Stacey

Hardware store, pluming section. Just measure the inner diameter of the hoses. I think I paid less than $10 a few years ago when I replaced mine.

Hi Guys, Had a brain-fart today at Pisces and grabbed the Pisces brand 'tap water conditioner' labelled for salt water use. I have 3 freshwater tanks and 1 very low end brackish. Is it ok to use this stuff anyway, or should I exchange it?

Thanks for all the replies..... actually I sort of forgot about this post. I only ever added 1 dose of the salt. I was just not sure if adding more would be hurting more than it helped. I picked up some 'Ich Attack' by Kordon and that worked great. (It's an 'organic herbal' remedy.) It seemed to clear up the spots within a few days, although I'm sure the elevated temperature had something to do with that. (I also cranked up the air while the temp was up.) I was initially worried that I had spread ich to all of my small tanks, (same bucket/ syphon) but I guess I caught it in time as all is well. I guess this is why a quarantine tank is recommended.

Well it seems after 2+ years of fishkeeping I have my first fish disease! I have 4 Cardinal Tetras that are now spotted with ich. The small pleco also in the tank does not (yet) seem to be affected. The only new fish I've added was a Cardinal Tetra, purchased a few weeks ago from the store I work at! (I only bought it because I felt sorry for it, it was the last fish in the tank, and had been alone for at least a week.) That fish is still alive, (I know because it's smaller that my other ones) and doesn't seem to have any more spots than the rest of them.... I've also had a couple of Tetra deaths recently, the first was a week or so after introducing the new Tetra, the last was of the 'mysterious fish disappearance' variety that I noticed only yesterday. (Can't find any trace of the body, but the tank is also heavily populated with Trumpet Snails.) I've read some of the old ich threads on this forum and I have a few questions..... How much salt should I add? I've so far added 3 tablespoons of aquarium salt. Are the tetras sensitive to high concentrations of salt? I'm thinking the pleco probably is. What is the highest dose I should add? Tank is 10 gallon, heavily planted.... are plants sensitive to aquarium salt? And temperature? Tank is up to 83 now. Can I go higher? Do I want to keep the temp elevated for the next 2 weeks or so? Any help would be appreciated, this is my first fish disease.

For the little tanks where I use a bucket for WC's, I add the Prime to the bucket. For the big tank, I add the Prime directly to the tank before refilling with a hose.

Wow, you moved a 90 with water and fish in it? That would scare me. When I moved my 90 downstairs, I took everything out, even down to the sand. Those 2 fish were just a joy to catch, my pleco almost jumped out of the net onto the floor.... (note to self -buy a bigger net- pleco's don't bend well!) and the oscar just about jumped outta the bucket! :beer: Anyway these 3 tanks should be much easier, they are all staying in the same room, just being shifted a few feet. I probably would just empty them, but I'm under severe time constraints, my house guest arrives tomorrow morning -this needs to be done tonight! So I should probably get to work..... I hope I have enough :beer:

Thanks for all the great advice guys! And thanks especially for the reminder to secure the cords in such a way that I won't trip over them! (Knowing my luck, I trip over a cord, fall down, and manage to drop the tank on myself....) The tanks are only being shifted a few feet to the right.... and reason I can't just empty them down to a few inches of water, then just 'He-Man' them over a few feet? (stand and tank together??) The fish in all these tanks are small, the biggest probably being a betta. -ham-

I recently moved my 90g tank to a different floor in my house. First time relocating a tank, the move went well. I had done some reading online, and several articles mentioned the importance of completely emptying a large tank. I did that, in the process discovering my biggest net was too small! Anyway, the articles also mentioned relocating a smaller tank with some water, substrate, and maybe fish in them! Has anyone ever done this?? How much water? What about maximum size tank you've moved like this? Because, suddenly I find myself needing to relocate three tanks -two tens and a 26 gallon. (Before this weekend!!) Any advice from the collective voice of experience would be great! thanks

Looking good today, and still pooping..... which brings up another question....... Do I feed him over the next couple of days or not? My first inclination would be no, let him heal a bit more, BUT then I thought, what if he gets hungry enough to go snails hunting again? :bang1: I did pick out all the big ones I could see..... I'm thinking if I do feed him I should stick to the peas....

