Evolution

So if it is a female full of eggs and you have males, they may force her to spawn with them, or she could end up releasing them or absorbing them back into her body.

Absolutely. You know it's a female? Females do not have red fins or noses like the males have.

Yes, like I said, I have no problem with it and I think it is fantastic, the effort the person made. I do not just feel this is good for the hobby, I know for a fact that it is. The stability of water in a 2.5 and a 5 is not much different than a 1 gallon. In fact, a Betta is likely to get better treatment in a bowl, than it is in a similarly set up small tank. Bowl maintanance is far easier than tank maintanance and takes a person far less time and effort. The important thing is that the person buying the betta in a bowl is educated properly as to how to maintain the environment and keep the fish healthy. Bettas in bowls, like I said, do very well and suffer no ill effects do to the close quarters. This is not just my opinion, it is also my 25 years worth of experience and my dads 45 years of experience keeping and selling bettas in bowls. You'll never see a betta sold in a cup or a rose bowl in my store, but I noticed everywhere NLS is sold, bettas are sold in cups or rose bowls and everyone of those stores has no problem selling bettas to be put into bowls. Hypocritical double standard?

I think this is fantastic and I am impressed at the efforts this person went to try and make a good environment in a bowl. I would ( i do actually) add some peace lilies around the edge of the bowl to enhance the water purifucation. I personally do not have a problem with bettas being in bowls. However, the size of the bowl is important to me; the bigger the better. Bettas can live a long and happy life (3-5 years) in a bowl and without any detrimental effects like depression. Bettas being sold to live in bowls is also very good for the hobby, infact it is one of the most import aspects of our hobby. People who keep bettas in bowls are usually first time care givers of fish, and people quickly learn that Bettas have amazing personalities and are often in awe when they learn that their Betta is very happy to see them. The Betta in a bowl is an fantastic way to be introduced to fish behaviour and a betta in a bowl often helps make people more conscious and respectful of fish.

Carbon is actually chemical filtration. Mechanical filtration removes particulates from the water column. Most times a sponge or polyfiber is used as mechanical filtration. And then there is biological fitration which is bacterias growing on some type of media that would have a large surface area to grow on such as bio balls or lava stone or the like. You just said it absorbs chemicals. It absorbs chemicals making it the chemical filter of the aquarium and it also absorbs organics such as plant fertilizers. Most people that keep planted tanks do not use carbon at all unless they want to remove some unwanted "chemicals" such as medications. Henry. I'm pretty sure we both agree that carbon and plant tanks, like bettafishmommy said, is a no no. I know I agree with this. And it sounds like we both agree that it is because carbon removes chemical componds from the water that plants require as a nutrient. What we disagree on is whether carbon filtration is mechanical (removing, absorbing or trapping componds from the water) or chemical (chemically altering the water). We know that carbon doesn't chemically "alter" the water, by way of ion exchange or by physically adding chemicals to the water like peat. But it actually "traps" chemicals within it's structure and does so by absorbing it like other mechanical filtation does with particulate matter. Where filter wool traps particulate matter such as feces, carbon traps chemical componds such as urea. I can see how you confused it as a chemical filter, you thought because it traps chemicals it is a chemical filter, however chemical filtration is filtration that chemically alters the water by way of adding chemicals or exchanging ions, and carbon does not do this at all. Sorry, my mistake. I thought OP was talking about aquarium filtration. chemical filtration Henry I thought we all were.

http://www.srd.alberta.ca/BioDiversityStewardship/WildSpecies/Amphibians/Salamanders/TigerSalamander.aspx They love dew worms!

Carbon is actually chemical filtration. Mechanical filtration removes particulates from the water column. Most times a sponge or polyfiber is used as mechanical filtration. And then there is biological fitration which is bacterias growing on some type of media that would have a large surface area to grow on such as bio balls or lava stone or the like. You just said it absorbs chemicals. It absorbs chemicals making it the chemical filter of the aquarium and it also absorbs organics such as plant fertilizers. Most people that keep planted tanks do not use carbon at all unless they want to remove some unwanted "chemicals" such as medications. Henry. I'm pretty sure we both agree that carbon and plant tanks, like bettafishmommy said, is a no no. I know I agree with this. And it sounds like we both agree that it is because carbon removes chemical componds from the water that plants require as a nutrient. What we disagree on is whether carbon filtration is mechanical (removing, absorbing or trapping componds from the water) or chemical (chemically altering the water). We know that carbon doesn't chemically "alter" the water, by way of ion exchange or by physically adding chemicals to the water like peat. But it actually "traps" chemicals within it's structure and does so by absorbing it like other mechanical filtation does with particulate matter. Where filter wool traps particulate matter such as feces, carbon traps chemical componds such as urea. I can see how you confused it as a chemical filter, you thought because it traps chemicals it is a chemical filter, however chemical filtration is filtration that chemically alters the water by way of adding chemicals or exchanging ions, and carbon does not do this at all.

