gobies et al

Years ago, there was another liner available that looked like river stones and pebbles. It was lighter weight and stiffer than the black stuff available now. I used it for my pond. I can't say that it enhanced the look of the pond and the algae growing on the sides was definitely visible. Pictured below: a corner of the pond that shows the liner under the rim and a view of the bottom of the pond after running for a couple of months

They are so beautiful!!! :thumbs:

I am planning to go to the auction from Red Deer. I will have room for 2 passengers. If interested, PM me.

I haven't used barley straw but I am aware of the principles involved. It is best used at the start of the season as it takes 4-6 weeks for the straw to deteriorate and release adequate amounts of chemical to affect the algae. There is barley straw extract that supposedly works faster. Here is a site that gives more information about using barley straw. http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/barley.htm

You haven't said, but I assume you are going to be putting in a heater for the Koi. The heaters are 150 watt/hr 24/7. That will get fairly pricey over the winter. The pond will also have to be aerated. The Japanese breeders do not believe in wintering out small Koi ie. they should be at least 2 year old (40 cm/15 in). As you can gather, when I had Koi, I set up an indoor pond for them for wintering. I didn't have a problem with green water using bog filtration. There were lots of plants to handle the excess nutrients and filtering through gravel and sand kept my water clear. It is too late in the season to try that approach. Good luck with your ponding!

I don't believe Rubberlips get "mustaches". I think they are mislabeled, probably ancistrus sp.

I used to bring my koi in about the middle of September. That gave me time to drain, clean and cover my pond before it was too miserably cold.

Tumors are not contagious. If he appears to be having difficulty with breathing, then I would euthanize him. If he is not in difficulty, release and monitor, euthanize when does become distressed. There is always the possibility that the tumor will compromise some other system, eating or circulation for example, and run into difficulty/death from those problems.

That looks like tumor to me.

There are Betta breeders on the forum here. I would choose one of those over one from a LFS. I always recommend buy from a breeder whether it is a dog or a fish!

Welcome to AA! My Dragon Goby is my baby, too!

I agree with RD. Think of their water conditions as the air you would like to breathe. The water in a heavy bio load would rapidly become like the smog ridden cities, desperately needing a refreshing wind and rain. Many of our fish come from fast flowing waters and are intolerant of contamination. They must have pristine water conditions or stress and become ill. They must have frequent and often large water changes to be maintained in good health. My 90 gal. tank gets ~50% water change every 7 days. My 10 gal. tank was getting 2 gal. change every 2 days when I had the Cana snails in it. My brackish tank gets ~25% every 2 weeks. There are no hard and fast rules but you do need to treat every tank as individual. Incidentally, I haven't used bacteria products for years.

It should look really neat with the stump coming up in the bog. Nice way to incorporate the stump!

How do you plan to contain the water in the bog area?

They look beautiful! :drool:

Great news! I'm so happy for you! -ham-

That would be so neat to raise them! Maybe next time! Gotta get organized! :bang1: -roll-

Which one is 'ugly'? They all look gorgeous to me! :thumbs:

Congratulations! That is so exciting!

If they are MTS, and ~ 1 cm long, they have been in your tank for months hiding in the gravel. They are beneficial as they keep the gravel loosen and eat what goodies they find there.

My fish weren't any easier to catch with a red net. They may not be able to "see" it but they sure could detect/sense it! Good luck!

I've gotten Rubbermaid stock tanks at Peavey Mart in Red Deer. You could check there. UFA also has stock tanks.

The fish you have listed are not brackish fish, so IMO, that is not fair to them to try to acclimate them to brackish. The silver-tipped shark/catfish requires brackish to maintain it's health. You need to do more research for compatible fish for the catfish. KTK - The 2 methods I use are measuring with a refractometer or a salt level test kit (API). The test kit is adequate for low brackish 1.003 - 1.008 . For higher levels I would use the refractometer.

I would think to a fish born and raised in 80 degree water, 73 would be very stressful and slow down their metabolism. Yes, I think that would be enough to make them stop eating. Sorry to hear that you have had so many losses. It's very discouraging!

Looks beautiful! I question if you really mean immersed or emersed. im⋅mersed [i-murst] –adjective 1. plunged or sunk in or as if in a liquid. 2. Biology. somewhat or wholly sunk in the surrounding parts, as an organ. 3. Botany. growing under water. e·mersed (-mûrst) adj. Botany Rising above the surface of water: emersed aquatic plants