FishEdGirl

Sounds like Jungle Parasite Clear. Probably won't do any good, as Metro isn't absorbed very well by the fish through water (KISS version lol). For Metro to make any difference, you need to start mixing it with food. You might have caught it early enough that you can prevent any outbreaks on your main tanks as long as you start feeding the inhabitants metro treated foods. I recommend NLS Thera-A soaked in the Metro. Jungle makes an anti-parasite food with levasole, metro and prazi that you could try as well, but I've never had any luck getting fish to eat this, even when it's soaked in garlic. I wouldn't use those tabs in the main tanks myself, but of course that's your call. If the visibly infected sajica isn't eating, you could hit her bucket with the tabs. You might get lucky. Regardless, I'd hit it every eight hours and do water changes prior to the treatment.

You're going to need to treat the main tank, and every subsequent tank that she's been in. Camallanus is extremely contagious and you can assume that everyone she's been housed with has it. You will know the threads as Camallanus if they are red (the worms bodies fill with blood as they feed from the fish). Camallanus has an incredibly long life cycle (over a month!) and doesn't require a host to survive. I've had experience with Camallanus in the past, and it's not something I'd ever want to happen to any of my fish. I've had luck with Metronidazole (given with food) and then I've had one case when it didn't work. In that instant, I tried hitting it with fenbendazole which didn't work, then Prazi (as a last ditch effort) and that didn't work either. I ended up having to euthanize the affected fish and break down the tank (this was several years ago) to sterilize everything. I've heard that levamisole hydrochloride is exceptionally effective and the tank can be dosed (the others are best given by mouth), but it's very hard to come by. I couldn't find it anywhere. If you dose Metro (seachem Metronidazole can be purchased at some LFS or online) you need to overdose the tank big time. And daily water changes are VERY important, no matter what you treat with. Good luck; if I can be of any help, please PM me!

Is there any risk of harming the fish using tap water? What about the pH? Should the powerheads be placed at or just below the water line for surface agitation?

See how good I am at subterfuge and harassment?? You have much to learn, glasshoppa... Seriously, though, next time I promise to give you the top-secret hair signal so that we can implement plan ABBA and release the secret weapon. Be afraid, people...be very afraid... When is next time, anyway? PS -- I really am sorry that I couldn't stay long enough to meet and chat and give Jason a wedgie with that pink lace thong he was wearing (who wants pictures?). Next time I promise I will clear my schedule and ditch the girl's day out! PPS -- Oops, I did it again! (damn now I got that song stuck in my head!)

Actually, you and Val didn't see me running around with my camera!! Hehe. Mehehe. Ahhhh, blackmail is such a lucrative business...

I hate bare-bottomed tanks. U-G-L-Y. I am thinking about a 1" substrate depth, since everything I've read says to either go deep or extremely shallow with the sand. WOW. I am totally crowning you king of interior fish design. That is gorgeous! Hmmm...new question...how stable is live rock when you're stacking it? Any tips? With my luck I'd have an avalanche...how do you feel about in locum designing, Josh? Pro bono, of course So how easy is it to turn a FOWLR tank into a reef? (egad, that picture is giving me ideas now...perhaps we should assume this as a rhetorical question lol) OK I'm gonna do a 45G FOWLR now. (maybe a reef in the future lol) Two powerheads still ok? Are there any real downsides to running a protein skimmer? I want to make things as efficient and easy as possible on myself at first, so if there's no real reason not to have one, I'll buy a protein skimmer. Heater on the mixing barrel...check. No filter...check. Just remembered...R/O water has to be used from everything I've read. Where do you guys get yours from?

Awesome! Thanks Josh (do you mind if I call you Josh?) You've anticipated a lot of my questions, so now I'll bounce a couple more around. Should I skip the filter completely? I'm going to kibosh the ceramic beads/bioballs and just stick with the live rock for biological filtering...if I get two of the powerheads that you suggest, Josh, is it even necessary to have a filter on there for flow? Am I correct in assuming that you need to run a heater on the water in your mixing barrel? What is your stand on protein skimmers? Necessary or unnecessary? Would I be alright to do small water changes weekly (ie: 10%) while the live rock is curing? Man, I haven't even started this yet and I've already decided to do a larger tank... This is gonna be worse than the FW bug, isn't it??

