Nano Aquarium Update

It's been a couple weeks since I wrote more about my nano aquarium experience. Here are some things I'm learning.

As you can see, the algae problem has all but gone away. Read more about the issue and how I solved it in my algae post.

Don't over feed your fish, it's really easy to do. Overfeeding adds to the bioload in the tank and can quickly lead to water quality issues. I've been feeding the fish as much food as they'll eat in 30 seconds twice a day. It's tempting to overfeed because the fish seem to love food, but every fish expert says over feeding is a major mistake.

When I first got them, I didn't feed them for 2 days. They needed time to adjust to their new home and I didn't want to overload the system. Once they were acclimated, I started feeding them a small amount of food twice a day.

I'm paying very close attention to my water parameters. I'm using tests strips and they aren't the most accurate, but it's good enough to give me a basic idea of what's going on in the tank. I haven't done any water changes yet, because my water seems pretty stable right now. and that's what I'm going for.

When I added additional plants I did not do a plant quarantine because I was impatient and had an algae bloom. The snails and the plants took care of the algae problem. Now every once in a while I see a new little snail. I'm positive that they came in with the plants. These little buggers are good at hiding, and when I find one, I remove it from the tank with tweezers.

Here is my current tank setup:

• Hardware

  • 5 gallon tank

  • Heater

• Fauna

  • 10 Cardinal Tetras

  • 9 Assorted Male Endlers (Ordered 10, but one was DOA) -

  • 5 Tiger Eye Nerite Snails

• Flora

  • Wisteria (Hygrophila Difformis) - pretty sure this is not what was sent to me -

  • Red Root Floater (Phyllanthus Fluitans)

  • Java Moss

  • Anubias nana "petite"

I'm waiting another week or so to make sure the bio load is good before adding more fauna. Here is what I'm most interested in:

• Blue Velvet Shrimp

• Apistogramma

• Betta

• Pigmy Cory

Overall this new hobby is going great! I've had a few hiccups along the way, but that's to be expected. I'm looking forward to adding more fish and plants to the tank in the near future.

I'm still VERY new to water keeping - so please share your learnings in the comments. Where am I going wrong? What should I be doing differently? Any and all advice is welcome!

Happy hobbying!