alterego

I think I'm kind of leaning towards the rainbows for now too, thanks for the input. Brendan

I finally had a chance to get back into things and set up my 55. I've got 3 dwarf gourami, 3 clown loaches, 5 rhombo barbs, 2 stiphodon gobies, and a 4-5 inch black ghost knife. everyone seems to get along so far and pretty much keeps to themselves. I know that the BGK will get big and that the 55 is just a temporary tank, and that there may come a time when he decides that the other fish are lunch, but I'm wondering what other fish I could get away with that would add more colour. I was considering rainbow fish, angels, a red scat, and a peacock eel. I was only considering adding one kind of fish to the tank for now until I transfer them into a larger tank, and I am definitely open to suggestions. Thanks, Brendan

I don't remember exactly what the discount is but if you have an empty NLS container I believe that Aquarium Central knocked 20-25% the price of the container to refill it. Not sure if you wanted to travel to the north side but might be worth giving them a call.

I just listed some Jewels in the livestock section, and knowing that they are probably hybrids, I listed them as such. BUT...From what I have read that the Neon Jewels, which have come to be a pretty widely kept aquarium fish, do not exist in the wild and have come into existence most probably by breeding two different Hemichromis species. So if this is true, then by having a Neon Jewel breed with a Red Jewel am I more likely to be creating yet another hybrid or am I perpetuating a variant as with the Electric Blue Jack Dempsey... Anyone care to weigh in on this?

After starting a thread in the wrong place earlier this week I thought I'd continue it here. I know the fry probably wont make it as it is this pairs first spawn, but all the eggs have hatched and there are quite a few wigglers bouncing around the nest that has now been moved twice. I believe it has been moved because my kids faces have bee pressed against the glass a fair bit. There seems to be quite a lot of differing opinions about what, when and how to feed the fry. I have already been told I should leave the fry in with the parents for the first few spawns, but at what point is it safe to remove them. I am completely new to this whole fry thing and after reading 15 or so various and contradicting fool proof fry raising techniques. I'm hoping that someone can set me straight. Thanks from the newb, Brendan

Good to know, I was just concerned because what I have did not seem to match what the pictures I have seen online depicted. I just didn't want to perpetuate a hybrid line, If this is a normal occurrence for this fish, I will not make any special attempt to not have it breed in the future. Thanks for everyone's input. Brendan

There is a pleco in there somewhere, he is rarely seen and generally hides out under the rock structure. Hopefully it will not find the eggs before she picks them up, and just because the cam battery was charged up again I thought I'd post a couple of pics: Dad and eggs Mom and eggs Mom and eggs again Brendan

Hmmm... the barring is always there and maybe even more noticable when he is white. Should I then consider him to be a hybrid or of low quality and not allow him to breed? I don't have to worry about him breeding for now as most of his tankmates are male, but there is always the desire for more tanks, more fish, and more after that. Thanks for the help. Brendan

Thanks for the advice, I guess we'll see what happens. If nothing else I've gotten the kids interested in "Daddy's dumb fish tank" again. Brendan

My newest additions, a Red jewel Trio, added to the tank a whole 10 days ago have spawned in my mbuna tank. I've never had a spawn before and have no Idea what to do now. How do I go about trying to ensure that the eggs hatch, and the little fry don't become lunch??? She has deposited a couple hundred eggs on the side of a piece of driftwood in a quieter corner of the tank, and I can see both parents standing guard. Any advice would again be appreciated. Thanks, Brendan

I bought a trio of these at a LFS, but this guy has grown twice as fast as the other two. He's now 5 inches+ while the others are still at 3 inches. Hes outgrown the much older Yellow labs and Red zebra. When I bought the trio I could not tell one from the other, now on the other hand, aside from size this much larger guy has also lightened up from the dark cobalt blue he was as a juvie to a very pale blue and at times an almost albino white and has also developed barring. I was speaking to Jvision today and mentioned this guy and he suggested I post him here and try to find out if he's a true Cobalt Blue, a hybrid, or something else altogether. So here he is. All opinions are welcome... would love to have a definite ID on the tank bully. (in the second pic he does kinda look like the little Demasoni but his barring does not extend into the dorsal fin) Thanks, Brendan

There was a similar study out of Missouri that show that mice sing much like song birds, but in a frequency the human ear cannot detect. Singing mice. There are a few audio clips at the bottom of the article. It's not fish, but I thought it was neat. Brendan

I'm not sure if this helps but here's a link for you. Suitability of Rocks in the Aquarium. I'm using River Rock in my 55 and have had it in tanks in the past with no ill effect. Brendan

I was doing some maintenance on my Fluval 304 and managed to break one of the clamps that hold the canister top on. I've called all the LFS' I can think of and they either don't carry anything filter related beyond media, or will need two weeks to bring one in. I was just hoping that someone here would know where there was an LFS that stocked these parts or who had a stockpile of these themselves and wouldn't mind parting with one for some cash. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Brendan

The two 'eggs' were stuck side by side just behind the fishes anus, to put it gently when it was cruising around the tank it looked very similar to the redneck albertan trailer hitch decorations.

Well, 6 hours after I first noticed the eggs they are gone...not sure if she has got them or not and she doesn't seem to have paired up with my other Red Zebra or any other fish in the tank for that matter. As far as I can tell she is not holding so I'm gonna assume that the eggs were eaten. Definitely not holding as she is eating with the others now Brendan

After turning on my tank lights this morning I noticed that one of my Red Zebras seemed to be laying eggs, but after watching for nearly an hour now it still has the same 2 eggs that i thought it was laying stuck to its underside (I say it because I am not sure that this fish is a female or not). The 'eggs' are stuck side by side and are the same colour as the fish. As far as I can see there are no other eggs in the tank which leads me to believe that this may be another issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Brendan

Currently I only have a PH test kit but I had the water tested at the LFS prior to putting the fish I have now into the tank, but as it was a new setup my water was great. Will try to have it retested today if I can swing by the LFS again.

perfect, thanks for the info. Brendan

I recently set up a 30g tank, ran it for a week, added 2 Red Zebras on Saturday. How long should I let the new setup cycle before adding more cichlids? Sorry for the newb question. Brendan

I was talking to one of the employees at the LFS about a piece of driftwood I had found by the river and put into a new tank. He cautioned me about that piece of wood citing that the wood may leech toxins into the tank or that it may introduce strange and horrible parasites into my new setup. Has anyone heard of this happening, how to control it, etc. Other than suggesting that I buy driftwood he had no remedies. Any advice would be appreciated. Brendan

I've often wondered about buying things like the cheap scrubbies for freshwater setups in the past but I have always wondered just how tank friendly they are, mainly concerned about something toxic leaching from the plastics into the water. Has anyone had any bad experiences with using something like this? Brendan

How much aeration is needed to store say 30 gallons? Would a single airstone work or would you need a couple powerheads? Brendan

The next time you come through you should check out Little Oceans, it is a smaller shop that deals almost exclusively in livestock, they get some neat things in there from time to time, and there is always Aquagiant. Brendan