the tank a bit cleaner (though, I must say that the carbon and filter floss really made things clear - wow). It'd look better to you guys, if you didn't see all the green, which makes the water look green. lol

Anyway, I think I'm going to try Quick Cure for the ick. I'm not going to seek out my Assassin snails and hope they all die. Then I can get some nerites in there to aid in the cleaning process. Is that mean? Yeah, I don't care. ;P

**Limming** · 02-12-2013, 01:53 AM

I had a ick outbreak about a month ago and used Quick Cure, within a day it was cleared up and my blood fins never seemed to stressed with the meds.

**KevinVA** · 02-12-2013, 03:36 AM

Nice, I'm glad to hear it. I just ordered some, as it's not readily available anywhere around here (it'll be nice to have it on hand, anyway). I noticed two specs on the Serpae, so it's not too far along right now. I'm hoping it can wait until I get it in, but I may just head over to Petsmart/Petco and pick up some Ick Attack. The sooner the treatment, the better...

**KevinVA** · 02-13-2013, 03:53 AM

Well, I don't know what happened, but none of the fish have any signs of ich today. Maybe the dots were something else that cleared up with clean water, or maybe I was seeing food particles or plant particles sticking to him... I have no idea. Heck, maybe God's throwing me a bone. I thought about dosing with Ich Attack when I got home, but don't want to medicate if it's not a problem. I'm going to keep an eye out for any breakouts in the next few days and hope that it was just a fluke (not in the literal sense).

I finally got in touch with the person who sold me the Rena Filstar XP M. She gave me an option - refund all of the money and have UPS pick it up as a claim (for them breaking it during shipping), or as I suggested previously, send me the cost of a new Quick Disconnect and I'll fix it to use it later. So, I opted for option #2. I already had the filter, took apart the Quick Disconnect to see what was wrong with it, inspected every element of the filter, pieced it together and got familiar with it... so I'd like to keep it, fix it and use it. As for on what and when, I haven't decided. If I get the replacement parts + silicone in the mail before I get my Grech, I'll use the XPM on my current 75 and the Grech on another tank down the line (either a 55 or 75 - haven't decided yet). If I get the Grech first, I'll use that. In the end, I'm pleased with the outcome.

In the sad news column, I lost an Oto in my 10gal Betta tank today. I half expected this to happen, because I knew this one was pretty old. He was fully grown when I got him and halfway throughout the year, he started to lose some of his coloring, unlike the others. He was the biggest (still was last night) and was a trooper. He made a showing last night on the front of the tank and he did look a little worse for wear - just old looking. I thought something was up and I was right... found him on his side under the driftwood after work. Everyone else is doing fine, but that was sad. I love my Otos - they're so peaceful and cute. =/

**MandyK** · 02-13-2013, 12:21 PM

So sorry Kevin. :( The Otos are so loveable aren't they? At least you know he died of old age. You did him right my friend.

**JudiJetson** · 02-14-2013, 12:28 AM

Sorry about the Oto Kevin, they really are just adorable..I'm sure he had a good life in your tank.

**KevinVA** · 02-14-2013, 12:37 AM

Thanks guys. Yes they are. I've read that they can live up to 2-3yrs in captivity (though, some suggest that 5yrs is obtainable - though the people who have claimed that have never obtained it). I don't know how old this one was, but he was full grown when I got him and kind of lazy. I'm hoping he had a good, long life for an Oto, and he was able to live the last of his days in comfort. =]

It's funny how attached you can get to those tiny little fish. Maybe it's because they don't bully anything around and are generally cute.

**Mitch p** · 02-15-2013, 05:04 AM

Wonderful looking tank. Love it. Keep up the hard work and it will pay off in the long run! Sorry about the Oto =/. I know its tough losing a little guy :(

**KevinVA** · 02-16-2013, 01:33 AM

Thanks Mitch. Hopefully I'll get this algae thing under control soon. I just started dosing Potassium & Phosphorous to compliment that Trace/Total & Flourish tabs, plus co2 additives. lol We'll see how that goes. Once I get it under control and healthy, growing plants start springing to life, I hope that it begins to look much more put together. Right now, the algae kind of takes away from the visual I had in mind. =/

Out of curiosity, I decided to test my pH tonight, around 7pm or so. Looks like the tank has stabilized at a lower 7.2, instead of 7.6. That makes me feel a little better about the fish I'm keeping and the fish I'll be adding to the tank. It's a much more stable pH, which more fish can acclimate to. I'm actually only thinking of adding one more, but if I should have more losses, I'll need to replenish, as well.

Anyway, the next thing on the list is either another Raphael cat or a BN Pleco. I figure another cat would compliment the other and possibly make for a more interesting visual, rather than mixing it up even more. If I get the algae under wraps, there won't be a need for another algae eater, anyway - the SAEs are crazy workers as it is. They've already grown, which I find incredible. That would definitely fill out the tank, as both cats could grow to 8" max (but probably 5-6").