🌟 Exclusive Amazon Black Friday Deals 2024 🌟

Don’t miss out on the best deals of the season! Shop now 🎁

Search results

  1. GaryE

    What you should know about discus

    I had Discus once, a group of wild brown ones. I got them feeding with live foods - white worms. After that, they took frozen. I don't recall feeding them any dried or prepared foods. My usual beefheart rant. It was a brilliant, creative hack in the 1950s when sea food was unavailable. The old...
  2. GaryE

    Trying to add a new word to my vocabulary…

    What do you get if you cross Jack and the Bean Stalk (roots in) with our new word? Jack the riparian.
  3. GaryE

    got some larger stones that are starting to collect "stuff" between them, that even the Corys can't get into, in my medium Cichlid tank...

    I would consider rescaping. I always make sure there are no major gaps I can't get to, beyond what you would find with smallish grained pool filter sand. I used to have pebbles and piles, but now, I avoid them. So much can go wrong if life intervenes and for some reason you have to step back...
  4. GaryE

    Lily pipes ànd hose

    Whatever you do will be under pressure and prone to detaching. I had to look up the term 'lily pipe'. My Eheim came with them, while the more recent fluvals don't. Clear hose will also not stay clear for long, and growth inside the hoses could become an issue. I've always thought that was the...
  5. GaryE

    Under appreciated fish

    Part of it is our not thinking through what tropical means. Up high on a mountain slope, or under a thick, sun blocking rainforest canopy is going to be a lot cooler than a wide, sun absorbing river. White clouds are perfect fish. I think as energy costs rise and people begin to consider...
  6. GaryE

    Time to head outside, northern hemisphere aquarists...

    I have trouble with alder cones. I am surrounded by them, but I wonder if I have the wrong species here. The cones do pretty well nothing. No visible tannins. Does anyone have any advice about when to harvest, etc?
  7. GaryE

    Discus mafia and pricing fish way beyond their worth

    Worth is a relative thing. I would pay a higher price for wild Discus, and wouldn't pay $6 for linebred ones. Others would reverse that. Prices on the open market are set by greed and how much sellers can get away with, and I haven't seen anyone undercutting the price of Discus. They are luxury...
  8. GaryE

    What are you doing today?

    I don't understand. I live with a Catholic graveyard in front of me. A Protestant graveyard behind me. I have a long dark path up to my house. And not one kid came to the door for Hallowe'en. Plus I'm diabetic, so I cant eat the leftover candy. I'm sure today is a nightmare for elementary...
  9. GaryE

    Using Chinese evergreen in a fish tank

    I put Pothos with the stem here I cut it off submerged, and most of the time, a water root appears and heads for the substrate, while the plant thrives above. I wish I had used them more than peace lilies, which get huge. I string the pothos up by windows, as they do need light above.
  10. GaryE

    Using Chinese evergreen in a fish tank

    I grow them with only the roots in - with Chinese evergreen, I actually now have the roots in a box filter as that gives them access to more light, with the tank placement. Some people put them in totally submersed, where they function as floodzone plants. I don't know how long they last. They...
  11. GaryE

    Time to head outside, northern hemisphere aquarists...

    It's the most wonderful time of the year, lalalala. Well it isn't, but if you're into botanicals in your tanks, it's a very good one. Now is the time to go on a good walk and try to identify oak tree locations, if you live somewhere they grow. Where I am, I have both burr oaks, and red...
  12. GaryE

    🐡 FOTM CassCats - October 2024 Fish of the Month Winner(Tetras)

    I hope this means a lot of members think about keeping glowlight tetras. They're often overlooked beauties, and @CassCats caught them looking very good indeed. There were a lot of very attractive little fish in this contest, all there for us to explore.
  13. GaryE

    Fish shipping season rapidly coming to an end…

    This is a thread where geography matters, a lot. I'm sure our members in warm places are rolling their eyes at us. Canada is a perfect storm of high prices and slow delivery when it comes to ordering fish. Next day UPS from the nearest major fish importing centre, 850 km away, is $170 a box...
  14. GaryE

    So what is a pupfish ???

    It is a pupfish, but there is a fish that has the common name pupfish as well. It's a bit like there is one fish called a swordtail, but quite a few different related species with excellent swords as well. There are also pupfish like killies in the middle east into Spain, through Iran. They...
  15. GaryE

    🐡 FOTM CassCats - October 2024 Fish of the Month Winner(Tetras)

    Congrats! It is a great photo of a great fish.
  16. GaryE

    Hunting with the Badger 2024

    I would much rather harvest from spaghetti trees than buy ground beef. Except when it's raining.
  17. GaryE

    So what is a pupfish ???

    Killifish isn't a scientific term, but a hobby one that's convenient for us. In all cases but one I know of (a tiny American livebearer called the 'least killifish') the fish are classified right by the hobby. Pupfish are an evolutionary sub group within the egg laying toothed carps (killies)...
  18. GaryE

    What are you doing today?

