Recent content by JoshOfMichigan

@DoubleDutch - wasn't you. At all. You just came in right as I'd gotten fed up with the whole thing. It was a buildup of people ignoring the question at hand and lecturing me that I should be doing things I literally *can't* do in the short term. The problem is that I posted in *emergency...

If Colin T has anymore to say about what I can do, I'm listening. Beyond that, though, I'm *done* with this forum. The ratio of criticism to practical advice here is absurd. Of all the people who pointed out what's wrong with my substrate, only *one* told me what I can quickly and practically...

Pollution is definitely my bigger worry with the substrate. If the males are thin (the females certainly aren't!), that'd be the culprit. Most of their food goes in the sand dish, and they definitely know to go there to eat!

So far, I'm holding off. After the deep clean, all but one are resting mostly right-side-up, and another's gotten noticeably perkier. I didn't add anything but Prime to today's water change; no alkaline buffer. As long as parameters aren't moving too fast, and stay within a range safe for the...

That and the cory I thought was going to die a couple months ago and is now healthy (he had the same initial symptoms, but also jumped out of the hospital tank onto the floor, which put him in even worse shape for a while) was treated with triple sulfa, then kanamycin. I think kanamycin would be...

I haven't seen him post anything here? My thought is that all this talk of gravel and sand revolves around bacterial susceptibility. If it's something bacterial, triple sulfa might at least arrest their growth and give the ill cories a chance to fight off any infections, especially with how...

Thank you. Any opinions on whether triple sulfa might help with the immediate concern of bringing some of these fellows back to health?

After all, this category is supposed to be for *emergencies*, not long-term improvements, isn't it?

I actually have diagnosed OCD, FWIW. It's not attention to detail I'm complaining about, Bruce. If either you or Uberhoust has any useful advice, go ahead. Otherwise, why are you posting? At least I can act on *something* that Byron is saying. My point is that I didn't come here either to be...

Literally *everything* else I've read says keep nitrate low, with a reference of under 40ppm for most and under 20ppm for sensitive species like cories. & if you can get it lower, good. Sometimes it's been at 5ish, and that usually gets compliments, not "it's too far above zero". I'm looking to...

I understand you're sharing your knowledge and experience, and that tone doesn't come through over type. No worries. I gather you specialize in Amazon River Basin fish? It's exactly the shrimp and snails that I worry about if I let kH fall to 0 and pH below 6.5. There's a website I used to...

Also, my understanding is that such acidic water as you'ryou're recommending is only necessary for characin reproduction, not adult general health.

OK, I've removed the mopani and scrubbed it down with a toothbrush under hot bathwater; I now have it soaking in a bucket of Prime-treated water to bind any chlorine compounds. I've also removed any other fungus I can see, mostly by removing java moss and combing through it. I'll also do a good...

I'd be happy to use something that increases kH without pulling pH up to 7.5; just not sure that exists. I don't want an acid crash if kH is exhausted, though.

My kH falls to 1 w/o alkaline buffer. The lfs also adds this bc local water is so carbonate-soft. gH stays btw. 6-7 at all times, which is where I like it; any lower would be bad for the shrimp. Vern the betta is shockingly mild-mannered, and the cories will swim right up by him. I worry more...