grumpy

I don't know how you can only have several ramshorn snails... they seem to be multiplying in my tank like crazy,,,, there was even 2 that were connected at the head floating around my tank!!! why they were hooked up like that I dont know The connected at the head would be them breeding....... And I only have 8 right now (I was actually updating my signature while you were typing your post.) I've given away approximately 50 baby snails since I got the original 5 back in about April? I also diligently remove the egg sacks as soon as I see them. It was kinda neat when I first got them to see the eggs hatch and the baby snails grow, but now that I understand just how hardy these guys are, and just how many eggs they can lay, that novelty has worn off. And the Ramshorns in the brackish tank? They only lay eggs after a freshwater change. (I alternate brackish and fresh, keeping the sailnity between 1.002 and 1.004.) Well it is good to know they are breeding.... when i pulled them apart I thought they were dead and I thru em in my tank with angels and my loaches but they are moving I see... these ramshorns are the generic snails you get with plants right? Nope. Google 'Colombian Ramshorn Snails' for a picture. My largest ones are about 2 inches in diameter. The ones you get from plants don't lay visible egg sacks. (not visible to me anyway) I've had some success plucking those ones out by hand and tossing them to my oscar. I've never been overrun with them though. And the Columbian ramshorns also eat the smaller ramshorn/plant snail variety. I used to have a bunch of these, and they were awesome. I've been wanting to get some more for my ( non-planted ) tank. Does anyone have any they want to get rid of?

I have had zebra nerites for a while and occasionally have the same white dots. I believe they are nerite eggs, however none have ever hatched in my tank as far as I know. Grumpy

I used a combination of all of these treatments on a good sized piece that I picked up in Fish Creek Park. I soaked it in water with bleach for a day, then gave it about 5 rinse soaks, a day at a time. Each time I changed the rinse I put in new water as hot as I could get it, beginning with a kettle full of boiled water poured over the wood. It definitely colors the water each time, but by the fifth time it was almost nothing. So I attached it to a big piece of slate and put it in, with gravel hiding the slate. It looks fine and hasn't changed the water chemistry. And no bug was able to survive the cleansing and rinsing. Sounds like a lot of work but it's not really, and it's worth it to be sure you don't upset the tank.

I just bought a Nutrafin Pro feeder at Pisces on the weekend. They are usually about 55 to 60 bucks, and it was on sale for $37.99. It's been on my tank for 2 full days, and has fed my fish as programmed twice a day, and it's easy to program and set up. My need is same as yours...I don't want to bother neighbors or friends to come in while I'm on vacation. This unit seems like it will do the job nicely. BTW I did look at the Eheim while I was there. It appears to be the best one but it's also over 90 bucks. For a couple of one week vacations a year, I think the Nutrafin will do the trick.

My assorted Africans eat anything that grows. In the last couple of weeks they have gone through a couple of corkscrew vals, a bunch of cobomba, a small tiger val and a couple of others I'm not sure the names of. Which is why I still keep my plastic plants. When the real ones are getting eatcn, the fake ones start to look okay again. haha

Well, I think I now have some baby snails. Since I don't know what to look for, I'm assuming the unexplained tiny white dots that have appeared on the back glass are them. About 1 - 2 mm across I guess. Are these likely snails? Or ...???

Cool...I was kind of thinking Rams Horns. If so, they are from the snails I got from you a few months back. There look to be about 50 or more eggs...How many are likely to hatch and survive? Will the cichlids in my tank want them for lunch? If so, I would like to move them and save as many as possible. Thanks, Jim

I guess I should have mentioned that....quite a variety! yellow labs, c moori, blue haps, peacocks, angels, dwarf gouramis, assorted barbs and tetras, a few platys, and a golden a.e. Also, some snails; columbian rams horns, and zebra nerites.

Okay all you breeders out there, I've never tried to get any of my fish to breed, but there are a bunch of eggs attached to the underside of a rock. They've been there a couple of days at least, and so far nobody is paying any attention. I'm wondering if they are from one of my snails. Here's a pic. Can anyone tell me what they are? And what should I do with them to protect them? Or just leave them alone? Thanks all, Jim

Tanker, Thanks so much for the advice. It does make sense that the wood could absorb some chlorine and I wondered if it was a good idea but went for it anyway. I gave it an hour or so in the bleach water, and then doused it with boiling water, which I plan to do a few more times before submersing it in regular water. I'll definitely let it soak for several days and I as you suggested I'll test the water after that to see what's next.

When you say a lot, can you be a little more specific? I have a piece soaking in some cold water and bleach right now. Planned on doing that first, then rinsing with boiling water a couple of times. What do you think?

I don't know the first thing about breeding, but this was a surprise. While rearranging some stuff in the bottom of my cabinet, I spotted something tiny, moving, in my sump. Long story short, I scooped out 14 fry altogether, about 1/4" to a little more. I'm guessing my pair of ameca splendens, which I was keeping in a different section of the divided sump, are the mom and dad. Now I know you breeders will get a laugh out of this, but I had absolutely no idea that this could happen. I thought you had to put a lot of effort into setting things up just right. Is this really a fluke or is it normal? By the way, now that I have these fry, I've put them in a safety net that I use when I introduce new small fish to my community. I'm wondering, what I should feed, and how long I might have to keep them in there before they can be safely released. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim

I have ameca splendens and a gold algae eater in with various tetras and barbs and everyone gets along fine. There are also a pair of Angels, a pair of Opaline gouramis, some yellow labs and malawi dolphin fry. The splendens will occasionally nip at the angels, but so far not enough to be a problem.

