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See my post a few posts up :D The reason it can't be treated is because it's the handling stress that is the problem.

What you are describing is specific to cichlid breeding, rainbows do it differently. They aren't good parents, they simply lay their eggs in a suitable spot, then move on. The eggs are fertilized as they are laid. Here's a youtube video that shows some courting behavior: Boesemani breeding...

Enjoy: And a short video:

That would depend on the species. Some go for more than that, especially if their line can be traced back to their original collection location and date. It all depends on who you get them from. Farm raised fish are cheaper, but sometimes they are hybrids and they probably suffered a lot of...

To have someone as intelligent as yourself support a product so passionately at least gives me hope that this one might actually work. I hope it does, it can only benefit the hobby as a whole. Imagine if all those people who failed once and gave up got it to work the first time. It would be a...

WD is right (as always eh?) Terry always has the ability to look at things from a broader perspective (and can get nitty gritty with the science too!) Since we are sharing our backgrounds.... I graduated from high school with many credits towards college (yay AP classes) with biology and...

Exactly.

I grab a few out of the bag, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to defrost them and soften them up a bit, remove the outer shell, and mash up the insides just before I drop it in the tank.

You guys are beating an apparently dead horse here. It would be nice to have a bb product that works, and the research should continue. Until they make it "idiot proof" the products will still get a bad rap. Bio-Spira (the refrigerated kind) took care of that plain and simple. The only...

Better than any bottled bacteria is media out of a healthy cycled tank added to your filter. This will cycle you quickly and safely without any risk to your fish or your wallet. Using donated media can cut your cycle in half.

Exactly. Stable > perfect pH

If it is really bloated, then the epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) will help in the short term, but I would still feed peas a few times a week.

a pH of 7.6 is perfectly fine for most fish. In fact, some people keep discus at that pH or higher and discus are probably the most sensitive fish in the hobby.

Believe it or not, the best thing for this is frozen green peas. You defrost them in a little water in the microwave, remove the outer shell and mush up the insides to feed to your fish. Feed these a few times a week and you shouldn't have any problems with constipation.

bah double post.

If their genes are good and they are kept properly, yes. However, I don't wan't to take a chance with mine so I buy mine from private breeders.

Sounds as if the person who sold you those doesn't know too much about rainbows. I can tell male from female 80% of the time when they are only about 5 weeks old, and 99% when they reach 8 weeks. The telltale sign of a male rainbow is they have 2 dorsal fins and with the males the first dorsal...

The species I can identify include G. incisus, M. australis, M. boesemani, what apprears to be 2 M. lacustris females, and I'm not sure if that is actually a true G. wanamensis or not they are very rare in the hobby and usually command a premium price.

M. kamaka

I've waited to post in this thread because frankly I can't make up my mind. If we are to say our favorite rainbow species that we have kept, my favorite are M. lacustris. If we are talking about of all the species, I would have to pick M. kamaka.

pH is unimportant for rainbows. In the wild they are found in water having a range of pH, from 5.0 to 9.0 I'm sure your pH isn't above this. Ok, let me share some more details about these wonderful fish. They are an easy fish to keep provided you meet a few criteria: 1. Perform at least...

Yeah, the larger one will eat cherry shrimp and possibly the cardinals. M. kamaka, M. parva or any of the Pseudomagil species (blue eyes) should go well though.

Rainbows are mid to top dwelling fish, although they can be found all over the tank. Rainbows have medium sized mouths but their throat is narrow keeping them from eating small fish. I kept an angel with my rainbows. They pretty much just ignore other species if you keep at least 6...

My M. lacustris In this video you can sorta see what kind of an active colorful display this species has. Turquoise rainbows are known for having a blazing orange to white stripe that runs along the top of their head. They can control this "breeding stripe" and they can turn it on and off in...

Yeah, a large group of rainbows would look great, and they love current in their tank. M. boesemani rainbows get pretty large as well as G. incisus and M. lacustris.

I would be interested in seeing this too. If they can get it right this would boost the entire fish industry as more beginners would have success the first time and remain interested in the hobby. I love a good discussion, even if I am wrong. That just gives me an opportunity to learn and share.

Results 1 day after the power outage: .5 ppm ammonia, 2.0 ppm nitrite. It seems that I haven't lost them all, just a minor setback.

Disaster! Last night we had severe thunderstorms, and the power went off while I was asleep, and I woke up a little late and skipped my morning test. Come to find out my filter didn't prime when the power came on and half of my media dried out :angry: Hopefully I didn't lose too many...

I agree. These type of details are best suited to the scientific section. Regardless who has more perfect science (Hey, I was a biology major in college and I did very well. You don't have to have perfect science or expensive equipment for your results to be valid), perfect vision, or...

anon02 wrote; Ohhhh, I see. But if you have ammonia or fish waste the correct bacteria will develop on it's own and it takes about the same amount of time to establish a tank. So, even though these specific bacteria are present in the bottle in a state from which they can recover, there are...

Great!

Fair enough, but then why do the bacteria not recover from their bottled state?

Yeah, good concept, but it still ends in dead bacteria. If you need proof, look at a sample under a microscope.

I don't think it was the temperature. It's true that rainbows like cooler water, but you shouldn't expect losses over 1C.

Whatcha lookin at!

Through the looking glass...

:shifty: Is :osama: hiding in here? Just trying to do my part!

Two fish mouth wrestle to the death. Full story at eleven.

Personally, if I have a wounded fish I put it in a quarantine tank and add a measure of melafix. Be SURE you add aeration with this stuff though. Melafix doesn't affect filter bacteria at all.

It's instant. No need to wait.