Carbon is often classed as mechanical filtration, but a better word to describe it is absorbative filtration. Though carbon absorbs harmful chemicals that appear in a tank, it also absorbs the good stuff, such as the chemicals that plants use as nutrients.

You can core out an aquaclear sponge and slide it over the intake strainer.

Here is a great link about information regarding salt in an aquarium that the Pope doesn't want you to know about! http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/salt.shtml I like the last part the best "Some magical powers of salt in freshwater: protection, healing and stress. Aside from these genuine uses, salt is often given magical powers connected with healing." Then it does on to list them... Check it out!

My point is too many first time aquarium buyers are reduced to learn from an inexperienced 15 year old telling them how to set up their first tank. All the fish clubs in the world will not prevent this problem at the store level. Most first time buyers need an honest and experienced professional at the store level to get them through the first 6 months.

Salt kills cories for reasons I've explain. If you folks use a little bit of salt in you tanks and get a way with it that is great, but I would certain never suggest it.

I would set resumes to PJs, Petland, Petsmart and Big Als. These companies are probably the only ones that could pay you a relatively decent wage.

Maybe feed them the peas from now on once or twice a week.

One of the biggest problems I find here in Calgary concerning this problem has to do with the LFS culture. It's all about cheap; who has the cheapest price. Compared to other cities, the average hobbiest has less knowledge concerning aquarium health and maintanance here in Calgary. I am not saying that people are less intellegent here, but what I am saying is first time hobbiest for the past 15 years have been under exsposed to aquarium knowledge here do to the lack to professional aquarist employed at the LFS. The reason there are so few professional aquarists employed at LFS is because select stores mark up their products 10 to 15% and although that is enought to make themselves filthy rich and drive hundred thousand dollar vehicles, that kind of mark up cannot employ professionals in other stores who employee 25 - 50 people. One store employs 30 - 50 people, which equates to 50 families and sells their products at competive prices with most companies across the country and another store employs 1 or 2 people and sells their products dirt cheap which greatly harms the companies that employ 30 - 50 people. The store that sells their products dirt cheap harms everyone including their customers. There is little thirst for knowledge in this city, little hunger to try something new. It's all Prime, NLS and FX5s and sadly, these are not the best products availible. If someone comes on this site and asks about methods for lower hardness, they are told not to bother because that person doesn't do it so no need for anyone else to do it. Dull! Heiko Bleher toured hobbiests houses and the stores of Southern Ontario and gave talks. Do you think he'd do that here? I don't think so, there is little here for him to learn. I am not saying there are no intellegent fish keepers here in Calgary, nothing can be further than the truth, just that information is not as important here as is the venerated cheapest price set years ago by one store. As the population is now expanded past 1 million I believe it's time for a change.

Then there is the part of finding new homes for them!

The third cat looks like Brachyplatystoma juruense

Salt does not kill Corys. It's a well know fact that salt does kill cories as it negatively effects their osmoregulation. Combine that with the already hard water of Alberta and if salt was added to suit the needs of the livebearers, then it would easily kill the cories in a few short weeks by way of blood and kidney poisoniong. And target feeding cories in a livebearer tank is not very hard to do considering cories and livebearer eat from completely opposite zones of the tank.

Goldfish are all intestines. The fancy ones are all intestines run a mess do to their distorted body designs. Best thing to feed fancy goldfish is a sinking pellet that easily crumbles, as they are naturally a bottom feeder. Digestibility of ingredients is not really important, because of the chemical process used to break down the ingredents on a cellular level while being manufactured. Swallowing air off the surface while trying to snag an over sized floating pellet is not good either. Also, always presoak a floating pellet to softness, because you want the pellet to easily fall apart while in the fishes mouth.

A few livebearers I see! Do you add salt for them? If so, salt kills cories. If you do not add salt, then they are dieing from their poor ability to osmoregulate within your tank.

June 23-26,2011

The theroy of the mod is good, but the flow rate of the filter is to high to make the fx5 biologically effective, no matter how you pack it. The fx5 will be out of production in 5 years (just like every other fluval ever made) and the pro 3 2080 will still be selling in 20 years from now (just like every eheim ever made in the last 30 years).

2080 is $600 and includes media and tax. 2 for $1150.00 Which classic do you need? 2213 $125.00 tax inc (July only) 2215 $150.00 tax inc (July only) 2217 $200.00 tax inc (July only) 2262 $500.00 tax inc (July only)

i sell the pro 3s with media pretty cheap.

Nothing can be further from the truth. The only thing the fx5 does more of than an eheim is to make noise and circulate water, and that is a bad thing when it comes to good filtration. Biological filtratrion is the single most important device on an aquarium and the fx5 works only fairly well in terms of biologial filtration. Eheim is ranked as the best. Not to mention that the fx5 consumes more than twice the amount of power as the Eheim.