Try between 8pm-9pm...usually quietish then...or anytime after 5pm Wednesday is usually good. Wayne's a hard guy to get hold of, but it's worth the effort. He made one up for me for my 90, with a cut-out for some raised plumbing in the back corner, and hinged both front and back. It took me a week to get it but it turned out perfect. He's definitely the guy to go to.

Jason, Thanks very much for all the advice on both this and the 'planting in pots' threads. I tried a couple tonight. Put some potting soil in the bottom about 2/3 of the pot, got the roots well into the soil, and covered the top 1/3 with gravel. I found pots at Home Depot that are about 3" or so high and about 2 1/2" across. Which means I can set them on the bottom and with 3" of gravel you can't see the pot. I'll now look for more plants and try a few more the same way. I'll post in a couple of weeks on any progress I make. Thanks, Jim.

Would sphagnum moss be a good base instead of the potting soil? I'm putting some cabomba in a pot, and I plan to add some vals and anubias as well, in separate pots.

Jason, what are the clay balls you mentioned? I'm very new to live plants and not having much luck. I've got a similar low light situation, and also course gravel substrate. I have some small clay pots that I want to use to put my plants in, and I'm wondering what to use as a potting substrate. Never thought of clay. Can you elaborate? Thanks, Jim.

Nate, Let me join the others in welcoming you to the board. It's reassuring to see that in the midst of what appears to be profit-no-matter-the-cost, you are trying your best to do the right thing. You are absolutely right, that someone will be upset no matter what you do. But I want you to know that what counts for me, is that you have given serious thought to more than just the monetary issues. You appear to honestly care about the wrong that has been done (admittedly by your supplier and not by you), and it looks like you've done what you can to translate the seriousness of the situation back to the supplier. I also agree with you that it is senseless at this point to cull the fish. I think you are doing the right thing by informing customers of the mistake that was made, and by getting these fish into some kind of homes. And I say this to the other members of this forum: With all due respect to everyone's opinion, I believe that two wrongs will never make a right. It's unfortunate that things like this happen. I suggest at this point that we cannot undo the mistakes. Rather we should welcome Nate, as many already have, and encourage him to continue to present our views and opinions, in a professional manner to his suppliers and to everyone he deals with. He's obviously a guy with a lot of integrity, and no doubt he will influence many, including customers, in a positive way. It took guts for him to face our collective wrath, and he deserves our respect. Whew. Thanks to all who were patient enough to read through.... Grumpy

I found this on their website. ALLAN SAUL President E-MAIL:asaul@bigalscanada.com I for one will be letting Mr. Saul know how I feel. They don't call me Grumpy for nothin'.

Here's a picture. As you will see, the tank has an internal overflow and the opposite corner is drilled as well to accomodate the internal return/sprayer. Thanks for the advice so far. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Jim.

Okay, I'm not advertising this stuff for sale, yet. I do need some advice on what to ask, and I'll then put it all in the buy and sell forums. I have a 90 gal setup, with a sump, and a very nice custom made metal stand with a wooden cabinet. I'll be looking to sell it but I'll have to clear out the community first. I pretty much know what the fish should go for, but what about the equipment? The tank was originally SW and is now FW. It works great either way. It has a new custom made glass top, with front and rear hinges, a new Tek light with 2 T5's, will include gravel, filter media (lots of it) bio balls, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jim.

I've got two angels that are living very happily with the following: Tger barbs, cherry barbs, dwarf gouramis, platys, serpae tetras, butterfly goodeids and a golden algae eater. Nobody bothers the angels, and so far, they don't bother anyone else. These are in a 90, so they have lots of room, but the angels seem to move about the entire tank, though they do have a favorite area where they seem to settle in for the night.

Thanks everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. As for the angels, I did read somewhere about the parasite thing. That's my biggest worry at this point I guess, because I really enjoy the angels. However I've also heard of a few instances of them being in the same tank along with other peaceful smaller fish and everything going well. What to do.....I'll wait a bit because I want to read and hear more before I decide. I really want to have a pair of these beautiful fish. Thanks, Jim.

I want to add a pair of Discus to my peaceful community. I have two angels, four dwarf gourami, and an assortment of small barbs and tetras in a 90. The tank is in a quiet area, has a few plants, and should be a comfortable place for them from what I have read. But I'm not sure about the tankmates. Does anyone have any experience putting Discus with a community?

I have a 90 with a 30 gal sump and it's doing the job nicely. More than enough room to place any amount of filtration, pumps, CO2, phos. remover, whatever else you might need, and nothing visible up top except the return pipe and the tubing from the CO2. Mine is a three section unit made of glass, but you can easily accomplish the same thing using a 30 gal Rubbermaid. You need to be a little creative in setting the items inside it. IMO, You'd want to place at least one divider which you could make out of a piece of plexiglass and put it in using silicone. Jim.