joeysgreen

Thanks guys; it is a 48" x 13" x 17" aquarium. It has a Fluval LED Ultra bright light on top and a Fluval 306 filter. Now the girls are saying they like the looks of gouramis. It looks like we will be keeping our emerald corydora, mosaic corydora, and our unidentified pleco's that seem to have max'd out at 3-4 inches. They stay under a rock shelf all the time. I also think I'm winning the battle towards a planted aquarium. Did a bunch of water testing today (another area that was lacking) and we have high nitrate and phosphates. Ammonia= 0 Calcium = 160ppm GH/KH = 480/20 Iron = 0 (free and chelated) Nitrate = 110ppm Nitrite = < 0.1 pH = 6.5 Phosphate = >5.0 Because of the corydoras, if you have any suggestions of attractive, northern South American community fish I would love to hear them. Otherwise it'll be a "mixed earth" aquarium again. (like a ditch in Florida!) I'd like to add some tetras, but larger fish would be appreciated by all. For the change-over; can I mix in some plant appropriate substrate with the gravel we currently have or is it best to do a complete overhaul? Do you still vacuum the substrate with plants? How do you not uproot them? Suggestions on plant substrate would be appreciated; I'll also be browsing the other sections of the forum for info. Thanks again for all the help. I am admittedly a herptile guy and a novice fish keeper. I really need to master this stuff. Ian

Hello everyone, My name is Ian and I am an animal health technologist. I've been on these forums sporadically and recommend them to fish keepers all the time. I work in a veterinary clinic that has a large exotic caseload and am currently working towards my specialty in exotic companion animals (this includes fish). As a clinic, we have several staff members taking continueing education courses in fish medicine. As an aside, we have had a fish tank in our reception area for many years. It contained a hodgepodge of various fish, and while clean and well functioning, not a lot of research went into animal selection. We did have a good balance, but with the death of a large tinfoil barb our community has been at war! Long story short, we have rehomed many of the fish and are looking to start over, perhaps from scratch. I don't know yet if we will continue with the plastic plant-type set up or if we will be able to begin a fully functioning planted aquarium. We do have some key demands to meet in our selection; the aquarium has to be relatively easy to maintain (during busy stretches time can sometimes be quite limited), and clients really enjoy brightly coloured fish that don't mind being out in the open. I would appreciate any suggestions as to good fish communities that fit this scenario. I would like to limit adult size to about 4-5 inches; the tinfoil barbs were a little to large for this tank in my opinion. I like the idea of keeping all of the fish from a certain region, like a South American tank. My first thought was to set up a South American cichlid tank and am currently looking into how they get along with each other and if they'll do okay with a planted aquarium. Thank you,

Hello ACE, I have your banner left at the ERAS Spring Reptile Expo. It is in our storage locker. Please contact me via president@edmontonreptiles.com to arrange pickup. Thanks for coming and having your table with us Ian Kanda, President Edmonton Reptile and Amphibian Society

Thanks guys. I had the Jordanella on my list to inquire about, as well as the two pigmy sunfish. What about the golden top minnow, Fundulus chrysolus? Are these species that are available in the trade? They all do well in community type aquariums? All the help is appreciated Ian

I am working on a project to build my Florida Redbelly Cooter (Pseudomys nelsoni) enclosure into a large community type vivarium. The turtle has no interest in eating live food (flora or fauna), and is normally quite vegetarian as an adult. I may also incorporate a rocky spring/stream, but the main water body will be an aquarium approximately 5 1-2' long by 20 inches wide and 30" tall. I hope to keep it largely vegetated however this can be difficult with a robust turtle. Does anyone have a good reference for freshwater fish species that may be a good candidate for this type of set up? I don't want anything too large, and want native Floridian species, non-introduced. I appreciate any help you may be able to offer, thank you Ian

What are bb's? Were the rotifers and copopods that you tried frozen or live?

The bug was eating my newt larvae when small, it's gone now! The worms are blackworms and when harvested out of the gravel they make awesome feeders! My newts absolutely loved them! Ian

I didn't think it would be a dragonfly larvae with a short, flat and round abdomen like that. If I see it again I'll try to siphon it out into a seperate cage to see if it grows into something. Ian

I have two planted tanks that have been going for 2-3 months now. One, with a simple gravel bottom has these worms growing in the substrate. Do you think they came in with the gravel (meant for growing plants), or the plants themselves? It looks like only the one tank has them; the other, has a mixture of different gravel and some sort of little brown balls meant for plants. So one might think they came in with the gravel, but perhaps the substrate just doesn't support them in the other cage. Nonetheless, I'm not worried in the least about them. They probably cycle a lot of waste, and if the newts can catch them, would make a nice snack. On that matter, the worms are up to about 4cm long x 1mm wide and sit with their tails sticking out of the substrate 1-2cm. Upon touching they dissappear in a flash. Any idea as to what these are? The second oddball has me a little more concerned but I don't want to jump to a conclusion that it's a predator. It's slightly over 1cm long (guestimate) and has only been seen once sitting on some wood that's very old and slowly degrading. It almost looks like a 3wk old aquatic cricket! Have you seen anything like this before? Thanks for any help and insight, Ian

