gobies et al

One of the possibilities for red swollen vents are Camallanus worms. There are a number of pictures at this site: http://www.google.com/images?q=camallanus+worm&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=dFDUS8OCMZTWtgPzndXqCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQsAQwAw I hope that that isn't your problem!

:thumbs: My, they were quick! Can't wait for pictures. Any signs of a bubblenest starting with the Bettas?

Suggestion... I'd be inclined to insulate, keep circulation going, and keep the heater in. The other problem that goes along with the low temperatures is that when the temperatures are low, the Koi's immune system also slows. This makes them susceptible to infections as temperatures rise again, bacteria bloom, and their system is slow to respond. Your Koi are tiny babies (even at 4.5")and have a more difficult time withstanding infections. There is another problem with young Koi called Sleeping Sickness, which relates to low temperatures in ponds. Here is an article about it: http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/SleepingSicknessinKoi.html Good luck with your baby Koi!

Thanks for letting us know! :thumbs:

:thumbs: Great going! Now to see if they have parenting skills. The Betta's are just holding off for the most inopportune time to come around.

There is a ball inside the intake strainer that makes a seal so it can be primed. I have read some people take this out as they feel this impedes the water flow. See: http://www.petmeister.com/item1329.htm Also pictured intake filter ready for use and apart

I've had problems priming if the ball in the intake doesn't seat properly making a good seal. That's the first place I would check. Hope it helps.

If possible, ask the dealer what she was being fed before you bought her. It sounds to me like she is stressed and just hasn't resumed eating in quantity, passing mostly mucous. Check out this site of Jo Ann's Diagnosis by Poop: http://www.marquette.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/disease/technique/technique.html This site seems very informative on the diet of the L-330, which I think is what yours is: http://www.piranha-info.com/default.php?lang=en&id=L190 I have a variety of woods in my tank, thinking woods such as Malasia and Mopani may be too dense for some of the wood eating pleco's. I could be way off base, just an idea though.

The basic function of the prefilter is to protect both the fish and the pump. It stops anything getting sucked into the pump which might damage or plug it. I used a Laguna prefilter shown here: http://www.thepondoutlet.com/home/tpo/page_1858_235/laguna_powerflo_mechanical_underwater_filterprefil.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=ponds If you don't have enough surface area on the foam it clogs and has to be cleaned frequently. I think the basket idea would work if you don't get much crap (leaves, blossoms, etc) falling into the pond.

The media was gravel and sand. The sand also has a polishing effect. You can see in the pictures the water clarity.

I went a little different route. I had the prefilter and pump in the pond. The water was pumped into my filter and using PVC pipe had the water coming out on the bottom. The water then percolated up through a layer of gravel, then a layer of sand. I left room for several inches of water then overflowed into the pond. I also grew marginal and floating plants in the filter. Both the pond and the filter were wood sided and lined. It worked great. I used the same concept for and indoor pond of 300 g. as well. Here's some pictures. The filter is on the right.

Good luck with your project! There isn't a lot of information on breeding Nerites available, especially individual species info. Some seem to have a planktonic stage and others don't. Keep us posted.

Just a tip, when using Levamisole increase the oxygenation in the tanks. I had better survival in my tanks with increased circulation and added oxygen. Here is some research that I did for another forum: General information Camallanus nematodes is a common parasite of freshwater fishes. They are reported from all continents except Antarctica. There are 6 genera and 130 species! It is the mature female worm protruding from the anus of the fish. There has been research on Camallanus oxycephalus as early as 1916, and several projects on the same worm since. This is information from paraphrased those reports: Their life cycle includes 5 stages and involves an indirect host. The 1st stage larvae must be consumed by a copepod. It has the highest chance of this in planktonic rich locations. The 2nd and 3rd stages are completed within the copepod. During this time, the copepod gets eaten by planctivorus fish. The 4th stage involves contact with bile triggering rupture from the copepod and infecting the fish. The 5th stage is maturation into the worm in the terminal end of the intestine. It has been found that in some species they do not develop beyond the 4th stage. That would it make them a possible reservoir host for infecting larger fish when eaten. The piscivore can be infected by eating either the 4th or 5th stage. There has been some research done on Camallanus cotti, which has been identified in a number of ornamental fish, Platys, Betta's, Paradise fish, to name a few. It is suspected that copepods are not required in this species. Here is the abstract from an article entitled Transmission Ecology and Larval Behaviour of Camallanus cotti (Nematoda, Camallanidae) Under Aquarium Conditions found at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/conten...8?crawler=true Abstract: The parasitic fish nematode Camallanus cotti has been reported from a number of freshwater fish species around the world. Its wide geographical distribution seems mainly to be the result of anthropogenic dissemination due to extensive ornamental fish trade. In most reports it is assumed that C. cotti's life cycle involves cyclopoid copepods as intermediate host and various freshwater fishes as final host. However, the species' relatively frequent and persistent occurrence in aquaria worldwide strongly indicates flexibility in its life cycle, i.e. the ability to infect the final host directly. The present study has shown that under aquaria conditions, without any presence of copepods, C. cotti is able to infect various phylogenetically distant fish species directly for at least three generations. It was further shown that the infective free-living first-stage larvae may survive for more than three weeks in the host-external environment and that their host-attracting behaviour is not precluding direct transmission to the final fish host. Any treatment for C. cotti under aquaculture or aquarium conditions should be directed towards both individual infected fish hosts as well as the free-living larvae on the substrate. Other sources: Clear Technical Report No. 26 Changes in the Occurrence of Camallanus oxycephalus http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documen...TR/CTR-026.pdf Clear Technical Report No. 25 The Life Cycle and Development of Camallanus oxycephalus http://www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_doc...TR/CTR-025.pdf

