Stacey

Well I haven't been doing this fish thing long enough to have ever experienced an equiptment related disaster , so I'd have to say I'm not picky about most things. However the 2 things I wouldn't want to be without would be Prime and NLS.

very nice! love the colour.

Yes, but one of them is a pleco who's always pooping. The oscar just 'poops along" occasionally -roll-

One pleco....... way too spoiled to actually eat algae though

I've seen fluorescents labelled for aquarium use at Home Depot, for cheap. ($5-$10) They had a range of sizes too. (Not the size I need of course!!!) Could be worth a look anyway.......

Plecos are salt sensitive, because they are scaleless. I wouldn't use salt with a pleco. Also the "fuzzy" patch would seem like more of a fungus than ich. I suppose he might have ich too......... Maybe post a picture in the 'fish emergency' section? I have no idea how salt sensitive a crayfish is. Can you separate the pleco for treatment? Is the crayfish showing any symptoms of anything? If you can't get a picture try google-ing fungus, and see if the picture matches. HTH, Stacey

Sorry about the deaths. For us to help you figure out why they died we need the following info from you: Tank size, list of all occupants, test results for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, pH, plus any other test results you have. (the first 3 listed are the most important) How long has the tank been set up? How did you cycle? I'm assuming you know the basics and have equipped the tank with a filter and heater....... what temperature is the tank? What brand/size is the filter? Which water conditioner do you use? How were the fish behaving before death? Hopefully it was a problem with just those individual fishes and not the whole tank, but we can't help you figure it out without this info. Stacey What does that sort of behaviour signify? usually death

It's been my experience that oscars kept in too small a tank can quickly turn nasty....... I wouldn't put the oscars, sharks and plecos all together in a 75, not without several spare tanks ready to go anyway. And like Danzig said, just because they get along as babies, doesn't mean they will get along when puberty strikes. My oscar shares a 90 gallon with a pleco, and he's occasionally a bully, but nothing like when they were both in the 10 gallon! (typical newbie mistake) As for buying convicts or other cichlids, if you're in Calgary, try Gold's on 17th Ave. Price-wise, not sure, but I would expect under $20 each. Hope that helped, Stacey

Probably just testing the edibility of your shirt...... -roll- mine swims up to meet me whenever the lid is off, but then I do feed frozen foods with a dropper, so he's usually hoping for a snack.

Another site you might find of interest is www.plecofanatics.com Sorry I don't know how to do the link thing where you just click on the words, so you'll have to type it in. I find this site more user friendly than planetcatfish, but they are both very good.

thanks for the reassurance........ first bubble nest and all....... He hasn't rebuilt yet, poor little bugger probably STILL has a sore jaw from all that bubble blowing.

Interesting....... so this is new for you, as in you didn't need to top up the tanks daily before? I lose about a 1/2 inch of water a week on my 90 gallon, (don't bother topping up, because I do a weekly water change) I just assumed this was the usual rate of evaporation.

.... but I've only had the betta a few months. Monday, he blew his first bubble nest, today it's disappeared. There also appears to be a very thin film on top of the water. Why the film? Do bubble nests usually just disappear if the fish isn't actively working on the nest? (tank is 10 gallons, with HOB filter, no tankmates, or medication added recently) Thanks

I use a spoon with a piece of fishing line tied around it. (to pull the spoon back up) Pleco's will eat all sorts of veggies, (and fruits) my pleco's favorite is those mini cucumbers, you know the ones that they use to make pickles? He can eat his body weight in those.

degrassi -I don't think the oscar would eat a full grown BN, but I'm not sure, I've never fed him live fish. I'm actually more worried that there would be territory issues between plecos, as a full grown BN is what, 5 or 6 inches? That's a little smaller than my current pleco....... :bang1: Rainmaker -A new light fixture would be out of my budget at the moment. I may look into brighter bulbs, but that would probably coincide with a decision to provide the oscar with a whole range of plants to uproot :grr: I guess I'll just keep cleaning it........ it's not so bad though, I find I only need to do an algae scrub every second week.

I guess if I ever decide I want to entertain my oscar by giving him a bunch of real plants to pull up, then I'll have some lighting questions for you all......... until then, back to the brushes.

I've been considering changing from gravel to sand....... but I'm worried about sand in the plumbing when I use the Python for water changes. Hubby would not be impressed if I clogged up the pipes with sand. :pff:

I've got an algae scraper, and a set of brushes for cleaning decorations......... I was looking to prevent it. I do have a couple of small plants in there, not growing very well though, probably because I don't have enough LIGHT! And as for the pleco, he's a spoilt fat piggy who can eat his own weight in cucumber, kiwi and several other fruits or veggies....... I don't think he'll ever eat algae. So you don't think it's excess silicates then? just not enough light?

Kevin, Tank cycled 4 months ago, algae is mostly on right side, (front) and on tops of castle (pleco mansion) which is also on right side of tank. Circulation comes from the left. (xp3 inlet) I had the spray bar set up on the left side of the tank, as in against the side, not back or front glass, but recently switched it for the powerjet option, now pointed out toward middle of tank, on an angle. The emp 280 is on the right side of the tank, but was only added yesterday. Maybe if I added a powerhead to the lower right side? degrassi, Tank is 90 gallon, as for watts, the box is labelled "28 watt 10,000K daylight T5 fluorescent lamp" and "28 watt True Actinic 03 Blue T5 fluorescent lamp" I'm an idiot when it comes to lights, does this mean I have 28 watts or 56 watts? Either way it's way under 2 watts per gallon. werner, Tank contains medium sized oscar and medium sized pleco, I'm thinking the oscar may mistake the oto's for lunch. So what do I need - more circulation, new bulbs, both??? thanks, Stacey

My big tank has developed what I think is brown algae. I've read that this can be caused by excessive silicates or nitrates, low light, or poor oxygen levels. Lights are 4 months old, nitrates are between 5 and 10 ppm, and I don't think oxygen is a problem. This only leaves silicates. Is their an absorbing resin I can buy for my filters? (Have an xp3 and emp 280 on this tank.) thanks

:cry: Sad Update, The last frog died wednesday night, the original one. Again no visible signs of illness. This time when I noticed the "death swim", I added one teaspoon of aquarium salt. He seemed to regain his eqilibirum, and was crawling slowly upon the substrate when I went to bed. In the morning he was dead. :cry: I did read on someone's caresheet on the internet that these guys are sensitive to metal in their water......... my tank lid has metal refelectors for the lights, so this may have been a possible cause. Anyway I think I've given up on these frogs for now.

My oscar doesn't seem to like veggies in any great quantity, although he did chase my hand around the tank tonight while I was trying to sink the zuchinni. -roll- Probably because I just gave him a piece of beefheart and he was hoping my hand contained some more meat.......... I do see him sample the pleco's veggies though, so I guess he does get a little.

:cry: I guess I'll never know for sure what killed them....... I'm hoping whatever it was isn't contageous........ the last frog is bigger (the original one) so hopefully he's a little stronger. I think I now know what to watch for........... but even if I do see my last frog swimming funny what do you do for a sick frog with no visible symptoms? Stacey

Lost the last of the new arrivals today, now tank contains only original frog, and betta. Again no obvious symptoms. Now that I've seen 3 of these guys pass on, it seems they all do a sort of death swim in the last 12 hours or so of their lives........ where their swimming around, at the top alot -but with varying degrees of body control. Dammit, another frog funeral.

WOW! I had to do the conversion in feet to imagine how big that is........ :bow: How long does it take to clean the tank? And do you wear a scuba-suit while doing it?