Budget is flexible. I'm in no rush so I'm not looking at spending hundreds of dollars in one weekend No concrete list at this point. I want to hit a couple of stores and see what the stock is like, get some ideas. What I like and what will fit aren't necessarily the same thing

I'm no expert (far from it)...but don't you need CO2 at that wattage?

You are going to have a fantastic little set-up there If you want to add your full fish load you can spike the ammonia a couple of times after you've cycled (if you're using ammonium chloride, that is). Your bio-load isn't heavy, so you wouldn't have to spike it very high. If you do this, watch your pH. 'Course if you add the java fern you can skip that step. Anubias nana petite looks awesome on driftwood and does very well in low light if you want some variation. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress

Thanks for the great suggestions, Marcin! So it sounds like a filter is not necessary on the setup; what are the benefits of having one? Is it strictly for biological filtration? Is it possible to use ceramic rings in place of bioballs? How many powerheads would be required for my tank? Is there a trick to placement? Thank you for offering yours; how old are they and what kind? I was not aware that a protein skimmer wasn't necessary! I have to admit, after everything that I've read, I'd be hesitant not to use one. It'd be great to get some other opinions on this...

Holy. Mutha. My little self is slinking away now, to contemplate how in gods name I'm going to boss you around if you can pick me up by your pinky finger... HA I'm older! So there! Hi Go4Long. I haven't met anybody on here either (except Henry at Nature's Corner, and I'm secretly in love with him so he has no idea who I am....Mwahahahaha - I'm joking, people). I just occasionally drop by, cause trouble, and leave again for another few months. But thanks, now that I know what to look for you are going to make a very nice target. :bang1: (I just realized I totally hijacked this thread. Hehehe. Where's the little devil smilie when I need 'im...)

OK all you salt lickers: I have a 30G tank that I want to convert to FOWLR. I have never ventured into saline before so I need all the help I can get. I have been reading up on FOWLR tanks for several months now, but I always prefer advice directly from the experienced. I don't have any equipment except for the standard FW paraphernalia; Pengiun Bio-wheel HOB filter, Magnum Hot Canister filter, heaters and thermometers, flourescent hood. Including the obvious, what am I gonna need to get this venture up and running? List, please? Best places to buy the supplies? And where on earth does one get Live Rock from (I don't buy from BA's so don't suggest it)?? Since Edmonton is woefully lacking in quality fish stores, where is the best place to purchase your SW fish and/or paraphernalia? Any tips for starting up? Things I should prep for? I am not in any rush to get this done but I want to do it right. TIA for any and all help!

Ronnie, suhweetheart, that's what the other 10% is for. :rofl:

Damn, you sure know a lot about tights. I bow to your expertise. You can be our wardrobe fairy. Thanks, you're a peach. Can I call you Ronnie? *I am now feeling vaguely creeped out* So what's the deal on chafing? I ask this for purely educational reasons of course. Some poor guy out here on AA might totally be grooving on tights and has a secret fetish to wear ladies undies on the outside (Molino strikes me as one of 'them')... Dammit dammit dammit...I wanna be Dr. Evil. Val, we need to talk...

And that is more than I ever wanted to know about Jason... Do you wear ladies undies beneath your green tights, Tinker Bell? (I may have to rescind the invitation to be one of the Fab Four now, Jason, since you are proving to be immeasurably fun to harass) P. I. N. K. This is not negotiable. Take it or you're wearing a Tutu as well. I'm the boss. Errrrr...how tall are you Valerie? I'm not planning on being Mini-me to your Dr. Evil so if you're over 5'2" then you're gonna have to stoop in your pink tights. Heh. Loves it.

Oh man, I am soooo down with that! :thumbs: Tights and a cape, and that's my final offer. Oh, and you'd better like pink, sidekick. We could draft two more people and be the Fabulous Four. Let's see here........Jason, what's your stand on tights?

Oddly enough, my endlers actually school with my neons. Oh, I should mention too, make sure that you only get male endlers (males are colourful, females are generally more of a silver) unless you want to have eleventy-million baby endlers on your hands. These guys are worse than rabbits (I have avoided this phenomenon myself). But they are a lot of fun to watch; full of character for such small fish! Male Endler's don't even reach an inch in size so you could have several of them. What do hengeli rasbora look like? Maybe they would make an even better impact with the colours of the Endlers?

