425nm

Thanks for the input. I'm just not 100% sure it is fin rot so I'm not sure that I should treat it. Good advise on water change, maybe I'll start there, my tank is a 33 gallon and I have about 14 fish in there right now. Do you think the mollies would pick on the guppies, from what I've seen they don't really bug each other but maybe they do when I'm at work or during the night.. who knows. Also these guppies are from the pet store and yes they did tell me that the guppies are weak due to inbreeding but I've had them for about 6 weeks now with no problem and in the past 3-4 days, I've lost 3 guppies

Well, although mollies are generally peaceful they are quite a bit bigger (they'll get about 3inches long to my knowledge) than the guppies. I wouldn't put it past many fish to nip a guppies fins, they are a rather convenient target.

I have read that guppies aren't big fans of more acidic waters? So any driftwood you have in there might be lowering the pH just a little too much, possibly?

If they're all of the same stock they could have inherited a genetic condition but that's speculation.

I don't know a huge amount about livebearers soo if someone else would like you contribute.

Melafix is pretty good for fin rot. I wouldn't do more than a 50% water change otherwise you're risking stressing your other fish and putting them at risk of contracting fin rot as well.

How big is your tank, how much filtration, & how many fish?

I'd pick the source of your guppies carefully. Many lines of guppies are rather weak these days. Too much inbreeding.

Edit: Bullying is indeed likely with mollies in the tank if there isn't enough space for the guppies to hide.

2 weeks ago my 75gallon was struck by the most aggressive ick infection I have ever seen and despite my best efforts 12 of my 15 fish perished ):

My Geophagus jurapari, Festivum and Bristle nosed pleco survived though. So I'm planting it and restocking.

I was thinking of obtaining some Apistogramma and/or Rainbow cichilids.

Could they co-habitate? Would apistos tolerate corydoras during breeding? Suggestions of apisto species?

Other cool ideas for fish?

Suggestions for plants are appreciated as well.

I dig the faux-wood grain trim on your tank.

Out of curiosity, what kind of Geos?

Okay cool, secound question. Geophagus jurapari "proof" plants? excluding driftwood attached plants.

Once you get your plants and CO2 going, you won't really have a snail problem. The CO2 dissolves their shells. I had a 120 gal planted that had other stuff in it before - the sand was full of snails. After about a year, there are no snails left.

I have a 75 gallon I'd like to plant. However it contains two two inch diameter Ramshorn snails. Does anyone know of any relatively snail proof plants? So fast growing or just unappealing to snails.

I also have a bristle nosed pleco, though he hasn't shown any interest in the plants I have in there so far: Heteranthera zosterifolia(I think that's what it is), java fern and some pygmy chain sword.

In addition to this I have a Geophagus jurapari so plants that will anchor themselves firmly would be good too.

I do have CO2 going on it, some in-substrate fertilizer (not very good stuff though) and what claim to be plant lights(they are phillips though).

Thanks very much for the advice

A pair will do great in a 75g. They should get along with any other community fish.

I had mine in a planted tank with a angelfish, loaches, tetras, SAE, and plecos. I'd definitely recommend some type of dither fish like a tetra. It helped mine be less skittish and not hide so much. Previously I had them in a 30g without any other fish and they would scare at the slightest movement by their tank. In the 56g they were much more confident and always swimming around.

They are one of my favorite fish. They get fantastic coloring when breeding and are a great little peaceful cichlid for a community tank.

Good luck with your 75g

If they can be kept in pairs all the easier. I am hoping to put a pair in a 75gallon that I am working on planting. Aquarium adviser was actually the site telling me that I would have to keep them in groups of 8.

Personally I don't see why they would need to be in a group as they form pairs. I started with 5 in hopes I could keep them all but then they started pairing up. The rainbows didn't mind other community fish but they were constantly chasing each other, especially when one pair had eggs. Also the poor 5th rainbow was pretty stressed as it didn't have a mate. So I sold a pair and the extra one and only kept 1 pair. After that they were much more calm and got along great in my community tank.

A group of 8+ might work ok as there is enough fish to spread out any aggression but you will probably end up with multiple pairs fighting each other all the time, unless you have a big enough tank so each one gets its own territory.

So if you are putting them in a large tank then you can probably get away with a couple pairs but I had mine in a planted 56g(3') and they didn't really get along.

You don' think they'd do better kept in larger groups? A few sites say they need to be kept in large groups, ~8.

I used to have a pair and raised up a bunch of babies. They are a great small colorful cichlid. I found mine quite shy and they paired well with community type fish. They could be assertive when protecting their young but they never really damaged any fish, the most I saw was some chasing.

Anyone ever kept these guys?

I have read they're reasonably peaceful. Possibly peaceful enough to keep with my Geophagus jurapari in my 75 gallon?

Do they do better in larger numbers? Various numbers have come up in my research, none of them very consistent.

Capitalism at work. This would be comparable to blood parrots?

How different is husbandry in North America/Canada? Does anyone to your knowledge cross their flowerhorns to hardier cichilids.

If you are referring to fish bred in Asia, then the answer would be almost never.

Breeders of flowerhorn do not focus on disease resistance or overall vigor when attempting to wow the world with their latest greatest new strain of fish. The same could be said for a number of designer fish where the latest new colors, patterns, fin length, nuchal hump size, etc. are what is driving the market.

Realistically, disease resistance is most likely at the bottom of some breeders priority list, if it's even considered at all. Nature has it's own way of taking care of genetically weak specimens, humans will take those same fish & breed them for profit. In flowerhorns this has caused a major decline in overall vigor, and lifespan, where now a days you're lucky if an Asian bred fish from Thailand, Taiwan, or Vietnam will live past 3 or 4 years.

