pearl gouramis are my favourite medium "centerpiece" fish. i had a school of 6 for a little bit, and their slow, inquisitive behaviour was a great contrast to the zippy tetras in the tank. they really balance out a big community tank

100% agree. i. fact, i think it needs 3 more to even all the compartments out

consistency is key with aquariums, so im sure this iteration will be better if you can keep up with it. that said, ive also had one tank that was cursed for a few years. nothing survived in there no matter what, and i eventually just gave it away haha. regardless, good luck with this one!

underconsumptiom etc etc but also i loved these pants and am happy that i can continue wearing them now, and i can stop putting myself through the "damn ive gained weight" shame when i put them on lol

gorgeous! what makes the shallow tank cursed?

gorgeous! i love the way the fish school around the tank

my favourite sequence of rotisserie chicken meals is 1) go ape mode with your bare hands eating just the chicken straight out of the bag 2) put leftover meat in curry or pasta 3) good soup with the carcass. step 1 is vital imo

rotisserie chicken is the gift that keeps on giving

no worries, i just didnt want you to count yourself out before you began haha. i had a L-397 for a few years that maxed out at about 12cm, and i find these smaller plecos really fun

theres a dozens of pleco species of all different sizes. some sp. that would be fine in a 20g include bristlenose plecos, clown plecos, and zebra plecos. i recommend looking up a list of all the l-numbers if you want to really jump into the ple o rabbit hole

the emergent growth is gorgeous. what livestock are in the tank?

i find tiktok and insta are especially bad for prioritizing funny clapbacks over all else lol

imo part of the reason for this extreme attitude is the upvoting and like systems on these apps. valid criticisms get buried by downvotes, and popular rhetoric gets upvoted regardless of its validity. there is no space for discussion, just funny clapbacks and virtue signalling

its brutal on reddit in particular man. exposing your livestock to any degree of risk = animal abuse. if you think the shrimp community is bad, dont check the ADF subreddit. there is no reasoning with these folks and it makes me really sad for impressionable beginners!

usually my filter makes a grinding sound when theres sand or a snail shell or smth stuck in the impeller. a good clean usually fixes this for me! or if im not feeling it i will also unplug the filter for a few days, and that usually fixes it too lol. it's never been a big deal for me!

ah if your water is hard, you'll need to source RO water for caridinas. they need soft water and are very sensitive to high kH. If you'd still like shrimp though, neocaridina should be fine with your tap. The big thing with any shrimp is just letting the tank mature nicely before adding them.

you should! caridina can be finicky but their colours are way more interesting than neocaridina imo

a microrasbora sp. school, 1-2 licorice gourami, 1-2 pygmy sunfish sp. (can be finicky to keep), or go ham and get into caridina shrimp

if it helps, my 75g tank has been ~1in out of level for 4 years now. No issues. If the floor is not level but your tank is level on the stand, it's fine.