IronChefItaly

Keep an eye on it but your tetras should be able to handle the occasional (3 times a day) short chase so long as they aren't being bullied or receiving body damage.When i picked my betta out from the lot, i chose one that was active but not overly responsive to my finger near the glass (passive / non-aggressive) and he's been in my tank now for ~3 months. I was a bit worried bringing him into my established tank at first but every time i watch him he doesn't seem to even acknowledge the other inhabitants. I'd be curious to see what would happen if you introduced enough surface flow so that he couldn't build a bubble nest (as is the case with my tank).

From my experience, dwarf cichlids don't really harass other fish unless they're spawning (then they chase off anything that comes close). If you're keeping several pairs I'd say it's quite likely to have interspecies aggression at some point in which case one or more cichlids will be pushed into hiding 24/7. To avoid this, I recommend 1 male and 1 or 2 females and for tank mates nearly any dither / schooling fish does great. In the past I've successfully kept cardinal tetras and glowlight danios with mine.

Hi guys, I’m helping a friend set up their fluval edge that I bought them for Christmas (yes it has taken them this long) and I’m looking to snag some small easy plants for them to start with. They must be able to grow and stay healthy with excel dosing and low to medium light. Also I’m willing to pay ½ retail or trade vals or hygropholia. Some that I’m looking for particularly include.. · Riccia · Elrocharis parvula · Staurogyne repens · Anubias (small preferred) · Crypts (no brown) · Baby tears (I heard you can float these with no co2?) Thanks for reading!

+1 for mts, as long as you keep the food sources under control i.e. plant detritus and excess food you shouldn't have and population problems.

I honestly don't agree with that at all Your input is appreciated however the fact that you disagree is exactly why I find review databases to be one of the best indicators for the quality of a product. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and when you look at review databases like marinedepot, amazon, etc you’re getting tens, hundreds, thousands of people reporting their experiences. You can waste your time and compare all the technical specifications and manufacturer statements available but none of those are going to tell you about the design faults. I know little about salt water products but with 5 minutes of research I can tell you that Aquaray is likely crap and that you should go for Aquatic Life, Finnex or Current USA (these guys seem to really have it down). To narrow it down further, I would look up particular models that suit your needs and budget then consider the number of reviews, overall rating and reports of faults (lowest rating comments) across as many sites / databases you can find. I use this process of shopping for all of my tanks, computer parts and whatever I buy online and have yet to been steered wrong. Hope this helps!

Thank you for both of your responses! Some very good points made but after some research I think i can rule out most of them. I've always kept the temp a little cool ~26 degrees but i think that's still well within their range. As for O2, i thought you were right on the mark when you brought that to my attention as my tank does have strong flow (vertically mounted spray bar - eheim) but just because of my layouts and plant density there are still a couple dead spots here + CO2 injection. But i read up "All corys are facultative air breathers, meaning they have the ability to breathe atmospheric air to a certain extent if necessary. They possess a modified, highly vascularised intestine to aid in the uptake of atmospheric oxygen. This adaptation allows them to survive if their habitat becomes oxygen-deprived for any reason." - http://www.seriouslyfish.com, still not sure if that's enough though. Which leaves me with diet and crappy stock. I don't know what the hell i was thinking but for the longest time i was feeding all my fish the aquafin flakes that came with my aquarium. At the time i was supplementing that with some bottom feeder pellets and rarely brine shrimp or blood worms (once a week maybe?). One important thing to note, is that i've also had problems in the past with over feeding... are cories particularly sensitive to it? Anyways, the two of you have boosted my faith a bit so i'm going to increase the flow near the bottom and pick up my gravel maintenance / access then look for a local breeder on the forum. Cories are probably my favorite fish so I'll be quite happy if i can successfully stock them again.