Hi everyone, I have a tonne of Pleurodeles waltl larvae and more eggs being laid every day. They are 7mm long and about 1mm wide. I was directed here in hopes of finding a culture of microworms that I could buy. If anyone has some please let me know! Here's some pic's that I have to share, Thank you, Ian

Hello, my son Anthony has 11 goldfish in a 20 gallon tank. They are growing bigger. What size of an enclosure would be good for them? Thanks kindly, Ian

Thanks guys, I got what I need and will reassess my son's enclosure. Ian Does not stop african cichlids... Wouldn't stop people either.

Hello everyone, I'm not a superbly active member of this forum and hope this isn't a regularly stirred topic but I have a question regarding my son's goldfish. I know that not every species has growth limited by the size of the enclosure but IME goldfish or feeder comets definately are. My son recently got an already established aquarium setup (20gallon I think) with 11 goldfish in it. I am curious to see the current view on the ethics of keeping a fish small to suite an enclosure. Do many fish species suscribe to this trait? Are the fish harmed, suffer, or have reduced lifespans because of such? Do they breed at this miniscule size? Breeding isn't an endeaver by any means, but my curiousity around all facets of this issue is growing. Thanks kindly for your words of wisdom Ian

These are the beautiful Thamnophis radix, the plains garter snake. My absolute favorite garter snake. The other ones on the ERAS site are Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis or the red sided garter snake. The plain's range extends up Edmonton and to the East. Common in the plains and aspen parkland area. The red sided garter ranges to the west of the province and the entire northern half up into the territories. They are also common in the aspen parkland, and up throughout the boreal forest. The third species in Alberta is the wandering garter snake, Thamnophis vagrans elegans. It ranges throughout the south side of the province and up the very west side as it's very common throughout BC. They commonly den with the plains garter, but as you've seen, arn't always there. The only other den that I personally am aware of is getting to popular for it's own good. I build this sign to try and protect the area a bit with passive education. Ran out of money and ERAS thankfully paid for most of it so it could be up for this season, thanks ERAS! I hope I'm not being overly forward, not being a regular on this forum and all, but would you welcome a visitor to your densite? I'm a bit of a reptile nut and an avid "field herper". Thanks for the consideration Ian There are a few different species of garter snakes that live here, which explains the different colorations.

hey guys sorry for abandoning my post. It's been a busy holiday season. I thought I had lots of hides, but the big one isn't satisfied with just one or two. Now that I"ve seen how they divide the tank into there territories, I see that the smaller one has the rock stand covered in plastic plants, and the big bastard (his new name ) gets under the big rock, on the big rock, in front of it by the glass, and everything to the west... meaningless without pictures I know but the tank is devided about 2/3 to 1/3 for each crayfish. Whenever I grab the camera they've already gone into hiding. As for the species, the petstore just said they were the everyday, normal crayfish. That's all they could tell me. I kinda wanted better then that in case I needed to replenish breeding stalk, but as of yet, that hasn't been so much of a problem. Thanks again for any tips, and again for the website link, I've bookmarked it Ian

Hey guys, when I first joined this forum in September it was to learn a bit about aquatic systems. It has helped a bit, but I'm still runn'n a bit of a problem. I have crayfish, interesting pets, but I'd like to breed them as an additional turtle food source. I originally bought five, and have kept them in an airated, seclusive and large tank. Still, predictable results and I'm down to two. One has tripled in size and is a monster... I'll get pics shortly. The other is about the same size as when I bought it, but actually gets food more often because it's area of the tank is more accessable for me to drop pellets in. I rarely see the monster, although coincidently he's out and more active of recent. Thanks for any tips you have on sexing, breeding, and just getting them to flourish as opposed to living. Ian

Hey everyone, what do you guys use for live prey if you use it? I'm talking smaller than feeder fish, something that won't kill all the plants too fast, and won't immediately die and soil that tank. I have some firebelly newts that are finding it a bit difficult to locate food sticks now that they are in a natural environment. Thanks for your help Ian

Most parasites are not transfereable from species to species. So humans are generally safe from most pets. Does anyone ever run fecal samples on their fish? Might help with identifications. (albeit when the worms are hanging out like this, you have means to identify visually.) Ian

