Ishkabod

Do you have a plecco or 3 or an otocinclus(sp?) or five. I have found these guys are great at keeping algae off my plants and glass. The pumps and Phosphate are great ideas but if you don't allready have them then for allot less power and money over time you might just want to try them. Good luck L

Be warned about the edge as it's 100 times more difficult to plant and grow higher light plants in it not to mention trimmings have a nasty tendency to hide and then clog the filter before you go to be and kill your 180 dollar RARE L046. Other than that the edge is a perfect simple tank

stress sounds like the initial cause but there might be other issues if the stress has been prolonged. From what i remember fin rot is usually a symptom of bad water and poor health but it seems like the water in your tank is fine. Be sure that you have checked with a liquid test kit not just test strips since they can be unreliable. One other thing that comes to mind is PH. If you don't have a test kit for everything i suggest bringing it into a pet store and most of them will be able to do a test for you on all the parameters. Just be sure to bring enough if you are going to a good store that does the liquid tests, I know the biggest pet store only does strips but that as an inital test is perfectly fine and if nothing comes up then go further in testing. Good luck L

My friend is setting up a new tank for the first time and is in need of some hardy plants so any you can bring would be greatly appreciated. Thanks L

BN pleccos can and have in my experience tolerated fairly high levils of salt for quite a while. You could probably easily get away with 1tsp per gallon Of course you would need to build up to this level over a a 3 day period if you are worried. I'd be more worried about the plants as they will show deterioration at much lower and shorter levels and periods than the plecco or snail. I think maybe a week at this strength and then a water change to reduce the levels and then another a week later to reduce them again and keep up water changes on the tank inbetween with water that has the same concentration of salt. Don't worry too much as you will see the plants start to stress well before it becomes a problem so you have ample warning time. Good luck L Edit. I think if you try it at 1 tsp per five gallons you'd be well within tolerance levels. Just be sure to bring them up and down from this level over a few days at least especially bringing them down so as not to stress them and cause a re emergence of the disease due to immune depression that stress causes. The meds might have hurt and helped the fish and personally i never reach for the chemicals first. Salt increase and epsolm salts are normally my first defence and if they don't improve things i search out the best recomended meds from a expert for that particular issue (i usually scour the internet for a symptom match first) and go from there. Here is a link to a site i have found immensely helpfull and it looks really useful for you depending on how observant you can be of the diseased fish(aka hiding in cave etc) Check out the index scroll down for it. I highly reccomend it as it has allot of information on the various dieases that could be affecting your fish and i do believe they give the basic ingredients that are proven successful in treating it. No direct hobbiest product reccomendation. Good luck L

you are thinking about a sump. Usually this involves an overflow from the main tank and for extra glass many people just take the dimentions they need to a glass shop and have it cut there. I don't have one(for humidity reasons) so i'm no expert. Search the DIY sections and i think there might be someone that might be able to help you drill the main tank if that is required. Good luck L

This sounds really weird and i cannot even formulate a theroy. With the out of air shaking i'm thinking irritation? good luck L

This sounds really weird and i cannot even formulate a theroy. With the out of air shaking i'm thinking irritation? good luck L

The rasboras were fine but the Zebra plecco wasn't Even the little shrimplets made it but my plecco didn't. You have to remeber the lack of surface area, the high O2 the L046 needs and the fact that at night the dense plants release C02 and use up O2. I'm glad that the CO2 I use is only a manual refilling container in the tank. The fact is that the filter clogged with no prior warning. I just finished cleaning the filter media and the intake tube 2 days before. I don't have any idea as to why the filter is clogging. I'm at my whits end with it. I'm going to see if i can get another filter for the tank but for now it's going to have to wait until i have more money available. I'd do an airstone or air filter but it's counter productive to having the CO2. I have some ideas now and all involve a little more than i can afford right now so thanks everyone for the tips about the filter. I'll do what i can. i've lowerd the levil of water in the tank so that if it happens again before i get another solution then i'll have a better buffer time. Thanks again L Other topic. When the fish are gasping at the surface that means low O2. I regularly test my parameters since it is a Small high tech planted tank and i dose ferts so i need to keep track of the Nitrate and other things. Nitrate was getting low but still okay 2 days ago and i was due to make another test and possible dose tomorrow to top it back up for the plants. The edge is much different than most other tanks and if you have one you might understand how different not having that extra surface area makes these tanks when it comes to oxygen levils. In regards to the fish bags if you recall most fish are put in a TALL bag with a little water and lots of air. there is a good reason for this. Now fill that bag more than 3/4 with water and see how long the fish will last if they are sitting with the bag tipped on it's side and you will have an idea as to what the edge is like. It's no question in my mind that it was the filter quitting that did it. Not even a glimmer of a thought to it being something else contributing to it. the day before the filter crash was a crazy day and i fell asleep with the TV on supper in the microwave and everything so the fish didn't even get fed so with the shrimp and snails in the tank i highly doubt it would be leftover food.