Alright so I’m looking at stocking some corydoras again but I’m a but reluctant because my first experience wasn’t all too great. My community tank is fairly established and chemically stable but for some reason my cories never did well. My set up is a 26 gal bow, heavily planted, fluorite substrate, shrimp and cardinal tetras. Coincidently all my sterbai corys came from the same LFS and they were never in the greatest shape when I picked them up - missing barbels, fungus / rotting fins. Anyways, they would generally last anywhere between 2 weeks to maybe 3 or 4 months before dying off one by one. Generally I would observe rapid breathing, inactivity, loss of appetite then death with 0% recovery from first sign of symptoms. Couple things I’ve considered as a cause. · Poor health of stock from pet store · Dirty substrate – tough to get to a lot of areas of my tank with the gravel cleaner Most likely a combination of the two, the overall water chemistry of my tank is always great but I could see ammonia collecting in the substrate where the cories spend most of their time. Has anyone else had similar experiences or suggestions? I’d like to be certain of what my problem was first time around so I can correct it. Thanks for reading!

Follow the reviews on amazon, if you go with the general consensus it's the best guide you can find.

I think you could get away with otos or a group of cories. More puffers is another option and possibly a larger fast moving dither fish like rummy nose tetras.

Ich is a vicious disease that needs to be treated asap. Your petshop shouldn't be selling any new arrivals until they're quarantined but unfortunately too few do this process correctly. As your own line of defense / prevention I would highly recommend having a 5-10 gal quarantine tank for all new purchased fish so you don't have to medicate your entire display tank in the case of an outbreak. As far as treatment goes, i've had slow results with salt and heat. I had to treat a planted tank with fish, snails, shrimp and all and i believe the product i used was the API super ich cure. Comes as yellow powder split into a grid of packets and its very easy to use. I combined this medication with a relatively low dose of salt and increased the temperature. Beware, some medications are a lot harsher than others (avoid the stuff that dyes your water blue).

Side note: I got up to Pisces this weekend for the 2nd time ever and they had some natans and calamistratum for $30 a pop. They were the most expensive plants there... Mostly aesthetics but I imagine there is some benefit in having the current stretch the plant out along the surface as to gather more light.

I've had calamistatum and it was easily my favorite plant. For my 26 gal bow front 1 was great as its vines easily went the length of the aquarium - for these reasons make sure you place the plant properly relative to the flow of your tank. Quite easy to manage, medium growth but DO NOT bury the bulb more than half way into your substrate!!

Where is it held in Edmonton? also can things be bought in a farmers market type fashion or does each item have to be auctioned off in a lengthy process? Sorry if these questions seem dumb but I know nothing about these auctions other than what pictures I've seen.

RESOLVED. Hey guys, I have a sick fish and after some research I've decided to isolate and medicate him for internal parasites but I'd like some advice from personal experiences before i do so since i have limited experience. Just some general information... The Tank Tank has been healthy and established for 2 years None of my fish have been quarantined when originally purchased (stupid I know) No history of problems with water parameters, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia etc. The Sick Fish Have had him for about 15 months Has never shown any sign of stress other than faded color Current symptoms are primarily concave stomach but I've also noticed slightly faded color, tad less energy and appetite I've tried to introduce peas, brine shrimp, blood worms and a number of other things into his diet with no success - also have been adding small amounts of aquarium salt during water changes. Has anyone had similar experiences? what has worked for you? and what do you think the best solution is? I greatly appreciate any wisdom you guys have to share and thanks for reading!

Correct and this forum post covers it quite well too http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/how-use-your-co2-tank-laying-down-standing-up-840504/ Short answer is, you CANNOT mount your co2 tank sideways unless its specifically designed for it.

I have basic knowledge of concrete and can tell you there are a few things to consider. sufficient air entrainment - property of the concrete that mitigates stress from expansion of water as it freezes within otherwise the surface will spall (common in poorly installed driveways; I'd still consider this even with a liner) properly drained foundation - you need a sufficient layer of coarse sand / rock between soil and concrete otherwise you'll have frost heaving (this is why we don't place our asphalt roads directly on top of compacted soil; once again, I would not disregard this because its heated) depending on the steepness of the bank or walls retaining the water I would be concerned about the potential of any pooled water freezing and exerting pressure against them In any case, I would seek a professional's advice before going ahead with any plans - preferably a landscaper who has experience with ponds. I don't see any reasons why you couldn't do it as long as you take everything into account and install it correctly.