I don't intend to be breeding flowerhorns however I find myself rather curious about how they are bred. I was told that the lifespan of flowerhorns has been decreasing since the 90ies due to intensive inbreeding. Does anyone know how often Flowerhorns are outcrossed to other cichilids for the sake of their genetic health, (as opposed to crossed for the sake of attempting to breed in new colour/patterning/etc) Realistically vs Ideally?

Hey guys.

So as the title indicates, my electric catfish has been picking up sand in his/her mouth and spitting it out. This is a new behaviour, having started about two weeks ago. The cat is in a 40 gallon tank with a 50 and a 70 gallon aquaclear hangon filter. The temperature is 26.5C. Anybody know why he/she might be doing this?

Really? No one has anyideas?

Hey guys.

So I've been trying to breed some giant danio with little luck. They were spawning back in April though in low quantities (ie. 12 eggs per pairing) and all the fry came out deformed & died after a week.

I was wondering if anybody has bred them in the past and if they have any advice on how to get them to spawn.

I've been using breeding traps in and out of tank as well as just using mesh over the bottom of the tank. Should I be pairing them or setting them up in groups?

Telling the males from the females is also proving quite difficult.

Pleco crap would probably make really good fertilizer. If you have a garden that is.

It could have been my hang on filter but that's on the back of the tank and all the water was in front of the tank. Other than the hang on all I have is a submersible filter and a yeast CO2 chamber on the tank. The rubber stopper + tube had come off the CO2 chamber but I assumed it was because the box the CO2 chamber was sitting on got wrecked by the water tipping it. But if the stopper came off by itself its possible all the water leaked out down the tubing onto the floor but I don't think the stopper of near the main area of wetness. Only one way to be sure I guess. Fill the tank back up and be ready ready to siphon the water out again once I figure out if there's a leak. Good thing I did all most water changes yesterday, at least the water is mostly clean that way.

I woke up at 3:30 this morning to the sound of one of my filters running dry. So I go over to my 25 gallon planted tank to find the carpet soaked and my tank half full. My landlord is showing my place later today as I am moving out at the end of April. So I bust out all the towels I own and manage to get the carpet pretty dry. Oddest thing though, I have the tank set on top of a towel so if there's ever a leak on the bottom I'll see it wick out but the towel and the stand are totally dry. No obvious cracks or defects in the seal above the half way point and no more water has leaked since 3:30am. The vast majority of the water leaked in front of the tank/stand, a bit leaked under the stand. I last checked at midnight and all was well so the water took a maximum of 3 1/2 hours to leak out.

Fish are fine though and I rearranged some furniture to discourage people from walking in front of the tank so hopefully the slightly damp carpet will not be noticed.

Anyone else ever had unfortunately (more unfortunate than normal that is) timed fish tank disasters.

Hey guys!

So I've been keeping an Electric Catfish for about a month now. I've read in a few places that they tend to spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank. While mine does spend time at the bottom lately he's been zipping around the top of the tank often in circles for hours on end. I was just wondering if this is uncharacteristic behavior for these guys? He's housed with a Convict and a young Green Terror in a 29 Gallon(I am quite aware that this tank size is far to small for adults, however at the moment the catfish is only 4inches and the convict & GT are about 3 inches). Though I'm considering trading or giving away the GT seeing as the convict has been having a go at his fins. Both the GT and the Convict actively avoid the Catfish whenever he swims anywhere near them. In the longer term, I'll only be keeping these guys a maximum of two years as I will be moving after get my undergraduate degree.

Prior to me owning him, the catfish lived with a colony of Convicts at a pet store. When I got him he was rather plump and hasn't dropped any noticeable weight.

(would love to upload a picture but apparently my photos are too large for the attachments)

The 29 Gallon tank with:

A 70 gallon Aquaclear over the side filter and a Fluval 4plus underwater filter both loaded with biomax and poly wool.

I use play sand as substrate so that the catfish can burrow under the driftwood and rocks(I am careful to make sure he can't drop any rocks on himself).

I do weekly water changes of at minimum 25% though it normally its closer to 50%.

Had my water checked recently and the ammonia, and nitrate levels are fine. Though I don't know about the pH.

Temperature is at 21C/78F.

I feed:

Hikari Gold mini pellets at morning and night as well as a combo of either frozen bloodworms, plankton, glass worms, or brine shrimp when I get home in the afternoon.

I actually have a male and female German blue ram in my 25 gallon. They're awesome, one of my favorites, quite curious fish. I like green terrors however a 29 is to small for one.

Thanks for the heads up on the snails, quite an elegant solution there : ) I actually work at Pjs in west ed(though not in Fish, reptiles actually) and I don't think I've ever seen trumpet snails there, any idea where I might be able to get some? (Its not against the TOS to mention Pet stores by name is it? I can't remember).

Hey guys!

I'm pretty new to AA, haven't actually posted before just lurked and looked at pictures. So I recently purchased a co-workers 29 gallon tank (measuring: 30inches (76.4cm) wide X 12 and 1/2 inches (31.7cm) deep X 18 and 1/2 inches (47cm) tall), it has a 70 gallon aquaclear filter on it and it is currently on day 3 of cycling fish-less (Oh and its Freshwater). It also has play sand as substrate which I am lead to believe is no good for live plants as it can lead to methane bubbles. Anyhow I'm actually having some difficulty deciding on what to put in it (little overwhelm by the variety) once its done cycling. I figured you guys might have some cool ideas for what to keep in it. I'm more inclined towards something more aggressive since my two other tanks are peaceful community tanks. Something bright would be preferred. I'm pretty good for water changes though I am a University student with a full course load so anything that requires a lot of attention probably isn't a great idea. So if anybody has any ideas they'd be greatly appreciated : )

I do apologize if this is the wrong place to post this.