Cooperman411
- #1
Backstory:
After an out-of-town trip for 3 days I came home to a hair-algae bloom. I'd been using API CO2 boost and apparently that was keeping it in check - 3 days without and, "Surprise!" - algae. I to set up a 5 gallon and moved about 1/2 the plants, all of the filter bio-media, the betta, nerite snail, and my lonely shrimp. Tested water parameters daily - it was stable from the start. (0 Amonia, 0 Nitrite, 5-10 Nitrate) Completely broke down the 10 gallon and made an Ikebana style tank of it with the healthiest and biggest plants.
Sad part:
Let the newly re-scaped 10 gallon settle a few days before moving nerite back to, along with the bio media and put in a 10 gallon dose of Tetra Safe Start Plus. Got a phone call, did some work, took a shower, and went back to get the betta and the shrimp. The betta was gone. I'd left the lid off like an idiot. But by gone, I don't mean the fish was on the floor or on the shelf, or hiding in the tank. I mean gone. It's been over a week now, and no sign of her. I don't have a cat or dog. No one has access to the apartment. I've moved furniture, I've searched hall and room next to it. Nothing. I was sick at my stomach and sad for a few days (and still am whenever I think about it). Had dreams about her. And am still afraid I'll find my poor little dehydrated betta when I'm least expecting it. She had more personality than any fish I'd ever owned.
Happy part:
A few days later, with a newly set up 10 gallon tank and nothing but a nerite and a lonely blue shrimp, I went to the LFS. I got 7 ember tetras. Then about a week after that, on Reddit Aquaswap a guy nearby was selling pygmy corydoras so I got 10 of those and a few more neocaridinas. Water parameters are perfect (0 ammonia, Nitrates <10, Nitrites 0, PH 7.2, GH 8, & KH 8. What I'm amazed by is that the ember tetras and pygmy corys school together. I even saw an ember tetra eating some cucumber with his/her corydora friend. They think the air-stone is a slip-n-slide. It's a very "happy" tank. (BTW - I swear by Tetra Safe Start Plus, cloudy water on day one, clear within 24 hours or so, nice biofilm on everything, and most importantly, stable water parameters. Snail tracks all over the glass!)
Question part:
My original tank had Malaysian driftwood and the bio-media smells like a cross between pachouli and fertilizer. Not unpleasant, but not great. So the original tank, the 5 gallon, and now the new tank, all smell like a variation on that - like someone wearing pachouli at the garden center at Home Depot. What is up with that? I put a carbon filter in for 24 hours thinking it would go away, but nope. Any advice? Parameters are good but that smell is weird. Thankfully only noticeable when you put your nose within a couple of inches of the water. As you can imagine, I'm afraid to take the lid off and let it air out. Photos below. Managed to get a great photo when all of the corys are at the back. And my substrate makes for a perfect camouflage.
After an out-of-town trip for 3 days I came home to a hair-algae bloom. I'd been using API CO2 boost and apparently that was keeping it in check - 3 days without and, "Surprise!" - algae. I to set up a 5 gallon and moved about 1/2 the plants, all of the filter bio-media, the betta, nerite snail, and my lonely shrimp. Tested water parameters daily - it was stable from the start. (0 Amonia, 0 Nitrite, 5-10 Nitrate) Completely broke down the 10 gallon and made an Ikebana style tank of it with the healthiest and biggest plants.
Sad part:
Let the newly re-scaped 10 gallon settle a few days before moving nerite back to, along with the bio media and put in a 10 gallon dose of Tetra Safe Start Plus. Got a phone call, did some work, took a shower, and went back to get the betta and the shrimp. The betta was gone. I'd left the lid off like an idiot. But by gone, I don't mean the fish was on the floor or on the shelf, or hiding in the tank. I mean gone. It's been over a week now, and no sign of her. I don't have a cat or dog. No one has access to the apartment. I've moved furniture, I've searched hall and room next to it. Nothing. I was sick at my stomach and sad for a few days (and still am whenever I think about it). Had dreams about her. And am still afraid I'll find my poor little dehydrated betta when I'm least expecting it. She had more personality than any fish I'd ever owned.
Happy part:
A few days later, with a newly set up 10 gallon tank and nothing but a nerite and a lonely blue shrimp, I went to the LFS. I got 7 ember tetras. Then about a week after that, on Reddit Aquaswap a guy nearby was selling pygmy corydoras so I got 10 of those and a few more neocaridinas. Water parameters are perfect (0 ammonia, Nitrates <10, Nitrites 0, PH 7.2, GH 8, & KH 8. What I'm amazed by is that the ember tetras and pygmy corys school together. I even saw an ember tetra eating some cucumber with his/her corydora friend. They think the air-stone is a slip-n-slide. It's a very "happy" tank. (BTW - I swear by Tetra Safe Start Plus, cloudy water on day one, clear within 24 hours or so, nice biofilm on everything, and most importantly, stable water parameters. Snail tracks all over the glass!)
Question part:
My original tank had Malaysian driftwood and the bio-media smells like a cross between pachouli and fertilizer. Not unpleasant, but not great. So the original tank, the 5 gallon, and now the new tank, all smell like a variation on that - like someone wearing pachouli at the garden center at Home Depot. What is up with that? I put a carbon filter in for 24 hours thinking it would go away, but nope. Any advice? Parameters are good but that smell is weird. Thankfully only noticeable when you put your nose within a couple of inches of the water. As you can imagine, I'm afraid to take the lid off and let it air out. Photos below. Managed to get a great photo when all of the corys are at the back. And my substrate makes for a perfect camouflage.