FunkSolid

Got the time and the balls to pull out all the rocks out of my 140 and try and catch my first females who I knew were holding. I then stripped them into a 10 gallon and I am still in shock and awe of the evolutionary adaptation of mouth-brooding. I think 10 - 3/4" little guys came out and mom is only... 2.5 - 3" long! Truly an amazing thing to observe and hold in your hands (please excuse my first time excitement), but nature is inspiring. I have some 1-1.5" Tropheus (same species) in a 30 gallon, and I would like to add these new fry I just stripped. I'm brand new to these guys and i want to make sure there wont be any con-specific predation going on. Will they all get along? Thanks Andrew

As mentioned above, the actual LED portion of these lights have been fine for me, but the power supplies have been ridiculous. They are practically biodegradable, and I have replaced 5, yes 5 of the power supplies! Aqueon sent me a "Plus" (updated model) because of the insane trouble I was having, and it seems to be doing a lot better. I even bought a 3rd party power supply from "super power supply.com" and it failed a month ago, but they also sent me a new one under warranty. I have all these units plugged into a power bar, which is attached to a wall behind the tank. Its about 30" above the tank with zero water exposure, and has good airflow to help dissipate the heat. I also have a few other led power supplies plugged into that bar that have not failed so I dont think its a issue with the bar. I even swapped it out for a different one and still had issues. Hopefully the plus has some differences to help in longevity.

This question should be a new post due to its complete irrelevance to aquarium substrates. But fear not, many will reply!

Dosing a 180 Gallon tank seems a little asinine to me, especially if the symptoms of the puffer are not systemic in the rest of the population in the tank. 1. Buy/Borrow/Steal a smaller hospital tank 2. Find a good broad spectrum med including but not limited to (Seachem - PolyGuard Or Mardel - Clout ) 3. Clout is a sledgehammer for protozoan and arthropoda (insect) type things, where the Polyguard is a very good well rounded med that covers more bacterial bases than Clout. In terms of bacteria, Polyguard is new(ish) and may have an advantage in terms of the bacterial susceptibility if shown resistance to other meds. Hope that helps Andrew

National Geographic sand

NLS Hex Sheild pellets BigAls.ca - $49.99 Amazon.ca (prime eligible) - $32

Paraguard is a great med, but it is only effective for external issues, and therefore will not have any effect on your internal problems indicated by the poop. Like Jason, I have also used the NLS Thera A and its good for stimulating appetite and as a preventive as well. My go to medications to try for internal issues are Metronidazole, and Flubendazole. Metro is good at selecting anaerobic bacteria and protozoans which typically reside in the GI of the fish, which seems to be in line with your symptoms. The Flu goes after round worms that might be the culprit as well. The Metro has a broader scope, so may be a better start. The NLS Hex-Shield food is wicked awesome. Its impregnated with Metro, and loaded with Garlic. Its expensive, and probably not worth buying, but the quality and direct delivery (if you can get the fish to eat) make it a really good option. Hope that helps

Thanks for all the input guys!

I have spent a few days using the search tool, and reading the sticky threads on diet, nutrition, and all that. I am hoping we could take this perpetual debate into 2016, and also into the context of what is currently available. For example I have read a lot about this elusive "Dianichi" food, but after 5 phone calls, I cant find a store that carries it here in YYC. What do you feed your Tropheus and why? Thanks!

I emailed the seller. Thanks for the reply :-)

https://postimg.org/image/65mf2d3xr/ I recently purchased a group of tropheus from another AA member and many of them have sunken underbelly's. Its the typical presentation where from the pelvic fins to the anal opening there is a very clear depression, and their colors are poor as well which makes me think they are not in good health (internal parasites?). 20 of them are in a 140G with pristine water quality (0ppm - NH3/NH4+, NO2-) Nitrates less than 20ppm, pH 8.3) many Rundle stone hiding spots, and sand substrate. I'm feeding them 80% NLS AlgaeMax 1mm pellets, with 20% NLS Cichlid formula 1mm pellets. How would you treat/approach this? Thanks Andrew

The best glue hands down is PL Premium, available everywhere. Alongside what the engineer told you, you can fill the web of the joist with 3/4"OSB and glue+screw that on, then add your LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) reinforcing blocks. Some building inspectors require this in Calgary in certain conditions. Here are two links. 1. The Glue 2. How to fill the joist webs to make sure you LVL blocks are actually functioning properly. Hope that helps! Andrew

Thanks John, what type of Geophagus do you think I have? Secondly, have you ever seen those blister like sores on the Parkinsoni before?

These are the fish that I posted about previously. Rescued them today. They are in a 75G now while I build a stand for the 140 that they came from. What are species and associated diseases and treatments? My guesses... M. parkinsoni ? - Weird cyst growth things on fins... Never seen this before. M. Boesemani - One has a external fungal infection on body S. Denisonii (denison barb) ? - Look healthy P. fasciatus (Panda Barb) ? - Look healthy Geophagus ? - Look healthy M. lacustis - Clouded eyes and not happy

I must add my 2 cents to this discourse by saying that the drip acclimation method in Calgary/Edmonton municipal water is a very bad idea. When you add the alkaline water to the bag with fish you cause any of the "not as toxic" Ammonium (NH4+) in the water to be rapidly converted to super toxic Ammonia (NH3), and thus doing a great disservice to your new fish. When the pH increases, and thus the concentration of ammonia increases, you start burning gills and poisoning the already stressed (and in this case) diseased fish. My recommendation is to temperature acclimate fish, and transfer them via a net to their Quarantine Tank. In the context of Albertan water chemistry the dogmatic idea behind the drip method is not grounded in chemistry or biology. There are exceptions of course, especially if you have a nice RO-Di system, but this is not the norm. Also: You need to QT new fish. Unless you like playing a good game of Russian roulette.

