u/DylanMcDermott

Wondering if it's okay that this jungle Val has roots pretty well above the substrate line. It's pretty well hidden, so if it won't inhibit growth I'd like to leave it as-is as to not risk uprooting my other vals, but if the choice is push it down now vs replant it later I'd rather push it down now.

Stats:

75 gallon

gH 9°

kH 7°

pH 8-ish i think? pic included

Temperature unheated, usually in the 68°-72° Fahrenheit range. I do have a heater and could bring it up a little, but I prefer the cooler-tank so I don't want to crank this

Stocked:

x20-ish Celestial Pearl Danio

x20-ish Pygmy Corydoras

?? Neocaridina shrimp (started with x20-ish, but ofc they reproduce like crazy)

?? Ramshorn snails (let's say 20, just for fun)

Narrative:

This tank had been running for about 4 years, extremely lightly stocked with x12 pygmy corydoras for that time. When the last of those corys died this winter I decided to restock with shrimp and give celestial pearl danio a try. After the CPD went well for a few months and I felt like I understood their behavior well enough that I was comfortable to reintroduce the Pygmy Corys.

What I like about this existing stocking is that they're easy. All the animals are tank raised, they take any food I give them, and have been quite hardy.

What I think is lacking is that they aren't highly visible. The CPD are beautiful, but they're [tiny] drama queens that always have to be doing something (dogpiling food, mogging on each other, diving into clumps of plants, ect). The Corys are curious what's going on, and will play with each other, but like the CPD they're mostly busybodies (albeit somewhat less dramatic ones). Neither of these fish really school, the closest they get is coming to the front of the tank when they think food is on the way, or engaging in small-scale social interactions with each-other.

Of course, being hard-to-spot is a feature of having nano fish in a macro tank, but I feel like either some colorful lazy true-schoolers like eg neon tetra, or just one bigger colorful guy like eg a gourami might make the tank more interesting from a distance. But I don't know much about these animals! I believe that both those examples prefer warmer, softer water -- of course, the same is said about both the corys and CPD, both of which have done quite well in this habitat (sans reproductive behavior at this pH ofc). But in addition to the water parameters, I'm quite concerned about behavior -- I worry the CPD might mog on the wrong fish, one that would take the dominance display as an invitation for a real fight rather than the dance-off type sparring they do with each other.

Question:

Are there any species of fish that would predictably do quite well in this environment, with these tankmates, while being highly visible?

It's kinda weird because sometimes you can see him lookin' around at you

I want to know what you like or don't like about the various burrowing snails you have experience with

I recently got a ramshorn snail hitchhiker in my ~3y/o 75gallon shrimp/CPD tank. Although I was initially disappointed that I let a "pest" in, they ended up being a huge boon and rejuvenated my tank so now I love them. So, I'm wondering some digger, like MTS, might inject some life into my planted substrate-- some black diamond sand which has become rather compact over time in some places.

But, I'm hesitant about inserting something into my aquarium which will likely become a permanent feature. I want to make sure I do my homework, make selections I'll be glad about later, and avoid making any decisions I'll regret.

Do you have any digging snails you love or hate? Any recommendations with regards to species, or vendors? Any warnings or words of advice? I'm open to input

One particular concern I have is that I want to get a species which isn't too "strong" -- I have a rock wall which something particularly muscular, like a nerite, would certainly knock over given enough time

Casual tank shot for visibility, excuse the algae