    @anewbie I think you're flying a false flag! If you are new at this, you've learned fast. I can't photograph tanks, or at least I say that. Maybe I can, and what I see really looks that bad! I don't do many contests, but I don't ever expect to win. I just want to show a fish people might want...
  19. GaryE

    Dither fish… terrible job / life

    80% of my tanks are single species specials. I have a 120 and a 40 with mixed SA tetras, Sturisoma and Corys, a 40 with mixed African Anabantoids, a 40 with odds and ends fish, and another 40 with mixed tiny African stream dwellers - barbs, tetras and lampeyes. My Chromidotilapia nana are with...
  20. GaryE

    Fish shipping season rapidly coming to an end…

    Ah, the rules in Canada are you show up at the airport and you get the box. It will vary country to country. I need to set up a mail drop across the border in Maine, and just drive down for Dan's Fish or Wet Spot fish. Reheboth in Florida has incredible fish now, but it's too cold to...
  21. GaryE

    Krobia Sp.Oyapok

    The Oyapock River has had some things come out of it recently - nice fish. I'm assuming because it isn't sp cf, or sp aff, that it is seen as a new discovery. Fishbase shows 4 described species in the Genus.
  22. GaryE

    Dither fish… terrible job / life

    Yes, but... I have a couple of fish here that are never aggressive to tankmates, but that would live their lives unseen. If I put a fish from a similar habitat that likes the surface in with them, they come out. I like species tanks, and very few of my aquariums have communities in them. If...
  23. GaryE

    Dither fish… terrible job / life

    "Dither fish" is a rotten concept. You are prioritizing Cichlids over the shoaling fish you pick. In a tall tank, everyone is safe, but in a smaller or shallower tank, fish get killed. You always know dwarf Cichlids have spawned when you find a dead tetra that looked fine the day before... This...
  24. GaryE

    Fish shipping season rapidly coming to an end…

    I get it. I don't trust shipping now. From here on in, I have to drive if I want new fish. Common sense has to win out over what I want. Even if companies can ship with heat packs, a lot can go wrong. I would still consider airport to airport if I went for the pick up myself, but delivery to...
  25. GaryE

    Hunting with the Badger 2024

    This is always loaded. I can't see much of a difference between someone going out with a gun to shoot an antelope, or me going out with a net to catch a future aquarium fish. In both cases, we're taking a creature out of its community and social/breeding population. On a species level, what we...
  26. GaryE

    Krobia Sp.Oyapok

    You have a really uncommon fish there. I've seen it at a wholesale place here, but have never kept it. What I've been told is about what you'd find online - open spawners, precocious spawners, good broodcare, warmer water (26ish). That's pretty generic for a Cichlid from there, but the only...
  27. GaryE

    Weather

    I spent a week in Saskatchewan (it felt like much longer) and saw 456747372 deer, and not one antelope. Apparently, I was surrounded by them at all time, but they never appeared where I was. Snakes and deer galore. My sister will see a hundred in a week, she says. I probably would have had...
  28. GaryE

    Weather

    -7c this morning, with a wind chill on top. Refreshing, and invigorating. I had to haul out the winter coat and boots, and bring the shovels out of the garage. There is no predicting what will come. It could be snowing next week - it could be just a few dustings until February. Last year was a...
  29. GaryE

    How do you plant stem plants without loosing your temper?

    I live near a beach, so I can go down and fill a bag with nice pebbles. They help, around the base of the plant until it has rooted. You do need a deeper substrate, patience, and ideally, the ability to swear in 3 to 4 languages so you don't bore yourself.
  30. GaryE

    NOW I know why I stay in the hobby

    Jewels have beautiful babies, but when they grow and you try to find homes for them, you'll be asking yourself why you're in this hobby again... Every time I get some, I go through that again. But I keep getting them, every few years...
  31. GaryE

    will Red, & Green line, Lizard Tetras interbreed, if both are in the same tank???

    They're lovely fish, but I don't have a lot of info on them. I find tetras rarely cross, but often the barriers are geographic and those fish may never meet in nature. Here, you can go a long time without seeing them, as their length makes them poor sellers. They have the ways of a smaller...
  32. GaryE

    will Red, & Green line, Lizard Tetras interbreed, if both are in the same tank???

    Breeding tetras takes a lot more prep than many realize. The chances of them breeding without a thought out set up are super unlikely. Iguanadactes are not an easy tetra. I love them - I ordered some a couple of weeks ago but they were sold out. A lot of my common tetras have fry that die if...
  33. GaryE

    What are you doing today?

    My great grandmother met Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, and probably met Sitting Bull. The family had a boarding house in Boston and the wild west show would stay there. She got to be in their parades as a kid. She died when I was young, but I seem to recall a story that suggested Sitting...
  34. GaryE

    What are you doing today?

    I don't watch many movies, but I love old westerns. If John Wayne is in them though, forget it. Not a fan. I think I'm going to put in a good day of outside work, then go to a record store. I went to one yesterday, for the first time in decades. My daughter bought and got an old stereo system...
  35. GaryE

    How many of you measure the temperature of the water when performing water changes?

    Research has shown we have 3 degrees celsius to play with. For the vast majority of tropical fish, a 3 degree drop is acceptable, but beyond that, it's a health danger. For most species, if it goes up, that isn't a short term issue, but down is dangerous. If it falls very gradually, that's a...
  36. GaryE

    What are you doing today?

    You could sit in there all winter, pretending to paddle with those plants beside you to be the forest.
  37. GaryE

    Another fish too big for your bath tub…

    Somewhere, someone has six tiny ones in a 10 gallon, and says they'll get a bigger tank when they grow.
  38. GaryE

    How many of you measure the temperature of the water when performing water changes?

    I have made mistakes, but generally after all this time, I can tell you the temperature by touch. If I have new fish, I'll make it maybe 2 degrees warmer than the tank, to not give Ich a chance to party. But generally, I have only had issues when the water was cold, usually if I try to do too...
  39. GaryE

    Nitrate issues revisited

    Does the recharging add sodium the way softening pillows do? I can see where you have little choice though. Is it run off from agriculture?
  40. GaryE

    What are you doing today?

    I've never fished from a kayak - but if I were to try it today, the cold would come though the hull. It's above freezing out there, but not by a lot. It's one of the first days where the leaves are largely stripped from the trees, the sun is shining in a cloudless sky, and the wind is making a...
Back
Top