I skip the Melafix altogether and just add Tea Tree Oil. (which is Melafix's active ingredient) It's not always recommended for smaller fish, but these guy's are big! (Oscar and Pleco)

A while back I added some of my countless horde of Malasian Trumpet Snails to my Oscar's tank. I knew he'd eat them. Most of the time he chewed them first. This time he didn't. He is currently suffering from the results of that, as in, he's got a whole shell (wedged sideways!) sticking out of his bum. Ouch! He is passing it. It's more visible than it was a few hours ago when I noticed it this morning. I have treated him with Epsom Salts and he's been fed peas. I'm concerned about the damage afterwards. Would Tee Tree Oil (Melafix) help as a suitable anti-bacterial agent for afterwards? Or do I need something stronger? I'm pretty confident he will pass it, he's a big, healthy fish. I'm also pretty confident that this experience won't stop him from eating what he shouldn't. :grr: He used to eat gravel. Edited to add: He's now passed it.He's swollen, and a small flap of torn skin is hanging. Going to go do a water change and add the tea tree oil.

Quick update: I left them alone as suggested, and they appear to be slowly coming back! :thumbs: thanks everyone.

I too have experienced a 'Shaw Secure' pop up saying it detected a trojan virus while perusing the buy & sell part of the forum. Twice.

Interesting..... thanks everyone. Although the seasonal change in water supply idea doesn't explain why the Crypts in the brackish tank are still doing well, unless the salt could somehow be buffering something...... As for the crazy growth of the Banana Plants and that other plant I don't know the name of, I'm thinking they were suddenly using up nutrients the Crypts needed........ Anyway, I'm going to experiment a little and switch out several plants between the brackish and the 10 gallon. I am glad to hear that you guys think the Crypts will come back.

Over the last week I've noticed my red crypts have started to look bad..... the leaves have appeared wilted, thin, shrivelled, and covered with fuzzy green algae. When I did a water change tonight, I pulled them out and there was really only a leaf or two left. The roots still look good. I've done a large water change, and cleaned up all the nasty looking plant bits. I don't understand what's going on here..... I picked these plants up at an auction several months ago, they've always seemed to do well. They've bounced back from when I had them in with Colombian Ramshorn Snails and they got almost entirely eaten...... they even do well in my brackish tank. Today, they look dead. :mad: I've picked off all the dead leaves and replanted them for now, hoping they'll come back....... The tank is a heavily planted 10 gallon, stocked with 6 Cardinal Tetras, and 1 baby Leopard Frog Pleco, plus several Malasian Trumpet Snails. For plants there is a large chunk of Java fern tied to wood, Java Moss tied to wood, 2 Banana Plants, some plant I've forgotten the name of, and those 5 decomposing Crypts. The tank has plain sand substrate, I've never fertilized. About 3 watts per gallon. Never used CO2. I do have a bubbler in there for water movement, the filter is pretty tiny. Recent additions are the Pleco and the Banana Plants, both of which I picked up at the March auction. During this time that the Crypts have been dying back, the Banana Plants and the tall, green, leafy plant have been growing like they are on steroids! The Java Fern and Moss are also both displaying good growth. Can anyone suggest an explanation for this sudden deterioration? I'm a plant idiot and would appreciate any help.

A few comments...... 1. What folks have already said about rinsing the media is aquarium water is right on. However I should also like to add that the filter itself will have to be occasionally dissambled and cleaned. 2. Bio-Spira is, according to what I've read, not yet approved for sale in Canada. 5. Java Moss is very easy to grow. Tie it to wood or a rock, and drop it in the tank. When you get a huge mass, pull off some and tie to another rock/ wood. Repeat till you're giving it away. 6. Keep an eye on the buy and sell forum here. Plenty of people on this board with fishies for sale. HTH

I also became a card totin' member of CAS. Too bad the meetings are on the same night as something else I'm involved in. I could SWEAR CAS used to meet on Tuesdays... I must have a bad memory. You're memory's fine, we did use to meet on Tuesdays. Changed to Wednesdays a while back.

