bottomdweller_fan

You can also use Seachem Stability to help with the bacteria growth. A small amount of aquarium salt will also help the fish.

It is called Seachem Stability. The product description from Seachem's website http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Stability.html states: Stability™ will rapidly and safely establish the aquarium biofilter in freshwater and marine systems, thereby preventing the #1 cause of fish death: "new tank syndrome". Stability™ is formulated specifically for the aquarium and contains a synergistic blend of aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative bacteria which facilitate the breakdown of waste organics, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Unlike competing products, the bacteria employed by Stability™ are non-sulfur fixing and will not produce toxic hydrogen sulfide. Stability™ is completely harmless to all aquatic organisms as well as aquatic plants, thus there is no danger of over use. Stability™ is the culmination of nearly a decade of research and development and represents the current state of the art in natural biological management. It works extremely well to help establish a new tank. Hope this helps.

I like the SIL3 sand from SIL Industries out on the east end of the city on Highway 16. You can get 88 lbs for $7.50 and it is so clean I have never even had to rinse it!

I have a question about compatibility. I was wondering if the Tanganyikan shelldweller Lamprologus ornatipinnis "kigoma" could be kept with the Victorian cichlid Paralabidochromis chromogynus "zue island" in a 56 gallon tank?

I have found that zebra snails do an excellent job of algae clean-up and they don't harm your plants.

The last time I was at Big Al's they had some.

The tank is built and been running for about 2 months now. If you are interested, here are the two posts where I chronicled the build. http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=21005 http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=21034

I have found that they really need a lot of live plants to be healthy and happy. I think they eat the algae and the little organisms living in the algae. I found that mine really prefer brown algae (diatoms) over any other type of algae, so they need more than algae to survive and thrive.

I feed my ornate bichir NLS pellets and wafers, live platys, live ghost shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp and frozen bloodworms.

IMO, it is important to have enough filtration. Most people will tell you to overfilter rather than underfilter, particularly if you have a large bioload in your tank. I have a 75 gallon tank that is filtered with a Rena XP3 (rated for a tank up to 175 gallons). It keeps the water clean and allows for a large area for beneficial bacteria to grow which means I don't get ammonia or nitrite spikes.

I would appreciate some information on this species. How many can be kept in a 33 gallon tank? What would the best ratio of males to females be? What is the best pH range for them? Anything else you can think of would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Ah yes, the wet t-shirt, that sounds familiar (my husband keeps asking about white t-shirts and I'm not sure why ) Congratulations on the new tank, but beware the MTS (multiple tank syndrome :w00t: )

Nature's Corner Store has the healthiest and best selection of plants in the city IMO.

Sorry to hear that, she was an impressive fish!

If you don't mind ordering online, Mail Order Pet Supplies has a Perfecto glass lid 36x18 for $36.70. http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/cs...tbl0830ff719771

:welcome: Welcome to Alberta Aquatica! I too am a critterholic. Right now we have: 6 cats A whole lot of African Soft Furred Rats 16 aquariums with various fish or amphibians 1 pond with koi I am glad I have not or never will work in a pet store. I would be broke all the time and have absolutely no room in my house :smokey: . I agree that watching the fish is incredibly relaxing. Be very careful of MTS (multiple tank syndrome), it sneaks up on you -roll- , as you can see from my signature (I started with one 75 gallon tank about 2.5 years ago).

If you could answer a few more questions about your tank, the experts here on the forum will have more information to help you. What are your water parameters: ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? How big is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? Do you have any other fish in the tank other than the guppies? Do they show any signs of illness before dying? Things like white spots, red areas, fast breathing, behaving unusually. Hopefully, we can help you because I know how hard it is to have fish die and not have any idea what has happened. Good luck.

SeaChem Prime. It breaks the chlorine-ammonia link in chloramine and then changes the ammonia into a form that is not harmful to fish. The ammonia is available to feed the bacteria and the chlorine and chloramine are no longer toxic. This is directly from Seachem's website (http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Prime.html): Prime™ also contains a binder which renders ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate non-toxic. It is very important to understand how those two functions work together. All dechlorinators operate through a chemical process known as reduction. In this process, toxic dissolved chlorine gas (Cl2) is converted into non-toxic chloride ions (Cl-). The reduction process also breaks the bonds between chlorine and nitrogen atoms in the chloramine molecule (NCl3), freeing the chlorine atoms and replacing them with hydrogen (H) to create ammonia (NH3). Typically, dechlorinators stop there, leaving an aquarium full of toxic ammonia! Seachem takes the necessary next step by including an ammonia binder to detoxify the ammonia produced in the reduction process. Be very careful when purchasing water conditioners. If your municipality includes chloramines in the water supplies, a standard sodium thiosulfate dechlorinator is not enough. I find it is very cost effective.

He is a handsome fella. Congratulations!

I would agree that it is probably the ameca splendens unless you have snails in the tank.

Ahh, but relaxation for who? It seems to me that the fish wouldn't be all that relaxed, but I could be wrong.

:welcome: Welcome to Alberta Aquatica!

:welcome: Welcome to Alberta Aquatica!

:welcome: Welcome to Alberta Aquatica! I agree. There are some really great products available today that weren't available 15 years ago. The internet is also so helpful!

:welcome: Welcome to Alberta Aquatica! Contagious is right! I started with a 75 gallon and now have 7 tanks with the largest being 350 gallons (in only 2.5 years!)