Shai

Someone else will have to comment about the specific plant problem. But, if you have a planted tank you should not be using charcoal at all, as it removes nutrients from the water column that the plants need. Keep a charcoal insert on hand in cases where you need to remove medication from the water, but otherwise all you need in your filter is a sponge.

I don't have my CO2 hooked up to my powerhead yet, so maybe this question will answer itself when I actually do, but... When I first got my powerhead I tried positioning it low in the tank like you mention here. I noticed that the lower I put it in the tank, the less air was sucked through the tubing into the powerhead, until none at all was drawn in. I suspect too much pressure from the surrounding water was to blame. How then will the CO2 get drawn into the powerhead?

This link might be of interest: http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=29610

A black or other solid color background like navy blue would help the fish and plants stand out more. : ) Looking good otherwise!

Fantastic pics, great job! Have fun with all those fry.

Sorry, who is Henry? The waterbed kit is the only piece I'm missing. I went out on the weekend and picked up the rest of the components, but couldn't find a kit anywhere (don't want to bother trying an actual waterbed place, they'd probably mark up the cost astronomically).

If the fish isn't properly colored up it's going to be hard to tell. If a boesemani, the front half should be showing darker coloration towards navy blue. A turquoise rainbowfish would probably have a dark stripe running along the mid-line. The size and shape of the fish leads me to think it's more mature; when young the bodies of these fish aren't as deep. A lot of rainbowfish have the same mature body shape so that's not really an identifier on its own. A site I really like for rainbowfish info is http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/index.htm Check through the species list...but again, you'll probably have to wait until the coloring improves. Increased water changes will likely be all you need to get this fish up to speed. : )

I already use Prime, thanks. Thanks for all the info! Gravity would probably be an issue in my place though, it's 68 feet long and all one floor. The sink is about level with the tanks and about 15 feet away from the biggest tank. The bathtub is about 40 feet down the length of the house so the hose would be flat on the floor before climbing back up over the edge of the tub. In summer running the hose into the backyard would be another 10 or 15 feet from the tub (so practically the whole 68 feet) to get to the back window. That's a lot of horizontal space to conquer! I'll have to give it a try and see what happens.

This sounds like a great and cheap alternative! EDIT: I did a Google search and came up with this: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_python.php Is this basically what you did? Since you mentioned siphoning the water out to the garden or bathtub, I imagine you attach a second hose to the outflow of the fill & drain?

I suffer from scoliosis so I would like to buy a Python to eliminate having to carry around heavy buckets of water to change my tanks. Can anyone tell me what they normally retail for? Since my house is so long I am going to need one with at least 50' of hose. I was at Petland last night looking for one but they didn't have any. Is anyone stocking them locally? Marina makes a similar piece of equipment that looked okay as an alternative. The 50' version was about $95. Is this reasonable? Does anyone have any experience with the Marina one? Many thanks!

Very nicely done. What have you stocked in it? Looks like danios and maybe cherry shrimp?

: ) I'm really glad it worked out for you! You're welcome for the assist.

Maybe Patrick would be so kind as to pitch in as well.

I started out with about six of these snails and now I have about six thousand. They can reproduce once they reach 10mm in length. One snail can produce about seventy babies by itself. They're all female and self-fertilizing. Okay, so 6000 might be a bit of an exaggeration (then again...maybe not). I have enough from several generations that I can't count them all and regularly do cullings to keep up some appearance of population control. So...I wouldn't worry. If you started with fifteen, even if some of them didn't survive, soon enough you will have...lots. If you're impatient though, you're welcome to trek down to my place and raid the tank. : )

Three from me: Malaysian rainbow shrimp. Not sure what's up with all the red dots...are they eggs? Peppered cory! Love these guys. I have five that I rescued from Wal-Mart. And my newest finned friend...Mr. "We Hope It's A Pitbull" Pleco. Not the greatest shot. He's still in QT and the tank was full of bubbles but it was the best opportunity so far for a pic. Thanks for looking. : )

That's too bad. : (

That's what I figured. No trips planned to Edmonton in the near future though... Can a person buy a 10lb or similar sized cylinder at AirLiquide?

That's good to know. Everything I've ever read about GBRs has made me hesitant, but hey, obviously if others in this city are keeping them successfully, there shouldn't be any reason why I can't. : ) PS: Mitsukuni, great pics! Would love to see more.

New question. I'm leaning towards buying the package setup from Red Sea, the one that comes in at $180 from Big Als. Red Sea makes two versions of this sytem, one that takes a "standard" CO2 cylinder, and another for the same price that takes a paintball cylinder. Which type of cylinder is better/most cost effective/easier to get refilled? This thread probably belongs in the Equipment forum, sorry...

I'm itching to try GBRs...have a 33g tank that would be great for them I think, but I worry about Calgary's water being too hard and full of dissolved solids. Are you doing anything special with your water for your rams? Since you have discus in the same tank I guess you're changing a lot of the water often?

Maybe if the betta has ich, sure. Bloating can be a sign of many things (but not necessarily ich). If the betta is constipated, feeding cooked, shelled peas and adjusting the regular feeding schedule is required. It could be an internal infection, internal parasite, or dropsy. Maybe the betta is just fat (though becoming fat overnight is unlikely). So, more information is needed to make a better diagnosis. What is the current temp of the water? How often are you feeding? What are you feeding? How often do you change the water and how much? What are the current water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)? Have you changed anything about the betta's home recently? What size is the tank the betta is in? In the meantime, I recommend increasing the frequency and amount of water changes. Try feeding a cooked, shelled pea (use tweezers to offer small pieces--the betta probably won't eat more than a quarter to half of the whole pea) and post back with more info. : )

Not in mine. Both of my tanks are moderately planted. The drug itself shouldn't. However, I still had deaths post-treatment because of the internal injuries. Decaying bodies spiked the ammonia levels until they were removed. According to the article Charles wrote on the treatment, after levamisole has been in the water 24 hours, a near 100% water change with very thorough gravel vac is required to remove offspring which may be in the gravel. The article also claims only one treatment should be required (though a wise fishkeeper would probably do two treatments a few weeks apart anyway). You don't. As I said above, do two treatments and a thorough gravel vac. Most of the beneficial bacteria is in your filterbox and the drug won't affect the colony.

What size is the QT tank you have these fish in? If it's small, to tide you over I could measure out a dosage for that tank from my supply. It's a 24 hour treatment and one dose should do it. After that you can keep an eye on your fish and redose your tank(s) at a later date when you have the funds if you've cross-contaminated by accident. But with the fish you have now, the longer you wait the more likely it will be that they won't survive, even with treatment. Send me a PM, let me know.

I had camallanus in my tanks over the summer, brought home from the Crowfoot Petland. Email Charles Harrison (website here, email link at the bottom). Tell him you want Levamisole HCl, that you are in Canada, and give him your tank size. He will ship you powdered Levamisole by express. I purchased enough levamisole and flubendazole (useful against external and internal parasites other than camallanus) to last me for a year or more (QT treatments, etc) for about $40 US (including shipping). He's very helpful and includes dosing instructions. Be warned: the levamisole killed all my nerites and all but three of my shrimp. As previously pointed out, even after treating you still could be in for more fish deaths due to internal rot or other diseases. It's a tough one. Good luck!

I've said it before--amazing photos! The fish look like they stop to pose for you. What kind of camera do you use? How do you setup/prepare for these shots? If you have the time it would be awesome if you could write some kind of tutorial or tip sheet--maybe the admins could make it a sticky.