Jayaa

Hagen Test kits? I think they're quite reputable. Ever heard of them? The tank is overstocked by some, yes. Most are young juveniles growing out. None of the fish grow big, anyway. I also wanted to keep each in schools, plus a few (Catfishes) were getting ready to be moved into the larger tank. The Algae Eater, which has been removed, was given to me when I got the large tank. But there was a growth of algae so bad, that I needed to clean the whole tank out, and begin the cycling process all over again. Regardless. There's plenty of room, and the bio-filter seemed able to handle the load fine. Smokey explains to me that the Golden Algae Eater (who is a color morph of the pesky India Algae Eater) tend to "eat" the protein from the other fish, thus obviously jeopardizing their lives. Hum, it's been interesting. I removed the Algae Eater, so I hope everything will be fine tomorrow. At least I hope.

I have an aquarium problem that needs to be addressed swiftly. Everything has been dandy for the weeks that I've been keeping fish, but all of a sudden, things are going haywire. I noticed this today when I came home this evening. It started out with a dead Pictus Catfish, one missing hatchtfish, and a lethargic hatchetfish. I removed the Pictus, inspected him thoroughly and found no abrasions, signs of disease. I immediately performed a 50% water change. During the siphoning, I uncovered the missing hatchefish. It was dead. Again, no signs of disease. When I filled the conditioned water, the other hatchetfish had been very droopy. I removed it, placed it in another container with water matching that of the tank. He, unfortunately, died. No obvious signs of why. Now I'm noticing some of the other fish acting strange. They're swimming erratically, not schooling or hanging out at the heater. Ammonia is 0, Nitrites are 0, and Nitrates are less than 5ppm. The tank has been cycled previously using the fishless cycle method. Never had a problem until thus far. Any ideas? More importantly, what do I do right now? I'll be waiting for a response. Specifics: 22 Gallon 4x Serpae Tetra 6x Threadfin Rainbowfish 3x Dwarf Rainbowfish 1x Bango Catfish 1x Bristlenose Catfish 5x Harliquin Rasbora 3x Glowlight Tetra (One missing?) 1x Marble Hatchetfish 1x Golden Algae Eater 11 (ish) White Cloud Mountain Minnows Everything has been stocked slowly. Never had a problem with nitrite or ammonia. Small feeding at "lights on" using broken dried blood worms Small feeding in the evening using veggie flakes. Lights out for at least 12 hours. Temperature is maintained at 25-26 degrees. PH is always 7.5. No plants. I'm going insane. I thought I was doing well at this hobby! (!?!)

Wow! It's always nice to know there are young people mixed with the old, and mid-aged. Gives a wide range of opinions, ideas, and answers for the many questions. It's always nice to know teens, and young adults are becoming more and more interested in the world of fish, of course! Nice meeting you, Richard! Enjoy your time with Alberta Aquatica!

Hi, Ryan! Welcome to AA -- it's the most amazing forum for fish lovers! You'll find a wealth of information here; but it looks as though you have things under control already! See you! And enjoy your time here!

Oh come on! What's wrong with a tad of bird-chat to go with friendly fish-talk? I have to say, I love stopping in the store to talk with you, because, not only do I get to listen to you, and learn a lot, I see a lot of brand new people! I had a lot of fun today, and was very glad my bird-keeping persona steered me to the store this evening! I love helping any chance I get, and it gives me an opportunity to pass on knowledge I learned from this amazing hobby to others. Of course, I have to give tons of credit to you, Smokey, for giving me such knowledge! So, don't thank me, I have to thank you! Also, thank you for the warm welcome back to the infamous "Black Thumbs" clan. Trust me, my tank is beyond all repair; even for Garhan to help with, I'm sure! Hah! Also -- I'll pass on the measurements of the 28 Gallon tank a little later. It's early, and I don't feel like being mathematical just yet! ! - Tanya

Howdy! Hope you enjoy you're stay here!

Hey! I just joined recently as well. You'll find tons of nice people here willing to give you a hand. Do you have any pictures of your tanks?