Moss log and name brand Krazy glue is your best friend in getting it to stay attatched. You can try anubias Good luck L p.s. I'm also tempted to say Plastic

My fluval edge filter stopped working again last night and once again i woke up to dead fish but this time it was my L046. I had thought i had figured out the problem and fixed it but aparently even a corase sponge tied around the intake is not enough. I found him in the cave i bought for him. This was the first time i had seen him in there. Does anyone have any idea as to what i can do about this continuing problem. I've given up buying fish or shrimp for the tank until this is solved. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry: : cry:

What a pretty plant and yes i agree that aquaflora plants are beautiful, clean and relatively cheap if you consider how much you are getting. I had one issue and that is my polystigmon helferi just gradually melted after adding water to the tank. I have heard this is a known issue with that particular plant. I wish i could find more variety in the allready growing submersed plants since the tubs are just a weee bit on the big side for my small 6gallon edge. Thanks for sharing Beautiful tank by the way. L :drool:

I'm now thinking of converting my pride and joy of an 80 gallon tank into a rainbowfish tank. I tnink i'll be patient and sit on this a bit but it's looking more and more like a possibility. I also got a breeding group of M Parva from Gary Lange and they have allready started to colour up beautifully. I have a mop in the tank but i am having a hard time figureing out if it's rainbowfish eggs or snail eggs since the gel glue like consistancy is the same as the ones the snails lay on the glass. Can someone help with this?? I am hoping to breed these to contribute to the availability of them in alberta. Thanks L

Thanks for the link. I have ideas swimming in my head with plans for my 20 gallon that currently houses 3 pleccos and 6 new rainbowifsh and countless spixi snails. The variety is stunning and so are some of the pieces of driftwood. I would love to attatch some moss to the driftwood and have a low tech planted tank for my rainbows and this gives me a number of ideas. Some of the pieces even have cave like areas tht the pleccos will love. I've bookmarked and will purchace from them some time soon. Thanks again L

When i was little i buried watermelon hoping for some to grow i even tried an orange or two too. Hmm maybe it's time i try my hand at almonds since i have failed with fruit. Great job on the tree. I don't have enough light for indoor non tank plants. Thanks for sharing L

FREE FOOD good for for you not to mention one other interesting thing to watch in a tank. L :drool:

I don't know where you are getting your timers from but for Moonlights they usually have a 2 pronged plugin so i'd just hit home depot, canadian tire or rona for one that's about eight dollars or less. These are usually found in the lighting department and try and find the ones with attatched push in or out dials not the ones where you have to remove and place these pin type things to set the time. Good luck L

Here is how i dosed my tank with no stress issues. Here is how i dosed my tank. 1 10g 5g packet into 100ml of water dosed 1ml per 10 gallons Worked like a charm I used a small empty bottle of stability for the stock solution, Good luck L

Wow you really have some nice ones there i only wish i had the eqipment to actually capture the brilliant orange from my new rainbowfish. I'm hoping to spawn and raise them but it's hard to tell rainbowfish eggs from snail eggs right now lol. Congrats on your fish. I think i might be in future looking to change my 80 gallon cichlid tank to a rainbowfish tank. Good luck L

Contact Patrick from canadian Aquatics if you can't get any from redeer. He is the one i got mine from and he also has great instructions on how to dose the tank. I was stunned as to how fast the worms died with a dose of the stuff. You can't buy it in stores as it was at one point a dewormer for cattle. Good luck L

