Osprey

Traded in some apple snails at the LFS for some macroalgae... Chaeto for my sump, and some grape caulerpa, which I've always liked the look of. However, knowing its tendency to get weedy and the possibility of the stuff going sexual and killing everything in the tank, I'm not willing to put it in my main display tank. On the other hand, I have a bare-bottomed QT tank that could use some decoration... Here's the tank as it was: I couldn't just dump the stuff into the tank; it needs something to grow on. But I don't want to add rocks to the tank either, because they will absorb any medications I have to add. So I decided to attempt to grow the caulerpa on a plastic trellis. I had some random pieces of eggcrating left over from other projects, and I put these together to make a trellis to grow the stuff on: Then I wound the caulerpa through! I hope that the caulerpa will grow well on the plastic lattice; I don't know if anyone has attempted this before. I'm hoping it will grow in nice and thick so that there's something to look at in the tank and make the fish feel more sheltered. PVC pipes and bare-bottomed tanks always look so cold. I'll have to keep a careful eye on the caulerpa; the lighting isn't going to be on 24/7, so the odds of the stuff going sexual are increased.

That's the major thing. More light will require you to fertilize. If you're not planning ferts, stick to a low-light tank. Too much light and no nutrients will result in crappy looking plants.

My apologies; I had typed out a response, and then the system deleted everything when I tried to add a link. I ran out of time to re-type everything (which I always find annoying, anyway). Here are some responses, but as mentioned, you'll need to do a lot of research on your own, beyond forum inquiries. The books mentioned by Finaddict are excellent, so is www.wetwebmedia.com Get live rock from a number of different areas for greater bio-diversity, if you can. Every rock type has it's bonuses and quirks. If you buy your rock pre-cured, it won't take long before your tank will be cycled, but if you buy it from a shipper that transports everything dry, it will reek up the house for a long time. Rubbermaid tubs are good for curing rock in (make sure you include a powerhead for flow). You can buy anywhere from 1-2 lbs per gallon, depending on the type of rock and your livestock list. If you don't want to have to buy a lot of rock, stay well away from obligate 'pod eaters, like dragonets and scooter blennies. You'll need powerheads (yes, multiple powerheads). The goal in a reef tank is random, turbulent flow. You can accomplish this by pointing the heads directly at each other. I recommend buying Tunze powerheads. One powerhead alone will create laminar flow, which is likely to damage corals. If you get a T-5, make sure it has a parabolic reflector. There's no point in buying a T-5 with a rectangular one, it may as well be any other type of ordinary fluorescent. Softies are fine under T-5's... stonies might be more demanding. I believe clams require MH (or LED, but that's uber-expensive). If you're thinking about MH, make sure you take the increased heat into account; you may end up needing to buy a chiller. You'll need to thoroughly research livestock choices. However, cleaner shrimp are a good choice, as are the smaller clowns (like the percs you mentioned). I would also suggest the royal gramma and bangaii cardinal as good options for a reef tank your size. Make sure you get a good skimmer... can't stress that enough.