Sweet. I am drafting you to help with the harassment process, Valerie. There is no salary included with this position, but you get to be my sidekick. And that privelege is worth more than a million bucks. Do you wear tights, sidekick? He. Hehe. Does this whole auction thingy include plants? (listen, I came out of the proverbial closet when I joined this forum, so you can bet I've never been to an affair like this before. I am still numero uno harasser, though, so don't worry about that!) I want more plants..........*drool*

Sounds like you're aiming at an inch of fish per gallon of water. Remember when you're stocking that the decorations you place in your tank will displace the water and decrease the actual gallon amount. Your 15G doesn't actually have fifteen gallons of water with substrate and decorations, so stock accordingly. IMNSHO you're way overstocked with that list (but then, I tend to stock conservatively in non-planted tanks). Danios - not a good idea for a 15G tank. Not because of their size, but because they are incredibly active and need a lot of room for swimming. You could do neons with Endler's livebearers and an otto. I have a similar setup in a 10G planted tank and it is incredibly colourful and lively. I don't know anything about R. hengeli (are they available here?)...so I can't help you out there. But it's always nice to hear that someone is using the fishless cycling method

Again - Any ammonia or nitrites? One thing to note: Angels are cichlids. They should not be fed flake food; they should be getting a high-nutrient pellet food supplemented with live/frozen foods at least weekly. The flake food and shrimp pellet are not enough for your Angel. You would never consider giving a Convict - or even an Oscar! - flake food, would you? The picture isn't much help, but then I know how hard it can be to get a camera shy fish to hold still! Are you continuing with the Melafix or did you remove it? I can't stress how important it is right now for your Angel to have frequent water changes. That, along with a change of food, might be enough to clear up whatever the issue is. And if it doesn't, then I'm still voting for the antibiotic.

So I take it that there's no beer gardens at this shindig... :cry: Do you have to register just to go and harrass people? Is there a cost?

A picture would help, but in the absence of that: Any negligible ammonia/nitrite in the main tank? How long has your main tank been set up? What are you feeding the angel? How often do you do water changes, and how much? Is there any loss of appetite in your angel? Any behavioural changes? It sounds like a bacterial infection, or possibly HTH (hole-in-the-head); but again, hard to say without seeing it. I doubt that the Melafix is going to correct the situation at all. If I were you, I would put the carbon back in to get rid of the Melafix and do daily water changes on the hospital tank. Often that in itself will clear up any problems. You could also try hitting him with an antibiotic such as tetracycline.

If your beta doesn't show any signs of aggression towards its current housemates, it should be fine. I have, in the past, housed a beta with green tiger barbs, blue rams, keyhole cichlids and danios. In each instance, the beta ended up having to be housed separately because he would attack everything that came near him. Even the keyhole cichlids, who bossed the tank. He is a holy terror. Danios make a nice addition to a community tank. Though not the most aesthetically pleasing, they are one of the most resilient fish I've kept and they are also fun to watch. Danios are easily the most active aquarium fish, as they are always zipping around (very hard to take a picture of these guys!), but they are also very peaceful. You would need at least a school of 6 of the Columbians and, as Jason pointed out, these guys can be really cheeky. You might want to rethink them, as they are better kept with equally aggressive fish like tiger barbs and serpae tetras.

I decided to do a 10 gallon planted tank (instead of the 5g) and now I have to decide what to put in the little sucker. I'm partial to cichlids and would like to see a pair of L. ocellatus in there (if I can find some, of course - do we need better fish stores in Edmonton or what?!). I've never kept Africans and I've read all over the internet that these bad boys are fine in a planted 10 gallon, but I'm looking for some 'voice-of-experience' advice. So, for those of you who've kept L. ocellatus, would a pair be ok in a 10g? And if so, can a mid-upper tank tropical fish be kept as well, such as neons or danios? How aggressive are these little shell-dwellers? And where in the heck do you find the shells for them to live in?? My pH is about 7.6 -- would this be suitable for the L. ocellatus or should it be increased? Tank Stats: 10 gallon (24 1/4 x12 1/2 x12 3/4) Temp: 77 F Filtration: AC Mini Substrate: 1 1/2" Flourite with about 1/2" Tahitian Moon Sand top layer Lighting: 2 9W compact flourescent TIA!