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  I have sent a sample of the substance to a biology department for identification but haven't got a call from them yet.   I contacted the manufacture of the play sand and they refused to tell me what it is composed of so I don't know. I rinsed the sand to remove dust and other particles before...

There is considerable preliminary details to consider as to why I'm seeking the advice regarding how to set up a new aquarium which I will detail in italics below.   During autumn of 2012, I ordered a custom made open-top aquarium. I filled it up with dechlorinated water, assembled a Fluval 406...

  Right ok, I'll pass this information on.   My Aunty doesn't test her aquarium water so I'd have to take my water testing kit around to get any idea of the state of the water quality.

How are the oxygen levels in the tank? Do you have good water surface rippling to aid oxygenation?

  Hi Flute,   Thanks for the advice.   I will give her a call tomorrow ASAP, as its now a bit too late in the day, to explain the need to de-chlorinate and perhaps to cut out bleaching the aquarium as its probably over-kill. I've not said much about how I go about fish-keeping as I don't want to...

The white poo can be a sign that the intestinal wall has been damaged by a protozoan parasite to the extent that the white coloured wall has sloughed off. Parasites which interrupt the function of the intestine (which involves the breaking down of food and the uptake of the food's nutritional...

  Thank you for your concern and the free bump.   I'll just keep my fingers crossed that someone somewhere has first hand experience of this issue as it doesn't feature in any of my fish disease books.

  Hi Flute,   It looks soft. It looks as though it is full of necrotic tissue. It has protruded to a certain extent only to then suddenly stop and followed by a second lump of the same type protruding out of the original lump.   As can be seen from the image, the majority of the lump (the sides...

If the PH of your water doesn't go beyond 8.2 you should be fine. A PH of 8.5 is known to cause gill damage, flashing and fish can even attempt to jump out of the water.   Over time the carbonic acid content of your tap water will gas off into the air which will higher the PH of your water. It...

My aunty has two goldfish and one of the goldfish has developed a pale red growth on the side of it's head. The growth has been getting bigger over a 3 month period and both myself and my aunty don't know what it is and as such don't know how to treat it. I suspect that it is some form...

Bump.

Bump.

  Nitrates are rarely 0 ppm unless you have a planted system where the plants absorb it up quickly to grow. 0 ppm of nitrates can be indicative of an aquarium that doesn't have any nitrobacter or nitrosomonas bacteria which collectively convert ammonia and nitrite into nitrate.   Did you do a...

Any ideas?

After re-reading your thread I am 80% certain that the fact that you "agitate the sand every once in a while" is the sole cause of the the fin rot.   This is because sand always encloses anaerobic bacteria, ammonia and other nasties. These nasties build up over time; thus if you are disturbing...

My aunty has two goldfish and one of the goldfish has developed a pale red growth on the side of it's head. The growth has been getting bigger over a 3 month period and both myself and my aunty don't know what it is and as such don't know how to treat it.   I suspect that it is some form of...

Well the eggs have still yet to change colour! *becomes impatient*   Not really sure whether I should just clean them off of the glass or leave them. I can't see anything within the eggs and they are still very tiny! 

You ideally need to test your ammonia and nitrite levels of your water as fluctuations in these parameters can induce things like bacterial infections (i.e. fin rot). Even if you have 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrite, disturbing the substrate or even a filter that has become extremely dirty...

  I think I have either 2x female or 2x male Corydoras because their dorsal fins are the same size. Apparently, their is some difference in size of this thin between sexes.   So the eggs will most likely be unfertilised unless I just haven't noticed the 0.05mm size difference in the dorsal fine haha

I think I may have the following species of Corydoras: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=470 .   It does state there that their eggs would be 2mm in diameter; I think the eggs I have are much smaller.     I took a quick picture of the corydoras I have after my W/C...

  I will get a picture of them for you. The reason I don't know their exact name is because I never intended to stock my aquarium with Corydoras. I was in my LFS and noticed how the Cories were filtering the fine sand through their gills for food and thought that this would be a good asset for...