With or without co2 I'd recommend using Excel Flourish. I run my lights for 9 hours a day, co2 during this time and with 2-3 doses of excel a week I've managed to keep algae out. I run a smaller paintball co2 system so i can't help you out with full size equipment.

Thanks, I've read comments saying both have the potential to grow tall but none that actually compared the heights of one versus the other - I'll be going with the pygmy sword.

Hey guys, so I'm looking for a fore to mid ground plant for my 26 gal. I plan to place it between rocks and driftwood etc opposed to using it solely as a carpet plant. Right now i'm considering either pygmy chain sword or dwarf sag but from what i've read they seem to have similar care requirements. Things for me to consider are heights that each grow to, light requirement (some of my ground in my aquarium is shadowed), maintenance, how densely if grows and ease of care. Just wondering what you guys think, what sort of experience you have with them and maybe the advantages and disadvantages to each. Thanks a bunch!

Looking for Danio Choprae / Glowlight Danios and I check the lfs on a weekly basis - been looking for a while now. Thanks!

Thanks for the quick reply guys, those pencil fish are actually quite interesting and i will look into them more. I will most likely check out that auction as well and as for rummy nose i'm not a huge fan of their appearance but i know they are a great fish.

I am looking for an adapter as shown on this link... http://www.amazon.com/Hydra-Aquatic-CO2-Paintball-Adapter/dp/B008ZAAP2K/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i So far i've tried Walmart, Canadian Tire, Rona, some local paintball / industrial shops and the internet. Everywhere online that i could find the adapter will cost $50 or more after shipping and i won't know if it will actually fit and i'd prefer to stay away from getting one custom machined... Does anyone know of a place local that would carry such an item? I already bought one from Canadian Tire but it ended up adapting in the wrong direction (I need my regulator to accept a paintball tank rather than an 88 gram canister). Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

I am currently using the stock Fluval 88G CO2 system and observe a good portion of the bubbles reaching the surface (uses a ceramic disk). I have looked at several other methods of diffusing CO2 and am curious what other people have found to work best in terms of efficiency. The method must be... less than $50 aesthetic no ceramic disks or ladders I am considering... power head co2 reactor (not too sure whats involved with this?) placing the co2 output near my HOB filter intake? Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Hello! I am looking to add some schooling fish to my current tank and am looking for advice / suggestions. My aquarium specs are listed in my signature including the critters i have. A couple things i am looking for are... less than 2.5 inches fully grown (prefer a smaller / slimmer bodied fish) I intend to add 3 - 5 fish depending on the minimum school and adult size to keep a manageable bio-load inhabit the middle to top portion of the tank (bottom of mine is pretty busy) schoolers and compatible with the rest of my fish Thanks for reading and i appreciate any advice and or suggestions!

Hmm, my understanding has always been that water changes greater than 40% are changing the water parameters by too much and can shock the inhabitants of the tank and approaching 100% would be basically resetting your tanks healthy bacteria colonies. Because of this, supposedly small but frequent water changes are ideal but i could be wrong (particularly in the gravel to capture the ich before it becomes free swimming). In either case, i test with both strips and weekly solutions tests and never find my water parameters to be anything but ideal in terms of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. I use fluorite and once again my understanding is that the substrate actually retains more of the healthy bacterial colonies than most biomedia set ups (hence why you don't see people with no substrate in their tank). So from the information you have provided i'm assuming you run a set up where you depend on water changes to maintain water quality opposed to a mature cycled tank which under perfect equilibrium does not require water changes. I do believe isolating the fish and treating it for both the ich and the secondary infection resulting in popeye would be my next move at this point as he is not improving. I appreciate your advice and will keep this post updated over the next week.