I can see why you are frustrated. I agree the rules on snakeheads and on native species really seem backwards. I'd love to try and find out if snakeheads can actually survive in our lakes(mabe make a study of it by simulating a cold cycle and then a winter cycle.) I doubt they'd actually survuve in most lakes or rivers. As for catching minnows i'm sure i've caught more than a few dozen in my time but with a net and not a hook. Keeping and releaseing fish back into the lake you caught them in from whati i understand is also frowned upon since the chances are you might inroduce a unknown paracite into the lake. Cross contamination of aquarium water is well known to be a problem with even the cleanest keeper. The average pike grows bigger than any arrowana i have ever heard of and the same with nile perch with the record on the perch set at 800 pounds or so and i have personally seen a Pike head that was at least the length of my 80 gallon but more likely bigger. The last thing to remember is that the easy turning radius is allot bigger on the pike with it's bigger body. I wouldn't even consider keeping this fish in anything less than 2000 gallons. In a pond it's doable but they are much like KOI in that they need the space a pond can provide and the bigger the better. I'd get a pond stock it with perch and minnows and and add a small Pike(if i had the money and legal permission) I'd have it heavily planted with native species and filled with bugs and stuff that you'd find in the wild as well for food. What are the rules on fish that are in man made lakes? aka the one in Castle downs? I admit i'd love to keep perch especially ones from my lake since they always have such a brilliant color pattern on them but what would i do with them later? I guess it's too bad we can't keep our own fish as a ornamental piece and only use them for sport fishing/eating. Our government tends to be reactive rather than proactive so while snakeheads are proven to be horrid on an ecosystem because nothing has happened yet here in alberta or canada then the government can't be arsed to get off it's arse and do something about it. On the other hand when it comes to regulations regarding our own species it's a problem in that they have spent the last century making regulations but they don't consider the aquarium hobby as a factor in making those decisions. I'm sure there would be allot of people interested in keeping some of the more colourful and interesting species that we have to offer in our lakes. One last thing that many fail to realize is that you can speak to your MLA they represent YOU in government and make and ammend those policies in governmennt that affect you. It might be possible to get the rules adapted to consider keeping of fish for the hobby. I personally don't think there should be any issue but with those who are irresponceable and release the fish back into the wild after captivity. From what i have read so far there are some that consider keeping and re releasing fish back into the same lake they came out of to be okay. This is another reason for concern. Personally i think you should be able to have a licence to keep these fish from a small size if you meet certain requirments. This is just my 2 maybe 4 or 5 cents on the issue. I wish i could help more other than to suggest speaking with your MLA. Good luck L P.S. Federal elections are coming up in may so be sure that the person you are voting for is actually concerned about any problems you may have in your area not just politcal party. And find out what they are doing about it if anything. Ie; The lake i have been going to since i was little has had repeated winter kills with increasing frequency and the problem started when the federal government started to put more and more restrictions on the weed harvesting done in the summer months on 1/4 of the lake shore. Do they know about the issue, do they pass the blame or responcability on to someone else and offer no help?. Just something to think about and also find out if they even live in the area.

I found the best way to quiet an air pump is to unplug it. That said it seems like you are worried about the fish if you don't have enough surface aggitation. Everyone seems to be on consensus that you need to get something to fix the problem. I know what it's like not having the money to buy my way out of an issue so here is a suggestion. Have the output of the cannister filter(s) aggitating the surface as much as possible if you don't allready. If the output of the cannister is near the surface or just below it the force of the water flowing will allow adaquite gas exchange even with lights out. That said if for some reason the water has CO2 issues the surface aggitation should be more than adaquite for the fish to survive the night easily in a more oxygen rich area. When the lights come on see if they are near the top of the tank and if they are then you need a better solution. Here is a second option. You say it's keeping you up at night well what about reduceing the flow of bubbles from the air pump gradually over a few nights to observe the fish and how they react to haveing less and less surface agitation from the bubbles. Option 3 Get a long bit of airline tubeing at Rona or Aquarium central and place the air pump in another room/closet etc. It'll only cost a few dollars. Option 4 I'm not sure if this will work or damage the equipment since i don't know anything about the mechanics of the setup but what about pinching off the supply of CO2 to the tank before you go to bed instead? Oh and I'm fairly certin option 1 is completely safe knowing what many others have in their tanks (3bpm 24/7) Good luck L

It's a thought but honestly i don't really like fish so i think i'll stick to the chips. Thanks for all the info. the fish are completely fine. I was really worried for a bit there. I had 2 fish in a temporary tank once with the filters from the main tank on it. They were only in there for an hour tops and both started to go belly up. I managed to rescue one but the other was too far gone. The only thing i could trace back as the cause of the death is the vinegar i used to clean the tank before i put the fish in it. I tested the water and everything was perfectly fine with nitrates just at a level i'd change the water at (24ppm) I guess i can rule that out too. Now it's a complete mystry that'll never be solved. Thanks everyone for all the information and help. I really appreciate it and the humor too. :thumbs: L

The window screen might be your best bet until spring comes and places start to carry the bird netting. Other ideas might be a piece of glass for the tank top? I've used Saran wrap to great effect in the past and tinfoil on some tougher areas. Good luck L

Thanks soo much it's quite the releif. I have something here that'll help buffer ph so i'll try adding a smidge of that if i find my ph is still too low after the WC. I use vinegar for all my fish cleaning and that is how it got in the tank in the first place. Thanks again L