Nice shrimp! Where did you get them from? :drool: Check these sites. I would be inclined to think yours is Tiger shrimp. zebra shrimp (Caridina cf babaulti 'Stripes') http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.garnalenenkreeftendatabase.nl/%3Fid%3D45&ei=yM14S8rwMovWtgPq05jLCA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CC4Q7gEwBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCaridina%2Bcf.%2Bbabaulti%2B%2522stripes%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG tiger shrimp (Caridina cf cantonensis 'Tiger') http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.crusta-fauna.org/crevettes/caridina-cf-cantonensis/&ei=ytF4S4L3D4OgswO4muHLCA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCQQ7gEwCTgK&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCaridina%2Bcf.%2Bcantonensis%2B%2522Tiger%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D10

:thumbs:

A few random thoughts: Your water is already hard enough without adding more calcium. I was wondering how your water tests out before it goes through your water softener. Also, a person on Crustaforum was asking about using mineral additives on this site: http://crustaforum.dedenet.de/board/showthread.php?t=1364 I wondered if that was available around here and if it might be helpful for you.

Hi timbrun... I'm a little confused (nothing new there). I'm assuming you are using the Hagen test kit, which for gH you then multiply the number of drops by 20 to give mg/l or ppm; yours = 0, soft. The kH drops x 10, yours then = 400 mg/l, very hard. Could you please clarify the measurement. Below is a link to a great site which gives the appropriate water parameters for the different species. The gH and kH is measured in dH (ppm x 0.056) on that site. http://crustaforum.dedenet.de/board/forumdisplay.php?f=55 I hope this helps.

I can see the advantages to removing the rocks to facilitate cleaning. I would be inclined to lift them out and place them in a bucket of tank water, keeping them wet, clean, and put the rocks back in until the next cleaning. This way, you would not be losing all the good bacteria on them. Taking them out and leaving them out could precipitate a mini cycle. Just a thought.

Sorry, I haven't bred Crystals, so can't help you out there. I breed Neocaridina heteropoda (wild) as well as the var. red aka Red Cherry. Also, I am breeding Caridina multidentata,aka Amano Shrimp. pH 7.6 gH 240 mg/l kH 130 mg/l Amano's salinity varies according to life stage from freshwater to 1.017.

I've had Bumblebee's for ~4 years, down to 1 left of the original group. I adore this little fish and recommend keeping in low brackish and in a group. They are excellent companion fish for the Dragon Goby (Gobioides broussonetti)as they both have similar dietary needs. Here is an excellent site - skip down to the gobi part: http://www.aquariacentral.com/faqs/brackish/FAQ6.shtml and another informative site: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/McKane_Bumblebee_Gobies.html

:welcome: to AA!

I'm curious. Have you found a source for Olive Nerites? The only ones I've seen (I don't get to Calgary or Edmonton often) have been Zebra Nerite (Vittina coromandeliana aka Striped or tiger nerite) and Onion Nerite (Vittina semiconica aka orange track snail) with the occasional Vittina turreta, I believe. Olive Nerites are properly named Neritina reclivata but correctly,Vittina usnea. I'm always on the look out for different Nerites. The thing most people find annoying is the egg capsules that are distributed over everything. Personally, I don't mind. If the water conditions are good and they have enough to eat, they seem to live for a long time. I have had 18 in my brackish tank, as I don' keep other algae eaters in there besides shrimp.

I wonder if he was meaning a small business license of some sort. I've dealt with businesses that would only buy/sell if you could come up with one. It didn't seem to matter that such a thing didn't exist. At the time, I had a dog grooming business in my home in the country, with county approval but no license.

I like my Telmatherina ladigesi (Celebese Rainbowfish). As Val said, they are a beautiful fish. My males are often swimming together and are quite colorful. As you are probably aware, the Mono's require increasing salinity as they grow. Another site suggested keeping more than 4 of those at a time as they become more aggressive as they age and it will help disperse the aggression. That gives you some time to re home the freshwater fish in the tank, if you should commit to a truly brackish environment. There are some lovely brackish fish. They take more searching for, though.

I agree with your decision to not have the tetra's in this tank. Tell us more, please. What salinity are you planning to be at? What other occupants do you have? How large a tank?