Who Gives A Fish Forums

Based on my observations, I'm inclined to believe it's a female...

I've never had any personal experience with soil in a tank, but from all the reading I've done, it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth. I've come across a lot of people who swear by it, but the potential drawbacks just don't seem to be worth the risk for me. Sand or smooth gravel, on ...

When it comes to substrate, I've learned that simplicity is often the way to go. I used to swear by 1" of organic potting soil topped with 2" of sand, but the drawbacks started to outweigh the benefits. Soil releases ammonia, which can be a real pain, and burrowing fish will turn it into a mess ...

I'm dealing with a substrate issue in my 75-gallon planted tank. The Controsoil base, which has been in there for years, has basically turned into mud. As a result, my plants - Amazon Swords, Jungle Val, and Corkscrew Val - aren't thriving like they used to.

My water parameters are pretty stable ...

That's a legitimate bamboo plant you've got there. My experience with growing bamboo outdoors is that those stolons can be super aggressive and wreak havoc on surrounding structures. I recall my black bamboo, similar to golden bamboo, spreading rapidly and popping up in unexpected places - even ...