sharuq1

They hatched out last night. I wasn't able to catch very many. I'm bummed that I am not set up with rotifers to be able to raise them, but maybe next time. They are about 3 mm long.

That first batch hatched out and I didn't even get to see it. Second batch is due to hatch any day now. I haven't got any rotifers, so doubtful I can raise them at this point, but I do intend to try the raising thing eventually. If I can catch any of them this time I will try to take a pic.

That method works even better if you use baked baking soda. Just throw it in the oven scattered over a cookie sheet at 400F for an hour. This drives of the excess water and CO2.

I found my clowns have been tending eggs today. Looks like they have been there for a while and I just hadn't noticed. I can see little silver eyeballs. So neat!

Congrats on the new babies!!

Wow, he's lookin' good!

I don't think the salt will be effective, it's already alkaline so can't take up as much alkalinity as the fresh water (in theory-unless you're doing salt for some other reason?). You might be better off filling the tank with RO water or even adding vinegar initially (RO is hungry water and a bit acidic, so should take up more of the alkalinity the cement will be giving off). Heat the water too, it will allow more to be taken up in the water, then you can remove it with WCs.

Looks great! How long will you soak for (for ph) before adding fish?

I had my dward puffers in brackish water for a while, they were totally fine in it, so adding that little bit of salt should not be a problem. 1tsp/gal should not bother the pleco either. You could try some melafix or pimafix (or both) as well as the regular aquarium salt as an anti-infective.. The reason the article mentions epsom is not as an anti-infective but as a means of shifting the fluid out of the tissues.

Minus the sword and val and that's exactly what I have in my tank plus some najas. I'm not terribly worried about the plants to be honest, I can always pull more out of my other tanks. I was more worried on how the pleco and the puffers would handle the salt. It won't burn them? 1 tsp to 5 gallons is pretty low, is that why you suggested that dose? In the past I have used 1 tsp per gallon or 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.

Is the tank planted? If not, go ahead and add salt. It could be pop eye

The affected fish should be immediately taken out to be separately treated. It is difficult to specify a specific treatment unless the main cause is definitely known. Large daily water changes should help, if not Epsom salts has been used with good results to draw the fluid out. One tablespoon per 5 gallons of water for at least three days, longer if necessary. Epsom salts isn't really salt (sodium chloride) it is Magnesium Sulfate. If water quality is the problem, a 50 percent water change must be made as soon as possible.

If a new item was added to the aquarium recently, it should be double checked that it is not poisoning the water or letting off chemicals. The quality of the water conditioner that is used should be checked that it has a good opinion by other aquarists. If the water readings are wrong (high nitrAtes etc), a 50 percent water change is recommended again and 15-20 percent water changes 3-5 times per week, until the water readings are correct. Overstocking is a common problem for high water readings. Another common reason would be decaying dead fish and fish food. The tank should be thoroughly searched for any dead fish and precautions must be taken NOT TO OVER FEED, and if the tank is overstocked, steps should be taken in finding some of your fish another good home. If a bacterial infection is the cause we would recommend 'Maracyn', 'Maracyn II', 'eSHa 2000' and 'Anti-internal bacteria' for treatment.

If she doesn't mind duckweed, it's really handy for shading the water so that the suspended algae doesn't grow.

How much sand do you need? I have about 4 gallons of rinsed out sand from my sw tank. Was thinking of using it again, but I haven't decided.

Sounds overstocked. If you have prime on hand or amquel you could try dosing with that daily as an emergency measure along with more frequent water changes until you get some of the fish out of the tank. If you could test for ammonia and nitrite, that could tell you if this is the problem.

They are beautiful! I wanted to get some of these a while back but found the cost too prohibitive. Wherever did you find them?

Thank you I tried to get a night pic, but all I managed was a black photo with one tiny pinpoint of light.

Just some pics of my little half barrel pond. I used a 20g muck bucket for the liner because the barrel leaks. I have a heater set at 67 in there and a small little internal filter. The pond is stocked with a kuhli loach, horseface loach, 12 or so white clouds and an unknown fish the kids pulled out of a pond in town. I threw a couple cherry shrimp in there, but it's likely the loaches ate them :razz: The water lily with the larger leaves is from Canadian Tire (the one that is blooming) along with the duckweed. The smaller lily is from Wal Mart (one of those dry packaged ones). The pond contains 2 small pieces of driftwood and has multicolored gravel on the bottom At night the little solar light is on, it looks real cute.

What a change, the little guy/girl looks much more owl-like now. Fantastic pics!

Looking good Blue Wolf! Umm..what's a sea egg? Also, it looks like you have some majano anemones growing in your zoas.

So how'd it turn out for you?

It looks wonderful! Glad to see the iceburgs enjoying their new digs. :thumbs:

This month's topic is how to set up a saltwater fish tank. A demo will take place on how to measure salinity, use test kits and a handout will be available for your information. This is a beginner's type thing.

The next meeting for Red Deer's newest fish club is coming up on the first Sunday of June at 7pm at my place in Rosedale. Members can throw their name in a hat for a draw that will take place several months down the road for a marine nano tank! With every meeting you attend you can put your name into the draw. Membership is free, just fill out a form or e-mail Jim Sayers (below).

Accepting donations of livestock (coral or something extremely small), and equipment for the 5gal nano with many thanks. At the moment we need a really small heater and a light of 18-25watts (10k-20k). Anything unused may be used in subsequent draws or to simply help out other members. We may do a freshwater version in the future if we can get enough donations. (Since this was my idea we're doing salt, lol. :P )

Meetings will be held the first Sunday of every month. Everyone is welcome to come. The group is informal in structure as of yet, just aquatic lovers getting together to talk abut anything aquatic and what we'd like to see happen for this club in the future. We apologize ahead of time if we get off track (You can always bring a stick to poke us with.)

For more information please contact Jim Sayers at 403-314-0589 or jsayers@shaw.ca

I'd prefer not to post my address on the net, so just ask Jim where we are or pm me.

Beautiful shots. I especially like the puffers. Did you collect these yourself or was it a new shipment?

It's going to be gorgeous with all those lovely plants. Now if only the weather would cooperate.

There are some live pond plants over at the north Canadian Tire in Red Deer now.

I bought a lily and some sort of fuzzy floaty plant that's mixed in with duck weed. Super excited to start my first little pond outside! Just hope the plants survive the cold the next couple days. Threw a water heater in there set at 65 and covered it in plastic in the hopes that will keep it all warm enough.

I wonder if those golden wonder killies they have at petsm@rt would work in a pond..... Has anyone tried it?