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:oops: Totally missed that. I get a weekly update in email, and clicked on one the threads (I thought it was this one, but maybe it was a 'similar threads' and didn't notice it was form 2009. :huh:

Many pet shops, and even some fish shops, do not treat fish well. They overstock, put fish together that aren't good tank mates, they don't modify water parameters beyond using dechlorinator, etc. Take a look at these things where you bought your fish, and if you aren't happy with it, take...

I did say *seems* happy. While I cannot know if he is happy, it is possible to kind of get to know a fish, in a way, and he certainly displays some personality. He also displays obvious symptoms of stress and becomes poorly when in the company of other swordtails. This seems to have become...

TBH, he does not seem stressed in the 60L He seems happy there. He does seem stressed in any tank with other swordtails. So, that's the solution for the time being. I was, you may note, also asking about if we get another tank. I am aware that the 60L at least does not have space for a...

They are my son's fish & he loves all of the fish. :) Not only would he be unwilling to trade in Mr. Aggressive, but I don't think I would, either. I don't think he's last long because he has developed what seem to be dropsy symptoms (bloated belly, raised scales) the last three times I've...

Hi everyone, We started our swordtail family with 3 fish, bought from a pet shop. I have since discovered that they don't treat their fish very well, and stopped spending my money there. 2 of our 3 original fish have died. The one that remains has been a bit of a problem. Any time I put him...

Glad you are doing better! I hope your fish help you :) Please get Cory some friends, as soon as possible! Otherwise Cory will suffer mental health issues :( Maybe there is a fish keeping club or something like that near you? Members might have an excess of fish from having fry, or...

This seems to have become a snail thread :p As above, I rotate foods. We have five different foods, though one is mosquito larvae that I only feed a couple of times per month. As for the snails, I like them. We got ours (rams head & bladder snails) on plants bought from a pet shop. The...

I agree with the suggestion for swordtails or platys. They have worked well for us, and we originally started our tank because my 9 year old wanted fish. I had had fish in the past, though, and had some experience with keeping them. I think it has been nice to have fry. My son loves the...

I have nylon stocking over the filter pump intake. I learned my lesson on that one when a couple of swordtail fry got sucked in :(

We've had a hatching :) I've got some food for egg-layer fry. My question is about cleaning the aquarium... I saw that we had some empty egg casings, so I did not clean the gravel at the bottom of the tank, but I still managed to suck up one of the fry. I moved him to the hospital tank, but I...

So far, none of the eggs have survived to hatch, as far as I know. My fish are reasonably well-fed, When I see eggs, they are usually on the glass. Can breeding nets be attached to glass? We can get fry food, and have raised Swordtail fry.

Hi everyone, We have a 125 L (30ish gallon) tank with 3 Swordtails and 7 Corydoras Sterbai. The corys have always seemd pretty happy, and they have occasionally layed eggs. We have a few, now. But they never seem to survive. Is there anything I can do to protect the eggs/fry? Can the eggs...

I tend to just buy three or so different plants, and see which ones do well, then get more of those. It does take a little experimenting. Besides lighting, the amount of natural light, and the type of fish can influence which plants thrive. Something like a sagittaria that grows fairly...

Thanks for all of the help, folks. We seem to be doing okay, keeping the fans on and the hoods off. I've been putting the lights on the evening for a few hours, and that seems to go okay, too.

I thought there was enough beneficial bacteria in an established aquarium that the filters could be replaced? I don't usually. I rinse them out every week or two with water changes. I'm curious for when I do need to.

I usually just rinse the (sponge) filters off in tank water when I do partial water changes. Should I replce the filter material?

I wondered about temperatures in the wild, given that swordtails are tropical. We've got windows open and fans blowing. It won't work to close up the house during the day. It will stay cooler with windows open and fans blowing. If we close the house up, it will get very hot. I can't...

Hi everyone, I live in Norway, and it doesn't usually get hot here, so we don't have air conditioning or anything where I live, and the last few days, it has been 28 C (82 F), and even with the lights off and heaters unplugged, our tanks are a little warmer than that. They started the day...

Our oldest male has fought with other males, even without females present. Also, doesn't moving them around stress them out?

Hi everyone, For various reasons, we've ended up with swordtail sex combinations that don't work very well with our tank combination... We have four young, but mature swordtails in a 60L tank, two females and two males. One of the males pesters the other, so he hides all the time. In our...

One more bit of information... We have very soft water where I live, and when another swordtail was poorly, I found out http://www.fishforums.net/threads/sad-swordtail.446771/#post-3778651 that they prefer harder water, so I have been gradually increasing water hardness since. I noticed the...

Hi everyone, Can someone please tell me what is causing the lumps on my swordtail. It making it hard for him to swim, though he otherwise seems ok. He's been moved to a hospital tank. Parameters of both tanks are similar. Ammonia 0 Nitrate 15 (the scale is imprecise but has steps at 12.5 and...

Water hardness might be it. Ours is fairly soft. I should have checked that. The shop told me that the water hardness in our area is okay for them. What can I do to increase the hardness? I've heard of people putting coral and stuff like that in their tanks. Can I control it well enough...

She does not seem to be using her tail. Does that help anyone tell me what might be wrong?

She is definitely not well. She is at the bottom of the tank this morning, not moving much :sad: She looks all skinny again, even though she ate plenty yesterday.

I have Eheim pickup series in my other tanks, but this one is smaller. I've added pictures of my filter. The red circle is where one of the fry got stuck. The other picture is the filter with part of a nylon stocking over.

Tank size: 60 L pH: 7.5 - 8 ammonia: 0 nitrite: 0 nitrate: ~12.5 mg / l kH: not tested gH: not tested tank temp: 25.9 C NB: moved to 8 L hospital tank with similar parameters (slightly higher nitrates) Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior)...

Yes, I live in Norway. I use Eheim internal sponge filters. External filters are available here, and verious internal sponge or sponge/charcoal filters. I haven't seen box filters. The only pre-filters I've seen are for external filter systems.

Just came back to update... I haven't found another filter type, but the nylon stocking over the filter/pump unit seems to work a treat. Thanks!

I have no idea where to get a box filter. I will look, but int he meanwhile, putting a bit of nylon stocking over it is a great idea. Thanks, all!

Our tank is already cycled. Aren't the bacteria and stuff already in the system enough to keep it cycled when I change filter types?

We've had a fry get caught in the filter pump in our breeding tak today. Is there something I can cover it with to keep them getting in there? Or a pump unit especially for a breeding tank? TIA

How big should they be before I let them in with their tank mates? I don't want pappa to eat them. A related question.... I think that we have two females and one male (I'm not 100% certain about the male, yet). Is it ok to keep them together? Or with their parents? Will they breed? Or...

Just back to update quickly.... Florence the fish is fine. I turned the heat up in the tank, and added some salt, though I didn't get to the recommended concentration of salt before I had to empty and clean the tank for another reason. I forgot to put salt back in, but by then it had been a...