Search results

You might be right about this group of fish. Behavior verifies one pair. I don't think you can guarantee the other two though, considering the age and that they are not established in the environment. I do agree that they could be another pair. I see the differences but I've been fooled more...

I don't think I've ever seen a non-custom hex tank that wasn't tall. Angels and Discus can do well in them because of the depth.

The problem with relying on subtle differences in coloration is that there are a lot of factors that can affect it. Too many to mention here. My experience is quite broad in the cichlid realm and goes across many other types of fish. Given a group of fish I can usually pick out a male and a...

LMAO, Nick. You don't know how many times I've wanted to do that. Just never really felt it was my place. I do quiz the employees, though. They usually don't even know I'm doing it.   CSnyder, in my day working at LFS stores, the good ones employed experienced hobbyists. I have to say, since you...

Mother Nature likes balance. Left to her vices, she can do some amazing things.

  Maybe not "the" way but it is "a" way that works. Like any other method, even yours, there are exceptions as I've already stated. There is nothing like a well trained eye to see beyond those exceptions, though.

I've never had to deal with Nitrates in my tap water, so this is a new concept for me and I totally understand that you cannot eliminate them with water changes. It's a fair assumption that the levels in your tap water might vary slightly but since the levels are reported, I would count on them...

Some of my best customers were people that were misguided by bad advice and sworn off of fish because they did everything "right" and failed. They would come in the store for other animal needs and browse the fish tanks because they enjoyed looking at them. I loved overhearing someone say, "I...

Sexing cichlids is not always an exact science especially in larger groups and even more so in younger fish. Coloration and markings is sometimes one of those grey areas. I've seen apparent females suddenly start showing their male traits when the alpha male is removed.   I didn't thoroughly...

Be careful about using length and width to determine volume.   For instance, "tank with base dimensions of 80cm (30 inches) by 30 cm (12 inches) which is the 30 gallon--though no mention is made of height"; I've got two tanks in my possession with these base measurements and neither is a 30...

The 2nd and third rays of the dorsal fin are longer in males. Females will get reddish orange bellies especially when they are ready to breed.

  This seems high for 50% changes every week. Do you have nitrates in your tap water?

Mosquito larvae like standing water. I would think that some of the places I've seen them could possibly have high ammonia content.

That long dorsal fin tells me otherwise. I could be wrong though.

If the substrate and filter media are new, then no, your tank is not cycled.

For future reference and for anyone else that might be reading this:   I think you might be surprised to find out that even new larger glass tanks than are shipped without any packaging except for a cardboard wrap around the two small sides and the bottom. If I remember correctly, once you got...

I can honestly say I've moved around hundreds of 10 gallon tanks some with water and substrate in. I wouldn't worry about supporting it, even with the substrate in it. There simply isn't enough weight to overcome the strength of the materials unless you start swinging it around your head. Just...

That's a good looking female. I would have pegged it for a male.

For future reference:   it could have been the tank was cycling. You probably would have been better off just doing a good sized water change instead of totally cleaning it.   Instead of treating right away. The first thing to check is water conditions. A simple water change may have been enough...

  The same thing could be said for any type of set-up. I've seen more than my fair share of nightmare set-ups and Africans do not have a monopoly on them. In fact it has nothing to do with the type of fish. It has to do with the fish keeper.   Generalities suck. They are usually too general or...

African cichlids are a fine choice. Not much interest at this site but they are quite popular and that may explain the abundance. On store I worked at devoted about 1/4 of their 700+ tanks to African lake cichlids. There are few diseases that affect them. Some have vibrant colors not usually...

Fin nipping usually happens when the diet is lacking in bulk. Processed foods often lack it. Supplementing with frozen or live foods usually helps alleviate this.

I'd like to add to the sand topic. I used large gravel for years for no reason other than I liked the look. Never had any issues with it other than it required regular vacuuming. I am currently using pool filter sand. It required no rinsing. I could have gotten some dust out but I opted for...

I don't know about that. I do a fair amount of searches daily and hardly ever, if at all, see this. 

Check out the schematic on the filtration. Look familiar?   http://weburbanist.com/2015/07/14/open-swim-in-mn-nations-first-naturally-filtered-public-pool/

It is showing on Bing, at the top of the list, even. But, clicking on it brings up an adult webpage, just for the first time. Like it did before.   It looks like Google has it fixed, though.

Since my last post, TTF has not come up on Bing, until today. First click goes to AFF on two different unrelated machines.

In light of the unusually high temperatures in the UK, there are a number of threads asking about cooling fish tanks. Instead of responding to every one, I've decided to start one with my advice about the topic because, some people here are a bit sensitive and get offended by my direct approach...

At the first fish store I worked at, before I started doing the ordering, I received a couple dozen freshwater fiddler crabs. I set them up nice in a partially filled tank with some rocks for them to climb on. I did not know that they could climb the airline that was powering the filter. I...

Unfortunately, the law isn't going to recognize the fish as anything other than property. As to the other stuff, like you said, "Money can't cover that." If you are lucky, you may be able to get compensation for the entire set-up and the value of the fish. I'm willing to bet that the...

Sorry for your losses, but I wouldn't have left an air pump on. You just can't trust those employees to know to do the right thing. I've lived through roach problems before and they take brute force to eradicate. I erred on the side of caution with my tanks. One day of the tank totally sealed...

Sold the 120 gal w/ stand for $400! I would have taken $300. I did a live transfer of stock and filtration to the 33 gal. it's over stocked with plenty of established filtration. Good experiment before buying new stock.

TTA, I don't think you meant Dr. Rob. He is another member here and I haven't seen any posts by him in this thread.   BTW, thank you for your support. I agree with your statement that this thread being deleted or kept in it's original form. Since there isn't much value on the fish keeping side...

My harshness was in response to the content that was deleted. My concern is not only for the fish, but for the store owner and the employees of that store. I'm not going to coddle someone who admits to committing a crime in order to care for their animals. If they were willing to admit something...

  That would depend on your set-up. Higher temps mean less dissolved oxygen in the water. Less water even less oxygen available. TBH, I don't know how the math would work out.   For future reference, it would much safer and probably fairly easy to take measures to keep the room from getting hot...

Before treatment is going to work, you need to provide a proper environment which is going to almost impossible given your current situation. Do the right thing. Admit defeat and give up your charges to someone capable of caring for them. Then, if you still want to keep fish, learn about their...

Such a sad ending. I thought you were set on the discus and was really looking forward to seeing your discus in that tank. I have the same tank and would have loved to do discus but the pH of my tap water pretty much prohibits that.

It's back from Google.

Just because they can handle the high temps doesn't mean that they should be kept in them permanently. Recommended temps are lower.   I'd be more concerned about the aggression. Because of the body shape, a discus might be confused as another gourami and they can be aggressive amongst themselves.

I, too, have my doubts about gouramies being a good choice as tank-mates for the discus for the reasons mentioned above.