As I was preparing to leave for Easter (left Thursday, got back late today), I noticed a small growth on the fin of one of my female gourami. I spent a few indecisive moments considering my options, and eventually decided that there was nothing I could do about it until after the holidays. I couldn't cancel my trip home to visit with family, and although the person who was coming over to feed my fish and top up my water level (SW tanks) is good at following instructions, there was no way she'd be up to maintaining a QT tank. So I left, banishing the matter to a small corner of my mind and trying to figure out what the potential problem was. Before I left, I did a water test on my 46 gallon (NH3=0, NO2=0, NO3=40, which is high, pH=7.8 ) and a 50% water change... the apple snails in the tank have created a massive bioload, so I do weekly large water changes, in addition to growing floating plants like duckweed and water sprite (which I remove periodically for nutrient export). When I returned, the poor fish had tumors all over her body, and some of them have turned into angry, raised red weals. My fish-sitter hadn't even noticed them . In addition, my two other gourami have also developed tumors, though none as severe as the first infected. I promptly set up a hospital tank to isolate them, and ran the usual water tests again on the 46. Surprise, surprise... I had an ammonia spike (0.1). I started into another large water change, and had removed about 15 gallons when I realized that something was wrong with the filter... instead of the cascade that normally pours forth from my AC70, there was a steady drip. The new filter guard I installed a week and a half ago had clogged. Guess that explains the ammonia. I think it's a good thing I had duckweed in the tank, or it could have been worse (the stuff quadrupled in size while I was gone, covering the entire surface). Strangely, the rest of my fish, including my hyper-sensitive rummy-nosed tetras, seem fine. Because of that, I'm not willing to write off the lesions on my gourami as being based solely on water conditions; I'm inclined to suspect that there is a more malignant disease at work. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly the 'disease guru'; my fish are generally healthy, so diagnosis isn't my forte. Ignore the white/gray circles; they’re either bubbles on the side of the plastic tub, or a trick of the light. At first, the tumors are a pinkish cream, but the largest one is now a nasty red. When I saw the first one, I thought it was a parasite (like an anchorworm). I've been trying to get better pictures, but so far, they're all terrible. Lighting in a QT tank isn't normally a high priority. I’d hate to think it’s TB, but I’ll euthanize the poor things if I have to. Is it possible for a borderline ammonia reading, accompanied by high nitrates, to cause this sort of symptom? I hate to think of myself as negligent, but if it's just water quality, at least that's something I know how to fix.

That's awful. My sympathies. I've actually heard rumors of brittle stars spawning and killing off the tank; apparently they can release something toxic into the water when they spawn. Can't for the life of me remember where I heard that, though. So sorry for your loss.

Don't order anything out of stock on aquariumplants... they substitute their orders without warning (you'll end up with an enormous tub of java moss instead, just like I did). If you're going to order something out of stock from them, send an email.

Some reference books are a good investment, as well. Order them in from the local library if you don't want to buy them. I recommend starting with The Concientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner. Reading through the databases on www.wetwebmedia.com is also a good starting point. Decide which fish are 'must-haves', and work your tank around them. As mentioned, a good skimmer is essential. Also, unless you want to keep a bare-bottomed tank, you'll want some aragonite sand (or similar calcium based substrate) to keep the pH up; FW gravel isn't really good for SW tanks.

The trap door rule isn't particularly accurate. I've seen snails survive without a trap door (only if the tank is free of predators), and many die with the door intact. Smell is pretty key. It doesn't take them long to develop a funky stench. If they're brigs, it should be too difficult to find a replacement... depending on how attached your daughter is to these particular snails. She might not care to find out they've been replaced while she was gone. Better to talk it over with her, I think. I've got some magenta and dark purple brigs at adult size, if you're interested (picked up a few too many for breeding purposes!). The babies are still too small to sell. There's a few local stores that sell Canas, too, if that was the species... I know Riverfront often has them, and it seems to me that Colby brought some nice ones in recently. If they're something rarer, like A. spixi or something, Melody's the one to call.

What the heck... the weir fell out of place? Nevermind... I see the crack in the bottom. Nasty. Makes me nervous... I have the same type of tank! EDIT: Looked it up, pretty sure I have an All-Glass Aquarium. Not the same thing. *deep breath* Sorry to hear about your tank.

I brought home a 36", 20000k LED Solaris light fixture this Friday. Colby figured I'm probably the first person in the Calgary area to own one. I spent a fair amount of time playing around with it before I got around to taking pictures. The light intensity is equal (or nearly equal) there is some debate on that subject) to that of a Metal Halide, but without the heat. The bells and whistles that come with this light are amazing. Digital internal temperature control, cloud cover programs, optional lunar and solar cycles, plus full control over the spectrum of your lighting... there are probably more that I'm forgetting. The price? $2100. I know what you're thinking... more money than brains. But I did the math, and with bulb replacements alone (doesn't include electrical savings), this fixture will pay for itself in less than five years. Long-term, it is a savings. Plus I couldn't have MH in my house, too much heat. This is the best way for me to be able to grow stonies. Here are a few of the different spectrum possibilities... anything from a warm white to a deep, cool blue. Pardon the blinds reflecting in the tank glass...I couldn't see that reflection in my camera's screen. What you can't see in a still picture is that the Solaris also produces the same 'rippling' effect as MH. I don't think it's as pronounced, though. I don't have any corals yet (previous lighting was too wimpy for corals). But I'll be buying some shortly after Easter, and I'll keep everyone posted on how things turn out. For additional (and much more scientific) info on the Solaris, check out Dana Riddle's thorough study on the capabilities of this light. Does anyone know of a good insurance provider for home aquaria? I think I've passed the point of no return...