  I'm not totally sure. They are grey coloured with brownish thins. I think they can be referred to has the armoured Corydoras.   The eggs are around 0.5mm in diameter (very small) and the Neon Tetras are swimming next to some of them as though they are protecting them.

  My goodness, they have been busy behind my back haven't they? They have covered every pane of glass with eggs which I've never seen them swim to.   Are there any ways of telling if the eggs are fertilised and do you know the length of time that it takes for them to hatch?    I do have a spare...

  But how would they have gotten the eggs 30-35cm above the lowest region of the tank that they never leave?   If they are eggs, do I need to set-up a separate aquarium with specialist filter and transfer the eggs to that new aquarium? I guess this is a dumb question since there are 2x...

  Ok, well the only other species of fish in the aquarium are Corydoras cat fish, but I don't know how they could have deposited eggs that high up on the aquarium glass.   Could I be dealing with something more sinister here?

I'm very perplexed by the sudden appearance of a few hundred small salt-sized dots which have appeared on all of the panes of glass in my aquarium.   Here is a picture that I have taken of just one pane of glass:       If somebody can positively identify them as black neon tetra eggs of which...

Okay, ) and to get a scrude of skin to see what parasite it is I can do that with that kio carp then add the wound healer where I did it?     You ideally need to sedate the fish as indicated in my 2nd reply. This is to make the fish unaware that you are handling it so that it doesn't die from...

  I can't really evaluate WaterLife in terms of Myxazin because I've never had to use it.   I can say with certainty that Waterlife protozin and sterazin are highly effective products however. Sterazin will likely resolve the white faeces issue but myxazin will perhaps not cure the cotton wool...

  Parasites can cause a layer of the fishes intestine to slough off and exit through the anal orifice; it usually appears has white faeces. Parasites such as hexamita can cause this sloughing to happen.   Generally, to reduce a parasite infestation you will need to rely on formaldehyde...

  If you want to do your best for the fish I would recommend contacting a Veterinary practice and asking them if they have any experience/knowledge of working with fish. You should try and speak to a qualified vet when asking these questions rather than somebody who wants your cash that will...

  A lack of vitamins would not cause any curvature suddenly; it would slowly develop over several months in response to malnutrition. You could also get spinal curvature in an adult fish that had prolonged exposure to inappropriate water conditions prior to birth.   The only thing that causes...

  Can you provide a picture of the fish? This will help with diagnosis of the problem.

  The male in my GBR pair started to chase the female after one of them eat the eggs too. The male stressed the female out from constant chasing and it actually died.   For this reason, keep a close eye on the female. If she loses colours and a 'black horizontal tar mark' appears across the fish...

Nutrafin fish food tend to be high in vitamins (especially vitamin C). Alternatively, you can soak your existing food in WaterLife Vitazin.   If the cotton-wool spreads you will need to think about:   - Placing the infected fish into a QT aquarium and use a sedative to calm them down (the...

It seems to me that it's time on the said trough as probably resulted in the problem you are describing/showing.   One of two things usually cause curvature of the spine:   1. Complete lack of vitamin C in the diet. 2. Electric shock or bolt of lightening hitting the water column which shatters...

  I'm really sorry you feel that way. At least you know how to treat the problem or how to advice the new owner of the Corydoras' of how to treat the issue.

  Do you think you still have an anchor worm problem in that tank? It could be that the anchor worm has separated from the Cory that you mentioned in your original post which has left a small wound which has allowed fungi to form and grow.   From experience, the optimum treatment for this is to...

To me it looks like it is being irritated by something on it's body.   You ideally need to get a skin scrape from the fish to identify what kind of parasite is irritating it so you can apply the correct treatment.   Sterazin by WaterLife is the best treatment to stop flashing but cannot be used...

From experience, Cory's can pick up diseases more commonly because they primarily sit still in one place making it easier for parasites to attach to them. On the other hand, when scared they can jolt quick, sometimes into sharp objects or other fish which results in skin damage/irritation which...

Are these albino catfish bread specifically for their colours by some breeders or is it just a freak of nature?   If the former is true, it might be that the fishes colour was prioritised by the breeder over more important things like good immunity.