bottomdweller_fan

I'm no expert but I use the Sunblasters and like how the plants grow - keeping in mind that I don't have high-tech plant systems (no CO2 or a fertilization schedule).

I have:

2 sunblaster 2' on my 21G shrimp/planted tank (this tank has shorter, higher light plants in it that still grow)

1 sunblaster 3' on my 33G brackish tank

4 sunblaster 4' on my 75G tetra tank

4 sunblaster 3' on my 108G coolwater tank

I like the fact that you can link up to 8 lights together, it means fewer things to plug into my power bars.

The problem with using loaches to clean up snails in aquariums, particularly cichlid setups, is fourfold:

• first, most of them live in very different water parameters than most African cichlids
  
• second, if the tank is not really large, even the smaller, slower growing botias add quite a bioload to a tank
  
• third, I have Botia almorhae (yo yos), Botia kubotai, Botia striata, and Botia dario in the same tank and they very seldom touch the MTS snails
  
• fourth, all of these species are schooling fish and are more comfortable and will be seen more when kept in groups of 5 or more
  

There are lots of other ways to control snails. As someone who is passionate about loaches for their own sake, I always suggest that the other methods be tried and only get loaches if you want to develop an environment where these incredibly fun fish can flourish.

**gets down off her soap box**

How about a bunch of assassin snails. Here are a couple of sites discussing them eating MTS (with pictures).

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=12094

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152026

I have 3 blues, 2 golds, 1 opaline, 2 combtails, 2 wild leopard leaf fish, the ornate bichir, and a spotted raphael catfish.

They all get along quite well.

That will depend on the type of gourami and the size of the tank. What kind of gouramis do you have and what size tank are they in?

Some of the gouramis like the snakeskin, blues and golds can be quite aggressive at least with each other and if the community fish are small enough to fit in the gouramis' mouths, those fish are likely to become food.

I keep blue, gold, opaline and combtail gouramis in a 75 gallon with a bichir and leopard leaf fish. The gouramis range in size from 4" to 5".

Good luck!

From everything I have read, they are good at hiding so they don't become lunch. I guess we'll see.

Day 9 (Mar. 5/09)

Went down to the fishroom and all of the eggs have hatched. It is a well planted tank so I can't see any of the babies yet.

I am so excited!!

Day 6 (Mar. 2/09)

Well, the eggs have started hatching. Woo hoo!!

Now to go feed them some Kale and there is lots of aufwuchs and algae in the tank. Keep your fingers crossed.

I would not suggest it. They will eat any and all plant matter - including less tasty plants like Java Fern.

The only crayfish that won't eat plants are the dwarf crayfish.

Day 5 (Mar. 1/09)

Well it is day five and you can see the babies in the eggs. The male is being extremely attentive to the eggs. Out of the 24 there were only 4 that were not viable.

Here is the beginning of the journal.

Day 1 (Feb. 25/09)

See the pictures from this post http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=23449

Day 3 (Feb. 27/09)

I was watching the eggs today and could see the babies moving in the eggs - so cool!

Thanks, because a lot of the fish are bottom dwellers (hence my forum name) I wanted it wider rather than deep. It is 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep.

I think that if it was any deeper, I would have to get in the tank to clean the back -roll-

As far as I can tell, he is Farlowella acus. I would say he is about 5" from the tip of his nose to his tail.

The picture doesn't show all the detail. At the top of each egg is a black area. As the eggs mature they become clearer and you can see the babies.

I like greenfire tetras. Once they settle in, they have incredible color.

Thanks everybody. I'm so excited. I will probably do a photo timeline in my journal.

According to Planetcatfish, they should hatch in about 8-10 days.

WoooHooooo!!

OK, so I go to the fishroom this morning and get an exciting surprise.

Are these Farlowella eggs and is that dad busy looking after them?

Any help would be appreciated!

The problem with ich is that it can hide inside the gills so even if they have nothing on their bodies, if they are flashing a lot they can still have ich that you can't see.

There are lots of good articles about ich on the web - good luck.

Has anyone done the paperwork necessary to bring fish in from the United States? Are there any websites I can go to that would help me put together the information needed?

Thanks for your help.

They were about $4 a piece. They really color up beautifully being an off-white with a two black stripes and some orange around their dorsal fin.

Mine are doing really well in brackish at 1.004. They are in a 33 gallon with a knight goby, a neon goby, celebese rainbows and a couple of mollies.

I have 6 of them (pitbull plecos) and they are wonderful algae eaters with great personalities. Nature's Corner has them.

The shipping cost from that company is about $7 to $10. Their website shows a 2L of Prime for $47.99 and a 4L for $84.99. I have used them and they have great customer service and prompt and excellent shipping.

Many people think that otos are sensitive but this has to do with how they are shipped. Because they are algae eaters, they reach the LFS practically starving. If the LFS doesn't take the time to make sure they are eating well, they often die. Make sure you get ones that have round bellies and make sure your tank has plenty of algae and they should be fine. As well, they prefer tanks planted with live plants.

I spent around $950, compared to about $2,000 for a glass tank and $3,200 for an acrylic tank. The fish like having a solid back and sides as well.

Absolutely gorgeous!!! What species is he/she?