tinkerpuppet

Wow, that's awesome! I love my amano's too. Total workhorses. And fabulous scavengers, I don't think they miss the tiniest flake of food the fish don't catch!

Wow, what a fabulous set up! Your shrimp are gorgeous!

That is a big difference! Any chance your API kit is expired? There's a lot number on the top of the bottle, the last four digits are the month/year it was made. I think the nitrate bottles expire 2-3yrs later. Maybe you got an old one? You can take a water sample to your lfs and they should be able to test it for you and you can figure out which one is closer.

I'm cycling a 29g tank right now. A family member has a trio of sword tails I can have if I want when the cycle is done. I've done some reading on them, they seem like good community fish. But a few things I've read have said they can grow to 5-6". This seems huge! Do they really get that big? Looking at pictures/videos online none seem that large. But maybe the perspective is off. Any advice on these fish? Thanks!

I'm looking for some plants to fill out a new tank, but a google of tanksalot didn't give me any relevant results. Is this a store in Calgary, or an online site? Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions! I ended up putting it all underneath one of my raspberry bushes. Maybe I'll get some extra sweet raspberries next year!

Tomorrow I am tearing down a 10gal that has sand substrate mixed with a ton of MTS. I have bought new substrate to replace it. I live in one of Calgary's pilot communities for the green bin. We can compost everything, meats, fats, bones, pet waste, all yard waste, etc. Do you think I could compost the sand substrate? I could call 311, but I have a feeling this specific question would be out of their box. If not composting it, do I just bag it and toss it in the trash? Thanks!

Thank you for all the replies. Yes, the growth is on both sides and does appear to be a tumour. When friends and family come over, they always ask if "that poor fish" is still here. It really is just sad. But I don't know if I have it in me to kill it, I've never killed anything (except for the nasty spiders that sneak their way into my house!). Every morning I get up and have to check if he's still alive, sure he hasn't made it through another night, but every morning he's there sleeping on his leaf. He's not affecting anything (I mean, I'm not worried he's making the tank sick or anything), but I don't know if he's in pain (do fish feel pain?). Oh I just wish he would peacefully pass away on his own! Thank you though for the suggestions, I'm going to have to think about this

I have a Betta that I got in March 2010 (he was an adult then, although no clue how old exactly). Last March I started to notice he had some white growths at the base of his tail. I've spent the last year watching them get bigger and bigger. Christmas Eve Day, he was at deaths door. Hidden down in the corner of the tank, wouldn't eat, would force himself up to the top for air, then sink back down. I thought there was no way he'd see his way to Boxing Day. I fed him for a couple days and he wouldn't eat, so I stopped for a couple days. On about day 5 or 6, I tried feeding him again and he weakly came up and ate a little. Then he kept eating a little each day, and now he's still here! But he's not well. I have a big anubias in the tank (a 10gal) and he spends most of his time sleeping on the leaves near the top of the tank (I figure so he doesn't have to swim up to get air). He still eats a little, but very little. He used to eat 7-8 betta pellets (I would feed him one at a time), and now he's maybe 1 or 2. I feel terrible for him! He's obviously not well, doesn't swim unless he has to (and when he does he has a really hard time as the big growths throw him off balance), just stays on his leaf or down in the bottom corner of the tank. I just can't bring myself to end his life, but maybe I should, would that be the kind thing? What would you more experienced aquarists do? Edited to add a picture of him from October. You can see one of the growths, he has another one on the other side and they're bigger now. And the leaves that he now lives on in the background

I have no advice, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, that sucks! How are the last ones doing that were in the bucket? Any survivors?

Here's my little tank of peace (and in my house with two boys under 5, I need as much peace as I can get!). Nice and simple

Thanks for the welcome!

Yep, the heater appears to be working fine, it keeps the temp nice and even at night when the lights are off. I do have a thermometer too. When I woke this morning after the lights had been off all night, the temp was 77. The heater has been unplugged all day so far (its lunchtime now), and the temp is 78. Maybe the heater is on the fritz if its contributing during the day when the temps are already too high though? You can feel the heat though after the lights have been running for a bit. I'm pretty sure that's what the problem is. I have been trying to find the cfl's that will fit in my hood, but I'm not having much luck. The hood takes T10 bulbs, and none of the cfl's I've seen would fit. I've checked my local Walmart, two Canadian Tires, Superstore and online at Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Rona. I have found them online on Amazon, so I'm going to see if maybe I can have them shipped to an American relative who will send them on to me. But if anyone knows where I can find them locally, that would be great!

I'm having some heating issues in my 10gal tank. I have a little submersible 50w heater that is supposed to come on and off and keep the water at 78. But the lights from the hood are pretty hot, and the water is getting too hot during the day while they're on. I've lost three guppies in two days, and finally figured out that was happening. I'm going to start keeping the heater on at night and turning it off in the morning to hopefully avoid overheating the tank again. My question is, is there a way to keep the lights from getting so hot? Its just a normal hood that came with the tank, with two sockets, each has a 25w clear bulb (aquarium bulb bought at Pisces). Nothing strange or out of the ordinary. I've been looking for the 13w CFL 6500k T10 bulbs, but not having any luck locally. I think those would be cooler, but maybe not. Any suggestions? The lights during the day make a big difference, I don't want to have to keep them off, especially as I have plants in the tank (low light, but not that low light!). Thanks!

Hi everyone! I've been lurking for awhile and thought it was a good time to jump in and say Hi! I'm fairly new to this hobby, but have been thoroughly enjoying all I've learned so far. I have a 10gal that started with a few plants and a few guppies. And thanks to the Auction, Aquabid and this site, I found Fishclubgirl who has helped me with more plants and some snails. There is also a Betta and some Ghost shrimp that are seemingly living in peace . Its not much, and is probably mostly just whetting my appetite for future, bigger tanks, but I love it! I look forward to chatting with everyone and learning even more!