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This "character" is not talking about seas, he's talking about tiny bodies of water called aquariums where it is very easy to adjust the environment. Many people follow the Estimative Index of dosing for their fish tank with good results. For practical reasons I cannot follow that method (I...

Oh man, is right! Why would I remove phosphates with one product and add phosphates back in with another? I guess because you can control the level better but it seems contradictory to me.

Thanks for the reply. However, things seem to be running around in circles. I understand that phosphates can cause algae but plants need phosphates too. If you remove all the phosphates won't you starve your plants? Couldn't that result in greater algae? It's just what I've read elsewhere...

I thought about getting a quarantine tank but I just don't have the room for it. Maybe I can figure something put as I'd love to be able to have a separate tank for newcomers and sick fish.

It has been suggested to me that phosphates are the cause of the hair algae, and I actually have a bag of Phosgard that I could put in my filter. I do know that the local water company adds phosphates to the water to retard corrosion. However, others have suggested to me that by eliminating...

No, not really. It has been suggested to me that because there are phosphates in the tap water that it is the cause of the algae. However, I have also been told that that is poppycock and the phosphate is being used by the plants. I really don't know what the cause could be other than...

I posted another topic about my cockatoos when I first got them. After about 72 hours the male had died and the female developed a bulging, cloudy eye. Despite the eye problem, after a few more days the surviving female started acting much better and was eating normally. Two weeks has passed...

I'm a bit of a compulsive shopper and recently bought some things to help control algae although I'm a bit conservative when it comes to additives to the tank. I have some "AlgaeFix" made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals and was wondering if it would be effective against hair algae. Other than hair...

Over the weekend I tried to clean my tank of excess hair algae. Aside from the hair algae my tank is in pretty good condition. However, the hair was starting to grow on most of my plants and was very unsightly. It also was covering my dwarf sag, which despite staying alive for the past two...

I also find hornwort a bit messy. It does not stay put generally. I've tried a couple of different methods with it and am having decent success. I usually strip off some of the leaves at the "bottom" on a strand of it and push that end deep into the gravel. It will usually stay in place for...

How does a 20 year old JD act? Is he still fiesty or is he kind of mellow?

I feel the same way about pulling up my plants but I'm thinking it's the best way to really give my plants a good cleaning. I'll consider it like starting over. You've given me second thoughts though. As to your fishes' color if the only thing you changed was the amount of food you were...

bump...I'd like advice on this, too. This weekend I'm going to uproot my plants and try to clean them as best I can. Then I'll scrub the rocks and driftwood. My anacharis and hornwort really seems to be taking off now. Hopefully, that will be enough to outcompete the algae. I would like to...

This evening the eye definitely looked better. Pretty soon I'll be trying to find her a mate.

Update: I decided not to medicate the tank and let nature take its course. I'm happy to report the fish seems to be doing well. She is eating and active in the tank and not afraid to chase a tetra if they get in her way. However, her eye is still cloudy although it seems to be improving but...

I have a similar problem with a female dwarf cockatoo cichlid. It happened soon after being introduced into my tank. The eye swelled up or "popped" and was also cloudy. From what I've read a cloudy eye can be caused by fungus as well as bacterial infections, so it takes a bit of guesswork to...

:o Did you need to call a plumber?

Thanks for the links and tips! :D

Thanks for your reply. As you can see by my sig, I have a 30 gallon tank with two Amazon swords, vallisneria grass, anacharis, hornwort, some struggling dwarf sag covered in staghorn or green hair algae (not sure which it is), and a small java fern. What I've read so far about phosphates is...

I have 3 otos, too that I've had for three weeks now. I was also worried about keeping them because of all I've read about how delicate they are. I have a moderately planted (I would say well planted, but I've seen some of the tanks you guys have!) 30 gallon tank and they are constantly...

I just checked the water works' website and they add poly-orthophosphate to the drinking water to protect against corrosion. So it seems that the combination of the phosphates, the additional light in my tank (I went from 1.7 to 2.3), and additional fertilizer (I discontinued that for now)...

Oh, my bad! Somehow I thought it was bigger. So actually, you might be in good shape with lighting. Were you able to see how many watts the bulb is?

Thanks for the links iggy and it seems like the lfs owner was somewhat correct. It is hard to test for organic phosphates but those introduced through the tapwater, inorganic phosphates, will be detected with a good kit. It also seems that using the PhosGuard or other phosphate removing medium...

I want to know what a party mouse is? :dunno: :rofl:

Today I found a new lfs, that is closer to my house than the one I usually go to. While this one wasn't as "slick" as the other one I usually go to, this store seemed to keep their tanks in good order. I did notice one tank that had a dead fish in it, but only one, and from time to time I see...

My bristlenose changes color too. Sometimes his head turns a brilliant gold. Othertimes he gets very dark and mottled all over. Still, other times he looks like marbled milk chocolate. I think it's really cool!

Yes, ammonia should be at zero. Is the tank cycled? I would do fairly large water changes until the level goes back to zero. I also have something called a "PolyFilter" which is supposed to filter out ammonia but I never used if for that. I just put it in the tank sometimes if the fish look...

It sounds like you just don't have enough light to adequately grow plants. Amazon swords are supposed to be able to grow in low light but they don't really thrive. Any growth you have will be negated by the leaves that die on you. Also, I think it takes a while for the roots of an Amazon...

Any recommendations as to brands/types?

Light is the most important factor and not the length of time the lights are on but the watts per gallon. Also, it seems to me that in a newly established tank the plants don't do as well. They probably need the nitrates from the nitrogen cycle. I did something similar to you and put a...

I have a 30 gallon and use the AquaClear 70. The water is pretty clear, especially after I added a second sponge.

I'm not a fan of medication and I'd be worried that the meds would screw up the tank worse than it already is. After all, there are no meds in the fish's natural environment. Hopefully, she'll pull through and she does seem to be getting better.

Thanks for the tip. I'd rather be as conservative as possible with the fish. I went to my lfs this afternoon to see if they had any advice and to double check on my water. They checked my water for me and all seemed fine. Unfortunately, the guy I usually deal with wasn't there and I talked...

Yes, water quality is good and I have been doing more water changes than usual since the death of the male. ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5 pH 7.0 - 7.2 These are the normal parameters for the tank and have been this way since cycling. However, I did have a pH spike earlier in the week and for...

I bought a pair of cockatoo cichlids about a week ago. Unfortunately, the male died after a few days. I thought I was going to lose the female too because she was exhibiting the same symptoms - hiding, inactivity, lack of appetite. However over the past few days she seems to have come around...

That is exactly what I'm proposing. Why did you decide to do it in the first place? Did it have the desired effect? Why did you stop doing it?

Thanks for your replies. First, the less I have to do with the tank the better. I am not averse to putting time into the hobby, in fact I enjoy the time I spend working on my tank, it's just that my time is limited. However, I never considered adding peat moss to be so much of a chemical...

Welcome! Fairly new to the hobby myself and although some things are trial and error, I found the information on this site invaluable in preventing a lot of mistakes. I've had a tank up and running for about two months now with live fish for about 5 weeks. So far, I've only experienced one...

As I've researched the fish I have or would like to keep, I've come to find that my preferred fish, and South American fish in general, prefer softer, more acidic water. Now from what I understand using peat moss can slightly lower pH and slightly acidify water. I know that the higher the pH...

Good luck with your cockatoos. I hope you have better luck with your orange flash than I did. My female seems to be doing well now. I suppose I'll get another pair of cockatoos if my lfs gets more in. So you have 3 cockatoos and a pair of rams in the same tank? I have a 30 gallon and was...