I wish I knew what kind of crayfish I bought, the store just called them ordinary crayfish. When asked for a latin name to ensure any future purchases were the same species, they just assured me that it's always the same species. (unless of course labeled something special like bluecrayfish) My tank is about 3-1/2 feet long by 1 foot, by 18 inches high. I don't know gallon measurements. The water is about 12 inches deep, and they have used the uncovered peaks, half in and half out of the water. If they all grow to size, I realize I'll have to get a larger cage, but my intents are for them to breed so I can add variety to my turtles diet. Don't get me wrong though, they themselves are very interesting pets. So far they don't seem to stress each other out too much. They all have their favorite space in the tank. I have an air pump I'll throw in tonight, and am looking for a filter as well but that might be a week or two away still. Ian

Thanks guys, yer awesome Ian

They were sooo neat in there territorial disputes at Big Al's in Edmonton. I bought 5, hoping for a mix of males and females. I threw in a bunch of different sized rocks, created caves and cover, tossed in a big plastic plant and filled it 3/4's with water. They look happy and healthy with the exception of one which died the first night. (I sure hope they don't look dead when preparing to shed... ). The petstore said they ate pretty much anything, but I bought some frozen mysis shrimp until they became accustomed to the trout chow that I have for them. Do they need anything else? A water bubbler to oxygenate the water? A filter or water changes? Do they eat live plants? I guess the big question is if any of you know of a care sheet I can whip off the printer for these guys. Thanks a bunch Ian

First, it's a minimum of 2 years prevet university, but often more. THen it's a 4 year cram session of books and practical learning in a vet college. So minimally 6 years to be a vet. Specialization is a different story, and will depend on what you want to specialize in and what avenues you will take to acheive this. Second, past experiences are a poor excuse to shun an entire profession as important as animal health; especially if they are a friends, or a friend of a friends ect. as you're getting only a slanted side of the story. In addition, veterinary medicine is ever evolving, and what was the norm 5 years ago likely isn't the same. If you do'nt like or trust the vet you have with the species you're working with, then find one you do. Furthermore, it's impossible to know everything, and the best vets realize this. If your vet is quick with answers to everything off the top of his head, I"d perhaps question it a bit more than one who likes to research and double check. "aside from diagnostic equipment and meds, I know more on both herps and fish than any of the local vets...it is the vets who come to me, sadly." Consider that there are 6500 species of reptiles and considerable more species of fish, do you really expect a vet to be an expert on the care, husbandry and breeding of all these? With most exotic species readily available in the pet trade, it's up to the owner to be the expert on care, while the veterinarian can apply medical advice as an umbrella over many species. The vet SHOULD however, have a keen interest in the animals they see and be versed enough to be able to relate husbandry problems to medical health. An easy example is a recovering reptile should be at the higher end of it's thermogradient. The vet will recommend this, but perhaps not know that with a uroplatus this is only 78C. An aside from all this pessimism more and more vets are signing onto the veterinary information network. This is a subscription, vet-only resource site that allows your local vet to work with the ictho and herpo specialists in California, Florida, and elsewhere. They have paid specialists from every field standing buy to discuss cases; as well as online classes (I"ve taken, and especially enjoyed Basic Reptile Medicine), and a resource database that is verging on colossal. There was a recent Intermediate Fish Medicine class available, but I"d already spent all of my CE money I enjoy this thread, and the discussions evolving from it. Ian

While it's disheartening to see the obvious gap between owners and veterinarians with these animals, I see where it's coming from. For reptiles, phone around and find a vet that you trust with your herps and then stick with them. Then the money will be well spent. see www.arav.com For fish, sadly, I don't know what to recommend. As per the billing question/comment. The Alberta Veterinary Medical Association has a recommended billing guide. More and more vets are following this +/- a little bit, while others still feel low cutting prices is the way to go. In my experience, this also low cuts service. Ian

As many of you are aware my background is in reptiles. I am also an animal health technologist and working slowing to get into vet school. Now that you know this, you'll know that I kinda slant everything to a vet med/doctor-patient viewpoint. With reptiles, people often don't take them to the vet for many reasons (albiet usually money) and want to treat things on their own. This often involves potentially dangerous medications, and procedures that cross the line into animal cruelty. Now that I"m entering the world of aquaria, I see what I've already known to be true, and that's self medicating, and recently discussed, self sedating ect. Fish are different in that it's even more difficult to find a fish vet than a reptile vet. I do understand why fish enthusiasts treat things at home, but my question is where do you draw the line? What would you do if things "got over your head"? Are there any vets that you use? Thanks for the insight Ian

Now I did a bit of look'n around online and they said they couldn't do much harm to an adult person... 650 volts but only 1 amp. Any recorded deaths? Ian