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Experts agree that acclamation for temperature only and then plop and drop is the best way to transfer fish from one water source to another.

I buy fish food wherever I can get the best deal. Right now for the Tetramin Tropical Flakes I have a recurring auto-ship setup on Chewy. Like nearly everything else, you need to shop around for good deals on your preferred quality fish food. However, as Byron indirectly points out, you must...

I think it may depend on the species and other health related factors. Truth be told, tropical fish can probably tolerate a fair range in temperatures especially if the change is gradual. Of course I have no idea how much of a change can be tolerated but I can say that my swordtails seem very...

I'm a little down on Hikari because back when I did the research for the Commercial Fish Foods article the response I got from the Hikari Customer Service Team was much less informative (and a bit condescending) compared to the other vendors. They may have good foods but I'm uncertain of the...

I could be wrong (it happened once or twice before <hehe>) but I think it's a bit of a gimmick. I mean you could take any quality fish food and mix with plain gelatin...but why not just feed the food itself? B-)

One last bump in the hopes of getting more feedback. What do you feed your fish and what do you think about the Fish Food article. Thank you. :)

Filters are great. However they don't do as much as most people think. All they really do is collect organic waste where it continues to decompose and pollute the water. Granted, filters make the water look more clear, but not more pure. As previously stated, you need to do regular routine...

@Back in the fold I have mine in my unheated basement here in the Northeast (Central NY) (55-60F thru winter) so they do well most of the year. for dog days of summer, I have experimented with a dorm type fridge with an external controller and that works well. David Ramsey uses a wine cooler he...

Although you could feed BBS spirulina, they are most nutritious when fed within 24 hours of hatching before the egg sack is consumed. Feeding BBS spirulina is not really 'gut loading' and is most often done to grow out the shrimp. Like 'sea monkeys' you can grow out bbs into adult brine shrimp...

Very few responses! In addition to article feedback, I'd be curious to know what everyone feeds their fish and what led you to the selection?????

Byrons Regular Partial Water Changes article... and here's a deep dive into Filtration and Water Quality.

@Colin_T - Thank-you for the feedback. I emphasized a LOT of research because it took quite a bit of time and effort (over two months) to contact vendors and get feedback from their personnel. I modified the next to last paragraph to more clearly differentiate between lower quality fishmeal that...

Thank-you. I've never used it so I did a quick explore - I think that it's a good food, but I would treat it more like a frozen food and feed it 2 (or 3 times at the most) a week and select another [dry] food as the staple. But then you can experiment to see what works best for you, your fish...

What do you feed your fish? Here is an article that I just posted on Fish Food. Let me know what you think. :)

Aquaclear is a great HOB and I usually leave mine running during water changes...however, if the tank level gets too low, the water can back siphon and empty the filter. I sometimes will simply remove the inlet tube while the filter remains running, until the water level is restored. As...

It is sometimes easy to forget or ignore what others may term as 'they're just fish'. I've sent hundreds of fish to unknown fates through a local fish store...but I still well understand the feelings over the loss of a fish, especially one that's been around a long time and holds a special...

Here's an article on Cloudy water and a deep dive into filtration and water quality. :)

Pool filter sand is usually perfectly fine although I'm uncertain about this brand - however, in order to function in a pool filter, it has to have sufficient permeability fo water to pass through.

Some hobbyists are convinced that bacteria only lives in the filter. This is quite incorrect. Oh the filter is a great place for BB and the ecology often starts there, but the colony is typically soon dwarfed by the inhabitants of the substrate. (see The Very Best Aquarium Filter). I'm a huge...

I culture white worms....and here's a deep dive into Live Food cultures.

Done routinely, large routine periodic partial water changes can be fine. However, there can be problems. For example, if a somewhat neglected tank suddenly gets a large water change the significant change in water chemistry can shock some, if not all, the inhabitants...and some may not handle...

The above is not quite correct... The entire greenhouse floor is lined with pond liner. Water is pumped from the end of the greenhouse to the 300g stock tanks and 55g drums where it overflows back to the floor and to the re-circulation pumps (concrete block walkways allow water to flow back to...

Why do you speak of Goliad Farms in the past tense? Am I unaware that he shut down the business?? Last I knew he was talking of building another greenhouse. In any case, I wrote that the plumbing issue makes a flow through system impractical for nearly all hobbyists. Even in the small fishroom...

I'll confess having mixed feelings about flow through systems. As much as a large weekly water change replaces more polluted water at one time, it would seem that the flow through system (providing a sufficient amount of flow through) would result in a more stable and uniform water quality (as...

Not all fishmeal is bad! Low quality fishmeal may be the leavings from a cannery floor while high quality fishmeal may be made from whole fish...oh it's certainly mot table ready fish, but still whole fish (which is better than heads, skin, and bones!), For an in-depth look at commercial fish...

Live Food Culturing

https://mjvaquatics.com/lowering-aquarium-nitrates/ https://mjvaquatics.com/my-nitrate-fight/ https://mjvaquatics.com/blog-filtration-water-quality/

More and more, especially in agricultural areas, nitrates are high in source waters. I once had a serious problem with nitrates off the chart in my well water relative to a 95 acre farmers field across the road. The farm hand told me they couldn't grow much without a lot of fertilizer...

It might seem like Seachem Matrix and/or De*Nitrate can solve all your nitrate woes, but in my long term testing using these products, I was never able to see any noticeable reduction in tank nitrates. I suppose it could happen, just never did for me! Lots of plants to convert ammonia into plant...

I've 'followed' Joey ('King of DIY') since way back when all he did was 'how to' videos. I think he's a good fish keeper with many impressive tanks in his gallery. I'm uncertain about the Fritz bio conditioner, but suspect that adding any bio-conditioner is probably not harmful to fish (although...

https://mjvaquatics.com/blog-live-cultures/

Then too...once bitten, twice shy - they may not taste good (who knows?)

Just for kicks: The Outdoor Daphnia Bins Daphnia Daphnia Take 2 Culturing Daphnia Harvesting Daphnia

Play sand is fine - my friend @Byron used it in pretty much all of his tanks. I've used it, but if not washed well it has a lot of fines that result in cloudy water. I'm a big fan of pool filter sand and in some tanks I have play sand topped with pool filter sand. :)

They could if they would but many may be too large for many fish and some may not recognize them as food.

The purpose of the electric fence with two strands close to the ground is for rabbits and woodchucks and such. I don't seem to have much of a deer problem, but for deer, I picked up a tip from a rancher in Texas...I string monofilament fishline waist and chest high. If/when the deer move up...

2022 Garden Journal (Central New York, USA)

I agree that fish, with the exception of fry/juveniles can go without food for 7-10 days. Any longer requires a fish sitter or an auto feeder. @Colin_T is correct in that I have had success with Eheim feeders, both the Everyday feeder and the Twin Automatic feeders. Ideal for pellets, but if you...

I think the 'trouble' is that an author can suffer from tunnel vision and many of the myths have become common knowledge often defended by many. I was once told by a hobbyist that s/he simply had to believe (a myth) because s/he heard it from 'an experienced fishkeeper' on the internet. Well...

The more you learn, the more you realize that there's stll more to learn. Experience (yours and others) often out weighs 'book learning' and the hobby is full of myths repeated so often that they take on a life of their own... Fish Hobby Myths vs. Truth