Actually, I would have totally lurked, had Smokey not have told me to introduce myself in this forum. I think someone needs to think of another idea to steer guests to this forum first. I know the blip under the "Say Hello" forum exists, but most people ignore it. Do moderators have an auto-PM for newcomers? I don't know how InvisionBoard works, but most Bulletin Board Systems have an option that allows you to write a quick "Welcome to [insert Forum Name Here]!" It's sent as the first Private Message anyone receives after registering. Some systems just allow you to customize an e-mail which is sent with the registration details. Also, keep in mind that a lot of people find it too tacky to introduce themselves. Really, it's the same, "Hi, I'm So-and-So, and I found this place by such-and-such way. My interests are ..." I don't mind it, and I know the moderating team, plus the active members are very amicable with newcomer posting in this forum. Though, like I said, some people just think it becomes too tedious, so they don't bother.

No harm done! Good to see this idea in effect! Hope a lot of people participate. Would it be worth it to pin your "vote a member" on the forum front page, like you do "Vote in the MOTM"? Just a thought.

Didn't see the last two postings before my previous. I actually quite enjoy the idea of a group-based interview. That would create far more unique questions for the interviewee. Though, Oxquo, when you said a "short headline" do you mean a short blurb before the questions-and-answers? Because, that would be a fantastic idea!

It's great you guys think well of this idea! Of course, judging by the responses, we certainly have a lot of loose ends to tie up. This can be used in conjunction with the Member of the Month, and I stand beside that. Though, I also think it's worth it to randomly pick another person from this 300+ grouping. Maybe two interviewees per month? Speaking of which, anyone have any programming knowledge? Because you could rig something that randomly picks a member. I do believe Moderators have a complete listing of all the people here to date? I could be wrong, however. As for the interviewers themselves, I'm thinking someone whose been around a while should be it. They have a lot of foreknowledge of the people here. Perhaps a good conversationalist? You know, people in this forum could even nominate someone; at least if the nominee is willing? The truth is, we can have tons of fun with this! I'm totally willing to help out anyway possible. What do you guys think? By the way, this forum [blueHarvest.net] is where I got the idea, but there was a Bird-based forum that originally did the whole interviewing-thing. I can't, for the life of me, think of the of the name. If I find it, I'll let you know so you guys can grab examples from it.

I've seen this sort of thing done very well in active forums, and since Alberta Aquatica is a very active forum, I thought I'd give it a roll. Perhaps we could create a separate board, appoint a person-- or persons -- and each week (or ever two weeks) they'd choose someone amongst the 300+ members and interview them. Questions would, of course, pertain to this hobby we all collectively enjoy. Though, it wouldn't hurt to briefly touch upon other interests. It grants us all the opportunity to learn more about each individual members. New people, such as myself, can really benefit from this, because it gives us a chance to learn something about the veterans. Of course, this also works in vice versa; as it eases the newbies into the community effortlessly. The interviewing process can take place over a messenger service, such as MSN, or through e-mail, or, if people are willing, over the phone. I personally favour real-time (messenger services), as opposed to delayed contact (e-mail), because it gives opportunity for the interviewer to dig a little deeper into a topic. It also create unexpected questions and answers on the fly. It's been a thought, nevertheless. What do you guys think? By the way, I apologize if this has been suggested before. I would have looked, but I didn't seem to find a search function?

Actually, it was Smokey who pointed me in this direction. I wonder if there are anymore people from the Crowsnest Pass here, or if its just myself and Smokey? Yes, the plants made it home happily, and no frogs tagged along for the ride this time! Also, thanks for the forum link, Smokey; I've certainly be checking it out!

I don't even know which board to start with. A wealth of aquarium information truly is a click away. It's great to have achievable past posts as well! Again, thanks for the warm welcome. I have to say, Beermaster, you have a humorous icon. XD Though, to answer both the above questions, I'm located in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. That is, nearby your Do-It-Yourslelf Moderator, Smokey. Basically, it's two-and-half hours south of Calgary, or an hour and a half outside of Lethbridge. Have you ever heard of it? Maybe you've even passed through it once-or-tiwce?

You have some really, really nice tanks. You also have amazing-looking fish! I bet they're happy! How do you devise such design for your tanks? What's your inspiration when aqua-scaping?