maligne

Cool thanks every one for the solid advice

ya im pretty sure the test results are good, although my test kit is getting old. I tested my tank parameters last night and it tested .25ppm. Of course It was not a huge deal because I used a good dose of prime. I never have ammonia in my tank. Iv had it running for 2 years under stocked with a large canister filter. I threw some ammonia remover in then I checked my tap water 3 times and it was at 50ppm every time. I checked it again this morning and my tap is still at 50 and my tank is now at zero

I have 4 blue acaras now, I feed them North fin krill gold and Community formula with a little NLS and frozen brine shrimp and blood worms. I would really like to start feeding them some fresh foods. I feed my dog fresh meats and veggies because its good for her and the same must be true for my fish. I have read that people chop up pieces of shrimp and mussel, I read a blog where a person said he feeds beef heart. Im also interested in live foods. Earth worms in the summer time? can I feed whole earth worms or do you chop them up first. What do you folks do? any solid advice would be appreciated!!! Worm cultures? is that just for fry or do the adults eat them too?

To add to that. I have some fluval ammonia remover kicking around. does any one know if will it help my filter remove the ammonia that has been nuetralized by my seachem prime.

Hey all. I have noticed a recent spike in the levels of ammonia in my tap water. Checked it today and its at .50ppm. What do you do this time of year. double dose prime. pre filter your water??

Thank you! that's kind of what I figured

Im going to plant my tank so I thought I would post this here. Cycled. I understand the nitrogen cycle that needs no explanation. But I here the words established and mature thrown around a lot. Are they just different words for the same thing? or do they have different meanings all together

Its hard water. it sits at 7.8ph

Hey all. I have a 55 running right now with two electric blue acaras. I have some fake plants some drift wood and rock work. I am going to add more tank mates and I was hoping I could get some great stocking ideas from the experienced folk. What would you suggest that I do with it?

Ya im not expecting to be algae free but the 55 turned into a big mess and I worked hard to combat it. Everything in my tank was brown. I used pool filter sand originally and I thought it was silicates from that that was causing my problem but it wasn't I used it in my 15 gallon with no problem. I actually like the little spots of green algae I get on my rocks and stuff. Its a pretty colour and it gives my tank a natural character that I appreciate. Its the brown slim that I hate. The black algae was black beard algae and it is what actually caused me to tear the planted tank down it basically killed all my plants. A lot of this happened after I stopped dosing ferts. It was a low tech tank with anubius java fern and some jungle val. Im just running a cichlid tank right now. now live plants just fake. I have a pair of acara's . once I get things sorted out I would like to slowly introduce live plants again starting with the anubius. Thanks for your replies!! its helpful

Iv had my 55 gallon set up for almost two years now. Iv gone through lots of phases. It started out as a planted tank and I had a glorious honey moon phase for about 4 months and then the diatoms came. I thought I tried everything to get rid of them. Water changes chemical filtration, cleaning. I spent a lot of money and eventually ripped all my plants out because they where covered in diatoms and black algae. I did hours upon hours of research. Last year I set up a second 15 gallon tank right beside the 55 and I ran it for a long time and I never had a spec of anything. It was always crystal clear. The only thing that I did different was the light. On the 55 gallon problem tank I used a fluval led strip that came with the kit it is 8000k. on the other tank I was using a cheap 6 inch national geographic led strip Temperature unknown. I shut down the 15 and switched the lights in November and have not had a problem on the 55 since. The light is attached to the 15 gallon hood and is not ideal for the 55. So my question is Why? and I need a new light what should I get? I have been looking at the current led satellite plus. .. Cheers

I was thinking about this the this week. I need sun light or I get depressed. Here in Canada the winter months can be hard in part because they are dark. I have done a fair bit of scuba diving over seas. Most of the life in the sea lives in the zone that allows the most light to penetrate. So I have to wonder, are my fish depressed? are they lacking something fundamental because they live a life of artificial led light?

Awsome that's what I thought I just wanted to hear it from some one el's. I soaked em in bleach and then ran them through the dish washer. Should be good!! Thanks again Cheers!

I spent the week end up at the cottage and collected a bunch of rocks for my tank. I did a bunch of research and went out to home depot and purchased a small bottle of muriatic acid. I applied the acid in a small spot to every rock to check for carbonate hardness. Now that I have done this I cant find much info about how to clean the acid off of the rocks before I put them in the tank. Just wash them in water? I have them soaking right now. I only used a few drops per rock so not very much. Has any one done this before? cheers Tim

Thanks for all the info!!!. they went back into the substrate after I did a water change and a sand vac. I fed brine shrimp again last night and they where all over the glass again this morning, What kind of snails will eat these guys?

It actually looks like it may be Nematodes. How do I get rid of these guys

I have a small tank set up with S. Similis and some fry right now. I went to the pet store and picked up some Baby Brine shrimp eggs. I hatched them and yesterday I fed them to my fish and the gobbled them up. I may have over fed them a little bit. This morning I went and took a close look at the tank and I have small white worms crawling all over my glass. Not swimming like a shrimp but stuck to the glass slowly moving and sliding along the tank. Research told me the shrimp would not survive very long in a fresh water set up any way. The only thing I changed was the food. nothing else was introduced tot he system? Any thoughts on this? has any one had a similar experience? Does any one know what they could be?

Thanks again Jason im going to do some research on those species you listed!

Hey all. I have a 55 Gallon going right now, I have two acaras and a small colony of L Similis. The acara's don't bother the Shellie’s but the Shellie’s aren't as active as they were when they were by the selves. Especially the smaller females. They don't stray very far from their shells now that they are in with my acara's. I am thinking about taking the Acaras out of the 55 and turning it into a small Tanganyika Community. I was wondering if any of you experienced Tanganyika enthusiasts could maybe give me some stalking ideas? Looking forward to what you have to say Thanks a bunch Cheers

Sweet, My acaras try to spawn on a regular basis but they just cant seem to get the job done. I'm pretty sure one is male and one is female but maybe they are both males and they are just confused. in any case Ill give this a try

Sweet! thanks I will try that next time I do a WC

I have read that raising the temperature on my tank may help to get my fish interested in breeding. Should I turn it down first and then raise it back up. should it be a slow change or should it be rather sudden? What are your thoughts?

I have a pair of electric blue acara. They are alone in a 55 gallon tank and they try to breed on a regular basis. the female never actually produces eggs. I have read that techniques such as raising the water temp and introducing live food can help. I currently feed them NLS Cichlid and North fin community pellets. I do 50% water change once a week and they go crazy after the water change but still nothing. If any one can give me any advice it would be appreciated! Cheers

cool thanks again!

Hi All. So I am raising two l. similis fry. I wasn't sure wht to feed them so I went out and bought some Hikari first bites. Every thing I have read said you should feed your fry a mixed diet. Is there anything wrong with raising them on first bites alone until they can eat the same pellets ( north fin and nls ) as every one els?