Hi Harold i'm looking for a good number (~30) Pseudotropheus saulosi Thanks

Thanks Jason, what do you think for stocking numbers in total for the 140 if I get all Demasoni ish sized Mbunas? If I need to ship some in, I will want to buy them all at once.

Hi friends I would like to draw on your wisdom and experience again. I’m setting up a 6’-140G tank in early August, and want it to be a Mbuna tank. I have a weird colorblindness (mild protanomaly) which gives me an affinity for super blue fish. Notes: - Sand substrate with big rocks for scaping - Filters will be established and good to handle influx of bio load - Fish purchased will probably be in the 1.5-2” range I’m leaning to S. demasoni and think their colors are wicked awesome. I also like the idea of their limited sexual dimorphism, I think it would look cool. I can get these here in town (Hi Harold), but my reading about their temperament and conspecific aggression has me a bit nervous. I also want some P. saulosi, but can’t find them anywhere. Not even Mr. Spencer Jack. How would you setup and stock this tank to quell the potential aquatic Game Of Thrones? Thanks in advance

Thats a good question. My assumption is that it flashes off in the heat of the DW and takes water with it, preventing stains/deposits. Because we can drink water from glasses right out of the DW, i'm hoping its the same for fish...... But probably worth a really good scrub/rinse after to make sure.

Lol thats genius! I never thought of using the DW as a home use autoclave. Thats the antimicrobial trump card for sure. Nice work ;-)

If you rinse them well in tap water they will be fine (dilution is the solution to any pollution). To use an abundance of caution you can add baking soda, which will neutralize any remaining acid. The beauty of HCL is that it fully disassociates into H+ and Cl- which is "non-toxic" in terms of fish tanks and those concentrations. If your using Edmonton tap water (and not altering it in any way) its liquid rock (GH ~176mg/L), and the rocks you choose will not alter the chemistry in any way. Its always good to sterilize them, so that any pathogens dont hitch a ride into your tank. Heating in oven >80C (not too hot), bleaching, that kinda thing. Hope that helps!

I had a great experience with Marineland yesterday. I noticed some condensation on my 200W Visi Therm heater, called them, and they are shipping me an updated 200W heater. The lady said that an update to the Visi Therm is now called the "Precision" but would not say why, even though they look identical ;-) I called the 1-800 number, and the first person who picked up the phone took care of me. Done in under 5 minutes. One clever thing she made me do was to cut the cord off of the top of the heater, and email the picture to her. A positive anecdote for everyone.

Went back today and did a 80% water change (the only time I could do it in a while). Fish are doing well even though the pH went from 6 to 8.3 in 48 hours, and so far no losses. I learned something today as well: Carbon does not absorb any Ammonia/Ammonium/Nitrite/Nitrate. SOURCE. So packing the filter full of carbon was a total waste so I had to do the massive water change to get the Nitrates down to <20ppm. I got it to <5ppm so hopefully when I come back in two weeks it will be less than or equal to 40. I worked out a deal to take the whole thing home in early August, so hopefully I can rehabilitate these fish, and give them a good existence soon. Look for some updates and pictures in two weeks. Thanks for the opinion John and the well wishes eugene+ckmullin, might be a happy ending after all.

No live plants, just some plastic and mineral decor.

Long story short: Family friends are having trouble with their aquarium. They contacted me to come over and help them. I came over with my chemistry tickle trunk and I was dumbfounded by what I found. Tank: 140G, RenaXP4 (lots of foams, 1 tray of bio, 3 exhausted carbon packs), 9W UV sterilizer (bulb dead), 12” airstone (good bubbles). Inhabitants: ~10 Melanotaenia Rainbows, 4 SA Cichlids, few BN plecos, (all fish are sick, some have external fungal infections, many have cysts that look like blisters on fins. Fins and margins are intact, no other observations) Chemistry: Nitrate >200ppm, pH 6.0, everything else was typical Calgary tap water specs. So here is my dilemma. Owners tap water is typical South Calgary (pH >8) normally if it was my tanks I would do an aggressive water change, but the pH in my tanks does not move from my tap water. And I know that most eukaryotic/(even prokaryotic for that matter) organisms do not tolerate massive jumps in pH. So going from 6 to >8 does not seem like a wise idea for diseased and vulnerable fish. But I know that the chemistry needs to be resolved, and quickly. I did a ~50% water change, and packed that XP4 with as much carbon as I could stuff into it. Question 1: What would you do to rehab this situation? Question 2: How the fudge does the pH go from >8 to 6 in that tank? Nitrate in solution (NO3-) is the conjugate base of nitric acid (HNO3), so it’s a proton acceptor and should act as a base. But at a pH of 6 it could have that proton and be acting as an acid??? Lastly -> I’m talking with them about giving up whole system up to me because they are negligent and will just kill everything eventually, and I’m trying to avoid a mass casualty situation in that tank. They have no interest in doing the required work in a aquarium. Thanks