I got the Leopard Frog Pleco, several Nerite Snails, couple of cool plants, and a heater. Spent a bit...... but after factoring in the profit from what I sold, I'm only down about 15 bucks! :thumbs: I love auctions, can't wait for the next one!

I just did this myself. My old lights blew, and I didn't have the money for new aquarium lights, so off to the hardware store I went. Cost about $40 total. It's not too difficult to wire. Like Darkangel said, pick up some extension cord from the hardware store, and a plug. The wires inside are colour coded. You connect the white wire to the other white wire in the fixture, and do the same for the black. Then, you ground your green wire to the fixture. You connect the plug end the same way, the ground is the bottom prong, and the screw for the black wire is usually painted. You'll need a wire stripping tool, ask around, maybe someone you know can loan you one..... or better yet, show off their electrical knowledge and do it for you!

I've read about the clove oil, and maybe would've used it, if I would've had some...... but I didn't. The kid knew his fish were hurting..... I worked with what I had. It was also very weird to be making this decision with/ for somebody else child.

5 more sleeps! (happy now Connie?)

It was hard to do.... I'm new enough at this to never have had to do it for my own fish. At least it was fairly quick. The other fish all came through last night ok, so here's hoping I can return all of his fish to him next week..... thought the tank would've gone into a mini cycle last night, what with the tank being nearly empty for 4 hours before I got there..... but so far ammonia testing at 0. I did have to refill with all new water though.... It's a good thing all of his fish are small, (so far, one's a baby Gibby Pleco!) and that it's a 55 gallon.... so it shouldn't be too hard to keep the ammonia levels under control, if the filter has crashed.

I'm fish-sitting for a week or so. The tank belong to my daughter's 12 year old friend. The family's moving temporarily, before moving again next week! So I've got their tank. I go there to collect it. The fish are in little cups/ small containers. For hours. The water's cold, fish are gasping. Tank still has 4 inches of water in it. I get everybody moving in the right direction, get the fish repacked. Get the tank here, get the fish in, all the while telling this 12 year old boy, 'that betta, she's just not going to make it' Sure enough, get her, and the other fish in the tank. She's headstanding, swirling instead of swimming, and just generally dying. We watch for a few minutes, while I explain the word 'euthanize' to a 12 year old, an 11 year old, and my 10 year old. I ended up freezing the betta, putting her into very cold ice water, before putting her in the freezer. I didn't know what else to do. I spoke to a very experienced aquarist, and we agreed that was probably the best way in the circumstances.... I was hardly gonna hand the 12 year old a sharp knife, and say 'off with it's head' So as soon as I get cooking for these children, who of course had had they regular feedings postponed in the mess of the move over at their house.... we see another fish, (a platy, I think) doing the swirling slowly and barely breathing thing. Into the ice water that one went. The others (I hope) will be okay. Holy Crap! What a day!

Patience is you friend here..... and the Prime, and the bucket or hose.... How big are the goldfish? You may have a bit of time here before you have to re-home, but with 7 goldfish, I think you will eventually have to move some. It sound like you are doing everything right, :thumbs: you just have to keep doing it. Plus there is a lot of great advice on this board! I concur with everything already said here. I can see that you're new here. :welcome: This board is a great place to get some awsome deals with other members on equipment and fish..... (and if you can get to Calgary on March 9th, the Calgary Aquarium Society is having an auction!)

I use rocks! (I've put a couple of rocks directly infront of the fx5 intake, to prevent the Oscar from kicking sand into it during his occasional excavations.) All other tanks, nothing. I have moved the intakes higher than they would be if I had gravel though.