I'll bite. I have: 1 Farlowella acus 3 otocinlus 4 corydoras habrosus Not much, but the ones I have are fun.

Brigs and canas will do this too. Kind of creepy.

Awesome! It's so good to hear success stories with these fish. Keep us posted.

Technically, they're a brackish fish. Not quite the same thing.

I have a pair of the coralife gloves. I, too, find that there isn't much sensitivity in the fingers. If I'm handling rock, I wear them. But if I'm adding livestock or something (feather dusters, etc), I use my bare hands. I always worry that I'll hurt them without realizing it. My hands are very dry a lot of the time, so putting my hands in the tank can sting a little bit without gloves. I'm glad I have the coralifes. But the Lee valley gloves look like an interesting alternative! They don't look as long, though... in a tall tank, could you stretch right down to the bottom and not get wet? ps... my sister always says that I look like I'm about to assist in a calving with them on...

The visitherm stealth is a fully submersible, high-quality heater. I like them; they're useful in sumps, and when you want the heater along the bottom of the tank so it stays less visible. They have a life-time warranty, as well.

Which treatment did you end up using, Paul? You're not out of the woods yet. Ich has a dormant stage; it can hibernate as cysts in the gravel. It will probably come back for another cycle. Raising the temperature forces the ich to speed up it's life cycle, giving the ich parasites less time to find a host (so they starve to death). I have actually cured ich with heat alone in the past. Keep the temperature raised; when you don't see any signs of ich for three weeks, you'll know you're in the clear.

Make sure you keep the old filter running while you add the new one! Otherwise, cycling will have to start over from scratch.

Check your temperature. Could be a heater gone haywire.

Depends on the betta. If he's mild mannered, go for it. I have heard of bettas that can empty a tank of even ghost shrimp in short order, though. :boxed: Mine has been fine with his Amano shrimp in a ten gallon, but he's always been very peaceful.

The 'small' angel fish won't stay that way. They will grow to a length of six inches, not counting the fins. The gourami you mention are colour variants of the same species of dwarf gourami (colisa lolia). I wouldn't recommend trying to keep two males together (so settle for one colour variant or the other; don't try to keep both. The females are silver). Sometimes gouramis work out ok with angels, but sometimes the two species wage war against each other... particularly if there are multiple angels in the tank. If you're keeping a single angel as a centerpiece fish, you may be able to keep some gourami with it. But be careful. Make sure you have another tank to move the gourami to, just in case.

Gorgeous. I love emersed plants. Keep on neglecting! lol

Here's my 10 gallon high light... still a work in progress. The only fish in this tank so far is my betta, Simon. I also have 5 amano shrimp (visible on the glass and on the bottom front of the tank) and numerous MTS. I wanted galaxy rasbora for this tank, but now they're endangered in the wild, so I'm holding off until commercial breeding is established (though I may just get impatient and get some endler's instead... we'll see). I also plan to get some pygmy cories. (I know that results in a heavily stocked tank, but there should be enough plants to compensate ) The dark stuff on the bottom level is aquasoil that's being rebellious and spreading all over the place. I'm divided on what to do about that; I'm hoping that once the plants have grown in a little more, the soil will stay put. Otherwise, I may switch out the playground sand for some Tahitian Moon Sand (it's black, so it'll blend in a little better). The plant in the middle level is pearlgrass; it was substituted for the H. callitrichoides that I had ordered, and I don't much care for the growth habit... a little too brambly for my tastes. So Colby (at Elite) is ordering some in for me, and when I get it, I'll switch species. The lights are regular old screw-in compact fluorescents. I dose with Flourish Excel and I have fertilizer tabs in the substrate, but I'm trying to avoid water column fertilizers for the sake of my shrimp.

:thumbs: Awesome. Thanks for sharing it!

She, actually. :P Yeah, yeah, I know... how many girls get into SW, anyway, right?