Hi there! I am new to fish tanks and I apologize for my lack of knowledge. I promise to learn quickly though if you point me in the right direction. I'm in Portland, OR and if anybody knows of a great, knowledgable shop, please let me know. I have yet to find one.
I have a small, ten gallon tank. I did the fishless shrimp cycle and about a month ago added in some Raspboras and a Pleco. The Pleco was a hitchhiker on one of the live plants/log I purchased so I didn't plan on this fish.
I have three live plants in there, one is attached two a log. The other two which are just buried in substrate. The leaves on these two are starting to turn light brown on the ends of a few of the leaves and deteriorate. I have not been putting any kind of fertilizer in there because I don't know which kind to use and what is safe.
A few days ago one of my Raspboras started hanging out seperately from the other 9. I noticed his fins were tattered, but the rest of his body looked fine. The next day he began to swim in one spot and low in the tank, then he died. It looks as though one fish in particular is chasing the others around and possibly nipping at them. I can't tell if he is actually making contact with them, but they are darting so fast. I isolated him for a few hours one day, but didn't know what to do with him long term so I released him back into the tank.
The Pleco has been fine, but today his head area is a strange color. Where white areas of his skin in the head area are reddish-orange. I took a pic from my phone that I can try to upload if you need to see it.
In summary my questions are
-what do I do to care for my live plants?
-what should I do about the agfressive Raspbora?
-why is my Pleco turning red?
Any advice or help is very much appreciated!
I have a small, ten gallon tank. I did the fishless shrimp cycle and about a month ago added in some Raspboras and a Pleco. The Pleco was a hitchhiker on one of the live plants/log I purchased so I didn't plan on this fish.
I have three live plants in there, one is attached two a log. The other two which are just buried in substrate. The leaves on these two are starting to turn light brown on the ends of a few of the leaves and deteriorate. I have not been putting any kind of fertilizer in there because I don't know which kind to use and what is safe.
A few days ago one of my Raspboras started hanging out seperately from the other 9. I noticed his fins were tattered, but the rest of his body looked fine. The next day he began to swim in one spot and low in the tank, then he died. It looks as though one fish in particular is chasing the others around and possibly nipping at them. I can't tell if he is actually making contact with them, but they are darting so fast. I isolated him for a few hours one day, but didn't know what to do with him long term so I released him back into the tank.
The Pleco has been fine, but today his head area is a strange color. Where white areas of his skin in the head area are reddish-orange. I took a pic from my phone that I can try to upload if you need to see it.
In summary my questions are
-what do I do to care for my live plants?
-what should I do about the agfressive Raspbora?
-why is my Pleco turning red?
Any advice or help is very much appreciated!